scholarly journals CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY AND SOCIO-CULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF SACRED GROVES OF KANNUR DISTRICT, KERALA

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-106
Author(s):  
Sekaran S ◽  
Nisha Raj S

Sacred groves are small patches of forests, protected by local communities on religious grounds, rituals and culture. It represent a tradition of nature worship by dedicating patches of forests to deities and providing protection to such forest patches. They have immense value from genetic and ecological point ofview. Results of studies conducted in eleven sacred groves in Kannur district of Kerala are compiled in this paper. Two hundred and three plant species including 10 true mangroves give an insight into the bioecological and socio cultural dimensions of sacred groves in helping and conserving the biological diversity.Kaliyattam a performing art with different forms of ‘theyyam’ is conducted every year offering to propitiate the deity by different communities in the villages. ‘Devakooth’ a theyyam performed by women in Thekkumpad kavu. is noteworthy among the performative rituals. These ritualistic practices centred aroundthe sacred groves substantially contribute to the conservation and day- to-day management of ecological balance by sacred groves. The different types of roles played by sacred groves in maintaining the ecosystem integrity and biodiversity conservation are also presented in this paper.

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aureliu Halalisan ◽  
Ioan Abrudan ◽  
Bogdan Popa

Forestland privatization and transition to a market economy triggered important changes in the Romanian forest sector, imposing challenges for forest management structures. Voluntary forest management certification has been considered a possible solution; therefore, the certified forest area has increased rapidly regardless of the land owner. The purpose of this study is to provide an insight into the certification process. It presents the result of a survey applied to 417 forest management structures in Romania, which was intended to identify the perception of their managers regarding the reasons to adopt certification, the changes determined by the certification, the problems during the process, and the benefits. The study reveals the difference in perception among different types of forest management structures. Non-state management structures voluntarily adopted FSC certification, mainly aiming to obtain economic advantages. Most of the respondents indicated important changes in the consultation with stakeholders including local communities, transparency and clear records, the use of chemicals, and biodiversity protection. Although the FSC certification was not perceived as solving issues like illegal logging, there is a general perception that it improved forest management. The study concludes that the FSC certification proves the willingness of the Romanian forest management sector to cope with the market and trends and clarify its position in society.


1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clement A. Tisdell

Although many publications have appeared in recent years purporting to address the economics of conservation of biodiversity, most do not address the diversity issues as such. This shortcoming appears only to have been recognized recently. Furthermore, from the literature it is clear that natural living areas — apart from conserving biodiversity — jointly give rise to other conservation benefits, and therefore, their conservation needs to be evaluated holistically.It is suggested that when constraints are placed on available resources for biodiversity conservation, some criteria for species preservation such as those associated with SMS (safe minimum standard) may exhibit unsatisfactory features. While imperfection of knowledge is a serious limitation on rational decision-making about conservation of biodiversity, we have some knowledge and we may be able to use that to determine rational probabilities. In addition, it is important to scrutinize ecological claims about biodiversity. For example, ecosystems containing greater biodiversity may not be more sustainable than those with less diversity. It is also argued that the SMS criterion needs further development because there may be no standard which ensures the survival of any species.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-15
Author(s):  
Taranisen Panda ◽  
Nirlipta Mishra ◽  
Bikram K. Pradhan ◽  
Shaik Rahimuddin ◽  
Rajballav Mohanty

Phytodiversity survey of sacred groves was carried out for a period of two years (2016-2018) in Bhadrak district of Odisha, India. A total of 42 plant species belonging to 39 genera under 26 families are recorded from 20 selected sacred groves of the district. Moraceae represents the dominant family. The respondents affirmed that the plants inside these sites are never cut or harmed and some plant like neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.), banyan (Ficus benghalensis L.) and peepal (Ficus religiosa L.) present in the sacred groves are more than a century old. The present study indicates the role of sacred groves in biodiversity conservation through faith, belief, religious activity and community participation


2021 ◽  
pp. 174804852199056
Author(s):  
Baruch Shomron ◽  
Amit Schejter

This study examines how media representations of Palestinian-Israeli politicians, can help community members realize their capabilities. The study’s database is comprised of 1,207 interviews conducted with Palestinian-Israeli politicians on news and current affairs programs on the three national television channels and the two national radio stations in Israel, for 24 months (2016-2017). We identified and analyzed the differences in the modes of representation between national and local Palestinian-Israeli politicians and between Palestinian-Israeli parliament members in the Joint List and Palestinian-Israeli parliament members in Zionist parties, all through the capabilities prism. In this study, we demonstrated how different types of Palestinian-Israeli politicians may potentially affect the realization of different political functions and capabilities. Analyzing political representations in the media through the theoretical framework of the ‘capabilities approach’ contributes to a more comprehensive insight into the roles the media can play promoting people’s wellbeing and human rights, relative to traditional media theories.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026975802110106
Author(s):  
Raoul Notté ◽  
E.R. Leukfeldt ◽  
Marijke Malsch

This article explores the impact of online crime victimisation. A literature review and 41 interviews – 19 with victims and 22 with experts – were carried out to gain insight into this. The interviews show that most impacts of online offences correspond to the impacts of traditional offline offences. There are also differences with offline crime victimisation. Several forms of impact seem to be specific to victims of online crime: the substantial scale and visibility of victimhood, victimisation that does not stop in time, the interwovenness of online and offline, and victim blaming. Victims suffer from double, triple or even quadruple hits; it is the accumulation of different types of impact, enforced by the limitlessness in time and space, which makes online crime victimisation so extremely invasive. Furthermore, the characteristics of online crime victimisation greatly complicate the fight against and prevention of online crime. Finally, the high prevalence of cybercrime victimisation combined with the severe impact of these crimes seems contradictory with public opinion – and associated moral judgments – on victims. Further research into the dominant public discourse on victimisation and how this affects the functioning of the police and victim support would be valuable.


Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Mboumba ◽  
Maxime R. Hervé ◽  
Véronique Guyot ◽  
Frederic Ysnel

Abstract The study contributes to the knowledge of species composition and biogeographical affinities of savannas rodent in Gabon. Unlike small rodents in Gabonese forests, there is little data on the diversity of small rodents in Gabonese savannas. The diversity and distribution of rodent murid communities was studied in four different types of savanna in Gabon: Coastal Basin (South-West), Lopé/Okanda (in the Center), Batéké Plateaux (Southeastern) and Ngougnié/ N’yanga (in the South). A total of 428 individuals representing six species were captured over 11,920 trap nights. Trap success was highly variable (2.2–6.9 %). The most abundant species were Mus minutoides (69%) followed by Lemniscomys striatus (21.5%). Indices of species richness varied from 2 to 5 and diversity (Shannon and Weaver) was low in the four savannas with the highest value at Ngougnié/N’yanga (H′ = 1.2). Species distributions show that Gabonese savanna small rodents conform to four distribution types, with one species known from Zambesian savannas exhibiting austral affinities (Pelomys campanae: occurs in three southern savannas). This new information provides important insight into the biogeography of small rodents at a local and regional level. Moreover, the correspondence analysis highlighted an influence of local ecological factors on population abundance.


1980 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 541-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. SCHNITZER ◽  
D. A. HINDLE

Three humic and one fulvic acid were degraded by mild chemical oxidation with peracetic acid, with special emphasis on the effects of this type of oxidation on N-containing components. The different types of N that were considered were NH4+-N, amino acid-N, amino sugar-N, NO2−-N + NO3−-N, and by difference from total N, "unknown" N. The behaviour toward mild chemical oxidation of all four preparations was essentially similar: there were decreases in mino acid-N, amino sugar-N and "unknown" N, increases in NH4+-N, NO2−-N + NO3−-N with one material, and in N-gases. The "unknown" N was not inert. Between 16.6 and 59.1% of the latter appeared to be converted, as a result of mild chemical oxidation, to NH3 and N-gases which were expelled from the systems. The results presented provide an insight into what happens to N-containing humic components as a result of mild oxidation.


Author(s):  
Maria Alejandra Hernandez Marentes ◽  
Martina Venturi ◽  
Silvia Scaramuzzi ◽  
Marco Focacci ◽  
Antonio Santoro

AbstractChagras are complex agroforestry systems developed by indigenous populations of the Amazon region based on shifting agriculture, as part of a system that includes harvesting of wild fruits and plants, hunting and fishing. During the centuries, thanks to their traditional knowledge, indigenous populations have developed a deep relationship with the surrounding environment, as, living in remote places, they must be self-sufficient. The result is the chagra, a system whose cycle is based on seven basic steps to establish a successful and sustainable system, starting from place selection and ending with the abandonment of the plot after harvesting of the products. After the abandonment, the forest starts to grow again to allow the agroecosystem to recover and to take advantage of the residual vegetal material to avoid erosion. The paper takes into consideration the Indigenous Reserve of Monochoa in Colombia as an example of how traditional knowledge can support a rich biodiversity conservation. Moreover, differently from other parts of the world where there is a growing contrast between indigenous communities and protected areas, in the Indigenous Reserve of Monochoa local communities have been recognized as the owners of the land. Results highlighted the crucial role of the indigenous communities for biodiversity conservation. The preservation and adaptation of traditional knowledge and practices, a decentralized autonomous governance system demonstrates that local communities not only can be part of ecosystems with unique biodiversity, but that they can represent the main actors for an active conservation of biodiversity. Agroforestry systems based on traditional forest-related knowledge can therefore be an effective alternative to biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation based on strict nature protection where humans are perceived as a negative factor.


Author(s):  
Parisa Dehghani ◽  
Monireh Esameili Rad ◽  
Atefeh Zarepour ◽  
Ponnurengam Malliappan Sivakumar ◽  
Ali Zarrabi

: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a type of chronic metabolic disease that has affected millions of people worldwide and is known with a defect in the amount of insulin secretion, insulin functions, or both. This deficiency leads to an increase in the amounts of glucose, which could be accompanied by long-term damages to other organs such as eyes, kidneys, heart, and nervous system. Thus, introducing an appropriate approach for diagnosis and treatment of different types of DM is the aim of several researches. By the emergence of nanotechnology and its application in medicine, new approaches were presented for these purposes. The object of this review article is to introduce different types of polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs), as one of the most important classes of nanoparticles, for diabetic management. To achieve this goal, at first, some of the conventional therapeutic and diagnostic methods of DM will be reviewed. Then, different types of PNPs, in two forms of natural and synthetic polymers with different properties, as a new method for DM treatment and diagnosis will be introduced. In the next section, the transport mechanisms of these types of nano-carriers across the epithelium, via paracellular and transcellular pathways will be explained. Finally, the clinical use of PNPs in the treatment and diagnosis of DM will be summarized. Based on the results of this literature review, PNPs could be considered one of the most promising methods for DM management.


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