Cross-Cultural Leadership Enables Collaborative Approaches to Management of Kauri Dieback in Aotearoa New Zealand

In Aotearoa/New Zealand, the soilborne pathogen Phytophthora agathidicida threatens the survival of the iconic kauri, and the ecosystem it supports. In 2011, a surveillance project to identify areas of kauri dieback caused by Phytophthora agathidicida within the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park (WRRP) highlighted the potential impact of the pathogen. A repeat of the surveillance in 2015/16 identified that approximately a quarter of the kauri area within the Regional Park was infected or possibly infected, an increase from previous surveys. The surveillance program mapped 344 distinct kauri areas and showed that 33.4% of the total kauri areas were affected or potentially affected by kauri dieback and over half (58.3%) of the substantial kauri areas (above 5 ha in size) were showing symptoms of kauri dieback. Proximity analysis showed 71% of kauri dieback zones to be within 50 m of the track network. Spatial analysis showed significantly higher proportions of disease presence along the track network compared to randomly generated theoretical track networks. Results suggest that human interaction is assisting the transfer of Phytophthora agathidicida within the area. The surveillance helped trigger the declaration of a cultural ban (rāhui) on recreational access. Te Kawerau ā Maki, the iwi of the area, placed a rāhui over the kauri forest eco-system of the Waitākere Forest (Te Wao Nui o Tiriwa) in December 2017. The purpose of the rāhui was to help prevent the anthropogenic spread of kauri dieback, to provide time for investment to be made into a degraded forest infrastructure and for research to be undertaken, and to help protect and support forest health (a concept encapsulated by the term mauri). Managing the spread and impact of the pathogen remains an urgent priority for this foundation species in the face of increasing pressures for recreational access. Complimentary quantitative and qualitative research programs into track utilization and ecologically sensitive design, collection of whakapapa seed from healthy and dying trees, and remedial phosphite treatments are part of the cross-cultural and community-enabled biosecurity initiatives to Kia Toitu He Kauri “Keep Kauri Standing”.

Transportation Network Spatial Analysis to Measure Pedestrian Suitability. The Case of Hilly Cities

The current climate and environmental emergency, together with the growing traffic congestion and pollution in urban areas, make mobility and its sustainability a priority in current transport policies. It is essential to change citizen’s behaviour in order to increase the use of less pollutant, economic and egalitarian transport modes, such as walking, combining it with other public transport modes. For this change to happen, it is necessary to provide feasible alternatives to private cars, namely through the offer of high-quality pedestrian infrastructures, adapted to the cities’ specific characteristics and their citizen’s needs. These aspects are particularly important in hilly cities, where traveling by foot requires an additional effort. The present study aims to contribute to the promotion of soft mobility in hilly cities by creating a support instrument to assess the potential of existing pedestrian infrastructures. Three variables are considered in the analysis: trip generation poles, population density and pedestrian network characteristics, with especial consideration of slopes. These variables were processed with spatial and network analysis tools available in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and combined using a multi-criteria decision analysis to obtain a measure of the pedestrian infrastructure potential. The identification of areas with high pedestrian potential supports the definition of priority intervention programs on the public space and a better allocation of human and financial resources. The proposed instrument was validated through its application to a case study, the hilly city of Covilhã (Portugal). From the results obtained it is possible to conclude that the variable with more impact on the pedestrian infrastructure suitability value is the location of the trip generation poles, influenced by the footpaths’ longitudinal slopes. The instrument also allowed to identify the city’s main expansion areas, corresponding to places presenting a good pedestrian potential and relatively low values of population density.

Jaringan Transportasi dan Pengembangan Destinasi Pariwisata di Kota Cirebon

Tourism development needs a good accessibility to support regional connectivity. This study aims to analyse the role of transportation network for tourism destination development in the Cirebon City. This research uses GIS-based network spatial analysis to obtain road network system components in each sub-district, thus transportation indices value which includes alpha index, beta index, Gama index, eta index and road density network. The results shows The Cirebon City has low-medium connectivity and accessibility with alpha index 0.1323, beta index 1.2608, Gama index, 0.4221, eta index 0.1576 and road network density reach 20.869 km / km2. On sub-district level, Pekalipan is the most accessible region based on all parameters of road network and create a suitable place for tourism development in the Cirebon City.

Spatial Analysis and Visualization of Geographic Access to Food in the Capital Area of Bulungan Regency, North Kalimantan Province

Recently, food security becomes a priority for many governments particularly in developing countries. Food security has four dimensions i.e. availability, accessibility, stability, and utilization. This study examined food accessibility in term of geographic access i.e. the contribution of the geographic environment to food choices and consumption. The study located in Tanjung Selor Subdistrict, the capital region of Bulungan Regency as well as North Kalimantan Province. Geographic access to food was analyzed based on spatial distribution of food stores, settlement, and availability of transportation network. Spatial analysis, i.e. coverage, density, and network analysis, as well as the spatial visualization were performed using tools available in GIS software. This study revealed some circumstance related to geographical access to food in the study area. Geographical access to food for non-motorized people is limited. Non-motorized people have to walk more than 1 km to the nearest food store. Access to food for motorized people is somewhat different. Their geographical access, in general, were categorized as easy to moderate. This situation indicates that the availability of public transport or vehicle ownership is necessary to improve access to food.