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Life Sciences Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Forest Sciences

2004

Selected Works

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Multidisciplinary Influence Of Common Sustainability Indices, Audrey L. Mayer, Hale W. Thurston, Christopher W. Pawlowski Sep 2004

The Multidisciplinary Influence Of Common Sustainability Indices, Audrey L. Mayer, Hale W. Thurston, Christopher W. Pawlowski

Audrey Mayer

Sustainability is often poorly defined and difficult to measure. We describe several concepts from ecology, economics, and physics, that have contributed to sustainability indices, and discuss their positive and negative aspects. Indices range from mostly ecological (such as ecosystem resilience and global human carrying capacity), to those inspired by both economics and ecology (green income and maximum sustainable yield), to a mix of ecology and physics (exergy and emergy). Economic concepts such as substitutability of natural and human capital (the “weak” versus “strong” sustainability debate), and through put of natural resources through an economic system, are the basis for several …

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Agroforestry, Elephants, And Tigers: Balancing Conservation Theory And Practice In Human-Dominated Landscapes Of Southeast Asia, Philip J. Nyhus, R L. Tilson Dec 2003

Agroforestry, Elephants, And Tigers: Balancing Conservation Theory And Practice In Human-Dominated Landscapes Of Southeast Asia, Philip J. Nyhus, R L. Tilson

Philip J. Nyhus

Large mammal populations theoretically are best conserved in landscapes where large protected areas are surrounded by buffer zones, connected by corridors, and integrated into a greater ecosystem. Multi-use buffer zones, including those containing complex agroforestry systems, are promoted as one strategy to provide both economic benefits to people and conservation benefits to wildlife. We use the island of Sumatra, Indonesia to explore the benefits and limitations of this strategy. We conclude that conservation benefits are accrued by expanding the habitat available for large mammals but more attention needs to be focused on how to reduce and respond to human–wildlife conflict …

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