The Brazilian Amazon coastal zone management: implementation and development obstacles

The Amazon region represents approximately 35% of the Brazilian coastline and includes the states of Amapá, Pará, and Maranh?o. After several years, the Amazon coastal zone has not made clear progress and has failed to show important results in terms of management plans based on the weak societal and local community support, the absence of a strong institutional coordination, and the scarcity of resources. This study aims to present and discuss the existence of others important factors that have obstructed the development of these plans, specifically, describing and analyzing the uncertainties regarding the redefinition of coastal zone boundaries, integrated management concepts, stake-holders responsibility, and governmental disinterest associated with the area by the government and society. Finally, it is considered the possibility of the emergence of new driving forces for the implementation and development of the State Coastal Zone Management Plan in the Amazon region among which the following stand out: the territorial fragmentation of the states in the Amazon coastal zone, the increased exploitation pressure for coastal zone resources, and the role of global climatic change on coastal areas.     

Adaptive social impact management for conservation and environmental management

Concerns about the social consequences of conservation have spurred increased attention the monitoring and evaluation of the social impacts of conservation projects. This has resulted in a growing body of research that demonstrates how conservation can produce both positive and negative social, economic, cultural, health, and governance consequences for local communities. Yet, the results of social monitoring efforts are seldom applied to adaptively manage conservation projects. Greater attention is needed to incorporating the results of social impact assessments in long‐term conservation management to minimize negative social consequences and maximize social benefits. We bring together insights from social impact assessment, adaptive management, social learning, knowledge coproduction, cross‐scale governance, and environmental planning to propose a definition and framework for adaptive social impact management (ASIM). We define ASIM as the cyclical process of monitoring and adaptively managing social impacts over the life‐span of an initiative through the 4 stages of profiling, learning, planning, and implementing. We outline 14 steps associated with the 4 stages of the ASIM cycle and provide guidance and potential methods for social‐indicator development, predictive assessments of social impacts, monitoring and evaluation, communication of results, and identification and prioritization of management responses. Successful ASIM will be aided by engaging with best practices – including local engagement and collaboration in the process, transparent communication of results to stakeholders, collective deliberation on and choice of interventions, documentation of shared learning at the site level, and the scaling up of insights to inform higher‐level conservation policies‐to increase accountability, trust, and perceived legitimacy among stakeholders. The ASIM process is broadly applicable to conservation, environmental management, and development initiatives at various scales and in different contexts.     

Impact of community-based approaches to wildlife management: case study of the CAMPFIRE programme in Zimbabwe

The objective of this study was to elicit community perceptions on the effectiveness of the CAMPFIRE programme, a community initiative, designed to benefit rural communities in Gonono ward in the Zambezi valley. Five villages and 76 respondents were selected from the ward using simple random sampling. Data collection included a structured questionnaire administered to households, semi-structured interviews with key informants, such as chiefs, headmen and local council staff, transect walks and participant observations. The results of the study revealed that, although the CAMPFIRE concept has been instrumental in creation of employment and infrastructure, the local community considers that no significant changes have occurred to their livelihoods. The findings suggest that the current model of wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe is not promoting total community participation. Future models need to focus on total involvement and independence from government structures. However, this can only happen when there is sufficient capacity building in communities on a wide number of issues, including general management, to ensure long-term sustainability.     

Socio-economic differentiation in the trade of wildlife species for traditional medicines in the Lowveld,South Africa: Implications for resource management initiatives

Surveys of trade in wildlife products utilised in traditional medicine were conducted between 1997 and 1999 on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Although the extent of trade and numbers of people operating in this sector were lower than other regions of South Africa, this study again highlighted the value of indigenous wildlife products to subsistence economies. Apart from cultural diversity, socioeconomic differentiation occurred at a number of levels. (i) There were socio-economic differences between the traders and vendors. (ii) Gender differences were apparent, with women earning significantly less than men and having to undergo more social challenges in their operation in the market place. (iii) Operational differences were noted between the vendors and traders, as well as between the street and pension day vendors. (iv) Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) highlighted the socio-economic differentiation at the household level, emphasizing in particular one of the most vulnerable groups, the elderly. The potential influence of this socio-economic differentiation needs to be considered during the development of Community-Based Conservation programmes, if the dual aims of conserving biodiversity and improving the lives and livelihoods of those who traditionally rely on medicinal plants are to be met.     

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) projects: lessons for future policy design and implementation

In response to the pressing global challenges of climate change, initiatives under the auspices of ‘reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation’ (REDD) have been implemented in over 30 developing and least-developed countries since 2005. The initiatives cover nearly every significant and vulnerable forest ecosystem worldwide. In this study we review six representative initiatives, two each from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Strength, weakness, opportunity and threat analysis is done to evaluate each initiative's policy framework, design, implementation and results thus far. The main policy and project implementation factors that appear to lead to effective and successful REDD project outcomes include having clearly formulated project design; governance, land tenure rights and capacity; equity and transparency; indigenous peoples' rights and knowledge; local–international coordination; and enhancing local and institutional capacities. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for future REDD policy action and project implementation to make it work for the poor and achieve its intended goals.     

Higher education in urban environmental management: a new programme at the Asian Institute of Technology,Bangkok

Environmental management and planning is now considered as a new field of professional expertise. There are even professional associations for interested professionals. To date, urban environmental management has been regarded as a subdiscipline of environmental management, but since the Rio Conference in 1992, with the new focus of urban management on environmental problems, it can itself be considered as a professional field. This paper traces the emergence of the field and tries to identify the new skills required for it. The question of formal training, in higher education, for a new type of professional is raised and discussed. It refers at length to an initiative taken by the Asian Institute of Technology (Bangkok) to propose and offer a new graduate programme in this discipline, and draws on the author's experience of an Asian workshop (Bangkok, May 1993) aimed at defining the need for such a new profession in Asia.     

Conditioning uncertainty in ecological models: Assessing the impact of fire management strategies

A simple simulation model has been used to investigate whether large fires in Mediterranean regions are a result of extreme weather conditions or the cumulative effect of a policy of fire suppression over decades. The model reproduced the fire regime characteristics for a wide variety of regions of Mediterranean climate in California, France and Spain. The Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methodology was used to assess the possibility of multiple model parameter sets being consistent with the available calibration data. The resulting set of behavioural models was used to assess uncertainty in the predictions. The results suggested that (1) for a given region, the total area burned is much the same whether suppression or prescribed fire policies are used or not; however fire suppression enhances fire intensity and prescribed burning reduces it; (2) the proportion of large fires can be reduced, but not eliminated, using prescribed fires, especially in areas which have the highest proportion of large fires.     

Lessons for ecological policy design: A case study of ecosystem management

This paper explores the prospects for combining elements of the ecological and policy sciences to form a substantive and effective science of ecological policy design. This exploration is made through a case study whose specific focus is the management problem posed by competition between man and an insect (the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana) for utilization of coniferous forests in the Canadian Province of New Brunswick. We used this case study as a practical testing ground in which we examined the relative strengths, weaknesses, and complementarities of various aspects of the policy design process. Where existing approaches proved wanting, we sought to develop alternatives and to test them in turn. In particular, we used a combination of simulation modeling and topological approaches to analyze the space-time dynamics of this ecosystem under a variety of natural and managed conditions. Explicit consideration was given to the development of invalidation tests for establishing the limits of model credibility. An array of economic, social, and environmental indicators was generated by the model, enabling managers and policy makers to evaluate meaningfully the performance of the system under a variety of management proposals. Simplified versions of the models were constructed to accomodate several optimization procedures, including dynamic programming, which produced trial policies for a range of possible objectives. These trial policies were tested in the more complex model versions and heuristically modified in dialogue with New Brunswick's forest managers. We explored the role of utility functions for simplifying and contrasting policy performance measures, paying special attention to questions of time preferences and discounting. Finally, the study was shaped by a commitment to transfer the various models and policy design capabilities from their original academic setting to the desks and minds of the practicing managers and politicians. An array of workshops, model gaming sessions, and nontraditional communication formats was developed and tested in pursuit of this goal.This paper reports some specific management policies developed, and some general lessons for ecological policy design learned in the course of the study.     

Obtaining species: sample size considerations

Suppose fish are to be sampled from a stream. A fisheries biologist might ask one of the following three questions: ‘How many fish do I need to catch in order to see all of the species?’, ‘How many fish do I need to catch in order to see all species whose relative frequency is more than 5%?’, or ‘How many fish do I need to catch in order to see a member from each of the species A, B, and C?’. This paper offers a practical solution to such questions by setting a target sample size designed to achieve desired results with known probability. We present three sample size methods, one we call ‘exact’ and the others approximate. Each method is derived under assumed multinomial sampling, and requires (at least approximate) independence of draws and (usually) a large population. The minimum information needed to compute one of the approximate methods is the estimated relative frequency of the rarest species of interest. Total number of species is not needed. Choice of a sample size method depends largely on available computer resources. One approximation (called the ‘Monte Carlo approximation’) gets within ±6 units of exact sample size, but usually requires 20–30 minutes of computer time to compute. The second approximation (called the ‘ratio approximation’) can be computed manually and has relative error under 5% when all species are desired, but can be as much as 50% or more too high when exact sample size is small. Statistically, this problem is an application of the ‘sequential occupancy problem’. Three examples are given which illustrate the calculations so that a reader not interested in technical details can apply our results.     

When conservation management becomes contraindicated: impact of food supplementation on health of endangered wildlife

Understanding the conditions that force the implementation of management actions and their efficiency is crucial for conservation of endangered species. Wildlife managers are widely and increasingly using food supplementation for such species because the potentially immediate benefits may translate into rapid conservation improvements. Supplementary feeding can also pose risks eventually promoting undesired, unexpected, subtle, or indirect, and often unnoticed, effects that are generally poorly understood. For two decades, intensive food supplementation has been used in attempting to improve the breeding productivity of the Spanish Imperial Eagle, Aquila adalberti, one of the most endangered birds of prey in the world. Here, we examined the impact of this intensive management action on nestling health, including contamination, immunodepression, and acquisition of disease agents derived from supplementation techniques and provisioned food. Contrary to management expectations, we found that fed individuals were often inadvertently "medicated" with pharmaceuticals (antibiotics and antiparasitics) contained in supplementary food (domestic rabbits). Individuals fed with medicated rabbits showed a depressed immune system and a high prevalence and richness of pathogens compared with those with no or safe supplementary feeding using non-medicated wild rabbits. A higher presence of antibiotics (fluoroquinolones) was found in sick as opposed to healthy individuals among eaglets with supplementary feeding, which points directly toward a causal effect of these drugs in disease and other health impairments. This study represents a telling example of well-meaning management strategies not based on sound scientific evidence becoming a "contraindicated" action with detrimental repercussions undermining possible beneficial effects by increasing the impact of stochastic factors on extinction risk of endangered wildlife.     

Practical implementation of cumulative-effects management of marine ecosystems in western North America

Globally, ecosystem structure and function have been degraded by the cumulative effects (CE) of multiple stressors. To maintain ecosystem resilience, there is an urgent need to better account for CE in management decision-making at various scales. Current laws and regulations are supported by a multitude of frameworks and strategies that vary in application and terminology use across management agencies and geopolitical boundaries. We synthesized management frameworks that accounted for CE in marine ecosystems at the regional and national levels across western North America (Canada, United States, Mexico) to identify similarities and shared challenges to successful implementation. We examined examples of solutions to the identified challenges (e.g., interagency and cross-border partnerships to overcome challenges of managing for ecologically relevant spatial scales). Management frameworks in general consisted of 3 phases: scoping and structuring the system; characterizing relationships; and evaluating management options. Challenges in the robust implementation of these phases included lack of interagency coordination, minimal incorporation of diverse perspectives, and data deficiencies. Cases that provided solutions to these challenges encouraged coordination at ecological rather than jurisdictional scales, enhanced involvement of stakeholders and Indigenous groups, and used nontraditional data sources for decision-making. Broader implementation of these approaches, combined with increased interagency and international coordination and collaboration, should facilitate the rapid advancement of more effective CE assessment and ecosystem management in North America and elsewhere.     

Arsenic testing field kits: some considerations and recommendations

In recent years field test kits have been largely used to identify arsenic (As) levels in contaminated water sources in Bangladesh, West Bengal (India), and elsewhere in the world to establish whether or not the water is safe. Most of the kits are based on the reaction of arsine gas with some chemical agent to form a coloured complex; the intensity of the colour is compared visually with a colour-coded chart or measured electronically to calculate the concentration of As in the water sample. In this paper, a step-wise review is presented of the analytical process used in the most commonly available As field test kits and the associated shortcomings of each of these kits. We also identify the research gaps for future work to enhance the accuracy and reliability of test results produced by these kits.     

Effect of feedlot design and management on the fate and distribution of monensin

Feedlots produce a range of trace chemicals that impact human health and/or the environment. The most widely used growth promoter in intensive cattle production in Argentina is monensin, an ionophore polyether with antibacterial and coccidiostatic activity. Several beef cattle feedlots with different management systems, weather conditions, feed types and feedbunk types were selected in different agro-ecological areas of Argentina. Monensin concentrations in samples of pen soil, manure, feed and runoff were analysed. The monensin concentrations measured in soil samples suggest a strong dependence on the type of feed employed in the facility. During feed distribution by trucks to the feedbunks, some feed can reach the soil, thereby increasing the soil monensin concentration close to the feedbunks. The wide range of monensin concentrations detected in manure samples could be explained by the rapid degradation of monensin in the manure matrix. Monensin levels in runoff samples indicated that the distribution of monensin in the environment could be governed by surface phenomena including horizontal movement and adsorption of monensin in particulate material present in the runoff layers. This is the first study of monensin distribution in Argentinian feedlots and serves as the starting point for more sustainable and environmentally friendly feedlot management.     

Prioritization of applicable drivers for green supply chain management implementation toward sustainability in Thailand

ABSTRACT

It is essential that the green supply chain management (GSCM) implementation is effectively supported by several strategic drivers for successful implementation and sustainability, especially for the ‘green’ start-ups with a sustainability-driven organizational strategy. This study aims to determine and prioritize the applicable drivers for GSCM implementation of sustainable development strategies in the electronics industry in Thailand. The applicable drivers and their priorities are obtained by applying the fuzzy group decision-making approaches including fuzzy Delphi and fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process, based on Thai experts’ perspectives. In this study, three prominent organizational theories, resource-based view, relational view, and institutional theory, are needed to explain the drivers of sustainability and to develop a hierarchical model for prioritization of the drivers. Finally, based on the findings of this study, several recommendations are made that may help to improve the sustainable development in Thailand through more effective implementation of GSCM.     

The National Resources Inventory: a long-term multi-resource monitoring programme

Interest in natural resources and the environment has led to the development of new federal monitoring efforts, the expansion of existing federal inventory programmes, and discussions of inter-agency collaboration for natural resource assessment data collection. As federal programmes evolve, knowledge gained from existing long-term survey programmes can provide valuable contributions to statistical and operational aspects of survey efforts. This paper describes the National Resources Inventory (NRI), which has been conducted by the US Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service in cooperation with the Iowa State University Statistical Laboratory for several decades. The current NRI is a longitudinal survey of soil, water, and related environmental resources designed to assess conditions and trends every five years on non-federal US lands. An historical overview is provided highlighting the development of the survey programme. Sample design, data collection, and estimation procedures used in the 1992 NRI are described, and statistical issues related to long-term monitoring are discussed.     

Vigilance and foraging substrate: anti-predatory considerations in a non-standard environment

Summary The commonly studied standard anti-predatory environment presents animals with spatially-distinct feeding sites and refuges from attack, neither of which necessarily obstructs predator detection. In contrast, tree-trunks provide animals with a markedly non-standard environment in which the foraging substrate itself may be a refuge from attack that unavoidably obstructs predator detection. Thus anti-predatory behavior in this environment should be influenced not only by a perceived risk of attack, but also by the nature of the refuge/foraging substrate itself. Downy woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens) are a common tree-trunk foraging animal, and an experimental analysis of their behavior suggests that they respond appropriately to their non-standard anti-predatory environment. In particular, anti-predatory vigilance varies strongly with changes in tree trunk diameter. Two modes of vigilance were apparent. In stationary vigilance, woodpeckers maintained the position of their feet while rotating their bodies side-to-side to peer around the trunk; mobile vigilance involved movement around the trunk itself. Both the frequency and angle of rotation of stationary vigilance increased with trunk diameter, as did the frequency of mobile vigilance. The woodpeckers also held their heads farther away from the trunk surface as diameter increased. All of these measures of vigilance increased under a greater perceived risk of predation. As might be expected given these results, downy woodpeckers avoided thick trunks; they did not, however, prefer the thinnest (least obstructive) available trunks. These preferences may reflect the influence of trunk diameter on thermo-ecological and/or anti-predator considerations not related to vigilance. Overall, this arboreal environment provides an unusual perspective on anti-predator decision-making with several implications for tree-trunk foraging animals in general.     

Nest defence by song sparrows: methodological and life history considerations

Summary Several aspects of nest defence behavior were investigated in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) in eastern Ontario. Two independent tests were made of the hypothesis that the increase in nest defence observed through a nesting attempt is due to the birds becoming familiar with the nest threat, rather than because the nest contents increase in value to the parents. Neither test supported the hypothesis. As predicted by life history theory for species with age-independent mortality, males did not defend their nest more vigorously as they become older. Parents defended their nests less vigorously through the breeding season, contrary to the expected pattern of increased nest defence in response to declining renesting potential. This result may be attributable to a decline in offspring value through the breeding season. Nest defence behavior of mated individuals was positively correlated, independent of factors such as offspring age, renesting potential and brood size. From this result it is proposed that a source of variation in nest defence behavior may be individuals basing their own response on their mate's response in a positive feedback fashion. Males defended nests less vigorously than females, consistent with the expectation that males have lower certainty of parentage in the offspring. It is proposed that variation in paternal uncertainty could contribute to the unexplained variation reported in nest defence studies.     

Vegetation succession and lichen diversity on dry coastal calcium-poor dunes and the impact of management experiments

The negative impact of grass and moss encroachment on the botanical diversity of West European coastal dunes attracted increasing attention in the 1990s. This paper focuses on moss encroachment during primary succession in the xeroseries. Until the mid-1970s, vegetation types rich in species of the lichen generaCladonia andCladina were found on the fixed,Corynephorus canescens-dominated, so-called grey dunes all over the island of Terschelling, The Netherlands. In addition, species ofHypogymnia, Parmelia andUsnea, which usually grow on trees, occurred here terrestrially on moss carpets or bare sand. These vegetation types are still present on the Noordsvaarder, a nature reserve in the western part of the island. They occur on parts of seven dune ridges parallel to the coast and form a chronosequence in which age increases with distance from the sea. Our study found the highest lichen diversity on the second and third dune ridges in a stage of primary succession that can be assigned to theViolo-Corynephoretum. The changes from lichen-rich to moss-dominated stadia were significantly related to soil development and acidification in connection with the ageing of the dune soil. The superficial cutting of sods in moss-encroached vegetation appeared to be unsuccessful as a management technique for restoring the biodiversity of cryptogams. Our findings suggest that the best option for maintaining lichen vegetation in theViolo-Corynephoretum is the blow-in of sand with a subneutral or neutral pH from reactivated and natural blowouts or from foredunes, with increasing lime content respectively.     

Vegetation succession and lichen diversity on dry coastal calciumpoor dunes and the impact of management experiments

The negative impact of grass and moss encroachment on the botanical diversity of West European coastal dunes attracted increasing attention in the 1990s. This paper focuses on moss encroachment during primary succession in the xeroseries. Until the mid-1970s, vegetation types rich in species of the lichen generaCladonia andCladina were found on the fixed,Corynephorus canescens-dominated, so-called grey dunes all over the island of Terschelling, The Netherlands. In addition, species ofHypogymnia, Parmelia andUsnea, which usually grow on trees, occurred here terrestrially on moss carpets or bare sand. These vegetation types are still present on the Noordsvaarder, a nature reserve in the western part of the island. They occur on parts of seven dune ridges parallel to the coast and form a chronosequence in which age increases with distance from the sea. Our study found the highest lichen diversity on the second and third dune ridges in a stage of primary succession that can be assigned to theViolo-Corynephoretum. The changes from lichen-rich to moss-dominated stadia were significantly related to soil development and acidification in connection with the ageing of the dune soil. The superficial cutting of sods in moss-encroached vegetation appeared to be unsuccessful as a management technique for restoring the biodiversity of cryptogams. Our findings suggest that the best option for maintaining lichen vegetation in theViolo-Corynephoretum is the blow-in of sand with a subneutral or neutral pH from reactivated and natural blowouts or from foredunes, with increasing lime content respectively. Nomenclature: Van der Meijden (1990) for higher plants; Touw & Rubers (1989) for mosses; Purvis et al. (1992) for lichens. A set of lichen specimens has been deposited at the herbarium of Dr. A. Aptroot (C.B.S. Baarn) — herbarium code ABL (Taxon 44: 258).