Submitted by Nara Lays Domingues Viana Oliveira (naradv) on 2015-07-14T19:15:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ismael.pdf: 6067546 bytes, checksum: 1d7d0311ddf2e36a024b2a1792d492db (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-14T19:15:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ismael.pdf: 6067546 bytes, checksum: 1d7d0311ddf2e36a024b2a1792d492db (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / SATC - Associação Beneficente da Indústria de Santa Catarina / A questão ambiental é um dos temas de maior relevância da atualidade, e a conservação da biodiversidade encontra-se extremamente alinhada à esta realidade. Entretanto, para que os ecossistemas sejam preservados, faz-se necessário o desenvolvimento de estratégias de sensibilização dos indivíduos, já que é a ação antrópica que origina seus principais impactos. Desta forma, este trabalho tem por objetivo relatar uma proposta prática de conservação da biodiversidade através da educação ambiental que utiliza animais silvestres taxidermizados, realizada na Escola Educacional Técnica – EDUTEC/SATC, em Criciúma, sul de Santa Catarina. Esta ideia foi iniciada por intermédio da oferta de uma oficina científica que desenvolve a técnica de taxidermia (manutenção da epiderme de vertebrados de acordo com as etapas: coleta, limpeza, retirada das vísceras, tratamento químico com bórax/alúmen e/ou formol, secagem e finalização artística) e que utiliza seu acervo em exposições monitoradas, oportunizando conhecimentos ecológicos referentes aos exemplares associados com elementos socioeconômicos e político-culturais. Neste sentido, a oficina de taxidermia confeccionou 34 espécimes de 26 espécies, que foram expostos em 08 eventos e obtendo 11 trabalhos publicados. Contudo, a oficina de taxidermia concretizou relevante coleção zoológica, que possibilitou a construção e a disseminação de saberes e práticas em prol da conservação da biodiversidade e da sustentabilidade. / The environment issue is one of the most important matters nowadays, and the conservation of the biodiversity is totally in consonance with this reality. However, for the ecosystems to be preserved it is necessary to develop strategies that sensitize individuals as it is the anthropic action that causes the main impacts. Thus, this work has the aim to propose a biodiversity conservation practice through environmental education that uses wild animals that have been through taxidermy process which is performed at “Escola Educacional Técnica” – EDUTEC/SATC, in Criciúma, South of Santa Catarina. This idea started through the scientific workshop that develops the taxidermy technique (the skin maintenance of vertebrate animals according to the following steps: collecting, cleaning, removing the entrails, chemical treatment with borax/alum and/or formaldehyde, dryness and final embellishment). They use the collection in monitored exhibitions and provide ecological knowledge of the samples associated with socio-economic and politic-cultural elements. Therefore, the taxidermy workshop has made 34 samples from 26 specimen, that were exposed in 08 events and getting 11 publications. However, the taxidermy workshop made a relevant zoological collection that has provided the construction and the expansion of knowledge and practices because of the need to preserve the biodiversity and for the sustainability.

Les gouvernements se sont récemment engagés à enrayer l’érosion de la biodiversité. Dans ce contexte, la compensation écologique est apparue comme une réponse politique en permettant, en principe, de répondre à l’exigence de conciliation de deux intérêts souvent antagonistes : le développement économique et la conservation de la biodiversité. L’objectif de ce travail de thèse est d’analyser si la compensation écologique peut accomplir cette promesse. J’envisage cette problématique avec trois angles d’analyse complémentaires et de façon interdisciplinaire en mobilisant les apports de l'économie et de l'écologie. Premièrement, dans une approche théorique, je pose la question de la compatibilité du principe de la compensation avec son objectif de conservation de la biodiversité. Je pose ensuite la question de la possibilité d’atteindre l’objectif d’absence de perte nette de biodiversité dans la mise en œuvre de la compensation. Pour cela, j’étudie empiriquement deux mécanismes de compensation au travers de deux cas d’étude français : une banque de compensation, et la contractualisation agro-environnementale. J’utilise principalement les outils de l’économie néo-institutionnelle pour analyser l’efficacité de ces mécanismes pour la réalisation des objectifs écologiques de la compensation. Au travers d'une approche épistémologique, ma troisième interrogation porte sur le rôle des dynamiques politiques dans la diffusion et dans la promotion de la compensation écologique dans la communauté scientifique. L’analyse théorique met en évidence des limites intrinsèques au principe de la compensation pour atteindre ses objectifs de conservation de la biodiversité, notamment au regard de l’impossibilité d’adopter une approche écologique complexe de la biodiversité dans le processus de la compensation. L’étude empirique montre que les modes d’organisation de la compensation comportent également des limites qui obligent à des compromis susceptibles de remettre en cause l’atteinte des objectifs écologiques de la compensation. Ces résultats mettent en évidence le rôle et l’importance des institutions dans la mise en œuvre des compensations, notamment pour limiter l’apparition de comportements opportunistes, responsables des principaux problèmes d’efficacité identifiés. Enfin, l’analyse épistémologique révèle que le développement et la promotion de la compensation écologique répond à un agenda politique principalement porté par les politiques anglo-saxonnes et certains acteurs de conservation. Ainsi, la compensation écologique n’est pas un objet neutre car elle sert à la diffusion d’une certaine idéologie sur la pratique de la conservation de la biodiversité dans le sillage du développement durable et de l’économie verte. Pour conclure, ce travail permet de souligner que la conciliation des intérêts économiques et écologiques constitue une problématique complexe dont la voie du consensus ne semble pas permettre de répondre aux enjeux d’érosion de la biodiversité. La compensation offre en somme une occasion de penser les conditions de possibilités et d’impossibilités de la protection de la nature aujourd’hui. / Governments have recently pledged to halt the loss of biodiversity. In this context, biodiversity offsetting (BO) appeared as a political response by allowing, in principle, to reconcile two often conflicting interests: economic development and biodiversity conservation. The objective of this work is to analyse whether BO can fulfil that promise. I am considering this issue from an interdisciplinary perspective by mobilizing the contributions of economy and ecology and using three complementary approaches. First, in a theoretical perspective, I ask the question of the compatibility of the offsetting principle with its biodiversity conservation goal. Second, in an empirical approach, I investigate the strengths and limits of using BO mechanisms in conservation policies, particularly two specific mechanisms analysed through two French case-studies: habitat bank and agri-environmental contracts. I mainly use the new institutional economics framework to analyse the effectiveness of these mechanisms for achieving the environmental objectives of BO. Finally, I adopt an epistemological approach to question the role of political dynamics in the diffusion and the promotion of BO in the scientific community. The results of the theoretical analysis highlights the inherent limits to the BO principle to achieve its conservation goals, especially with regard to the impossibility to adopt a complex ecological approach to biodiversity in the process of BO. My empirical study shows that the mechanisms of BO also have limitations that force compromises likely to jeopardize the achievement of environmental objectives of BO. These outcomes highlight the role and the importance of institutions in the implementation of BO, especially to provide clear and precise rules in order to limit the emergence of opportunistic behaviours, responsible for the major problems identified. Finally, my epistemological analysis shows that the development and the promotion of BO actually respond to a political agenda driven by the Anglo-Saxon policies and some conservation stakeholders. Overall my work emphasizes that BO is not a neutral object as it serves to spread a certain ideology on the practice of biodiversity conservation through the lens of sustainable development and green economy. Finally, this work allows stressing that reconciling economic and conservation interests is a complex problem that cannot be solved by using idealized consensus. Rather, the concept of BO offers an opportunity to think about the conditions of possibilities and impossibilities of the protection of nature today.

Estima-se que atualmente 80% dos remanescentes florestais de Mata Atlântica estejam localizados em propriedades particulares, o que torna evidente a necessidade da conservação dessas áreas por entidades engajadas. A avaliação e o monitoramento das florestas restauradas são essenciais para o aperfeiçoamento das técnicas de restauração, contribuindo dessa forma para a manutenção e a permanência da biodiversidade nessas áreas. O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a influência do tempo de restauração florestal em áreas plantadas com espécies arbóreas nativas e suas características estruturais sobre a riqueza e abundância da anurofauna de serapilheira. Os dados da presente pesquisa foram obtidos entre abril de 2011 e fevereiro de 2012, em parcelas de 5 × 5 m dispostas em 12 fragmentos localizados em três áreas de vegetação nativa e uma cronossequência (cinco meses e quatro e 11 anos de idade) de áreas restauradas, totalizando três fragmentos por idade. Em cada fragmento foram instaladas seis unidades amostrais, cada uma composta por quatro parcelas, perfazendo 288 parcelas de esforço amostral. Além da contagem de anuros, em cada parcela, com a intenção de caracterizar os micro-habitats disponíveis para os anuros dentro das diferentes florestas, foram medidas as seguintes variáveis abióticas: temperatura e umidade relativa do ar aprisionado na serapilheira, profundidade da serapilheira e cobertura do dossel. Observouse a presença de cinco espécies distribuídas em cinco famílias. A maior riqueza de espécies e abundância foram registradas nos fragmentos com 11 anos de restauração, seguida pela área de floresta nativa e pelo fragmento com cinco meses de idade. Na área com quatro anos de restauração nenhum indivíduo foi capturado. A análise de correlação de Spearman indicou que a riqueza foi significativamente correlacionada com a profundidade de serapilheira e a cobertura do dossel. Foi observada correlação positiva entre as variáveis cobertura do dossel e profundidade de serapilheira e correlação negativa entre umidade relativa do ar e temperatura relativa do ar. O teste de Kruskal-Wallis indicou diferença significativa entre os diferentes tipos de fragmentos avaliados. O teste de Wilcoxon revelou que os fragmentos de cinco meses e quatro anos não diferiram entre si, mas foram significativamente diferentes dos fragmentos de 11 anos e de floresta nativa. Ressalta-se, no entanto, a necessidade de estudos de médio e longo prazo para que se possa melhorar a compreensão dos processos envolvidos na sucessão ecológica e da ocupação desses habitats pelas espécies de anuros. / It is estimated that currently 80% of the remaining Atlantic forest are located on private properties, which makes evident the need for conservation of these areas by engaged entities. Evaluation and monitoring of restored forests are essential to improve restoration techniques, thereby contributing to the maintenance and persistence of biodiversity in these areas. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of time of forest restoration in areas planted with native tree species and their structural characteristics on the richness and abundance of leaf litter frogs. The data set of this study was obtained between April 2011 and February 2012, on 5 × 5 m plots arranged in 12 fragments located in three areas of native vegetation and a chronosequence (five months, and four and 11 years old) of areas restored with native species, totaling three fragments by age. Four sampling stations with six sampling units were installed in each fragment, totaling 288 plots of sampling effort. In addition to counting the frogs in each plot the following abiotic variables were measured: temperature and relative humidity of the air trapped in the litter, litter depth and cover canopy. Five anuran species belonging to five families were recorded. The highest species richness and abundance were obtained in forested fragments with 11 years old, followed by the native forest area and the fragment with five months old. No individual was captured at the four years old area. The Spearman correlation analysis indicated that anuran richness was significantly correlated with the depth of leaf litter and canopy cover. Canopy cover and litter depth were positively correlated, and relative humidity and temperature of the air were negatively correlated. The Kruskal-Wallis test indicated a significant difference among different types of fragments evaluated. The Wilcoxon test revealed that five old months and four years old fragments did not differ, but they were significantly different from 11 years old and native forest fragments. It should be noted, however, the need for medium and long term studies to improve our understanding about processes involved in ecological succession and occupation of these habitats by anurans.

De nombreux naturalistes amateurs battent la campagne et entreprennent parfois de véritables expéditions afin d’inventorier les différentes entités du monde naturel. Ils le font par passion, sur leur temps de loisir, et souvent en étroite collaboration avec des institutions académiques, en particulier les muséums d’histoire naturelle. Face à la crise d’extinction qui touche la biodiversité, cette collaboration entre amateurs et professionnels se renouvelle à travers notamment ce qui est appelé en France les sciences participatives. Cette thèse documente ce phénomène avec pour objectif de comprendre ce que les observatoires participatifs de la biodiversité transforment dans la pratique des naturalistes amateurs. Afin de mieux représenter la diversité des observateurs et des dispositifs, nous avons choisi de nous pencher sur le cas des amateurs de papillons peu étudiés jusque-là lorsqu’ils s’impliquent dans des atlas ou des suivis de biodiversité. A travers des méthodes ethnographiques privilégiant la longue durée de l’enquête et la description des pratiques en situation, notre travail accorde un soin particulier à documenter l’irruption du numérique dans la circulation des connaissances entre pairs, la diversification des régimes d’attention dans les expériences d’observation, et la multiplication des manières d’alerter la société sur les dangers qui menacent la biodiversité. En soulignant le lien entre les composantes communautaires, expérientielles, et politiques de l’activité des naturalistes amateurs, cette thèse défend l’idée qu’il y a un continuum entre le mouvement des corps et la formation des valeurs : l’engagement des naturalistes amateurs apparaît ainsi comme processuel et multiforme. Le plaisir de l’observation et la nécessité de témoigner s’y conjuguent, avec des attachements aux espèces rencontrées et aux espaces parcourus qui génèrent dans certains contextes des temps plus militants de décloisonnement des savoirs. / Many amateur naturalists comb the countryside and sometimes undertake full-size expeditions to inventory the different entities of the natural world. They do it by passion, on their leisure time, and often in close collaboration with academic institutions, especially museums of natural history. Faced with the extinction crisis affecting biodiversity, this collaboration between amateurs and professionals is being renewed through what is called citizen sciences (participatory sciences in France). This thesis documents this phenomenon with the aim of understanding how participatory observatories of biodiversity transform the practice of amateur naturalists. In order to better represent the diversity of observers and schemes, we chose to focus on butterfly watchers little studied so far when they get involved in biodiversity atlases or monitoring schemes. Through ethnographic methods favoring long-term investigation and description of situated practices, our work paid a particular attention to document the irruption of digital technologies in the circulation of knowledge among peers, the diversification of attention regimes in observation experiences, and the multiplication of ways to alert society on the dangers that threat biodiversity. By highlighting the link between the community, the experiential and the political components of amateur naturalists’ activities, this thesis defends the idea that there is a continuum between the movement of bodies and the formation of values : the engagement of amateur naturalists thus appears as processual and multifaceted. The pleasure to observe and the need to testify intertwine, with attachments to encountered species and to visited areas which generate in some contexts activist attitudes reducing the partition of knowledges.

The background to this thesis is Australia’s Oceans Policy, which aims to develop an integrated and ecosystem-based approach to planning and management. An important part of this approach is the identification of natural regions in regional marine planning, for example by establishing marine protected areas for biodiversity conservation. These natural regions will need to be identified on a range of scales for different planning and management actions. The scale of the investigation reported in this thesis is applicable to spatial management at 1 km to 10 km scale and monitoring impacts at the 10s of m to 1 km biotope scale. Seabed biotopes represent a combination of seabed physical attributes and related organisms. To map seabed biotopes in deep water, remote sensing using a combination of acoustic, optical and physical sensors is investigated. The hypothesis tested in this thesis is that acoustic bathymetry and backscatter data from a Simrad EM1002 multi-beam sonar (MBS) can be used to infer (act as a surrogate of) seabed biotopes. To establish a link between the acoustic data and seabed biotopes the acoustic metrics are compared to the physical attributes of the seabed in terms of its substrate and geomorphology at the 10s m to 1 km scale using optical and physical sensors. At this scale the relationship between the dominant faunal functional groups and both the physical attributes of the seabed and the acoustic data is also tested. These tests use data collected from 14 regions and 2 biomes to the south of Australia during a voyage in 2000. Based on 62 reference sites of acoustic, video and physical samples, a significant relationship between ecological seabed terrain types and acoustic backscatter and bathymetry was observed. / These ecological terrain types of soft-smooth, soft-rough, hard-smooth and hard-rough were chosen as they were the most relevant to the biota in their ability to attach on or burrow into the seabed. A seabed scattering model supported this empirical relationship and the overall shape of backscatter to incidence angle relationship for soft and hard seabed types. The correlation between acoustic data (backscatter mean and standard deviation) and the visual and physical samples was most consistent between soft-smooth and hard-rough terrain types for a large range of incidence angles (16o to 70o). Using phenomenological backscatter features segmented into 10 common incidence angle bins from -70o to 70o the length resolution of the data decreased to 0.55 times depth. The decreased resolution was offset by improved near normal incidence (0o to 30o) seabed type discrimination with cross validation error reducing from 32% to 4%. A significant relationship was also established between the acoustic data and the dominant functional groups of fauna. Faunal functional groups were based on the ecological function, feeding mode and substrate preference, with 8 out of the 10 groups predicted with 70% correctness by the four acoustically derived ecological terrain types. Restricting the terrain classification to simple soft and hard using the acoustic backscatter data improved the prediction of three faunal functional groups to greater than 80%. Combining the acoustic bathymetry and backscatter data an example region, Everard Canyon, was interpreted at a range of spatial scales and the ability to predict the preferred habitat of a stalked crinoid demonstrated. / Seabed terrain of soft and hard was predicted from the acoustic backscatter data referenced to a common seabed incidence angle of 40o. This method of analysis was selected due to its combined properties of high spatial resolution, consistent between terrain discrimination at the widest range of incidence angles and consistent data quality checking at varying ranges. Based in part on the research reported in this thesis a mid-depth Simrad EM300 multibeam sonar was purchased for use in Australian waters. A sampling strategy is outlined to map all offshore waters with priority within the 100 m to 1500 m depths.

Loss of indigenous biodiversity continues in New Zealand. Despite admirable goals in the NZBS 2000 to the contrary, efforts at improved biodiversity conservation have been insufficient to halt loss of significant amounts of indigenous forest and wildlife habitat. Increasing numbers of native species are moving towards critically endangered and extinction. Whatever we are doing in New Zealand, it is not effective enough. The aim of this study is to firstly identify factors contributing to the failure, “to halt the decline of indigenous biodiversity” in New Zealand and to then consider opportunities to overcome these barriers. In considering opportunities, this study then reviews the emerging discipline of landscape ecology as an answer to, at least, some of those factors and the recurring calls from New Zealand ecologists for a more integrated and holistic approach to biodiversity conservation. Recent advances in the planning framework and particularly provisions for biodiversity conservation in England are explored as a model of practical application of landscape ecological principles to land-use planning. From this review, the study proposes a new ‘LEEP’ model for strategic biodiversity conservation that produces a regional-scale spatial conservation map and accompanying policy and implementation guide. Together they provide an integrated and holistic approach to restoring or creating functional landscapes that also recognises and provides for human activities and development. Application of the LEEP model is demonstrated through a case study of the Wellington region. Benefits and potential uses of the map and policy outputs are canvassed. Interviews with leading New Zealand and international ecologists provide an assessment of the current status of landscape ecology and interviewees also act as an expert ‘test panel’ against which the Wellington maps and guides produced from the ‘LEEP’ model are assessed. Finally, suggestions are provided for development of the new model and future research needs towards fuller and more effective implementation of this approach to biodiversity conservation in the New Zealand context.

Loss of indigenous biodiversity continues in New Zealand. Despite admirable goals in the NZBS 2000 to the contrary, efforts at improved biodiversity conservation have been insufficient to halt loss of significant amounts of indigenous forest and wildlife habitat. Increasing numbers of native species are moving towards critically endangered and extinction. Whatever we are doing in New Zealand, it is not effective enough. The aim of this study is to firstly identify factors contributing to the failure, “to halt the decline of indigenous biodiversity” in New Zealand and to then consider opportunities to overcome these barriers. In considering opportunities, this study then reviews the emerging discipline of landscape ecology as an answer to, at least, some of those factors and the recurring calls from New Zealand ecologists for a more integrated and holistic approach to biodiversity conservation. Recent advances in the planning framework and particularly provisions for biodiversity conservation in England are explored as a model of practical application of landscape ecological principles to land-use planning. From this review, the study proposes a new ‘LEEP’ model for strategic biodiversity conservation that produces a regional-scale spatial conservation map and accompanying policy and implementation guide. Together they provide an integrated and holistic approach to restoring or creating functional landscapes that also recognises and provides for human activities and development. Application of the LEEP model is demonstrated through a case study of the Wellington region. Benefits and potential uses of the map and policy outputs are canvassed. Interviews with leading New Zealand and international ecologists provide an assessment of the current status of landscape ecology and interviewees also act as an expert ‘test panel’ against which the Wellington maps and guides produced from the ‘LEEP’ model are assessed. Finally, suggestions are provided for development of the new model and future research needs towards fuller and more effective implementation of this approach to biodiversity conservation in the New Zealand context.

<p>This dissertation explores local people's framing of externally driven biodiversity conservation approaches in the context of transfrontier conservation initiatives. It uses data from the Madimbo corridor, a specific locality within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, situated to the northeast of South Africa along the South Africa-Zimbabwe boundary. It shows that livelihoods, historical experiences with external interventions and exclusion from policy-making processes and programme implementation influence local strategies for engaging with external interventions. Thus, an analysis of framing of external interventions at a local level should establish the following: the role of natural resources in sustaining local livelihoods / local historical experiences with an external intervention / iii) the nature of multi-level actor interactions from local resource dependent people, to national, regional and global actors involved in or affected by an intervention. The study uses a detailed case study of Bennde Mutale village to trace local people&rsquo / s ideas, ways of speaking and actions in response to the implementation of a large-scale transfrontier conservation initiative. The study finds that local livelihoods play a central role in local responses to the changes that transfrontier conservation bring upon people's lives. Many see further exclusion, while some also see and hope for a restoration of the socio-cultural border region. The globally significant biodiversity - to be conserved for &lsquo / future generations&rsquo / &ndash / at the same time constitutes the natural resources that sustain local people&rsquo / s livelihoods. Further, local livelihoods are more diverse than is commonly acknowledged in literature advocating for transfrontier conservation. This lack of acknowledgement of local diversification contributes to the main observation made in this study: that current processes of transfrontier conservation end up replicating and re-inventing the multiple forms of exclusion that have characterised state conservation practices for over a century. While transfrontier conservation enables the freer movement of wildlife, it in fact further constrains the movements of people whose mobility within less closely controlled border regions remains centrally important to survival. At the same time, state actors come into the area with contradicting and conflicting demands ranging from the beneficial advocacy role for land rights to the enforcement of conservation through fences and game rangers, experienced as a direct infringement on livelihood possibilities. The study concludes that there is a need to rethink transfrontier conservation interventions. The diversity of local livelihood approaches needs to be considered more centrally and clearer understanding needs to be developed of how the promises of opportunities, betterment of lives and increased human mobility actually unfold in practice. In order to succeed and deliver on site - not only to high-class tourists seeking to view unique biodiversity but to local people - transfrontier conservation efforts need to engage multiple actors directly from the ground up and throughout the process of policy-making, programme conceptualisation and implementation.</p>

<p>This dissertation explores local people's framing of externally driven biodiversity conservation approaches in the context of transfrontier conservation initiatives. It uses data from the Madimbo corridor, a specific locality within the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, situated to the northeast of South Africa along the South Africa-Zimbabwe boundary. It shows that livelihoods, historical experiences with external interventions and exclusion from policy-making processes and programme implementation influence local strategies for engaging with external interventions. Thus, an analysis of framing of external interventions at a local level should establish the following: the role of natural resources in sustaining local livelihoods / local historical experiences with an external intervention / iii) the nature of multi-level actor interactions from local resource dependent people, to national, regional and global actors involved in or affected by an intervention. The study uses a detailed case study of Bennde Mutale village to trace local people&rsquo / s ideas, ways of speaking and actions in response to the implementation of a large-scale transfrontier conservation initiative. The study finds that local livelihoods play a central role in local responses to the changes that transfrontier conservation bring upon people's lives. Many see further exclusion, while some also see and hope for a restoration of the socio-cultural border region. The globally significant biodiversity - to be conserved for &lsquo / future generations&rsquo / &ndash / at the same time constitutes the natural resources that sustain local people&rsquo / s livelihoods. Further, local livelihoods are more diverse than is commonly acknowledged in literature advocating for transfrontier conservation. This lack of acknowledgement of local diversification contributes to the main observation made in this study: that current processes of transfrontier conservation end up replicating and re-inventing the multiple forms of exclusion that have characterised state conservation practices for over a century. While transfrontier conservation enables the freer movement of wildlife, it in fact further constrains the movements of people whose mobility within less closely controlled border regions remains centrally important to survival. At the same time, state actors come into the area with contradicting and conflicting demands ranging from the beneficial advocacy role for land rights to the enforcement of conservation through fences and game rangers, experienced as a direct infringement on livelihood possibilities. The study concludes that there is a need to rethink transfrontier conservation interventions. The diversity of local livelihood approaches needs to be considered more centrally and clearer understanding needs to be developed of how the promises of opportunities, betterment of lives and increased human mobility actually unfold in practice. In order to succeed and deliver on site - not only to high-class tourists seeking to view unique biodiversity but to local people - transfrontier conservation efforts need to engage multiple actors directly from the ground up and throughout the process of policy-making, programme conceptualisation and implementation.</p>

In this study I investigated patterns of invertebrate diversity in Limpopo Province indigenous forests, in order to highlight forests and taxa of special conservation significance. Invertebrates from seven target taxa were sampled in 11 patches of indigenous forest in Limpopo Province from February 2001 to January 2002, including six forests in the Soutpansberg and five forests in the northern Drakensberg. Selected forests comprise three distinct vegetation subtypes and the target taxa selected were millipedes, centipedes, earthworms, terrestrial molluscs, spiders, scorpions and amphipods. Invertebrates were sampled by active searching of quadrats and line transects and pitfall traps. A total of 11 969 indigenous target group individuals were sampled, comprising 14 orders, 50 families, 86 genera and 142 species (including at least nine new). There was a significant difference in the total invertebrate species richness and diversity of forest patches but results varied considerably when different target group figures were analyzed. With the exception of spiders, the factors influencing total and individual target group richness in forests could not be determined. Introduced invertebrates comprised a large proportion of the species and individuals sampled, but were not shown to affect indigenous fauna. Invertebrate species assemblages were most similar between forests sharing the same vegetation subtype and between forests in the same mountain region. However, each forest patch had unique species and some even had unique families. Limpopo Province forests support high numbers of endemic invertebrates. A total of 47 endemic invertebrate species were sampled, including six site endemics, eight local endemics, nine regional endemics and 24 national endemics. The numbers and scales of endemism varied by target group. Invertebrate species’ distributions in Limpopo Province forests generally support the biogeographic theories of Pleistocene forest refugia and the Limpopo River valley as a radiation barrier, although some important contradictions were found. Local endemism in Limpopo Province forests is likely the product of historical processes. Although some significant relationships were found between surrogate and true measures, single taxon biodiversity indicators, the higher taxon method, morphospecies and land classes could not accurately predict patterns of target invertebrate species richness in Limpopo Province forests. Results show that formal species identification should be used if accurate richness estimates are desired; the use of surrogates is not supported by this study. Conservation of Limpopo Province forests is vital for the preservation of valuable invertebrate communities. No forest sampled in this study can be considered unimportant. Effective forest conservation and management is dependent upon the protection of forests of varying patch size, careful evaluation and control of utilization and the establishment and maintenance of corridors linking isolated forest patches. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.