Global Marine Protection Targets: How S.M.A.R.T are They?

Global marine protection targets have been criticised for being ecologically irrelevant and often inadequate. However, they may also provide motivation for conservation action. However, no such targets have yet been met, and the health of the marine environment has continued to deteriorate. The Tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recently adopted a new marine protection target, in October, 2010. As such, it is timely to critically assess the potential role of this and other global marine protection targets in conservation and marine resource management. Three targets adopted in the past ten years were assessed using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timebound) framework. This assessment showed that the targets appear to have evolved to have become ‘SMARTer’ over time, particularly more Specific. The most recent CBD target also appears to be more Achievable than earlier targets. Three broad issues emerged that can inform the potential role, limitations, and challenges associated with global-scale marine protection targets: (i) that SMART target formulation, implementation, monitoring, and revision, is critically underpinned by relevant data and information; (ii) that perceived irrelevance of global targets may be at least partly due to a mismatch between the scale at which the targets were intended to operate, and the scale at which they have sometimes been assessed; and (iii) the primary role of global-scale targets may indeed be psychological rather than ecological. Recent progress indicates some success in this role, which could be built on with further ‘SMARTening’ of targets.     

A dynamic model for intertemporal allocation of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest

Across the globe, continued policy debates regarding the management of old-growth forests center around the difficult task of balancing economic and ecological considerations. Though the forests of the Pacific Northwest United States are among the most studied old-growth ecosystems, ecological and economic analyses have yielded public land management directives that remain controversial. Specifically, the recently adopted Northwest Forest Plan lacks explicit goals for maintaining intergenerational equity for the use of forest resources and the diversity of old-growth ecosystems. Unlike previous studies which rely on monetary quantification of costs and benefits, this study develops and applies a conceptual framework for evaluating socially optimal Pacific Northwest old-growth forest utilization strategies. Conditions for the optimal management of old-growth forests are derived using dynamic programming. The objective function synthesizes relevant biological and economic attributes of the old-growth allocation problem. Results in the form of extraction paths are compared given social pressure for consumptive and non-consumptive benefits, as well as different planning horizons, rates of social time preference, and environmental variance. Lengthening the planning horizon results in a vast divergence of optimal policies in the absence of discounting. Extraction rates appear to approach zero as the planning horizon approaches infinity. While higher rates of social time preference increase the rate of extraction, forest stocks remaining at the terminal time period equal levels remaining with a lower discount rate. Increasing environmental variance results in a higher level of stock remaining at the terminal time period. This analysis, while specific to the old-growth controversy of the Pacific Northwest, does provide general guidelines for addressing similar problems of multiple uses of natural areas, particularly where such uses are mutually incompatible, or where one use may be irreversibly destructive to another.     

Water resources issues of small island developing states

The water resources of most small island developing states (SIDS) are often very limited and require special consideration to ensure that they are developed and managed in a sustainable manner. Many small islands, typically located in the humid tropics, have no surface water resources and rely on limited groundwater resources in the form of thin freshwater lenses. The exposed location of small islands makes them particularly vulnerable to natural disasters such as cyclones, floods and droughts. Pollution from population centres and from agricultural and other activities is an increasing problem. This article provides an overview of the water resources of small islands, and the main problems and issues related to water resources. Some suggested solutions, based on practical experiences, are offered for water resource assessment and monitoring programmes, and water resource development. Water resource policy, planning and management issues are also addressed, and suggested approaches for resolving some of the major water resource problems presented.     

Selecting islands and shoals for conservation based on biological and aesthetic criteria

Consideration of biological quality has long been an important component of rating areas for conservation. Often these same areas are highly valued by people for aesthetic reasons, creating demands for housing and recreation that may conflict with protection plans for these habitats. Most methods of selecting land for conservation purposes use biological factors alone. For some land areas, analysis of aesthetic qualities is also important in describing the scenic value of undisturbed land. A method for prioritizing small islands and shoals based on both biological and visual quality factors is presented here. The study included 169 undeveloped islands and shoals ⩽0.8 ha in the Thousand Islands Region of the St. Lawrence River, New York. Criteria such as critical habitat for uncommon plant and animal species were considered together with visual quality and incorporated into a rating system that ranked the islands and shoals according to their priority for conservation management and protection from development. Biological factors were determined based on previous research and a field survey. Visual quality was determined by visual diagnostic criteria developed from public responses to photographs of a sample of islands. Variables such as elevation, soil depth, and type of plant community can be used to classify islands into different categories of visual quality but are unsuccessful in classifying islands into categories of overall biological quality.     

Organic carbon diminution and estimates of carbon dioxide release from plantation soil

Summary This paper evaluates the rates of organic carbon diminution in the soil under monospecific tree plantations of teak, gmelina, rubber, oil palm, cashew and coffee. The differences between the organic carbon status of their soils and soil under nearby natural rain forest vegetation are compared. Annual rates of organic carbon decrease for the 0–10 cm soil layer, varied from 82.1 kg ha^–1 for cashew to 316.7 kg ha^–1 for oil palm. The tree plantations appear to release more carbon dioxide from the soil into the atmosphere than the natural forest. They therefore, appear to have the potential of contributing towards global warming — a threat they are supposed to mitigate.     

REDD+ in Africa: contexts and challenges

REDD+, a climate change mitigation mechanism that values carbon in tropical forests, is expected to provide Africa with a range of environmental and socio‐economic benefits. Drawing on a vast array of literature and personal experiences, this review analyzed particular features and challenges that REDD+ implementation has faced on the continent. The distinct contexts and major challenges regarding governance, finance and technical capacities are discussed, and mechanisms to fill these gaps are suggested. Radical land tenure reform and a perfect safeguard mechanism that transfers forest land and carbon to the communities are unlikely. REDD+ should rather look for systems that respect local institutional arrangements, and allow forest‐based communities to participate in decision‐making and benefit sharing, particularly benefits from emerging REDD+. Finances for REDD+ infrastructure and the results‐based payment are in short supply. While negotiating for potential external sources in the short term, Africa should generate domestic financial resources and look for additional payments for ecosystem services. Africa should also negotiate for forest monitoring capacity building, while strengthening local community forest monitoring. This review contributes to an improved understanding of the contexts and challenges to consider in the capacity and policy development for REDD+ implementation.     

Evaluation of Satellite‐Derived Rainfall Data for Multiple Physio‐Climatic Regions in the Santiago River Basin,Mexico

Assessment of water resources requires reliable rainfall data, and rain gauge networks may not provide adequate spatial representation due to limited point measurements. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) provides rainfall data at global scale, and has been used with good results. However, TRMM data are an indirect measurement of rainfall, and therefore must be validated for its proper use. In this work, a validation scheme was designed and implemented to compare the TRMM Version 7 (V7) monthly rainfall product at different time frames with data measured in two hydrologic subregions of the Santiago River Basin (SRB) in Mexico: Río Alto Santiago and Río Bajo Santiago (RBS). Additionally, three physio‐climatic regions provide an assessment of the interplay of topography, distance from coastal regions, and seasonal weather patterns on the correspondence between both datasets. The TRMM V7 rainfall product exhibited good agreement with the rain gauge data particularly for the RBS and for the whole SRB during wettest summer and autumn seasons. However, strong regional dependence was observed due to differences in climate and topography. Overall, in spite of some noted underestimations, the monthly TRMM V7 rainfall product was found to provide useful information that can be used to complement limited monitoring as is the case of RBS. An improved combined rainfall product could be generated and thus gaining the most benefits from both data sources.     

The application of an indicator based on taxonomic distinctness for UK marine biodiversity assessments

Mankind needs to use the resources and opportunities offered by the marine environment while protecting ecological processes and systems. This is the foundation for sustainable development, which can only be achieved by adopting an appropriate management approach. Whether internationally or at a regional scale, successful management of marine ecosystems needs to be based on a scientifically robust approach to monitoring environmental change. Within such a framework, the conservation of marine biological diversity is problematic, as many conventional measures of diversity are not appropriate for measuring the types of change that require management. New indicators are required and in this paper we summarise some of the current methodology being used to derive such indices, which may be used to evaluate the effectiveness of marine stewardship initiatives. Through a series of examples we demonstrate the application of the taxonomic distinctness indicator of biodiversity to marine environmental assessment and its development towards becoming an operational tool.     

国家海洋公园建设的制度经验与优化

我国正逐步完善以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系的顶层设计,将国家公园定义为具有国家代表性的"陆域或海域"。但与国外相比,我国现有海洋类自然保护地单个及总体面积都不大,管理上也存在碎块化的问题,没有地域广阔、覆盖更完整生物链的国家海洋公园,离实现海洋生态系统性保护的目标尚有距离。而事实上,我国已经具备相关制度供给,既拥有国际规范支撑,也积累了本国海洋类自然保护地建设的法治成果,只是仍存在一些制度障碍需要克服,需进一步优化、整合原有的海洋类自然保护地体系以匹配新体制。建议明确国家海洋公园的国家公园属性,调整国家公园的监管主体,统筹陆海不同的功能分区,构建中国特色的国家海洋公园管理体制。     

Recovery of trailside vegetation from trampling in a tropical rain forest

Practically no information exists on the impact of human trampling on tropical rain forest vegetation. We studied three trails with varying periods of use and recovery in a tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. Human impact on trailside plants was curvilinearly related to use, as found by other workers in temperate zone vegetation. Recovery in a period of two years and eight months had been rapid, and herbs and seedlings were more abundant along the recovering trail than in undisturbed forest. The results imply that a shifting mosaic of trails, analogous to the mosaic created by light gaps, may be the best management technique to minimize the impact of human visitors in tropical rain forests.     

Performance Assessment of Rain Gardens1

Abstract: The most widely used approach for evaluating the performance of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) such as rain gardens is monitoring, but this approach can involve a long time period to observe a sufficient number and variety of storm events, a high level of effort, and unavoidable uncertainty. In this paper, we describe the development and evaluation of three approaches for performance assessment of rain gardens: visual inspection, infiltration rate testing, and synthetic drawdown testing. Twelve rain gardens in Minnesota underwent visual inspection, with four determined to be nonfunctional based on one or more of the following criteria: (1) presence of ponded water, (2) presence of hydric soils, (3) presence of emergent (wetland) vegetation, and (4) failing vegetation. It is believed that these rain gardens failed due to a lack of maintenance. For the remaining eight rain gardens, an infiltrometer was used to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_sat) of the soil surface at several locations throughout each basin in what is termed infiltration rate testing. The median K_sat values for the rain gardens ranged from 3 to 72 cm/h. Synthetic drawdown testing was performed on three rain gardens by filling the basins with water to capacity where possible and recording water level over time. The observed drain times for two of those rain gardens were in good agreement with predictions based on the median of the infiltrometer measurements. The observed drain time for the third rain garden was much greater than predicted due to the presence of a restrictive soil layer beneath the topsoil. The assessment approaches developed in this research should prove useful for determining whether the construction of the rain garden was performed properly, a rain garden is functioning properly, and for developing maintenance tasks and schedules.     

Accounting for the occupation of the marine environment as a natural resource in life cycle assessment: An exergy based approach

The human population is rising and the availability of terrestrial land and its resources are finite and, perhaps, not sufficient to deliver enough food, energy, materials and space. Thus, it is important to (further) explore and exploit the marine environment which covers no less than 71% of the earth's surface. The marine environment is very complex but can roughty be divided into two systems: natural (e.g. wild fishing) and human-made (e.g. artificial islands). In this study, characterization factors (CF) for natural and human-made marine systems were calculated in order to be able to assess the environmental impact of occupying marine surfaces, which was not possible so far in life cycle assessment. When accounting for natural resources while occupying one of these systems, it is important to consider the primary resources that are actually deprived from nature, which differs between the natural and human-made marine systems.In natural systems, the extracted biomass was accounted for through its exergy content, which is the maximum quantity of work that the system can execute in its environment. Reference flows for marine fish, seaweeds, crustaceans and mollusks were proposed and their correlated CF was calculated. For human-made systems, the deprived land resource is, in fact, the occupied area of the marine surface. Based on potential marine net primary production data (NPP), exergy based spatial and temporal CFs for ocean areal occupation were calculated. This approach was included in the Cumulative Exergy Extraction from the Natural Environment (CEENE) method which makes it the first life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method capable of analyzing the environmental impact (and more specific the resource footprint) of marine areal occupation. Furthermore, the methodology was applied to two case studies: comparing resource consumption of on- and offshore oil production, and fish and soybean meal production for fish feed applications.     

The Potential Influence of Seasonal Climate Variables on the Net Primary Production of Forests in Eastern China

Knowledge of the effects of climate factors on net primary production (NPP) is pivotal to understanding ecosystem processes in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Our goal was to evaluate four different categories of effects (physical, climatic, NDVI, and all effects[global]) as predictors of forest NPP in eastern China. We developed regression models with data from 221 NPP in eastern China and identified the best model with each of the four categories of effects. Models explained a large part of the variability in NPP, ranging from 46.8% in global model to 36.5% in NDVI model. In the most supported global model, winter temperature and sunshine duration negatively affected NPP, while winter precipitation positively affected NPP. Thus, winter climate conditions play an important role in modulating forest NPP of eastern China. Spring temperature had a positive affect on NPP, which was likely because a favorable warm climate in the early growing season promotes forest growth. Forest NPP was also negatively affected by summer and autumn temperatures, possibly because these are related to temperature induced drought stress. In the NDVI model, forest NPP was affected by NDVI in spring (positive), summer (negative) and winter (negative) seasons. Our study provides insight into seasonal effects of climate and NPP of forest in China, as well as useful knowledge for the development of climate-vegetation models.     

Restoring Forest Landscapes: Important Lessons Learnt

Forest restoration at large scales, or landscapes, is an approach that is increasingly relevant to the practice of environmental conservation. However, implementation remains a challenge; poor monitoring and lesson learning lead to similar mistakes being repeated. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global conservation organization, recently took stock of its 10 years of implementation of forest landscape restoration. A significant body of knowledge has emerged from the work of the WWF and its partners in the different countries, which can be of use to the wider conservation community, but for this to happen, lessons need to be systematically collected and disseminated in a coherent manner to the broader conservation and development communities and, importantly, to policy makers. We use this review of the WWF’s experiences and compare and contrast it with other relevant and recent literature to highlight 11 important lessons for future large-scale forest restoration interventions. These lessons are presented using a stepwise approach to the restoration of forested landscapes. We identify the need for long-term commitment and funding, and a concerted and collaborative effort for successful forest landscape restoration. Our review highlights that monitoring impact within landscape-scale forest restoration remains inadequate. We conclude that forest restoration within landscapes is a challenging yet important proposition that has a real but undervalued place in environmental conservation in the twenty-first century.     

中国自然保护地70年发展历程与成效

新中国成立70年来,我国自然保护地体系逐步完善。在生态系统与重要自然资源保护方面,形成了由自然保护区、风景名胜区、森林公园、地质公园、自然文化遗产、湿地公园、水产种质资源保护区、海洋特别保护区、特别保护海岛等组成的保护地体系。在生态空间保护方面,率先在国际上提出和实施生态保护红线,构建了以重要生态功能区、生态脆弱区和生物多样性保护区为主体的生态保护红线技术体系,成为我国新世纪一项重大生态保护工程,并开展了生态功能区划、主体功能区划。在保护机制上,于2015年启动了国家公园体制,并开展试点示范。本文从以上三个方面概要分析了我国自然保护地的发展历程和发展成效。     

Management Relevance of Benthic Biogeography at Multiple Scales in Coastal Waters of the Northeast U.S.

Continuing pressures from human activities have harmed the health of ocean ecosystems, particularly those near the coast. Current management practices that operate on one sector at a time have not resulted in healthy oceans that can sustainably provide the ecosystem services humans want and need. Now, adoption of ecosystem-based management (EBM) and coastal and marine spatial planning (CMSP) as foundational principles for ocean management in the United States should result in a more holistic approach. Recent marine biogeographical studies and benthic habitat mapping using satellite imagery, large-scale monitoring programs, ocean observation systems, acoustic and video techniques, landscape ecology, geographic information systems, integrated databases, and ecological modeling provide information that can support EBM, make CMSP ecologically meaningful, and contribute to planning for marine biodiversity conservation. Examples from coastal waters along the northeast coast of the United States from Delaware Bay to Passamaquoddy Bay, Maine, illustrate how benthic biogeography and bottom seascape diversity information is a useful lens through which to view EBM and CMSP in nearshore waters. The focus is on benthic communities, which are widely used in monitoring programs and are sensitive to many stresses from human activities.     

Monitoring forest biodiversity: a European perspective with reference to temperate and boreal forest zone

Recent state of forest biodiversity at the European level was reviewed and analysed with respect to the current requirements from the environmental policies as well as with respect to scientific findings in the field. The analysis reveals the main deficits and development needs, and outlines some possible courses for future action. Specific reference is given to the boreal, Atlantic and continental regions of Europe.Especially the operational definition of biodiversity, the selection of the scale and consideration of the most appropriate indicators and data collection methods are of primary importance when defining a monitoring approach. The results of a recent assessment at national scale contribute to an improved understanding, but show some shortcomings with respect to the level of detail. The high variability of the distribution, structure and composition of forests in Europe can be comprised only partially when the monitoring follows national borders. To detect changes in time for corrective measures and to be able to apply appropriate threshold values for biodiversity indicators a more detailed approach, which takes into account different bio-geographical regions and forest ecosystem types, is needed. Technically, this could be based on aggregation national forest inventories or European-wide sampling scheme combined with remote sensing data and distinct forest types or categories.     

Role of a Comprehensive Toxicity Assessment and Monitoring Program in the Management and Ecological Recovery of a Wastewater Receiving Stream

National Pollution Discharge Elimination Permit (NPDES)-driven effluent toxicity tests using Ceriodaphnia dubia and fathead minnows were conducted for more than 20 years to assess and monitor the effects of wastewaters at the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12 Complex) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Toxicity testing was also conducted on water samples from East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC), the wastewater receiving stream, as part of a comprehensive biological monitoring and assessment program. In this paper, we evaluate the roles of this long-term toxicity assessment and monitoring program in the management and ecological recovery of EFPC. Effluent toxicity testing, associated toxicant evaluation studies, and ambient toxicity monitoring were instrumental in identifying toxicant sources at the Y-12 Complex, guiding modifications to wastewater treatment procedures, and assessing the success of various pollution-abatement actions. The elimination of untreated wastewater discharges, the dechlorination of remaining wastewater streams, and the implementation of flow management at the stream headwaters were the primary actions associated with significant reductions in the toxicity of stream water in the upper reaches of EFPC from the late 1980s through mid 1990s. Through time, as regulatory requirements changed and water quality improved, emphasis shifted from comprehensive toxicity assessments to more focused toxicity monitoring efforts. Ambient toxicity testing with C. dubia and fathead minnows was supplemented with less-standardized but more sensitive alternative laboratory toxicity tests and in situ bioassays. The Y-12 Complex biological monitoring experience demonstrates the value of toxicity studies to the management of a wastewater receiving stream.     

Plantation forestry and forest conservation in Nigeria

Summary This paper examines the depletion of Nigeria's natural forest resources consequent upon exploitation without adequate conservation. It also examines plantation forestry as the government's strategy for replenishing the country's lumber resources. It argues that it is ecologically unwise to clear-fell reserves of native rain forest and replant them with monoculture tree plantations, especially of the exotics, teak and gmelina, and stresses the need to conserve the rain forest ecosystem in southern Nigeria.Dr A.O. Aweto is Senior Lecturer in Biogeography in the Department of Geography at the University of Ibadan. His research focuses primarily on tropical soils and vegetation, their utilisation and management.     

The digital frontiers of fisheries governance: fish attraction devices,drones and satellites

ABSTRACT

High seas fisheries remain one of the least transparent global production practices. Distance from shore, coupled with the highly mobile nature of fish stocks, has put attention on new monitoring, control and surveillance technologies to collect spatially referenced data on the location of fishing vessels, gears and even fish stocks and eradicate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activity. Faced with their nascent implementation, research is yet to address how these technologies are reconfiguring the roles and responsibilities of public and private actors involved in fisheries management, including who collects and controls fisheries related information. In this paper, we compare three monitoring, control and surveillance technologies that are gaining traction in fisheries; the use of private fish attraction devices in oceanic tuna fisheries, unmanned public drones for marine surveillance and global satellite monitoring of fishing vessels. In doing so, we question how different configurations of actors are structuring flows of information and with what effect on sustainability performance of high seas fisheries. We also explore how these technologies configure new (and imagined) geographies of high seas fisheries which challenge existing modes of fisheries management.