Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

National Parks In China: A New Model For Nature Conservation, Katherine Fritz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When the author of “China has First National Park” published in The Science News-Letter in 1948, he could not foresee the next 60 years of China’s struggle to develop an effective nature conservation system. If he had, he would have known that simply recognizing the value of precious land, as China did in 1948, does not automatically lead to a sophisticated, nation-wide national park system.

National parks are the hallmark of advanced civil society and complex government conservation schemes. Since the State Forestry Department declared China’s first officially protected space at Dinghu Shan Nature Reserve in Guangdong province in 1956 …

La Lucha Por Una Comunidad Sustentable Los Campesinos Tonocote De Breayoj: Manejo De Recursos, Desarrollo Y Elecciones, David Flannelly

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A study about the environment and sustainability has to be soley about topics solely relating directly to nature, right? With this preconception in my mind I went off to study an indigenous subsistence farming community in the northwestern region of Argentina. Initially I solely wanted to focus on the management of resources of the community, the trees, water, and animals. Fate had other plans for my indepent study project. I arrived in the community right in the middle of the last week of historical elections for the province and the community. A new political party of farmers and other poor …

Estatus Actual De Los Búhos Terrestres (Athene Cunicularia) En La Zona De Puerto López, Ecuador: Efectos De Las Creencias Y Sentimientos Hacía Los Animales Silvestres, Allison Qubain

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In response to negative attitudes towards the existing biodiversity in the region of Puerto Lopez, Ecuador and as a follow-up of a study conducted in 2006 on the status of Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) populations, through informal interviews and observation, this investigation focuses on how local sentiments towards nature have affected the current status of the Burrowing Owl populations and their habitat. The investigation revealed that in addition to the effects of legends and beliefs, there is an existing lack of knowledge, understanding, and appreciation for the extremely high biodiversity, which has created an evident fear instilled in the people. …

El Plan Agua Bosque: Impactos Sociales Y Ambiéntales De Las Hidroeléctricas Comunitarias Propuestas En Intag, Jonathan Kadish

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

HidroIntag, a community based company has proposed to construct nine small and medium hydroelectric dams with generation potential of 100MW in total in the zone of Intag. The company plans to reinvest all net profits in activities in the communities, including agroforestry, small agroindustry, tourism, infrastructure, and social services. This study utilizes 18 formal and informal interviews to determine the preferences and concerns of community members about the possibility of having hydroelectric dams in the zone and in what the profits should be invested. The study also utilizes 5 interviews with leaders of HidroIntag and other involved organizations to determine …

Walking Amongst The Sacred Spines: Social And Ecological Investigation Of The Fenoaivo And Zanavo Sacred Forests In Southern Madagascar, Laura Miller

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study explores the social and ecological aspects of the Fenoaivo and Zanavo sacred forests—an area located in the commune of Ifotaka and region of Anosy in the spiny forest of southern Madagascar. Through a general survey of the 2.5km by 950 meter forest, a survey of the fauna and flora, a survey of the sacred forest areas, over fifty local interviews and an expert stakeholder survey sent out to over 65 people internationally, an attempt was made to look at the areas potential for a community conserved area and the possibility of community-based tourism. Discovering that both the general …

What The Fish Is Going On Here? Are Regulations Being Followed At The Ver-O-Peso Market In Belém, Para?, Neil Thompson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the commercialization of the amazonian fishery in the early 1970´s there have been major problems with enforcement of minimum capture length laws and regulations. It has been well documented with species such as tambaqui (Collosum macroponum) and mapara (Hypopthalamus edentates) that juveniles and pre-adults are being targeted by fishermen. This has led to a situation where most of the individuals present in fish markets are undersized and illegal according to IBAMA regulations. The majority of the research done on undersized illegal market fish has focused on markets in Manaus, Tefé and Santarem. This study seeks to find out if …

Hinchinbrook Area Boater’S Opinions Of And Compliance With Dugong Conservation Initiatives, Matilda Andersson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Taking into consideration past history of the area this report aims to examine the views of Hinchinbrook Area boaters and fishermen regarding conservation initiatives and indigenous hunting. A combination of surveying local boaters using a questionnaire and interviews conducted with local experts and people involved in dugong conservation resulted in both numeric results and many personal opinions.

Conservation initiatives include voluntary speed guidelines, voluntary transit lanes, and a Traditional Use of Marine Resource Agreement. Boaters’ opinions and compliance with all the initiatives was examined using a questionnaire which included a True or False section, personal opinions, compliance, and sighting information. …

Study Of A Self-Assessment System For The Ecotourism Group In Curuçá: Accounting For Tourist Opinions While Maintaining Initial Goals, Karina Hope Costa

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Community-based ecotourism can be a potential tool to both promote empowerment and conservation of the local environment. One of the main goals of community-based ecotourism is to ensure that participating communities take an active role in the development and management of ecotourism activities. One way to measure if their goals are being reached is through a system of assessment, through which an ecotourism community will be able to account for the opinions of the tourist, the guide operators, and the local community. The general objective of this paper is to determine how a community-based ecotourism group can account for the …

Paradigms And Perceptions: A Chronology And Analysis Of The Events Of The Chan-75 Hydroelectric Project And The Roles And Relationships Of Participants, Bocas Del Toro, Panama, Jessica Barber

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The pending construction of the Changuinola 75 Hydroelectric Project (Chan-75) has sparked significant controversy as the affected communities, national non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) and international NGO’s have protested against the conduct of the project’s promoters, the AES Corporation and supporters, the Panamanian government. Located in the Bosque Protector Palo Seco, a buffer zone to La Amistad International Park, the Chan-75 hydroelectric dam project will have significant consequences for the biodiversity, flora and fauna of the area. The dam will also displace four indigenous Ngöbe communities, a traditionally marginalized and underrepresented group, as well as flooding the farmland of many others. Hydroelectric …

Arauco Y Sus Políticas De Rse En La Viii Región Del Bío Bío (Una Comparación Entre Sus Políticas Medio Ambientales Y La Situación Real), Jamie Warner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of my independent research project is to find out whether the written Corporate Social Responsibility environmental policies of Arauco Forests are actually enacted in the eight region (Bíobío). My hypothesis is that even though Arauco has implemented these policies, it does not have a sustainable model for its forest industry. Arauco continues to damage the land, water, and air in the Biobió region, which is in turn affecting the lives of the people that live in the region, the natural flora and fauna, and the workers. I have chosen to focus on the VIII region because it has …

The Polar Thaw: An Analysis Of The Impacts Of Climate Change On The Environment And Geopolitics Of The Arctic Polar Region, Alexandra Stoicof

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The issues facing the Arctic region today are of relatively new importance on the agendas of environmentalists, lawyers, and national governments. Global warming is affecting the polar regions at a faster pace than the rest of the world, and is drastically changing the ecosystem and viability of the indigenous groups who depend on the environment of the tundra. The forced adaptation of the natives has lead to convictions of human rights and debates over the accountability of the world to affected communities. The retreat of Arctic sea-ice also exposes another area of controversy; the claims to the resources and passageways …

Renewable Energy And Agriculture: Promoting Biogas In The Rural Communities Of The Lashihai Wetland Nature Reserve, Amanda Lee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“China’s economic miracle will end soon because the environment can no longer keep pace.” – Pan Yue, deputy environmental director (Larson, 21)

In recent years, the causes and impacts of global warming have increasingly garnered press on an international scale. Scientists have confirmed global warming as being mostly anthropogenic (Rosenthal and Revkin; Xuequan). More wildlife species have become endangered or extinct (Roach) and natural disasters such as storms have increased in severity (“New study”; Schmid). With the 2008 Beijing Olympics quickly approaching, the international community has turned its eye to China and its policies, including those towards the environment. Since …

Waste Management Education In Samoa: A Collection Of Case Studies On Present Issues, Kathy Feeney

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Despite the presence of environmental education and awareness programs, Samoa still faces many environmental problems today, especially in the area of waste management. With the influx of packaged goods into a society that had always lived off the land, Samoans have had to change their conception disposal of rubbish. In schools, students are learning about waste management, yet litter and improper disposal of waste continues to be an issue. In order to understand this dichotomy exists, surveys were conducted at eight secondary schools on ‘Upolu and Savai’i to determine what kinds of waste exist at different schools and how much …

Post-Fire Demography Of A Dry Eucalypt Forest In The Midlands, Tasmania: A Pilot Study, Christine Urbanowicz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

There have been many efforts to regenerate the threatened and declining dry eucalypt forests found within the Midlands of Tasmania. This pilot study was completed as part of a larger research project on eucalypt regeneration. Researchers need to know where recruits are most successful in order to appropriately place regeneration microsites. I have begun characterizing the baseline demography of a recently burnt remnant forest. I had two objectives: 1. to characterize the stand structure where recruits are successful, and 2. to describe where the recruits are within this structure. Data on location, size, and life history stage of trees were …

Atravesando La Amazonía: Carreteras, Desarrollo, & El Camino Del Desastre, Olivia De Lancie

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Road construction in the Amazon has greatly impacted its floral and faunal inhabitants. The opening of a new road in a previously isolated region exposes its populations to the economy for the first time, and to the possibility of enriching themselves through the extraction of their products. Unfortunately, this exchange of goods results in the aculturization of indigenous groups, and in the loss of their unique culture. The migration that the roads near indigenous communities encourages increases access to education and sources of work, but results in a nearly complete destruction of these communities’ social fiber. Economic and cultural exchanges …

The Current State Of Populations Of Diadema Antillarum On Isla Colón In Bocas Del Toro, Panamá, 25 Years After Mass Mortality, Leah T. Ritz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In January 1983, the worst recorded die-off of any marine animal hit the Caribbean beginning near the mouth of the Panama Canal and eventually wiping out nearly 99% of one of the most important herbivores in coral reef communities, Diadema antillarum—the long-spined sea urchin or Diadema. No populations of Diadema in the Western Atlantic are known to have escaped the drastic population declines. The loss of Diadema throughout the Western Atlantic has had long-lasting impacts on the structure and composition of many types of communities including coral reefs, mangrove roots, sea grass beds, and sand flats. Though the mortality was …

A Reassessment Of Avian Assemblages Along The Lakes Corridor In The Atherton Tablelands, North Queensland, Shaina N. Stewart

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Forest fragmentation is the process by which large areas of continuous forest are replaced by foreign ecosystems that restrict native growth to isolated patches. Biota remaining within these fragmented environments often suffer consequences that stem from reduced forest area. Wildlife corridors—linear patches of habitat that connect remnant fragments—have frequently been proposed to alleviate fragmentation effects by facilitating biotic movement between forest patches. Initiated in 1998, the Lakes Corridor on the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland, Australia, connects the two formerly isolated sections of Crater Lakes National Park with the goal of promoting wildlife dispersal between them. This study monitored avian …

Alcoa In Juruti, Brazil: A Case Of Environmental Injustice And Colonialism?, Caitlin Schroering

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper examines the visions of development of Alcoa, an American bauxite mining company, and the traditional ribeirinho communities in the area of Juruti Velho, Brazil. These two objectives are pursued in order to determine if Alcoa’s actions in the area constitute environmental injustice and colonialism. An explication of environmental injustice and colonialism is undertaken, and is followed later by a discussion of social invisibility and how circumstances are created that allow for the exploitation of traditional communities. The work and demands of ACORJUVE, a community association that is in opposition to Alcoa, are also discussed. A review of the …

Tourism In Lugu Hu: Helpful Or Harmful? Examining The Impact Of Tourism On Lugu Lake’S People And Environment, Joana Chan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Is tourism a boon or burden to the land and the people that it impacts? This question has plagued academics for ages. On the one hand, tourism brings not only definite economic growth for the local people, but also motivation for preservation of the local landscape. On the other hand, the arrival of tourists also ironically brings definite cultural and environmental transformations to the very people and land that visitors travel so far to see and experience.

My research examines the complexities of tourism and its impact on the environment and people of Lugu Lake, Yunnan. By surveying social and …

Why Logging? A Value Assessment Of Forestry Uses In The Huon Forest District, Ryan Bailey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Huon Forest District comprises 762,800 hectares of forests in southwest Tasmania, with 128,900 hectares of that total designated as state forest managed by Forestry Tasmania. These forests are used primarily for wood production, although tourism, carbon storage, leatherwood honey and the specialty timbers industry are competing for access to these forests. This study examines the socio-economic values of these uses and determines whether the Huon Forest District is being utilized efficiently.

To accomplish this, an extensive literature review of past research was conducted. This information supplemented 7 semi-structured interviews that were conducted with experts from the forestry industry, tourism …

The Price Of Gold: The Environmental Impacts Of Toxic Chemicals In Gold Mining, Adam Goetz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The role of mercury and cyanide in gold mining has become a hot topic in Mongolia in the past few years. In the past few months, the government has launched a crackdown on the illegal use of these chemicals in response to the contamination of Khongor soum’s drinking water which resulted from an illegal mining operation. However, there are many more sites throughout the country that are in need of cleaning as a result of the illegal use of these chemicals by small companies as well as individual miners.

This paper examines the role of a variety of different views …

Watered Down: The Intersection And Integration Of Tourism Development And Water Resource Management In Marrakech, Morocco, Alison Maassen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Implementing Uganda’S National Wetlands Policy: A Case Study Of Kabale District, Sophie Glass

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Uganda’s “National Policy for the Conservation and Management of Wetland Resources” was launched in 1995 to promote the protection of Uganda’s wetlands in order to sustain their ecological and socioeconomic functions. Despite the formal policy, wetlands continue to be drained and converted. This report examines factors that account for the divide between the National Wetlands Policy and reality. Six weeks were spent researching the challenges associated with implementing the National Wetlands Policy. Kabale District was used as a case-study to better understand the issues that institutions and stakeholders face when trying to abide by the precepts of the policy. Rapid …

Potentiality Of Biogas And The Role Of Substrates In Biogas Formation Potential, Scott Shealy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Biogas infrastructure development, particularly in countries such as Vietnam, has the potential to provide great benefits to people living agrarian lifestyles in rural areas. Decentralized wastewater treatment facilities that utilize anaerobic technologies to digest organic waste for the purpose of collecting methane provide a number of benefits to centralized use as well. In both cases, users benefit from the production of methane gas, wastewater treatment, nutrient recycling, and organic fertilizers. In the case of decentralized use, as is most prevalent in Vietnam, integrated farming methods, such as the VACB model, allow farmers to reap the benefits of a wide array …

Predicting The Impacts Of Serra Leste: A Case Study In Companhia Vale Do Rio Doce’S Influence On Southern Pará, Jason Hayes

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project analyzes the possible environmental and socioeconomic impacts of Serra Leste, a newly proposed iron mine by the Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD). However, Serra Leste is also part of a much larger system of CVRD projects which has recently had a profound influence on the micro-region surrounding Curionópolis, the future cite of the operation. Interviews, CVRD studies, and secondary sources were used and contrasted to evaluate the situation from several angles. Environmentally, Serra Leste will have profound impacts on the water, air, and soil. Specifically, the mine will probably have the largest influence on regional water tables, …

¿Resolver La Tragedia De Las Comunas? La Experiencia De La Caleta El Quisco, Amelia Hawkins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project completed in the fall semester 2006 is concerning the current economic situation of the artisan fishermen in the V Region of Chile focusing on the experience of the caleta en El Quisco, Chile. The main investigation of this project was to get a better idea of the challenges the caleta faces to achieving sustainable development, both economic growth and environmental sustainability. The main findings of this investigation is that although the concept for the current management system with an ecosystem approach is a good first step in the direction to sustainable development, the implementation of the system contains …

Les Forêts, Les Charbonniers, Et L’Avenir Une Analyse De La Filière Charbon Dans Le District De Fianarantsoa, Bronwen Stanford

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Small-Scale Biogas Systems And Their Widespread Dissemination In Can Tho City, Viet Nam, Tracy Zhu

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Mekong Delta hosts suitable conditions for promoting the widespread dissemination of biogas systems, such as tropical temperatures, high population density, and widespread animal husbandry. The low-cost polyethylene biodigester (BD) is the most common model in the Mekong Delta, although concrete and brick biodigesters have been implemented to a lesser extent. Biogas systems offer a wide range of benefits, such as improving water quality, enhancing integrated farming systems, and meeting rural energy demand while improving public health. Many projects, especially through Can Tho University (CTU), have promoted the installation of biogas systems, but little research has been done to follow …

Impacts Of Salt Production On Pemba, Lauren Wolchok

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The economic, social, and environmental impacts of salt production were studied on the eastern coast of Pemba Island. Solar salt production is associated with the clear cutting of mangrove forests, which are significant as soil stabilizers, animal habitats, and as an economic resource. An environmental assessment of this industry is necessary to determine whether the socio-economic gains from salt production justify the environmental costs. Interviews with owners, employees, and day laborers from 20 salt farms were conducted to assess the general sustainability of the industry. The average annual owner income was determined to be approximately 570 000 Tsh, while employees …

Factors Affecting The Distribution And Health Of The Intertidal Coral Goniastrea Aspera On The Reef Flat In Geoffrey Bay, Magnetic Island, Julia Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The intertidal zone can be a harsh environment, presenting many challenges to the organisms inhabiting it. Given its dynamic nature, it is surprising that it is sometimes able to sustain systems as delicate and sensitive as coral reefs. Many organisms have adapted to life on the intertidal reef flat, and one of the most prominent on the northeastern coast of Australia is the massive coral Goniastrea aspera. The mechanisms driving the distribution of this species are not entirely understood; this study investigated the potential role of microhabitat, as well as that of actual physical characteristics of the colonies, in the …