The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) promotes the Ecosystem Approach (EA). In this thesis it is analyzed how the EA approach could be applied to regional management of coastal areas in Sweden. The aim of this report is to compare management for preserving biodiversity on a landscape level in two regional coastal areas in Uppsala and Västra Götaland respectively. In Uppsala, one of the plans consists of a previous nature reserve and in Västra Götaland, a Regional landscape strategy has been established. The ecosystem approach is used as a theoretical framework in this thesis. More precisely, five EA operational guidelines have been used as analytical tools in the comparative approach adopted. The results show that the Västra Götaland Regional landscape strategy has been most consistent with the EA framework, since it fulfills three of the five operational guidelines while Gårdsskärskusten only accomplish two of the criteria. The social aspects are more central in the landscape strategy than in Gårdskärskusten, which is the main difference between the two plans. One area of inadequacy detected in the landscape strategy was the few identified aspects on maintenance of landscape connectivity features. The Regional landscape strategy could, if established in every county in Sweden, be a way to prevent the loss of biodiversity. However the plan needs to be supported by actions where preservation and utilization are integrated in an economic context. By considering nature protection as a development opportunity in strategic planning rather than as only a cost, important steps towards a sustainable future can be taken. / För att implementera målsättningarna i FN:s Konvention om Biologisk Mångfald har en ekosystemansats (EA) antagits och en viktig ekosystemtyp i Sverige där EA kan appliceras är kuster. Syftet med examensarbetet är att, med ekosystemansatsen som analysverktyg, studera hur och varför två planer för att bevara biologisk mångfald på landskapsnivå i två regionala kustområden i Uppsala län respektive Västra Götalands län skiljer sig åt. Planen består i Uppsala län av ett tilltänkt naturreservat och i Västra Götalands län av en Regional landskapsstrategi. Uppsatsens teoretiska förankring sker i ekosystemansatsen, med fokus på dess fem vägledande punkter och metodvalet är en jämförande design. Inom ramen för den jämförande designen har sedan en innehållsanalys samt kompletterande semistrukturerade intervjuer utförts. Resultatet visar att den Regionala landskapsstrategin i dagsläget är mer i linje med ekosystemansatsen, eftersom den uppfyller tre av fem vägledande punkter medan processen med Gårdsskärskusten enbart uppfyller två av fem vägledande punkter. I landskapsstrategin är sociala aspekter centrala och det är en förklaring till varför de olika planerna skiljer sig åt. Intressant är dock att betoningen på aktörsinvolvering verkar leda till att vissa ekologiska grundprinciper som konnektivitet i landskapet tonas ned, vilka är framträdande i processen med Gårdskärskusten. Regionala landskapsstrategier kan enligt min mening innebära ett stort steg mot att hindra förlusten av biologisk mångfald i Sverige om de uppförs i varje län. Inom landskapsstrategierna är det vidare essentiellt att skyddade områden, som exempelvis Gårdsskärskusten, också inkorporerar ett landskapsstrategitänk och i många fall innebär det att skötselåtgärder fortsätter att utföras. Svårigheten kan dock vara hur finansieringen av skötseln skall ske men där finns alternativa inkomstmöjligheter, från exempelvis naturturism och stresshantering på företag, som behöver utvecklas ytterligare.

This paper investigates, through an actor-network theory perspective, how the recreation area Lövsta-Kyrkhamn-Riddersvik northwest of Stockholm has developed from being a dumping site into becoming a nature reserve. This investigation also tries to describe and explain which values that have been promoted in the area by the local voluntary associations and companies. Lövsta-Kyrkhamn-Riddersvik has been inhabited for more than 3000 years, originally with farming as the most important business. The area served as Stockholm’s waste disposal site from the late 1890’s and has today become an important area for recreational use. The actor- network theory perspective is used to identify different actors, both human and non-human, that has worked for the protection of the area and thus gained power over the decision-making.

Food selection by free-ranging black rhinoceros, eland, giraffe and kudu as well as the utilisation of vegetation types by the latter three browsers were investigated over an entire seasonal cycle, from June 1998 to July 1999, at Weenen Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal. The study was aimed at determining the extent of resource overlap within this browser guild. Feeding habits of eland, giraffe and kudu were studied by direct observations, while a plant-based technique was used for black rhinoceros. Dung counts were conducted to monitor selection for vegetation types. Overlap was estimated by measuring the similarities in resource utilisation patterns. Giraffe were exclusively browsers, feeding mostly on woody foliage, over the complete seasonal cycle. The bulk of the annual diet of kudu also consisted of woody browse, although forbs were important and their use increased from early summer to winter. The annual diet of eland consisted of approximately equal proportions of grass and browse, with pods making up almost a third of the diet. Similar to kudu, forbs were more prominent in the winter diet, while grass use decreased. During winter, overlap in forage types generally increased and was considerable because the browsers did not resort to distinct forage 'refuges'. Overlap in the utilisation of woody plant species, however, decreased as animals diversified their diets. Nonetheless, overlap was extensive, primarily owing to the mutual utilisation of Acacia karroo and Acacia nilotica. The quantity of woody foliage decreased during winter, as indicated by phenological differences, but numerous individual plants still carried leaves. Based on current evidence, food quality was assumed to decline. Under prevailing conditions, eland, giraffe and black rhinoceros suffered no mortalities indicating that they were not food limited, possibly owing to the nutritional advantages conferred by their large body size, and that competition among them was unlikely. By comparison, kudu mortalities were great which may signify that they were constrained by food supply and that the larger browsers exerted a pronounced competitive effect on them. Based on the current study it is hypothesised that during periods of resource scarcity the abundance of high quality foods are limited and if interspecific competition does prevail, which will further limit the availability of these resources, it is the smaller bodied herbivores that will be most affected and suffer the greatest mortalities. Consequences of competitive interactions among these browsers have important management implications, especially in small reserves, which are a key stone for the conservation of mammalian herbivores. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

The main aim of this study was to classify and map the threatened coastal grassland communities of the 3 257 ha Umtamvuna Nature Reserve (UNR) in KwaZulu-Natal (30°07'30" to 300 11'05"E; 30°55'00" to 31°04'30"S). Secondary aims were to relate past management and selected environmental variables to community composition and to develop guidelines for monitoring. Alpha diversity was measured using a Whittaker plot and revealed 119 species. A pilot study to test the efficiency of botanical techniques showed that a point based technique (nearest plant method in a 20 X 20 m plot) was efficient (52 minutes for recording 200 points), but recorded only 23% of the species. By increasing the number of points to six hundred, 34% of the species were recorded in 178 minutes; the same time was required to randomly place 30 quadrats (50 X 50 cm), which revealed 80% of the species. Tests for replicate similarity showed a high retrieval of internal association (PS = 86%), using abundant species only and 100 points per plot. The point based technique was thus efficient in detecting abundant species and was acceptable for producing a classification, especially in this case where a comprehensive species list already existed. Indirect gradient analysis (TWINSPAN) identified six grassland communities. An ordination using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) contributed towards the community classification and grazing and fire frequency gradients were inferred from this ordination. Protea roupelliae communities were common but did not influence grass species composition . Canonical ordination revealed that, of the eight environmental variables measured, 'distance from the sea' strongly affected species distribution (r= 0.83). Cost effectiveness was considered in the development of a monitoring programme. Point based monitoring techniques favoured by sourveld researchers in KwaZulu-Natal were found to be inefficient, particularly for studies requiring the measurement of both species richness and community composition. Randomly located 100 X 100 cm quadrats, located in selected sites which represent previously identified communities, was more efficient. This study contributed towards a refinement of information on the grassland communities of KwaZulu-Natal and supported the use of point data for the classification of grasslands not previously studied. It also demonstrated that point based techniques were not suitable for meeting all grassland monitoring requirements. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1995.

Over the last 15 years, pinniped tourism has experienced a rapid growth in the Southern Hemisphere, and particularly in Australia and New Zealand where at least four sites attract more than 100,000 visitors per year. Tourism focused on the Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea), a protected species endemic to Australia, occurs in at least nine sites in South Australia and Western Australia. Australian sea lions haul out on several offshore islands in the Perth region. Carnac Island Nature Reserve is one of the main sites where people can view sea lions near Perth, either during recreational activities or on commercial tours. This study sought: (1) to investigate the potential impact of human visitors on Australian sea lions hauled out on Carnac Island, (2) to consider implications of the results for the management of Carnac Island Nature Reserve, and (3) to examine under which conditions tourism and recreation around sea lions can be sustained in the long term. Sea lion numbers, rate of return to the site, behavioural response to human presence and incidents of disturbances of sea lions by visitors were recorded over a period of four months on Carnac Island. A survey of 207 visitors was also carried out. Findings indicated that there were two main types of human impacts on the sea lions: • A specific state of sea lion vigilance induced by low level, but ongoing, repetitive disturbances from human presence, sustained at various approach distances ranging to more than 15 m, vigilance that is different from the behaviour profile observed in the absence of human disturbance, • Impacts resulting from incidental direct disturbances of sea lions by visitors from inappropriate human recreational activities or from visitors trying to elicit a more ‘active’ sea lion response than the usual ‘sleeping or resting’ behaviour on display; these impacts included sea lions retreating and leaving the beach, or displaying aggressive behaviour. Impacts on sea lions from these disturbances may range from a potential sea lion physiological stress response to sea lions leaving the beach, a reduction in the time sea lions spend hauling out, and, in the longer term, the risk of sea lions abandoning the site altogether. Repeated instances of visitors (including unsupervised young children) approaching sea lions at very short distances of less than 2.5 m represented a public safety risk. Results also indicated that (1) the numbers of sea lions hauled out and their rate of return to the beach did not appear to be affected by an increase in the level of human visitation (although longer-term studies would be required to confirm this result); and (2) there appeared to be a high turnover rate of sea lions at the site from day to day, suggesting that there are frequent arrivals and departures of sea lions to and from Carnac Island. The visitor survey indicated that many visitors to Carnac Island had a recreational focus that was not primarily directed towards sea lion viewing (‘incidental ecotourists’). Although many visitors witnessed incidental disturbance caused by humans to sea lions, they did not seem to recognise that they themselves could disturb sea lions through their mere presence. Visitors also seemed to have a limited awareness of the safety risk posed by sea lions at close range. Visitors expressed support for the presence of a volunteer ranger on the beach and for more on-site information about sea lions. Finally, visitors indicated that they greatly valued their sea lion viewing experience. It is anticipated that the continued increase in visitation to Carnac Island from recreation and from tourism will result in intensified competition for space between humans and sea lions. Long-term impacts of human disturbances on sea lions are unknown, but a physiological stress response and/or the abandonment of haulout sites has been observed in other pinniped species. The findings of this study highlight the need to implement a long-term strategy to reduce disturbance levels of sea lions by visitors at Carnac Island to ensure that tourism and recreation around sea lions can be sustained in the long term. Recommendations include measures to control visitor numbers on the island through an equitable allocation system between various user groups, the development of on-site sea lion interpretation and a public education and awareness program, the setting up of a Sea Lion Sanctuary Zone on the main beach, ongoing monitoring of sea lion and visitor numbers and other data, and a system of training and accreditation of guides employed by tour operators.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-118).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-156).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 140-163).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 249-270).