Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Integrative Biology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-34).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Canterbury, 2006. / Typescript (photocopy). "June 2006." Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the World Wide Web.

When elephants leave primary protected areas (PPAs), such as national parks and game reserves, they may come into conflict with people residing on the adjoining land. In this study, I attempted to determine why African savannah elephants leave the PPAs in which they were collared. To accomplish this, I used telemetry locations of collared elephants in PPAs throughout southern Africa and investigated whether a range of intrinsic and extrinsic variables could explain why elephants crossed the boundaries of the PPAs. Adjoining many of the PPAs were secondary protected areas (SPAs), which consisted of community conservancies, and collectively with the PPAs formed clusters of protected areas. Most (45 of 49) elephants roamed beyond the PPAs but they remained within the clusters of protected areas. The elephants utilised both the PPAs and the SPAs and appeared to not feel threatened when using the SPAs. The reasons for elephants leaving PPAs varied both seasonally and between the sexes. The females roamed beyond the PPAs more during the wet season than the dry season, whereas, for males there was no seasonal difference. During the wet season, female and male habitat selection was similar within and beyond the PPAs. During the dry season, more females and males beyond the PPAs selected for areas close to people, which could be indicative of water. The proportion of male and female home ranges beyond PPAs did not increase with increasing density of elephant populations within the PPAs, nor did the proportion of female home ranges beyond PPAs increase with increasing population growth rate of elephant populations within the PPAs. Therefore, high numbers of elephants within the PPAs did not drive elephants beyond the boundaries. Contrastingly, the proportion of male home ranges beyond the PPAs did increase with increasing population growth rate. However, the results were inconclusive due to small sample size. This study confirms that elephants are utilising the SPAs as well as the PPAs. Therefore, the importance of including the SPAs in conservation actions for elephants cannot be over-emphasized. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-94).

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-117). Also available on the World Wide Web.

This thesis has endeavoured to enhance the knowledge and effectiveness of integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) as a model for the management of conservation areas and the buffer zones to national parks and reserves in Nepal. ICDPs evolved as it was recognised that the Western model of protected natural area management imposed costs on poor rural communities in developing countries and often failed to achieve nature conservation objectives. The ICDP concept was questioned when, after many years of mostly development effort in several developing countries, ICDPs did not provide an appropriate contribution to nature conservation. An ICDP in Nepal that provided considerable benefit to local people and greatly enhanced nature conservation is provided to establish that the ICDP concept is valid. The question that initiated this research was why some ICDPs fail to contribute to nature conservation while others are successful. The ICDP process is based on the assumption that the welfare of people who rely on resources from within protected natural areas is central to the pursuit of nature conservation and has priority in that nature conservation objectives can only be achieved where the wellbeing of local people and their access to the resources they require has been assured. The establishment of a nature conservation estate in developing countries is both an ecological problem and a social problem. The social problem is one of poverty. ICDPs in Nepal’s protected natural areas have been studied using qualitative research methods and a contextual constructionist approach that is central to the study of social problems. The evidence suggests that ICDP agencies have accepted assumptions that sustainable development and poverty alleviation will lead to the conservation of biodiversity. This thesis argues that sustainable resource use can not ensure the conservation of biodiversity yet paradoxically the sustainable use of resources in one place may lead to biodiversity conservation in more remote places where human impact is minimal. The variables associated with different settings are such that the outcomes of interventions designed to achieve ICDP objectives are not always predictable. The research suggests that assumptions about the outcomes of interventions should be treated with caution. Monitoring interventions can help ensure the desired outcomes are achieved but ICDP intervention monitoring in Nepal has been neglected. Numerous reports and evaluations detail input and effort rather than outcomes. The results include a recommendation to apply the principles of action research and adoption of a structured process for monitoring and evaluation of progress towards clearly stated objectives for the project and for individual interventions. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Övergödning, eller eutrofiering, är ett av de största miljöproblemen i Östersjön och orsakas av förhöjda näringshalter i vatten. Eutrofieringen beror till stor del av näringsförluster från åkermark (Bernes, 2005, s. 83). För att sänka näringshalterna i vatten kan ett flertal åtgärder vidtas, till exempel genom att införa odlingsfria skyddszoner utmed vattendrag (Jordbruksverket, 2008). I denna uppsats studeras sådana skyddszoner där det 16 år långa Dyåprojektet i Nynäshamns kommun har använts som fallstudie. För att avgränsa arbetet har det lokala deltagandet i projektet undersökts för att se hur det kan ha påverkat Dyåns näringshalter. Resultaten från undersökningen visar att totalfosforhalterna i ån har fortsatt öka under åren, medan totalkvävehalterna långsamt minskar. För både totalfosfor och totalkväve uppvisas fortfarande höga samt extremt höga näringsförluster från åns avrinningsområde. Studien baseras på vattenprover som tagits direkt i åns vatten, en metod som skiljer sig från hur övrig forskning inom ämnet utförs. Detta är viktigt att ha i beaktande av resultatet eftersom de vattenprover som erhållits består av vatten från ett större område än bara det där zonerna är etablerade. Studien visar att det lokala deltagandet har fungerat bra, trots dålig kontakt med Nynäshamns kommun som initierade projektet 1995. Ett flertal faktorer från lantbrukarnas sida borde bidragit till en positiv miljöpåverkan på Dyåns näringshalter, det vill säga minskat dem. Eftersom så inte är fallet diskuteras jordmån, dräneringsrör, förändrad markanvändning och andra externa påverkanskällor som kan ha påverkat resultatet mer än det lokala deltagandet. / Eutrophication is one of the most substantial environmental problems in the Baltic sea and is caused by elevated nutrient concentrations in the water. A large part of these nutrients comes from losses in agricultural land (Bernes, 2005, s. 83). A number of measures can be taken to reduce agricultural nutrient loss to water, for example by introducing vegetative buffer zones adjacent to watercourses (Jordbruksverket, 2008). This paper examine such buffer zones and uses a 16 year long project in Nynäshamn municipality as a field study, the Dyå project. The local participation in the project was analyzed to see how this have influenced the nutrient content in the water table of Dyån. The result shows that nutrient content in the Dyå river surface water is still high regarding both total phosphorus and total nitrogen and the nutrient losses from the drainage area is extremely high. The method for analyzing the water samples differ from predominant research on buffer zones, which shall be kept in mind when analyzing the result. The local participation has worked well despite poor contact with the municipal authorities who initiated the project in 1995. The paper discusses other possible reasons for Dyåns high nutrient content, for example the soil quality, drainage tubes and changed land use in the drainage area.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 17, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Thesis advisor: Dr. Kathleen M. Trauth. Includes bibliographical references.

In the pursuit of sustainable development, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) are acknowledged globally as a tool designed to assist governing authorities by providing the information required to make an informed decision regarding development proposals. South Africa has entrenched this EIA requirement in the presiding environmental legislation: the National Environmental Management Act (Act 107 of 1 998). In the effort to manage the negative impact of development on the rocky ridges of Johannesburg, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, conservation, Environment and Land Affairs (GDACEL) has introduced a buffer zone requirement in the procedure of the EIA. The Red Data Plant Policy for Environmental Impact Evaluations for GDACEL described a buffer zone as a collar of land that filters out inappropriate influences from surrounding activities. As a tool in the EIA, a buffer zone is a worthwhile concept. However, the determination of the dimension of the buffer zone on rocky ridges, is non-discriminatory between sites, and thus, presents potential contention between decision-making authorities and developers. There is a need for further research to establish a scientifically acceptable method of determining site-specific buffer zones for individual EIA applications. The key objective of this paper is to suggest the possibility of determining a buffer zone that accommodates the unique environmental aspects of each site. This is achieved by determining the distance between the edge of existing developments and the point at which the successional climax community within the adjacent natural vegetation is established. Three suitable study sites, consisting of developed residential estates on ridges adjacent to nature reserves, were identified within the greater Johannesburg metropolis. The three study sites identified for this assessment include Kloofendal (west), Morning Hill (east) and Kliprivier (south). Within each study site field surveys were conducted along transects starting 5m from the development edge and ending 75m within the nature reserve adjacent to each site. Quantitative (species density) and qualitative (Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance values) data analysis was employed to describe and evaluate the identified plant communities. The data in this study provides clear indication that a 25-35m buffer zone would suffice for these specific plant communities to maintain a climax successional status if impacted on by residential development. This paper thus makes a case for permitting the determining of variable buffers zones, based on a gradient analysis of a plant community, as a potential panacea to the problem of resistance and reluctance to accept present standard buffer zones. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.