Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

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 …

The Growth And Distribution Of The Green Alga Cladophora At Presqu'ile Provincial Park: Implications For Management (Ontario), Dolf Craig Dejong

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Green alga genus Caldophora is one of the most abundant kinds of algae worldwide, found in both freshwater and marine environments. It prefers nutrient-rich waters and requires a rocky substrate and water movement for growth. When water temperatures reach 22 to 26 C, the alga dies and washes into shore in large mats. Dead Cladophora produces a terrible odour, reduces property values and can alter the taste of drinking water. At Presqu’ile Provincial Park, maximum Cladophora sloughing occurred July 22 1999, the same time as peak summer park visitation begins. This results in the fouling of the Park’s beaches …

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 …

Issues Surrounding The Valuation Of A Park: Applying Commission For National Parks And Protected Area Guidelines To Awenda Provincial Park, Ontario, Tatania E. Stroud

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The goals of this project are to apply and assess the applicability of the World Conservation Union (1 UCN) Commission for National Parks and Protected Area Guidelines for Economic Assessment of Protected Areas to Awenda Provincial Park, and to compare the results with existing studies on valuing protected areas. This project explores the value of tourism and recreation at Awenda Provincial Park, and the expression of the value of natural areas in economic terms through the application of the CNPPA Guidelines. This project is an initial inquiry into the applicability of the CNPPA guidelines, and is based on data from …

Natural Disturbance And Land Cover Patterns In A Mountainous, Sub-Arctic Environment (Yukon), A. Bruce Wurtele

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The dynamics of landscape pattern and disturbance were studied in the ‘green belt’ area of Kluane National Park, Yukon. White spruce montane forests and various sub-alpine and alpine vegetation communities dominate the study area, adjoining the Kluane Ranges of the St. Elias Mountains. Combining theory on landscape structure and function, the relationships of disturbance regimes and landscape pattern are examined. The landscape mosaic was mapped from classification of multispectral Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery. Landscape pattern was measured using quantitative indices of patch, class, and landscape attributes. Natural disturbance regimes, important to land cover development in the region, include fire, insect …

Assessment Of Capacity For Water Resource Management: A Case Study Of A Small Watershed In Nepal, Bhanu Raja Neupane

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Use of local knowledge, increased public participation, and capacity building – singly or in combination – are identified as major strategies to enhance sustainable and integrated management of water. Recently, capacity assessment has been recognized as one of the most effective means to operationalize these strategies in the context of water resource management However, the contemporary literature shows local-level capacity assessment as one of the least explored areas. The literature shows that capacity assessment still lacks conceptual clarity and an implementable framework. Efforts are being made in this direction, but very few focus below the national level. Many such efforts …

Regional Ecology Of The St. Elias Mountain Parks: A Synthesis With Management Implications (British Columbia, Yukon, Alaska), Ryan Kenneth Danby

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The St. Elias region of North America occupies portions of British Columbia, Alaska, and the Yukon Territory and comprises a network of public lands and protected areas managed by a variety of agencies. This thesis characterizes and analyzes the broad- scale, or regional, ecology of these lands and provides an assessment of the implications this has for ecosystem-based management—particularly as it relates to intergovernmental cooperation. A multi-stage, map-based, multidisciplinary process is used to synthesize information on the region’s physical, biological, and institutional environments. The fields of conservation biology and landscape ecology provide theoretical foundations for analysis. The ecological synthesis and …

An Approach To Defining Greater Park Ecosystems And Its Application To Gros Morne National Park (Newfoundland), Karl Keough

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Ecosystem management is an integrative, cooperative, adaptive approach to resource management that has evolved in response to the growing number of environmental and resource problems over the past several decades. One such problem, the threat to the world’s biodiversity, may be attributed to the destruction, degradation, and fragmentation of habitat resulting from the expanding human population, and the inability to set aside in strict nature reserves, sufficient habitat for wide-ranging mammals and fully functioning ecosystems. The Greater Park Ecosystem concept may be seen as the embodiment of ecosystem management in national parks and a response to the threat to biodiversity. …

Stakeholder Attitudes As A Resistance Toward Long-Range Management Of A Threatened Landscape: A Case Study Of Aggregate Use In The Township Of North Dumfries (Ontario), Kim Margaret Horrigan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Township of North Dumfries is located in the rapidly expanding Municipality of Waterloo. This Township is in close proximity to Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Hamilton, and is halfway between London and Toronto, with the primary east-west Highway 401 running through the Township. It is an unique area in that it is characterized by an abundance of prime agricultural lands, Environmentally Sensitive Policy Areas, and wetlands. In addition, the Township is underlain with a large quantity of good quality glacially derived aggregate materials. Land use conflicts have increased as a result of aggregate developers’ pressures on the resources of this …

Protection Of Wetlands In The Grand River Watershed From Non-Point Source Pollution (Ontario), Marsha Lynn Paley

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the municipal official plans to protect provincially evaluated wetlands from activities causing non-point source pollution within the Grand River watershed. An integrated framework for policy analysis involving both an evaluative and normative approach assists in determining the value of wetland protection policies and recommends future actions to guide decision-making on development adjacent to wetlands. Specifically, the objectives include (a) to locate, identify and measure the total wetland area, class and number of wetlands in the Grand River watershed on an upper- and lower-tier municipal basis; (b) to …

Land Transformation, Highly Governed Landscapes And Landscape Health: A Case Study Of The Lower Piave Area Of Northeastern Italy, Pietro Bertollo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines the issue of biophysical landscape health. Its primary objective is to produce an interpretation of biophysical landscape health for the highly governed landscapes of the Lower Piave area of northeastern Italy. Highly governed landscapes are considered to be those which are highly controlled by humans to an even greater degree than normal cultural landscapes. An example is reclaimed agricultural landscapes such as those of the northeastern Italian coastal belt, from which the Lower Piave case study is drawn. These landscapes are highly governed because without constant human intervention, they would revert back to their former marsh state. …

Managing Urban Water Resources In A Developing Economy: The Case Of Owerri, Nigeria, Lawrence Chidi Anukam

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Projections indicate that the disparity in population numbers will widen further by the year 2025 when the global population is expected to be 8.5 billion, and at that time about 84% will be living in the developing countries (World Resources Institute, 1992). The greatest proportional increase will occur in Africa, where the population is projected to nearly triple, from a 1990 level of 642 million to 1.6 billion in 2025. In 1997, the population of Nigeria alone was about 100 million, making it the largest country, in terms of population, in Africa. From 1960 to 1990, the average annual population …

Small Mammals Of Point Pelee National Park: Protecting Biodiversity In Small Reserves (Ontario), Julie Ann Spicer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Habitat destruction, fragmentation and degradation have been widespread throughout southern Ontario with devastating effects on wetlands. Small reserves are all that in this highly agricultural/urban landscape to protect the biodiversity of Great Lakes Marsh and Carolinian Forest ecosystems. Small reserves are vulnerable to species loss through a host of problems related to size and as a result, the value of small reserves to conservation strategies has often been questioned. Indicator species can be used as a means of studying the conditions of complex ecosystems. In this research, small mammals were sampled in the wetlands of Point Pelee National Park as …

Opportunities For The Integration Of Institutional Arrangements For Riparian Buffer Zone Management In Ontario, Canada, Jeffrey Willard King

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

A need exists in Ontario for improved management of land and water resources. In addition the need for increased integration within and among the agencies responsible for these resources is imperative. Between these two resources is the riparian zone, for which riparian vegetative buffer zones are a recognized Best Management Practice (BMP) for water quality improvement. However, the problem remains that each agency views buffers from a particular perspective. Hence, butters are being implemented primarily for a single purpose without considering the multiple use of buffers. To achieve an integrated management framework for riparian buffers, it is necessary to evaluate …

Opportunities For Integration In Institutional Arrangements For Water Management In The Yukon, Patrick James Dooling

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The history of water resources management in the Yukon has been characterized by conflict. This problem is due to the failure to address the interrelationships between water and land resources. Although many parts of the Yukon remain largely undisturbed wilderness areas, development pressures place increasing demands on Territorial water resources. To ensure these stresses do not degrade Yukon waters to the extent common in many Canadian regions, a reevaluation of the legal and administrative arrangements for water management in the Yukon is required. A majority of the legislation pertaining to water management in the Yukon was introduced in the 1970s …

An Ecosystem Approach To Wildlife Management In Wilderness Areas: A Case Study Of The Greater Kluane Region, Lori Katherina Krebs

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research examines the implications of an ecosystem approach to planning and management for sustainable wildlife populations within a wilderness setting. Kluane National Park Reserve and the surrounding region are the focus of the study, providing a relatively unaltered ecosystem in which to explore certain questions regarding ecosystem-based wildlife management. The ever increasing human population and constant surge of development are placing more and more pressure on remaining natural resources. Wilderness areas and wildlife habitat are disappearing rapidly, and the north is receiving unprecedented activity in the search for remaining resources. Management strategies must be created which will be capable …

Environmental Planning Of Large-Scale Water Projects: The Three Gorges Dam Case, China, Long Li

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Controversy over the construction of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River in China is an on-going national issue. Proposals have been advanced by numerous disciplinary research teams to identify the environmental consequences of the project development. However, whether the project will benefit or damage the overall environment still remains in question.

No matter which one of the four storage schemes is going to be put into operation, the human, economic, biological, and physical environmental alterations will have no equal in the our contemporary world and probably even for some time in the future. Above all, flood control, hydro-electricity …

The Incorporation Of Environmental Perception Information Into Wilderness Park Safety Planning, Thomas Craig Waldichuk

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The park safety planning process currently in use limits users’ inputs to accident statistics. It would be better to more accurately anticipate accident-prone locations and to take preventative measures. A planning methodology is proposed which integrates the safety perceptions of park users into the decision-making for locating facilities and services: the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) serves as a systematic planning guide for such decision-making and is compatible with park policy and objectives. Applications to Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia, and statistical and cartographic analyses of 273 questionnaires returned from there, indicate that park users’ perceptions can be advantageously incorporated into …

Scarcity-Induced Conflict: The Lebanese-Israeli Conflict Over Water, Hussein A. Amery

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis sets out to determine possible links between the depleting water resources in Israel and the country’s hegemony over the water-rich area of south Lebanon. The early Zionist and later Israeli leaders have coveted the Litani river of Lebanon, to which Israel has had access since 1978. Israel’s replenishable water stock is being fully utilized. This fact is the basis of the theoretical motif of the thesis, namely the state conflict induced by resource scarcity. Thus conflict theory is discussed and a model of conflict process is derived.

Also discussed are 1) the reasons for the high water consumption …

An Assessment Of Hybrid Poplar Biomass Plantations For Ontario, Peter Caleb Sturrup

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The search for an alternative to oil dominated political and economic thinking during the 1970’s and continues in this decade. In Ontario, one such alternative is methanol, which could possibly be supplied in large quantities from hybrid poplar biomass plantations. While the nature of these plantations has been debated at greath length, the exact quantity and location of land that could be available for plantations in Ontario has not been identified.

Using the Land Evaluation Model (LEM 2) developed at the University of Guelph an inventory of the land resources and the resulting land use patterns is determined. Throughout the …

Environmental Reconstruction In The Orangeville Moraine, John R. Nephew

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Primary sedimentary structure of topographic features in a selected portion of the Orangeville Moraine is examined for the purpose of deriving paleoenvironmental conditions existent during the formation of that feature. Five different environments could be recognized: 1. Sub-glacial tunnel, 2. Pro-glacial outwash, 3. Lacustrine, 4. Sub-glacial, and 5. Pro-glacial sub-aerial outwash.

Sub-glacial tunnels were represented topographically by discontinuous ridges and sinuous depressions, and sedimentologically by massive matrix-supported gravels. Pro-glacial outwash was represented typographically by elongated hills and ridges, and sedimentologicallyby various sediment complexes that revealed both rapid downstream reductions in flow competency, and a downstream change from fluvial to lacustrine …

Spatial Context And Temporal Aspects Of The Sensitive Area Concept In Ontario, Barbara Elizabeth Anderson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The term “sensitive area” is a product of planning initiatives which have developed within the province of Ontario since the early nineteen seventies. As there are a number of closely related terms utilized the sensitive areas concept generally is defined as the creation of a reserve or the removal of land from unfettered commercial development or intense human use. The concept has been associated with a broad range of environmental concerns such as, the protection of wildlife habitat, maintenance of ecological function, retention of scenic areas and preservation of historic sites. Similar initiatives across North America are surveyed and the …

An Analysis Of Conservation Authority Decision Making As To The Acquisition And Development Of Open Space Resources, James C. Johnston

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

No abstract provided.