scholarly journals Applying Biodiversity Metrics as Surrogates to A Habitat Conservation Plan

Environments ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Kenneth G. Boykin ◽  
William G. Kepner ◽  
Alexa J. McKerrow
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Habitat Conservation ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Habitat Conservation Plan ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Conservation Plan

Unabated urbanization has led to environmental degradation and subsequent biodiversity loss across the globe. As an outcome of unmitigated land use, multi-jurisdictional agencies have developed land use plans that attempt to protect threatened or endangered species across selected areas by which some trade-offs between harm to species and additional conservation approaches are allowed among the partnering organizations. Typical conservation plans can be created to focus on single or multiple species, and although they may protect a species or groups of species, they may not account for biodiversity or its protection across the given area. We applied an approach that clustered deductive habitat models for terrestrial vertebrates into metrics that serve as surrogates for biodiversity and relate to ecosystem services. In order to evaluate this process, we collaborated with the partnering agencies who are creating a Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan in southern California and compared it to the entire Mojave Desert Ecoregion. We focused on total terrestrial vertebrate species richness and taxon groupings representing amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, and two special status species using the Normalized Index of Biodiversity (NIB). The conservation planning area had a lower NIB and was less species rich than the Mojave Desert Ecoregion, but the Mojave River riparian corridor had a higher NIB and was more species-rich, and while taxon analysis varied across the geographies, this pattern generally held. Additionally, we analyzed desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and desert kit fox (Vulpes macrotis arsipus) as umbrella species and determined that both species are associated with increased NIB and large numbers of species for the conservation area. Our process provided the ability to incorporate value-added surrogate information into a formal land use planning process and used a metric, NIB, which allowed comparison of the various planning areas and geographic units. Although this process has been applied to Apple Valley, CA, and other geographies within the U.S., the approach has practical application for other global biodiversity initiatives.

scholarly journals Land-Use Planning and the Public: Is There an Optimal Degree of Civic Participation?

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Miroslav Kopáček
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Optimal Degree ◽  
Degree Of Participation

Civic participation has an irreplaceable role in the land-use planning process because it contributes a practical perspective to expert knowledge. This article discusses whether there is actually a level of civic participation that can be considered optimal, which would allow experts to effectively obtain information from everyday users of the territory, who have the best practical knowledge of it; experts may also gain sufficient feedback on intended developments, based on knowledge about civic participation from representatives of individual municipalities. The article also proposes measures that can promote an optimal degree of participation in the land-use planning process. The fieldwork was conducted in the form of semi-structured interviews with the mayors of municipalities with a population of up to 2000 inhabitants in selected districts of the Ústí Region (Czech Republic). The results suggest that the optimal degree of civic participation in land-use planning should have a representative extent, so it should not merely be a matter of individuals, but also one of groups of dozens of people, and such groups should encompass a balanced variety of characteristics; an optimal level of civic participation should also provide the maximum number of relevant impulses. Measures that may secure and foster an optimal degree of civic participation in land-use planning include (1) striving to avoid preferring purely voluntary participation; (2) simultaneously utilizing various tools to engage inhabitants; (3) educating inhabitants on a regular basis; and (4) consistently communicating and providing feedback, while also searching for informal means of communication and discussion.

Excluded communities and participatory land-use planning: experience from informal Roma settlements in Serbia

2021 ◽  
pp. 095624782110240
Author(s):  
Zlata Vuksanović-Macura ◽  
Igor Miščević
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Participatory Approach ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Active Involvement

Citizen participation in the planning and decision-making process in the European post-socialist context is much debated. Still, the involvement of excluded communities in the urban planning process remains understudied. This paper presents and discusses the application of an innovative participatory approach designed to ensure active involvement of an excluded ethnic minority, the Roma community, in the process of formulating and adopting land-use plans for informal settlements in Serbia. By analysing the development of land-use plans in 11 municipalities, we observe that the applied participatory approach enhanced the inhabitants’ active participation and helped build consensus on the planned solution between the key actors. Findings also suggested that further work with citizens, capacity building of planners and administration, and secured financial mechanisms are needed to move citizen participation in urban planning beyond the limited statutory requirements.

CSA Z663: Land Use Planning in the Vicinity of Pipelines

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Plant ◽  
Sue Capper
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
National Standard ◽  
Pipeline Systems ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Consistent Approach

There are few standards or regulations to help stakeholders consider land use and development in the vicinity of existing pipeline systems. Land use planning that considers the existence of pipeline systems can support the planning for and provision of emergency services and pipeline integrity. This approach can also promote public safety and awareness through consistent and collaborative stakeholder engagement early in the land use planning process. In 2016, a CSA workshop was held with a variety of stakeholders impacted by land use planning around pipeline systems. The workshop identified that there was a need for consistency across the jurisdictions in the form of a national standard. The main goal of the new CSA Z663 standard is to provide guidance and best practices for land use planning and development. It also addresses roles, responsibilities and engagement of all stakeholders to help establish a consistent approach to land use planning. A review of CSA Z663 will illustrate how this document provides information, guidance and tools that are inclusive to all stakeholders. This paper will also highlight the history and key drivers behind the new CSA Z663 standard and provide an overview of the current scope and content. Finally, the paper will describe future considerations and additions to the standard.

scholarly journals Grandma in the greenbelt : how the natural disposal of our dead could save Ontario's green space

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Elizabeth Heron-Monk
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Land Resource ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Environmental Challenges ◽  
A Value ◽  
Burial Grounds

Cemetery grounds and sustainable land use practice are rarely used in conjunction however natural burial grounds present opportunities to leverage the land use and environmental challenges associated with conventional cemeteries for the benefit of people and the environment. This paper explores land use planning challenges facing Ontario in planning for the disposal of our dead and the emergence of natural burial grounds as a sustainable alternative to conventional burial. This paper also explores how planning challenges related to planning for the disposal of our dead could be leveraged to produce positive outcomes; in particular the strengthening of Ontario's Greenbelt as a living landscape. This paper argues the Natural burial has potential to be a value added land resource and can mitigate a series of burial related land use challenges currently present in Ontario.

scholarly journals Reoccupying Ecological Land for Excessively Expanded Rust Belt Cities in Traditional Grain Bases: An Eco-Economic Trade-Off Perspective

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 297
Author(s):  
Shuhan Liu ◽  
Guoping Lei ◽  
Dongyan Wang ◽  
Hong Li ◽  
Wenbo Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Urban Revitalization ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Rust Belt ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Ecological Resources ◽  
Ecological Conservation

The optimization of ecological resource allocation is increasingly seen as a potential solution for urban revitalization and sustainable land use planning, and the key point is to assess and simulate the spatial arrangement of the ecological land. In this study, we proposed a conceptual framework with the aim of reoccupying ecological resources for rust belt cities from the perspective of eco-economic trade-offs. The ecological security pattern, the urban development pattern, and the ecological quality of cropland were constructed and evaluated to measure the development level of an ecological system and a socio-economic system. Furthermore, the results were used as the constraints that influenced land use distribution to simulate the ecological land reoccupation pattern. The suitable area, the preservation area, the configurable area, and the unsuitable area in the reoccupation pattern accounted for 6.94%, 49.97%, 28.17%, and 0.69%, respectively. Significantly, under strict cropland protection policies, the available space for ecological land expansion was heavily compressed. Therefore, the emphasis on agricultural production should be reexamined to release more space for ecological resources. This method could be an effective pathway to alleviate the pressures on urban and natural space caused by the competition between land-use activities, such as economic development, agricultural production, and ecological conservation. The findings are expected to promote urban revitalization, green agriculture, and sustainable social development in rust belt cities, and provide certain references for the utilization of land resources and regional policy making.

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