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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Restoration Process: Lessons From A Community-Based Conservation Initiative In Tunkhel, Mongolia, John Wendt
The Restoration Process: Lessons From A Community-Based Conservation Initiative In Tunkhel, Mongolia, John Wendt
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
As policy makers transition away from central planning, Mongolia’s natural resource professionals are challenged with cultivating community support for stewardship in a time of escalating ecological disturbance. Nutag Action Research Partners has partnered with community members and government officials in Tunkhel, a small village in north-central Mongolia, to develop local resource management capacity and jointly draft a Conservation Plan for a commonly grazed riparian pasture. This study is a preliminary assessment of the ecological and social factors influencing project implementation. Information was collected using a variety of qualitative methods including meeting observation, surveys, interviews, photographs, and a review of previous …
Light Pollution Research Through Citizen Science, John Kanemoto
Light Pollution Research Through Citizen Science, John Kanemoto
STAR Program Research Presentations
Light pollution (LP) can disrupt and/or degrade the health of all living things, as well as, their environments. The goal of my research at the NOAO was to check the accuracy of the citizen science LP reporting systems entitled: Globe at Night (GaN), Dark Sky Meter (DSM), and Loss of the Night (LoN). On the GaN webpage, the darkness of the night sky (DotNS) is reported by selecting a magnitude chart. Each magnitude chart has a different density/number of stars around a specific constellation. The greater number of stars implies a darker night sky. Within the DSM iPhone application, a …
From Holy To Holistic: Working Towards Integrated Management Of The Bagmati River Corridor, Lauren Platman
From Holy To Holistic: Working Towards Integrated Management Of The Bagmati River Corridor, Lauren Platman
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
The Bagmati and its tributaries have been an integral part of the Kathmandu Valley civilization. The river not only became a source of sustenance for the Valley's population but also gained religious-cultural significance. However, rapid urbanization and increasing industrial activities have transformed this once pristine river into an open sewer. Governmental organizations, NGOs, and community members are working towards improving the conditions of the Bagmati River through restoration projects and public awareness campaigns. Because of the large number of actors, collaboration on projects is vital in order to avoid duplication or conflict. After nearly thirty years of failed restoration projects …
Resisting For The River: Local Struggle Against The Proposed Saptakoshi River Dam, Janika Oza
Resisting For The River: Local Struggle Against The Proposed Saptakoshi River Dam, Janika Oza
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
On the Saptakoshi River in Nepal, the proposed construction of a hydropower dam may represent progress for parts of the country but loss for local communities. This paper draws on the experiences of people living in villages by the river who will be affected if the proposed high dam is built. By using qualitative information generated from interviews with villagers, the paper is an ethnographic account of the experiences and perspectives of the local populations that will be most directly affected by the dam. It was found that most subjects interviewed believe that the high dam would cause extreme environmental, …
Mongolian National Parks: Competing Interests And Institutional Viability In A Still Emerging Protected Areas System, Kieryn Wurts
Mongolian National Parks: Competing Interests And Institutional Viability In A Still Emerging Protected Areas System, Kieryn Wurts
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
In Mongolia, 17% of the total landmass is designated as one of four kinds of “protected areas”—Strictly protected areas, national parks, nature reserves, and natural historical monuments. This study focuses primarily on national parks as a civil institution, through on the ground interviewing of ten individuals employed in the protected areas system, field-notes and observations, and community surveying totaling 38 respondents at two research locations, Hustai-Nuruu National Park and Lake Khovsgol National Park. Protected areas are constructed civil spaces, and as a result are sites of competing societal interests--the interests of scientists and conservationists, of tourism and business interests, and …
Water Access And Security For Mongolian Peri-Urban Communities In The Face Of Climate Change And Development, Heather Cook
Water Access And Security For Mongolian Peri-Urban Communities In The Face Of Climate Change And Development, Heather Cook
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
The paper attempts to assess how water access and security in Mongolian ger districts is impacted by the competing forces of climate change and development. The development of Mongolia is, understandably, a priority of the government and much of the populace, as are the impacts of climate change, which are well documented and acknowledged. Furthermore, these processes both have potentially adverse impacts on the overall well being of communities. In the context of water access and security, the need to strike this balance becomes even more acute. These factors can all be seen playing out in the city of Sainshand, …
Using Gis To Locate Areas For Growing Quality Coffee In Honduras, Ellen Mickle
Using Gis To Locate Areas For Growing Quality Coffee In Honduras, Ellen Mickle
Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses
Abstract Small-scale coffee producers worldwide remain vulnerable to price fluctuations after the 1999-2003 coffee crisis. One way to increase small-scale farmer economic resilience is to produce a more expensive product, such as quality coffee. There is growing demand in coffee-producing and coffee-importing countries for user-friendly tools that facilitate the marketing of quality coffee. The purpose of this study is to develop a prototypical quality coffee marketing tool in the form of a GIS model that identifies regions for producing quality coffee in a country not usually associated with quality coffee, Honduras. Maps of areas for growing quality coffee were produced …
Variations In Stomatal Traits Of 14 Bornean Tree Species Growing On Soils With Different Moisture Contents In Lambir Hills National Park, Whitney Logan Cannon
Variations In Stomatal Traits Of 14 Bornean Tree Species Growing On Soils With Different Moisture Contents In Lambir Hills National Park, Whitney Logan Cannon
Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses
The goal of this study was to look at variations in stomatal traits of tree species on soils with different moisture contents and fertility at Lambir Hills National Park. Stomates are important structures on the surface of leaves that mediate conduction of moisture and gassesin and out of the leaf. If stomatalt raits are important for regulation, then there should be variation in stomatal traits in regards to their soil specialization. The 14 Borneant ree speciess ampledi ncluded6 sandyl oam specialists6, clay specialistsa nd 2 generalistsfo und growing with equald istributionso n both sandyl oam and clay. Confocal microscopy was …