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Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

2010

Conservation

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Toward A Strategy For The Conservation And Protection Of The World’S Temperate Grasslands, William D. Henwood Apr 2010

Toward A Strategy For The Conservation And Protection Of The World’S Temperate Grasslands, William D. Henwood

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Temperate grasslands are one of the world’s great biomes and were once home to some of the largest assemblages of wildlife the earth has ever known. Today these grasslands are considered the most altered terrestrial ecosystem on the planet and are recognized as the most endangered ecosystem on most continents. While species and habitat declines continue, temperate grasslands have the lowest level of protection of the world’s 14 biomes. With only 4% of the biome under protected status, considerable effort will be required to increase this level of protection. Several international bodies have suggested that achieving at least a 10% …


Conserving Mongolia’S Grasslands, With Challenges, Opportunities, And Lessons For North America’S Great Plains, Richard P. Reading, Don Bedunah, Sukh Amgalanbaatar Apr 2010

Conserving Mongolia’S Grasslands, With Challenges, Opportunities, And Lessons For North America’S Great Plains, Richard P. Reading, Don Bedunah, Sukh Amgalanbaatar

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Mongolia and North America contain expansive grassland ecosystems that remain sparsely populated, dominated by agriculture, and support relatively isolated human communities dependent on natural resources. Until recently Mongolians raised livestock using extensive pastoralism without seriously threatening most of the region’s biodiversity. Yet that changed rapidly following the recent transition from a communist, command-control economy to a democratic, free-market economy. The main challenges to protecting biodiversity on grasslands in Mongolia include overgrazing, poaching, mining, and inadequate management, training, and resources. Mongolia and the Great Plains both retain great opportunities for biodiversity conservation that could also benefit local people. Mongolia has begun …


Lessons Learned From Biodiversity Conservation In The Private Lands Of Laikipia, Kenya, Siva R. Sundaresan, Corinna Riginos Apr 2010

Lessons Learned From Biodiversity Conservation In The Private Lands Of Laikipia, Kenya, Siva R. Sundaresan, Corinna Riginos

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Increasingly, private land around the world is being set aside for conservation. The Laikipia District in Kenya is one area where wildlife conservation has been relatively successful on privately owned lands. This region supports a higher diversity of large mammals than any other region in East Africa, yet only 2% of the district is formally protected. Land is mostly owned and managed by private ranchers or groups of Maasai families on “group ranches.” In most private ranches, wildlife conservation and tourism have become important sources of revenue over the last two decades. Wildlife, once merely tolerated, are now considered desirable …


The Role Of Conservation Research And Education Centers In Growing Nature-Based Tourism, Richard Edwards, Eric Thompson Apr 2010

The Role Of Conservation Research And Education Centers In Growing Nature-Based Tourism, Richard Edwards, Eric Thompson

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

There are increasing numbers of private (nonprofit and for-profit) centers that carry out conservation research and education in locations of environmental concern. Such centers generate revenue streams that directly support conservation programs and also sustain surrounding human communities. This paper assesses the size of the centers’ economic impacts. We conducted separate studies of the economic impacts of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (Namibia) and (jointly) the Rowe Bird Sanctuary and Whooping Crane Trust (central Nebraska, USA). We collected data on direct expenditures and surveyed visitors and volunteers on their spending. For the Cheetah Conservation Fund, we estimate total economic impact using …