Environmental Studies Commons^™

Unveiling The Nexus: The Interdependence Of Animal Welfare, Environment & Sustainable Development, World Federation For Animals (Wfa)

Nexus – UNEP – Animal Welfare, Environment, Sustainable Development

On 2 March 2022, the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) adopted the Animal Welfare - Environment - Sustainable Development Nexus Resolution. In this resolution, UNEA acknowledged that "animal welfare can contribute to addressing environmental challenges". UNEA further acknowledged animal welfare's contribution to "promoting the One Health approach and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals." To understand these links, UNEA requested the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to analyse and produce a report for the next convening of UNEA on the nexus between animal welfare, the environment, and sustainable development. "Unveiling the Nexus: The interdependence of animal welfare, environment & sustainable development" illuminates the …

Animal Sentience In Indian Culture: Colonial And Post-Colonial Changes, Nanditha Krishna

Animal Sentience

The Indian tradition has respected animal sentience and non-injury toward all life. It is repeated consistently in Sanskrit literature and the later literature of the Jains and the Buddhists. Change came with the advent of Islamic rule followed by the British, who built slaughterhouses. The hunting of wildlife increased and several wild predator species were wiped out. The result was the series of legislations for animals which were initially proposed by the SPCAs and later by NGOs. In 1976, the Constitution of India was amended to make the protection of wildlife and compassion for living creatures a fundamental duty. However, …

African Wildlife, Eco-Tourism & Covid, Andrew N. Rowan

WellBeing News

African wildlife conservation faces increasing economic pressure as a result of the loss of tourism due to the pandemic and other looming threats.

How To Engage Public Support To Protect Overlooked Species, Scarlett R. Howard, Adrian G. Dyer

Animal Sentience

Treves et al. (2019) propose a non-anthropocentric approach to conservation biology for the ‘just preservation’ of non-humans. Some of our current ways of ranking conservation efforts based on benefits to humans are indeed critically flawed, but we doubt that a completely non-anthropocentric approach is possible at this time. We propose a way to generate public support for those non-human species that may otherwise be overlooked in policy-making and conservation efforts.

Rewilding And Mixed-Community Collaboration In Conservation, Liv Baker

Animal Sentience

Rewilding is a psychological and sociocultural event for nonhuman animals that goes beyond the traditional framework of ecology. Elephants need to be seen as political agents in a collaboration. Our commentators shed light on the hierarchical assumptions and politics involved. Mixed-community collaboration can create dynamic and sustainable conservation interventions that are crucial to reconceptualizing the human-elephant relationship beyond the concept of labor. The profound effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have laid bare the fundamental vulnerabilities of the elephant tourism industry. Moreover, how well an elephant has been buffered by the fallout of the pandemic is dependent on the specific relations …

Third African Animal Welfare Conference, Andrew N. Rowan

WellBeing News

One of the major themes at the Third Africa Animal Welfare Conference in Addis Ababa in 2019 was the status of donkeys in Africa and the critical support they provide to poor families on the continent. But Chinese demand for ejaio (a gelatin preparation made from donkey hides) is threatening populations of donkeys across Africa.

Thriving Together: A New Initiative Combining Conservation And Family Planning Needs, Kathryn Lloyd

WellBeing News

The Margaret Pyke Trust launched the Thriving Together campaign, supported by over 150 large and small organizations (including some UN agencies) to build a movement “to change global policy to recognize the importance of removing barriers to family planning as an appropriate cause for conservationists to embrace, for the sake of their missions, for the lives of women and children and for a better world.”

Plastic Waste And Environmental Health, Andrew N. Rowan

WellBeing News

The ocean plastics issue is not just an issue for European citizens. It is a worldwide problem and a movement that has exploded into public consciousness in just the last few years. In May, 2019, 186 countries signed a legally binding agreement dubbed the “Norwegian amendment” to track and limit the trade of lower-quality, mixed and contaminated plastics.

The Intrinsic Value Of Nature, Joanna E. Lambert

Animal Sentience

Treves et al. explain the need to preserve the rights of nonhuman species, human youth, and future generations. Although conservation biology has claimed to have an intrinsic valuation ethic since its inception in the 1980s, many aspects of the field have taken a decidedly anthropocentric and instrumentalist trajectory. This has important consequences for conservation-related policy and practice at all scales: local, regional, and global.

Just Preservation, Adrian Treves, Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila, William S. Lynn

Animal Sentience

We are failing to protect the biosphere. Novel views of conservation, preservation, and sustainability are surfacing in the wake of consensus about our failures to prevent extinction or slow climate change. We argue that the interests and well-being of non-humans, youth, and future generations of both human and non-human beings (futurity) have too long been ignored in consensus-based, anthropocentric conservation. Consensus-based stakeholder-driven processes disadvantage those absent or without a voice and allow current adult humans and narrow, exploitative interests to dominate decisions about the use of nature over its preservation for futurity of all life. We propose that authentically non-anthropocentric …

Mobilizing Heads And Hearts For Wildlife Conservation, Valérie A. M. Schoof, Simon L'Allier

Animal Sentience

Highlighting the shared evolutionary relationships between humans and animals — and recognizing that all species, including humans, are unique in their own way — may facilitate caring for and conserving animals by tapping into a human emotion: empathy.

Intrapopulation Diversity In Isotopic Niche Over Landscapes: Spatial Patterns Inform Conservation Of Bear–Salmon Systems, Megan S. Adams, Christina N. Service, Andrew Bateman, Mathieu Bourbonnais, Kyle A. Artelle, Trisalyn Nelson, Paul C. Paquet, Taal Levi, Chris T. Darimont

Population Distribution and Habitat Collection

Intrapopulation variability in resource acquisition (i.e., niche variation) influences population dynamics, with important implications for conservation planning. Spatial analyses of niche variation within and among populations can provide relevant information about ecological associations and their subsequent management. We used stable isotope analysis and kernel-weighted regression to examine spatial patterns in a keystone consumer–resource interaction: salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) consumption by grizzly and black bears (Ursus arctos horribilis, n = 886; and Ursus americanus, n = 557) from 1995 to 2014 in British Columbia (BC), Canada. In a region on the central coast of BC (22,000 km² ), grizzly bears consumed …

A Review Of The Welfare Impact On Pinnipeds Of Plastic Marine Debris, Andrew Butterworth

Reduction and Degradation of Habitat Collection

Uncounted, and usually unobserved, numbers of pinnipeds find themselves entangled in lost fishing gear, monofilament line, nets, rope, plastic packaging in the ocean or on the shoreline. These animals may carry debris wrapped around themselves for long periods, and often die as a result, sometimes from deep chronic wounds. The pinniped species most affected by this modern and manmade phenomenon are fur seals, monk seals, and California sea lions, and to a lesser extent gray, common, and monk seals. Entanglement rates described range up to 7.9% of local populations annually, and the common entangling materials; packing bands, fragments of lost …

What’S The Common Sense Of Just Some Improvement Of Some Welfare For Some Animals?, Liv Baker

Animal Sentience

The goal of Animal Welfare Science to reduce animal suffering is commendable but too modest: Suffering animals need and deserve far more.

Influence Of Rock-Pool Characteristics On The Distribution And Abundance Of Inter-Tidal Fishes, Gemma E. White, Grant C. Hose, Culum Brown

Ecology Collection

Rock pools can be found in inter-tidal marine environments worldwide; however, there have been few studies exploring what drives their, fish species composition, especially in Australia. The rock-pool environment is highly dynamic and offers a unique natural laboratory to study the habitat choices, physiological limitations and adaptations of inter-tidal fish species. In this study rock pools of the Sydney region were sampled to determine how the physical (volume, depth, rock cover and vertical position) and biological (algal cover and predator presence) parameters of pools influence fish distribution and abundance. A total of 27 fish species representing 14 families was observed …

Updated Marine Mammal Distribution And Abundance Estimates In British Columbia, Benjamin D. Best, Caroline H. Fox, Rob Williams, Patrick H. Halpin, Paul C. Paquet

Population Distribution and Habitat Collection

Information relating to the distribution and abundance of species is critical for effective conservation and management. For many species, including cetacean species of conservation concern, abundance estimates are lacking, out of date and/or highly uncertain. Systematic, line-transect marine mammal surveys were conducted in British Columbia’s (BC) coastal waters over multiple years and seasons (summer 2004, 2005, 2008, and spring/autumn 2007). In total, 10,057km of transects were surveyed in an 83,547km2 study area. Abundance estimates were calculated using two different methods: Conventional Distance Sampling (CDS) and Density Surface Modelling (DSM). CDS generates a single density estimate for each stratum, whereas DSM …

Ecological Agriculture. Integrating Low Input, High Productive Farming With Wildlife Conservation. Results From The Experimental Farm La Combe, Drome France, Marthe Kiley-Worthington

Ecological Impacts of Animal Agriculture Collection

Wildlife conservation must be integrated with energy and resource efficient agriculture for the human population to survive. Modern high input energy and resource inefficient agriculture does not address these problems. An efficient food producing system which marries wildlife conservation with resource and energy efficient human food production is needed. This is Ecological Agriculture, modelled on how natural ecosystems work. It is defined as: The establishment and maintenance of a diversified, self-sustaining low input farming system managed to maximize net production without causing large or long term changes to the environment. It must be economically viable, and ethically and aesthetically acceptable …

Indigenous Knowledge And Science Unite To Reveal Spatial And Temporal Dimensions Of Distributional Shift In Wildlife Of Conservation Concern, Christina N. Service, Megan S. Adams, Kyle A. Artelle, Paul C. Paquet, Laura V. Grant, Chris T. Darimont

Population Distribution and Habitat Collection

Range shifts among wildlife can occur rapidly and impose cascading ecological, economic, and cultural consequences. However, occurrence data used to define distributional limits derived from scientific approaches are often outdated for wide ranging and elusive species, especially in remote environments. Accordingly, our aim was to amalgamate indigenous and western scientific evidence of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) records and detail a potential range shift on the central coast of British Columbia, Canada. In addition, we test the hypothesis that data from each method yield similar results, as well as illustrate the complementary nature of this coupled approach. Combining information from …

The Influence Of Topographic And Dynamic Cyclic Variables On The Distribution Of Small Cetaceans In A Shallow Coastal System, Marijke N. De Boer, Mark P. Simmonds, Peter J.H. Reijnders, Geert Aarts

Ecology Collection

The influence of topographic and temporal variables on cetacean distribution at a fine-scale is still poorly understood. To study the spatial and temporal distribution of harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena and the poorly known Risso’s dolphin Grampus griseus we carried out land-based observations from Bardsey Island (Wales, UK) in summer (2001–2007). Using Kernel analysis and Generalized Additive Models it was shown that porpoises and Risso’s appeared to be linked to topographic and dynamic cyclic variables with both species using different core areas (dolphins to the West and porpoises to the East off Bardsey). Depth, slope and aspect and a low variation …

Population Genetic Structure Of Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus) In A Marine Archipelago Suggests Island-Mainland Differentiation Consistent With Dietary Niche, Astrid V. Stronen, Erin L. Navid, Michael S. Quinn, Paul C. Paquet, Heather M. Bryan, Chris T. Darimont

Population Distribution and Habitat Collection

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that ecological heterogeneity across space can influence the genetic structure of populations, including that of long-distance dispersers such as large carnivores. On the central coast of British Columbia, Canada, wolf (Canis lupus L., 1758) dietary niche and parasite prevalence data indicate strong ecological divergence between marine-oriented wolves inhabiting islands and individuals on the coastal mainland that interact primarily with terrestrial prey. Local holders of traditional ecological knowledge, who distinguish between mainland and island wolf forms, also informed our hypothesis that genetic differentiation might occur between wolves from these adjacent environments.

Results: We used microsatellite genetic markers …

Marine Noise Pollution - Increasing Recognition But Need For More Practical Action, Mark P. Simmonds, Sarah J. Dolman, Michael Jasny, E. C. M. Parsons, Lindy Weilgart, Andrew J. Wright, Russell Leaper

Ecology Collection

Over the last two decades, marine noise pollution has become increasingly recognized as an issue of major significance. The issue has become a primary focus of marine mammal research, but is also of concern to the public and policy makers. The result has been efforts involving a variety of disciplines, and relevant legislation and associated guidance are now in place in many parts of the world. Most current mitigation efforts are directed at reducing the risk of injury from exposure to intense noise, although the effectiveness of such mitigation measures in terms of risk reduction has rarely been quantified. Longer-term …

Photo-Identification Methods Reveal Seasonal And Long-Term Site-Fidelity Of Risso’S Dolphins (Grampus Griseus) In Shallow Waters (Cardigan Bay, Wales), Marijke N. De Boer, Josephine Clark, Mardik F. Leopold, Mark P. Simmonds, Peter J.H. Reijnders

Ecology Collection

A photo-identification study on Risso’s dolphins was carried out off Bardsey Island in Wales (July to September, 1997-2007). Their local abundance was estimated using two different analytical techniques: 1) mark-recapture of well-marked dolphins using a “closed-population” model; and 2) a census technique based on the total number of iden-tified individual dolphins sighted over the study period. The mark-recapture estimates of 121 (left sides; 64 - 178, 95% CI; CV 0.24) and 145 dolphins (right sides; 78 - 213, 95% CI; CV 0.24) closely matched the census technique estimates (population size of 90 - 151). It was found that the dolphins …

Cetaceans And Marine Debris: The Great Unknown, Mark Peter Simmonds

Ecology Collection

Plastics and other marine debris have been found in the gastrointestinal tracts of cetaceans, including instances where large quantities of material have been found that are likely to cause impairment to digestive processes and other examples, where other morbidity and even death have resulted. In some instances, debris may have been ingested as a result of the stranding process and, in others, it may have been ingested when feeding. Those species that are suction or “ram” feeders may be most at risk. There is also evidence of entanglement of cetaceans in marine debris. However, it is usually difficult to distinguish …

The Fine-Scale Habitat Use Of Risso’S Dolphins Off Bardsey Island, Cardigan Bay (Uk), Marijke N. De Boer, Sonja Eisfeld, Mark P. Simmonds

Ecology Collection

The main objectives of this study were (1) to estimate the population size of Risso’s dolphins off Bardsey Island using mark-recapture techniques (De Boer et al., 2013); and (2) to study habitat-use in relation to fine-scale oceanographic features. This work provides preliminary information on the habitat-use of Risso’s dolphins and will benefit future studies, along with the development of effective conservation measures for this species throughout the region.

Short-Beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus Delphis) Occurrence In The Moray Firth, North-East Scotland, Kevin P. Robinson, Sonja Eisfeld, Marina Costa, Mark P. Simmonds

Ecology Collection

The short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is regarded as notably rare or absent from the northern North Sea, but recent evidence suggests a rising frequency of the species in these waters with increasing regional sea temperatures. The following paper documents the presence of D. delphis in the Moray Firth in north-east Scotland and provides the first evidence for the sustained occurrence of these delphinids in this region during the warmer summer months at least. Sightings were collated during systematic surveys of the outer Moray Firth between 2001 and 2009 by independent research teams from the CRRU and WDCS. A total …

An Hsi Fact Sheet: The Impact Of Animal Agriculture On The Environment And Climate Change In India: A Focus On Methane, Humane Society International

HSI FACT SHEETS

Animal agriculture inefficiently consumes natural resources, contributes to deforestation, and produces immense quantities of animal waste, threatening water and air quality and contributing to climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimated in 2006 that animal agriculture was responsible for 18% of global, anthropogenic, or human-induced, greenhouse gas emissions and was ―by far the single largest anthropogenic user of land. Climate change poses significant challenges to India‘s agricultural sector, which is already facing increased competition for land and water.

Ignoring Nature: Why We Do It, The Dire Consequences, And The Need For A Paradigm Shift To Save Animals, Habitats, And Ourselves, Marc Bekoff, Sarah Bexell

Ecology Collection

The article discusses the importance of biodiversity and on how people protect animals and habitats. It describes the conservation psychology and conservation social work. It suggests that there will be fewer people who will actually be able to make a positive difference in the relationships with animals and ecosystems.

Hsi Fact Sheet: The Impact Of Animal Agriculture On The Environment And Climate Change In Brazil, Humane Society International

HSI FACT SHEETS

The intensification of farm animal production in industrialized agricultural systems, or factory farms, compromises animal welfare and degrades the environment. Animal agriculture inefficiently consumes natural resources, contributes to deforestation, and produces immense quantities of animal waste, threatening water and air quality and contributing to climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimated in 2006 that animal agriculture was responsible for 18% of global, anthropogenic, or human-induced, greenhouse gas emissions and was ―by far the single largest anthropogenic user of land.

Landscape Heterogeneity And Marine Subsidy Generate Extensive Intrapopulation Niche Diversity In A Large Terrestrial Vertebrate, Chris T. Darimont, Paul C. Paquet, Thomas E. Reimchen

Population Distribution and Habitat Collection

1 Inquiries into niche variation within populations typically focus on proximate ecological causes such as competition. Here we examine how landscape heterogeneity and allochthonous (marine) subsidy might ultimately generate intrapopulation niche diversity.

2 Using stable isotope analysis, we detected extensive terrestrial–marine isotopic niche variation among subpopulations, social groups, and individual grey wolves (Canis lupus) that occupy a spatially heterogeneous landscape in coastal British Columbia comprising a mainland area and adjacent archipelago.

3 The inner island subpopulation exhibited the widest isotopic niche in the population, consuming extensive terrestrial and marine resources. Mainland and outer island subpopulations occupied comparatively narrow …

Global Farm Animal Production And Global Warming: Impacting And Mitigating Climate Change, Gowri Koneswaran, Danielle Nierenberg

Agribusiness Collection

BACKGROUND: The farm animal sector is the single largest anthropogenic user of land, contributing to many environmental problems, including global warming and climate change.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to synthesize and expand upon existing data on the contribution of farm animal production to climate change.

METHODS: We analyzed the scientific literature on farm animal production and documented greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as various mitigation strategies.

DISCUSSIONS: An analysis of meat, egg, and milk production encompasses not only the direct rearing and slaughtering of animals, but also grain and fertilizer production for animal feed, waste storage …