Nature and Society Relations Commons^™

Living Rivers, Cosmopolitan Activism, And Environmental Justice In The Bengal Delta, Daniel Adel

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis explores the social movements and civil society activism to protect the rivers that flow through Bangladesh—the cradle and terminal delta floodplain of the transboundary Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna river systems—, as well as ways to build regional cooperation and watershed democracy in South Asia. The research drew on four overarching fields of study: environmental justice, southern environmentalism, ecological nationalism, and environmental governance. These four bodies of scholarship helped address the overarching question: how are civil society organizations analyzing and responding to the water diversions and degradation of Bangladesh’s transboundary rivers? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with civil society organizations …

Comparing Fence Modeling And Mapping Approaches To Support Wildlife Management And Research In Southwest Montana, Simon Albert Buzzard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fences pose significant challenges to wildlife movement, but their effects are difficult to quantify because fence location and fence type data are lacking on a global scale. We developed a fence location and density model in southwest Montana, USA to provide data to researchers and managers, and test whether previous models could be applied to a new region and retain suitable levels of statistical accuracy. Our model used local expert opinion to inform how road, land cover, and ownership spatial layers interacted to predict fence locations. We validated the model against fence data collected on random 3.2 km road transects …

Stickiness As Methodological Condition, Cala Coats

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

Stickiness is introduced as a cultural concept, affective condition, and performative practice. The author suggests a process of methodological conditioning rooted in responsiveness and attunement in response to shared vulnerability embedded in precarity. Drawing from Felix Guattari’s ethico-aesthetic paradigm, new materialisms, and affect theory, the author invites readers to engage with a narrative score as an aesthetic pedagogical exercise. The score and additional provocations act as creative material for connective and collective performances tracing and creating encounters across time and space.

Protecting Biodiversity On National Forests: The Evolution And Implementation Of Forest Planning Regulations, Anna Wearn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 2012, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) promulgated new forest planning regulations that significantly altered national forest management. One of the most controversial and important advancements was the inclusion of what were meant to be stronger biodiversity protections. An analysis of USFS’s rationale in revising the biodiversity regulations provides insights into how to interpret the substantively and procedurally new ecosystem and species protections. Examining this regulatory history reveals three key changes to the manner in which national forests are required to manage and monitor biodiversity: 1) a greater reliance on science to inform planning, 2) a new emphasis on ecological …

Tropical Cyclone Vulnerability Of Atlantic Coastal Counties In The United States, Zachary Alexander

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

1. Abstract

   Coastal populations along the Atlantic Coast of the United States face a persistent threat of tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones of any strength can cause significant damages and losses to both life and property. As coastal populations continue to rise in a changing climate, the power of knowing which communities are the most and least vulnerable to future tropical cyclone events can assist in mitigating some of the losses. This paper explores the factors that make a coastal community more or less vulnerable to tropical cyclones based on prior natural hazards research and creates a relative index that will tell …

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Global And Regional Perspectives On Large-Landscape And Transboundary Conservation, Sanober R. Mirza

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

With the growing pressure of environmental degradation and exploitation to social and ecological landscapes around the world, conservationists are looking for new approaches to address the complex nature of transboundary issues. Large-landscape conservation supports conservation and management of ecosystems, wildlife, and resources in a more holistic approach that extends beyond protected area boundaries. Transboundary conservation, a distinct form of large-landscape conservation, operates across political and spatial scales by involving two or more countries cooperating to protect a border resource or ecosystem. Though the recognition of large-landscape and transboundary conservation is growing, there is limited understanding of trends across these types …

The Economic Impact Of Forest Harvest Practices On Washington State Park Visitation, Tyler Humphries

All Master's Theses

Washington State receives timber contributions from 34 out of its 39 counties, making it a top producer of timber in the United States. Because of the widespread and abundant number of harvests, many forests that society values are affected via diminished aesthetic appeal. Of these affected areas are Washington State Parks and the areas around them. This study seeks to estimate the economic impact that forest harvest practices have on the visitation of Washington State Parks. Through the use of GIS and fixed effect regression analysis, I estimate the impact that over 100,000 permitted forest cuts have on the visitation …

Ethical Eating: Overcoming Alienation In The Industrial Food System By Aligning Our Practices With Our Principles, André Kushnir

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis arose out of a moment of discord, while an environmental philosopher was eating blackberries in the middle of a blizzard in Missoula, Montana. What follows is an attempt to bridge the gap between our principles and our practices, by asking the questions: What does ethical eating look like? Is it possible within our current industrial food system? and If not, what needs to change? Responding to the publication of the 2019 EAT-Lancet report, this essay moves beyond thinking of ethical eating as “healthy” and “sustainable” and challenges the networks of suffering and labour that we take for …

Using Unmanned Aerial Systems (Drones) With A Thermal Sensor To Map And Count Deer Population, Maxwell C. Ott

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The number of deer in an area is an important statistic for land managers to know, as overabundance has many negative effects. There are many methods that have been used to count deer in the past, such as using manned helicopters and airplanes, walking on foot, and conducting controlled hunts. UAS (unmanned aerial systems) is a growing field that provides many benefits over traditional methods of counting deer, such as lower cost and missions being less time consuming. Using a thermal sensor attached to a UAS makes it simple to spot any deer during a flight. Two main methods of …

The Impacts Of Accessibility On Vulnerability Of Place In Comfort Castle, Jamaica, Heather Thole

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Jamaica experiences meteorological, hydrological, and geological natural hazards that can produce island-wide impacts. The island’s exposure to multiple hazard types requires effective and sustainable mitigation and disaster risk management to lessen potential impacts, especially for vulnerable populations and communities. Comfort Castle, a small rural farming community, sits in the upper Rio Grande Valley of Portland parish and experiences earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, heavy rainfall, and floods. Steep terrain and remoteness due to geographic location affect the community’s geophysical vulnerability. Their social vulnerability results from a lack of employment, health, educational, and livelihood resources within the community. Together, geophysical, and social factors …

Beyond A Mapping Exercise: Inclusion Of Aboriginal Traditional Ecological Knowledge In Parks And Protected Areas Management, David Cook

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This paper examines current approaches for Parks and Protected Areas (PPA) managers in incorporating Aboriginal Traditional and Ecological Knowledge (ATEK) into their management plans. This paper focuses on two case-studies. They are Nahanni National Park and Reserve in the Dehcho region of the Northwest Territories, and the Whitefeather Forest Protected Area in the Pikangikum First Nations Traditional Territory in Ontario. They were chosen because of their unique approaches to include Aboriginal communities in the planning process and their designation as UNESCO World Heritage sites. The broader indigenous involvement policies of both Parks Canada and Ontario Parks are examined using academic …

Seeking A Path To Wellness And Flourishing: Exploring Ecological Citizenship, Systems Thinking, And Environmental Governance In Southwest Yukon, Amanda Solmes

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

While efforts toward environmental management (EM) have been increasing, the state of our natural world is getting worse. Numerous reports have outlined that today’s environmental problems are predominantly human-induced, yet approaches to EM often only address “environmental” rather than “human” issues. More holistic approaches are required. This thesis explores “ecological citizenship” (EC) as an alternative framework that may have the potential to address elements too often left out of top-down and reductionist approaches. Academic and case-based notions of this concept are explored, and a new definition for the term is developed. A case study, drawn from the rich results of …

Stone-Stacking As A Looming Threat To Rock-Dwelling Biodiversity, Ricardo Rocha, Paulo A. V. Borges, Pedro Cardoso, Mirza Dikari Kusrini, José Luis Martín-Esquivel, Dília Menezes, Mário Mota-Ferreira, Sara F. Nunes, Inês Órfão, Catarina Serra-Gonçalves, Manuela Sim-Sim, Pedro Sepúlveda, Dinarte Teixeira, Anna Traveset

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This letter to the editor describes the surge of “photo-friendly” stacks of stones as an emerging tourism-associated threat to rock-dwelling biodiversity.

Resident Perceptions Of Human–Beaver Conflict In A Rural Landscape In Alberta, Canada, Nicholas T. Yarmey, Glynnis A. Hood

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) plays a key ecological role in wetland systems, yet their activities can result in costly damage to human infrastructure. Although qualitative research on human perceptions of beavers is rare, studies on human–beaver conflict in the United States identified generally positive attitudes toward beavers and opposition to lethal management, yet in Alberta, Canada, 79% of municipalities that managed beavers reported using trapping and shooting to remove problem beavers. Given the important ecological contributions of beavers and their potential conflict with humans, qualitative research is needed to assess perspectives of stakeholders who directly experience …

Viewing Bornean Human–Elephant Conflicts Through An Environmental Justice Lens, Elena C. Rubino, Christopher Serenari, Nurzhafarina Othman, Marc Ancrenaz, Fauzie Sarjono, Eddie Ahmad

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Sabah, on the northeastern corner of Borneo, is concurrently Malaysia’s largest producer of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and home to the endangered Bornean elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis; elephants). Concomitantly, Sabah has been experiencing increasing and unsustainable human–elephant conflicts (HECs), which have not been thoroughly investigated from a human dimensions standpoint. To address this void, in March 2019, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 37 villagers located in the Sabah districts of Lahad Datu, Tawau, and Telupid to investigate villager cognitions regarding elephants, behaviors toward elephants, the formal and informal village institutions employed to mediate HECs, and the …

Understanding And Measuring Net Positive Business Strategies, Luke Ruffner Robinson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite their attempts to mitigate ecological impacts through sustainability initiatives, businesses are a major cause of the world's ecological problems. Some progressive businesses are attempting to move beyond “net zero” in terms of achieving neutral environmental impacts and instead are now pursuing a goal of net positive. Net positive refers to the idea that business activities could contribute value-added benefits to earth’s ecological systems, for example, by using technologies that sequester and store carbon. However, except for a handful of high-profile corporate case studies, little is known about how companies are developing their strategies to become net positive and …

Alaska National Parks And Indigenous Peoples: Collaboration For A Protected Future, Siobhan Mctiernan

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This research examines the relationships between National Parks and Indigenous communities across the state of Alaska. National Parks as a government agency can be perceived in a negative way; but in Alaska, while there are issues and limitations, parks are going beyond policy guidelines to work with communities and help build a resilient future for both the parks and the local people. This work dives into the National Parks policies and practices, projects resulting from engagement of community stakeholders, perceptions of engagement, community capitals, and sustainable development. In particular, the study investigates how these policies, practices, and interactions ultimately contribute …

Festivals As A Sustainable Development Tool: Case Study Of Teriberka, Russia, Maria Monakhova

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Sustainable development refers to positive economic, social, and environment changes brought both locally and globally, creating a better world for individuals and future generations. Sustainable development in the Arctic shares the same approach, yet the smallness and remoteness of the Arctic regions often present a challenge to its implementation (Larsen & Huskey, 2015). I believe that the remarkable beauty, culture, history, and geography of these territories may generate positive returns for sustainable development through the organization of festivals. This paper examines the Teriberka festival taking place in a small same-name village in the Russian Arctic. The questions raised are what …

"This Is Home:" Pictures, Place Meaning, And Community In The Natural-Amenity-Rich Del Norte County, California, Erik Arndt

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study contributes to the existing, yet small, cadre of research using photo elicitation to investigate the place meanings of people living in a natural-amenity-rich area. Ten current and former residents of Del Norte County, California took pictures of and discussed in an interview the people, places, and attributes they found valuable or meaningful about that place. The primary focus of the photos and interviews was how these natural amenities, in particular Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, impacted or influenced residents’ place meanings. Three major themes of place meaning were identified from the interviews: Environment-Landscape, Human-Social, and Recreation-Exploration. Each contained …

Elephants At Work, Jamie Lorimer, Khatijah Rahmat

Animal Sentience

Baker & Winkler (B&W) propose rewilding Asian elephants in a model in which they are rescued, rehabilitated and then given work with their mahouts in ecological restoration and ecotourism. In a sympathetic critique, we explore the status that B&W’s analysis accords to work. Types of work and working conditions need to be differentiated. We caution against a model of conservation that would make the future of life conditional on participating in the workforce.