Integrating Social Marketing into Sustainable Resource Management at Padre Island National Seashore: An Attitude-Based Segmentation Approach

High demand for outdoor recreation and increasing diversity in outdoor recreation participants have imposed a great challenge on the National Park Service (NPS), which is tasked with the mission to provide open access for quality outdoor recreation and maintain the ecological integrity of the park system. In addition to management practices of education and restrictions, building a sense of natural resource stewardship among visitors may also facilitate the NPS ability to react to this challenge. The purpose of our study is to suggest a segmentation approach that is built on the social marketing framework and aimed at influencing visitor behaviors to support conservation. Attitude toward natural resource management, an indicator of natural resource stewardship, is used as the basis for segmenting park visitors. This segmentation approach is examined based on a survey of 987 visitors to the Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS) in Texas in 2003. Results of the K-means cluster analysis identify three visitor segments: Conservation-Oriented, Development-Oriented, and Status Quo visitors. This segmentation solution is verified using respondents’ socio-demographic backgrounds, use patterns, experience preferences, and attitudes toward a proposed regulation. Suggestions are provided to better target the three visitor segments and facilitate a sense of natural resource stewardship among them.     

Making a technological choice for disaster management and poverty alleviation in India

The right mix of policy, institutional arrangements and use of technology provides the framework for a country's approach to disaster mitigation. Worldwide, there has been a shift away from a strictly 'top-down' approach relying on government alone, to a combination of 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches. The aim is to enhance the indigenous coping mechanisms of vulnerable communities; draw on their cooperative spirit and energy; and empower them through appropriate information and contextual knowledge to mitigate natural disasters. In light of this, the paper examines India's use of space technology in its disaster management efforts. Poverty alleviation and disaster management are almost inseparable in many parts of the country, as vulnerability to natural disasters is closely aligned with poverty. Addressing these issues together requires integrated knowledge systems. The paper examines how knowledge inputs from space technology have strengthened the national resolve to combat natural disasters in conjunction with alleviating rural poverty.     

Solid-state fermentation: tool for bioremediation of adsorbed textile dyestuff on distillery industry waste-yeast biomass using isolated Bacillus cereus strain EBT1

Bioremediation of textile dyestuffs under solid-state fermentation (SSF) using industrial wastes as substrate pose an economically feasible, promising, and eco-friendly alternative. The purpose of this study was to adsorb Red M5B dye, a sample of dyes mixture and a real textile effluent on distillery industry waste-yeast biomass (DIW-YB) and its further bioremediation using Bacillus cereus EBT1 under SSF. Textile dyestuffs were allowed to adsorb on DIW-YB. DIW-YB adsorbed dyestuffs were decolorized under SSF by using B. cereus. Enzyme analysis was carried out to ensure decolorization of Red M5B. Metabolites after dye degradation were analyzed using UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, HPLC, and GC-MS. DIW-YB showed adsorption of Red M5B, dyes mixture and a textile wastewater sample up to 87, 70, and 81 %, respectively. DIW-YB adsorbed Red M5B was decolorized up to 98 % by B. cereus in 36 h. Whereas B. cereus could effectively reduce American Dye Manufacture Institute value from DIW-YB adsorbed mixture of textile dyes and textile wastewater up to 70 and 100 %, respectively. Induction of extracellular enzymes such as laccase and azoreductase suggests their involvement in dye degradation. Repeated utilization of DIW-YB showed consistent adsorption and ADMI removal from textile wastewater up to seven cycles. HPLC and FTIR analysis confirms the biodegradation of Red M5B. GC-MS analysis revealed the formation of new metabolites. B. cereus has potential to bioremediate adsorbed textile dyestuffs on DIW-YB. B. cereus along with DIW-YB showed enhanced decolorization performance in tray bioreactor which suggests its potential for large-scale treatment procedures.     

Environmental strategy and performance in small firms: a resource-based perspective

In spite of the widespread recognition of the important roles that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play in most economies, limited research has focused on their impacts on the natural environment and the strategies such enterprises adopt to reduce these impacts. It is usually assumed that SMEs lack the resources to implement proactive environmental strategies that go beyond minimum regulatory compliance. In this study of 108 SMEs in the automotive repair sector in Southern Spain, we found that SMEs undertake a range of environmental strategies from reactive regulatory compliance to proactive pollution prevention and environmental leadership. These strategies are associated with three organizational capabilities: shared vision, stakeholder management, and strategic proactivity, hypothesized based on the unique strategic characteristics of SMEs--shorter lines of communication and closer interaction within the SMEs, the presence of a founder's vision, flexibility in managing external relationships, and an entrepreneurial orientation. We also found that firms with the most proactive practices exhibited a significantly positive financial performance.     

Tracing the geographic origin of traded leopard body parts in the indian subcontinent with DNA‐based assignment tests

Illicit trade in wildlife products is rapidly decimating many species across the globe. Such trade is often underestimated for wide‐ranging species until it is too late for the survival of their remaining populations. Policing this trade could be vastly improved if one could reliably determine geographic origins of illegal wildlife products and identify areas where greater enforcement is needed. Using DNA‐based assignment tests (i.e., samples are assigned to geographic locations), we addressed these factors for leopards (Panthera pardus) on the Indian subcontinent. We created geography‐specific allele frequencies from a genetic reference database of 173 leopards across India to infer geographic origins of DNA samples from 40 seized leopard skins. Sensitivity analyses of samples of known geographic origins and assignments of seized skins demonstrated robust assignments for Indian leopards. We found that confiscated pelts seized in small numbers were not necessarily from local leopards. The geographic footprint of large seizures appeared to be bigger than the cumulative footprint of several smaller seizures, indicating widespread leopard poaching across the subcontinent. Our seized samples had male‐biased sex ratios, especially the large seizures. From multiple seized sample assignments, we identified central India as a poaching hotspot for leopards. The techniques we applied can be used to identify origins of seized illegal wildlife products and trade routes at the subcontinent scale and beyond.     

Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiling of bacterial communities composition in Arabian Sea

Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was used to elucidate spatial and temporal variations in bacterial community composition (BCC) from four locations along the central west coast of India. DNA extracts from 36 water samples collected from surface, mid-depth (-10 m) and dose to bottom (-20 m) during premonsoon, postmonsoon, monsoon were analyzed by PCRfor amplifying variable region of 16S rRNAgene and subsequently through DGGE. Prominent bands were excised, cloned and sequenced indicated the preponderance of gammaproteobacteria, bacteroidetes and cyanobacteria. Non-metric dimensional scaling of the DGGE gels indicated that the spatial variations in BCC were prominent among the sampling locations. Temporal variations in the BCC appear to be influenced by monsoonal processes. The canonical correspondence analyses suggest that the concentration of chlorophyll a and nitrate are two important environmental factors for both spatial and temporal variations in BCC. Chlorophyll a seems to be impart a top-down control of BCC while nitrate, the bottom-up control. Our results also suggest that BCC can vary over a small geographic distance in highly dynamic, seasonally predisposed tropical coastal waters.     

Water and nitrogen management effects on water and nitrogen fluxes in Florida Flatwoods

The effects of water and fertilizer best management practices (BMPs) have not been quantified for groundwater nitrogen (N) beneath seepage irrigated vegetable fields with shallow water table environments. This effect was evaluated by a 3-yr study conducted in the Flatwoods of south Florida for watermelon ( cv. Mardi Gras and Tri-X 313) and tomato ( cv. BHN 586) using three treatments of water and inorganic fertilizer N (N) rates: (i) high fertilizer and water rates with seepage irrigation (HR), (ii) recommended fertilizer and water rates (BMP) with seepage irrigation (RR); and (iii) RR with subsurface drip irrigation (RR-SD). These treatments were implemented on six hydraulically isolated plots. The N rate treatments for high (HR) and recommended (RR and RR-SD) were based on a grower survey and BMP recommendations, respectively. Water applied, water table depth, and soil moisture content were regularly monitored for each treatment. Plant, soil, and groundwater N sampling and analyses were conducted for each season of the 3-yr study. The average water applied in HR (187 cm) was greater than RR (172 cm) and RR-SD (94 cm). Soil N maintained in crop beds for HR was significantly higher than RR and RR-SD. Soil solution analyses showed that N leached beneath HR (112 mg L) was greater ( = 0.053) than RR (76 mg L) and RR-SD (88 mg L). Shallow groundwater concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (NH-N + NO-N) were higher ( = 0.02) in HR (37 mg L) compared with RR (15 mg L) and RR-SD (19 mg L). Decreased N and water table levels can improve groundwater quality by reducing N leachate in shallow water table environments with seepage irrigated vegetable production systems.     

Linking Livelihoods and Conservation: An Examination of Local Residents’ Perceived Linkages Between Conservation and Livelihood Benefits Around Nepal’s Chitwan National Park

This paper investigates local recognition of the link between incentive-based program (IBP) benefits and conservation, and how perceptions of benefits and linkage influence attitudes in communities surrounding Chitwan National Park, Nepal. A survey of 189 households conducted between October and December 2004 examined local residents’ perceived benefits, their attitudes toward park management, and perception of linkages between conservation and livelihoods. Linkage perceptions were measured by a scale compared with a respondent’s recognition of benefits to determine whether IBPs establish a connection between benefits and livelihoods. An attitude scale was also created to compare attitudes toward park management with perceptions of benefits and linkage to determine if IBPs led to positive attitudes, and if the recognition of a direct tie between livelihoods and natural resources made attitudes more favorable. Research results indicate that as acknowledgement of benefit increases, so does the perception of linkage between the resource and livelihoods. Similarly, when perceived benefit increases, so too does attitude towards management. Positive attitude towards park management is influenced more by perception of livelihood dependence on resources than on benefits received from the park. However, overwhelming positive support voiced for conservation did not coincide with conduct. In spite of the positive attitudes and high perception of linkage, people did not necessarily behave in a way compatible with conservation. This suggests that while benefits alone can lead to positive attitudes, without clear linkages to conservation, the IBP may lose persuasion when alternative options—conflicting with conservation objectives—arise promising to provide greater economic benefit.