scholarly journals Natural Ecosystem-Units in Israel and the Palestinian Authority - Representativeness in Protected Areas and Suggested Solutions for Biodiversity Conservation

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dotan Rotem ◽  
Gilad Weil
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Palestinian Authority ◽  
Forest Reserves ◽  
Landscape Types ◽  
African Rift

Abstract The geographic location of Israel and the Palestinian Authorityon the border between Mediterranean and desert climate, and the strong topographic and geomorphological variation resulting from its position on the Great African Rift Valley, combine to sustain a great diversity of landscapes in a very small country. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the protected areas in Israel and the Palestinian Authority adequately represent the range of landscapes and ecosystems in the region. Altogether, we defined 23 natural ecosystem-units in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, of which 17 are terrestrial landscapes and 6 are aquatic systems. In considering the adequacy of coverage in protected areas, we mapped Israel and the Palestinian Authority landscapes according to a set of environmental factors (climatic, geomorphological, geological and botanical) that we believe most effectively distinguish landscape types in this region. When the separation between adjacent units relies on sharp topographic or edaphic change in the landscape, the mapped units can be separated by a clear and sharp line. When adjacent units are actually a gradient of continuous environmental conditions the separation lines relied mostly on botanic characteristics. The main land use categories in this analysis were urban areas, agricultural areas, nature reserves, national parks and forest reserves. For the first time in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, we quantified the different landscape types under the different categories of land use. This process, known as systematic conservation planning, allowed us to detect natural landscapes that are underrepresented in protected areas, and can guide decision makers to establish or improve management for the better representation of biodiversity.

scholarly journals Proposal of a System for Assessment of the Sustainability of Municipalities (Sasmu) Included in the Spanish Network of National Parks and Their Surroundings

Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Martínez-Vega ◽  
David Rodríguez-Rodríguez ◽  
Francisco M. Fernández-Latorre ◽  
Paloma Ibarra ◽  
Maite Echeverría ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Environmental Economic ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Efficient Tool ◽  
Target Value ◽  
Network Scale

It is usually considered that Protected Areas (PAs) are an efficient tool for policies to conserve biodiversity. However, there is evidence that some pressures and threats arise from processes taking place both inside them and in their surroundings territories—habitat loss, changes in land use, fragmentation of natural ecosystems. In this paper, we aim to test the hypothesis that municipalities located in the Socioeconomic Influence Zones (SIZs) of the fifteen National Parks (NPs) in Spain are more sustainable than those in their surroundings or, conversely, that the municipalities of their surroundings are more unsustainable. To measure their sustainability, we propose a system for assessment using fifteen indicators selected by experts. The methodology is based on the normalization of the data of each indicator, comparing them with a desirable target value defined in terms of sector policies and strategies. We then aggregate the indicators for each group in three indices that cover the classic dimensions of sustainability—environmental, economic and social. On a network scale, the results show that municipalities inside the SIZs are 1.594 points more sustainable environmentally, 0.108 economically and 0.068 socially than those of their surroundings. A system for assessment of the sustainability of municipalities (SASMU) may be a useful tool for NP managers, and for local and regional administrations, when setting priorities for policies, projects and compensation for regulatory restrictions related to NPs.

Land Use and Decision-Making for National Parks and Protected Areas

1997 ◽  
pp. 43-63
Author(s):  
Gordon Nelson ◽  
Rafal Serafin ◽  
Andrew Skibicki ◽  
Patrick Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Parks And Protected Areas

scholarly journals Future Scenarios for Land Use in Chile: Identifying Drivers of Change and Impacts over Protected Area System

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 408
Author(s):  
César Benavidez-Silva ◽  
Magdalena Jensen ◽  
Patricio Pliscoff
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Area Network ◽  
The North ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Human Ecosystems ◽  
Agricultural Areas

Chile is a country that depends on the extraction and export of its natural resources. This phenomenon has exacerbated different processes of transformation and disturbance of natural and human ecosystems. Land use change has become a key factor for the transformation of ecosystems, causing consequences for biodiversity conservation. In this study, current and future (2030, 2050 and 2080) land use categories were evaluated. Land use projections were analysed together with models of ecosystem distribution in Chile under different climate scenarios, to finally analyse different dynamics of land use change within the protected areas system. In all the scenarios evaluated, land use projections showed an increase in the areas of industrial forest plantations and urban areas and a decrease in natural and agricultural areas could be expected. In relation to ecosystem modeling, vegetational formations located in the center and south of the country could be expected to decrease, while vegetational formations in the north and center of the country could extend their surface area. Inside Chile’s protected area network, anthropic disturbances are currently undergoing expansion, which could have consequences for ecosystems and protected areas located in the central and central–south zones of Chile.

Peninsular Malaysia's Protected Areas' Coverage, 1903–92: Creation, Rescission, Excision, and Intrusion

1994 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Robert Aiken
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Forest Change ◽  
The Impact

As in other former British colonies, the earliest protected areas in Peninsular Malaysia were game reserves. There were twenty protected areas at the end of the colonial period (1957), and twenty-five in 1992. The outstanding achievement of the colonial period was the creation of King George V National Park (now Taman Negara), but unfortunately too much reliance was subsequently placed upon it. Protected areas were established in economically undesirable or (formerly) remote areas, largely on an ad hoc basis and mainly as a kind of ‘residual’ land-use. The protected areas have long suffered from rescissions, excisions, and encroachments, primarily for three reasons: because commercial interests have always prevailed; because of insecurity of land tenure; and because ordinary people have been denied a stake in such areas.I estimate that the ‘effective’ protected-area coverage in 1992 was probably no greater than that of about AD 1940 (when, unlike the situation today, most of the Peninsula still remained forested). The Malaysian states have been reluctant to create new protected areas, and the federal government has been unwilling to invoke certain of its constitutional powers in order to acquire state lands for national parks. Consequently, proposals for additional protected areas have produced few results. Yet owing to the rapid pace of anthropogenic forest change, the Peninsula is running out of potential sites for new protected ares.Reserved forests comprise virtually all of the Peninsula's remaining forest cover (see Fig. 1). Set aside mainly for productive and protective purposes, it is these forests, not the protected areas, that harbour most of the region's wildlife. This being the case, and keeping in mind that almost all of the wild species are forest-dwelling, it follows that wildlife conservation must come to rely more and more heavily on the reserved forests. Studies conducted by Johns (e.g. 1983, 1986, 1987) at Sungai Tekam, Pahang, on the impact of logging on wildlife, reveal that most species can adapt to the altered conditions of logged forests; or, more precisely, that this appears to be the case following a single logging operation. But this topic, interesting and important as it is, takes us beyond the scope of this paper.The matter of species adaptability, however, brings to mind a more general theme, which is the need to implement the principles of conservation everywhere, not just in specially protected areas. There is, in short, no effective alternative to rational land-use planning and to making conservation an integral part of all production processes.

scholarly journals Deforestation and Connectivity among Protected Areas of Tanzania

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belachew Gizachew ◽  
Jonathan Rizzi ◽  
Deo D. Shirima ◽  
Eliakimu Zahabu
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Pairwise Comparison ◽  
Large Contribution ◽  
Forest Change ◽  
Forest Reserves ◽  
Wood Harvesting ◽  
Management Regime ◽  
Management Regimes

Protected Areas (PAs) in Tanzania had been established originally for the goal of habitat, landscape and biodiversity conservation. However, human activities such as agricultural expansion and wood harvesting pose challenges to the conservation objectives. We monitored a decade of deforestation within 708 PAs and their unprotected buffer areas, analyzed deforestation by PA management regimes, and assessed connectivity among PAs. Data came from a Landsat based wall-to-wall forest to non-forest change map for the period 2002–2013, developed for the definition of Tanzania’s National Forest Reference Emissions Level (FREL). Deforestation data were extracted in a series of concentric bands that allow pairwise comparison and correlation analysis between the inside of PAs and the external buffer areas. Half of the PAs exhibit either no deforestation or significantly less deforestation than the unprotected buffer areas. A small proportion (10%; n = 71) are responsible for more than 90% of the total deforestation; but these few PAs represent more than 75% of the total area under protection. While about half of the PAs are connected to one or more other PAs, the remaining half, most of which are Forest Reserves, are isolated. Furthermore, deforestation inside isolated PAs is significantly correlated with deforestation in the unprotected buffer areas, suggesting pressure from land use outside PAs. Management regimes varied in reducing deforestation inside PA territories, but differences in protection status within a management regime are also large. Deforestation as percentages of land area and forested areas of PAs was largest for Forest Reserves and Game Controlled areas, while most National Parks, Nature Reserves and Forest Plantations generally retained large proportions of their forest cover. Areas of immediate management concern include the few PAs with a disproportionately large contribution to the total deforestation, and the sizeable number of PAs being isolated. Future protection should account for landscapes outside protected areas, engage local communities and establish new PAs or corridors such as village-managed forest areas.

scholarly journals Monitoring of PAHs in the natural protected areas in non-heating season using Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) needles

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 01004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Borgulat ◽  
Tomasz Staszewski ◽  
Włodzimierz Łukasik
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Heating Season ◽  
Natural Protected Areas ◽  
Potential Index ◽  
Carcinogenic Potential ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Hazard Level ◽  
Spruce Needles

This paper presents the results of the screening investigation of the environmental burden of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the natural protected areas in non-heating season. Current year spruce needles were used as a bioacummulative indicator. The total exposure at 15 PAHs (2-6 rings) and carcinogenic potential of these compounds were taken as parameters describing the hazard level. Sampling, in a uniform way, was made in the Silesian Voivodeship landscape parks and the selected Polish national parks as well as in the reference sites with characteristic pattern of PAHs emission, namely in industrialized urban areas and near the expressway. The presence of PAHs, including carcinogenic ones, was shown in all the localities; their content in needles sampled in the natural protective areas was slightly diversified and ranged from 145 to 339 ng/g- (d. w.). Higher differences were observed for carcinogenic potential index (CP) which varied from 2.2 to 18.2. The analysis of PAHs profiles has shown that despite the seasonal lack of intensive emissions from domestic heating, in the majority of natural protective areas pyrogenic sources have also been identified. Profiles of PAHs found in Karkonoski and Ojcowski NPs suggest their petrogenic origin probably due to the intensive tourism (emissions from car engines) in those areas.

scholarly journals Benefits Beyond Borders: Assessing Landowner Willingness-to-Accept Incentives for Conservation Outside Protected Areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dincy Mariyam ◽  
Mahi Puri ◽  
Abishek Harihar ◽  
Krithi K. Karanth
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Conservation Strategy ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
History Of

Unplanned land-use change surrounding protected areas (PAs) can lead to degradation and fragmentation of wildlife habitats, thereby placing tremendous pressure on PAs especially in tropical countries. Incentivizing the expansion of habitats beyond PAs will not only benefit wildlife but also has the potential to create livelihood opportunities for marginalized communities living adjacent to PAs. Our study explored landowners’ willingness to participate in an incentive-based, wildlife-friendly land-use program using a discrete choice modeling approach. We surveyed 699 landowners living in 287 villages within a five-kilometer buffer around Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks in India. We found that landowners preferred wildlife-friendly land-use over their ongoing farming practices. Landowners preferred short-term programs, requiring enrolling smaller parcels of land for wildlife-friendly land-use, and offering higher payment amounts. Landowners with larger landholdings, a longer history of living next to the PA, and growing fewer commercial crops were more likely to prefer enrolling large parcels of land. Landowners who grew more commercial crops were likely to prefer long term programs. We also estimated the average monetary incentive to be INR 64,000 (US$ 914) per acre per year. Wildlife-friendly land use, in developing economies like India with shrinking wildlife habitats and expanding infrastructural developments, could supplement rural incomes and potentially expand habitat for wildlife, thereby being a promising conservation strategy.

scholarly journals Threats to the Cerrado remnants of the state of São Paulo, Brazil

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giselda Durigan ◽  
Marinez Ferreira de Siqueira ◽  
Geraldo Antonio Daher Correa Franco
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
The State ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Invasive Grasses ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
Chi Square Analysis

Patches of natural vegetation remaining in landscapes occupied by man are continuously under threat due to the edge effects and also to land use types around these remnants. The most frequent threats and land use types in the vicinity of 81 Cerrado (tropical savanna type) fragments in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, were analyzed in order to verify if the frequency of every type of disturbance to the natural ecosystem depends on the neighboring land use. The hypothesis of the study assumes that environmental threats are correlated with land use around protected areas. From the 81 areas, the most frequent human-induced land cover types around the Cerrado remnants were: pasture (recorded in 78% of the areas), sugarcane plantations (26%), roads (19%), annual crops and reforestation (14% each). The most frequent sources of threats were invasive grasses (35% of the areas partially or totally invaded) and cattle (observed in 32% of the areas), followed by deforestation (21%), and fire (21%). The chi-square analysis revealed that, with the exception of deforestation, which does not depend on land use, all other threats are influenced by the neighboring land use. The occurrence of invasive grasses and fires are strongly favored by the presence of roads and urban areas. Sugarcane, reforestation, and permanent crops were the less impacting land use types found in the study area, when only considering impact frequency. These land use types have fire and weed control, and also exclude cattle, indirectly protecting natural ecosystems.

scholarly journals Multiple-land use practices in transfrontier conservation areas: the case of Greater Mapungubwe straddling parts of Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (34) ◽  
pp. 103-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndidzulafhi Innocent Sinthumule
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Conservation Areas ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Multiple Land Use ◽  
Transfrontier Conservation ◽  
Land Use Practices

Abstract Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) have recently emerged as the 21st century approach to managing protected areas in southern Africa. Unlike national parks and other protected areas that place emphasis only on the protection of plant and animal species within their borders, transfrontier conservation areas promote conservation beyond the borders of protected areas. Consequently, this mega-conservation initiative encourage multiple land-use practices with the purpose of improving rural livelihoods whilst promoting biodiversity conservation. Thus, land parcels under different forms of tenure are brought together into a common nature conservation project. This study argues that the integration of various land-use practices within one area benefits conservation goals at the expense of local communities and irrigation farmers. To substantiate this argument, the study draws on fieldwork material collected in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area spanning parts of Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The study concludes that multiple-land use practices in transfrontier conservation areas is only promoted by wildlife managers to gain access to extra land.

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