La Nouvelle Géographie Universelle relativise et problématise la position de l'Europe dans le monde en restant dans une tension entre deux pôles, la critique des pratiques européennes dans les autres continents et la confiance dans des valeurs dérivant d'une tradition culturelle et des mouvements d'émancipation sociale. Pour éclairer cette représentation de l'Europe, on suivra trois directions de recherche. Il s'agit d'abord de préciser la généalogie, la théorie et le contexte de l'idée reclusienne d'une Géographie Universelle, en partant des géographes anciens auxquels Élisée Reclus consacre de très nombreuses références, jusqu'à Malte-Brun et à son principal modèle, Ritter. Il s'agit ensuite d'envisager les enjeux d'un projet scientifique qui est lui-même lié au projet politique conscient d'un groupe de géographes engagés politiquement et socialement. Cela suppose la connaissance des réseaux de correspondants, issus surtout du milieu des géographes anarchistes, avec lesquels Élisée Reclus a rédigé la Nouvelle Géographie Universelle. On travaillera notamment sur les liens avec Michail Dragomanov, Léon Metchnikoff, Charles Perron, Pëtr Kropotkin, Attila De Gerando, Elie Reclus, James Guillaume, en consultant leurs correspondances et leurs dossiers de travail et les matériaux d'archive de leurs éditeurs, et en particulier Hachette. On se centrera enfin sur la construction géographique de l'objet Europe pour Reclus. Comment définit-il les notions d'Occident, d'Europe et d'européanisation, dans le contexte de mondialisation avant la lettre qu'il observe à la fin du XIXe siècle ? Ceci suppose de repérer les grandes lignes de l'identité européenne et les facteurs d'individualisation du continent maniés par l'auteur. A l'échelle inférieure, comment Reclus découpe-t-il l'Europe, quel rôle jouent, dans ses choix, sa critique des frontières politiques et sa critique des cartes géographiques, qui en sont la principale représentation? Quels rôles, selon Reclus, les différents peuples et nations européens ont-ils joué dans l'histoire et pourraient-ils jouer dans le futur ? Nous analyserons en particulier, dans cette dernière partie, les premiers 6 volumes de l'ouvrage, consacrés à l'Europe et à la Russie, ainsi que les volumes du 7e au 12e, concernant les aires les plus proches de l'Europe et du bassin de la Méditerranée, comme l'Afrique du Nord et l'Asie Occidentale, et les territoires de l'Orient chinois et indien, indispensables comme terme de comparaison de l'Occident. Nous tiendrons compte de toute la littérature existante sur Reclus, des principaux ouvrages d'encadrement de l'histoire de la géographie et de l'histoire de l'anarchisme de cette époque, de la littérature sur la sociologie de la science pour la deuxième partie et de la littérature constructiviste et postcoloniale pour la troisième.

Cette thèse présente PARDISIM, un modèle de simulation qui propose une approche économique institutionnelle pour la simulation du processus de développement résidentiel. Plutôt que de modéliser le développement résidentiel comme le résultat de choix de localisation au niveau des ménages, PARDISIM met l'accent sur les objectifs et les interactions des acteurs du développement résidentiel. L'idée est que les acteurs du développement, y compris les autorités publiques d'aménagement, jouent un rôle important dans le processus de développement résidentiel. L'approche est donc top-down et se démarque des approches habituelles bottom-up. Les premiers résultats obtenus montrent que PARDISIM est capable de produire des configurations spatiales réalistes.

This thesis describes the geomorphology and morphodynamics of two embayed, sandy, macrotidal beach-dune systems in the Cape St. James region of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. Gilbert Bay beach is a small embayment with a southwest aspect that exhibits prograding dune ridges. Woodruff Bay beach, a larger system with a SE aspect, is characterized by large erosional scarps on the established foredune. Aspect to erosive conditions and embayment size control the distinct morphologic responses of these beach-dune systems. The morphodynamic regime at Cape St. James consists of high onshore sediment transport potential combined with an increasingly erosive water level regime that is forced by PDO and ENSO climatic variability events. Conceptual models of potential future responses of these beaches to sea level rise show a possible landward migration of up to 3.5 m at Gilbert Bay beach and up to 4 m at Woodruff Bay beach.

This thesis examines the informal recovery of recyclable beverage containers in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The socio-economic characteristics and structure of the informal recycling sector is explored using a case study of the United We Can bottle depot in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Results indicate that informal resource recovery, also known in local vernacular as “binning”, has the potential to make a significant contribution to poverty alleviation, social inclusion and waste management. Further, the informal recycling community is comprised of a highly diverse range of individuals. Society’s acceptance and integration of this sector could contribute positively to both the social economy and the environmental movement. In order to do so, however, a collaborative effort between government and community is required to build capacity and an adequate infrastructure.

British Columbia’s current mountain pine beetle epidemic has led to salvage and mitigation harvesting strategies intended to slow the dispersal of beetles, and recover economic value from infested timber stands. These resulting harvesting strategies will alter the spatial pattern of forest landscapes in impacted regions, often resulting in forest fragmentation. As a result, wildlife habitat, hydrologic regimes, local carbon budgets, and soil dynamics, amoung other ecological properties, are expected to be negatively impacted. Monitoring of forest fragmentation in Canada is now required for the Montreal Process, an international forest monitoring policy. Effective methods that quantify changes in forest fragmentation, the breaking up of forest land cover into smaller, and more numerous parts, are required to meet forest monitoring objectives. This research provides two new methods that build upon existing approaches widely used for quantifying the spatial patterns of landscape features (i.e., landscape pattern indices). The first approach I demonstrate aids the quantification of forest pattern change over two time periods, by accounting for the impact of composition on spatial configuration. The value of this method is demonstrated using a case study that highlights the impacts of forest harvesting, associated with insect salvage and mitigation activities. This method allows landscapes that have changed primarily in composition to be distinguished from those that have experienced large configurational change. In the second approach I use multivariate cluster analysis for regionalization (the grouping of objects in space), and identify regions within a study area where increased fragmentation is observed. Regions delineated based on forest spatial pattern can be linked to underlying processes. Ancillary information (e.g., elevation) can be used to identify areas where observed forest pattern is due to underlying physiological features. Pattern indices (e.g., patch perimeter-area ratio) can be used to distinguish between patterns arising from forest disturbance that is likely natural (e.g., fire) or anthropogenic (e.g., harvest activity) in origin. The methods presented in this thesis may be most appropriate when observed changes in landscape pattern can be attributed to substantial changes in landscape composition.

Integrated organic waste management, based on the door-to-door collection and decentralised processing of organic waste for urban agriculture, can be conceptualised as a socio-ecological process of re-circulating environmental amenities for social equality and environmental sustainability. In this thesis, a framework for participatory integrated waste management is presented, based on the findings of an empirical study carried out in the Brazilian city of Diadema, in 2008. The results reveal that the capacity exists for the collection and processing of organic waste, while civil society is sufficiently mobilised to ensure a reliable supply of good quality food waste. The quantity and quality of the resulting fertiliser helps enhance community food security through direct production for self-provision, reciprocal distribution networks, and increased income generation. Barriers include conflict over land and insecure political support. Such insecure support is characterised by the paradox of Brazilian politics, whereby rhetorical support for social policies contrasts their neoliberal implementation. This thesis addresses the ways in which the national political paradox affects the potential for integrated organic waste management in Diadema, paying particular attention to the need for combined social and environmental policies, the political culture of project implementation, the rhetoric of public participation versus neoliberal policy enforcement, and the contested nature of deliberative decision-making spaces. The thesis concludes with suggestions for progressive policy reform, such as a remuneration agreement with the recyclers and firm land tenure arrangements with the gardeners.

Recent concerns about the health of marine environments have led to the worldwide creation of new marine conservation initiatives. Multiple-use marine protected areas (MPAs) are one potential solution; however, they may be perceived by some as 'economic sterilizers' and threats to certain livelihoods, such as marine tourism or aquaculture. For instance, shellfish growers may perceive MPAs as favouring tourism as an economic activity, attracting recreational boaters who may inflict a negative impact on shellfish health through sewage or chemical discharge. Conversely, recreational boaters may perceive shellfish aquaculture as a threat to safe navigation and desirable anchorages. One significant challenge for resource managers then, is to design MPAs in ways that are acceptable to different stakeholder groups. This research, a partial application of the "Limits of Acceptable Change" (LAC) visitor management framework, examines acceptability of recreational boating and shellfish aquaculture within a proposed MPA from a community stakeholder perspective. This study examined Gulf Islands residents’ attitudes, perceptions and values towards the Gulf Islands marine environment. Gaining a clear understanding of the views of stakeholders is key in allowing coastal planners and marine resource managers to proceed effectively towards achieving their mandates. Specifically, this knowledge allows them to (1) identify what is important to different users; (2) determine public relations needs; (3) justify management decisions; (4) promote resource protection; (5) identify potential conflict areas; and (6) address negative concerns and build on positive perceptions. This project samples the views of a random selection of residents (n = 302) from Thetis. Salt Spring and Saturna Islands during the summer of 2004. This research applies respondents' values towards the marine environment as an independent variable in the analysis of (1) perceptions of threats towards the marine environment; (2) attitudes towards recreational boating and sewage from boating; (3) attitudes towards shellfish aquaculture: and (4) attitudes towards different strategies for zoning the marine environment.

Optical remote detection of surface water quality for open ocean waters has been ongoing since the 1960's. This method of detection is much more challenging, and not yet standard practice, for the more optically complex inland and coastal waters. A series of empirically developed models were built relating remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) for Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imagery (CASI), acquired over both inland and coastal water bodies of the Cowichan River watershed in British Columbia, to concurrently sampled water parameter concentrations. The models predict concentrations of chlorophyll-a and its pheopigments (as a proxy signal of phytoplankton), coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and total suspended solids (TSS), using techniques including simple regression, step-wise regression, band ratios, derivative analysis, and fluorescence line height (FLH). The most statistically significant models were ultimately applied. Each of the models was found to be statistically significant, although confidence in the lake models and the CDOM model for the bay are limited due to potential chance correlations. The Chl-a and TSS models for Cowichan Bay were found to be acceptable based upon an understanding of the phenomenon being investigated. These two parameters were correlated to short blue wavelengths, where Chl-a is primarily correlated with absorption at 451 nm and TSS with scattering at 462nm. These findings provide support of the application of the standard configuration of MERIS bands as the common configuration for further coastal and inland water remote sensing studies.

A lumped conceptual rainfall-runoff model based on the MIKE 11/NAM modeling code has been applied to the 372 km2 Tsitika River Watershed. The model was constructed on the basis of readily accessible data of precipitation, temperature, land cover and topography, and was calibrated against the river discharge at the watershed outlet. Several validation tests were carried out and model performance evaluated in terms of the water balance error and the agreement of general hydrograph shape. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to explore the variability of simulation response produced by uncertainty associated with parameter values. In general, the model captured the dynamics of river discharge moderately well with most problems arising during the simulations of the snowmelt season. The differences between observations and model output were attributed to the insufficient spatial coverage of meteorological input data, errors in model structure resulting from a simplified model set-up, and errors caused by inevitable simplifications of temporal and spatial characteristics of the hydrologic behaviour of a very complex natural system.

This is a geographical study of the experience of place for older adults in the rapidly growing area known as `Oceanside' on Vancouver Island. Oceanside's population is one of Canada's oldest: more than 40% are aged 55 and over. The goal of the research is to explore notions of home and community, place and space, and to consider the implications for planning future environments for an aging population. Qualitative analysis of 27 in-depth interviews suggests that the physical, social, cultural and structural environments are multi-layered. When considering a move to the area, it was physical environment that was most important. Once participants moved to the area, social and cultural environments became central in their lives. Finally, the structural environment, particularly the shortage of health services, may cause people to leave the area. Personal identity and past place experience influence participants' experience of the present and their hopes for the future.