Cross-boundary issues for national parks: What works “on the ground”

In recent years, cross-boundary management has become an essential part of park management. In this article we compare the perspectives of managers of several US national parks to the advice on this issue presented in the published literature. Data were obtained from interviews of the superintendents, assistant superintendents and resources managers of five major western national parks and from a survey of participants in a NPS workshop attended by park superintendents, scientists, and resource managers; law enforcement personnel; and interpreters. Three themes related to boundary management were consistently stressed by park managers: (10 a lack of sufficient funds and personnel within the parks; (2) the need for reliable information on both political and natural processes; and, (3) the importance of personal interactions between park staff and individuals from the surrounding area. Basic data collection, the documentation of trends, cooperative groups and personal contacts, educational programs, and land acquisition were the most useful strategies. A lack of funds and information, ineffective communication, enforcement problems, and a lack of motivation for parties to reach a negotiated agreement were the most serious obstacles. A wide range of valuable institutional knowledge concerning boundary management exists within the National Park Service; however, there appears to be a gap between published strategies and the approaches that work “on the ground”.     

MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS OF WATER-USE DATA USING A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM1

ASSTRACT: As part of its mission, the U.S. Geological Survey conducts water-resources research. Site-specific and aggregate water-use data are used in the Survey's National Water-Use Information Program and in various hydrologic investigations. Both types of activities have specific requirements in terms of water-use data access, analysis, and display. In Kansas, the Survey obtains water-use information from several sources. Trpically, this information is in a format that is not readily usable by the Survey. Geographic information system (GIS) technology is being used to restructure the available water-use data into a format that allows users to readily access and summarize site-specific water-use data by source (i.e., surface or ground water), type of use, and user-defined area.     

A case study of resources management planning with multiple objectives and projects

Each National Park Service unit in the United States produces a resources management plan (RMP) every four years or less. The plans commit budgets and personnel to specific projects for four years, but they are prepared with little quantitative and analytical rigor and without formal decision-making tools. We have previously described a multiple objective planning process for inventory and monitoring programs (Schmoldt and others 1994). To test the applicability of that process for the more general needs of resources management planning, we conducted an exercise on the Olympic National Park (NP) in Washington State, USA. Eight projects were selected as typical of those considered in RMPs and five members of the Olympic NP staff used the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to prioritize the eight projects with respect to their implicit management objectives. By altering management priorities for the park, three scenarios were generated. All three contained some similarities in rankings for the eight projects, as well as some differences. Mathematical allocations of money and people differed among these scenarios and differed substantially from what the actual 1990 Olympic NP RMP contains. Combining subjective priority measures with budget dollars and personnel time into an objective function creates a subjective economic metric for comparing different RMP’s. By applying this planning procedure, actual expenditures of budget and personnel in Olympic NP can agree more closely with the staff’s management objectives for the park.     

Particle size distribution and characteristics of heavy metals in road-deposited sediments from Beijing Olympic Park

Due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, heavy metals in road-deposited sediments (RDSs) of parks are emitted into the terrestrial, atmospheric, and water environment, and have a severe impact on residents' and tourists' health. To identify the distribution and characteristic of heavy metals in RDS and to assess the road environmental quality in Chinese parks, samples were collected from Beijing Olympic Park in the present study. The results indicated that particles with small grain size (< 150 μm) were the dominant fraction. The length of dry period was one of the main factors affecting the particle size distribution, as indicated by the variation of size fraction with the increase of dry days. The amount of heavy metal (i.e., Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) content was the largest in particles with small size (< 150 μm) among all samples. Specifically, the percentage of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in these particles was 74.7%, 55.5%, 56.6% and 71.3%, respectively. Heavy metals adsorbed in sediments may mainly be contributed by road traffic emissions. The contamination levels of Pb and Cd were higher than Cu and Zn on the basis of the mean heavy metal contents. Specifically, the geoaccumulation index (I_geo) decreased in the order: Cd > Pb > Cu > Zn. This study analyzed the mobility of heavy metals in sediments using partial sequential extraction with the Tessier procedure. The results revealed that the apparent mobility and potential metal bioavailability of heavy metals in the sediments, based on the exchangeable and carbonate fractions, decreased in the order: Cd > Zn ≈ Pb > Cu.     

国家可持续发展实验区科技计划实施现状及成效

国家可持续发展实验区是我国实施可持续发展战略的重要实验示范基地。多年来,秉承科技支撑发展的原则,实验区开展了一系列科技创新及实验示范。在对现有实验区开展实地调研和问卷调查的基础上,从计划类别、经费来源、参与形式、应用领域等方面,分析了"十一五"以来实验区承担的各类科技计划项目实施现状,并对项目实施成效进行了总结分析。分析发现,实验区承担的各类科技计划项目,通过破解区域发展制约因素,取得显著社会效益;突出科技示范与引领,科技支撑能力不断提升;创新了管理机制与模式,积累了丰富的项目管理经验;通过部门联动,科技惠民计划成效凸显。文章通过探寻科技在实验区建设中的引领和带动作用,发现实验区项目对接的特点与规律,查找实验区科技创新存在的问题与不足,提出了科技支撑实验区发展的对策与建议。     

Understanding the Role of Representations of Human–Leopard Conflict in Mumbai through Media‐Content Analysis

Attempts to minimize the effects of human–wildlife conflict (HWC) on conservation goals require an understanding of the mechanisms by which such conflicts are caused and sustained. This necessitates looking beyond the natural sciences to the human dimensions of wildlife management. Public dissemination of information regarding HWC occurs largely through the mass media. We conducted a content analysis of print media articles on human–leopard conflict in Mumbai, India. We sought to understand the framing of HWC and the changes in media coverage over a 10‐year period (2001–2011) during which a large number of attacks on people prior to 2005 were followed by a program of trapping and relocation. After 2005, when there was a decrease in the level of conflict, the tone of English‐language media reports changed. The perpetrator framing was over 5 times more likely before 2005, whereas a neutral framing was twice as likely after 2005. English‐language and non‐English‐language print media differed significantly in their framing of HWC and in the kinds of solutions advocated. Our results also suggest the print mass media in Mumbai could be an influential conduit for content that diminishes HWC. These media outlets seem attentive to human–leopard conflict, capable of correcting erroneous perceptions and facilitating mitigation and effective management. We believe better contact and mutual understanding between conservation professionals and the mass media could be an important component of managing HWC. We further suggest that in such interactions conservation professionals need to be aware of cultural and linguistic differences in reporting within the country. Entendiendo el Papel de las Representaciones del Conflicto Humano–Leopardo en Mumbai A Través del Análisis de Contenido de Medios     

The Importance of Taboos and Social Norms to Conservation in Madagascar

Abstract:  Informal institutions governing the use of wild species are present in many societies. A system of prohibitions known as fady is central to Malagasy culture. We examined whether fady that relate to the use of natural resources in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar play an important conservation role. Prohibitions ranged from strict taboos in which a species or area was forbidden by the ancestors to social norms that concerned acceptable behavior when harvesting wild species. Strict taboos offered real protection to threatened species, such as the lemur Propithecus edwardsi and the carnivore Cryptoprocta ferox . Taboos also reduced pressure on some economically important endemic species by preventing their sale or limiting the harvest season. Despite their value for conservation, the taboos did not appear to originate from attempts to sustainably manage resources. Nevertheless, social norms, in which the sanction was social disapproval rather than supernatural retribution, encouraged sustainable harvesting practices for tenrecs ( Tenrec ecudatus ) and pandans ( Pandanus spp.). Unfortunately, the social norms concerning methods of harvesting pandans appeared to be breaking down in villages surrounding Ranomafana National Park, and we suggest that the imposition of external conservation rules is weakening traditional management. Informal institutions are important to conservation because they suggest ways of improving cultural understanding and conservation communication. Food taboos influence societal preferences, which affect the wider demand for a species. Most important, where capacity to enforce external conservation rules is limited, informal institutions may provide the only effective regulations. Informal institutions should receive greater attention from conservation biologists so that local people's conservation roles can be acknowledged fairly and so that potential synergies with conservation objectives can be realized.     

Marine Parks for protection and tourism in Turkey

Protected Turkish areas in the Mediterranean region are compared with those of other Mediterranean countries. Policies followed in Turkey for conservation protection of the natural and cultural environment and the use of coastal resources for tourism are discussed. The purpose and application of Turkish law is examined with respect to the interaction between the protection of coastal areas and tourism. Modifications on the administrative and management regulations in Turkey enabling a better use of coastal areas is suggested by combining coastal tourism and protection. The necessity and importance of estabilishing and managing Marine Parks in short-and long-term plans are acknowledged.     

The impacts of knowledge of the past on preferences for future landscape change

In this paper, we investigate whether people's knowledge of the past influences their preferences and values towards future landscape change. "Knowledge of the past" is one aspect of the information set held by individuals, and a well-established finding in economics is that changes in information can change preferences and values. The particular aspects of knowledge of the past we work with here are: (i) awareness of past landuse, as represented by woodland cover and (ii) awareness of differing and sometimes contradictory literary impressions of this past landscape. The case studies used here relate to prospective changes in woodland cover in two UK national parks, the Lake District and the Trossachs. We find that people who are made aware that the landscape has changed over time, or that perceptions of the landscape have changed over time, are more likely to favour changes to the current landscape (are less likely to favour the status quo). Knowledge of the past therefore seems to have an impact on preferences for future landscapes. We also investigate the impacts on preferences of how "special", how "wild" and how "worked in" people perceive the landscapes of these two national parks to be.     

Education and advice contribute to increased density of broadleaved conservation trees, but not saplings, in young forest in Sweden

The effectiveness of different conservation policies is debated, but the policies are rarely evaluated quantitatively. A voluntary or 'soft' policy based mainly on education provides information about ecosystems and effects of land use, to encourage conservation action. Swedish forestry relies mainly on soft policy, with substantial resources for education and advice to more than 200,000 forest owners, while legal regulation is weak. Increased retention of broadleaved trees at clear-cutting, with environmental benefits in the conifer-dominated forestry, is important in the policy. We used the Swedish National Forest Inventory to analyse this policy for young forests in southern Sweden. Between 1983-1987 and 1998-2002 the policy had no positive effect on saplings (1.3m tall to 4.9 cm dbh) of birch, oak, beech and other species that mostly decreased in density, due to planting of conifers and browsing by ungulates. However, broadleaved conservation trees (>or=15 cm dbh) increased in density, e.g. to about one oak and six birches per ha in young coniferous forest in 1998-2002. The relative increase in density was higher for large (>or=20 cm dbh) than for small trees (15-20 cm dbh). The density of conservation trees was higher on forestland of high than of low productivity. Thus, the soft conservation policy did not influence regeneration of saplings in this type of forestry system, but large broadleaved trees were increasingly saved at 'clear-cuttings'. Advice and educational programmes probably contributed to this result. A continued increase in conservation trees at harvest may require economical support to forest owners.