An efficient and simple method for measuring (226)Ra using the scintillation cell in a delayed coincidence counting system (RaDeCC)

A delayed coincidence counter (RaDeCC), developed to determine ultra-low levels of (223)Ra (half life = 11.1 days) and (224)Ra (half life = 3.6 days) in seawater, was adapted to measure (226)Ra (half life = 1622 years). After pre-concentration of Ra from seawater onto MnO(2)-coated fiber we show in this study that the (226)Ra activity can be determined using the RaDeCC's ability to record alpha decay of its daughters as total counts. For sufficient ingrowth of (222)Rn, the Mn-fiber is hermetically sealed in a column for a few days. Then, the ingrown (222)Rn is circulated through the RaDeCC air-loop system followed by shutting down of the pump and closure of the scintillation cell for equilibration. Counting may be completed within a few hours for seawater samples. Sample measurements with this method agreed well with data obtained using gamma-ray spectrometry. This proves that a set of Ra isotopes ((223)Ra, (224)Ra, and (226)Ra), commonly used for geophysical studies such as mixing rates of different water masses and submarine groundwater discharge, can be efficiently and rapidly measured using the RaDeCC.     

Local communities' participation in decision-making processes through planning and budgeting in African countries

Community participation and community based management are topical themes in current policy and discussion revolving around decision-making processes especially those dealing with natural resources management.This review shows that while governments have accepted the need to either cede or devolve control and management of natural resources to the local communities,the communities are not part and parcel of the planning and budgeting which are crucial in decisionmaking.Communities were seen to be more involved in the implementation of natural resource management programs but lacked ownership of the projects.This causes lack of commitment to the programs and at times hostile reaction from the communities.The communities are always at the receiving end when it pertains to losses in the exchange.Community participation was shown to be effective when the local population is involved not as co-operating users but as natural resource managers or owner managers.     

The Role and Effectiveness of Local Institutions in the Management of Forest Biodiversity in New Dabaga-Ulongambi Forest Reserve,Iringa Region-Tanzania

Abstract

This paper examines the role and effectiveness of local institutions in the management of forest biodiversity in New Dabaga-Ulongambi Forest Reserve, Tanzania. Data were obtained through questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions, participatory rural appraisal and field observations. The study revealed that the most remarkable local institutions connected to forest biodiversity management include: Village Natural Resources Management Committee (92%), tree nursery group (79.4%), beekeeping groups (61.1%), fish farming (43.3%), livestock rearing group (33.9%). Main activities carried out by local institutions which directly contribute to the sustainability of forest reserve include: forest patrols, fire extinguish, preparation of fire breaks, planting of trees along the forest boundaries, creation of awareness, arresting of forest defaulters, participation in income generation activities. For the purpose of realization that local communities are capable of managing forest biodiversity through their traditional institutions, the policy should provide tangible opportunity for local communities to meet their needs as they manage the forests.     

Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies in Kenya

Abstract

To determine the climate changes that are due to natural variability and those due to human activities is quite challenging, just like delineating the impacts. Moreover, it is equally difficult to ascertain the adaptive strategies for coping with the climate changes and in particular for developing countries like Kenya. While climate change is a global phenomenon, the impacts are more or less specific to local areas such as observed in Kenyan case. Therefore climate change impacts adaptation strategies are appropriately applicable to a given local perspective. The study investigated the main indicators of climate change and effective adaptive strategies that can be employed in Kenya. Based on online questionnaire survey, the study established unpredictable rainfall patterns as the major indicator of climate change in the country, while water harvesting and change of cropping methods are the best adaptive strategies.     

Factors Influencing Success of Marine Protected Areas in the Visayas,Philippines as Related to Increasing Protected Area Coverage

Throughout the world there is a general consensus among environmentalists that there should be an increase in the amount of marine area that should be reserved in marine protected areas (MPAs). In fact, the 1998 Philippines Fishery Code indicates a need for designation of at least 15% of municipal waters for fish refuges or sanctuaries. Such an increase in area would take productive fishing areas away from fishing communities that can ill-afford the loss. The larger the protected area, there will be a greater number of people impacted. This article examines the relationship between factors that influence the success of Community Based MPA (CBMPA) performance in the Visayas, Philippines and their significance in efforts to increase the size of protected areas.     

College and university environmental programs as a policy problem (part 1): integrating knowledge, education, and action for a better world?

The environmental sciences/studies movement, with more than 1000 programs at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, is unified by a common interest??ameliorating environmental problems through empirical enquiry and analytic judgment. Unfortunately, environmental programs have struggled in their efforts to integrate knowledge across disciplines and educate students to become sound problem solvers and leaders. We examine the environmental program movement as a policy problem, looking at overall goals, mapping trends in relation to those goals, identifying the underlying factors contributing to trends, and projecting the future. We argue that despite its shared common interest, the environmental program movement is disparate and fragmented by goal ambiguity, positivistic disciplinary approaches, and poorly rationalized curricula, pedagogies, and educational philosophies. We discuss these challenges and the nature of the changes that are needed in order to overcome them. In a subsequent article (Part 2) we propose specific strategies for improvement.     

Economic and Ecological Rules for Water Quality Trading1

Horan, Richard D. and James S. Shortle, 2011. Economic and Ecological Rules for Water Quality Trading. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):59‐69. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00463.x Abstract: Emissions trading in textbook form uses markets to achieve pollution targets cost‐efficiently. This result is accomplished in markets that regulators can implement without knowing pollution abatement costs. The theoretical promise of emissions trading, along with real‐world success stories from air emissions trading, has led to initiatives to use trading for water pollution control. Yet, trading, particularly when it involves nonpoint sources of pollution, requires significant departures from the textbook concept. This paper explores how features of water quality problems affect the design of markets for water pollution control relative to textbook emissions markets. Three fundamental design tasks that regulators must address for pollution trading to achieve an environmental goal at low cost are examined: (1) defining the point and nonpoint commodities to be traded, (2) defining rules governing commodity exchange, and (3) setting caps on the commodity supplies so as to achieve an environmental target. We show that the way in which these tasks are optimally addressed for water quality markets differs significantly from the textbook model and its real‐world analogs. We also show that the fundamental appeal of emissions trading is lost in the case of realistic water quality markets, as market designs that reduce the costs of achieving water quality goals may no longer be implementable without the regulatory authority having information on abatement costs.     

How well do predators adjust to climate-mediated shifts in prey distribution? A study on Australian water pythons

Climate change can move the spatial location of resources critical for population viability, and a species' resilience to such changes will depend upon its ability to flexibly shift its activities away from no-longer-suitable sites to exploit new opportunities. Intuition suggests that vagile predators should be able to track spatial shifts in prey availability, but our data on water pythons (Liasisfuscus) in tropical Australia suggest a less encouraging scenario. These pythons undergo regular long-range (to >10 kmin) seasonal migrations to follow flooding-induced migrations by their prey (native dusky rats, Rattus colletti). However, when an extreme flooding event virtually eliminated rats for a three-year period, the local pythons did not disperse despite the presence of abundant rats only 8 km away; instead, many pythons starved to death. This inflexibility suggests that some vagile species that track seasonally migrating prey may do so by responding to habitat attributes that have consistently predicted prey availability over evolutionary time, rather than reacting to proximate cues that signal the presence of prey per se. A species' vulnerability to climate change will be increased by an inability to shift its activities away from historical sites toward newly favorable areas.     

The effects of forest harvest intensity in combination with wind disturbance on carbon dynamics in Lake States Mesic Forests

Total forest carbon (C) storage is determined by succession, disturbances, climate, and the edaphic properties of a site or region. Forest harvesting substantially affects C dynamics; these effects may be amplified if forest harvesting is intensified to provide biofuel feedstock. We tested the effects of harvest intensity on landscape C using a simulation modeling approach that included C dynamics, multiple disturbances, and successional changes in composition. We developed a new extension for the LANDIS-II forest landscape disturbance and succession model that incorporates belowground soil C dynamics derived from the CENTURY soil model. The extension was parameterized and calibrated using data from an experimental forest in northeastern Wisconsin, USA. We simulated a 9800 ha forested landscape over 400 years with wind disturbance combined with no harvesting, harvesting with residual slash left on site (‘standard harvest’), and whole-tree harvesting. We also simulated landscapes without wind disturbance and without eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) to examine the effects of detrital quantity and quality on C dynamics. We estimated changes in live C, detrital C, soil organic C, total C, and forest composition. Overall, the simulations without harvesting had substantially greater total C and continued to sequester C. Standard harvest simulations had more C than the whole tree harvest simulations. Under both harvest regimes, C accrual was not evident after 150 years. Without hemlock, SOC was reduced due to a decline in detritus and a shift in detrital chemistry. In conclusion, if the intensity of harvesting increases we can expect a corresponding reduction in potential C storage. Compositional changes due to historic circumstances (loss of hemlock) may also affect forest C although to a lesser degree than harvesting. The modeling approach presented enabled us to consider multiple, interacting drivers of landscape change and the subsequent changes in forest C.