Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Growing Sustainable Seaweed Industry: A Comparison Of Australian State Governance Directing Current And Future Seaweed Cultivation, Meagan E. Currie

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Seaweed is a critical part of natural marine ecosystems. In addition to supporting the marine environment, seaweeds are a significant global resource with nutritional, industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Seaweed also has the capacity to remediate excess nutrients in the water caused by agricultural or aquacultural waste of other organisms. Seaweed has demonstrated large potential as a remediation tool in land based polyculture and offshore Integrated Multi Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) systems.

Seaweed is already worth over US$7 billion as a global industry, but as of 2013 over 93% of global seaweed is produced in Asia (Lorbeer, 2013, p. 718). Australia imports …

Livelihoods Of The People Of Mazumbai: A Collection Of Stories And Portraits, Tanga Region, Tanzania, Joseph Baldus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Despite rapid urbanization in Tanzania, agriculture remains central to the nation, the economy, and the livelihoods of a large portion of the population. Smallholder farmers account for the vast majority of agricultural production, yet are an extremely vulnerable population due to poverty, single-sourced income, and climate-dependency for both subsistence and cash-crop agriculture (Rapsomanikis, 2015). This report explores these dynamic rural livelihoods through interviews and portrait photographs in a case study on Mazumbai, Tanga region, Tanzania. Semi-structured interviews explore the people’s modes of economic subsistence, domestic lives, education, challenges, and life stories. Excerpts from these interviews combined with portrait photographs create …

Pemban Farmer Agency In Adapting To Climate Change, Rachael Hood

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As a result of climate change, agricultural societies will be challenged by a variety of altered conditions, including increased severe weather events, saltwater intrusion, pest and disease outbreaks, and higher temperatures. The island of Pemba, in the Zanzibar archipelago, is home to many small-scale agriculturalists. During this study, I interviewed Pemban farmers in the districts of Wete and Micheweni about their awareness of the impacts of climate change and the mitigation strategies that they have implemented. The results from Pemba were compared to relevant academic literature regarding climate change to explore whether disparities exist between models of climate change in …

Ethically Sourced Vanilla: Certifications In The Production Of Vanilla In The Sava Region Of Madagascar, Maisie Campbell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Vanilla is an orchid whose beans are harvested after ten months on the vine. About eighty percent of the world’s vanilla is produced in Madagascar and the SAVA region is the capital of vanilla production within the country. The changing demand of vanilla, damage from cyclones, and the three-year development of the vanilla plants before they begin producing beans causes a boom and bust cycle of prices of vanilla. Some organizations have tried to ameliorate the problems these cycles and low prices pose to vanilla farmers by creating certifications for companies that promise that they will not pay less than …

Agrarian Reform In Sumber Klampok, Emma Trainor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agrarian reform in Indonesia is part of a movement beginning after independence was gained in 1945. Farmers have been fighting to obtain rights to their land from a government that has a history of violence, repression, and corruption for decades. Environmental, indigenous peoples’, peasant, and agrarian movements were given a legitimate, legal framework to work within after 1960 when the Basic Agrarian Law was passed, protecting the rights of the people to their land. However, during both the Old Order and especially New Order regimes, the law was often ignored by the government, and many grassroots organizations had to work …

Vulnerability And Resilience: The Farmers Of Sagara Village, Nick Olkovsky

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agriculture is a large part of the economy and society of Tanzania, equating to 28% of the country’s GDP. Up to 80% of these farms are owned and worked by 19 million smallholder agriculturalists (FAO, 2015). Smallholder farmers are an inherently vulnerable demographic, due to their high reliance on agriculture for food and income in addition to their limited financial, technological, and labor resources (Morton, 2007). Simultaneously, these farmers are often uniquely adapted for the challenges they face, having developed strategies of addressing and mitigating risks over many generations. This study investigates the adaptative capacity of smallholder farmers in Sagara …

Nutrient Cycling In The Amazon: A Comparison Of Soil Characteristics, Insects, Root Types And Decomposition Rates Between Varzea And Terra Firme Habitats In The Ecuadorian Amazon, Mira Ensley-Field

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Decomposition and nutrient cycling form the basis of every ecosystem. Nutrient availability in the soil affects plant species composition, richness, and productivity. The Amazon rainforest is known for its unusually fast nutrient cycle, but many aspects lack detailed study and analysis. This comparative study carried out in the Ecuadorian Amazon had four primary objectives related to understanding the nutrient cycle in the Amazon; 1.) analyze soil characteristics, 2.) assess insect diversity in the leaf litter layer, 3.) examine root characteristics, and 4.) measure the decomposition rate between Varzea and Terra Firme habitats alongside the Rio Napo. Forty 0.25 x 0.25m …

Effect Of Varied Disturbance Types On Dorylus (Anomma) Molestus Defensive Behavior In The West Usumbara Mountains, Tanzania., Ryan Mahar

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to observe novel nest characteristics of Dorylus molestus (Siafu), as well as their defensive behavior in response to varied disturbance methods. The number of defensive soldiers at a specific section of a column was counted before and after each agitation. Varied agitation methods were used on columns without larvae presence to test how soldiers responded to different disturbance types. Disturbances on columns with larvae presence were compared to those on columns without larvae. Nest distribution, behavior, composition, and size were observed objectively. Mechanical disturbance was found to incite the greatest increase in defensive soldier …

Song Of The Dzopa: A Case Study Of Traditional Farming, Food, And, Isabella Pezzulo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a plane high above the snow-capped jagged peaks and cracked earth of Ladakh, I stared down below with awe, wondering how people ever coaxed life from the soil in this mountain-desert landscape. The intention of this study is to see how traditional subsistence farming actually takes place and the social settings formed by these practices. Living in the village of Tar for a little over twenty days allowed me to observe the age-old practices in which nourishment is produced and community formed through working the land. Working with my hands and resting with cups of butter tea alongside villagers …

Seagrass Community Change At Three High Risk Ports In The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area From 2005 To 2014, Celeste Venolia

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Seagrass meadows are extremely valuable and dynamic ecosystems currently facing pressure from anthropogenic disturbances. Seagrass ecosystems are declining globally because of direct and indirect threats that shift environmental conditions controlling seagrass distribution. Seagrass species responses to disturbances vary based on a number of factors including life history strategy. The goal of this study was to map and analyze patterns of dominant seagrass species change at Cairns and Gladstone from 2005-2014 and Townsville from 2007-2014. This compilation data set was symbolized according to the life history strategy of the species. The major disturbances during this time period were physical damage from …

“Ellas Miran La Realidad”: La Sequía Y La Gestión De Mujeres En Santa Julia, Nicaragua, Deborah Secular

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Por los últimos dos años, Nicaragua ha experimentado una sequía con efectos drásticos en la población rural. Esta investigación estudió los efectos de la sequía en las mujeres de Santa Julia, una comunidad de 60 familias en El Crucero, Managua que estaba una hacienda monocultivo. Santa Julia fue escogida porque su acceso a agua ha sido limitado mucho tiempo, y porque tiene una cooperativa de mujeres que es activa en su gestión. La investigación involucró alrededor de 40 entrevistas y observaciones continuas como participante durante tres semanas en la comunidad. A través de entrevistas que involucraban las historias de las …

Working With Locals To Restore Biodiversity To A Rubber Dominated Landscape, Francis Commercon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Xishuangbanna, in Yunnan,China, contains the country’s highest concentration of biodiversity. Since the 1980s,rubber plantations have replaced a significant portion of the prefecture’s lowland Seasonal Tropical Rainforest, leading to wildlife habitat loss and other environmental issues.Monoculture farming practices also leave farmers economically vulnerable to market fluctuations. To learn the best solutions for increasing ecosystem services and income stability in rubber-dominated areas, the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) project Green Rubber engages smallholders directly in establishing and maintaining scientifically rigorous intercropping experiments in their villages.

Using Man’e village and the Green Rubber project as a case study, I asked to what degree and …

Taming The Teesta: Exploring The Holistic Effects Of Hydroelectric Dam Development On The Teesta River Through Documentary Film, Taylor Graham

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since time immemorial, the Lepcha people have called the Himalayan region that makes up the modern state of Sikkim their home and have held sacred the rivers, mountains, and forests that make up the biologically diverse region. Over the past two decades, India’s rapid development has generated a powerful thirst for electricity, and the country has increasingly looked to the cold, powerful rivers thundering from the Himalayas to supply that desired power. Hydroelectric projects have been proposed and implemented throughout the Himalayan region. Nowhere, however, are the dams as numerous or their effects as acutely felt as in India’s northwestern …

A Portrait Of A Farm: A Short Film Documenting Small-Scale Livestock Production On Hayters Hill Farm In Byron Bay, Noah Throop

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the past two-hundred years, the industrialization and mechanization of agriculture has slowly dissolved the centuries-old bond between human beings, the land and their food. Today, this disconnect threatens to exacerbate wide scale environmental degradation and a wide array of chronic diseases. However small, local farms that sell their produce directly to consumers are in a position to reverse this trend and reconnect consumers with their food. Small-scale farmers are able to see the health of the environment as instrumental to their economic and personal wellbeing and are able to be held accountable for their farming practices by their customers. …

How Does Climate Change Affect Agricultural Stability In Southeast Unguja? An Assessment Of The Threats To Agriculture And Food Security From Rising Temperature And Changes In Predictability And Intensity Of Rainy Seasons., Eloise Reid

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The relationship between climate change, agriculture, and food security on the island of Unguja was studied. Informal interviews were carried out in the south-eastern coastal communities of Bwejuu, Paje, and Jambiani in order to gain perspective and awareness of local knowledge concerning changes in climate and it's affects on crop production. Formal interviews were conducted in Stone Town with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Environment, the Sustainable Management of Land and the Environment office, private climate change experts and environmental consultants, and local NGO's to gain insight on what aspects of climate change are most detrimental in the …

The Effect Of Climate Change On Mongolian Herding Communities: Investigating The Current Prevalence Of Ecomigration And Community Perceptions Of And Responses To Migration In The Countryside, Rachael Diniega

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The livelihoods of Mongolian herders depend on rangeland conditions, which are being threatened by land degradation and climate change. These changes may cause some Mongolian herders to move to a different land. Thus, the prevalence of ecomigration today and the perceptions and responses of herding communities to migrants were examined to understand ways government could form adaptation policy to climate change in the future. Interviews were conducted with both migrant and host herders as well as government officials in Mungunmorit, Tov and Delgerkhan, Khentii, including the state reserve Herlen Bayan-Olaang. A survey was used to evaluate the prevalence of ecomigration …

Managing The Family And The Market: A Case Study Of Subsistence Farmers’ Local Economic Activities, Erika Roos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This independent research project is a case study of subsistence farmers’ agricultural and economic activities in Betafo, a district in the Vakinankaratra region of Madagascar. The project focuses on the various manners in which individual farming families engage in local market activity, and the impact of such activities on their socioeconomic livelihoods. Through a three-week ethnographic study involving in-depth interviews, participant observation, and site visits, the researcher gathered primary data from subsistence farmers in multiple villages of Betafo, as well as district officials and representatives of community organization.

The results of the research indicate that commercial agriculture and subsistence agriculture …

Confronting Agrarian Crisis And Deconstructing Farmer Debt: The Story Of Sulthanpur Village, Andhra Pradesh, Erica Dejong

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a climate of globalized politics and neoliberal economics, it can be difficult to isolate the impacts of agricultural and economic policy on the lives of the rural poor in India. Hidden behind a veil of economic growth, pro urban, and pro industry governments, the stories of small and marginal farmers have been overlooked in the name of different development priorities. This study endeavors to put the agrarian poor back into the scholarship spotlight by deconstructing livelihood crises and farmer debt in Sulthanpur Village, Andhra Pradesh. This effort is important because although Andhra Pradesh has the highest rate of farmer …

Rural Futures: How Can Agricultural Development Lead To A High Quality Of Life?, Jessie Ebersole

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Study Objectives:

Uganda, with its wealth of arable land and water resources, has unrealized agricultural development potential. How food is produced and distributed will impact United Nations Millennium Development Goal targets, including the eradication of extreme hunger, reductions in child mortality, and improvements in maternal health and environmental sustainability, yet advances towards the MDG’s have been limited. This study explores how Uganda’s agricultural sector can be developed in a way that improves the quality of life of smallholder farmers in Katente and Namuyenje parishes in Mukono district, Uganda. Ugandan agricultural production is starved of new sources of knowledge and technology, …

Validating The Culture Of Agriculture: Farmers Groups And Organic Agriculture Mitigating Rural To Urban Migration In Bhutan, Emma Dosch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agricultural occupations make up the largest proportion of Bhutan’s workforce. Over the past two decades the occupation has shrunk from 90% to 65% of Bhutan’s employment. The younger generation of Bhutan’s rural population is seeking livelihood opportunities in urban areas, leaving farms with labor shortages. The movement may compromise the identity and sustainability of Bhutan’s rural population and undermine the nation’s goals of Gross National Happiness (GNH) directed policy. Initiatives to retain and legitimize agricultural livelihoods are emerging inside and outside of government policy. Existing efforts are models of ways to reconnect educated individuals with the needs and values of …

Growing Farmers’ Markets: Measuring The Competitiveness Of The Byron Farmers’ Market With Other Local Food Sources, Audrey Gross

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Farmers’ markets are growing across the world at an exponential rate. However, there is little research that challenges the competitiveness of these farmers’ markets in competing with other food distribution locations, including supermarkets and local food stores. The following report focuses on using the principles of perfect competition to evaluate the competitiveness of the Byron Farmers’ Market with other local food sources in Byron Bay, NSW.

Data was collected through 120 consumer surveys (60 from the Farmers’ Market, 30 from Woolworths, and 30 from local food stores: Santos, Fundamentals, and Green Garage), 31 stallholder surveys from the Farmers’ Market, price …

Riesgo De Exposición A Los Plaguicidas En Familias Con Niños Menores De 6 Años De Azapa Y Lluta, Andrew Wilbur

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study aims to characterize the risk of pesticide exposure for children under the age of 6 who live in the rural, agricultural communities of the Azapa and Lluta valleys in Region Arica and Parinacota in northern Chile. To achieve this objective, it seeks to understand current perceptions held by parents or guardians with respect to risk of pesticide exposure within their families and identify practices and living circumstances that contribute to this risk. In environmental health, children are an especially vulnerable population as a result of their distinct characteristics. Their exploratory behavior and naivety contribute to their risk of …