scholarly journals Rewilding Lite: Using Traditional Domestic Livestock to Achieve Rewilding Outcomes

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3347
Author(s):  
Iain J. Gordon ◽  
F. Javier Pérez-Barbería ◽  
Adrian D. Manning
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Bos Taurus ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
Natural Form ◽  
Stochastic Disturbance ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Context Specific

The vision of rewilding is to return ecosystems to a “natural” or “self-willed” state with trophic complexity, dispersal (and connectivity) and stochastic disturbance in place. The concept is gaining traction, particularly in Europe where significant land abandonment has taken place in recent years. However, in reality, the purest form of rewilding (Rewilding Max) is constrained by a number of context-specific factors whereby it may not be possible to restore the native species that form part of the trophic structure of the ecosystem if they are extinct (for example, mammoths, Mammuthus spp., aurochs, Bos taurus primigenius). In addition, populations/communities of native herbivores/predators may not be able to survive or be acceptable to the public in small scale rewilding projects close to areas of high human density or agricultural land. Therefore, the restoration of natural trophic complexity and disturbance regimes within rewilding projects requires careful consideration if the broader conservation needs of society are to be met. Here we highlight the importance of herbivory as a key factor in rewilding. We argue that the use of the suite of livestock species, and in particular traditional breeds, offers the opportunity, under both land sharing/sparing strategies, to reinstate a more “natural” form of herbivory but still retain the option for management interventions (Rewilding Lite). It will even be possible to gain economic returns (ecotourism, sale of livestock products) from these systems, which will make them more acceptable to state and private landowners. We develop our case based on the advantages of using landraces versus de-domestication strategies, and on the implementation of eco-shepherding herbivory as a restoration tool in fine mosaics of agriculture/natural patches. If this approach is adopted, then larger areas can be given over to conservation, because of the potential broader benefits to society from these spaces and the engagement of farmers in practices that are closer to their traditions.

scholarly journals Domestic Livestock and Rewilding: Are They Mutually Exclusive?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain J. Gordon ◽  
Adrian D. Manning ◽  
Laetitia M. Navarro ◽  
Julia Rouet-Leduc
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Land Sparing ◽  
Stochastic Disturbance ◽  
Domestic Livestock ◽  
Livestock Products ◽  
Formed Part ◽  
Context Specific

Human influence extends across the globe, from the tallest mountains to the deep bottom of the oceans. There is a growing call for nature to be protected from the negative impacts of human activity (particularly intensive agriculture); so-called “land sparing”. A relatively new approach is “rewilding”, defined as the restoration of self-sustaining and complex ecosystems, with interlinked ecological processes that promote and support one another while minimising or gradually reducing human intervention. The key theoretical basis of rewilding is to return ecosystems to a “natural” or “self-willed” state with trophic complexity, dispersal (and connectivity) and stochastic disturbance in place. However, this is constrained by context-specific factors whereby it may not be possible to restore the native species that formed part of the trophic structure of the ecosystem if they are extinct (e.g., mammoths, Mammuthus spp., aurochs, Bos primigenius); and, populations/communities of native herbivores/predators may not be able to survive or be acceptable to the public in small scale rewilding projects close to areas of high human density. Therefore, the restoration of natural trophic complexity and disturbance regimes within rewilding projects requires careful consideration if the broader conservation needs of society are to be met. In some circumstances, managers will require a more flexible deliberate approach to intervening in rewilding projects using the range of tools in their toolbox (e.g., controlled burning regimes; using domestic livestock to replicate the impacts of extinct herbivore species), even if this is only in the early stages of the rewilding process. If this approach is adopted, then larger areas can be given over to conservation, because of the potential broader benefits to society from these spaces and the engagement of farmers in practises that are closer to their traditions. We provide examples, primarily European, where domestic and semi-domestic livestock are used by managers as part of their rewilding toolbox. Here managers have looked at the broader phenotype of livestock species as to their suitability in different rewilding systems. We assess whether there are ways of using livestock in these systems for conservation, economic (e.g., branded or certified livestock products) and cultural gains.

scholarly journals Flood control structures in tidal creeks associated with reduction in nursery potential for native fishes and creation of hotspots for invasive species

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (7) ◽  
pp. 1138-1148 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Scott ◽  
Michael Arbeider ◽  
Jennifer Gordon ◽  
Jonathan W. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Control Structures ◽  
Native Fishes ◽  
Further Development

Habitat connectivity is important for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem processes yet globally is highly restricted by anthropogenic actions. Anthropogenic barriers are common in aquatic ecosystems; however, the effects of small-scale barriers such as floodgates have received relatively little study. Here we assess fish communities in ten tributaries over the spring–summer season of the lower Fraser River (British Columbia, Canada), five with floodgates and five reference sites without barriers, located primarily in agricultural land use areas. While the Fraser River supports the largest salmon runs in Canada, the lower Fraser river–floodplain ecosystem has numerous dikes and floodgates to protect valuable agricultural and urban developments. Floodgate presence was associated with reduced dissolved oxygen concentrations, threefold greater abundance of invasive fish species, and decreased abundances of five native fish species, including two salmon species. These findings provide evidence that floodgates decrease suitable habitat for native fishes, and become hotspots for non-native species. Given climate change, sea-level rise, and aging flood protection infrastructure, there is an opportunity to incorporate biodiversity considerations into further development or restoration of this infrastructure.

scholarly journals A Place-Based Approach to Agricultural Nonmaterial Intangible Cultural Ecosystem Service Values

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy R. Petway ◽  
Yu-Pin Lin ◽  
Rainer F. Wunderlich
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Farming Practices ◽  
Environmental Characteristics ◽  
Cultural Ecosystem Service ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Landscape Biodiversity

Though agricultural landscape biodiversity and ecosystem service (ES) conservation is crucial to sustainability, agricultural land is often underrepresented in ES studies, while cultural ES associated with agricultural land is often limited to aesthetic and tourism recreation value only. This study mapped 7 nonmaterial-intangible cultural ES (NICE) valuations of 34 rural farmers in western Taiwan using the Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) methodology, to show the effect of farming practices on NICE valuations. However, rather than a direct causal relationship between the environmental characteristics that underpin ES, and respondents’ ES valuations, we found that environmental data is not explanatory enough for causality within a socio-ecological production landscape where one type of land cover type (a micro mosaic of agricultural land cover) predominates. To compensate, we used a place-based approach with Google Maps data to create context-specific data to inform our assessment of NICE valuations. Based on 338 mapped points of 7 NICE valuations distributed among 6 areas within the landscape, we compared 2 groups of farmers and found that farmers’ valuations about their landscape were better understood when accounting for both the landscape’s cultural places and environmental characteristics, rather than environmental characteristics alone. Further, farmers’ experience and knowledge influenced their NICE valuations such that farm areas were found to be sources of multiple NICE benefits demonstrating that farming practices may influence ES valuation in general.

scholarly journals Assessing market-based conservation governance approaches: a socio-economic profile of Indonesian markets for wild birds

Oryx ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 482-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Jepson ◽  
Richard J. Ladle ◽  
Sujatnika
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
Wild Birds ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Poor Growth ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Conservation Governance

AbstractOne of the most difficult situations for conservation is where state capacity to regulate is weak, major corporate organizations are absent, and the population does not have a strong culture of wildlife conservation. All these apply to the hugely popular urban Indonesian pastime of keeping wild songbirds, thought to be responsible for rolling local extinctions of several native species. In such situations the introduction of a voluntary, market-based approach could interact with regulation to create new and more effective approaches to reducing the negative conservation impacts of the associated trade. Here we assess the potential of such an approach through an in-depth analysis of the socio-economic and cultural aspects of bird keeping. We project that overall the pastime contributes USD 78.8 million to the economies of the six cities surveyed, supporting a range of associated small-scale rural and urban livelihoods relating to the production of cages and collection of live bird food. Finally, we describe five general bird-breeding models with the capacity to scale up the production of captive-bred birds that may substitute for wild-caught conspecifics. Based on this information we argue that a market-based policy instrument that is capable of shifting bird-keeping trends from wild-caught birds to captive-bred alternatives would align easily with macro-policy agendas in Indonesia relating to pro-poor growth and the creation of more and better jobs. Such a policy instrument could provide exciting opportunities for conservationists to engage the interest and support of non-conservation sectors in Indonesia in efforts to conserve diminishing populations of wild birds.

Early career development in the public sector: Lessons from a social constructionist perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-51
Author(s):  
Todd Bridgman ◽  
Annie De’ath
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
State Sector ◽  
Recent Graduates ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Collective Construction

This article explores the contribution a social constructionist paradigm can make to the study of career, through a small-scale empirical study of recent graduates employed in New Zealand’s state sector. A social constructionist lens denies the possibility of an individualised, generalised understanding of ‘career’, highlighting instead its local, contingent character as the product of social interaction. Our respondents’ collective construction of career was heavily shaped by a range of context-specific interactions and influences, such as the perception of a distinctive national identity, as well as by their young age and state sector location. It was also shaped by the research process, with us as researchers implicated in these meaning-making processes. Social constructionism shines a light on aspects of the field that are underplayed by mainstream, scientific approaches to the study of career, and therefore has valuable implications for practitioners, as well as scholars.

An Investigation of the Aerodynamic Response of a Wind Turbine Blade to Tower Shadow

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (4) ◽  
pp. 1034-1040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xabier Munduate ◽  
Frank N. Coton ◽  
Roderick A.McD. Galbraith
Keyword(s):  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Turbine Blade ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Wind Turbine Blade ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Force Coefficient ◽  
Velocity Deficit ◽  
Pressure Transducers ◽  
Aerodynamic Model ◽  
Tower Shadow

This paper presents results from a wind tunnel based examination of the response of a wind turbine blade to tower shadow in head-on flow. In the experiment, one of the blades of a small-scale, two-bladed, downwind turbine was instrumented with miniature pressure transducers to allow recording of the blade surface pressure response through tower shadow. The surface pressures were then integrated to provide the normal force coefficient responses presented in this paper. It is shown that it is possible to reproduce the measured responses using an indicially formulated unsteady aerodynamic model applied to a cosine wake velocity deficit. It is also shown that agreement between the model and the measured data can be improved by careful consideration of the velocity deficit geometry.

scholarly journals “Now we’ve all turned to Eating Processed Foods”: A Photovoice Study of the Food and Nutrition Security Implications of ‘Galamsey’ in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong ◽  
Aaron Kobina Christian ◽  
John Ganle ◽  
Richmond Aryeetey
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Processed Foods ◽  
Mining Communities ◽  
Food And Nutrition Security ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Food And Nutrition

Abstract Background: Small-scale mining, referred to as galamsey in Ghana, is an important source of income for many rural populations. Although concerns have been raised in the media about the significant threats galamsey poses to the environment, and human health and livelihoods, there is a representational paucity of evidence regarding its links with local food systems, particularly from the perspective of affected mining communities. The current study explored community perceptions and experiences of galamsey and its perceived effects on food security and livelihoods in the East Akyem Municipality in the Eastern region of Ghana. Methods: Primary data was collected in the East Akim District of Ghana, using photography, interviews based on the photographs, and a photo exhibition, all conducted . Thirty-six male and female adults were purposively selected with the help of a community focal person and advertisements in the study community. Respondents participants in a one-day photography training and thereafter, deployed to take at least fifteen photos that portray the effect of galamsey on food security and health. Subsequently, each participant was asked to selected five of the photographs and to explain the image and why they captured that in the photo. A photo exhibition was held to facilitate community conversation and perspectives on the effects of galamsey on food and nutrition security. Results: Galamsey has resulted in degradation of, otherwise, fertile agricultural land, and contamination of freshwater sources. As a consequence, there is reduced cultivable land, reduced crop production, shortage of essential staple foods, increase in food price, and increased consumption of ultra-processed foods. There is also perception of increased exposure to heavy metals like mercury in locally-produced food. Conclusions: Given the adverse health consequences of both food and nutrition insecurity, and increased consumption of processed foods, it is important that public and policy discussions to minimize the effects of galamsey in Ghana should include considerations about food and nutrition insecurity in mining communities.

scholarly journals Comparison and display on small-scale maps and diagrams of the territorial resources of the largest countries of the World and their major cities

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-157
Author(s):  
Olga Markova ◽  
Valentina Maslennikova
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
The State ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
World Heritage Sites ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
Area Efficiency ◽  
The World ◽  
Per Capita

The largest countries of the world are inevitably involved in various global processes, both natural and socio-economic. These countries have common features and characteristic differences in the state of their territorial resources; the study of these characteristics is of interest for the global prospects of sustainable development. A large territory provides a variety of natural conditions and resources for the country; however, not in all countries it is possible to effectively use them in the economy throughout the all country. An analysis of their territorial resources was carried out for the six largest countries of the world according to the following parameters: area, efficiency, environmental load on the territory of the country, number, density, forecast of population growth or decline for 2050, main agricultural land (arable land, pastures, the provision of the population, degradation and pollution of the soils), forest resources (including security per capita, share in the area of countries), fresh water resources (including per capita provision and availability), greenhouse gas emissions, including per capita, the proportion of mammals endangered, proportion of areas of preserved ecosystems. The data obtained was displayed on the maps; a common legend is built for them in tabular form. A number of other parameters of the state of territorial resources and the environment were also studied. In the process of research, the most important cities of these countries were also studied and diagrams showing their similarities and differences in a number of indicators were constructed: area, population and population density, time of foundation, climatic and landscape parameters, the presence of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, high-rise construction parameters. The developed methodology is effective for assessing a variety of data on territorial resources that can be used to build models of sustainable development of the largest countries and regions of the Earth.

Occupation-Specific Precursors of Stress among Greek Police Officers: The Roles of Rank and Gender

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 334-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander-Stamatios Antoniou
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Low Rank ◽  
Context Specificity ◽  
Women Police Officers ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Women Police ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Context Specific

Although assessment of stress is typically performed using generic stress questionnaires, the context-specificity and generalisability of such assessments are often ignored. This study explored the differences in perceptions of work-related stressors in male/female and high/low rank police officers in Greece, by the application of a context-specific measure. 512 police officers representing the Hellenic police force responded to a questionnaire assessing precursors to work stress, and perceived level of stress. Results revealed that the nature of occupational stressors pertinent to Greek police officers differed as a function of their gender and their rank. Males and females differed in their perceptions of stressfulness of the context-specific issues assessed, with females reporting significantly higher stress in 21 work and organisational issues. High and low rank police officers also differed in their perceptions of stressfulness, with high rank police officers reporting more stress overall. The study highlighted the facts that work issues pertaining to female police officers' work and work issues pertaining to high and low rank police officers are of a specific nature. Women police officers are concerned more with issues related to career opportunities, roles and responsibility, and work–family issues. Risk assessment and stress management interventions should take these into consideration. Context-specificity is a good way forward in assessments of stress, and measures may need to be refined.

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