This dissertation investigates social and ecological factors that facilitate effective management of coral reefs as social-ecological systems. Meta-analytical and field-based methods were employed to examine current management challenges and identify strategies that improve management effectiveness and coral reef health. A meta-analysis was used to evaluate biological indicators of reef health in relation to the types of fishing regulations in place (no-take areas, gear restriction areas, and periodic closures) and the actor groups (community-based, co-management, state, private) involved in management efforts for coral reef fisheries throughout the world. Other than enhancement of fish biomass within no-take areas that was significantly greater than in gear restriction areas, most biological indicators benefitted similarly from management techniques of no-take areas and gear restriction areas. Community-based and co-management were the best performing management arrangements for some biological outcomes but require further case studies to verify findings. Investigation of management effects by region indicated that previously degraded reefs received fewer benefits from management implementation than did relatively healthier reefs. For field investigations, the Comoros islands in the Western Indian Ocean served as a model for tropical coral reefs with challenging socioeconomic contexts, high biodiversity, and high vulnerability to coral reef degradation. Empirical study at 21 sites was used to identify the relative effects of natural and anthropogenic threats to coral reefs of the Comoros. Most previous studies of reef health focus on primarily natural factors or a single anthropogenic threat. This study examined suites of natural factors and human activities to identify the relative importance of each on reef health. Human activities including fishing, sand extraction, and beachfront housing and development were the best predictors of reef health status. Most notably, human population and fishing predicted fish richness, abundance, and biomass with seasonal variation in the effects, while site orientation strongly predicted benthic cover. Field studies in the Comoros were also used to investigate the roles of community and state actors in co-management and compare effectiveness of comanagement across sites with varying levels of actor participation. Effective management was found to occur with community or `meta-community' (in this case, a Marine Protected Area in which the efforts of several communities were organized) participation in governance and support of state or external agents, while resilient management that overcame considerable challenges was found to occur only with strong community participation and leadership in governance. External agents were found to contribute to development of meta-community governance structure and initiation of community participation through education and capacity building. The findings from these studies reveal that coral reef management can be improved through context appropriate regulations that address detrimental human activities and through wide acceptance and participation in governance with cooperation among states, communities, and external agents.

[pt] Nas duas últimas décadas, o nível de reservas internacionais nos países emergentes aumentou de forma significativa. No Brasil, o nível de 2019 de 360 bilhões de dólares era considerado alto por algumas métricas, com base no motivo precaucional. Por outro lado, além do custo de oportunidade, a América Latina também se caracteriza pelo custo historicamente alto de carregamento das reservas, devido ao pagamento de juros positivos e altos. Por trás de qualquer modelo na literatura que estuda que estuda o nível ótimo das reservas, existe uma ponderação entre os benefícios e os custos associados à acumulação das reservas, de forma que é esperado queuma mudança significativa nesta taxa seja relevante na otimização feita pelo Banco Central. Nesse sentido, recentemente, a taxa de juros alvo da política monetária no Brasil (Selic) caiu consideravelmente, de 14.25 porcento até outubro de 2016 para 2.25 porcento em junho de 2020. Com relação a esta questão, este trabalho estuda o efeito desta mudança na direção da política monetária brasileira na gestão de reservas cambiais. Nossos resultados contrafactuais mostram que o nível de reservas líquido - referência adotada pelo Banco Central desde Agosto de 2019 - teria caído neste período, controlando pelo efeito de outros determinantes ao nível ótimo de reservas, mas a queda na taxa de juros tornou possível que o Banco Central mantivesse um nível aproximadamente estável. / [en] Over the past two decades, the level of international reserves in emerging economies increased significantly. In Brazil, the 2019 level of around 360 billion dollars was considered high by some metrics, based on the precautionary motive. On the other hand, in addition to the opportunity cost, Latin America is also characterized by historically high costs of holding reserves, due to the payment of positive and high interest rates. Behind any model in the literature that studies the optimal level of reserves, there is a trade-off between the insurance benefits and the costs associated with the accumulation of reserves, so that a significant change in this rate is expected to be relevant in the optimization made by the Central Bank. In that sense, recently, the policy-related interest rate in Brazil (Selic) decreased considerably, from 14.25 percent until October 2016 to 2.25 percent until June 2020, an all-time low. Addressing this issue, this thesis studies the effect of this change in the direction of Brazil s monetary policy in the management of foreign exchange reserves. Our counterfactual results show that the net FX reserves level - a benchmark adopted by the Central Bank since August 2019 -, would have fallen in this period, but the decline in the interest rates made it possible for the Central Bank to keep a roughly stable level until 2019.

As the share of power electronics-based renewable energy sources increases in power systems, the system inertia provided by conventional generation is reduced. Inertia is an important factor in the grid's frequency stability, and with its reduction comes challenges to ensure the reliability of the grid. The frequency stabilising service of frequency containment reserves will need to work in conjunction with the faster, stabilising service of fast frequency reserves to avoid power failures in case of sudden disturbances. This project aims to examine the impact of inertia and methods of improving frequency stability in a future low inertia power system. The frequency behaviour is studied using a simplified and linearised model of the Nordic power system implemented in Matlab/Simulink. The model is extended by implementing supplementary battery control to support the frequency response. The simulation results show that there is an evident correlation between the reduction of system inertia and frequency instability. Moreover, it is concluded that the implemented battery support is successful in stabilising frequency following a disturbance. / Då andelen kraftelektronikbaserade förnybara energikällor ökar i kraftsystem så kommer systemets tröghet, tillfört av konventionell generering av elektricitet, att minska. Trögheten är en viktig faktor för elnätets frekvensstabilitet. Då trögheten minskar utmanas tillförlitligheten av elnätet. Frekvensstabiliserande frekvenshållningsreserver behöver fungera i samspel med de snabbare och stabiliserade frekvensreserverna för att undvika strömavbrott vid plötsliga störningar. Projektet ämnar undersöka trögheten och metoder som används vid förbättring av frekvensstabilitet i framtida kraftsystem med låg tröghet. Beteendet hos frekvenser studeras med en förenklad och linjäriserad modell av det nordiska kraftsystemet implementerat i Matlab/Simulink. Modellen utökas genom att inkludera en batterikontrollmetod för att tillförse ett snabbt frekvenssvar. Resultatet av simuleringarna visar att det finns en korrelation mellan minskning av systemets tröghet och frekvensinstabilitet. Vidare visas det att implementationen av batteristöd lyckas förbättra frekvensen i fallet av en störning. / Kandidatexjobb i elektroteknik 2022, KTH, Stockholm

In the search for green energy to combat climatechange, a shift from conventional energy sources such as coal,oil, and nuclear towards Renewable Energy Sources (RES) isneeded. This shift poses a threat to the stability of the powergrids as RES do not contribute with rotating mass in the system.A lack of rotating mass, or in other words inertia, jeopardizesthe ability of power systems to counteract large disturbances.Frequency Containment Reserves (FCR) units are responsiblefor controlling the frequency in power systems by regulatingthe balance between the generated and consumed power. If thefrequency deviates outside of the defined range from the nominalvalue, it can lead to system separation, blackouts, and systemequipment damage. The frequency deviations are faster in lowinertia systems, making it more difficult for FCR to keep thefrequency within accepted ranges. Hydro turbines are often usedas FCR units, but additional means of support could be neededfor low inertia systems. Viable support could be battery systems.This project investigates the change towards low inertia and thepossible implementation of a battery system as fast step-wisepower support with a frequency trigger. The investigation is donethrough case studies of simulated system models in Matlab andSimulink. / I jakten på grön energi för att bekämpaklimatförändringarna behövs en övergång från konventionellaenergikällor som kol, olja och kärnkraft mot förnyelsebaraenergikällor. Denna övergång utgör ett hot mot kraftnätensstabilitet då förnyelsebara energikällor inte bidrar med roterandemassa. Brist på roterande massa eller med andra ord tröghetäventyrar kraftsystemens förmåga att motverka stora störningar.Frequency Containment Reserves (FCR) är system som aktivt arbetarmed att styra frekvensen i kraftsystemet genom att reglerabalansen mellan den producerade och konsumerade effekten.Om detta misslyckas och frekvensen avviker för mycket frånden nominella frekvensen kan detta leda till systemseparation,strömavbrott eller skada hos systemkomponenter. I ett systemmed låg tröghet blir frekvensavvikelserna snabbare. Detta gördet svårare att använda sig av FCR för att hålla frekvenseninom accepterade intervall. Vattenkraftverk används ofta somFCR enheter, men för system med låg tröghet kan ytterliggarestöd behövas. Ett möjligt effektstöd kan vara batterisystem.Detta projekt undersöker förändringen till lägre tröghet i ettkraftsystem och möjlig implementering av ett batterisystemmed ett snabbt stegsvar för effektstöd, vilket aktiveras vid enförbestämd frekvens. Undersökningen görs genom studier avspecifika fall med en linjäriserad modell av ett kraftsystemet,simulerade i Matlab och Simulink. / Kandidatexjobb i elektroteknik 2021, KTH, Stockholm

In 1926 the Kruger National Park in South Africa became the first national park in Africa to accept visitors. Since that date there has been a propaganda campaign to convince people outside of the administration of the importance of the national park project and the value of the wildlife inside the parks. As a large tract of land in a land-hungry region of the country, the Kruger Park required both political and public support to ensure its survival. This attempt to communicate with the public is the subject of my thesis. The idea of the national park, and the natural world that it contained, altered dramatically since 1926. At times the message was tightly managed, and at others that control was loosened. As various interests intervened and encroached, new discourses developed and struggled for influence. Contained within the messages around the park and its wildlife were ulterior strands and ideologies that impacted in various ways on the idea of the national park. Nationalism, race, gender, class and status all became constituent parts of a heterogeneous construction. My thesis interrogates those strands within the discourse on the Kruger National Park. In 1967 the Manyeleti game reserve, on the western borders of the Kruger Park, became the first segregated game reserve for the exclusive use of black South Africans. Through this parallel project African visitors, who had been generally ignored in the Kruger Park setting, became the focus of propaganda efforts intended for a black audience. Race, gender, and class merged with the environmental messages in this unique setting to create new directions in conservationist rhetoric. My thesis sets these diverse messages communicated at Manyeleti alongside those transmitted through and about the Kruger Park.

published_or_final_version / Geography and Geology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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

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

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning