Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Exploring Visitor Perceptions And Behaviours Related To Ticks And Lyme Disease Risk In An Ontario Protected Area, Ryan Brady

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne zoonosis in North America and over the past decade, reported cases of the disease have been rapidly increasing in many regions throughout Canada. The relative novelty of this public health threat presents nature-based tourism and recreation organizations with a range of policy and management challenges. Currently, there is a limited understanding of public perceptions and behaviours associated with tick and Lyme disease risk, especially within a Canadian parks and protected areas visitation and visitor experience context. To address this practical and scholarly knowledge gap, this study utilized in-situ surveys to explore visitor perceptions, …

Use Of Pre-Industrial Baselines To Assess Sources And Pathways Of Metals In Surface Sediment Of Floodplain Lakes In The Peace-Athabasca Delta (Alberta, Canada), Tanner Owca

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The effects of natural resources exploitation in northern Canada on downstream aquatic ecosystems is a concern. Assessing these effects requires comprehensive monitoring practices to better inform stakeholders and environmental stewardship decisions. Here, a monitoring approach is developed and applied to assess metals concentrations in lake surface sediments of the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), northern Alberta, Canada. Since the ecological integrity of the PAD is strongly tied to river floodwaters that are critical for replenishing the delta, and the PAD is located downstream of the Alberta oil sands, concerns have been raised over the potential transport of metal contaminants to the PAD …

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (Mcda) For Agricultural Sustainability Assessment, Byomkesh Talukder

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Multi Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT), Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) and Elimination methods of Multi-Criteria Decision analysis (MCDA) are tested to assess and compare the sustainability of different agricultural systems. Indicators and composite indicators are derived from data gathered using the agricultural sustainability categories of Productivity, Stability, Efficiency, Durability, Compatibility and Equity (PSEDCE).

Agricultural systems around the world face challenges from current agricultural practices, over-exploitation of natural resources, population growth and climate change. As a result, understanding agricultural sustainability has become a global issue. Assessment is a first step in benchmarking and tracking agricultural sustainability and …

Dune And Coastal Evolution In Isla Salamanca National Park, Colombia, Juan Felipe Gómez

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This project analyzes natural variables influencing the coastal and dune evolution in Isla Salamanca National Park (ISNP), a biosphere reserve and Ramsar site located in Colombia, on the Caribbean coast. Since at least the early 1950s, the park has been affected by eroding trends along most of the shoreline. Particularly, most modern dunes are located close to the coastline, forming scarped dunes regularly affected by storm wave-action.

The trends through time of rain, bathymetry and coastline changes during the last six decades were studied through statistical analysis, mapping of landscape features, and satellite images and historical aerial photograph …

Urban Flood Response Planning: Building Urban Resilience In Calgary And Toronto, Sarah Asrat

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Flooding is an increasing environmental concern for many Canadian cities. There is increasing awareness of climate change and its impacts on precipitation behavior and flooding in urban areas. Knowledge gaps were identified in the literature concerning urban flood response planning, uncertainty and preparedness planning. This study examines and compares urban flood response measures and resilience building for natural disasters in the Cities of Toronto and Calgary. Non-structural measures for flood risk reduction that include policies, decision-making and community engagement were examined by conducting a literature review and semi-structured interviews of individuals from six groups: provincial government, municipal government, conservation authority, …

Extraction And Empowerment: The Application Of Traditional Knowledge Within The Development Of The Nwt Bhp Ekati Diamond Mine, Daniel Vanclieaf

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Biodiversity Conservation Effectiveness And Evaluation In The National Protected Areas Systems Of Tropical Islands: The Case Of Jamaica And The Dominican Republic, Suzanne Mae Camille Davis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Island conservation theory and practice with regard to conservation of tropical terrestrial biodiversity in protected areas systems has yet to be adequately addressed in conservation literature. This knowledge gap is identified as a key contributor to the adoption of scientific principles for in situ biodiversity conservation, and “universal” conservation and protected area management paradigms that are unsuitable for island contexts and geographical scale. The underlying assumption is that “universal” concepts of biodiversity conservation, protected areas management, and evaluation of their effectiveness are transferable to the ecological and socio-economic contexts of tropical islands. The expected outcome of this knowledge transfer is …

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit And Adaptive Co-Management: A Case Study Of Narwhal Co-Management In Arctic Bay, Nunavut, Aaron T. Dale

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Since 2001 the community of Arctic Bay, located on north-western Baffin Island, in Nunavut, Canada, has been experimenting with a new approach to narwhal management—‘community-based’ narwhal managemet. The new management system has developed some decision-making powers to the local Hunters’ and Trappers’ Organization, who are empowered/required to draft by-laws to govern the hunt. Community-based narwhal management links local, regional, territorial, and national actors and agencies in a co-management arrangement that draws its powers from, and is steered by, the Nunavut Final Agreement (1993), the comprehensive land claims agreement between the Inuit of Nunavut and Her Majesty the Queen in Right …

Toward A More Holistic Approach To The Conservation Management Of Southern Ontario’S Small Protected Areas, Wilfred Gregory Tschirhart

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Within Southern Ontario’s highly fragmented greater natural ecosystem, there remain numerous relatively small scattered areas which bear at least some resemblance to their former pre-European/Canadian settlement natural ecosystem. In their present state they serve as reservoirs of their particular ecoregion’s indigenous plant and animal species. In proportion to their limited spatial areas, degree of isolation, existing ecological integrity, and long-term ecological carrying capacity they are stores of natural capital, which is beneficial to both nature and society. They co-exist with Southern Ontario’s well developed socioeconomic/cultural system, on whose stewardship their long-term integrity is becoming increasingly dependent, which creates increased environmental …

A Critical Examination Of Sustainability Considerations In Yukon Environmental Assessment—Past And Present, Louisa M. Clementino

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Northern regions of Canada, as a result of landscape characteristics and political and cultural dynamics, present unique challenges and opportunities for meeting sustainability goals through environmental assessment (EA) processes. In order to understand the significance of the EA process in the North and its applicability to fulfilling sustainability goals, the past and present EA regimes of the Yukon are evaluated adopting a sustainability-focused framework. Unique changes to the Yukon EA process, as a result of land claim agreements and devolution have created innovative structures and processes, reflective of the environmental, socio-economic, cultural and political circumstances of the region. The …

The Application Of Environmental Impact Assessment Legislation To The 2010 Winter Olympic Games Venue And Infastructure Development, Daniel Melbourne Patterson Kellar

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a tool which aims to make developments better by identifying, avoiding, and mitigating potential negative environmental impacts of projects and other action. With the 2010 Winter Olympic Games being held in the Vancouver to Whistler (sea-to-sky) corridor many developments have been initiated and EIA has played a role in 2010 site construction. Using case study analysis, legislative and literature reviews as well as open-ended interviews with key participants, stakeholders, and partners in the environmental impact assessment process, this study investigated the application of Canada’s and British Columbia’s environmental impact assessment legislations to the 2010 Olympic …

An Institutional Analysis Of Oil And Gas Sector Development And Environmental Management In The Yukon Territory, Jason C. May

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis investigates the ways in which oil and gas development priorities and concern for the environment are integrated within strategic planning and management frameworks, and how associated conflict is addressed, in a case study of the Yukon. Because substantial ground-based oil and gas activity is yet to occur in the territory, a thorough understanding of the institutions and institutional arrangements set to govern future oil and gas development is a valuable tool for gauging the capacity to integrate these priorities. Therefore, this thesis employs the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework to analyze the legislation, regulations, policies, and institutions …

Environmental Information Systems And Community-Based Resource Management In Ghana: An Investigation Of Institutional Policy And Implementation In Context, Abednego Ayitey Aryee

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study employed a case-study approach and cross-case analysis to investigate the impact of Environmental Information Systems (EIS) and Local Knowledge Systems (LKS) on agro-forestry management and biodiversity conservation. Questionnaire-based interviews with service providers, resource managers and focus group discussions with farmers associated with the United Nations Capacity 21, the Netherlands Tropenbos International (TBI) and the United Nations Project on People Land Management and Conservation (UNPLEC), projects yielded in-depth information on agro-forestry practices in southern Ghana. The findings of the survey revealed that computer-based information systems have been used to identify areas of resource degradation. This has served as a …

Local And Regional-Scale Societal Dynamics In Grizzly Bear Conservation, Douglas Andrew Clark

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Conserving grizzly bear populations is a significant challenge for wildlife managers throughout North America. Much fruitful research has been conducted on the biology of grizzlies, but the human dimensions of bear management remain poorly understood. This imbalance has created conflicts between management agencies and local inhabitants that can jeopardize ecosystem management and planning programs in which grizzlies often feature as key components. Broadly, the goal of this study was to understand how and why such conflicts occur. Qualitative data analysis methods and the policy sciences' interdisciplinary problem analysis framework, along with insights from adaptive governance and co-management concepts, resilience theory, …

An Analysis Of Social Aspects Of Forest Stewardship Council Forest Certification In Three Ontario Case Studies, Melanie Venne

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Forest certification is a market-based tool whereby forest management is evaluated against a set of standards that consider environmental, economic and social elements of sustainability. Certificiation is therefore a means of providing customers with the assurance that forest products are originating from sustainability managed forests. It grew out of the ideal of sustainable forest management (SFM) and pulls from its predecessor the concept of multiple dimensions of sustainability. The focus of this project was the international forest certification scheme Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

A comparative case study approach was used to examine the social implications of certification in three FSC …

Assessing Integration In Resource And Environmental Management In The Southwest Yukon, Madison S. Saunders

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis investigates the theory and practice of integration in resource and environmental management. Research on integration is growing as a result of the escalating demands placed on resources, an increase in the quality and quantity of information available concerning the environment, and the increased involvement and coordination of partners and participants in resource and environmental decision-making. Focus is placed on several resource and environmental decision-making. Focus is placed on several resources and environmental management processes in the Southwest Yukon, including wildlife management, protected areas management, forest management and environmental assessment. A case study approach is utilized to examine the …

An Analysis Of Community Forest Implementation In British Columbia, Canada, Ryan C. Bullock

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The community forest is increasingly seen as an alternative to industrial forestry for its perceived potential to mitigate conflict in forest resource management and planning. Theoretically, a community-based approach affords the chance to assert local values, provide local benefits, and manage resources differently than established top-down approaches. Yet practical examples of community forest initiatives in Canada reveal a host of constraints. This research uses a multiple case study design to investigate the motivations for and challenges to implementing community forests in British Columbia, Canada. Observations are drawn from four case studies (Denman Island, Malcolm Island, Cortes Island, and Creston) in …

Implementing The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan: A Case Study Of Initial Implementation Experiences, Ryan Dore

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Implementing an ecologically-based land use plan presents a variety of challenges. To gain insight into these challenges, this study focuses on the experiences of actor intimately involved in implementing the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan. To begin, a conceptual overview of regional planning/growth management, ecosystem-based management, and policy implementation literature and concepts are presented, along with a contextual overview of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan. Following the conceptual and contextual overviews, Hanna’s (2006) framework addressing eight obstacles to policy implementation is used to discuss and analyze the information collected during the interview process. Lastly, seven lessons for implementing an …

Modeling Uncertainty In Mountain Pine Beetle Management Systems, Anthony L. Alfano

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study attempts to introduce elements of data uncertainty into the Shore and Safranyik model for approximating risk and susceptibility ratings for Mountain Pine Beetle attack in the Morice Forest District of British Columbia, Canada. Data uncertainty is introduced into the modeling procedure by introducing attribute uncertainty and spatial (boundary) vagueness into representations of Forest Inventory Polygon data, an essential component of the Shore and Safranyik modeling system, for the purposes of assessing the effects of uncertainty on the results of the Shore and Safranyik susceptibility modeling procedure. Introducing uncertainty into the forest inventory data is done by introducing spatial …

Of Fish And People: Managerial Ecology In Newfoundland And Labrador Cod Fisheries, Dean Louis Yelwa Bavington

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation aims to understand the history of, and possible alternatives to, managerial responses to socio-ecological issues by examining one of the largest natural resource management failures of the twentieth century—the collapse of the Northern cod fisheries off Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. In 1992, the Northern cod fishery off Newfoundland and Labrador (the world's largest ground fishery) was shut down. The Northern cod had been reduced to 1% of their historic spawning biomass and cod fishing as a way of life had come to an end after a 500 year history. The dissertation develops and applies a critical theory of …

Spatial And Spatial-Temporal Analysis Of Mountain Pine Beetle Infestations At A Landscape Scale, Trisalyn Anna-Lisa Nelson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The impact of the current mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) epidemic in British Columbia underscores the need for scientifically informed management practices. During an epidemic it is necessary to manage large areas and an understanding of landscape scale spatial and spatial-temporal processes is required. With the recent availability of large area, multi-temporal data sets there are new opportunities for landscape scale studies of the mountain pine beetle over space and through time. In this thesis large area spatial and spatial-temporal patterns of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. Latifolia) mortality are explored using point data collected through helicopter surveys. As …

An Evaluative Framework For Assessing Information Management In Watershed Management: The Case Of The Grand River Conservation Authority (Ontario), Robert Scott Brown

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Watershed management has been rapidly evolving over the last 50 years. The current focus has been adaptive and ecosystem-based approaches to watershed management, redefining roles, responsibilities, and relationships of watershed organizations. While entire management models need to be heavily scrutinized, the practices and policies surrounding information are fundamentally important. Information forms the understanding and knowledge for watershed decision-making. Watershed organizations need to be critical of the policies and practices affecting their collection, storage, processing, analysis, monitoring, and reporting of data and information. Among the Conservation Authorities, the GRCA has developed a proficiency at information management, doing it as well as …

Regional Planning And British Columbia's Agricultural Land Reserve: A Case Study Of Land Use, Development And Policy Impacts In The Central Okanagan Valley, Danielle H. Noble

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In North America, farmland is commonly targeted as the site of urbanization, because it is often the most easy to develop. British Columbia has been no exception. But British Columbia is unique in North American planning because it has imposed a comprehensive agricultural land reserve (ALR), now over thirty years old, to respond to agricultural land loss. Such an instrument can have important implications for land-use planning and for planning practice. This research documents some of the impacts of the ALR on planning while focusing on the Central Okanagan Valley as a case study region. The lessons of the Okanagan …

The Contribution Of Stewardship To Park Planning And Management In Ontario: A Study Of Bruce Peninsula And Georgian Bay Islands National Parks, Felicitas Egunyu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Parks Canada has adopted ecosystem-based management as a means of maintaining ecological integrity. However, ecosystems often extend beyond park boundaries. Where parks share boundaries with other government-protected areas, arrangements have often been made for cooperation. These arrangements usually result in mutual benefits for the protected areas involved. Where parks share boundaries with privately owned land, stewardship is one of the methods being used to implement conservation-based practices. This study investigated the extent to which stewardship contributes to park planning and management in Ontario using the Georgian Bay Islands and Bruce Peninsula National Parks as case studies. Results show that stewardship …

Forest Fires, Woodland Caribou And Land Use Policies In Northwestern Ontario (Rangifer Tarandus), Brian Frederick Kutas

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are a threatened species in Ontario's boreal forest. Caribou require habitat that supports appropriate forage, including large areas of lichen rich forests. This research examines two dynamics that influence woodland caribou habitat in northwestern Ontario. These dynamics are forest fires and land use policies. The effects of forest fires are assessed quantitatively at both the ecosite and landscape scales within Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. Land use policy and management activities are evaluated using a case study and a policy analysis of protected area and forest management approaches to woodland caribou conservation in this region. Forest …

Developing A Conceptual System Model For Ecological Integrity Planning In The Greater Kluane Region, Yukon, Brent Heyward Parker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Understanding the complexity and ecological organization of protected area ecosystems, and their bioregional surroundings, is fundamental to maintaining their integrity. This research set out to integrate the bodies of systems and hierarchy theory to establish a framework for developing a conceptual model that would synthesize knowledge from diverse fields and identify key system processes, thereby providing new insight into ecosystem organization, function, and integrity. This understanding was then applied to planning for ecological integrity in the Canadian National Parks context through a case study of Kluane National Park and Reserve (KNP&R) within the Greater Kluane Region (GKR). The methodology characterized …

An Assessment Of The Role And Impact Of Non-Governmental Organizations (Ngos) In The Management And Sustainability Of Local Environmental Resources: A Case Study Of Nanun, Ghana, Iddrisu Adam

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

NGOs have been heralded as the vehicle of choice for aid delivery by international organizations lice the World Bank and the United Nations and also by western governments, especially in the last two decades. This is a tacit acceptance of their role as development agents in the South. However, no substantive research has been done to find out if these NGOs are indeed contributing to the better management of local environmental resources. This research sets out to examine the role and impact of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the management and sustainability of local environmental resources in rural Ghana. What makes …

The Management Of Complex Sociobiophysical Systems: Ecosystem-Based Management And The Chesapeake Bay Program, Daniel Dennis Mccarthy

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

There are an entire class of entities for which conventional scientific understanding is necessary but not sufficient to comprehend. These entities are too complex for analysis and yet too organized for statistics. They exist in a dynamic balance between the ordered and the disordered. They are ecosystems and human institutions. They are complex systems. There is an emerging body of theory that is providing insight into the structures and dynamics that underlie such entities. Under the rubric of complex systems theory, catastrophe theory, chaos theory, hierarchy theory and the interrelated theories of self-organization have profound implications for the way understand …

Killbear Provincial Park: The Beach And Dunes, Their Use And The Implications For Management (Ontario), Kathryn Ann Parlee

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Beaches, and in particular sand dunes, are extremely fragile environments, easily altered by human activities. Intensive use of the beach/dune complex at Killbear Provincial Park near Parry Sound, Ontario may have led to the severe degradation of its dune system within Kilcoursie Bay. At present the dunes have been degraded back to an embryonic state, and as a result it is necessary to consider the development of management strategies before the system is completely destroyed. In order to develop effective management strategies however, it is necessary to understand how the natural process of the system work and the specific effects …

Identifying Areas Of Concern For Regional Cumulative Effects Assessments In And Around Northern National Parks In Canada (Yukon), Jennifer L. Lenton

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis uses a literature review of protected areas selection, park management, comprehensive regional land use planning, and cumulative environmental effects and assessment to develop a methodology that identifies areas with concentrations of social and/or ecological values in and around northern national parks. The proposed methodology involves two stages. First, a database of values is developed by taking an inventory of social and ecological values through exxtensive literature reviews, interviews, and consultation with the public. This database is then used in the second step to determine areas with concentrations of social and/or ecological values, or “value hotspots”, using a series …