Effects of an ecological conservation and restoration project in the Three-River Source Region,China

The first-stage of an ecological conservation and restoration project in the Three-River Source Region (TRSR), China, has been in progress for eight years. However, because the ecological effects of this project remain unknown, decision making for future project implementation is hindered. Thus, in this study, we developed an index system to evaluate the effects of the ecological restoration project, by integrating field observations, remote sensing, and process-based models. Effects were assessed using trend analyses of ecosystem structures and services. Results showed positive trends in the TRSR since the beginning of the project, but not yet a return to the optima of the 1970s. Specifically, while continued degradation in grassland has been initially contained, results are still far from the desired objective, ‘grassland coverage increasing by an average of 20%–40%’. In contrast, wetlands and water bodies have generally been restored, while the water conservation and water supply capacity of watersheds have increased. Indeed, the volume of water conservation achieved in the project meets the objective of a 1.32 billion m³ increase. The effects of ecological restoration inside project regions was more significant than outside, and, in addition to climate change projects, we concluded that the implementation of ecological conservation and restoration projects has substantially contributed to vegetation restoration. Nevertheless, the degradation of grasslands has not been fundamentally reversed, and to date the project has not prevented increasing soil erosion. In sum, the effects and challenges of this first-stage project highlight the necessity of continuous and long-term ecosystem conservation efforts in this region.     

Local Perceptions of the Livelihood and Conservation Benefits of Small-Scale Livelihood Projects in Rural Madagascar

Small-scale livelihood projects are widely used in forest conservation and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)+ initiatives; however, there is limited information on how effective these projects are at delivering livelihood and conservation benefits. We explored local perceptions of the effectiveness of small-scale livelihood projects in delivering livelihood and conservation benefits in eastern Madagascar. Our results suggest that small-scale livelihood projects vary greatly in their ability to deliver livelihood benefits, and that the type of livelihood project (e.g., agriculture, beekeeping, fish farming, or livestock production) has a significant impact on which livelihood benefits are delivered. Many small-scale livelihood projects, regardless of project type, are perceived to contribute to forest conservation efforts. Our study highlights that small-scale livelihood projects have the potential to contribute to both improved livelihoods and enhanced forest conservation, but also illustrates the need for more information on the factors that lead to project success.     

Competing Place Meanings in Complex Landscapes: A Social–Ecological Approach to Unpacking Community Conservation Outcomes on the Wild Coast,South Africa

Despite a general awareness of the social–ecological complexities within which conservation interventions are embedded, approaches to understanding a diversity of local perspectives of heterogeneous landscapes and how they matter for the outcomes of these interventions are seldom demonstrated. We apply a social–ecological approach to exploring the multiple place meanings related to key landscape elements around a proposed community conservation intervention on the Wild Coast, South Africa, by identifying and analyzing three narratives about this impending change. These narratives mobilize competing meanings of the landscape to argue for or against the conservation project. By linking place meanings to locally defined landscape units (ecotopes), we engage multiple interpretations of the heterogeneous and changing landscape to gain a holistic and more inclusive picture of social–ecological landscape processes such as increasing woodlands and field abandonment. The obstruction of this particular intervention indicates the importance of engaging with multiple cultural values of nature.     

Using Audience Physiology to Assess Engaging Conservation Messages and Animal Taxa

Abstract

We used heart rate change as a tool to study how positive and negative wildlife conservation messaging impacts a viewer, and which types of animal images stimulate greatest reaction. We used scenes from five wildlife conservation videos available from environmental organization websites and YouTube, with positive and negative messaging. We found both very positive and very negative messaging in videos may be similarly effective in engaging viewers. A trend in greater changes in heart rate when insects, mammals, and birds appear on the screen suggests generally high human interest in these taxa, potentially due to avoidance and attraction responses. The number of scenes (N?=?54) in which various taxa appear reflects bias toward mammals (65%) and birds (17%) to capture viewers’ attention. Arousal is a primary step in engaging an audience to attend to a message. Physiological research offers innovative new techniques to evaluate public responses to communications about biodiversity conservation.     

From the Seam to the Stove: greenhouse gas assessment and the coal seam gas industry in Australia

In Australia, Coal Seam Gas (CSG) is a relatively new source of natural gas commonly advocated as a lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions alternative to coal. This study investigates how GHG emissions have been, and potentially could be, assessed within the Australian CSG industry. The research involved a document analysis of several Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) and consultant reports prepared as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for major CSG projects in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland (Qld). There were found to be inconsistencies in the conduct of greenhouse assessment by the CSG industry, including how complete and transparent assessments were, as well as how effectively they addressed project emission intensity and cumulative impacts. There were also found to be large inconsistencies between assessments carried out for Qld projects and those for NSW projects, likely because of differences in how assessment requirements are applied by planning bodies. This study also highlights how alternative assessment approaches, such as Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), have potential to enable a broader and more consistent understanding of emission sources that cross a range of geographical and project boundaries.     

A story of “communities”: boundaries,geographical composition and social coherence in a forest conservation project,Northern Cambodia

Explicit notions of “communities”, as key actors in conservation and development projects across the Global South, are common. Narratives about “indigenous people” or “forest-dependent communities” in forest conservation programmes prevail, portraying a picture of “communities” as homogeneous and harmonious entities. In this study, we unfold “communities” as a construct with an empirical example of a community-based forest protection project, Northern Cambodia. Based on qualitative interviews, field observations and document analysis, we examine the “community” construct in terms of establishment of boundaries, geographical composition and social coherence. We not only find that the establishment of forest “community” boundaries are dominated by powerful external actors rather than the “community members” themselves, but that the spatial composition of “communities” is complex, and affects the ability of local people to benefit from the project. We also find that the studied “communities” show low levels of social coherence and mainly consist of migrant farmers, as opposed to common policy narratives. Taking these inconsistencies into account, we discuss implications of constructing “communities” for the success of forest conservation projects, and argue in favour of more discursive and political analyses to better understand, acknowledge and adapt to existing and changing conditions in present and prospective project locations.     

Public Engagement in Social-Ecological Systems Management: An Application of Social Justice Theory

Public engagement is important for improving outcomes of social-ecological systems management. We used a social justice theoretical framework to measure residents’ attitudes toward public engagement processes and satisfaction with outcomes of a restoration project in Western Montana. We predicted process control and decision control domains of procedural justice would significantly predict stakeholder satisfaction, with decision control partially mediating the relationship between process control and satisfaction. We tested these predictions using a path analysis of intercept survey data collected from residents within the project area. We found process control had a significant and positive effect on satisfaction but was fully mediated by decision control, suggesting that successful engagement requires opportunities for stakeholders not only to participate but to clearly shape decisions and outcomes. We discuss implications for public engagement, human dimensions research, and social monitoring of social-ecological systems.     

内蒙古农牧交错带生态工程成效实证调查和分析

作为生态工程的参与者和受影响者,农牧民对生态工程成效的评价、对未来生态工程措施的选择倾向具有重要的决策参考价值。将结构化问卷调查与开放式访谈相结合,对内蒙古自治区武川县、四子王旗和太仆寺旗3个旗县生态工程建设情况进行了调查研究。结果表明:退耕还林还草、围封禁牧以及季节性休牧是本区主要的生态工程类型;基于个体体验,农牧民并不认为生态工程取得了良好的、显著的生态效益;生态工程对农牧民的影响表现为"减产、提效、增收";对于未来的工程措施,农牧民优先选择限制牲畜数量,其次是退耕以及保护退化草地;绝大多数农牧民支持有补偿条件下进一步退耕和生态移民。本文进而给出了一些研究和政策建议。     

洋山港海域潮动力特征及其对工程的响应

距上海陆域外约32 km的洋山港是以小洋山岛链为基础建造的中国首个离岸式深水港口, 其港区陆域是通过封堵北岛链三个主要汊道并抛填成陆而成。大规模的封堵陆连工程改变了该海域的地形边界条件, 海域潮动力特征也随之响应。通过对洋山港海域堵汊陆连工程前后潮位及潮流实测资料的分析研究, 发现洋山港海域的潮动力特征主要表现在:海域潮波倍潮及复合潮增幅随工程的进行而增大, 潮动力表现出明显的非线性特征;海域中部发生壅水;海域潮波向驻波性质变异并于憩流时段引发环状流场。     

三江源生态保护和建设一期工程生态成效评估

基于生态系统结构--服务动态过程趋势分析,针对生态保护与建设工程预期目标,构建了由生态系统结构,质量,服务及其变化因素构成的生态成效评估指标体系,研究发展野外观测,遥感监测和生态过程定量模拟一体化的监测评估技术体系,评估了三江源生态保护和建设一期工程的生态成效.结果表明:工程实施8年以来,三江源区宏观生态状况趋好但尚未达到1970s比较好的生态状况,草地持续退化趋势得到初步遏制但难以达到预期"草地植被盖度提高平均20%~40%"的目标,水体与湿地生态系统整体有所恢复,生态系统水源涵养和流域水供给能力提高,区域水源涵养量达到了增加13.20亿m³目标;重点工程区内生态恢复程度好于非工程区,除了气候影响以外,工程的实施对促进植被恢复具有明显而积极的作用;然而,草地退化局面没有获得根本性扭转,工程实施尚未遏制土壤水蚀增加趋势,一期工程局部性和初步性特点突显出三江源区生态保护任务的长期性和艰巨性.     

Applying Geography Course Projects to Issues in City Resilience and Global Connectivity

Globalization would appear to be a subject that easily could be addressed in geography classrooms, yet this is not always the case. In terms of pedagogy, many geographers are concerned whether the field has been adequately engaging various components of this topic (e.g., connectivity, core-periphery), especially in terms of making the subject matter relevant to students. This article presents the results of a recent course project situated at the intersection of city-level resilience to hazards and connectivity with the global economy, utilizing SWOT analysis. The student projects demonstrated that this comparatively simple analytical tool was a useful means for exploring and integrating key topics in globalization and urban-economic geography, while also facilitating a problem-based learning environment.     

超高压输变电工程水土流失防治效果分析——以220kV黄梅输变电工程为例

水土流失治理是一项"功在当代,利在千秋"的工程,大型工程项目的建设必须与水土保持设施同时设计、施工和投产.本研究依据220 kV黄梅输变电工程所在区域的自然和人文环境,指出其水土流失的成因和特点,分析其造成的危害,然后根据工程破坏原地貌的情况、水土流失治理目标和工程所采取的水土保持措施,采用工程实测数据,定量分析黄梅输变电工程水土流失防治效果,得出结论:220 kV黄梅输变电工程防治责任范围内水土流失治理度达到99.07%,水土流失控制比0.98,拦渣率达到97.04%以上,扰动土地整治率达到99.13%,植被恢复系数98.64%,林草植被覆盖率达到59.70%,达到了水土保持方案报告书设计的各项目标值,以期为超高压输变电建设提供水土保持经验.     

环保组织的社区领域建构策略及其环境治理影响

现有的环境政治文献多关注环境治理中多元主体之间的互动和策略,尤其是国家与环保组织之间的权力关系,但对权力在空间上的领域特征及其实践影响探讨不足。通过对一个国际环保组织乡村水资源保育项目的田野观察,分析了该组织在近十年的社区领域建构策略演化,并探讨动态的领域化过程如何影响环境治理的形式、范围和效果。研究发现：（1）环保组织通过与不同层级政府建立差异化联系,能够在农村社区中建构相对独立的社会领域,自主开展环保活动,但与农村社区之间的隔离也限制了环保项目进一步发展的空间;（2）环保组织通过融入本土社会关系网络的策略调整,重新建构了更具流动性、融合性的社会领域,为项目发展提供了新的动力;（3）面对长期的资源挑战,环保组织通过培育本土组织来保持自身在社区“飞地”的长期影响,但“代理人”在融合后的新领域空间内却难以再维持独立性和专业性,从而制约了公众参与环保的范围和效果。通过动态的领域化过程及其影响,解释了环境治理和环保组织发展的规律,为认识国家-环保组织-社区之间的关系提供了新视角。     

Effect of the Israeli “Green Schools” Reform on Pupils’ Environmental Attitudes and Behavior

The objective of this study was to explore the mechanism through which a reform in environmental education (EE) programs affects pupils’ relation to the environment. We surveyed 589 pupils aged 9–12 years in three types of Israeli elementary school: regular schools, schools that implement an EE program (designated “green schools”), and schools that implement a more intensive EE program (designated “persistent green schools”). Analyzing the results obtained from our questionnaire, we found that both EE programs had a positive effect on environmental attitudes. Importantly, however, only persistent green schools showed a direct positive effect on environmental behavior. In addition, we assessed the influences of various demographic and other factors on pupils’ relation to the environment. Of note, we found that students who spent their leisure time watching TV or engaging with other electronic media expressed less concern about the environment.     

天然林资源保护一期工程生态成效评估——以甘肃小陇山地区为例

天然林资源保护工程是在中国广泛开展的一项重要生态建设工程。本文在构建生态多元评估指标体系的基础上,评估工程实施的生态成效,对于其进一步决策与管理具有重要的科学意义。通过遥感、生态系统质量等多源数据融合,采用生态系统宏观格局、生态系统质量、生态系统服务等方面指标的现状和时空变化特征,评估小陇山地区天然林保护一期工程(2000-2010年)实施成效。结果表明：①工程实施后,小陇山地区落叶阔叶林、落叶阔叶灌木林、草地等生态系统类型的面积大幅度增加,生态系统宏观状况转好,其中黄河流域生态系统宏观状况转好趋势明显好于长江流域。②研究区叶面积指数(LAI)和最大植被覆盖度(FC)在2000-2010年期间的多年变化斜率分别为0.022和0.510,生态系统质量上升趋势明显。其中黄河流域改善程度高于长江流域。③2010年研究区固碳量为700.20 t/hm²,相比工程初期的2000年增加了4.69%;工程实施之后的10年间,研究区水源涵养量呈增长趋势,土壤保持量亦呈增长趋势;就流域而言,黄河流域的生态系统服务的提升程度均更为明显。     

生态保护工程和气候变化对长江源区植被变化的影响量化

分析长江源区生态保护工程和气候变化对植被变化的影响程度,对于长江源区生态工程的生态效益评估,以及区域植被适应性生态管理政策的制定具有重要意义。因此,本文基于1982-2015年的归一化植被指数数据(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI)和气象数据,分析长江源区植被NDVI的时空变化规律,构建预测植被NDVI对气候因子响应的人工神经网络模型,在此基础上,在年和季节尺度上量化气候变化和生态保护工程对长江源区植被变化的影响程度。结果表明:①在长江源区气候条件变化和生态保护工程影响下,长江源区植被退化得到遏制,植被生长呈好转趋势;②海拔相对较低的通天河附近植被NDVI增加幅度较大,高海拔的沱沱河和当曲流域的植被NDVI增加幅度相对较小;③长江源区植被NDVI对气候因子响应存在1～2月的滞后性。构建的人工神经网络模型的拟合优度参数人工神经网模型具有较高的预测精度,可以用来模拟植被NDVI对气候因子的响应;④年尺度的植被NDVI增加受到生态保护工程的影响程度(58.5%)大于气候变化的影响程度(41.5%)。生长季生态保护工程对NDVI的影响程度(63.3%)大于气候变化对NDVI的影响程度(36.7%),而非生长季气候变化是影响长江源区植被生长的关键要素(52.8%)。研究结果有助于为长江源区植被生态系统恢复、管理和利用战略的科学制定提供决策依据。     

Constructing a Social Justice Tour: Pedagogy,Race, and Student Learning through Geography

This article describes a high-impact learning project that combines geography, history, and ethnic studies. It describes the construction of the course, student outcomes, and the final and publicly presented collaborative project: the Social Justice Tour of Corvallis. Based on work in a small largely white town, this project presents a reproducible model for student learning and actively engaging with questions of race and geography.     

Assessing Collaborative Governance Outcomes and Indicators across Spatial and Temporal Scales: Stewardship Contract Implementation by the United States Forest Service

Abstract

Scholarship on collaboration in natural resource management is restricted by a lack of large-N assessments and mixed methods approach to examine relationships between collaborative structures and processes, and management actions and outcomes. This paper examines the relationship between perceived levels of collaboration, collaborative process indicators, and benefits of USDA Forest Service stewardship contracts at a broad spatial and temporal scale using mixed methodology. This study found higher levels of collaboration were strongly associated with jointly initiated processes that included a breadth of interests and utilized a broad range of outreach mechanisms and opportunities for engagement. Highly collaborative processes were closely linked with attaining project objectives and social and economic benefits. Findings contribute to defining collaboration by uncovering the relationship between perceived levels of collaboration, the role of process characteristics, and perceived benefits of collaborative stewardship contracting processes through a large-N dataset (n?=?1,064) and case study (n?=?61) findings.     

Spillover effect offsets the conservation effort in the Amazon

Diverse conservation efforts have been expanding around the globe, even under the stress of increasing agricultural production. A striking example is the supply-chain agreements put upon the Amazon forest which had reduced deforestation by 80% from the early 2000s (27,772 km²) to 2015 (6207 km²). However, evaluation of these conservation efforts usually focused on the impacts within the Amazon biome only, while the effects that spill over to other areas (e.g., displacement of environmental pressure from one area to another) were rarely considered. Ignoring spillover effects may lead to biased or even wrong conclusions about the effectiveness of these conservation efforts because the hidden cost outside the target area of conservation may offset the achievement within it. It is thus important to assess the spillover effects of these supply-chain agreements. In this study, we used the two supply-chain agreements (i.e., Soy Moratorium and zero-deforestation beef agreement) implemented in the Amazon biome as examples and evaluated their spillover effects to the Cerrado. To achieve a holistic evaluation of the spillover effects, we adopted the telecoupling framework in our analysis. The application of the telecoupling framework includes the interactions between distant systems and extends the analytical boundaries beyond the signatory areas, which fill the gap of previous studies. Our results indicate that the supply-chain agreements have significantly reduced deforestation by half compared to projections within the sending system (i.e., Pará State in the Amazon, which exports soybeans and other agricultural products), but at the cost of increasing deforestation in the spillover system (i.e., a 6.6 time increase in Tocantins State of the Cerrado, where deforestation was affected by interactions between the Amazon and other places). Our study emphasizes that spillover effects should be considered in the evaluation and planning of conservation efforts, for which the telecoupling framework works as a useful tool to do that systematically.     

Promises and Perils of Decentralized Forest Governance: The Case of Indonesia's Forest Management Units in Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)

Indonesia's forest management unit (Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan or KPH) system can be a promising mechanism for balancing international and national interests for global carbon mitigation initiatives with local interests in project implementation. We discuss the potential role of the KPH system in implementing REDD+ (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) projects and improving decentralized forest governance. Substantial financial gains from international initiatives like REDD+ and others can provide appropriate motivation for the central government to ensure successful decentralization of forest management. Development and implementation of REDD+ activities can also support the KPHs in performing their basic functions: conducting forest inventory, developing and implementing forest management plans, and strengthening communication and coordination with local communities. However, engaging indigenous peoples and local communities, which is a legal mandate for the system, will require building some measure of democratic process that can hold the KPHs accountable to local people.