No description available.

The need for a broader geographical and functional perspective in managing natural resources of the Belize barrier reef system was examined. The small country of Belize in Central America is struggling to increase its economic development and growth. It has an excellent natural resource base, the most dramatic component being the extensive barrier reef system just offshore. The research identified key economic and environmental issues relative to Belize’s reef complex, and analyzed resource management policies and actions taken to date. Development and conservation needs suggest a multiple use strategy aimed at economic and environmental sustainability. Due to areal extent and ecological complexity, the present reactive, small-scale and piecemeal approach is not adequate to realize sustainable utilization of the area’s resources. This research shows the need for a broad spatial and interdisciplinary “coastal zone" perspective, leading to a comprehensive and integrated strategy upon which to base resource planning and management. A strategy for the reef system must be accomplished within the broader context of a national resource management strategy, integrating concerns of economic development and environmental protection. As a component of this national policy, the proposed strategy for the barrier reef system is based on principles of multiple use of resources, coastal zone scope, and sustainability. The research supports a reef system-wide protected area, using a biosphere reserve framework and a customized model planning process to implement the strategy. / Master of Science

No description available.

This thesis presents the history of conservation and reclamation of the natural resources of the United States in the areas of soil conservation, forestry and grazing, wildlife and scenic beauty, minerals, and water power.

In the past 25 years, Palm Beach County has acquired more than 31 million acres of public preserves consisting of numerous native habitats that are home to threatened and endangered flora and fauna. Both endemic habitats and plant species benefit from expansion and connectivity through the adoption of native plants in surrounding areas. The next step in conserving these protected, larger areas is to identify ways to connect them in order to reduce their isolation and improve their likelihood of continued ecosystem health. This study aims to perform an analysis using a GIS database of Palm Beach County's Eastern urban areas to determine additional vegetation that currently exists on public lands and private preserves and to analyze and classify the vegetation for its potential conservation role, either as ; preserves, buffers, corridors or clusters connecting and enhancing existing natural areas. / by Corrie Rainyn. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

This study sought to determine the impact of a free-choice environmental learning event on "at-risk" eighth graders' self-perceived environmentally responsible behaviors.

The growing numbers of environmental volunteers indicates that more and more citizens in Hong Kong are aware of environmental issues and willing to contribute their efforts to help protecting the environment. Previous studies indicated that environmental volunteering could raise environmental awareness and foster environmentally friendly behaviors among volunteers, given that they volunteered long and frequent enough. In addition, environmental volunteers are driven by different motivations to obtain certain benefits from their engagement. Therefore, understanding these motivations is essential to the design and management of volunteering programs. However, information about the motivations and attitude of environmental volunteering, especially in Hong Kong, is very limited. In order to provide an insight of the issue, this study assessed the motivations and benefits of environmental volunteers in Hong Kong. On top of this, the attitude of volunteers towards the environment was also examined to reveal its relationship with duration and frequency of volunteering. View points from volunteer managers were also gathered to obtain a better understanding of the issues. Information and data was collected from 205 local environmental volunteers and 5 volunteer managers through questionnaire survey and focused interviews. The results of the study revealed that interest in nature and learning are the most important motivations for volunteers, while social factor becomes more important with ongoing engagement. Learning is an important element in volunteering experience due to the acquisition of new knowledge and skills which are beneficial to personal development of the volunteers. Therefore, outdoor experience in nature and training opportunities should be included in the volunteering program, and the establishment of social network among volunteers should also be facilitated, to raise the satisfactory level and foster the sense of belonging of the volunteers. The results also indicated that longer term volunteering and higher frequency of service fostered better environmental awareness and more frequent conformation to environmentally friendly behaviors. Therefore, retaining volunteers and encouraging frequent participation not only ensure stable manpower supply for green groups, but also help the environment by changing people’s behaviors. In other words, environmental volunteering is not only an instrument to acquire work force, it also serves educational functions to change the mindset of volunteers, if the volunteering program is well managed. In order to achieve this, the factors contributing to the participation of volunteers should be realized, and the results of this study can assist environmental managers to establish volunteering programs addressing the motivations and benefits of volunteers which best suit the situation in Hong Kong. This is beneficial to the development and popularization of environmental conservation in Hong Kong. / published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

The thesis examines the genesis and implementation of integrated conservation development and associated projects in northern Maputaland during the 1980s and 1990s. The premise upon which this study is based is that there has been a worldwide paradigmatic shift in conservation policies and practices during the 1980s and 1990s. The extent to which initiatives in Maputaland reflected these trends is examined. In formulating a conceptual and theoretical framework for the study, the developments within the discipline of geography as well as the paradigmatic shifts within the broader sphere of conservation and development thinking, are discussed. Traditionally geography focuses on the nature of the relationship between human beings and their environment. Working within this tradition, the relationship between geography and conservation policy and practice is identified and applied to South Africa. Analysis of the process of integrating conservation and development in Maputaland is informed by both the broader international debate surrounding conservation and development and by local history and place specific conditions. The key geographical concepts of process and place are viewed as interdependent factors influencing one another. Within this framework and drawing on the concept of sustainable development, the experience of implementing the new conservation paradigm in Maputaland is recorded and analysed. The case study examples are associated with Ndumo Game Reserve. Sources of data and methodologies include primary sources (published books and journals), secondary sources (unpublished reports), participant-as-observer status with conservation liaison committees and the Ndumo Environmental Education Centre, key informant and focus group interviews and Participatory Rural Appraisal with the Ndumo Environmental Education Centre Management Committee. The study indicates that the Maputaland initiative did represent a considerable paradigm shift in the conservation policies guiding the general practice of conservation in Maputaland. The conservation agency did attempt to initiate Integrated Conservation Development Projects (ICDPs) during the 1990s, but this has been a complex process, fraught with tensions and suspicions. The practise fell short of the ideals and there is a long road to be travelled before reconciliation between conservation and community development is reached. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

No description available.