This project was designed to address the need for a curriculum that links environmental education and social skills. All of the social skills units were created to improve the students' understanding of social skills and important environmental concepts.

Forests are embedded in diverse forest governance, resource use, and resource user settings which are linked as components of social-ecological systems. This dissertation examines forest health at a landscape scale, governance at a community scale, and livelihoods at a household scale within a social ecological system; I develop a measure of forest health, the Bare Ground Index, derived from satellite imagery and combine this with socioeconomic data to examine relationships between forest health and forest governance and livelihoods across central India. This body of work has identified livelihood and governance approaches that provide social benefits and maintain healthy forests in central India, a landscape with globally important biodiversity and socially and historically marginalized people. This context is reflected in additional human-dominated landscapes where identifying sustainable development solutions that provide social and environmental benefits is a priority. As forests are lost, gained, and degraded around the world, satellite data has been a powerful tool in collecting estimates of forest cover change but less widely adopted to measure forest degradation, largely due to challenges in common interpretations of operational measures. In chapter 1, coauthors and I develop landscape-scale land cover and forest health datasets for central India. First, we identified land cover, including tree cover and bare ground, from Planet Labs Very High-Resolution satellite data using a Random Forest classifier, resulting in a 3-meter (m) thematic map with 83.00% overall accuracy. Second, we operationalize a measure of forest health and derived the Bare Ground Index (BGI), a normalized index that is a ratio of bare ground to tree cover at 90 m resolution. The BGI was mapped across forest (>10% tree cover). Although open areas occur naturally throughout the tropical dry forest of central India, results from field data indicated that the BGI served as a proxy for measuring the intensity of cattle presence in a landscape where grazing has changed forest composition. The BGI was developed as an indicator of forest health and now serves as a baseline to monitor future changes to a tropical dry forest landscape at an unprecedented spatial scale. In chapter 2, coauthors and I integrated the BGI with socioeconomic data from surveys to households and locally elected leaders to assess forest health and governance patterns across 238 villages at the community-scale. We experimentally selected 80 total villages as treatment and control groups and used this dataset in various statistical analyses to assess the extent of exposed bare ground within forests around villages with and without local institutions involved in making decisions about the forest. Forest had less bare ground within forest where there was a local institution compared to villages without an institution at 3 and 5 kilometers (kms), distances that households traveled from the village to graze cattle or collect Non-Timber Forest Products, firewood, and fodder. Having a local forest institution was more strongly associated with bare ground within forest at 3 and 5 kms than measures of local forest use. In villages with institutions, the authority to modify rules about forest use was relatively more important than the length of time the institution had been established for bare ground within forest. Establishing formal institutions with authority over forest management is important to promote forest cover around forest-dependent communities but it is necessary to ensure that forest governance does not worsen existing socioeconomic disparities. Bare ground within forests near and far (1 and 10 kms) villages was not different in places with and without formal local institutions and was most strongly associated with local forest uses. Both formal forest institutions and forest uses like collecting firewood for cooking or wood for construction material impact forests in central India. In my third and final chapter, coauthors and I examined firewood collection patterns and the adoption of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) using surveys from 4,994 households in central India. Firewood collection is pervasive across central India’s rural communities and mainly used for cooking or heating. We adopted an energy justice approach, which emphasizes questions about who does and does not have access to alternative cooking fuels, because historically marginalized groups comprise a significant portion of central India’s total population. It was important to integrate social justice issues in a system where resource users experience multiple disparities, such as high levels of poverty. We found that despite overall growth in LPG use, disparities in access to clean cooking fuels remained and the probability of cooking with LPG was lowest for socially and historically marginalized households (i.e., Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste, and Other Backward Caste). While 90% of LPG-using households continued to use firewood, households that have owned LPG for more years spent less time collecting firewood, indicating a waning reliance on firewood over time. This study found evidence that policies targeting communities with marginalized social groups living near forests can further accelerate LPG adoption and displace firewood use. My thesis examined components of a social ecological system at landscape, community, and household scales. I integrated insights from across social and ecological disciplines to identify strategies for sustainable development in central India. First, I developed an operational measure of forest health. Following chapters identified characteristics of governance and livelihood interventions that present potential pathways towards achieving benefits for conservation and people. Environmental and development goals should be harmonized so that the central Indian landscape can continue to support biodiversity and people. My approach can be replicated across additional social ecological systems by linking a landscape-scale resource condition to community governance and household socioeconomic patterns.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Reconhecendo a importância que o solo tem na manutenção dos ecossistemas é essencial que esse tema seja trabalhado no contexto ambiental pelas instituições de ensino fundamental, levando em consideração o conhecimento que os alunos já possuem inter-relacionando-os ao conhecimento científico. Assim, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo identificar as representações sociais de solo por parte dos professores das séries iniciais de Ensino Fundamental da rede municipal de Pato Branco – PR, buscando relacioná-las a prática pedagógica em educação em solos e educação ambiental. Para atingir os objetivos da pesquisa, a metodologia foi construída com base na utilização de questionários, análise dos subsídios escolares (planejamento e livro didático) e realização de grupo focal. Os resultados apontados pela pesquisa indicaram que existem falhas e erros conceituais nos subsídios escolares, não estando de acordo com o que é proposto pelos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais de Ciências Naturais e Meio Ambiente. Com relação as representações sociais de solo e educação ambiental, identificadas por meio dos questionários e do grupo focal, verificou-se que existe diferença entre as representações dos professores, o que ocasionou a formação de dois grupos distintos. O grupo da área rural apresentaram características de envolvimento com o solo no contexto ambiental voltado as questões de preservação para plantio e colheita, o que demonstra uma forte relação de sobrevivência estabelecida por esses sujeitos em relação ao solo e meio ambiente. Já os professores da área central e periférica indicaram que o solo é um recurso natural para utilização do ser humano. Esses indicativos possuem forte influência na maneira com que cada um desses grupos utiliza e percebem o solo em sua vivência social e comunitária. Foi identificado que a representação social dos professores influencia na prática pedagógica, isto é, na maneira como conduzem as atividades e valorizam esse recurso natural. De maneira geral, os professores manifestaram ter dificuldades de compreender o solo e ensiná-lo com coerência, pois expressaram possuir pouco conhecimento para desenvolverem esse tema aliado ao contexto ambiental. / Recognizing the importance that the soil has in maintaining ecosystems, becomes essential that this issue be worked in the environmental context by the elementary education institutions, taking into account the knowledge students already possess interrelating them to scientific knowledge. Thus, the present study aimed to identify the social representations of soil by teachers of initial grades of elementary school in the city of Pato Branco - PR, trying to relate them to pedagogical practice in soils and environmental education. To achieve the research objectives, methodology was based on the use of questionnaires, analysis of education allowances (planning and textbook) and conducting focus groups. The results presented by the research indicated that there are failures and misconceptions in education allowances, not agreeing with what is proposed by the National Curriculum Standards of Natural Sciences and Environment. Regarding the social representation of soil and environmental education, identified through questionnaires and focus group, it was found that there is difference between the representations of teachers, resulting in the formation of two distinct groups. The group of the rural area has presented characteristics of involvement with the ground in the context of environmental oriented preservation issues for planting and harvesting, which demonstrates a strong relationship of survival established by them in relation to the soil and the environment. Teachers from the central and peripheral area has indicated that the soil is a natural resource for human use. These indications have strong influence on the way that each of these groups perceive and use the soil in your social and community life. It was identified that the social representation of teachers influences the teaching practice, ie, , in the way they conduct their activities and valorize this natural resource. Overall, teachers expressed having difficulty in understanding the soil and teach it consistently, considering they have expressed little knowledge to develop this theme together with the environmental context.

Reconhecendo a importância que o solo tem na manutenção dos ecossistemas é essencial que esse tema seja trabalhado no contexto ambiental pelas instituições de ensino fundamental, levando em consideração o conhecimento que os alunos já possuem inter-relacionando-os ao conhecimento científico. Assim, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo identificar as representações sociais de solo por parte dos professores das séries iniciais de Ensino Fundamental da rede municipal de Pato Branco – PR, buscando relacioná-las a prática pedagógica em educação em solos e educação ambiental. Para atingir os objetivos da pesquisa, a metodologia foi construída com base na utilização de questionários, análise dos subsídios escolares (planejamento e livro didático) e realização de grupo focal. Os resultados apontados pela pesquisa indicaram que existem falhas e erros conceituais nos subsídios escolares, não estando de acordo com o que é proposto pelos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais de Ciências Naturais e Meio Ambiente. Com relação as representações sociais de solo e educação ambiental, identificadas por meio dos questionários e do grupo focal, verificou-se que existe diferença entre as representações dos professores, o que ocasionou a formação de dois grupos distintos. O grupo da área rural apresentaram características de envolvimento com o solo no contexto ambiental voltado as questões de preservação para plantio e colheita, o que demonstra uma forte relação de sobrevivência estabelecida por esses sujeitos em relação ao solo e meio ambiente. Já os professores da área central e periférica indicaram que o solo é um recurso natural para utilização do ser humano. Esses indicativos possuem forte influência na maneira com que cada um desses grupos utiliza e percebem o solo em sua vivência social e comunitária. Foi identificado que a representação social dos professores influencia na prática pedagógica, isto é, na maneira como conduzem as atividades e valorizam esse recurso natural. De maneira geral, os professores manifestaram ter dificuldades de compreender o solo e ensiná-lo com coerência, pois expressaram possuir pouco conhecimento para desenvolverem esse tema aliado ao contexto ambiental. / Recognizing the importance that the soil has in maintaining ecosystems, becomes essential that this issue be worked in the environmental context by the elementary education institutions, taking into account the knowledge students already possess interrelating them to scientific knowledge. Thus, the present study aimed to identify the social representations of soil by teachers of initial grades of elementary school in the city of Pato Branco - PR, trying to relate them to pedagogical practice in soils and environmental education. To achieve the research objectives, methodology was based on the use of questionnaires, analysis of education allowances (planning and textbook) and conducting focus groups. The results presented by the research indicated that there are failures and misconceptions in education allowances, not agreeing with what is proposed by the National Curriculum Standards of Natural Sciences and Environment. Regarding the social representation of soil and environmental education, identified through questionnaires and focus group, it was found that there is difference between the representations of teachers, resulting in the formation of two distinct groups. The group of the rural area has presented characteristics of involvement with the ground in the context of environmental oriented preservation issues for planting and harvesting, which demonstrates a strong relationship of survival established by them in relation to the soil and the environment. Teachers from the central and peripheral area has indicated that the soil is a natural resource for human use. These indications have strong influence on the way that each of these groups perceive and use the soil in your social and community life. It was identified that the social representation of teachers influences the teaching practice, ie, , in the way they conduct their activities and valorize this natural resource. Overall, teachers expressed having difficulty in understanding the soil and teach it consistently, considering they have expressed little knowledge to develop this theme together with the environmental context.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-07T14:49:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1938958 bytes, checksum: e6c108fffa46ce6b74f69528b19f726f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-03-08 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Productive and management strategies that emphasize social and environmental aspects are crucial in the context of social and environmental crisis. The furniture industry is an activity that needs attention, in face of the various environmental aspects and impacts involved in its activity, like the exaggerated volume of waste of production, the overexploitation and waste of wood and the use of toxic substances. Furthermore, the furniture production is predominantly performed by micro and small enterprises (MSEs), what results in incipient strategies of environmental management. This research intended to present a diagnostic of the behavior of the furniture enterprises that participates of the local production system (LPS) of the furniture sector in João Pessoa, Paraíba, in relation to social and environmental aspects. The chosen methods for the data collection were interviews to the businesses owners and direct observations in the enterprises. The results diagnosed that the studied enterprises still do not behave proactively in relation to various social and environmental aspects of the activity, and sometimes disclaim any responsibility on the grounds that the MSEs did not exert negative pressure on the environment and society. We highlight the problem of inadequate waste management, which triggers series of social and environmental risks such as pollution and damage to workers' health. From the diagnosis, it was possible to systematize recommendations for improving the environmental performance of companies in the LPS, based on the principles of unity and cooperation among enterprises. / A aplicação de práticas produtivas e de gestão com ênfase no respeito a aspectos sociais e ambientais é indispensável no contexto da crise socioambiental. A indústria moveleira é uma atividade que merece ser investigada, já que sua atuação envolve aspectos e impactos ambientais variados, a exemplo do grande volume de resíduos gerados, da exploração irracional e desperdício de madeira e do uso de substâncias tóxicas. Além disso, o setor moveleiro é composto predominantemente por micro e pequenas empresas, fato que implica em práticas incipientes de gestão com caráter ambiental, com prejuízos também para a sua economia. Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa pretendeu realizar um diagnóstico do comportamento atual das empresas de móveis que formam o arranjo produtivo local (APL) de Móveis de João Pessoa, Paraíba com relação a aspectos sociais e ambientais. A metodologia aplicada foi a pesquisa de campo, com coleta de dados através de um questionário direcionado aos empresários e um formulário para observação direta. Os resultados diagnosticaram que as empresas ainda não se comportam proativamente em relação a vários aspectos socioambientais da atividade, e por vezes se isentam de qualquer responsabilidade sob a justificativa de que as MPEs não exercem pressão negativa sobre o meio ambiente e social. Destaca-se o problema dos resíduos, cuja gestão ainda é inadequada, o que desencadeia série de riscos sociais e ambientais, como poluição e danos à saúde do trabalhador. A partir do diagnóstico, foi possível sistematizar recomendações para a melhoria do desempenho ambiental das empresas do APL, baseadas nos princípios de união e cooperação entre as empresas.

Essa dissertação apresenta resultados, reflexões, conclusões e considerações sobre a pesquisa intitulada “Representações sociais sobre educação ambiental e objetivações em práticas pedagógicas no ensino fundamental”. Ela pretendeu tornar conhecida a investigação cujos objetivos foram: conhecer o atual quadro de Educação Ambiental (EA) desenvolvido pelas professoras dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental I do referido município; identificar suas representações sociais sobre EA e os modos pelos quais essas representações são objetivadas em suas práticas pedagógicas. Assim, a metodologia utilizada caracteriza-se pela abordagem qualitativa; cujos instrumentos de coleta de dados foram o Questionário de Evocação Livre (QEV), a entrevista semiestruturada e a pesquisa documental. O QEV é composto por questões de evocação livre e questões dissertativas, cujos dados são quantitativos e qualitativos. Os dados obtidos por esse instrumento foram analisados de acordo com os procedimentos da Abordagem Estrutural da Teoria das Representações Sociais. Por sua vez, a análise dos dados obtidos através da entrevista e da leitura dos documentos seguiu as orientações do método de Análise de Conteúdo. A base teórica e metodológica dessa pesquisa consistiu na Teoria das Representações Sociais e na abordagem crítica de Educação Ambiental. Assim, os resultados obtidos na investigação nos permitiram identificar as representações sociais de EA das participantes; confirmar que tais representações estão sendo objetivadas em suas práticas pedagógicas que se caracterizam como conservadoras. Também confirmam que os documentos pedagógicos da rede pesquisada estão em consonância com os documentos oficiais sobre EA; que as ações de EA desenvolvidas na rede são referenciadas nos documentos pedagógicos da rede e nos documentos oficias de EA e que as práticas de EA das professoras participantes da pesquisa relacionam-se diretamente com suas representações sociais sobre Educação Ambiental. / This work presents results, reflections, conclusions and considerations about the research entitled "Social representations of environmental education and objectivations in teaching practices in elementary school ". She intended to make known research whose objectives were to know the current environmental education framework (EA) developed by the teachers of the early years of elementary school of that city; identify their social representations about EA and the ways in which these representations are objectified in their teaching practices. Thus, the methodology is characterized by the qualitative approach; whose data collection instruments were the Free Evocation Questionnaire (QEV), the semi-structured interviews and documentary research. The QEV consists of free recall questions and essay questions, whose data is quantitative and qualitative. Data from this instrument were analyzed according to the procedures of the Structural Approach to Theory of Social Representations. In turn, the analysis of data obtained through the interview and reading the documents followed the guidelines of the Content Analysis method. The theoretical and methodological basis of this research was the Theory of Social Representations and critical approach to environmental education. Thus, the results obtained in the investigation allowed us to identify the social representations of EA of participants; confirm that such representations are being targeted in their pedagogical practices that are characterized as conservative. Also confirm that the teaching documents of the surveyed network are in line with the official documents on EA; the AE actions developed in the network are referenced in the teaching documents of the network and in the official documents of EA and the EA practices of survey participants teachers relate directly with their social representations on Environmental Education.

Climate change has emerged as one of the most significant issues facing the world. This research endeavored to uncover and describe the lived experience of Portland, Oregon residents in relation to the substantive issue of climate change. The specific purpose of this research was to gain a better understanding of the ways that Portland residents conceive of and communicate about climate change. Utilizing semi-structured phenomenological interviews, particular attention was paid to the culture of Portland residents, their lived experience and how the issue of climate change manifests itself in their everyday experiences. In addition, this particular phenomenological inquiry incorporated elements of auto ethnography by positioning the researcher`s experiences, imagination and intellect at the center of the research endeavor. Multiple themes emerged from the in-depth, descriptive interviews that helped to reveal the structure or essence of the participant`s experience(s). A single meta-theme was identified and informed by contemporary theories such as Cosmopolitanism and the Environmental Justice Paradigm.

The opening of the refugee camp in Dowa by the Malawi Government, with support from UNHCR meant that the population of that area was increased abruptly. This led to an increase in socio- economic activities resulting into high demand of energy, food and other amenities from the natural environment. The impact of the refugees on the host community and their relationship was central in this research. The main aim of the study was to assess the environmental and socio-economic impacts for hosting refugees at the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods in data collection. A structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used to collect data and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 16.0. In total, 237 household heads and 6 key informants were interviewed. In addition, 4 focus group discussions were conducted. Qualitative data, collected through focus group discussions helped in explaining and understanding the results from the questionnaire. The most evident environmental impacts reported by respondents were: deforestation and firewood depletion; land degradation and water pollution. It is important to note that such environmental impacts can affect the long-term livelihood opportunities of both refugees and host population. The camp establishment has had socio-economic impacts regarded as positive by the majority of the respondents. Although most hosts still struggle to survive, the camp has created a larger market for generating income and better opportunities to provide basic needs such as food and water. The majority of host respondents use the refugee camp for providing livelihoods. Most respondents reported that refugees are regularly benefitting from privileged access to resources unavailable to the local host population. In this respect, refugees at Dzaleka were offered opportunities for education, literacy, vocational training, health and basic livelihood. The most reported negative social impacts are exposure to more conflicts and increased insecurity. Both of these impacts relate to the relationship between the host community and refugee population. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

Modern cities are often perceived as the antithesis of nature; the built environment is understood as the transformation of raw and untamed nature into a rationalized human landscape. However, a variety of scholars since the nineteenth century have noted the persistence of nature in cities, not only in providing essential services but also resisting human control. Most recently, urban geographers and environmental historians have argued that processes of urbanization do not entail the replacement of natural with artificial environments, but are more accurately understood as a reconfiguration of human/nature relations. In this dissertation, I employ this relational perspective to study a specific form of urban nature: stormwater flows. Urban drainage or stormwater management activities in US cities are a vivid example of the tensions between nature, society, and technology. In this study, I present a comparative case study of two US cities--Austin, Texas and Seattle, Washington--where stormwater issues have been a central focus of public debate over the last four decades. Using textual analysis, in-depth interviews, and experiential research methods, I argue that stormwater management practices involve not only the rational management of technological networks but also implicate a wide range of seemingly unrelated issues, such as local governance, environmental protection, land use decisionmaking, community development, aesthetics, and social equity. To describe the relational implications of urban nature, I present a framework of ecological politics to characterize drainage activities as rational, populist, or civic. I argue that the latter form of politics has the greatest potential to relieve the tensions between urban residents and their material surroundings by embracing a systems perspective of human/nonhuman relations and engaging local residents in the hands-on management of environmental flows. It is through the development of deliberative and grounded forms of civic politics that urban residents can forge new relationships between technology and nature, and in the process, understand their place in the world. / text