<p>Stream restoration is being conducted throughout the world at unprecedented rates to address stream channel degradation and water quality concerns. Natural Channel Design (NCD) is a common method used for restoration and has received governmental endorsement; however, the effects of NCD on channel stability and ecosystem functioning are poorly studied. We examined the effects of a reach-scale NCD project on channel stability, riparian vegetation, and water quality along the Cacapon River, West Virginia using a before-after-control-impact design and determined that restoration increased the abundance and diversity of woody vegetation, but had minimal effects on streambank stability and water quality. Increased erosion rates in some portions of the restored reach were attributed to differences in pre-restoration stability, vegetation removal, and soil composition among sub-reaches. No differences in in-stream concentrations of total phosphorus, nitrates, ammonia, or total suspended solids were detected following restoration; however, in-stream turbidity was drastically increased during construction. This study is a clear example of the value of monitoring streambank migration, vegetation communities, and soils to evaluate the effects of stream restoration and to provide insight on potential reasons for treatment failure. Ideally, pre-restoration monitoring should be used to inform project design by determining restoration potential of areas selected for restoration. </p><p> As a surrogate for process monitoring, we created a maximum entropy model of streambank erosion potential (SEP) in a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework to prioritize sites for management and to determine which variables in the watershed are associated with excessive rates of streambank erosion. Model development included measuring erosion rates throughout a central Appalachian watershed, application of a quantitative approach to locate target areas for management termed Target Eroding Areas (TEAs), and collection of environmental data throughout the study extent using high resolution, remotely sensed data. A likelihood distribution of TEAs from occurrence records and associated environmental variables over our study extent was constructed using the program Maxent. All model validation procedures indicated that the model was an excellent predictor of TEAs, and that the major environmental variables controlling these processes were streambank slope, soil characteristics, shear stress, underlying geology, and riparian vegetation. A classification scheme with low, moderate, and high levels of erosion potential derived from logistic model output was able to differentiate sites with low erosion potential from sites with moderate and high erosion potential. This type of modeling framework can be used in any watershed to address uncertainty in stream restoration planning and practice. </p><p> To address the need for accurate, high resolution estimation of streambank erosion, we also explored the role of laser scanning for estimating streambank migration and volumetric sediment loss. This was accomplished by comparing estimates of streambank migration and volumetric sediment loss derived from repeated erosion pin, streambank profile, and combined airborne and terrestrial light detection and ranging (LiDAR) surveys. Results indicated that LiDAR derived estimates were larger and highly variable compared to estimates derived from erosion pin and streambank profile surveys, which more accurately represented change along the study reach. Inflated LiDAR estimates were most likely the result of combining high resolution terrestrial LiDAR with relatively low resolution airborne LiDAR that could not effectively capture topographic features such as undercut banks. Although cost-prohibitive in some cases, repeated terrestrial LiDAR scans would likely circumvent these issues with higher point densities and better scan angles facilitating more accurate representation of streambank geometry, ultimately providing more accurate estimates of channel change. </p>

<p> This research study examined the ecological damage in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria for the past over 50 years, which has resulted from oil exploration activities. It presents a detail review and analysis and a partial solution to the crisis that has metamorphosed from the neglect and abject environmental destruction the Niger Delta of Nigeria. The toll of environmental damage brought to the indigenes of the Niger Delta was investigated as well as the clamor of the indigenes against Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria. The study&rsquo;s objective was to identify the gap that exists between corporate social responsibility programs (CSR) of SPDC and the needs and aspirations of the indigenes of the oil producing communities of the Niger Delta and the reason that the Niger Delta has become unfriendly with the SPDC. The research unveils this gap as the absence of holistic management and suggests how a holistic concept in management could significantly add to the solution of the existing conflict between the indigenes and SPDC. The researcher conducted a qualitative research that focused on stakeholders&rsquo; perceptions, which succinctly sifted the reasons for the consequential unrest in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. In order to address the prevailing problems, the researcher used descriptions, interpretations and transparency techniques for the purpose, analysis, and conclusions.</p>

<p>To better understand the value of those who engage in environmental stewardship of natural areas, we studied volunteer steward's motivation to participate, their sustainable behaviors and attitudes toward stewardship-related constructs. Specifically, we designed and conducted a survey of volunteers who work as stewards in urban natural areas in Portland, Oregon. We hypothesize that as volunteer frequency increases: participants will be more motivated to participate for environmental reasons, volunteers will be more likely to feel a strong connection to the stewardship site, participants will be more likely to engage in public pro-environmental behaviors, and their level of environmental literacy will increase. Participants were sampled using a face-to-face survey methodology over the course of late winter and spring of 2012 during 18 different Portland Parks and Recreation sponsored stewardship events. We examined the motivations, attitudes and behaviors of the volunteers, and devised appropriate management implications for those organizing volunteer efforts. We equated a three-tiered typology of environmental literacy, based upon the frequency of volunteer participation, and analyzed our survey data using a principal component analysis, generalized linear models, and a qualitative coding analysis. The most frequent participants showed a higher likelihood of participation in public environmental behaviors, whereas participants at all frequency levels were also likely to participate in private environmental behaviors, such as removing invasive plants in one's yard. Volunteers across all frequencies of participation were motivated to engage in stewardship events by a desire to help the environment. By understanding volunteers' motivations and linked behaviors, park managers may gain insights about the recruitment, retention, and messaging of volunteers upon whom they may depend to achieve restoration goals. We recommend considering volunteers' motivations and benefits derived from participation in messaging to recruit and retain volunteers. Additionally, park managers should take advantage of educational opportunities linked to stewardship events, such as training programs and chances for volunteer mentorship.</p>

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There is growing recognition internationally of the shift in natural resource management away from top-down, technocratic management towards participatory approaches that incorporate local communities and other stakeholders in decision-making. Natural resources and their management are also increasingly seen to play a role in development, providing the resources necessary to drive local economic development and poverty alleviation schemes. These shifts are evident in both forestry and fisheries literature and co-management policies. Co-management is a mature theory of participatory environmental governance. Participatory Forest Management (PFM), which is a co-management approach to governance in forest management, comprises a major shift in government policy in terms of managing the people-forest interface in South Africa. Democratic approaches such as comanagement are commendable; however, the reality surrounding the lack of capacity for decisionmaking by local people and the complex scientific nature of forest management makes the implementation of this approach difficult. This study adopts a critical approach to participatory practices in forestry, and questions whether participation is occurring or whether it is merely rhetoric - a disguise for an eco-modernist, technocratic problem solving approach that still employs top down management. Ecological modernisation is a policy-orientated discourse, which is used to construct environmental problems in a particular way, and so influence the manner in which they are addressed. The mainstream ecological modernisation approach, which is a weak ecological modernisation approach (Christoff, 1996), is arguably the prevailing mainstream environmental management approach in the developed and also latterly, the developing world (Christoff, 1996; Blowers and Pain, 1999; Murphy, 2000; Scott and Oelofse, 2005). According to Oelofse et al. (2006), Laros (2004) and Scott and Oelofse (2005) this weak mainstream approach has been transferred from the developed countries, where it has been institutionalised for over two decades, to developing countries such as South Africa, and has become the “rationale for environmental management” (Oelofse et al. 2006:61) in these countries also. However, within the ecological modernisation approach, shifts are taking place towards what Christoff (1996) refers to as ‘strong’ and Beck (1995) as ‘reflexive’ ecological modernisation, which acknowledge the use of more participatory, communicative and deliberative approaches to addressing environmental problems (Christoff, 1996; Blowers and Pain, 1999; Scott and Oelofse, 2005). The southern Cape PFM case study in South Africa is presented as an opportunity to explore these ideas. This thesis explores the relationship between PFM and ecological modernisation through an analysis of PFM discourse, and expands the conceptualisation of ecological modernisation by applying it to an environmental policy process in a developing world context. Through an analysis of the implementation of PFM using Hajer’s (1995; 2003) argumentative approach to discourse analysis, the appropriateness of the form of co-management, typified by PFM to the South African context, is challenged. Research findings reveal that the manner in which PFM is implemented in the southern Cape comprises a weak ecological modernisation approach to environmental management because the participatory element of PFM was found to be problematic. The nature of participation occurring at a local level differs greatly from the policy being advocated at a national level. The discourse of PFM has been institutionalised nationally as a policy and an approach to indigenous forest management, which resonates with strong ecological modernisation. Locally, however, although a degree of discourse structuration has occurred, it appears that the co-management approach being implemented is a weak form, which is more consistent with weak ecological modernisation. South Africa’s context as country in transition places it in an awkward position with regard to the application of ecological modernisation as an environmental problem-solving approach. A strong ecological modernisation approach would seem to be the most appropriate given South Africa’s context; however, there are limitations that indicate why a strong ecological modernisation discourse becomes weak at the level of implementation. Even if weak ecological modernisation were pursued, it would appear that South Africa might not yet be ready to apply such a programme effectively. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

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<p> This research tests and answers the main question: Should the Environmental Protection Agency&rsquo;s Policy on the Technical Impracticability Waivers be changed? This research uses public and private databases for collecting information on the Comprehensive Environmental Recovery and Liability Act sites with Technical Impracticability Waivers and examines the process the Environmental Protection Agency uses to make Technical Impracticability Waivers evaluations. Existing data demonstrates the Environmental Protection Agency has been very conservative and has granted few Technical Impracticability Waivers over the last 30 years. Several arguments for changing Environmental Protection Agency&rsquo;s policy are made. A comparison of approved Technical Impracticability Waivers sites and sites that meet the criteria for approval but have not been submitted for the waiver are used in this research. The results indicate that the policy should be changed. A policy change would be beneficial to appropriate funds to the more complex and critical sites. A change in policy would also save taxpayers funds instead of being spent on experimentation on sites that are impracticable to clean up, these funds would go to more critical sites. The research also shows a need for collecting a database of sites that Environmental Protection Agency has rejected for a Technical Impracticability Waiver.</p>

<p> Empowering citizens to comprehend complex environmental issues affecting their daily lives is essential to sustaining a healthy and informed public. The work of many environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) center around helping their stakeholders become informed of, and in turn, better understand complex environmental problems. However, providing individual stakeholders with knowledge about environmental issues that is easily accessible and understandable represents a recurring challenge in today's society. As a result, a gap continues to exist between that which is known about environmental problems and the public's awareness and understanding of those issues. Arsenic contamination of drinking water from privately owned groundwater wells in rural areas of the southwest the United States is one such environmental issue, which is the focus of this research project. </p><p> Results from this study demonstrate that an Internet-based GIS application represents a promising tool for informing stakeholders of selected water quality issues and helping stakeholders comprehend the scope of arsenic found in drinking water in rural areas. Specifically, findings from this research suggest that the interactive environment of an Internet GIS is an easy to use technology that facilitates the visualization of arsenic water quality impairment in an accessible format for stakeholders. Feedback from ENGO and IHE professionals (who were the target population in this study) indicated that an Internet GIS application, such as the one used in this project, represents one method to inform stakeholders of drinking water quality issues. This, in turn, contributes to reducing the gap between known scientific information about environmental issues and stakeholder knowledge of the facts and consequences associated with those concerns. </p><p> Results from this study inform an important initial step in reducing the knowledge gap (i.e., determining ENGO and IHE professionals' perspectives about the value of use of an Internet GIS for engaging with public stakeholders), leading to the subsequent task of ensuring that public stakeholders are aware of the opportunities to use Internet GIS to become more informed about water quality issues. To advance the findings from this project, additional research is needed to further clarify best practices that ENGO and IHE professionals may employ to disseminate an easily accessible Internet GIS for water quality from rural, unregulated sources. Additional need exists to gather and compare the perceptions of stakeholders with the perspectives of ENGO and IHE professionals to best clarify the use of Internet GIS as a tool to disseminate unregulated drinking water quality information to rural water users.</p>