Attitudes Toward Wilderness Study Areas: A Survey of Six Southeastern Utah Counties

Southeastern Utah is a region of world-renowned red-rock sandstone formations, large tracts of federal public land, rural communities centered on agriculture and extractive industries, and is often at the epicenter of environmental protection efforts in the western United States. Environmental groups have proposed formal Wilderness designations for much of the regions public land—proposals that have been actively fought by rural community leaders who do not want large areas locked-up from traditional livelihood and recreational uses. The debate over wilderness designation in the region has been characterized in the media as one that is particularly contentious and polarizing. A survey of southeastern Utah residents was conducted in order to better understand this conflict. The survey focused on attitudes toward wilderness designation and management. We found that residents of southeastern Utah have negative attitudes towards the designation and management of Wilderness Study Areas. We propose that these attitudes should be carefully considered and engaged in future policy and management decisions. We suggest that negative opinions expressed by residents of southeastern Utah are not directed primarily at the concept of environmental protection but rather at the strong perception that these programs and initiatives have been carried out in a heavy-handed manner and dominated by outside influences that have overwhelmed local voices.     

Conflict on the Coast: Using Geographic Information Systems to Map Potential Environmental Disputes in Matagorda Bay,Texas

The sustainable management of coastal natural resources inevitably involves identifying stakeholder conflicts and developing planning processes that prevent these conflicts from becoming intractable disputes. This study links environmental conflict to specific areas within a large ecological system. Specifically, we use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map potentially competing stakeholder values associated with establishing protected areas in Matagorda Bay, Texas. By overlaying multiple values associated with a range of stakeholders across space, we are able to identify hotspots of potential conflict as well as areas of opportunity for maximizing joint gains. Mapping stakeholder conflict is an approach to proactively locate potential controversy in response to a specific environmental management proposal and guide decision makers in crafting planning processes that mitigate the possibility of intractable disputes and facilitate the implementation of sustainable coastal policies. Results indicate that under different management scenarios, protected area proposals will generate more conflict in specific areas. Most notably, regulated uses would produce the greatest degree of conflict on or near shore, particularly at the mouth of the Colorado River. Additionally, of all the management scenarios evaluated, the prohibition of coastal structural development would generate the overall highest level of conflict within the Bay. Based on the results, we discuss the policy implications for environmental managers and provide guidance for future research on location-based conflict management within the coastal margin.     

Stricter Ozone Ambient Air Quality Standard Has Beneficial Effect on Ponderosa Pine in California

Ambient air quality standards and control strategies are implemented to protect humans and vegetation from adverse effects. We used a process-based tree-growth model (TREGRO) to show that over the past 37 years, changes in O₃ exposure, with accompanying variation in climate, are reflected in changes in the growth of Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws. in the San Bernardino Mountains near Los Angeles, California, USA. Despite variation in temperature and precipitation over the study period (1963–1999), O₃ exposure consistently reduced simulated tree growth. Simulated growth reductions increased concurrent with increasing O₃ exposure. The maximum growth reduction occurred in 1979. As O₃ exposures decreased during the 1980s and 1990s, effects on growth also decreased. This implies that emission control strategies taken to reduce exposures to attain O₃ standards benefited P. ponderosa growth in the San Bernardino Mountains. This modeling approach provides a powerful tool for solving the difficult problem of evaluating regulatory effectiveness by simulating plant response using long-term climate and air pollution exposure records for a given region.Phone 541 754-4621 Fax 541 754-4799     

Waste Management in Guangdong Cities: The Waste Management Literacy and Waste Reduction Preferences of Domestic Waste Generators

A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2002 on 1365 households in two prefectural-level cities in the Pearl River Delta, Jiangmen and Zhongshan. Three groups of issues are covered in this paper: 1) waste management literacy, concerns, and public participation; 2) waste recycling practices and the potential for waste avoidance; and 3) public environmental literacy. This study confirms findings from previous surveys and provides new information on important issues such as imposing monetary charges on waste and environmental activities, littering, source separation programs (SSPs), and public participation and expectations in local waste management. Saving up recyclable materials for redemption in waste depots is commonly practiced in mainland China regardless of the level of development of a city, although at the household level, high-income families tend to place less value on the revenues to be gained from redemption than lower income groups do. Data from the previous and the present studies indicate that such voluntary but largely economically driven waste recovery behavior diverts at least 10% of the household waste from the waste stream. Although uncompensated SSP is less appealing in the two cities than compensated SSP, it was found that when the median per capita income of a city reaches RMB2000 per month, a high participation rate for uncompensated waste recovery is more likely to occur. Education and income levels are the chief factors affecting littering behavior and the potential for waste avoidance. Contrary to general belief, the local Chinese community is active in microwaste management. The concern, however, is over the inability of the grassroots bureaucracy to deal with rising expectations for waste collection services and neighborhood cleanliness.     

Effects of Fish Stocking on Ecosystem Services: An Overview and Case Study Using the Stockholm Archipelago

In this article, we focus on documented and possible effects of fish stocking in terms of ecosystem services. The increasing use of fish stocking between 1970 and 2000 in the semiurban setting of Stockholm archipelago, Sweden, is used as case study. The objective is to analyze this management practice from an ecosystem perspective, accounting for both the ecological and social context of releasing fish. The results show that enhancements of four native species (Salmo S. trutta, Salmo salar, Stizostedion lucioperca, and Anguilla anguilla) have dominated over new introductions of one nonnative species. (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The major objective has been to increase fish catches for local resource users. Involved stakeholders include three management agencies, one hydropower company, and several local sport fishing associations. Documented effects focus on recapture and production rates. However, our analysis suggests that additional positive or negative effects on biodiversity, food web dynamics, mobile links, or ecological information may also result, with possible consequences for the long-term provision of food, game, and aesthetic values. We conclude that a more adaptive and cooperative management approach could benefit from a deeper analysis of where, when, and what species is released, by whom, which stakeholders that use the fish and those ecosystem services the fish generate, and of the role of formal and informal institutions for monitoring and evaluating the success of releasing fish.     

Rockfall Hazard and Risk Assessment Along a Transportation Corridor in the Nera Valley,Central Italy

Rockfalls are a common type of fast-moving slope failures, and in many countries they represent the primary cause of landslide fatalities. We present a methodology to ascertain rockfall hazard and to determine the associated risk along transportation networks. The proposed methodology is based on the combined analysis of the recurrence of rockfall events, determined from historical information, the frequency-volume statistics of rockfalls, obtained from inventories of recent rockfall triggering events, and the results of a physically based, spatially distributed rockfall simulation model used to determine rockfall hazard. The available information on rockfall hazard is combined in a Geographic Information System with a map of the transportation network to identify the road sections potentially subject to rockfalls. Information on the location and type of rockfall defensive measures, including revetment nets, elastic fences, concrete walls, and artificial tunnels, is used to estimate the efficacy of the defensive structures and to determine the level of the residual rockfall risk along the roads. To illustrate the methodology, we discuss an application in a 48-km² area in the Nera River valley, in the Umbria Region of central Italy, where rockfalls are abundant, and where considerable investments were recently made to mitigate rockfall risk. Note: This version was published online in June 2005 with the cover date of August 2004.     

Influence of Motivations for Seeking ISO 14001 Certification on Perceptions of EMS Effectiveness in China

This study examines the motivations of mainland Chinese facilities in seeking ISO 14001 certification and examines the linkages between these motivations and self-reports of the effectiveness of major environmental management system (EMS) components. In a sample of 128 facilities in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the main drivers for certification were reported to be to ensure regulatory compliance, to enhance the firms reputation, and to improve environmental performance, in that order. Although motivation to achieve cost reductions were least emphasized, a broad range of motivations appears to be considered in the decision to seek certification to ISO 14001. Regression models linking these motivations to the EMS components suggests that internal motivations have an influence on most EMS components. One interesting exception to this, however, is that no significant relationship was observed between internal motivations and the promulgation of environmental objectives and targets. The relationships associated with external motivations for certification (i.e., those in response to customer and other stakeholder pressures) and EMS components, on the other hand, are weaker and tend to occur earlier in the process cycle. No significant relationships were found between motivations to reduce costs and perceptions of the effectiveness of EMS components. Overall, these findings suggest that ISO 14001, as currently being implemented in mainland China, may have a modestly useful role when used in combination with other policy mechanisms to move the Chinese economy toward more sustainable practices. It is asserted that the ISO standard could provide even greater benefits if Chinese registrars were more proactive in developing EMS in conjunction with even more rigorous third-party audits.Published online     

Monitoring Parks Through Remote Sensing: Studies in Nepal and Honduras

The effectiveness of parks as management regimes is hotly contested. Much of the current discussion centered around comparisons of management regimes can be traced to a dearth of cross-site quantitative evaluations. Remote sensing provides a particularly effective tool for this purpose, yet analysis of remotely sensed data requires fieldwork to interpret human activities and the socioeconomic and political contexts that relate to land cover change. This paper examines the effect of establishment of the Celaque National Park, Honduras, and the Royal Chitwan National Park buffer zone, Nepal, on limiting deforestation. In Celaque, the park itself has been largely successful in maintaining forest cover. However, recent changes in land use patterns have led to increasing pressure on the park boundaries, exacerbated by the lack of involvement of local residents. In the Royal Chitwan National Park, in contrast, participatory approaches towards co-management have been implemented over the past decade in the park buffer zone. With significant incomes derived from ecotourism, complete protection of the buffer zone forest has been adopted, leading to significant regrowth of tree cover. However, local decision-making power is limited, and buffer zone management has largely proven successful due to the investment and support provided by international donor agencies. These two case studies demonstrate the utility of remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems analysis in providing a spatiotemporal perspective for assessing management policies. They also demonstrate the importance of fieldwork to provide a nuanced understanding of the socioeconomic and institutional conditions affecting the outcomes of forest management regimes.     

Comparison of the Vegetation and Seed Bank on Hedge Banks of Different Ages in Brittany,France

The composition of the herbaceous cover and the seed bank of old and recent hedge banks in Brittany were studied and compared. Concentration method was used for seed bank samples. Grimes plant strategies were used to explain observed patterns. The analysis of the seed bank of these hedge banks showed that the species richness and diversity differed in relation to the date of construction of the hedge banks. The seed banks of recent hedge banks were richer and more diversified than those of old hedge banks. Differences in the floristic composition of the established plant cover between the recent and old hedge banks were determined by multivariate analyses. The species exclusively found in the seed bank and in the herb cover of recent hedge banks were mainly grassland species, whereas the species that only occurred on old hedge banks tended to be woodland species. The floristic composition of the two compartments (established vegetation and seed bank) was very different. A multivariate analysis revealed that the difference between the composition of the seed banks of recent and old hedge banks was less than that between the composition of the established vegetation and seed bank of hedge banks of the same age. Both seed bank and vegetation of recent hedge banks were dominated by ruderal species, whereas old hedge vegetation was dominated by stress-tolerant woodland species, indicating that mechanically constructed hedge banks may impose limitations on colonization by late woodland species.     

Entangling the Complexity of Protected Area Management: The Case of Wolong Biosphere Reserve,Southwestern China

Protected Area (PA) management is a complex issue that requires the consideration of many factors and relationships. A conceptual framework for the analysis of biodiversity change, local human communities, and PA management was put forward, accordingly. Under the framework, we investigated the economic status, livelihood activities, biodiversity use and perceptions of local communities, and the land use history in Wolong Biosphere Reserve, southwestern China through household survey and document review in order to gain a better understanding of the complexity of PA management. According to the land use history, the preservation of agro-biodiversity, and the raising of productivity, ecological rehabilitation and the regulation of the human pressures are indispensable in the management of the reserve. Livelihood activities and the perceptions of local communities were largely determined by the socioeconomic background, which has important implications in solving the conflicts or incompatibilities in the reserve. In Wolong Biosphere Reserve, it is beneficial to support local farmers in solving their socioeconomic problems such as the overabundance of labor force and the lack of livelihood alternatives. Without this, there will be scarcely any effective biodiversity conservation and successful reserve management in the long term.