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Many urban poor are living lifestyles prescient of a future with little to no accessible fossil fuels, a future lacking easy access to electricity, flowing water, and food security. Scientists such as David Holmgren warn that the rest of society may face a similar scenario. According to the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO 2008), the peak of oil discovery happened in the 1960’s. In 1981 the world started using more than what was found in new fields and since then the gap between discovery and production has been ever widening, many countries have already passed their peak, which indicates that a global peak is imminent. This dissertation investigates a new typology for urban living. An area south of Marabastad, in the north-western quadrant of the city of Pretoria is selected as the wasted landscape for testing the hypothesis that a drosscape has the potential to be designed and developed into an agrarian conservancy to support a society in need of sustainable, innovative places. Part One of the dissertation investigates agriculture as a method for returning the site to some utilitarian efficiency. However, landscapes contain the potential to be more than functional tracts of land with no meaning. Thus Part Two of the dissertation investigates the fact that a creative approach to the implementation of city farming in the Steenovenspruit drosscape can ingrain in the modern industrial city a place with which the inhabitants can identify, where form does not only follow function but also enhances and expresses the celebration of man’s working relationship with the land, as well as celebrating the historic traces evident on the landscape. A palimpsest emerges out of the faint residue of past uses, displaying traces of the character the site once had. The dissertation proposes that by capturing the essence of these past layers of productive use and further enriching the palimpsest by introducing traces of farming and gardens, meaning and experiential use of the land will be returned to the people of Marabastad. The dissertation also proposes that through this experiential use the community is once again able to leave traces on the landscape and lift the site out of limbo and once again into the process of place-making, or refounding. A conservancy is proposed for the Steenovenspruit drosscape which combines the concept of palimpsest and the poetic nature of farming across a number of city blocks, connecting Marabastad and the CBD. The conservancy encapsulates a variety of land uses including residential and gathering traces, however the core of the conservancy centres around a historical city block which formed part of the old Pretoria townlands and which morphs once again into productive landscape. / Dissertation ML(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Architecture / ML(Prof) / Unrestricted

A agricultura desempenha, desde a colonização do Vale do Ribeira-SP, papel central nas transformações e no desenvolvimento desta região, constituindo-se em locus de investigação e entendimento de suas características marcantes: a pobreza e a conservação do ambiente natural de Mata Atlântica. Através da construção da história agrária do município de Iguape - pontuada por eventos históricos de importância regional - buscamos averiguar como o desenvolvimento da atividade agrícola conjugou o uso da natureza e a satisfação das necessidades humanas desde a virada do século XIX para o XX - quando se configurou uma organização rural tipicamente cabocla - até os dias atuais. Para construir uma história agrária valemo-nos do conceito de sistema de produção agrícola, tendo por referência central o regime de uso do solo, tal como definido por Boserup (1983). Nesta pesquisa, submetemos à análise os processos sociais decorrentes da evolução agrária, a partir de seus aspectos materiais e objetivos e daqueles simbólicos e subjetivos inerentes às práticas sociais. A organização cabocla esteve estreitamente ligada à agricultura tradicional de base tecnológica itinerante, cuja prática exige a ocorrência e o uso da mata, para fins de exploração da efêmera fertilidade do solo. A partir da década de 1960, uma série de eventos associados à incorporação econômica regional - como as migrações, especulação imobiliária, incentivos à modernização produtiva - iniciaram processo de desorganização do sistema de agricultura caboclo e das relações e dinâmicas sócio-culturais implicadas. Já no final da década de 80, julgamos terem sido as novas regras de exploração da Mata Atlântica, estabelecidas pela Legislação Ambiental, determinantes para a conversão da base técnica itinerante, ao impor expressiva restrição às áreas cultiváveis e proibir a derrubada da vegetação florestal. Procuramos demonstrar como este processo foi acentuado pela nova orientação política que alterou a forma e a presença do Estado na região. Através de pesquisa de campo avaliamos como a população rural de tradição cabocla reorganizou a técnica agrícola, as relações de produção e sua articulação com o mercado. Dentre outros efeitos, observamos a formação de produtores desagregados socialmente, desenraizados de sua cultura e empobrecidos economicamente. / Agriculture as undertaken in the Vale do Ribeira, Sao Paulo region from colonization time, has been a key element in the area\'s development and transformation, a real object of study and investigation to further understand its marked traits: poverty and the Mata Atlântica environmental safekeeping. Via the build up of the Iguape district agricultural history - rich in important regional historical events - we strived to deepen knowledge of agricultural development in how nature was used and also the means for fulfilling human needs from the turn of century XIX to XX - when a typically caboclo organization was identified - to present days. To further build up an agricultural history, we have made usage of the \"agricultural production system\" concept, as reference the soil usage regime, as defined by Boserup (1983). In this survey we submit to analysis the social processes resulting from agricultural evolution, starting from material aspects, goals, symbols and subjective values pertaining to social action and mutually determined by economics. The caboclo organization was deeply linked to traditional farming rooted in shifting technology, which banked on the existence and usage of woods, its fleeting fertility and land rotation. From the 1960 decade on, a series of events associated to regional economic incorporation - such as migrations, real estate dealings, modernization output subsidies - led to the process of disorganization of the caboclo agricultural system and of implied dynamic socio-cultural relations. In the late 80\'s, we believe that the new Mata Atlântica ruling, set down by the Environmental Legislation, determining the itinerant technique conversion, while setting significant restriction to arable areas and the banning of forest clearing. We show how this process was further determining under the new political orientation which altered the presence and form of the State in the region. By means of field work we studied how the caboclo tradition bred rural population reorganized agricultural techniques, production schemes and market handling. To mention among other effects, we found socially disrupted producers, culturally uprooted and economically impoverished producers.

Vom Frühjahr 2010 bis Frühsommer 2011 wurden Verhalten, intra- und interspezifische Interaktionen sowie Raumnutzung von Wisenten (Bison bonasus), Exmoor-Ponys (Equus ferus) und Dybowski-Hirschen (Cervus nippon hortulorum) auf einer 14 ha großen Gemeinschaftsanlage im Tierpark Sababurg untersucht. 15 Individuen wurden dazu insgesamt für 605 Stunden mittels focal-animal und scan sampling beobachtet. Die Mittelwerte der Hauptverhaltensweisen über den gesamten Beobachtungszeitraum ergaben bei den Wisenten Tagesanteile von 47,73 % für Nahrungsaufnahme, 43,05 % für Ruheverhalten, 6,79 % für Fortbewegung und 1,68 % für Komfortverhalten. Die Exmoor-Ponys fraßen 58,62 % des Tages, ruhten 34,54 %, nutzten 3,87 % für die Fortbewegung und verbrachten 1,37 % mit Komfortverhalten. 47,22 % der Zeit wurden von den Dybowski-Hirschen zur Nahrungsaufnahme verwendet, 43,64 % geruht, 4,55 % zur Fortbewegung genutzt und 2,44 % mit Komfortverhalten verbracht. All diese Verhaltensweisen waren Bestandteil eines artspezifischen Tagesrhythmus aus alternierenden Nahrungsaufnahme- und Ruhephasen. Die prozentualen Anteile und somit auch die Ausprägung dieses Tagesrhythmus variierten dabei allerdings teilweise stark zwischen den einzelnen Jahreszeiten und den damit verbundenen klimatischen und umweltbedingten Veränderungen. Die Individuen aller drei Arten verhielten sich dabei völlig normal im Rahmen der nachgewiesenen Bandbreite des natürlichen Verhaltens ihrer wildlebenden Artgenossen, unbeeinflusst von den Gehegebedingungen und Eingriffen des Zuchtmanagements. Interspezifische Interaktionen traten regelmäßig auf, positive Kontakte blieben dabei allerdings auf die Exmoor-Ponys und die Dybowski-Hirsche beschränkt. Agonistische Interaktionen waren meist lediglich als einfache Drohgebärden oder als indirekte Interaktionen ohne körperlichen Kontakt feststellbar. Eine feste Artenhierarchie ist etabliert und wird von allen Tieren akzeptiert, wobei die Wisente die dominante Rolle einnehmen, gefolgt von den Exmoor-Ponys und den Dybowski-Hirschen. Die Habitatnutzungsanalyse ergab für alle drei Arten bevorzugte Aufenthaltsbereiche und genutzte Gehegeobjekte. Dabei war wie das Verhalten auch die Habitatnutzung stark von den jahreszeitlich veränderlichen Umweltbedingungen beeinflusst. Während die offeneren Areale insbesondere im Frühjahr und Herbst genutzt wurden, bevorzugten die Tiere im Sommer und Winter eher die geschützteren Anlagenbereiche, im Sommer hauptsächlich als Schattenbereich, im Winter als Wetterschutz. Zusammenfassend betrachtet funktioniert das Zusammenleben der Wisente, Exmoor-Ponys und Dybowski-Hirsche im Tierpark Sababurg ohne Probleme und kann als Beispiel-Projekt für die zukünftige Forschung über die Möglichkeiten für Beweidungsprojekte mit heimischen Wildtieren im Naturschutz dienen.

This thesis deals with six ponds, artificial snall lakes, (Mlýnský, Huťský, Pohořský, Uhlišťský rybník, Zlatá Ktiš a Kapelung) in the Novohradské mountains. They were studied at the interval of years 2004-2006. The basic hydrochemistries and variety of species of planktonic Algae and Cyanobacteria were analysed there. The volume of NH4-N was the highest in Mlýnský pond (20-76 ?g/l), which proves for a recent organic pollution. In other cases the rate was in range of 13-53 ?g/l. The most of NO2-N was again found in Mlýnský pond where its rate reached up to 420 ?g/l. The total amount of t-P was of the same rate in all the sites. It differed only slightly- 58-91 ?g/l. From the hydrochemical data follows that the most nutrients loaded is Mlýnský pond and the cleanest is Pohořský one The transparency (Seccki depth) of all the localities is also high (76-200 cm). It can be compared to the lakes of the Bavarian Forrest and the Bohemia Forest (Šumava). The proportion of N/P is usually between 7,0-29,8 (Chart 11), which shows evidence of limiting P (the most common limiting factor for phytoplankton in fresh waters). The total amount of found taxa (98) is comparable to e.g. lakes of the Bohemia Forest (260), this ara is however more explored. The largest amount of species is at Huťský pond (38) and the smallest one is at Uhlišťský pond (17). As a new species for the the Czech Republik was found Staurastrum arctiscon and Phaeospaera gelatinosa, than another interesting discovery is Vacuolaria penardii and Chloromonas nivalis (Scotiella nivalis). Also Dicranochaete sp. and Paulinella chromatophora are noticeable. The ponds of the Novohradské mountains are from the point ob view of hydrochemistry view unigue habitats. They make for refugium oligotrophic, rare and interesting species of Cyanobacteria and Algea and that is why they deserve proper protection.

A agricultura desempenha, desde a colonização do Vale do Ribeira-SP, papel central nas transformações e no desenvolvimento desta região, constituindo-se em locus de investigação e entendimento de suas características marcantes: a pobreza e a conservação do ambiente natural de Mata Atlântica. Através da construção da história agrária do município de Iguape - pontuada por eventos históricos de importância regional - buscamos averiguar como o desenvolvimento da atividade agrícola conjugou o uso da natureza e a satisfação das necessidades humanas desde a virada do século XIX para o XX - quando se configurou uma organização rural tipicamente cabocla - até os dias atuais. Para construir uma história agrária valemo-nos do conceito de sistema de produção agrícola, tendo por referência central o regime de uso do solo, tal como definido por Boserup (1983). Nesta pesquisa, submetemos à análise os processos sociais decorrentes da evolução agrária, a partir de seus aspectos materiais e objetivos e daqueles simbólicos e subjetivos inerentes às práticas sociais. A organização cabocla esteve estreitamente ligada à agricultura tradicional de base tecnológica itinerante, cuja prática exige a ocorrência e o uso da mata, para fins de exploração da efêmera fertilidade do solo. A partir da década de 1960, uma série de eventos associados à incorporação econômica regional - como as migrações, especulação imobiliária, incentivos à modernização produtiva - iniciaram processo de desorganização do sistema de agricultura caboclo e das relações e dinâmicas sócio-culturais implicadas. Já no final da década de 80, julgamos terem sido as novas regras de exploração da Mata Atlântica, estabelecidas pela Legislação Ambiental, determinantes para a conversão da base técnica itinerante, ao impor expressiva restrição às áreas cultiváveis e proibir a derrubada da vegetação florestal. Procuramos demonstrar como este processo foi acentuado pela nova orientação política que alterou a forma e a presença do Estado na região. Através de pesquisa de campo avaliamos como a população rural de tradição cabocla reorganizou a técnica agrícola, as relações de produção e sua articulação com o mercado. Dentre outros efeitos, observamos a formação de produtores desagregados socialmente, desenraizados de sua cultura e empobrecidos economicamente. / Agriculture as undertaken in the Vale do Ribeira, Sao Paulo region from colonization time, has been a key element in the area\'s development and transformation, a real object of study and investigation to further understand its marked traits: poverty and the Mata Atlântica environmental safekeeping. Via the build up of the Iguape district agricultural history - rich in important regional historical events - we strived to deepen knowledge of agricultural development in how nature was used and also the means for fulfilling human needs from the turn of century XIX to XX - when a typically caboclo organization was identified - to present days. To further build up an agricultural history, we have made usage of the \"agricultural production system\" concept, as reference the soil usage regime, as defined by Boserup (1983). In this survey we submit to analysis the social processes resulting from agricultural evolution, starting from material aspects, goals, symbols and subjective values pertaining to social action and mutually determined by economics. The caboclo organization was deeply linked to traditional farming rooted in shifting technology, which banked on the existence and usage of woods, its fleeting fertility and land rotation. From the 1960 decade on, a series of events associated to regional economic incorporation - such as migrations, real estate dealings, modernization output subsidies - led to the process of disorganization of the caboclo agricultural system and of implied dynamic socio-cultural relations. In the late 80\'s, we believe that the new Mata Atlântica ruling, set down by the Environmental Legislation, determining the itinerant technique conversion, while setting significant restriction to arable areas and the banning of forest clearing. We show how this process was further determining under the new political orientation which altered the presence and form of the State in the region. By means of field work we studied how the caboclo tradition bred rural population reorganized agricultural techniques, production schemes and market handling. To mention among other effects, we found socially disrupted producers, culturally uprooted and economically impoverished producers.

<p>Greater prairie-chickens (<i>Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus</i>; GPC) have declined throughout large areas in the eastern portion of their range. I used species distribution modeling to predict most appropriate areas of translocation of GPC in and around Kankakee Sands, a tallgrass prairie in northwest Indiana, USA. I used MaxEnt for modelling the predictions based on relevant environmental predictors along with occurrence points of 54 known lek sites. I created four models inspired by Hovick et al. (2015): Universal, Environmental, Anthropogenic-Landcover, and Anthropogenic-MODIS. The Universal, Environmental, and Anthropogenic-MODIS models possessed passable AUC scores with low omission error rates. However, only the Universal model performed better than the null model according to binomial testing. I created maps of all models with passing AUC scores along with an overlay map displaying the highest predictions across all passing models. MaxEnt predicted high relative likelihoods of occurrence for the entirety of Kankakee Sands and many areas in the nearby landscape, including the surrounding agricultural matrix. With implementation of some management suggestions and potential cooperation with local farmers, GPC translocation to the area appears plausible.</p> <p>Franklin’s ground squirrels (<i>Poliocitellus franklinii</i>; FGS) have declined throughout a large portion of the eastern periphery of their range. Because of this, The Nature Conservancy is interested in establishing a new population of these animals via translocation. The area of interest is tallgrass prairie in northwest Indiana, USA: Kankakee Sands and the surrounding landscape. Species distribution modelling can help identify areas that are suitable for translocation. I used MaxEnt, relevant environmental variables, and 44 known occurrence points to model the potential for translocation of FGS to Kankakee Sands and the surrounding area. I created four models inspired by Hovick et al. (2015): Universal, Environmental, Anthropogenic-Landcover, and Anthropogenic-MODIS. I created maps of models with passing AUC scores. The final map was an overlay map displaying the highest relative likelihood of occurrence predictions for the area in all passing models. Only the Universal and Anthropogenic-MODIS models had passable AUC scores. Both had acceptable omission error rates. However, none of the models performed better than the null model (p < 0.05). MaxEnt predicted that a few areas in and outside of Kankakee Sands possess high relative likelihoods of occurrence of FGS in both the Universal and Anthropogenic-MODIS models. However, MaxEnt predicted high relative likelihoods in the surrounding agricultural matrix in the Universal Model. FGS prefer to cross through agricultural areas via unmowed roadside instead of open fields (Duggan et al. 2011). Because of this, high predictions in agricultural matrices in the Universal model are irrelevant. High relative likelihood predictions for linear sections that are obviously roads are disregardable in the context of my modeling efforts. Because of my low sample size, none of the models are really reliable in predicting relative likelihoods of occurrence for this area. Despite high relative likelihood predictions, the appropriateness of a translocation effort to the area is inconclusive.</p>

The research problem of this mini-dissertation involves the conflicts between human and wildlife populations and the trialing of ‘compensation’ payouts that are emerging as a critical test within the conservancy. Crop raiders such as elephants, buffaloes, hippopotamus, bush pigs and small rodents, diminish farmers’ resource bases and cash crops, while carnivores are responsible for livestock losses. The aim of the research is to assess the level of community understanding of the compensation scheme and the impact of human wildlife interaction within the conservancy. This mini-dissertation investigated the level of community understanding about the Human Animal Conservancy Self-Insurance Scheme (HACSIS), and the impact of human-wildlife conflicts within the Kwandu Conservancy. Some of the research data were obtained from the conservancy game guards’ event book system, and the actual field research data were collected from the 1st August to 20th August 2006. The researcher conducted a total of 35 interviews, whereby 32 involved face-to-face interviews with single individuals, and 3 separate focus group discussions that consisted of four, five and two conservancy members. The interviews averaged 30 minutes in length. Each interview was preceded by a careful explanation of the purposes of the work, stressing that the intent was to evaluate their understanding and perceptions on HACSIS, the impact of human-wildlife conflicts and to explore better management strategies. The researcher has taken into account that the communities might exaggerate the wildlife problem based on his previous experience with the adjacent conservancy, in the hopes of gaining more compensation – they also use the researcher as a way to vent their frustration at the problem. On the assumption that there may be an element of exaggeration verification of these was obtained from the Event Book System (a manual book used by the Community Game Guards for recording both crops and livestock incidents on daily basis). This mini-dissertation reveals that 74.3 % (n = 26) of respondents are aware of the existence of the HACSIS program and its role, while 17.1 % of respondents had no idea about the scheme’s presence and its involvement to minimize the impact felt by communities when they lose livestock to predators. The percentage of respondents who claimed that they had heard of the scheme’s existence but had no knowledge of its role was 8.6 %. In addition, most respondents (n = 15) claimed that the conservancy committee did not explain to them why their claim forms were rejected. In contrast, some respondents (n = 6) did received feedback on rejected claim forms. HACSIS was not formed to compensate livestock losses based on market value, nor was it intended as a ‘compensation’ scheme. Its aim was to test a conservancy-run process – local verification of claims and monitoring by conservancy committee and traditional authority. In addition, the authorization of payments for a type of ‘self-insurance’ is drawn from conservancy income to partially offset the losses of conservancy members versus the overall gains that wildlife brings to the conservancy (direct conservancy income and local jobs through tourism, trophy hunting, own use game harvesting). Conservancy committees and the support NGO, IRDNC, agreed on the amount to be refunded for animal losses before the scheme was started, initially using donor funding in the trial phases. The amount was deliberately kept low as it was acknowledged from the start that conservancies themselves would take over the repayments from their own income. Once the conservancy was used to its own income to finance the scheme, conservancy members could vote to increase amounts paid for predator losses. The crucial aspect, according to IRDNC, was that the process itself be tested and that the scheme be run by the conservancy, with Ministry of Environment and Tourism and IRDNC merely monitoring and providing assistance as needed. Compensation is based on this pre-determined amount that is less than the livestock value. However, the research reveals that respondents (n = 19) were dissatisfied with the amount paid (N$ 800-00 per ox killed), because they claim that the amount paid to relieve the immediate impact from wildlife is too little to sustain the affected member. In contrast, some respondents (n = 8) were satisfied with the amount paid as compensation. Despite criticisms about the amount paid for livestock losses, none of the respondents (n = 22) who were familiar with the scheme wanted it to be abolished. The respondents emphasized the need for the conservancy committee to review the amount paid as compensation, especially for cattle. They suggested an increase from the current N$ 800-00 to N$ 1000-00 per ox loss. The research reveals that community livestock management practices have not changed to deliberately benefit from the compensation. In fact community management strategies have improved because of the condition set by the review committee dealing with the compensation scheme. Wildlife incidents have increased because animals are habituated to techniques used by communities to deter them and this has contributed to high livestock incidents. For human-wildlife conflicts, the research acknowledges that the conflict exists. Between 2003-2005, the Kwandu Conservancy reported 1508 incidents of damage to crops by wildlife. Species that were responsible included elephants with 30.2 % damage, bush pigs (29.8 %), hippopotamus (12.7%), antelopes (12.7 %), porcupine (7.5 %), and baboons/monkeys (7.2 %). Most of the crops destroyed by crop raiders, as suggested by the respondents, were maize (30 %), sorghum (26 %), millet (17 %), groundnuts (14 %), pumpkins (8 %) and beans (5%). During the same period of crop losses, the conservancy reported 98 livestock incidents. Animals responsible for livestock incidents were crocodile with 32 incidents (32.7 %), then hyena (23 incidents, 23.5 %), leopard (22 incidents, 22.4 %) and lion (21 incidents, 21.4%). The role of community game guards was found to be extensive. From a total 35 responses, 74.3 % (n = 26) of members stated that community game guards effectively record incidents, chased problem-causing animals from the community crop fields by shouting or shooting in the air, and assessed or verified killed livestock for compensation purposes. In addition, community game guards conduct crop assessment for record-keeping purposes. The scheme for crop compensation is to be introduced in 2007. Currently there is no proper formula to use in assessing the value of crops and the method to use to compensate the affected members. Other methods used by communities to deter wildlife include sleeping in the field to guard crops, cracking a whip, construction of human statues, hanging tins on the fence, chilli coils, watchtowers and digging trenches. Respondents had different views on the best management practices for problem-causing animals. The response was generally based on the degree of threat that the animal posed. Most (43.8 %, n = 14) preferred the monitoring of problem-causing animals that are sighted in an area as a best practice, while 40.6 % (n = 13) of respondents preferred the animal to be captured and relocated to parks. Only 25.6 % (n = 5) of respondents preferred that the animal be destroyed. The management practices preferred by respondents when an animal kills a person are different from when an animal is simply sighted in the area. If an animal kills a person, only 12.5 % (n = 4) of respondents preferred that the animal be captured and relocated to parks, while 87.5 % (n = 28) of respondents preferred the problem-causing animal to be destroyed. None of the respondents suggested monitoring as the best management option for this degree of threat. In conclusion, the research revealed that Human Animal Conservancy Self Insurance Scheme does not treat the cause of the problem but the symptom. This approach does not decrease the level of the problem given that the cause of the problem is not addressed. Therefore, the researcher stressed the need to fully explore and implement the recent piloted lion, crocodile fencing, and elephant proof fencing and elephants chilli coil to address and reduce the problem within Kwandu Conservancy. In addition, the research revealed that the scheme has very lengthy delays before compensation is paid and the review panel does not arrange meetings on the stipulated dates. This causes a back-log in the number of claims that need to be reviewed and approved. On Human Wildlife Conflict the research findings recommend the need to strengthen and improve existing problem-causing animal management strategies that are in place. Innovative strategies include reducing the number of stray livestock at night and developing static fences. Communities should be advised, as is being done by IRDNC, to herd their livestock during the day and to build strong kraals. This is the most effective and cheapest way to prevent livestock from being taken by predators at night. Further more the research revealed that the combination and rotation of the methods yield high success rather than deploying a single method over a long period, for the prevention of crop losses methods include guarding the crop field, cracking a whip, shooting in the air, watchtowers, human statues and beating drums. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

The thesis focuses on different habitable spaces which have been designed to promote the existence of a number of South African butterfly species. The architecture responses to the context as well as to one of the largest insect groups, the order L e p i d o p t e r a. Following a sustainable approach, more ecological knowledge is at the core of the design. Instead of human functional needs driving the design, site components respond to the indigenous spatial character, climate, topography, soils, and vegetation as well as compatibility with the existing cultural context. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Architecture / unrestricted