Trends in Deforestation and Forest Degradation after a Decade of Monitoring in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico

We used aerial photographs, satellite images, and field surveys to monitor forest cover in the core zones of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico from 2001 to 2012. We used our data to assess the effectiveness of conservation actions that involved local, state, and federal authorities and community members (e.g., local landowners and private and civil organizations) in one of the world's most iconic protected areas. From 2001 through 2012, 1254 ha were deforested (i.e., cleared areas had <10% canopy cover), 925 ha were degraded (i.e., areas for which canopy forest decreased), and 122 ha were affected by climatic conditions. Of the total 2179 ha of affected area, 2057 ha were affected by illegal logging: 1503 ha by large‐scale logging and 554 ha by small‐scale logging. Mexican authorities effectively enforced efforts to protect the monarch reserve, particularly from 2007 to 2012. Those efforts, together with the decade‐long financial support from Mexican and international philanthropists and businesses to create local alternative‐income generation and employment, resulted in the decrease of large‐scale illegal logging from 731 ha affected in 2005–2007 to none affected in 2012, although small‐scale logging is of growing concern. However, dire regional social and economic problems remain, and they must be addressed to ensure the reserve's long‐term conservation. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) overwintering colonies in Mexico—which engage in one of the longest known insect migrations—are threatened by deforestation, and a multistakeholder, regional, sustainable‐development strategy is needed to protect the reserve. Tendencias en la Deforestación y la Degradación de Forestal después de una Década de Monitoreo en la Reserva de la Biósfera de la Mariposa Monarca en México     

Moving Towards Sustainable Development? Integrating Economic Development and the Environment in Local Authorities

The recent growth of interest in sustainable development has led to the incorporation of the concept into policy making at a variety of scales. In all cases particular emphasis is placed upon the local scale as the focus for the implementation of policy and initiatives and especially upon local authorities as the major contributor to this process. There has been little assessment, however, of the extent to which local authorities either can, or are, undertaking such initiatives. This paper examines: the potential role that local authorities can play in integrating economic development and the environment; the forms of response and initiatives that are currently in place, drawing upon survey evidence from urban local authorities in England and Wales; and some of the limits to local authority action.     

Evaluation of Biogeographic Classification Schemes for Conservation Planning: Application to New Zealand's Coastal Marine Environment

Abstract:  For many regions worldwide, multiple and often contrasting biogeographic classifications exist that are derived from a variety of taxa and techniques. This presents a challenge for managers who must choose appropriate large-scale spatial frameworks for systematic conservation planning. We demonstrate how systematically collected community data can be used to evaluate existing biogeographic classifications, identify the most appropriate metric for biogeographic patterns seen in other taxonomic groups, and develop an independent biogeographic classification scheme for systematic conservation planning. We evaluated 6 existing biogeographic classifications for New Zealand's nearshore marine environment with community-similarity metrics derived from abundance and presence–absence data for macroalgae (107 species) and mobile macroinvertebrates (44 species). The concordance between community metrics and the previous classifications was high, as indicated by a high multivariate classification success (CS) (74.3–98.3%). Subsequently, we carried out an independent classification analysis on each community metric to identify biogeographic units within a hierarchical spatial framework. The classification derived from macroalgal presence–absence data achieved the highest CS and could be used as a mesoscale classification scheme in which 11 regional groupings (i.e., bioregions) (CS = 73.8–84.8%) are nested within northern and southern biogeographic provinces (CS = 90.3–98.7%). These techniques can be used in systematic conservation planning to inform the design of representative and comprehensive networks of marine protected areas through evaluation of the current coverage of marine reserves in each bioregion. Currently, 0.22% of the territorial sea around mainland New Zealand is protected in no-take marine protected areas in which 0–1.5% of each bioregion represented.     

Value of Small Patches in the Conservation of Plant-Species Diversity in Highly Fragmented Rainforest

Abstract:  We evaluated the importance of small (<5 ha) forest patches for the conservation of regional plant diversity in the tropical rainforest of Los Tuxtlas, Mexico. We analyzed the density of plant species (number of species per 0.1 ha) in 45 forest patches of different sizes (1–700 ha) in 3 landscapes with different deforestation levels (4, 11, and 24% forest cover). Most of the 364 species sampled (360 species, 99%) were native to the region, and only 4 (1%) were human-introduced species. Species density in the smallest patches was high and variable; the highest (84 species) and lowest (23 species) number of species were recorded in patches of up to 1.8 ha. Despite the small size of these patches, they contained diverse communities of native plants, including endangered and economically important species. The relationship between species density and area was significantly different among the landscapes, with a significant positive slope only in the landscape with the highest deforestation level. This indicates that species density in a patch of a given size may vary among landscapes that have different deforestation levels. Therefore, the conservation value of a patch depends on the total forest cover remaining in the landscape. Our findings revealed, however, that a great portion of regional plant diversity was located in very small forest patches (<5 ha), most of the species were restricted to only a few patches (41% of the species sampled were distributed in only 1–2 patches, and almost 70% were distributed in 5 patches) and each landscape conserved a unique plant assemblage. The conservation and restoration of small patches is therefore necessary to effectively preserve the plant diversity of this strongly deforested and unique Neotropical region.     

Adsorption of pesticides by salorthids and camborthids of Punjab,Pakistan

This study was conducted to examine adsorption of pesticides bifenthrin, carbosulfan, λ-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, endosulfan, parathion methyl, monocrotophos and 4-nitrophenol by sandy clay loam (S.C.L) and sandy loam (S.L) soils (with varying organic content). There was no significant difference between the observed soil water partitioning coefficient values (K _d) derived from linear and nonlinear Freundlich isotherms. Adsorption of pesticides on S.C.L soils was higher than those on S.L soils. K _d values showed significant correlations (r ²?=?0.8???0.99 and 0.65???0.97) with soil organic carbon content (OC) and weak correlations (r ²?=?0.2???0.29 and 0.1???0.18) with clay contents of S.C.L and S.L soil at p?≤?0.05, respectively for all pesticides (except monocrotophos). Observed K _oc values (soil-water partitioning constants based on the organic C fraction of the soil) were in accordance with the literature values of Wauchope and Tomlin with a maximum deviation of less than 0.5 log units. Ten Quantitative Property-Property Relationships (QPPR) among water solubility, n-octanol water coefficient (K _ow) and K _oc were proposed for studied pesticides except monocrotophos. The models were considered acceptable when predicted-observed difference for log?K _ow and log?K _oc were ≤?0.3 and ≤?0.5?log units, respectively, during the validation procedure. This work indicates that the log?K _oc derived from the log K_ow, from some of existing relationships, may be a fair predictor where observed values (i.e., K _d and K _oc) are not available. Furthermore, predicted leaching potential by groundwater ubiquity scores (GUS) equation was solved by using observed K _oc values and literature reported half lives of pesticides. GUS ranked the mobility of nonvolatile compounds i.e., bifenthrin, λ-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin and endosulfan extremely low; methyl parathion very low; 4-nitrophenol low; carbofuran and monocrotophos very high in S.C.L and S.L soils, respectively. Results discussed in this paper provide background to prioritize pesticides or chemical groups that should be evaluated under field conditions with regard to their leaching potential to groundwater in arid climates.     

Contingent Valuation and Real Economic Commitments: Evidence from Electric Utility Green Pricing Programmes

This paper presents the findings of two 'green pricing' studies conducted to evaluate public support of utilities' investments in renewable energy technologies. These studies compared hypothetical WTP statements with actual payment commitments. The results of these studies indicate that the CVM can be an accurate indicator of an individual's WTP, but that it is an unreliable predictor of which individuals will actually pay. This has important implications for aggregating mean WTP estimates of the value of environmental benefits. It also suggests that market simulations can be useful for predicting programme participation rates when voluntary donations are used as a payment vehicle.