Discounted knowledges: farmers» and residents» understandings of nature conservation goals and policies

Local Biodiversity Action Plans are the preferred policy mechanism for setting and delivering local biodiversity targets in the UK. This paper reviews the kind of knowledge conservation scientists envisage being used to identify and set local targets, and explores the means of incorporating local knowledge into this process. We use a case study of a Wildlife Enhancement Scheme (WES) on the Pevensey Levels, East Sussex, to reveal the understandings that local farmers and residents have of the nature conservation goals and practices associated with the scheme. Drawing on the findings of in-depth discussion groups, we show how farmers challenge both the monopoly of knowledge conservationists profess about nature, and the enlistment of farmers on the scheme as «technicians», motivated solely by financial rewards, rather than as knowledgeable experts who also have emotional attachments and ethical values for nature. Local people use their knowledge of both local farmers, and the industry in general, to challenge the assumption that farmers can be trusted with delivering nature conservation goals. In the absence of a commitment by central government to agree widely-held environmental standards, and a more democratic process of making judgements about what local nature is worth conserving, local residents challenge existing processes designed to conserve nature that are driven by the knowledge and practices of official experts alone. The findings of the study suggest that a widening of the knowledge base on which the goals and practices of nature conservation are founded, and a more deliberative process of making decisions about what nature is important locally, will secure and strengthen public support for local biodiversity action plans.1998 Academic Press     

A Case Study of Landholder Attitudes and Behaviour Toward the Conservation of Renosterveld,a Critically Endangered Vegetation Type in Cape Floral Kingdom,South Africa

The attitudes and behaviours of private landholders toward the conservation of a highly transformed and critically endangered habitat, Overberg Coastal Renosterveld (OCR) (a grassy shrubland of the Cape Floral Region, South Africa) are described. Personal, semistructured interviews were conducted with landholders, representing 40 properties in the Overberg region, on topics such as management and utilisation of OCR, the depth of their knowledge of its conservation importance, what they perceive its value to be, and the extent of their willingness to conserve it. General attitudes toward conservation incentives and provincial conservation authorities were also investigated. Farmers more willing to conserve were younger, did not necessarily have a better education, and owned larger farms (>500 ha) with a greater amount of remnant renosterveld (>300 ha) than those less willing to conserve. Attitudes toward the OCR were largely negative, related to associated problem plants and animals and the fact that it is believed not to be economically advantageous to retain it. However, farmers are of the opinion that provision of incentives and increased extension support will provide practical positive inducements for conservation. Landholder education is paramount to prevent further transformation of critically endangered habitats. The success of private-conservation programs depends on the attitudes of landowners toward (1) the particular habitat or species to be conserved (which can vary depending on the type of land use practised and the associated benefits and disadvantages of that habitat type); (2) the conservation agency or extension officers responsible for that area; and (3) willingness of landowners to participate in a conservation program, which is influenced by landowner age, farm size, and the amount of natural habitat left to conserve.     

Idle emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles: review and recent data

Heavy-duty diesel vehicle idling consumes fuel and reduces atmospheric quality, but its restriction cannot simply be proscribed, because cab heat or air-conditioning provides essential driver comfort. A comprehensive tailpipe emissions database to describe idling impacts is not yet available. This paper presents a substantial data set that incorporates results from the West Virginia University transient engine test cell, the E-55/59 Study and the Gasoline/Diesel PM Split Study. It covered 75 heavy-duty diesel engines and trucks, which were divided into two groups: vehicles with mechanical fuel injection (MFI) and vehicles with electronic fuel injection (EFI). Idle emissions of CO, hydrocarbon (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), particulate matter (PM), and carbon dioxide (CO2) have been reported. Idle CO2 emissions allowed the projection of fuel consumption during idling. Test-to-test variations were observed for repeat idle tests on the same vehicle because of measurement variation, accessory loads, and ambient conditions. Vehicles fitted with EFI, on average, emitted approximately 20 g/hr of CO, 6 g/hr of HC, 86 g/hr of NOx, 1 g/hr of PM, and 4636 g/hr of CO2 during idle. MFI equipped vehicles emitted approximately 35 g/hr of CO, 23 g/hr of HC, 48 g/hr of NOx, 4 g/hr of PM, and 4484 g/hr of CO2, on average, during idle. Vehicles with EFI emitted less idle CO, HC, and PM, which could be attributed to the efficient combustion and superior fuel atomization in EFI systems. Idle NOx, however, increased with EFI, which corresponds with the advancing of timing to improve idle combustion. Fuel injection management did not have any effect on CO2 and, hence, fuel consumption. Use of air conditioning without increasing engine speed increased idle CO2, NOx, PM, HC, and fuel consumption by 25% on average. When the engine speed was elevated from 600 to 1100 revolutions per minute, CO2 and NOx emissions and fuel consumption increased by >150%, whereas PM and HC emissions increased by approximately 100% and 70%, respectively. Six Detroit Diesel Corp. (DDC) Series 60 engines in engine test cell were found to emit less CO, NOx, and PM emissions and consumed fuel at only 75% of the level found in the chassis dynamometer data. This is because fan and compressor loads were absent in the engine test cell.     

Quantifying Loss of Acoustic Communication Space for Right Whales in and around a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary

The effects of chronic exposure to increasing levels of human‐induced underwater noise on marine animal populations reliant on sound for communication are poorly understood. We sought to further develop methods of quantifying the effects of communication masking associated with human‐induced sound on contact‐calling North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in an ecologically relevant area (～10,000 km²) and time period (peak feeding time). We used an array of temporary, bottom‐mounted, autonomous acoustic recorders in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary to monitor ambient noise levels, measure levels of sound associated with vessels, and detect and locate calling whales. We related wind speed, as recorded by regional oceanographic buoys, to ambient noise levels. We used vessel‐tracking data from the Automatic Identification System to quantify acoustic signatures of large commercial vessels. On the basis of these integrated sound fields, median signal excess (the difference between the signal‐to‐noise ratio and the assumed recognition differential) for contact‐calling right whales was negative (?1 dB) under current ambient noise levels and was further reduced (?2 dB) by the addition of noise from ships. Compared with potential communication space available under historically lower noise conditions, calling right whales may have lost, on average, 63–67% of their communication space. One or more of the 89 calling whales in the study area was exposed to noise levels ≥120 dB re 1 μPa by ships for 20% of the month, and a maximum of 11 whales were exposed to noise at or above this level during a single 10‐min period. These results highlight the limitations of exposure‐threshold (i.e., dose‐response) metrics for assessing chronic anthropogenic noise effects on communication opportunities. Our methods can be used to integrate chronic and wide‐ranging noise effects in emerging ocean‐planning forums that seek to improve management of cumulative effects of noise on marine species and their habitats. Cuantificación de la Pérdida de Espacio de Comunicación Acústica para Ballenas Francas Dentro y Alrededor de un Santuario Marino Nacional en E. U. A.     

Coupling hydrologic and economic modeling for wetland management multi-optimization in Tram Chim National Park,Vietnam

We developed a comprehensive coupling framework with a multi-objective optimization that bridges a water balance model (WBM) and a wetland service model (WSM) to supporting wetland management. The framework was tested for management in Tram Chim National Park (with four wetland zones) where hydro-economic optimization was needed. The framework used (1) a model coupling process bridging WBM and WSM to create a modular hydro-economic model (MHEM), (2) a multi-objective optimization, and (3) an anneal scheduling for scenario optimization. The framework demonstrated its competency in identifying cause–effect/interaction flows (bridges) between WBM and WSM to design MHEM to simulate optimized scenarios; for the case study, the multi-objective optimization was met for all wetland zones. Results suggested a flexible consideration of management scales for optimization, i.e. hydrologic optimization at a zone level and net benefit optimization at a Park level. Our framework is applicable to supporting complex wetland decisions considering multiple objectives.     

SPRINGFLOW EFFECTS ON CHEMICAL LOADS IN THE SNAKE RWER,SOUTH-CENTRAL IDAHO1

ABSTRACT: The 150-kilometer middle reach of the Snake River (middle Snake) in south-central Idaho receives large quantities of water from springs discharging along the north side of the river from the regional Snake River Plain aquifer. Water-quality samples collected from nine north-side springs in April 1994 indicated that springs in the upstream part of the reach had larger concentrations of dissolved solids, dissolved nitrate, total nitrogen, tritium, and heavy isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen than to springs in the downstream part of the reach. Because the spring chemistry varies in the reach, discharge from the springs resulted in a degradation in water quality in some parts of the middle Snake and improvements in water quality in other parts. Depending on the annual discharge in the Snake River, the contribution from the north-side springs represented 33 to 66 percent of the discharge, 32 to 57 percent of the dissolved solids, 26 to 50 percent of the total nitrogen, and 7 to 14 percent of the total phosphorus transported annually from the middle Snake. Synoptic sampling showed that the north-side springs contributed 84 percent of the discharge and 35, 40, and 10 percent of the dissolved solids, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus load, respectively, to the Snake River during the peak of the irrigation season in 1994.