Protected Areas (PAs) are one effective means to address biodiversity loss. Unfortunately, the history of PA establishment includes forced removal of people from lands that become parks and restrictions on access and use of lands and waters by local people. Relationships between PA managers, stakeholders, including local people, remain in many instances, difficult. This challenges the ability to create new PAs in Canada, where consent by local residents and other stakeholders is critical for PA establishment. This research examines governance of PAs as a means to improve relationships between PA authorities and local communities. Determining how much power communities wish to have over decision-making and their preferred methods for sharing power permits greater understanding of how to build relationships with communities, stakeholders and partners that are respectful, trustworthy and sustainable. Pukaskwa National Park and Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) both in Northwestern, Ontario on the North Shore of Lake Superior, were studied along with their relationships to the nearby communities of Marathon and Terrace Bay, respectively. Pukaskwa, has been present on the landscape for over thirty years, while Lake Superior NMCA is in the process of establishment. The proximity of the PAs to each other and the communities to the PAs, along with the evolution of the respective guiding legislations, offered uniquely complex circumstances to investigate. A mixed methods approach to the research was employed involving the analysis of 190 community surveys and oral interviews with members of Town Councils from both communities. Few studies in Canada have examined governance of PAs and no study has examined governance of federally PAs in Northern Ontario. The results indicate that residents of the communities of Marathon and Terrace Bay, support the purposes of the PAs and multiple means of communicating with them about decisions made about the PAs. Clearly favouring the involvement of local people in decision-making about the PAs, respondents also recognized the importance of involving PA staff and scientists in decision-making. Visitors to Pukaskwa were also found to be important to decision-making. The findings further show that community members are resolute that Parks Canada have some control over decision-making. Marathon residents are comfortable with less collaboration and power sharing with Parks Canada than are residents of Terrace Bay. The results are sentinel to achieving approaches to citizen involvement in decision-making about PAs in ways that are meaningful to local residents. Achieving local support for PAs secures an option for governments to use that is critical to addressing biodiversity loss, important for improving human health and maintaining society’s connection to nature. / Graduate

I denna rapport undersöks WPS-funktionen då det uppmärksammats säkerhetshåli den. Intervjuer, tester och observationer har gjorts för att undersöka problemenmed WPS. De tester och intervjuver som gjorts indikerar att säkerhetsbristen i WPS-funktionen har säkrats upp med extra funktioner. / In this report the WPS-function is evaluated due to the vulnerabilty of the protocol.Interviews, tests and observations have been conducted to evaluate the problems withWPS. The tests and interviews conducted indicates that the vulnerability of the WPS-function has been secured with extra functions.

I denna rapport undersöks WPS-funktionen då det uppmärksammats säkerhetshål i den. Intervjuer, tester och observationer har gjorts för att undersöka problemen med WPS. De tester och intervjuver som gjorts indikerar att säkerhetsbristen i WPS-funktionen har säkrats upp med extra funktioner. / In this report the WPS-function is evaluated due to the vulnerabilty of the protocol. Interviews, tests and observations have been conducted to evaluate the problems with WPS. The tests and interviews conducted indicates that the vulnerability of the WPS-function has been secured with extra functions.

Very often the natural landscape is being ruined, changed, cultured or even a new cultured landscape is being created because of human activity. Therefore, less and less areas are left where natural processes take place. With such a situation, it is necessary to preserve areas rich in objects valuable for science and culture. Protected areas are areas where land and (or) water areas have defined clear boundaries and which have accepted scientific, ecological, cultural and other values and when special protection and use regime (order) is established by legal acts. One of the main tasks of the environment protection management is to strengthen the administrative abilities of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania, the State Service of Protected Areas and the Head Offices of Protected Areas to implement the nature protection policy and directions with reference to EU directions and international conventions. The object of the research. Protected areas within the Republic of Lithuania. The subject of the research. Management peculiarities, management system, positive and negative management characteristics, problems and the ways of their solution of the protected areas within the Republic of Lithuania. The hypothesis of the research. It is important to create such management system, which should preserve the territorial complexes and objects of nature and culture heritage, biological variety of the landscape. The balance of the landscape and the... [to full text]

Marine protected areas are recognized as an important approach to conserve marine ecosystems and biodiversity as well as to manage costal and marine resource. This thesis addresses the development and management of marine protected areas in Australia and in China. Australia and China are major maritime countries with diverse marine creatures and ecosystems. Both countries have adopted marine protected areas as a management tool to protect the marine environment. This thesis introduces their marine environment and threats, and then makes a close study of the development, legislation and management of marine protected areas in both Australia and China. Two case studies, Jervis Bay Marine Park in Australia, and Shankou Mangrove Marine Nature Reserve in China provide examples of the management strategies and lessons learnt. In order to improve the management of marine protected areas in China, the thesis analyzes the conflicts in the development of marine protected areas in China and prescribes community participation and the marine special reserve as solutions to promote the development of marine protected areas. This study also examines how the Australian Defence Force, an important stakeholder, manages its activities in the marine protected areas.

Thesis title Legal regulation of nature and landscape conservation in Brdy Protected landscape area Abstract The topic of this thesis is an analysis of the Brdy Protected landscape area from the point of view of nature and landscape conservation and its legislative regulation as well as some practical problems raising out from the new legislative regime of this territory. The thesis is focused on the description and analysis of specific legal institutes, especially the special territorial conservation of nature, which has been chosen taking into account the specifics of the protection regime in this area of protected landscape territory. The thesis is conceptually divided into two parts. The first deals with the general legal regulation of nature and landscape conservation, when it is connected with the second part which deals only with the Brdy Protected landscape area. The thesis consists of an introduction, seven chapters, and a conclusion. The first chapter is focused on nature and landscape conservation in terms of progression of legislative regulation applicable within our borders, comparation of advantages and disadvantages of major scientific approaches to such protection, and their incorporation into international and national law, with inclusion of introduction of the institutional structure of...

The position of the whistle-blower is known to be a precarious one, with the whistle-blower often either regarded as a hero or a reprehensible traitor. Various pieces of legislation have attempted to remedy their precarious position, especially within the employment relationship, and in which the whistle-blower more often than not has the most to lose. The study at hand has the specific objective of comparing the position of the whistle-blower in terms of South African Law, against 16 specific measurables, and in comparison with the position of the whistle-blower in New Zealand, Australia (Victoria) and the United Kingdom. In the main, the protection offered to the whistle-blower within the South African context, is embodied within the Protected Disclosure Act 26 of 2000 (hereinafter referred to as the “PDA”).In examining the protection afforded to the whistle-blower in South Africa, it is concluded that the framework involved extends much further than just the mere provisions in the PDA. However, there are admitted challenges in respect of this framework as discussed, both legislative and non-legislative, especially in respect of duties of disclosures placed on persons in circumstances in which concurrent protection is not afforded to the whistle-blower. With reference to the comparison in respect of the measurement parameters set, it was found that the PIDA (UK) meets the least amount of the measurements set, with the PDA A (Australia, Victoria) meeting the most of the measurements; the PDA NZ is equally balanced in meeting and not meeting the measurements and the PDA meeting less of the measurements than not, but still meeting more than the PIDA. It was found that had it not been for the catch-all provision contained in section 4 (1) (b) of the PDA, the PDA would have ranked last. / Mercantile Law / LLD

The position of the whistle-blower is known to be a precarious one, with the whistle-blower often either regarded as a hero or a reprehensible traitor. Various pieces of legislation have attempted to remedy their precarious position, especially within the employment relationship, and in which the whistle-blower more often than not has the most to lose. The study at hand has the specific objective of comparing the position of the whistle-blower in terms of South African Law, against 16 specific measurables, and in comparison with the position of the whistle-blower in New Zealand, Australia (Victoria) and the United Kingdom. In the main, the protection offered to the whistle-blower within the South African context, is embodied within the Protected Disclosure Act 26 of 2000 (hereinafter referred to as the “PDA”).In examining the protection afforded to the whistle-blower in South Africa, it is concluded that the framework involved extends much further than just the mere provisions in the PDA. However, there are admitted challenges in respect of this framework as discussed, both legislative and non-legislative, especially in respect of duties of disclosures placed on persons in circumstances in which concurrent protection is not afforded to the whistle-blower. With reference to the comparison in respect of the measurement parameters set, it was found that the PIDA (UK) meets the least amount of the measurements set, with the PDA A (Australia, Victoria) meeting the most of the measurements; the PDA NZ is equally balanced in meeting and not meeting the measurements and the PDA meeting less of the measurements than not, but still meeting more than the PIDA. It was found that had it not been for the catch-all provision contained in section 4 (1) (b) of the PDA, the PDA would have ranked last. / Mercantile Law / LL. D.

The objective of this thesis is to quantitatively understand the economic performance of protected area management strategies for forest and biodiversity conservation. Examples such as integrated conservation and development and eco tourism are assessed in terms of their ability to deliver on welfare benefits to local communities, and an assessment of the opportunity costs of forest conservation as a land use strategy. In addition the contribution of forest conservation in protected areas can make to poverty alleviation and economic development is also examined. The geographical focus of this study is the Albertine Rift region of East and Central Africa, stretching north from the southern end of Lake Tanganyika through the spine of Africa to the northern end of Lake Albert. The Albertine Rift is one of Africa’s most important landscapes for the conservation of forests and biodiversity. The overarching objective is addressed using a series of case studies empirically valuing the opportunity costs of conserving forests in a selection of sites in the central part of the Albertine Rift. The success of conservation is most often measured against progress in reducing habitat or species loss and not often in terms of the contribution of the protected area to poverty alleviation and local economic development. Achieving improvements of conservation strategies in the social dimension requires objective evidence on their effects. Economic valuation of protected area resources provides a quantitative means of assessing the promise and performance of conservation policies in achieving welfare benefits to local communities. This thesis provides three case studies each addressing current valuation and social issues in conservation and sets them in a context of managing protected areas in the broad dynamic setting of poverty alleviation and economic growth from a developing economy perspective. In addition two of the empirical studies are as concerned with methodological enquiry and the performance of novel environmental economic valuation techniques, such as the contingent valuation and choice modelling approaches, as the application of results to conservation questions. The empirical studies show that the benefits to local households and communities from their local forests may be greater than at first perceived. Across all protected area categories, biomes and income groups, households derived significant amounts of their overall income from their local protected area with large proportions of the value of goods harvested from forests being consumed in the home. Amongst income groups high income households often appropriated a greater share of the value of forest goods. There was no significant difference found between the household consumption and the sale of protected area products between income groups. The findings indicate that imposing reductions in forest use may increase poverty amongst local people whilst increasing household income will not necessarily reduce forest exploitation. This indicates that community conservation and integrated conservation and development programmes must target the poor forest adjacent households more actively to ensure poverty alleviation, whilst providing improved protection and law enforcement for effective conservation. It is also shown that biodiversity conservation can have an economic return through mountain gorilla eco-tourism. Findings show a disparity between what constitutes eco-tourism and the real values of tourists towards biodiversity conservation and local social benefits from protected areas. Despite showing a high marginal utility for biodiversity conservation, consumers are unwilling to pay for local community benefits from tourism as part of the permit price to view gorillas. Clearly the link between successful conservation and the welfare status of local communities is not sufficiently established in the minds of consumers to influence their spending decisions. The challenges of effectively mobilising communities to protect biodiversity are discussed in the context of the variable impacts of integrated conservation and development programs over the last three decades. Direct payment payments for conservation services schemes are discussed as an innovative tool to add to the gamut of community approaches currently on offer. Payments for conservation schemes are viewed with cautious optimism in terms of their possibility for success. Despite their allure of being more economically and socially efficient at achieving welfare and conservation objectives, given the complex nature of any society, no less research in to social and economic dynamics of protected area use by local communities would be needed to ensure success of such schemes. However, the overwhelming majority of benefits form protected areas are tied up in ecosystem services values. Mechanisms to generate funding and distribute payments for these benefits in terms of offsetting the local opportunity costs are essential to change local behavior and reduce forest degradation and destruction.

As Unidades de Conservação (UCs) urbanas vêm sendo pressionadas e ameaçadas por atividades antrópicas, resultando em novos desafios de gestão e governança. Desse modo, buscou-se analisar os procedimentos utilizados para mitigação das principais pressões e ameaças em UCs urbanas e identificar as principais variáveis que interferem no alcance dos seus objetivos. Para tanto, foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com as equipes de gestão de UCs urbanas nacionais (Parques Estaduais do Jaraguá e Cantareira, Estações Ecológicas de Ribeirão Preto e Assis) e internacionais (Sítios Natura 2000 Lendspitz-Maiernigg, Sonian Forest e Parque Nacional Zuid-Kennemerland), onde foram avaliadas as principais pressões e ameaças enfrentadas por essas áreas, bem como as ações de conservação que vem sendo adotadas. As entrevistas foram direcionadas por questões adaptadas da Metodologia RAPPAM (Rapid Assessment and Prioritization of Protected Area Management) e para a análise dos dados foi utilizada a técnica Análise de Conteúdo. Além das entrevistas, foram analisadas as orientações e melhores práticas propostas pela IUCN (União Internacional para a Conservação da Natureza), instituição reconhecida internacionalmente por propor recomendações relevantes para áreas protegidas mundiais. Os resultados indicam uma série de pressões e ameaças comuns aos sete casos de estudos (e.g. desenvolvimento urbano do entorno; estradas e rodovias), bem como pressões e ameaças que ocorrem somente nos casos de estudos nacionais (e.g. incêndios florestais e ocupações ilegais;) e internacionais (transmissão de doenças entre animais silvestres). Também observou-se que todas as equipes de gestão buscaram implementar procedimentos para mitigação em seus territórios, tais como ações de: proteção (e.g. fiscalização e monitoramento); manejo (e.g. controle de espécies exóticas invasoras); operacionalização (e.g. articulação com diferentes instituições); integração (e.g. sensibilização ambiental); uso público (e.g. atividades turísticas de baixo impacto ambiental); e conhecimento (e.g. promoção de pesquisas científicas). As principais variáveis que prejudicam o cumprimento dos seus objetivos são: recursos humanos e financeiros insuficientes, baixa transparência e participação social nos processos de tomada de decisão. Observa-se que a IUCN propõem cinco princípios para uma boa governança (i.e. legitimidade e voz; direção; desempenho; responsabilidade e equidade e direitos) e diversas práticas para uma gestão adequada (e.g. promover uma gestão dinâmica, ativa e planejada, seguindo concepções racionais, adaptativas e participativas). Desse modo, conclui-se que os responsáveis pelas UCs urbanas devem promover o empoderamento dos conselhos, para que estes funcionem adequadamente como fóruns de discussão e participação, bem como devem integrar essas áreas com seus territórios, através de legislações e diretrizes específicas. A adoção de práticas de governança e gestão adequadas, exequíveis, dinâmicas e participativas em UCs urbanas, são fundamentais para a manutenção de ecossistemas saudáveis, os quais formam a espinha dorsal de um futuro mais sustentável. Além disso, para o cumprimento das propostas discutidas, entende-se como imprescindível que as autoridades governamentais incorporem em suas legislações a definição de UCs urbanas, reconhecendo a sua importância e garantindo com que estas áreas recebam maiores atenções / Urban protected areas (PAs) have been under pressure and threatened by anthropic activities, resulting in new management and governance challenges.Thus, we aimed to analyze the procedures used to mitigate the main pressures and threats in urban PAs and to identify the main variables that interfere with the achievement of their objectives. Therefore, we did semi-structured interviews with the management staff of national (State Parks Jaraguá and Cantareira and Ecological Stations of Ribeirão Preto and Assis) and international urban PAs (Natura 2000 Sites Lendspitz-Maiernigg, Sonian Forest and National Park Zuid-Kennemerland). We evaluated, together with their staff, the main pressures and threats faced by the PAs, as well as we analyzed the conservation actions they adopted. The interviews were directed by questions adapted from the Rapid Assessment and Prioritization of Protected Area Management (RAPPAM) Methodology, and to analyze the data we used the Content Analysis technique. In addition to the interviews, we analyzed the guidelines for best practices proposed by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), an internationally recognized institution for proposing relevant recommendations to global protected areas. The results indicate a series of pressures and threats common to the seven PAs (e.g. urban development and establishment of roads and highways), as well as pressures and threats found only in the national PAs (e.g. forest fires and illegal occupations) and in the international PAs (e.g. transmission of diseases between wild animals). It was also noted that all case studies adopted six types of conservation actions, such as: protection (e.g. surveillance and monitoring); management (e.g. control of invasive alien species); operationalization (e.g. articulation with different institutions); integration (e.g. environmental awareness); public use (e.g. promotion of tourism and recreational activities of low environmental impact); and knowledge (e.g. promotion of scientific research). The main variables that undermine the fulfillment of urban PAs objectives are insufficient human and financial resources, low transparency and social participation in decision-making processes. We observed that IUCN proposes five principles for good governance (i.e. legitimacy and voice, direction, performance, accountability, equity and rights) and various practices for appropriate management (e.g. promote a dynamic, active and planned management, following rational, adaptive and participative conceptions). Thus, we concluded that those responsible for urban PAs should promote the empowerment of their councils, so that they function properly as discussion forums, as well as must integrate these areas with their territories, through specific legislation. The adoption of appropriate, feasible, dynamic and participatory governance and management practices in urban PAs are fundamental to the maintenance of healthy ecosystems, which form the backbone of a more sustainable future. In addition, to achieve the proposals discussed, it is essential that government authorities incorporate into their legislation the definition of urban PAs, recognizing their importance and ensuring that these areas receive greater attention