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Full-Text Articles in Environmental Studies

Smallholder Farmers, Environmental Change And Adaptation In A Human-Dominated Landscape In The Northern Highlands Of Rwanda, Apollinaire William Jan 2018

Smallholder Farmers, Environmental Change And Adaptation In A Human-Dominated Landscape In The Northern Highlands Of Rwanda, Apollinaire William

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Climate change and crop intensification are key challenges to the livelihoods and wellbeing of the majority of rural smallholder farmers in developing countries, particularly in human-dominated, climate-sensitive landscapes such as the northern highlands of Rwanda where issues of fluvial floods, soil erosion pose serious threats to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. In this mixed methods study conducted between August and December 2015, I explored smallholder farmers’ perceptions by examining what barriers might hinder the process of agroforestry adoption by smallholder farmers, what socio-economic and physical factors and attitudes influence crop choices, motivations for smallholder farmers’ willingness to plant trees within …


Landscape Visualization: Influence On Engagement For Climate Resilience, Christa Daniels Jan 2018

Landscape Visualization: Influence On Engagement For Climate Resilience, Christa Daniels

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Research suggests an “Adaptation Deficit” exists in the realm of climate change mitigation and adaptation. There is a lack of climate adaptation goals, policies and projects implemented at the local level. Climate resilience relies on effective public engagement to ensure implementation. This type of engagement includes: (1) being aware of the issue and solutions; (2) feeling concerned about the problem; and (3) taking action. This research explores the impact of in situ 3D landscape visualization coupled with meaningful dialogue, on public engagement for climate change resilience. A mixed methods approach was used to undertake this research study using landscape visualization …


Noninvasive Collection Of Saliva In Panthera Leo : Creation And Validation Of A Novel Technique For Health Assessment In Captive African Lions (Panthera Leo), Elizabeth Sgambelluri Jan 2018

Noninvasive Collection Of Saliva In Panthera Leo : Creation And Validation Of A Novel Technique For Health Assessment In Captive African Lions (Panthera Leo), Elizabeth Sgambelluri

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Very little research exists concerning direct correlations between alterations in stress stimuli and direct effects on carnivore physiology. Many studies have researched and documented what factors correlate to increased stress levels in predator species. Lacking, however, are studies observing the specific physiologic influences of increased glucocorticoid concentrations in those individuals. Furthermore, methods for monitoring and assessing health or immune function in many carnivore species often involve invasive techniques, such as physical restraint, blood sampling, and chemical immobilization. This study aimed to create, evaluate, and describe a new device for noninvasive collection of saliva for health assessment. The device itself was …


Protected Area Planning And Management: Supporting Local Stakeholder Participation With An Asset-Based, Biocultural Approach, Nicole M. Wengerd Jan 2018

Protected Area Planning And Management: Supporting Local Stakeholder Participation With An Asset-Based, Biocultural Approach, Nicole M. Wengerd

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Given the uncertainties and risks of anthropogenic climate change, the urgency to conserve biodiversity has renewed urgency that has prompted a number of international forums, treaties, and agencies to advocate for the establishment of new and/or expansion of existing protected areas. One of the most broadly recognized efforts to expand the global protected area network can be found in the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, outlined in the Convention on Biological Diversity Strategic Plan for 2011-2020, adopted in 2010 by 196 countries. Target 11 calls for the expansion of terrestrail and inland water areas, as well as coastal marine areas. While the …


Influences Of Forest Edges And Human Activities On The Dry Season Ranging Patterns Of Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes Schweinfurthii) In Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda, Enathe Hasabwamariya Jan 2018

Influences Of Forest Edges And Human Activities On The Dry Season Ranging Patterns Of Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes Schweinfurthii) In Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda, Enathe Hasabwamariya

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Great apes, our closest biological relatives are threatened globally by the increasing anthropogenic pressures on their habitat. The major threats to the eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are hunting for bush meat and illegal trade in chimpanzee infants, habitat loss or fragmentation and disease transmission (IUCN, 2010). Nyungwe National Park (NNP), Rwanda has a population of chimpanzees that face several threats, including hunting for bushmeat, habitat degradation from forest fires and human-wildlife conflicts, and much of these impacts are concentrated at forest edges. The main objectives of this research were to assess the use of forest edges by chimpanzees along …


Analysis Of Land Use/Land Cover Change Impacts Upon Ecosystem Services In Montane Tropical Forest Of Rwanda: Forest Carbon Assessment And Redd+ Preparedness, Mcard Joseph Mlotha Jan 2018

Analysis Of Land Use/Land Cover Change Impacts Upon Ecosystem Services In Montane Tropical Forest Of Rwanda: Forest Carbon Assessment And Redd+ Preparedness, Mcard Joseph Mlotha

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Changes in forest cover especially changes within tropical forests, affect global climate change, together with ecosystems and forest carbon. Forests play a key role in both carbon emission and carbon sequestration. Efforts to reduce emissions through reduced deforestation and degradation of forests have become a common discussion among scientists and politicians under the auspices of the United Nations Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD Programme). This dissertation research assessed the impacts of land use land cover change upon ecosystem services from a protected area focusing on forest carbon distribution and vegetation mapping using remote sensing and …


Exploring Perceptions Of The Potential Of Agricultural Insurance For Crop Risks Management Among Smallholder Farmers In Northern Ghana, John Bosco Baguri Sumani Jan 2018

Exploring Perceptions Of The Potential Of Agricultural Insurance For Crop Risks Management Among Smallholder Farmers In Northern Ghana, John Bosco Baguri Sumani

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana are exposed to multiple agricultural risks, which require various adaptation strategies to address. However, these strategies are only partially effective. Agricultural insurance has been promoted to assist smallholders in low-income countries to manage their key agricultural risks. The Ghanaian government and its collaborating partners introduced three agricultural insurance programs (AIPs) since 2009. In countries other than Ghana, some post-piloting evaluations of AIPs have revealed mixed outcomes, with some schemes resulting in unintended socio-ecological and maladaptive consequences. Despite these concerns, no study has explored the potential of agricultural insurance for smallholders’ crop risks management in Ghana. …


Mountain Dance: A Transdisciplinary Exploration Of Environmental Dance As An Autopoietic Expression Of Ecological Connectivity And Synthesis, Dianne Eno Jan 2018

Mountain Dance: A Transdisciplinary Exploration Of Environmental Dance As An Autopoietic Expression Of Ecological Connectivity And Synthesis, Dianne Eno

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This research explores the complexity of the human-nature relationship through the emergent arts-based lens of environmental dance. The work is guided by a transdisciplinary mission—to actively create bridges and connections between and among disciplines typically thought to be independent bodies of knowledge in their own right: here they merge and become synergistic partners, producing a new way of knowing that is greater than the sum of two independently-partnered disciplines. A transdisciplinary approach opens us to know a multiverse where a holistic perspective expands the traditionally singular viewpoint of the existing predominant Cartesian paradigm. The study allows space for “environmental dance” …