Regeneration Status and Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge for Cloud Forest Ecosystem Restoration in Ecuador

The importance of forests for biodiversity conservation has been well recognized by the global community; as a result, conservation efforts have increased over the past two decades. In Ecuador, the lack of integrated information for defining and assessing the status of local ecosystems is a major challenge for designing conservation and restoration plans. Thus, the objectives of this study were (1) to examine the regeneration status of cloud forest remnants, some of which had experienced past human disturbance events, (2) to explore a local rural community’s traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) relevant for restoration and (3) to investigate the integration between TEK and ecological science-based approaches. A survey of regeneration status was conducted in four remnants of cloud forests (n = 16) in Cosanga, Napo Province, in the Andes of northeastern Ecuador. The species of young trees (0.5–5 m height) were identified over 0.16 ha. In-depth interviews of individuals from local communities (n = 48) were conducted to identify socio-ecologically important native species. The results showed significant differences (p < 0.001) in species richness and the stem density of seedlings and saplings in gaps. The stem density of Chusquea sp., a bamboo species, explained 63% of the variation in species richness and 48% of the variation in the abundance of seedlings and saplings between plots. Informants cited 32 socio-ecologically important species, of which 26 species were cited as sources of food and habitats for wildlife. The ranking of species based on a relative importance index and a cultural value index—taking into account both the spread of knowledge among local informants and the multiplicity of uses—revealed that Hyeromina duquei, Citharexylum montanum, Eugenia crassimarginata and Sapium contortum were traditionally the most valuable species for both humans and wildlife. Informants also recommended 27 species for future planting, of which 19 species were amongst the rarest species in the regeneration survey. In conclusion, the results demonstrate a synergy between TEK and ecological science-based approaches (regeneration survey) to natural ecosystem research. Thus, traditional ecological knowledge can provide insights into ecosystem–plant–animal interaction, and to identify native species useful for both humans and wildlife for forest restoration projects to reconnect isolated cloud forest fragments.

miCampoApp, a Participatory Research Tool for Agroecology

Agroecology, defined as the ecological science of food production is also as practical approach to design food production systems based on local concerted solutions that aim to promote synergy among the diversity of human and non human food systems elements. These two facets makes agroecology a good candidate for participatory research. Information technology should help using this information for the production of structured scientific knowledge. In this respect, there is a need for information technology that is adaptive to encompass the diversity of within and between systems and that provide benefit to farmers that feed it with data. We present MiCampoApp, a webapp that aims to join participatory research and certification in agroecology, with two roles, the farmer and the administrator. The idea to join participatory research for decision support with certification for market differentiation in single system is that much of the certification data harbors information for scientific research, and this incentivize data collection for the interest of the farmer and the community. The administrator create a model for data collection in order to solve a research question of interest for a communities or to produce traceability information to feed participatory guarantee system in a community. The farmer collects information using simple icons and produces traceability pages for research or certification purposes.

He kete hauora taiao: A Bicultural Ecological Assessment Framework

<p>Ka mau tonu ngā taonga tapu o ngā matua tupuna Koinei ngā taonga i tuku iho, na te ātua Hold fast to the treasures of the ancestors For they are the treasures that have been handed down to us by God’ (Dymond, 2013, p. 274) Ecologists, resource managers, landowners and iwi generally strive to manage biodiversity on their whenua as obliged by legislation. This may include restoration, protection, the mitigation of negative human impacts, or the prevention of further habitat loss. Mainstream ecological science and resource management (ERM) usually guides management decisions and provides evidence of management effectiveness. However, ecological science can struggle with stochastic and complex biological systems. Māori have hundreds of years of environmental knowledge and understanding that could be utilised by mainstream resource managers to enhance society's combined knowledge. An assessment tool that places mātauranga at its core can introduce a Māori perspective, privilege Māori knowledge, enable holistic co-management, re/introduce social values and create a common ground on which the two paradigms can connect. He Kete Hauora Taiao is an environmental assessment framework for terrestrial habitats constructed on Māori ecological health indicators by applying them to quantitative ecological scientific data. He Kete Hauora Taiao is built on the Driver – Pressure – State/Condition – Indicator – Response framework (K. F. D. Hughey, Cullen, Kerr, & Cook, 2004). Māori ecological perspectives or ariā (indicators, perspectives or concepts) are placed at the ‘condition’ level. Ariā include concepts such as mauri, whakapapa, tapu, wairua and mahinga kai which are linked to environmental structures, processes, functions and services. These ecological indicators can then be assessed with recognised qualitative scientific tools, metrics and targets. ESAT, Ecological State Assessment Tool, is a database that accompanies He Kete Hauora Taiao and enables quantitative ecological data to be viewed through a Māori perspective and weighted according to its relevance to management objectives. Creating a new bicultural environmental assessment framework required the exploration of the intersection between Māori ecological knowledge (MEK) and ERM. To my knowledge this is the first MEK based ecological assessment framework created specifically for terrestrial habitats and the first one to attempt to quantify MEK ecological indicators, relate them to ecology and resource management metrics and develop an interface between the two epistemologies. He Kete Hauora Taiao and ESAT (Ecological Statement Assessment Tool) are valuable resource management tools. Together they can create resource management programmes informed by a Māori value framework and are tailored to specific whenua, iwi agendas and political reporting and management requirements. He Kete Hauora Taiao spans the intersection between ERM and MEK, enabling communication and translation. MEK may provide context to scientific data and the scientific data may help augment understanding of MEK. Combined, MEK and ERM may create a powerful force that could vastly improve our resource management and conservation efforts. He Kete Hauora Taiao is a framework that could be engaged with by territorial authorities, iwi kaitiaki and landowners nationwide to automatically build te ao Māori into our management practices.</p>

He kete hauora taiao: A Bicultural Ecological Assessment Framework

<p>Ka mau tonu ngā taonga tapu o ngā matua tupuna Koinei ngā taonga i tuku iho, na te ātua Hold fast to the treasures of the ancestors For they are the treasures that have been handed down to us by God’ (Dymond, 2013, p. 274) Ecologists, resource managers, landowners and iwi generally strive to manage biodiversity on their whenua as obliged by legislation. This may include restoration, protection, the mitigation of negative human impacts, or the prevention of further habitat loss. Mainstream ecological science and resource management (ERM) usually guides management decisions and provides evidence of management effectiveness. However, ecological science can struggle with stochastic and complex biological systems. Māori have hundreds of years of environmental knowledge and understanding that could be utilised by mainstream resource managers to enhance society's combined knowledge. An assessment tool that places mātauranga at its core can introduce a Māori perspective, privilege Māori knowledge, enable holistic co-management, re/introduce social values and create a common ground on which the two paradigms can connect. He Kete Hauora Taiao is an environmental assessment framework for terrestrial habitats constructed on Māori ecological health indicators by applying them to quantitative ecological scientific data. He Kete Hauora Taiao is built on the Driver – Pressure – State/Condition – Indicator – Response framework (K. F. D. Hughey, Cullen, Kerr, & Cook, 2004). Māori ecological perspectives or ariā (indicators, perspectives or concepts) are placed at the ‘condition’ level. Ariā include concepts such as mauri, whakapapa, tapu, wairua and mahinga kai which are linked to environmental structures, processes, functions and services. These ecological indicators can then be assessed with recognised qualitative scientific tools, metrics and targets. ESAT, Ecological State Assessment Tool, is a database that accompanies He Kete Hauora Taiao and enables quantitative ecological data to be viewed through a Māori perspective and weighted according to its relevance to management objectives. Creating a new bicultural environmental assessment framework required the exploration of the intersection between Māori ecological knowledge (MEK) and ERM. To my knowledge this is the first MEK based ecological assessment framework created specifically for terrestrial habitats and the first one to attempt to quantify MEK ecological indicators, relate them to ecology and resource management metrics and develop an interface between the two epistemologies. He Kete Hauora Taiao and ESAT (Ecological Statement Assessment Tool) are valuable resource management tools. Together they can create resource management programmes informed by a Māori value framework and are tailored to specific whenua, iwi agendas and political reporting and management requirements. He Kete Hauora Taiao spans the intersection between ERM and MEK, enabling communication and translation. MEK may provide context to scientific data and the scientific data may help augment understanding of MEK. Combined, MEK and ERM may create a powerful force that could vastly improve our resource management and conservation efforts. He Kete Hauora Taiao is a framework that could be engaged with by territorial authorities, iwi kaitiaki and landowners nationwide to automatically build te ao Māori into our management practices.</p>

Decadent Ecology in British Literature and Art, 1860–1910

Casting fresh light on late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century British art, literature, ecological science and paganism, Decadent Ecology reveals the pervasive influence of decadence and paganism on modern understandings of nature and the environment, queer and feminist politics, national identities, and changing social hierarchies. Combining scholarship in the environmental humanities with aesthetic and literary theory, this interdisciplinary study digs into works by Simeon Solomon, Algernon Swinburne, Walter Pater, Robert Louis Stevenson, Vernon Lee, Michael Field, Arthur Machen and others to address trans-temporal, trans-species intimacy; the vagabondage of place; the erotics of decomposition; occult ecology; decadent feminism; and neo-paganism. Decadent Ecology reveals the mutually influential relationship of art and science during the formulation of modern ecological, environmental, evolutionary and trans-national discourses, while also highlighting the dissident dynamism of new and recuperative pagan spiritualities - primarily Celtic, Nordic-Germanic, Greco-Roman and Egyptian - in the framing of personal, social and national identities.