Capitals, Climate Change And Food Security: Building Sustainable Food Systems In Northern Canadian Indigenous Communities,
2018
Wilfrid Laurier University
Capitals, Climate Change And Food Security: Building Sustainable Food Systems In Northern Canadian Indigenous Communities, Andrew Spring
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
For many Indigenous communities in Canada’s northern boreal forest, the impacts of climate change are directly affecting their ability to access the land they rely on for traditional foods to support their food systems and livelihoods. However, climate change is merely one stressor for communities that have undergone dramatic social, cultural and political changes during the past decades. This research examines case studies in the communities of Délı̨nę and Kakisa, Northwest Territories (NWT), and identifies community-based solutions to build more sustainable food systems with a focus on food security and climate change. Using participatory action research methods to ensure the …
Landscape Visualization: Influence On Engagement For Climate Resilience,
2018
Antioch University, New England
Landscape Visualization: Influence On Engagement For Climate Resilience, Christa Daniels
Antioch University 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),
2018
Antioch University, New England
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 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 …
Smallholder Farmers, Environmental Change And Adaptation In A Human-Dominated Landscape In The Northern Highlands Of Rwanda,
2018
Antioch University, New England
Smallholder Farmers, Environmental Change And Adaptation In A Human-Dominated Landscape In The Northern Highlands Of Rwanda, Apollinaire William
Antioch University 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 …
Protected Area Planning And Management: Supporting Local Stakeholder Participation With An Asset-Based, Biocultural Approach,
2018
Antioch University, New England
Protected Area Planning And Management: Supporting Local Stakeholder Participation With An Asset-Based, Biocultural Approach, Nicole M. Wengerd
Antioch University 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 …
Analysis Of Land Use/Land Cover Change Impacts Upon Ecosystem Services In Montane Tropical Forest Of Rwanda: Forest Carbon Assessment And Redd+ Preparedness,
2018
Antioch University, New England
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 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,
2018
Antioch University, New England
Exploring Perceptions Of The Potential Of Agricultural Insurance For Crop Risks Management Among Smallholder Farmers In Northern Ghana, John Bosco Baguri Sumani
Antioch University 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,
2018
Antioch University, New England
Mountain Dance: A Transdisciplinary Exploration Of Environmental Dance As An Autopoietic Expression Of Ecological Connectivity And Synthesis, Dianne Eno
Antioch University 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” …
Lessons Learned In The Superfund Process: A Guide For Community Advisory Groups,
2018
University of Montana, Missoula
Lessons Learned In The Superfund Process: A Guide For Community Advisory Groups, Terri Nichols
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Superfund Community Advisory Groups (CAGs) and Technical Advisory Groups, also known as Technical Assistance Groups, (TAGs) can influence the clean-up of hazardous wastes in their communities by providing a forum for diverse community interests and concerns in the federal Superfund clean-up process. These volunteer groups may increase local input and engagement in remediation of hazardous wastes, as well as in the ultimate future of their community, through collaboration with community members, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency staff, and parties responsible for contamination. Yet most CAGs and TAGs struggle within the complex, multi-phase Superfund process. Forming a Superfund advisory group is a …
Safe Harbors: The Many Benefits Of Marine Monuments And Sanctuaries,
2018
Duke Law School
Safe Harbors: The Many Benefits Of Marine Monuments And Sanctuaries, John F. Bruno, Whitley Saumweber, Larry B. Crowder, Linwood Pendleton, Stephen E. Roady, Tracy Rouleau, Miyoko Sakashita
Faculty Scholarship
The United States has been at the forefront of marine resource stewardship since the 1970s when Federal officials began to implement a series of national policies aimed at the conservation and management of public trust resources in the ocean. Beginning with the establishment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1970, soon followed by several pieces of landmark legislation, this era marked the start of a continuing effort to integrate ecosystem science with marine resource management. Among the most important bipartisan legacies of this effort has been the steady expansion of marine managed areas in U.S. coastal and ocean …
Influences Of Forest Edges And Human Activities On The Dry Season Ranging Patterns Of Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes Schweinfurthii) In Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda,
2018
Antioch University, New England
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 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 …
Searching The Internet To Estimate Deer Population Trends In The U.S., California, And Connecticut,
2018
San Jose State University
Searching The Internet To Estimate Deer Population Trends In The U.S., California, And Connecticut, G. Webb
Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity
Information for decision making may be publicly available, but costly to obtain. As an experiment in environmental scanning, the internet was searched on a daily basis over several years to collect information and provide analysis related to decisions on deer management. The process discovered that, contrary to common assumptions, the U.S. deer population has apparently been falling since about the year 2000 based on analysis of available state data that had not been aggregated. In some cases, state population estimates were created using standard procedures on available data. Results indicate that differences in survey methods appear to be relatively constant …
Climate And Crime: Examining The Relationship Between Extreme Weather Events And Crime Rates In The United States,
2018
Claremont Colleges
Climate And Crime: Examining The Relationship Between Extreme Weather Events And Crime Rates In The United States, Erin Tully
CMC Senior Theses
This study attempts to determine whether there is a relationship between extreme weather events and crime rates. Due to the increasing effects of climate change, it is critical we understand the societal effects of extreme weather. Here, a panel data fixed effects regression was used to analyze state and year level data. It was hypothesized that there would be a relationship between crime and extreme events, but the results did not show a statistically significant relationship. Further research with increased geographic and temporal controls is encouraged.
Using Renewable Energy To Increase Tribal Sovereignty: A Feasibility Study For A Biomass Energy Plant On The Cocopah Reservation,
2018
Claremont Colleges
Using Renewable Energy To Increase Tribal Sovereignty: A Feasibility Study For A Biomass Energy Plant On The Cocopah Reservation, Lauren Katrina D'Souza
CMC Senior Theses
Native American reservations in the United States are often located on mineral-rich lands, making them a target for fossil fuel development in already socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. As environmentally damaging as they are, coal and oil industries can bring invaluable jobs and money to isolated reservations, causing tribes to rely on fossil fuels for mere economic survival. In these instances of corporations or the federal government exploiting Native American labor and land, tribes lose the most fundamental principle of tribal governance: tribal sovereignty. Replacing fossil fuels and securing energy independence with a stable, renewable energy source is key to reclaiming that …
Grassroots Vs. Big Oil: Measure P And The Fight To Ban Fracking In Santa Barbara County, California,
2017
College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Grassroots Vs. Big Oil: Measure P And The Fight To Ban Fracking In Santa Barbara County, California, Corrie Grosse
Environmental Studies Faculty Publications
In 2014, volunteers in Santa Barbara County, California, collected over 20,000 signatures in three weeks to qualify an anti-fracking initiative for the November election. The initiative, Measure P, met over six million dollars in opposition from oil corporations. Despite mobilizing 1,000 volunteers, the proponents of the measure failed to garner enough votes for success. Drawing on 43 in-depth interviews and participant observation with environmental groups before, during, and after the campaign, this article examines the strengths and weaknesses of grassroots organizing behind Measure P. Organizers, especially during the signature drive, successfully garnered broad-based support in the southern part of the …
Megaloads And Mobilization: The Rural People Of Idaho Stand Against Big Oil,
2017
College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
Megaloads And Mobilization: The Rural People Of Idaho Stand Against Big Oil, Corrie Grosse
Environmental Studies Faculty Publications
From 2011 to 2014 fossil fuel corporations trucked tar sands processing machinery along rural Idaho highways. The machinery was bound for the world's largest deposits of tar or oil sands, a heavy crude oil substance called bitumen, located in the western Canadian province of Alberta. These loads of machinery, what became known as megaloads, encountered much resistance. Throughout Idaho and the surrounding region, a network organized opposition. Neighbors, grassroots organizations, nonprofits, and the Nez Perce and other tribes all collaborated. They held information sessions, protested, waged legal battles, monitored the loads, and blockaded highways. What oil companies hoped would be …
2017 Nebraska Water Leaders Academy - Final Report,
2017
University of Nebraska at Lincoln
2017 Nebraska Water Leaders Academy - Final Report, Mark E. Burbach, H. Reiners-Hild
Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications
Twenty participants completed the 2017 Water Leaders Academy bringing the total number of graduates to 101 since the inception of the program in 2011. Assessment of participants’ transformational leadership skills, champion of innovation skills, water knowledge and engagement, civic capacity, and entrepreneurial leadership behaviors showed a significant increase over the course of the year, from both participants’ and their raters’ perspectives. Feedback from participants was highly positive and constructive. Participant concerns were addressed, and only minor changes are planned for the 2018 Academy curriculum. Results of the program assessment indicate that the curriculum is meeting Academy objectives. Most importantly, Alumni …
Confessions Of A Collaborator: Shoesole And Stewardship Alliance Of Northeast Elko County, Nevada,
2017
Stewardship Alliance of Northeast Elko
Confessions Of A Collaborator: Shoesole And Stewardship Alliance Of Northeast Elko County, Nevada, Robin Boies
Human–Wildlife Interactions
Abstract – The Shoesole Management Team (Shoesole) and the Stewardship Alliance of Northeastern Elko (SANE) are place-based, landowner-organized, natural and human resource conservation initiatives. The Shoesole was organized in 2002 to take a more holistic approach to grazing management issues on two federal livestock grazing allotments. This effort provided the foundation for SANE, which was organized in 2012 by representatives of eight ranches in northeastern Nevada in response to the potential listing of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse). Shoesole and SANE came together voluntarily, as a rancher organized initiative, with a common goal of creating a better …
Wyoming Sage-Grouse Working Groups: Lessons Learned,
2017
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Wyoming Sage-Grouse Working Groups: Lessons Learned, Thomas J. Christiansen, Lorien R. Belton
Human–Wildlife Interactions
The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) has been the subject of multiple status reviews under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Wyoming accounts for approximately 38% of the range-wide population. Since 2000, 2 statewide and 8 local citizen working groups have been established in Wyoming to developed conservation plans and advise state policy. The first statewide plan for the conservation of sage-grouse was formally adopted in 2003. The statewide plan established local sage-grouse working groups charged with developing and facilitating implementation of local conservation plans. Those 8 plans were completed in 2007 and 2008, and updated in 2014. From 2005-2017, …
Learning To Live With Wolves: Community-Based Conservation In The Blackfoot Valley Of Montana,
2017
University of Montana
Learning To Live With Wolves: Community-Based Conservation In The Blackfoot Valley Of Montana, Seth M. Wilson, Elizabeth H. Bradley, Gregory A. Neudecker
Human–Wildlife Interactions
We built on the existing capacity of a nongovernmental organization called the Blackfoot Challenge to proactively address wolf (Canis lupus)-livestock conflicts in the Blackfoot Valley of Montana. Beginning in 2007, wolves started rapidly recolonizing the valley, raising concerns among livestock producers. We built on an existing program to mitigate conflicts associated with an expanding grizzly bear population and worked within the community to build a similar program to reduce wolf conflicts using an integrative, multi-method approach. Efforts to engage the community included one-on-one meetings, workshops, field tours, and regular group meetings as well as opportunities to participate in …
