Since 1990, thirteen fires over 100,000 acres in size have burned in California seven of which were recorded to be some of the most destructive wildfires of all time (California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection 2013). To aid the development of policy that reduces the destruction caused by wildfires, it is important to evaluate how risk changes through time in communities that are expanding into fire-prone areas. The objective of this study is to discover how the likelihood of structural loss is changing in WUI as newer; more fire resilient structures replace older structures on the edges of the WUI. Geographical Information Systems and remote sensing techniques were used to observe changes in urbanization, structural materials, housing density and defensible space over time in the communities of Rancho Santa Fe, Ramona and Julian in San Diego County. Fire Risk ratings were calculated using the equation Fire Risk= Hazard – Mitigation. Mitigation scores for each structure were informed using a binary logistic regression of variables influencing home loss in the Witch Creek Fire. Fire Risk Ratings were given to the 11,747 structures in the three communities for the years 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2012. The study found that the initial 0-1.5m zone around the home is the most critical for defensible space. In this zone, increased tree cover increases the odds of structure loss by over double that of grass cover. In Rancho Santa Fe and Julian, the majority of very high risk homes were located in high income communities despite moderate mitigation due to very high fire hazard levels. In Ramona most very high fire risk homes were located in lower income areas due to poor mitigation levels. Rancho Santa Fe and Julian decreased their fire risk over the 7 year study period with improved mitigation, Rancho Santa Fe improved the most (1.7% decrease in Very High and High risk homes). The proportion of very high fire risk homes increased in Ramona by .5% over the 7 year study period. Development on the outskirts of the WUI could increase the risk of the overall community if proper construction standards are not met and defensible space is not implemented. If fire resistant communities are constructed and maintained to high standards of defensible space, they could potentially provide a buffer for older high fire risk homes.

No description available.

As the solar energy industry grows, many hundreds of thousands of acres of land will be transformed into solar panel facilities. With this large change in land use, there is the opportunity to promote biodiversity and support pollinators by using pollinator-friendly management practices at the solar facilities. This paper explores the ecological and economic effects of a pollinator-friendly solar facility compared to a turfgrass solar facility. I hypothesized that a pollinator-friendly solar facility would be functionally equivalent in pollinator support and overall insect diversity to a pollinator-friendly non-solar field and that both sites would have far greater pollinator support and insect diversity than a turfgrass solar field. To test this hypothesis, vegetation and insect sampling were conducted and the resulting data were analyzed for differences in vegetative and insect diversity and pollinator abundance at a pollinator-friendly solar facility, a turfgrass solar facility, and a reference non-solar pollinator-friendly field. The diversity analysis revealed that the pollinator-friendly solar site was overall functionally equivalent to the non-solar pollinator-friendly site and the turfgrass solar site had low insect and vegetative diversity, but high insect abundance. Photovoltaic solar panel energy production is negatively affected by high temperatures. Therefore, to maximize energy production and promote biodiversity native forbs may be incorporated into a solar facility landscape to cool the solar panels by the cooling effect of transpiration and produce more energy than a traditional turfgrass landscaped solar facility throughout the growing season. This study tested that hypothesis by analyzing environmental and vegetation data from two solar facilities, one with a turfgrass landscape and one with a pollinator-friendly forb-dominated landscape. Irradiance, ambient temperature, panel temperature, and percent forb ground cover were recorded for a section of solar panels at each site throughout the 2021 growing season. This data was used to create generalized linear models (GLMs) for predicting panel temperature and humidity based on irradiance, ambient temperature, site, and the interactions between each of them. The predictions made by the panel temperature predicting model supported the hypothesis that the pollinator-friendly landscape had a greater cooling effect than the turfgrass landscape under high and medium irradiance conditions. But this cooling effect was not seen under low irradiance conditions. This suggests that the negative effect of high temperatures on energy output is only significant under high irradiance conditions. Overall, this study supports the idea that pollinator-friendly landscapes could be more economically viable, as pertaining to energy output, and more ecologically beneficial compared to turfgrass. More research is necessary to further investigate and test the patterns seen at only these two solar sites, but these results are encouraging for the future widespread implementation of pollinator-friendly management practices in solar facilities across the Mid-Atlantic.

This thesis seeks to contribute to the improved understanding of social systems analysis in management effectiveness research on protected areas. It develops and applies propositions for incorporating the analysis of social systems into management effectiveness research. The propositions are designed as theoretical constructs which represent some aspects of social reality in protected area management. They signify an organized way of thinking about the social domain of protected area management. It is argued that an analysis of management effectiveness must recognize the need to take into account the inherent interactive nature of the connections among three variables, relationships, learning and demands. It is suggested that the three variables do not exist in isolation, but are interconnected and exert influence on each other. The interactions among the variables provide this study with a conceptual structure for analyzing the social domain of protected area management. The thesis conceives the management of relationships as a behavioral process in which protected area management agencies influence the decisions and actions of other parties, and vice versa, over a period of time in order to advance shared interests. The effectiveness of relationship management depends on integrated learning, a collective process of managing information in a timely manner so as to enhance the responsiveness of social actors involved with protected areas. Demand management is viewed as a social process in which protected area management agencies develop timely and defensible responses to current and emerging demands from stakeholders. The management of demands is expressed through relationship management and integrated learning. Important in this context is the capability of social actors to cope with complexity, change and surprises. The thesis should be seen as a theoretical premise that focuses on the learning competence of social actors by aligning and fostering their ability to respond timely to the ever-changing demands on protected areas through the effective management of relationships. It should be viewed as making a contribution to the move in protected area management towards developing learning organizations and institutions through a systems approach. This should be interpreted as enhancing learning about the human dimensions of protected area management. And more specifically, effective learning generates timely responses in the management of demands and relationships. The implications of failure to respond quickly enough are epitomized in a number of South African examples such as rivers that stop flowing and conflicts over resource use. The thesis makes a contribution to management effectiveness research by examining in some important ways why research should not be determined solely by biophysical components, but should be extended to the broader social issues that define the nature and quality of management. It is argued that a deep appreciation of management effectiveness requires an understanding of relationships, learning and demands to provide a foundation for systemic social analyses. The thesis illustrates why a behavioral approach to relationships theory provides a foundation for resilient social relationships in collaborative processes. It shows why the establishment and maintenance of an integrated learning system take place in a complex context which links elements of governance learning and management learning. It also evinces why protected area management agencies have to incorporate mental models into adaptive management of demands. These insights imply that the opportunities for effective protected area management are largely contingent on systemic insights into the underlying social structures and processes responsible for emergent problems. By exposing the insights, research on management effectiveness is poised to take new direction. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

This study is a gendered analysis of natural resource management at the local scale of a poor rural Sri Lankan village in a conservation buffer zone. This village experiences destruction of forests and human elephant conflict. The objective of this study is to gain an in-depth knowledge of residents' use and understandings of environmental resources, and to investigate if gender helps shape these factors. This study relies on a social sustainability conceptual framework. It tracks participation of local women and men in natural resource management, and in conservation within and outside of the Bibile community. Local nongovernmental organizations focus on mitigating human elephant conflict and government policies influence particular farming practices. Unless socially and environmentally sustainable practices are developed, areas within and outside of the protected areas are not sustainable in their current state (Jayewardene 1998). Current interventions are failing to solve this problem in both rural communities and natural ecosystems, demonstrated most clearly by shrinking forest habitats and the frequency of human and elephant deaths (Bandara 2009). By broadening the analysis of natural resource management to examine possible social, economic, and political influences, my research examines how different resource management approaches might be filtered and reflected by variation in local residents' use and understanding of environmental resources. I suggest that gender, household decision-making, and equality are overlooked but potentially important aspects in the perception and implementation of natural resource management.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is a shift by conservation authorities in post-apartheid South Africa away from management strategies based on law enforcement towards strategies aimed at facilitating local community participation in the management of natural resources. South African National Parks has established community forums in order to facilitate better communication with the communities neighbouring it parks, especially around issues of natural resource consumption. However, at its largest Park, the Kruger National Park, a pervasive miscommunication between the Park and the communities appears to exist despite the ongoing activities of its forums. This study attempted to identify what miscommunication, if any, was occurring between three groups of participants in the Conservation Discourse related to the Kruger National Park environment. The participants were (i) South African National Parks (SANParks) conservation managers, (ii) Kruger Park community outreach officials, and, (iii) members of local communities settled on the borders of the Kruger Park. Specifically, the study was interested in how different perceptions of various participants, who also represent different cultural communities, were foregrounded in relation to different communicative goals. It is suggested that an understanding of where the different Discourses diverge can help identify where possible misunderstandings are occurring which may be resulting in communicative problems. My primary research questions were: (1) how do different communities of practice take part in and construct Conservation Discourse related to the Kruger Parks conservation goals, in particular, those related to the use of natural resources; and, (2) how do members of at least three interest groups construct their own identities in relation to conservation matters in the course of various discursive events where SANParks conservation programmes, particularly those related to the use of natural resources, are topicalised. My assumption was that the Parks conservation officers would have a common Conservation Discourse, and that the local communities would have a common discourse but one which deviates entirely from that of the Parks. From 23 September 2008, I conducted three semi-structured interviews with the Parks conservation officers, I was an observer of a Park departmental meeting as well as a Park Forum, and I conducted a focus group with eight members from one of the local communities. This approach enabled me to collect data from a number of different types of communicative events in order to collate a multidimensional picture of the complete Discourse on Conservation. A number of different Conservation Discourses were identified, some of which present significant discrepancies, and which, as in the case of the two of the departments, may be contributing towards what appears to be a serious breakdown in communication. The communities show that while they are supportive of the populist concept of nature conservation, they are completely unaware of the Parks conservation policies. This lack of awareness indicates a failure of the existing communication between the Park and its neighbouring communities despite the Park Forums having been set-up. Finally, the different discourses also appear to be resulting in misunderstandings and feelings of animosity between the different participants. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In post-apartheid Suid-Afrika beweeg bewaringsliggame weg van bestuurstrategieë wat op wetstoepassing gebaseer is, na strategieë wat daarop gemik is om die plaaslike gemeenskap se deelname in die bestuur van natuurlike hulpbronne, te fasiliteer. Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Parke het gemeenskapsforums in die lewe geroep om beter kommunikasie met die gemeenskappe wat aan sy parke grens, te bewerkstellig, veral rakende kwessies rondom die verbruik van natuurlike hulpbronne. By die grootse Park, te wete die Kruger Nasionale Wildtuin, kom dit egter voor asof miskommunikasie endemies is tussen die Park en sy aangrensende inheemse gemeenskappe, ten spyte van die forums se aktiwiteite. Hierdie studie het nagegaan watter miskommunikasie, indien enige, tussen drie groepe deelnemers aan die Bewaringsdiskoerse rondom die Krugerpark, plaasgevind het. Die deelnemers was (i) Suid- Afrikaanse Nasionale Parke (SANParke)-bewaringsbestuurders, (ii) Krugerpark Gemeenskapsuitreikbeamptes, en (iii) lede van plaaslike gemeenskappe wat op die grense van Krugerpark gevestig is. Die studie het spesifiek gekyk na hoe verskillende persepsies van die onderskeie deelnemers, wat ook verskillende kulturele gemeenskappe verteenwoordig, in die diskoerse op die voorgrond geplaas is afhangende van verskillende kommunikatiewe doelwitte. Daar word voorgestel dat begrip van waar die verskillende diskoerse uiteenloop, kan help om te identifiseer waar moontlike misverstande wat tot kommunikasie-probleme lei, ontstaan. My primêre navorsingsvrae was: (1) hoe neem verskillende gemeenskappe wat rondom gedeelde praktyke gevestig is deel aan Bewaringsdiskoerse wat die Krugerpark se bewaringsoogmerke (en veral daardie oogmerke wat met die gebruik van natuurlik hulpbronne te make het) en hoe konstrueer hulle daardie Diskoerse; en (2) hoe konstrueer lede van ten minste drie belangegroepe hul eie identiteite vis à vis bewaringskwessies in die loop van verskeie diskursiewe gebeurtenisse waar SANParke se bewaringsprogramme, veral daardie wat met die gebruik van natuurlike hulpbronne te doen het, bespreek word. My aanname was dat die Park se bewaringsbeamptes 'n gemeenskaplike Bewaringsdiskoers sou hê, en dat die plaaslike gemeenskappe 'n gemeenskaplike Diskoers sou hê wat heeltemal van die Park s'n verskil. Ek het van 23 September 2008 drie semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met die Park se bewaringsbeamptes gevoer, ek was 'n nie-deelnemende waarnemer by een van die Park se departementele vergaderings asook by 'n Park Forum, en ek het 'n fokusgroep met agt lede van een van die plaaslike gemeenskappe gelei. Hierdie benadering het my daartoe in staat gestel om data van verskeie tipes kommunikatiewe gebeurtenisse in te samel, om sodoende 'n multi-dimensionele beeld van die volledige Bewaringsdiskoers saam te stel. 'n Aantal verskillende Bewaringsdiskoerse is geïdentifiseer, waarvan party noemenswaardige diskrepansies toon en wat, soos in die geval van die twee departemente, moontlik bydra tot wat lyk na 'n ernstige breuk in kommunikasie. Die gemeenskappe toon dat, hoewel hulle die algemene konsep van natuurbewaring ondersteun, hulle heeltemal onbewus is van die Park se formele bewaringsbeleid. Hierdie gebrek aan 'n bepaalde soort bewussyn dui op mislukking van die bestaande kommunikasiestrukture tussen die Park en aangrensende gemeenskappe, ten spyte van die instelling van die Park Forums. Uiteindelik blyk dit dat die verskillende Diskoerse ook lei tot misverstande en gevoelens van vyandiggesindheid tussen die verskillende deelnemers.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study is titled “Exploring the efficacy of community-based natural resource management in Salambala Conservancy, Caprivi Region, Namibia”. Salambala was one of the first four conservancies to be registered in Namibia following the development of legislation which enabled local people on communal lands to obtain conditional rights for the consumptive and non-consumptive use of wildlife in their defined area, and thereby to benefit from wildlife. Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), an approach to natural resource management which rests on sustainable development, is the theoretical basis for this study. Characteristics of CBNRM, a brief history of its implementation and impacts in southern Africa and key principles for sustainable CBNRM initiatives shall be discussed. The study includes a discussion on the history and development of Salambala, but focuses specifically on two issues, (i) whether Salambala is a sustainable community-based resource management initiative as per the principles required for sustainable CBNRM, and (ii), whether it is meeting its own stated aims and objectives. This study demonstrates that Salambala Conservancy is adhering to the principles required for sustainable CBNRM and that it is, on the whole, achieving its aims and objectives. It is thus delivering benefits to the community which, currently, outweigh the costs of living with wildlife, and wildlife numbers are increasing. In addition, the vast majority of local people surveyed have support for the initiative. However, there are a few critical issues which must be addressed, such as human-wildlife conflict and the need to increase benefits through, for example, further tourism development, if Salambala is to continue on this path. The methodology used during the study included interviews, the use of questionnaires on a sample of the population and extensive documentary analysis of both CBNRM and the history of Salambala’s development. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsing is getiteld “’n Ondersoek na die doeltreffendheid van gemeenskapsbaseerde natuurlike hulpbronbestuur in die Salambala bewaar-area in die Caprivi streek in Namibië”. Salambala was die eerste van vier bewaar-areas wat in Namibië geregistreer is nadat spesifieke wetgewing ontwikkel is. Hierdie wetgewing het plaaslike inwoners in staat gestel om voorwaardelike regte op gemeenskaplike grond te bekom om die natuur te verbruik (bv. vir jag doeleindes) of te gebruik (bv.vir toerisme), en so baat te vind by die natuur. Gemeenskapsgebaseerde natuurlike hulpbronbestuur (GGNHB), ‘n benadering tot natuurlike hulpbronbestuur wat berus op volhoubare ontwikkeling, is die teoretiese basis van hierdie studie. Kenmerke van GGNHB, ‘n kort historiese oorsig van die implementering en impak daarvan in suidelike Afrika, asook sleutel beginsels vir volhoubare GGNHB sal bespreek word. Die studie sluit ook ‘n bespreking in van die geskiedenis en ontwikkeling van Salambala, met spesifieke fokus op twee kwessies: (i) of Salambala ‘n volhoubare gemeenskapsgebaseerde hulpbron bestuursinisiatief is soos vervat in die beginsels vir ‘n volhoubare GGNHB; en (ii), of dit aan sy verklaarde doelwitte en oogmerke voldoen. Die studie toon aan dat die Salambala bewaar-area voldoen aan die beginsels wat vereis word vir volhoubare GGNHB en dat dit, in die geheel gesien, sy beplande doelwitte en oogmerke bereik. Dit lewer dus voordele aan die gemeenskap wat op die oomblik meer is as die kostes verbonde aan ‘n bestaan na aan die natuur. Verder neem die wildgetalle toe en toon ‘n opname onder die plaaslike bevolking oorweldigende steun vir die inisiatief. Daar is egter ‘n paar kritieke kwessies wat aandag verg, soos die konflik tussen inwoners en die wildlewe, asook die behoefte aan meer voordele wat verkry kan word deur middel van, byvoorbeeld, verdere toerisme-ontwikkeling - sou Salambala voortgaan met hierdie onderneming. Die metodologie wat in die studie gebruik is sluit in onderhoude, die gebruik van vraelyste op ‘n deursnit van die bevolking asook ‘n breedvoerige dokumentêre analise van beide GGNHB en die geskiedenis van die Salambala se ontwikkeling.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As the world’s human population increases, more pressure is placed on the management of natural resources. In response, we need an efficient means of monitoring, not only the quantity of these resources but also their quality. No comprehensive standard metric has been developed to assess environmental quality of a biotope, or to define the nature and extent of environmental degradation at this spatial scale. Currently in conservation management, various landscapes are being evaluated for spatial heterogeneity, by making use of species surrogates such as species richness, relative abundance, diversity indices and phylogenetic indices, as well as environmental surrogates. These values are then used towards conservation, where those systems with high intrinsic heterogeneity are usually considered more important than those with low heterogeneity at least when given the choice between the two. Yet, the actual quality of the biotopes within the landscapes is rarely taken into consideration. This study therefore develops and tests a Biotope Quality Index (BQI) to study this point in depth. The BQI makes use of arthropod assemblages as bioindicators of the level of disturbance within a biotope. Firstly, I summarize the literature on the concept of environmental health, and define it as “An ecosystem is healthy, if it can sustain an optimal number of species with optimal population sizes and their ecological processes, thus providing and optimal heterogeneous sustainable system with sufficient resources, and indicated adequate resistance when under perturbational stress, but still allowing natural succession to take place” Against this background, I then review the use of certain Arthropoda as bioindicators, as arthropods are small, mobile, environmentally sensitive, easily sampled, and readily available. These features together make arthropods good subjects for testing the BQI. I then compare the BQI with diversity indices currently used as surrogates of biotope quality. The outcome was that the BQI stood out as a significantly better indicator than the currently available indices for assessing environmental quality of a biotope. Furthermore, during the selection process, I also tested the use of guilds for BQI evaluation, and found that the scavenger (represented by Formicidae) and decomposer (represented by Collembola) guilds were the most significant. The effect of seasonality was also tested. I found the best results with the BQI were when data are pooled from all seasons of the year. A case study, making use of the BQI evaluation, was conducted at a site in the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa (Jonkershoek Valley). BQI results suggested that the agricultural management and tourism within the locality might have an effect on biotope quality. This study has shown that use of the BQI is a useful and practical management tool for evaluating environmental quality of a biotope towards conservation management. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Met die vermeerdering van mense op die Aarde, wat meer druk plaas op ons natuurlike hulpbronne en omgewing is daar ‘n aanvraag na doeltrefende maniere wat nie net die kwantiteit maar ook die kwaliteit van die hulbron evalueer. Geen betroubare standard bestaan om biologiese kondisies of die kwaliteit van n omgewing te meet nie. Heidiglik maak wetenskaplikes staat op die bepaling van diversiteit en ander voogde soos spesies rykheid en diversiteit indeksies as voog vir kwaliteit. Die waardes word dan gebruik binne die omgewings bestuur praktyke en bevooroordeel omgewings met ‘n hoë diversiteit, terwyl die kwaliteit van omgewing skaarslik na gekyk word. Hiervolgens, onwikkel ons n Omgewings Kwaliteit Indeks (OKI), wat gebruik maak van Arthropoda saamestellings as bioindikator van die vlak van verval binne ‘n omgewing. Verder sluit die tesis n literatuur studie van die omgesings gesondheid teorie, en die gebruik van arthropoda as bioindikators. As basis van die studie, definieër ons ‘n gesonde omgewings as ‘n omgewing wat’ n optimal hoeveelheid spesies en hulle ekologiese prosesse kan handhaf, en daarom verwys na ‘n diverse onderhoubare sisteem met genoegsame hulpbronne en kan genoegsame weerstand bied onder omgesings stres, maar gee geleentheid vir naturlike suksesie om plaas te vind Ons het verder die OKI getoets teen ander diversiteit’s indeksies, waar ons gevind het dat die OKI evaluering ‘n statistiese beklemtonde verskil toon as bioindikator van omgewings kwaliteit. Verder het ons voorkeer getoets, in gedrags groupe en gevind dat die versamellaars groep (verteeenwoordig deur Formicidae) en die afbrekers groep (verteenwoordig deur Collembola) die beste resultate toon. Seisoene het ook ‘n uitwerking en ons het gevind die groupeering van data ingesamel oor alle seisoene die beste resultate getoon. ‘n Ondersoek studie wat gebruik maak van die OKI evalueering, was gekondakteer in die Jonkershoek valei en het getoon dat die landbou plaagbestuur en toerusme ‘n negatiewe effek het op die omgewing. Verder het die OKI evalueering getoon dat aanplanting van Denne plantasies die kwaliteit van ‘n omgewing verlaag. Die studie het verder getoon dat die OKI evalueering ‘n betroubare evalueerings metode is vir die bestuur van ‘n omgewings, terwyl die diversiteits indeksies nie geskik is as bioindikator van omgewings kwaliteit nie.

This paper describes the processes, methods, backgrounds, and economic challenges, of Desalination and Water Recycling and provide current examples of both. To create a baseline with which to compare the two methods, I will also delve into the history of California water policy. This complicated past is the reason water importation into Southern California remains the main method of obtaining water. Yet, as the current drought continues and technology advances, the need for imported water will become obsolete as the methods for recycling and desalinating water become less expensive, more convenient and more equitable. In the conclusion, all the methods will be compared and I will give suggestions on potential solutions for solving San Diego’s water dependence.

The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA, Adelges tsugae Annand) is an invasive insect that threatens to eradicate native eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) across the eastern United States. In southern New England and southern Appalachian forests, HWA-induced hemlock mortality has impacted carbon (C) flux by altering stand age, litter composition, species composition, and coarse woody debris levels. However, no one has examined how total C storage and sequestration may be impacted by these changes. Further, while projections are that HWA will ultimately infest hemlock across its entire geographic range, the majority of studies have been limited to southern New England and Appalachian forests where HWA infestation has been ongoing. To address these gaps, we examined how HWA might alter C dynamics in northern New England forests using the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) and Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) data to model C storage and successional pathways under three different scenarios: preemptive harvesting of hemlock, HWA-induced hemlock mortality, and a control mimicking natural stand development absent of disturbance. Our 150 year simulation showed that, while all treatments differed significantly in C storage in the short term, there was no significant difference in total C stocks between HWA infestation and presalvage treatments by the 75th year. Compared to the control, both simulated treatments resulted in a significant decrease in total C storage, with greater impacts on stands with higher hemlock densities. However, net C losses over the 150 year simulation were significantly higher for the presalvage scenario, indicating that allowing HWA infestation to progress naturally through a stand may result in the least impact to long-term C sequestration for the region's forests.