BAIKAL REGION IN THE UNESCO “MAN AND BIOCPHERE” PROGRAMME

Author(s):  
V.M. PLYUSNIN ◽  
◽  
I.N. VLADIMIROV ◽  
A.A. SOROKOVOI

The main objective of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program is to ensure a balance between the responsibility of humankind to preserve nature and its biological diversity and the need of natural resource exploitation by human being to improve the social and economic well-being of people. Biosphere reserves are recommended as representative objects for the conservation of biological diversity and, in general, ecological systems. The world network of Biosphere reserves in 2020 included 714 Biosphere reserves in 129 countries, in Russia there are 46 of them. They also act as models for achieving the goals and objectives of sustainable development of territories. The tasks include research related to climate change and the response of natural processes to these changes, implementation of space and cartographic monitoring of nature, educational activities and activities aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change. Research on the relationship between man and the biosphere in the Baikal region was carried out with an integrated environmentally oriented planning and use of lands, water and biological resources. For the Lake Baikal World Natural Heritage Site, we have carried out territorial planning and zoning, as well as determined the ecological potential of the landscapes of the Baikal natural territory.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Eise ◽  
Natalie Lambert ◽  
Tiwaladeoluwa Adekunle ◽  
Laura Eise

Climate change impacts are being felt around the world, threatening human well-being and global food security. Social scientists in communication and other fields, in tandem with physical scientists, are critical for implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies effectively and equitably. In the face of rapidly evolving circumstances, it is time to take stock of our current climate change communication research and look toward where we need to go. Based on our systematic review of mid- to current climate change research trends in communication as well as climate change response recommendations by the American Meteorological Society, we suggest future directions for research. We urgently recommend communication research that (1) addresses immediate mitigation and adaptation concerns in local communities and (2) is more geographically diverse, particularly focusing on the African continent, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and certain parts of Asia.


2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Hutchings ◽  
Isabelle M. Côté ◽  
Julian J. Dodson ◽  
Ian A. Fleming ◽  
S. Jennings ◽  
...  

Canada has made numerous national and international commitments to sustain marine biodiversity. Given current and potential threats to biodiversity from climate change, fisheries, and aquaculture, we provide a summary review of Canada’s progress in fulfilling its obligations to protect, conserve, recover, and responsibly exploit marine biodiversity. We conclude that Canada has made little substantive progress, when compared to most developed nations, in meeting its biodiversity commitments. Much of Canada’s policy and rhetoric has not been operationalised, leaving many of the country’s national and international obligations unfulfilled in some key areas, such as the establishment of marine protected areas and incorporation of the precautionary approach to fisheries management. We conclude that regulatory conflict within Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the absolute discretion exercised by the national Minister of Fisheries and Oceans contribute significantly to an unduly slow rate of policy and statute implementation. We recommend new approaches and measures to sustain Canadian marine biodiversity and new research initiatives to support scientific advice to decision-makers. Many recommendations focus on management actions required to meet existing commitments to biodiversity conservation. Overall, we conclude that the most effective strategy is to protect existing biological diversity and to rebuild depleted populations and species to restore natural diversity. By improving and protecting the biodiversity in Canada’s oceans, such a strategy will restore the natural resilience of Canada’s ocean ecosystems to adapt to the challenges posed by climate change and other anthropogenic activities with consequent long-term benefits for food security and social and economic well-being.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sikina Jinnah

In this article I argue that, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), led by its autonomously entrepreneurial Executive Secretary, influences overlap management by strategically linking biodiversity and climate change issues. Specifically, the Secretariat marketed (filtered, framed, and reiterated) strategic frames of the biodiversity-climate change interface that reframed biodiversity from a passive victim of climate impacts, to an active player in climate response measures (i.e. adaptation). This reframing is significant in that a major hurdle to selling the benefits of biodiversity conservation to countries with more pressing development concerns has been the perceived limited relevance of conservation to human well-being. In emphasizing biodiversity's role in human adaptation and security, the Secretariat has begun to shape member state discourse surrounding the biodiversity-climate change linkage. Ultimately aimed at enriching our emerging theoretical understanding of the role of international bureaucracies in global governance, this article illuminates: (1) how the Secretariat understands and manages biodiversity-climate linkages; (2) the origins of the Secretariat's understanding and activities surrounding this issue; and (3) how Secretariat participation in overlap management is beginning to influence CBD political processes and outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Zelenski ◽  
Jessica Desrochers

Many scholars have suggested that people could improve their well-being by developing closer connections with nature, and that this would also promote the sustainable behaviors needed to address climate change. Research generally corroborates this idea, but few studies have examined the more specific hypothesis that positive emotions (caused by nature or otherwise) can directly influence pro-environmental behaviors. In particular, self-transcendent emotions such as awe, compassion, and gratitude can be prompted by nature, and they seem to foster pro-social behaviors. Most pro-environmental behaviors are also pro-social; they require cooperation and they benefit others. Some recent studies suggest that self-transcendent emotions can cause pro-environmental behavior, though results are mixed overall. We identify strategies for future research to resolve these inconclusive suggestions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Bancheva ◽  
Rayna Natcheva ◽  
Vladimir Vladimirov ◽  
Atanas Tanev ◽  
Galin Gospodinov

"Torfeno Branishte" is a Reserve located in "Vitosha" Natural Park, Bulgaria. It was established in 1935 to preserve the peat communities in the high parts of Vitosha Mountain in their natural state. The reserve comprises Bulgaria’s most significant complex of high mountain peatlands. Their age is estimated to be over 1500 years old, and the thickness of the peat cover accumulated during that time can reach up to 2 meters in depth. Their current area is 785.3 hectares. Plant communities dominated or participated by Sphagnum L. and/or other peat-forming mosses are very sensitive to climate change and anthropogenic impact. They often house a large number of plant species with conservation significance. The purpose of this study is to provide new data on the distribution of three extremely rare and endangered plant species. During a field study in "Vitosha" Natural Park related to the selection of sites for monitoring and installation of permanent monitoring sites for climate change monitoring in nature reserve "Torfeno Branishte", two species were found that were considered extinct from the territory of the mountain – Menyanthes trifoliata L. and Carex limosa L. Both species are protected by the Biological Diversity Act and are included in the Red Data Book of Republic of Bulgaria (Peev 2015). Prior to this study, for decades they have been purposefully searched for with no positive result. As a result of this study, the number and population sizes of M. trifoliata and C. limosa were determined. In addition, the populations of Comarum palustre L. and Carex limosa L. that occur at the same location were found to be much larger than previously known. Population sizes of the three species are low, but still viable. The major threat to the well-being of these species is the drought.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 102-113
Author(s):  
Kanako Morita ◽  
Ken'ichi Matsumoto

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are recognized under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. This relatively new concept has become a key element in strategies for green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. NbS consist of a range of measures that address various societal challenges, including climate change, natural disasters, and water security, by combining human well-being and biodiversity benefits. Although the importance of NbS has been widely recognized, existing studies on aspects of their governance are limited and mainly focus on NbS in European countries. There is little relevant research in other regions, including Asia. This study aimed to explore challenges for NbS governance by analyzing the development and implementation of NbS in Asia. We focused on NbS in the fields of climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and infrastructure. In these three fields, NbS are linked to climate security issues and have been widely implemented in Asian countries. This analysis identified the challenges for NbS governance for countries at different stages of economic development, and for developing measures for NbS with different institutions and actors. It recognizes the importance of a framework that matches the need for NbS with relevant institutions and actors at various scales and in various sectors. Guidelines are required to integrate NbS into strategies and policies at national and local levels and also into international cooperation.


Author(s):  
Oran R. Young

The Earth is moving into a new era, frequently referred to as the Anthropocene, in which anthropogenic drivers have become major determinants of the trajectory of the Earth system. Compared to the Holocene, a relatively benign era from the perspective of human well-being, the Anthropocene is emerging as a more turbulent era featuring processes of change that are often nonlinear, frequently abrupt, typically surprising, and generally challenging from a human perspective. Our basic understanding of governance, derived from the effort to solve largescale environmental problems like the depletion of stratospheric ozone remains relevant in this setting. But now we must supplement this understanding with new perspectives on meeting needs for governance that will augment the social capital available to those responsible for creating and implementing governance systems that will prove effective in addressing problems like climate change and the loss of biological diversity.


Author(s):  
Vu Thi Thanh Minh

Ethnic minorities in the Northern Mountainous Region not only use the application of scientific-technological advances but also experiences of the community to enhance production efficiency and environmental protection. Local knowledge (TTDP) of ethnic minorities is useful for environmental protection and natural resource exploitation & use. These are environmental & weather knowledge; farming experiences on sloping and forestry land; knowledge about environmental protection and natural resource exploitation & use especially how to protect precious resources by specific rules/regulations of customary law. In the context of declining natural resources, TTDP is eroded, captured, or illegally exploited. There should be measures in order to preserve and promote TTDP as well as raise the awareness of the community about its important role.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document