Policy and practice in Myanmar's protected area system

Myanmar's protected area (PA) system began nearly 150 years ago under royal patronage. Park policies and practices, embodied in 19 pieces of legislation developed sporadically during and after the colonial period. As a result of the FAO-UNDP's Nature Conservation and National Parks Project (1981-1985) the government established the Nature & Wildlife Conservation Division and placed it within the Forest Department as the agency responsible for PA management. As a consequence the number of parks increased from 14 to 33. Myanmar's median park size is less than 50 km(2), but only five parks (15%) are larger than 1000 km(2). Most parks conserve terrestrial habitats; parks encompassing inland wetlands, mangrove, and marine habitats are limited in number and size. Existing PAs unequally represent Myanmar's ecosystems; the Malay Transition, Burmese coast, Burmese Transition and Cardamom Mountains bio-units are under-represented within the system. The effective total PA size (i.e., area of all parks less the area of 13 paper parks) is currently about 2.1%. Budgetary support for parks increased 11% since 1996, but is insufficient to address park needs, particularly in remote parks that are understaffed. Limited education and training of PA staff is a major factor limiting effective park management. Fifty-eight percent of park wardens are educated as foresters, and 42% have university degrees. The average posting in a park is 4 years, which is less than ideal for management continuity. Recommended actions to secure Myanmar's PAs include evaluation and reformulation of policies, increasing representation of Myanmar's habitats within the PA system, management planning, and standardizing protocols for anti-poaching patrols and other forms of law enforcement. Improved leadership training for wardens and range forest officers can also improve park management. Funding for community relations and more integrated management of parks and people can reduce conflicts, while environmental education and outreach activities can provide some needed services. Finally, new ways and means are needed to support these activities. Myanmar's PAs need creative and sustainable means of support, including partnerships with non-government organizations to supplement traditional means of support.     

Testing the capacity of clothing to act as a vector for non-native seed in protected areas

Although humans are a major mechanism for short and long distance seed dispersal, there is limited research testing clothing as a vector. The effect of different types of material (sports vs hiking socks), or different items of clothing (boots, socks, laces vs legs) or the same item (socks) worn in different places on seed composition were assessed in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia. Data was analyzed using Repeated Measures ANOVA, independent and paired t-tests, Multi-dimensional Scaling Ordinations and Analysis of Similarity. A total of 24,776 seeds from 70 taxa were collected from the 207 pieces of clothing sampled, with seed identified from 31 native and 19 non-native species. Socks worn off-track collected more native seeds while those worn on roadsides collected more non-native seeds. Sports socks collected a greater diversity of seeds and more native seeds than hiking socks. Boots, uncovered socks and laces collect more seeds than covered socks and laces, resulting in 17% fewer seeds collected when wearing trousers. With seeds from over 179 species (134 recognized weeds) collected on clothing in this, and nine other studies, it is clear that clothing contributes to unintended human mediated seed dispersal, including for many invasive species.     

The microbial status of natural waters in a protected wilderness area

Waters derived from remote 'wilderness' locations have been assumed to be largely free of bacterial contamination and thus such, near-pristine, protected catchments, unused for agriculture, have been first in the multiple line of protection (pristine catchment-long storage-treatment-disinfection) employed by the water industry. This assumption is challenged by a bacterial survey of the waters derived from the New Cairngorm National Park, Scotland. Over 480 spot samples were taken for 59 sites between March 2001 and October 2002 during nine field campaigns each of three to five days duration. Over 75% of samples tested positive for Escherichia coli (E. coli) and 85% for total coliforms. Concentrations displayed both temporal and spatial patterns. Largest values occurred over the summer months and particularly at weekends at sites frequented by visitors, either for 'wild' camping or day visits, or where water was drawn from the river for drinking. Overall the spatial and temporal variations in bacterial concentrations suggest a relationship with visitor numbers and in particular wild camping. The implications of the results for drinking water quality and visitors health are discussed along with possible management options for the area in terms of improving the disposal of human waste.     

Foraging areas of king penguins from Macquarie Island in relation to a marine protected area

Twenty-three king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) from Macquarie Island were tracked by satellite during the late incubation period in 1998–1999 to determine the overlap of the foraging zone of king penguins with an area to be declared a marine protected area (MPA) near the island. While all penguins left the colony in an easterly direction and traveled clockwise back to the island, three penguins foraged in the northern parts of the general foraging area and stayed north of 56°S. The remaining 20 penguins ventured south and most crossed 59°S before returning to the island. The total foraging area was estimated to be 156,000 km² with 36,500 km² being most important (where penguins spent >150 hr in total). North-foraging penguins reached on average 331 ± 24 km from the colony compared to 530 ± 76 km for the south-foraging penguins. The latter traveled an average total distance of 1313 ± 176 km, while the northern foragers averaged 963 ± 166 km. Not only did the penguins spend the majority of their foraging time within the boundaries of the proposed MPA, they also foraged chiefly within the boundaries of a highly protected zone. Thus, the MPA is likely to encompass the foraging zone of king penguins, at least during incubation.     

Evolution of the landscape as a response of a demographic change. A case study in the Duero riverside,Spain

The Arribes del Duero area, in western Spain, at the border with Portugal, is suffering a drastic change in the landscape, as a response of the diminution of population. Traditional tasks related to agriculture have been abandoned, and heavy sheep farming on the area is provoking the impoverishment of soils. The effect derived from these actions is the disintegration of the terraces, which are one of the major attractions for tourists visiting the region. We propose that incentives for local people could help to develop those traditional labours to recover the landscape, together with the promotion of immigration of families with school-age children, could bring back the economy to the area.     

The impact of land use and land cover changes on land surface temperature in a karst area of China

Satellite images have been used extensively to study temporal changes in land use and land cover (LULC) in China. However, few studies have been conducted in the karst areas despite the large area and population involved and the fragile ecosystem. In this study, LULC changes were examined in part of Guizhou Province of southern China from 1991 to 2001 based on Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images of November 7, 1991, December 5, 1994, and December 19, 2001. Land surface temperature (LST) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were computed based on LULC types. The results show that agricultural land decreased, while urban areas expanded dramatically, and forest land increased slightly. Barren land increased from 1991 to 1994, and then decreased from 1994 to 2001. These changes in LULC widened the temperature difference between the urban and the rural areas. The change in LST was mainly associated with changes in construction materials in the urban area and in vegetation abundance both in the urban and rural areas. Vegetation had a dual function in the temperatures of different LULC types. While it could ease the warming trend in the urban or built-up areas, it helped to keep other lands warmer in the cold weather. The study also reveals that due to the government's efforts on reforestation, rural ecosystems in some of the study area were being restored. The time required for the karst ecosystem to recover was shorter than previously thought.     

A Management-Orientated Comparative Analysis of Urban and Rural Anglers Living in a Metropolis (Berlin,Germany)

Increased efforts to analyze the human dimensions of anglers are necessary to improve freshwater fisheries management. This paper is a comparative analysis of urban and rural anglers living in a metropolis, based on n = 1061 anglers responding to a mail survey in the German capital of Berlin. More than two thirds of the anglers (71%) had spent most (>50%) of their effort outside the city borders of Berlin and thus were categorized as rural anglers. Compared to the rural anglers, urban anglers (50% of total effort spent inside the city) were younger and less educated. Urban anglers were more avid and committed, less mobile, and more frequently fished from boats and during weekdays. Rural anglers were more experienced, fished for longer times per trip, fished more often at weekends and on holidays, were more often members of angling clubs, and more frequently caught higher valued fish species. The achievement and fish quantity aspects of the angling experience were more important for urban than for rural anglers. Concerning management options, urban anglers more frequently suggested constraining other stakeholders and reducing regulations, whereas rural anglers more often proposed improving physical access to angling sites. Future urban fishing programs should offer ease of access, connection to public transportation, moderate prices, and diverse piscivorous fish stocks. In contrast to rural fisheries, the provision of high ecological and aesthetical quality of the angling waters can be regarded as of minor importance in urban fisheries. Rural fisheries managers need to consider the needs of stakeholders living in Berlin to minimize impacts on the less degraded rural water bodies and potential user conflicts with resident anglers. Ecosystem-based management approaches should guide rural fisheries policy.     

Spatial distribution of particulate matter (PM10) in Warri metropolis,Nigeria

This study examined the spatial distribution of particulate air pollution in the Warri metropolis. This was done to ascertain the differences between the distribution of particulate matter (PM10) in the urban area and the surrounding rural areas. To achieve this, the study generated data from field measurement of PM10 levels for the year 2003. Analysis of variance, the U-test, and simple regression statistical techniques were used to analyze the data. The major finding of the study was that the Warri metropolitan area is polluted with PM10 levels of over 126 μg/m³, which is 81% over the 70 μg/m³ threshold of the World Health Organization. However the built-up area of the Warri metropolis is 150% more polluted with PM10 particulates than the surrounding rural areas. While the traffic-clogged area of Enerhen, Jakpa, Deco, and Estate Junctions are the most polluted areas with levels of 151 μg/m³, traditional areas had the lowest levels of 128 μg/m³. The daily distribution of PM10 showed that Mondays were the most polluted days with levels of 145 μg/m³ and Fridays were the least polluted days with levels of 141.5 μg/m³ in the built-up area, whereas in the rural area Wednesdays were the most polluted days with levels of 57.1 μg/m³ and Sundays were the least polluted days with levels of 53.5 μg/m³. Mondays generally recorded the highest PM10 values because of the large amount of industrial operation, heavy vehicular traffic in the peak period, and increased commercial activities. The study also showed significant variation in the level of PM10 particulates within the urban areas of the Warri metropolis with a calculated F-value (3.29), which is greater than the critical F-value of 3.14 at the 0.05 significance level. It is therefore recommended that urban environmental management policy should be vigorously pursued to curb the adverse consequences of increased PM10 levels in urban areas of the Warri metropolis.     

The legal environmental risk analysis (LERA) sample of mining and the environment in Turkish legislation

As advancing technology and increasing demands for natural resources continue to mount pressure on the environment, environmental conservation and sustainable management have become ever more important. Individual countries have been increasingly taking action to reduce environmental destruction caused by human activities in an attempt to find a balance in between the necessary exploitation of resources and environmental conservation. In Turkey, the struggle between environmental conservation and mining activities is set within the legal context, with the requisite legal regulations (which describe various procedures) in the midst of being updated or renewed. The legal environmental risk analysis (LERA), beginning by discussing the main legal regulations of environmental conservation in relation to mining activities, defines basic environmental components which form the basis of environmental conservation in relation to mining, and analyzes the impact of mining on each component. The analysis (LERA) finishes with an evaluation of the components as they currently stand and makes some suggestions for the improvement of insufficient regulations.     

Spatial and temporal variation in nutrient parameters in stream water in a rural-urban catchment, Shikoku, Japan: effects of land cover and human impact

Seasonal and spatial variations in major ion chemistry and isotope composition in the rural-urban catchment of the Shigenobu River were monitored to determine the influences of agricultural and urban sewage systems on water quality. Temporal patterns of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and suspended sediment (SS) were examined at four sites in the rural-urban catchment. Urban land cover, incorporating the effects of increased population, domestic water use, and industrial wastewater, was positively associated with increases in water pollution and was included as an important explanatory variable for the variations in all water quality parameters. Significant trends were found in each parameter. BOD concentrations ranged widely, and were high in urban regions, due to the presence of a waste water treatment plant. TN and SS showed various trends, but did not vary widely, unlike TP. TP concentrations varied greatly, with high concentrations in cultivated areas, due to fertilizer use. Local water quality management or geology could further explain some of the variations in water quality. Non-point-source pollution exhibited strong positive spatial autocorrelation, indicating that incorporating spatial dimensions into water quality assessment enhances our understanding of spatial patterns of water quality. Data from the Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) and Environment Ministry (EM) were used to investigate trends in land management. Stepwise regression analysis was used to test the correlation between specific management practises and substance concentrations in surface water and sediment. MLIT and EM data for 1981-2003 showed an increase in TN, TP, and SS concentrations in surface water. High levels of fertilizer in dormant sprays and domestic water use were associated with high pesticide concentrations in water and sediment. This paper presents a novel method of studying the environmental impact of various agricultural management practises and recommends a management strategy that combines the use of reduced-risk pesticides with irrigation and non-irrigation periods in paddy fields.     

Between resistance and resilience: a study of flood risk management in the Don catchment area (UK)

The river Don catchment area in Sheffield and Rotherham offers a good place for a case study of flood risk management, given the impact of a flooding event in 2007 and the way in which local events have become entwined with national and international policy shifts. To interpret local policy, a combination of systems-based and socio-cultural theory is used. Both the theories and the case study serve to disentangle the multiple meanings of resilience. Understood in opposition to flood resistance, resilience has only limited applicability in an area such as the case study where engineering works protect employment and infrastructure. Resilience as a policy discourse also lacks political transparency and a recognition of socio-cultural influences. Underlying the shift towards resilient styles of management is an appreciation of the importance of capacity, to learn and to act. The case study identifies blockages to the realisation of that capacity.     

The risk/no-risk rhetoric of environmental impact assessments (EIA): the case of offshore wind farms in Sweden

Risk is a key topic in the communication between developers of infrastructure projects, permit-granting authorities, and civil society. The nature of risk communication is contested among academics, however. Whereas some scholars conceive of risk communication as a matter of effectively communicating expert knowledge on factual matters to the public, others emphasise the role of symbolic construction and rhetoric. This article analyses how wind farm developers rhetorically construct risks in relation to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a large offshore wind farm project. Our analysis is inspired by the New Rhetoric, the theory of argumentation developed by Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca (Traité de l'argumentation – la nouvelle rhétorique, Brussels: Éditions des presses de l'université de Bruxelles, 1958). We suggest that the EIA adopt a dual argumentative strategy. The report associates numerous risks with the project by identifying and cataloguing them; however, these risks are also disconnected from the project by being described as nonexistent, negligible, or manageable. We discuss some implications of considering EIAs, not as accounts of reality, but as loci of production for this reality.     

Comparison of vegetation conditions along two backcountry trails in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia (Canada)

Vegetation conditions, i.e., plant cover, species richness, and the presence of exotic species, are compared along a high-use trail (Berg Lake Trail--BLT) and a low use trail (Mt. Fitzwilliam Trail--FWT) in Canada's Mt. Robson Provincial Park. We established 71 paired quadrats (1 m x 1 m), and assessed the amount of vegetation cover and species richness by four main lifeforms, i.e., woody species, herbaceous species, ferns, and moss, lichen and fungi. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) differences exist between control and trailside quadrats in vegetation cover, species richness and floristic diversity, and (2) differences exist between the high and low-use trails in the above-mentioned three parameters. Results show that for the majority of variables the differences between the control and trailside quadrats are statistically not significant. Variables showing significant differences are relative vegetation cover (for BLT only), exposed soil (BLT and FWT), herbaceous cover (FWT), moss, lichen and fungi cover (BLT), overall species richness (BLT), and herbaceous species richness (BLT). Ruderal and exotic species are present but only on trailside quadrats of the high-use trail. Results indicate that the Park administration's strategy to disperse use in the Mt. Robson Provincial Park should be examined critically, and some guidelines for acceptability of changes should be developed.     

The comparison of a revised Leopold matrix and fuzzy methods in environmental impact assessment,a case study: The construction of Al‐A'amiriya residential complex,Baghdad, Iraq

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an efficient method to recognize and alleviate the unfavorable and inevitable impacts of human activity on the environment. The EIA is dependent on expert opinions, which can be influenced by personal experience and knowledge. To evaluate this influence, we carried out EIA of 6,000 residential apartment units of Al‐A'amiriya, Baghdad, Iraq, using a revised Leopold matrix and fuzzy methods. The matrix results reflected the direct opinions of experts. The fuzzy method was developed according to the principles of expert comments. In the matrix method, the environmental impacts of each activity were evaluated by scores between −5 (very bad) to 5 (very good). The inputs to the fuzzy method were intensity and weather stability. The fuzzy estimation of the environmental impact was composed of a group of three values; P1 as the intensity, P2 as the extent, and P3 as the persistence. We gathered the expert opinions and used the Analytical Hierarchical Process to determine the weighting coefficient of each fuzzy anticipation. The matrix method was dependent on the expert opinions. The mean values of the matrix and P‐values in each column and row scores depict the impacts of a project on the environmental aspects and each element of construction on the environment. The comparison of the results indicated an average difference of 30% between the Leopold matrix and fuzzy methods. In regard to the availability and sufficiency of data, the difference was around 10%.     

The performance of constructed wetlands treating primary, secondary and dairy soiled water in Ireland (a review)

In Ireland, no database detailing the design, influent loading rates or performance of constructed wetlands (CWs) exists. On account of this, they are designed without any protocol based on empirical data. The aim of this paper was to provide the first published data on the performance of free-water surface flow (FWSF) CWs treating primary and secondary-treated municipal wastewater, and agricultural dairy soiled water (DSW) in Ireland. In total, the performance of thirty-four FWSF CWs, comprising fourteen CWs treating primary-treated municipal wastewater, thirteen CWs treating secondary-treated municipal wastewater, and seven CWs treating DSW, were examined. In most CWs, good organic, suspended solids (SS) and nutrient removal was measured. At an average organic loading rate (OLR) of 10 and 9 g biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) m(-2) d(-1), CWs treating primary and secondary wastewater removed 95 and 84% of influent BOD. Constructed wetlands treating DSW had an average BOD removal of 98%. At average SS loading rates of 6 and 14 g m(-2) d(-1), CWs treating primary and secondary wastewater had a 96 and an 82% reduction, and produced a final effluent with a concentration of 14 and 13 mg L(-1). Constructed wetlands treating DSW produced a final effluent of 34 mg L(-1) (94% reduction). Similar to other studies, all CWs examined had variable performance in ammonium-N (NH(4)(+)-N) removal, with average removals varying between 37% (for CWs treating secondary wastewater) and 88% (for CWs treating DSW). Variable ortho-phosphorus (PO(4)(3-)-P) removal was attributable to different durations of operation, media types and loading rates.     

The Great East Japan Earthquake,tsunami, and nuclear meltdown: towards the (re)construction of a safe,sustainable, and compassionate society in Japan's shrinking regions

Japan's rural regions have been shrinking for the entire post-war period, and successive efforts to revitalise rural society have failed. This article examines whether the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, present the Japanese state and society with a watershed opportunity to rethink regional revitalisation and national energy procurement strategies. The article begins by summarising the events of March and April 2011, examines possible approaches to the reconstruction of communities in the Tōhoku region, and critiques problems of governance in post-war Japan that the disaster reveals. It concludes by pulling together the information and analysis presented into a discussion of the prospects for achieving the three-point vision for a safe, sustainable, and compassionate society that Prime Minister Naoto Kan set the Reconstruction Design Council.     

Groundwater contamination by nitrates in the city of Konya, (Turkey): a GIS perspective

Groundwater is an essential drinking water source in the city of Konya, Turkey. Approximately 75% of the city's water consumption has been supplied from 198 groundwater wells for the last six years. Nitrate (NO(3)(-)) is one of the important water quality parameters and was measured in the water samples taken from 139 wells in 1998 and from 156 wells in 2001 within the study area of 427.5 km(2). To evaluate the nitrate data, a vector-based GIS software package ArcView GIS 3.2 was used. A hardcopy map of the city was digitized in the UTM projection system. The locations of the wells were obtained by a hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. According to the maps produced, nitrate concentrations generally tend to increase in the city center, the average concentrations being 2.2 and 16.1mg/L for the years of 1998 and 2001, respectively. A statistical correlation procedure was also applied to well depths and nitrate concentrations. As a result, correlation coefficients of 0.259 and 0.261 were obtained for data collected in 1998 and 2001. It is concluded that the distribution of nitrate concentrations is not correlated with well depths within the study area.     

Application of a long-path differential optical absorption spectrometer (LP-DOAS) on the measurements of NO(2), SO(2), O(3), and HNO(2) in Gwangju, Korea

A differential optical absorption spectrometer (DOAS) technique has been applied to monitor airborne trace pollutants including NO(2), SO(2), O(3), and HNO(2) in the ultraviolet (UV) region (290-350 nm) over a 1.5 km beam path (two ways) during an intensive measurement campaign held at Gwangju, Korea (March 2002). Their mean mixing ratios (and standard deviations) were computed as 11.3 (8.8), 1.9 (1.7), 17.1 (19.3), and 0.5 (0.4)ppbv, respectively. As a means to evaluate the performance of the long-path DOAS (LP-DOAS) system with conventional point monitoring systems (PMS), correlation analysis was conducted between the two data sets. These data sets were then inspected to account for the influence of the environmental conditions on the correlation strength between the two systems, especially with respect to light level and wind speed. To facilitate the comparison, correlation analyses were conducted after dividing the data sets for those parameters into several classes. The strength of the correlations between DOAS and meteorological parameters was also examined to evaluate their effects on the DOAS performance. It was found that, among the four pollutant species, O(3) is the most sensitive to changes in meteorological conditions in relation with atmospheric mixing conditions. The overall results of our study indicate that open-path monitoring techniques can be used to effectively diagnose air quality and be substituted for the conventional point monitoring methods with the proper consideration of those parameters affecting the DOAS sensitivity (e.g., light level and wind speed).     

The climate's long-term impact on New Zealand infrastructure (CLINZI) project - a case study of Hamilton City, New Zealand

Infrastructure systems and services (ISS) are vulnerable to changes in climate. This paper reports on a study of the impact of gradual climate changes on ISS in Hamilton City, New Zealand. This study is also the first of its kind to be applied to New Zealand ISS. In the future, the CLINZI project will extend to other areas of New Zealand. Using historical climate data and four climate change scenarios, we modelled the impact of climate change on aspects of water supply and quality, transport, energy demand, public health and air quality. Our analysis reveals that many of Hamilton City's infrastructure systems demonstrated greater responsiveness to population changes than to gradual climate change.