Innovative Action for Forest Fire Prevention in Kythira Island, Greece, through Mobilization and Cooperation of the Population: Methodology and Challenges

The island of Kythira in Greece suffered a major forest fire in 2017 that burned 8.91% of its total area and revealed many challenges regarding fire management. Following that, the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature joined forces with the Institute of Mediterranean and Forest Ecosystems in a project aiming to improve fire prevention there through mobilization and cooperation of the population. This paper describes the methodology and the results. The latter include an in-depth analysis of fire statistics for the island, development of a forest fuels map, and prevention planning for selected settlements based on fire modeling and on an assessment of the vulnerability of 610 structures, carried out with the contribution of groups of volunteers. Emphasis was placed on informing locals, including students, through talks and workshops, on how to prevent forest fires and prepare their homes and themselves for such an event, and on mobilizing them to carry out fuel management and forest rehabilitation work. In the final section of the paper, the challenges that the two partners faced and the project achievements and shortcomings are presented and discussed, leading to conclusions that can be useful for similar efforts in other places in Greece and elsewhere.

The level of damage and estimation of rehabilitation value in the Lantebung Mangrove Ecotourism, Makassar City

This study aims to determine the level of damage and estimation of rehabilitation value in the Lantebung Mangrove Ecotourism, Makassar City. The sampling technique was carried out using a survey technique with a purposive sampling method. The size of the plots made is 20 m x 50 m with a total of 8 plots. The level of mangrove damage is determined based on land cover and vegetation density. Estimating the value of ecotourism rehabilitation is based on the Regulation of the Director-General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation P.8/KSDAE/SET/REN.2/10/2017 concerning Standards for Activities and Costs for Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems. The results showed that there were two types of mangrove species, namely Rhizophora mucronate and Avicennia alba. Lantebung Mangrove Ecotourism has a vegetation cover of 82% with a vegetation density of 1,760 individuals/ha, so that the level of damage to mangroves is in a good category. In general, damage to Lantebung Mangrove Ecotourism is caused by converting mangrove forests into fishponds and settlements. The total cost of mangrove forest rehabilitation is IDR. 350,220,000

Evaluasi Pengaruh Rehabilitasi Lahan Dan Hutan Terhadap Koefisien Aliran Tahunan Di Sub Das Krueng Meuleusong

Abstrak. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh rehabilitasi lahan dan hutan (RHL) terhadap nilai koefisien aliran tahunan (KAT) di sub-DAS Krueng Meulesong. Pelaksanaan RHL di Desa Riting Kecamatan Indrapuri Kabupaten Aceh Besar yang termasuk dalam DAS Krueng Meuleusong dikategorikan tidak berhasil berdasarkan citra satelit perubahan tata guna lahan tahun 2009, 2014, 2017 dan 2019. Hasil interpretasi citra satelit menunjukkan penurunan luasan hutan sekunder, namun luas perdu dan sabana meningkat. Berdasarkan hasil uji korelasi menunjukkan bahwa pelaksanaan kegiatan RHL tidak berpengaruh terhadap perubahan penggunaan lahan menjadi hutan sekunder dan kegiatan RHL tidak berpengaruh terhadap nilai koefisien aliran tahunan (KAT) di Sub-DAS Krueng Meuleusong.Evaluation Of The Effect Of Land And Forest Rehabilitation On Annual Flow Coefficient In Krueng Meuleusong Sub-WatershedAbstract. This study aims to determine the effect of land and forest rehabilitation (RHL) on the value of the annual flow coefficient (KAT) in the Krueng Meulesong sub-watershed. The implementation of RHL in Riting Village, Indrapuri District, Aceh Besar District which is included in the water catchment area of the Krueng Meuleusong sub-watershed is categorized as unsuccessful based on satellite imagery of 2009, 2014, 2017 and, 2019 of land-use change. The results of satellite imagery interpretation showed a decrease in the area of secondary forest, but shrubs and savanna area had increased. Based on the results of the correlation test, shows that the implementation of RHL activities has no effect on changes in land use to secondary forests and RHL activities have no effect on the value of annual flow coefficient (KAT) in the Krueng Krueng Meuleusong sub-watershed.

Changing Caribbean geographies: connections in flora, fauna and patterns of settlement from Indian inheritances

There can be no doubt that Indian immigration to the plantation colonies changed the geography of those colonies. However, most analyses have dealt with the sugar industry in the colonies after the abolition of slavery. This paper will argue that, apart from the sugar industry, Indian labour and ingenuity made other significant contributions to plantation economies. The girmityas (agreement signers) were well aware that they were going to agricultural occupations so they took with them an amazing array of dried fruits, seeds and cuttings, which survived the long crossing, adding to the flora of the plantations. Armed with this foreknowledge, the jahajis packed these items into their jahaji bundles alongside the Tulsi Ramayan and the Holy Qu'ran. Animals too formed part of this international trade. Sheep, goats and poultry which were not eaten on the outward voyage were sent to the estates, where they multiplied. When dangerous snakes threatened plantation security, cages of mongoose were dispatched to the Caribbean where they bravely tackled venomous creatures. At the urging of Indian labourers with long experience in the sugar industry, the plantations' owners imported Brahma bulls and Zebu cattle, which revolutionised transport on the estates and provided leather, manure and meat to the wider population. There is also the amazing story of the importation of hundreds of water buffaloes (bhaisa) from the Indo-Gangetic plains. Some nine breeds were imported and in the twentieth century Caribbean bio-geneticists were able to blend the best qualities of those Indian animals and created a new hybrid, the buffalypso, which combined the scientific name with Trinidad's fame as the land of the calypso. The buffalypso became a prized animal for haulage, meat, milk and leather and an item of export to Venezuela, Colombia, Miami and the wider Caribbean. Indian cultivars were continuously exported to the botanic gardens in the Caribbean and Indian forestry experts were sent to the region to advise on forest rehabilitation in the wake of large-scale deforestation, which sugar cultivation required. In these and other ways the physical character of the Caribbean underwent permanent change, which manifests itself today.

Impacts of the National Forest Rehabilitation Plan and Human-Induced Environmental Changes on the Carbon and Nitrogen Balances of the South Korean Forests

Humans have affected the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles in forests; however, the quantification of the responses of forest C and N balances to human activities is limited. In this study, we have quantified the impacts of the long-term national forest rehabilitation plan and the contribution of the increase in air temperature, CO2 concentration, and N deposition on the C and N balances of the South Korean forests during 1973–2020 by using a biogeochemical model. During the simulation period, the C balance increased from 0.2 to 4.3 Mg C ha−1 year−1, and the N balance increased from 0.2 to 17.4 kg N ha−1 year−1. This resulted in the storage of 825 Tg C and 3.04 Tg N by the whole South Korean forests after the national forest rehabilitation plan. The increase in air temperature, CO2 concentration, and N deposition contributed −11.5, 17.4, and 177 Tg C to the stored C stock, respectively, and −25.4, 8.90, and 1807 Mg N to the stored N stock, respectively. This study provides references for future forest rehabilitation efforts and broadens our knowledge on the impacts of human-induced environmental changes on the C and N balances of forests.

Assessment of women’s benefits and constraints in participating in agroforestry exemplar landscapes

Participating in the exemplar landscapes of the Developing and Promoting Market-Based Agroforestry and Forest Rehabilitation Options for Northwest Vietnam project has had positive impacts on ethnic women, such as increasing their networks and decision-making and public speaking skills. However, the rate of female farmers accessing and using project extension material or participating in project nurseries and applying agroforestry techniques was limited. This requires understanding of the real needs and interests grounded in the socio-cultural contexts of the ethnic groups living in the Northern Mountain Region in Viet Nam, who have unique social and cultural norms and values. The case studies show that agricultural activities are highly gendered: men and women play specific roles and have different, particular constraints and interests. Women are highly constrained by gender norms, access to resources, decision-making power and a prevailing positive-feedback loop of time poverty, especially in the Hmong community. A holistic, timesaving approach to addressing women’s daily activities could reduce the effects of time poverty and increase project participation. As women were highly willing to share project information, the project’s impacts would be more successful with increased participation by women through utilizing informal channels of communication and knowledge dissemination. Extension material designed for ethnic women should have less text and more visuals. Access to information is a critical constraint that perpetuates the norm that men are decision-makers, thereby, enhancing their perceived ownership, whereas women have limited access to information and so leave final decisions to men, especially in Hmong families. Older Hmong women have a Vietnamese (Kinh) language barrier, which further prevents them from accessing the project’s material. Further research into an adaptive framework that can be applied in a variety of contexts is recommended. This framework should prioritize time-saving activities for women and include material highlighting key considerations to maintain accountability among the project’s support staff.

SPATIAL PROCESSING OF SENTINEL IMAGERY FOR MONITORING OF ACACIA FOREST DEGRADATION IN LAKE NAKURU RIPARIAN RESERVE

Tree degradation in National Parks poses a serious risk to the birds and animals and to a larger extent the general ecosystem. The essence of Forest degradation mapping is to detect the extent of damage on the trees over time, hence providing stakeholders with a basis for forest rehabilitation and intervention. The study proposes a workflow for detection and classification of degrading acacia vegetation along Lake Nakuru riparian reserve. Inspired by previous research on the use of Dual Polarized Sentinel 1 Ground Range Detected (GRD) data for vegetation detection, a set of six Sentinel 1 GRD and Sentinel 2 MSI of corresponding dates (2018–2019) were used. Our study confirms the existing correlation between vegetation indices derived from optical sensors and the backscatter indices from S1 SAR image of the same land cover classes. Factors that were used in validating the results include some comparisons between pixelwise and object-based classification, with a focus on the underlying segmentation and classification algorithms, the polarimetric attributes (VV+VH intensity bands) and the reflectance bands (NIR, SWIR & GREEN), the Haralick features (GLCM) vs. some geometric attributes (area & moment of inertia). Classification carried out on the temporal datasets considering geometric attributes and the Random Forest classifier yielded the highest Overall Accuracy (OA) with 94.25 %, and a Kappa coefficient of 0.90.