Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) comprises a fairly well-studied invertebrate taxon. The body of knowledge that has been acquired, especially on butterflies, allows for more convincing assessments of the significance of species distributions, for example assessments of rarity and endemism. In spite of their taxonomically well-known status, little is known about the different ranges and limiting factors controlling habitat specificity amongst species at a local scale. Aiming at ensuring more efficient and inclusive conservation planning for new developments and for rehabilitation of disturbed areas this study focused on the identification of species specific and local scale (biotopic) microhabitat attractants. This was done by identifying and classifying locally occurring butterflies in the context of small scale habitat preferences on a spatial and temporal scale taking into account correlations in distributions of butterflies, plants and bio-physical gradients. Results were compared to previous studies to evaluate the use of recorded species as bio-indicators. The methodology entailed the use of twelve 250m fixed belt transects that were sampled in alternating directions across four sites within the West Coast National Park. Seven sampling sessions were set out during four sampling months mainly during the summer of the 2006/07 season. Sampling was conducted through visual observations while walking transects at a constant pace. Distributional variation between species was observed within a relatively small area with limited apparent variation in vegetation, topography and altitude. Pronounced temporal variation and correlation between butterfly species distribution and microhabitats were observed although this is strongly linked to the scale of the study in relation to the species studied. Factors that will affect the choice of microhabitat across time include amongst others: the prevailing sex ratio, temperature and the presence of invasive ants. The influence of plant distribution in predicting butterfly species distribution seemed to be less important. Myrmecophilous butterflies could probably play some role in bio-indication although much more work needs to be done to confirm this. The identification of stepping stone sites with optimum microhabitats during the environmental assessment phase in areas with endangered butterfly species should determine the face of the development and not the other way around. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) comprises a fairly well-studied invertebrate taxon. The body of knowledge that has been acquired, especially on butterflies, allows for more convincing assessments of the significance of species distributions, for example assessments of rarity and endemism. In spite of their taxonomically well-known status, little is known about the different ranges and limiting factors controlling habitat specificity amongst species at a local scale. Aiming at ensuring more efficient and inclusive conservation planning for new developments and for rehabilitation of disturbed areas this study focused on the identification of species specific and local scale (biotopic) microhabitat attractants. This was done by identifying and classifying locally occurring butterflies in the context of small scale habitat preferences on a spatial and temporal scale taking into account correlations in distributions of butterflies, plants and bio-physical gradients. Results were compared to previous studies to evaluate the use of recorded species as bio-indicators. The methodology entailed the use of twelve 250m fixed belt transects that were sampled in alternating directions across four sites within the West Coast National Park. Seven sampling sessions were set out during four sampling months mainly during the summer of the 2006/07 season. Sampling was conducted through visual observations while walking transects at a constant pace. Distributional variation between species was observed within a relatively small area with limited apparent variation in vegetation, topography and altitude. Pronounced temporal variation and correlation between butterfly species distribution and microhabitats were observed although this is strongly linked to the scale of the study in relation to the species studied. Factors that will affect the choice of microhabitat across time include amongst others: the prevailing sex ratio, temperature and the presence of invasive ants. The influence of plant distribution in predicting butterfly species distribution seemed to be less important. Myrmecophilous butterflies could probably play some role in bio-indication although much more work needs to be done to confirm this. The identification of stepping stone sites with optimum microhabitats during the environmental assessment phase in areas with endangered butterfly species should determine the face of the development and not the other way around. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the relationship between the success of the decentralization schemes and the local capacity by concentrating on the case of Metropolitan Municipality of Diyarbakir. The Local Government Reform in Turkey was built on the argument that local authorities, compared to the central government, are better in providing services in a more efficient and more participatory manner. This thesis argues that such an argument is valid only in an environment where there is a strong local institutional and societal capacity to carry out the given responsibilities and to provide the necessary participatory framework. These issues are investigated with reference to the case of Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality, which is located at one of the least developed regions in Turkey (Southern Eastern Anatolia).

This thesis relies on a Langrangian framework used for conservative tracer transport simulations through 2-D heterogeneous porous media. Conducted numerical simulations enable large sets of concentration values in both spatial and temporal domains. In addition to the advection, which acts on all scales, an additional mechanism considered is local scale dispersion (LSD), accounting for both mechanical dispersion and molecular diffusion. The ratio between these two mechanisms is quantified by the Peclet (Pe) number. In its base, the thesis gives answers to contaminant concentration features when influenced by: i) different log-conductivity variance; ii) log-conductivity structures defined by the same global variogram but with different log conductivity patterns cor-related; and iii) for a wide range of Peclet values. Results conducted by Monte Carlo (MC) analysis show a complex interplay between the aforementioned pa-rameters, indicating the influence of aquifer properties to temporal LSD evolu-tion. A stochastic characterization of the concentration scalar is done through moment analysis: mean, coefficient of variation (CVC), skewness and kurtosis as well as through the concentration probability density function (PDF). A re-markable collapse of higher order to second-order concentration moments leads to the conclusion that only two concentration moments are required for an accurate description of concentration fluctuations. This explicitly holds for the pure advection case, while in the case of LSD presence the Moment Deriv-ing Function (MDF) is involved to ensure the moment collapse validity. Fur-thermore, the expected mass fraction (EMF) concept is applied in groundwater transport. In its origin, EMF is function of the concentration but with lower number of realizations needed for its determination, compared to the one point PDF. From practical point of view, EMF excludes meandering effect and incorporates information about exposure time for each non-zero concentration value present. Also, it is shown that EMF is able to clearly reflect the effects of aquifer heterogeneity and structure as well as the Pe value. To demonstrate the uniqueness of the moment collapse feature and ability of the Beta distribution to account for the concentration frequencies even in real cases, Macrodisper-sion Experiment (MADE1) data sets are used. / <p>QC 20131104</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-11-29Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:36:21Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 oliveira_rad_me_rcla.pdf: 2391346 bytes, checksum: 870e5d2549d7d217fbf6f5bfce948e94 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O presente estudo teve como objetivo, a análise do processo de envelhecimento da população urbana de São Carlos SP nos últimos 25 anos. Para isto, foram desenvolvidas três etapas de análise: revisão bibliográfica; avaliação do processo histórico de desenvolvimento social, econômico e territorial em suas relações com a evolução da dinâmica demográfica local; e, estudo detalhado do processo de envelhecimento da população local. O desenvolvimento da pesquisa foi baseado na revisão de bibliografia sobre diversos aspectos relevantes; no trabalho com dados secundários diversos; na aplicação de questionários; e, nas entrevistas com profissionais que trabalham com questões relativas aos idosos da cidade. A heterogeneidade de situações caracteriza a qualidade de vida da população idosa local. Este fato representa grande desafio, em virtude daquilo que se apresenta na atualidade, mas especialmente, para o futuro. As questões levantadas tornam necessária a atuação urgente e eficaz da administração e da sociedade local, com o intuito de minimizar ou solucionar as diversas demandas deste grupo populacional. / This study had the objective of analyze the aging process of São Carlos's population, in the last 25 years. To reach this objective, three stages were considered: bibliographical revision; evaluation of the historical process of social, economic and territorial development, in its relations with the local demographic dynamic evolution; and; detailed study of the aging process of local population. The development of the research was based on: the bibliographical revision of various relevant aspects; the work with diverse secondary data; the application of questionnaires; and, interviews with people who works with questions related to the São Carlos's elderly population. The heterogeneity of situations characterizes the quality of life of local elderly population. This fact represents a great challenge, because of its present but, specially, to the future. The questions evaluated showed the need of urgent and efficient intervention of local's administration and society, with the objective of minimize or solve the diverse kind of demands from this population group.

Orientador: Odeibler Santo Guidugli / Banca: Rosana Aparecida Baeninger / Banca: Lucia Mayumi Yazaki / Resumo: O presente estudo teve como objetivo, a análise do processo de envelhecimento da população urbana de São Carlos SP nos últimos 25 anos. Para isto, foram desenvolvidas três etapas de análise: revisão bibliográfica; avaliação do processo histórico de desenvolvimento social, econômico e territorial em suas relações com a evolução da dinâmica demográfica local; e, estudo detalhado do processo de envelhecimento da população local. O desenvolvimento da pesquisa foi baseado na revisão de bibliografia sobre diversos aspectos relevantes; no trabalho com dados secundários diversos; na aplicação de questionários; e, nas entrevistas com profissionais que trabalham com questões relativas aos idosos da cidade. A heterogeneidade de situações caracteriza a qualidade de vida da população idosa local. Este fato representa grande desafio, em virtude daquilo que se apresenta na atualidade, mas especialmente, para o futuro. As questões levantadas tornam necessária a atuação urgente e eficaz da administração e da sociedade local, com o intuito de minimizar ou solucionar as diversas demandas deste grupo populacional. / Abstract: This study had the objective of analyze the aging process of São Carlos's population, in the last 25 years. To reach this objective, three stages were considered: bibliographical revision; evaluation of the historical process of social, economic and territorial development, in its relations with the local demographic dynamic evolution; and; detailed study of the aging process of local population. The development of the research was based on: the bibliographical revision of various relevant aspects; the work with diverse secondary data; the application of questionnaires; and, interviews with people who works with questions related to the São Carlos's elderly population. The heterogeneity of situations characterizes the quality of life of local elderly population. This fact represents a great challenge, because of its present but, specially, to the future. The questions evaluated showed the need of urgent and efficient intervention of local's administration and society, with the objective of minimize or solve the diverse kind of demands from this population group. / Mestre

The knowledge of the influences climate change can have on a regional scale is still very limited. Generally it is known that the climate, land use, energy and water resources are intertwined. The CLEW strategy focuses on an approach to quantify these interrelations. In South Africa, experiencing a fast development, water resources are vital for a continuous prosperous growth. Through a methodological approach the local impacts of climate change on water supply and demand for the City of Cape Town are analysed. The focus lies on the Theewaterskloof Dam in the Riviersonderend catchment. For this study, the future climate data are generated in MarkSim for different SRES scenarios. Using the Water Evaluation And Planning system simulation software WEAP the catchment of interest is modelled to estimate future variation in water availability. For all scenarios the findings are consistent with prior studies forecasting an increase in the annual mean temperatures and a decrease in the annual precipitation. The reduction in annual precipitation consequently leads to a decreased water availability in the Riviersonderend catchment. Despite of the fact that the water resources are likely to diminish, the fixed annual water demand supplied by the Theewaterskloof reservoir is expected to be covered in the future without limitations.

<p>As the world population continues to grow past seven billion people and global challenges continue to persist including resource availability, biodiversity loss, climate change and human well-being, a new science is required that can address the integrated nature of these challenges and the multiple scales on which they are manifest. Sustainability science has emerged to fill this role. In the fifteen years since it was first called for in the pages of Science, it has rapidly matured, however its place in the history of science and the way it is practiced today must be continually evaluated. In Part I, two chapters address this theoretical and practical grounding. Part II transitions to the applied practice of sustainability science in addressing the urban heat island (UHI) challenge wherein the climate of urban areas are warmer than their surrounding rural environs. The UHI has become increasingly important within the study of earth sciences given the increased focus on climate change and as the balance of humans now live in urban areas. </p><p>In Chapter 2 a novel contribution to the historical context of sustainability is argued. Sustainability as a concept characterizing the relationship between humans and nature emerged in the mid to late 20th century as a response to findings used to also characterize the Anthropocene. Emerging from the human-nature relationships that came before it, evidence is provided that suggests Sustainability was enabled by technology and a reorientation of world-view and is unique in its global boundary, systematic approach and ambition for both well being and the continued availability of resources and Earth system function. Sustainability is further an ambition that has wide appeal, making it one of the first normative concepts of the Anthropocene. </p><p>Despite its widespread emergence and adoption, sustainability science continues to suffer from definitional ambiguity within the academe. In Chapter 3, a review of efforts to provide direction and structure to the science reveals a continuum of approaches anchored at either end by differing visions of how the science interfaces with practice (solutions). At one end, basic science of societally defined problems informs decisions about possible solutions and their application. At the other end, applied research directly affects the options available to decision makers. While clear from the literature, survey data further suggests that the dichotomy does not appear to be as apparent in the minds of practitioners. </p><p>In Chapter 4, the UHI is first addressed at the synoptic, mesoscale. Urban climate is the most immediate manifestation of the warming global climate for the majority of people on earth. Nearly half of those people live in small to medium sized cities, an understudied scale in urban climate research. Widespread characterization would be useful to decision makers in planning and design. Using a multi-method approach, the mesoscale UHI in the study region is characterized and the secular trend over the last sixty years evaluated. Under isolated ideal conditions the findings indicate a UHI of 5.3 ± 0.97 °C to be present in the study area, the magnitude of which is growing over time. </p><p>Although urban heat islands (UHI) are well studied, there remain no panaceas for local scale mitigation and adaptation methods, therefore continued attention to characterization of the phenomenon in urban centers of different scales around the globe is required. In Chapter 5, a local scale analysis of the canopy layer and surface UHI in a medium sized city in North Carolina, USA is conducted using multiple methods including stationary urban sensors, mobile transects and remote sensing. Focusing on the ideal conditions for UHI development during an anticyclonic summer heat event, the study observes a range of UHI intensity depending on the method of observation: 8.7 °C from the stationary urban sensors; 6.9 °C from mobile transects; and, 2.2 °C from remote sensing. Additional attention is paid to the diurnal dynamics of the UHI and its correlation with vegetation indices, dewpoint and albedo. Evapotranspiration is shown to drive dynamics in the study region.</p><p>Finally, recognizing that a bridge must be established between the physical science community studying the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, and the planning community and decision makers implementing urban form and development policies, Chapter 6 evaluates multiple urban form characterization methods. Methods evaluated include local climate zones (LCZ), national land cover database (NCLD) classes and urban cluster analysis (UCA) to determine their utility in describing the distribution of the UHI based on three standard observation types 1) fixed urban temperature sensors, 2) mobile transects and, 3) remote sensing. Bivariate, regression and ANOVA tests are used to conduct the analyses. Findings indicate that the NLCD classes are best correlated to the UHI intensity and distribution in the study area. Further, while the UCA method is not useful directly, the variables included in the method are predictive based on regression analysis so the potential for better model design exists. Land cover variables including albedo, impervious surface fraction and pervious surface fraction are found to dominate the distribution of the UHI in the study area regardless of observation method. </p><p>Chapter 7 provides a summary of findings, and offers a brief analysis of their implications for both the scientific discourse generally, and the study area specifically. In general, the work undertaken does not achieve the full ambition of sustainability science, additional work is required to translate findings to practice and more fully evaluate adoption. The implications for planning and development in the local region are addressed in the context of a major light-rail infrastructure project including several systems level considerations like human health and development. Finally, several avenues for future work are outlined. Within the theoretical development of sustainability science, these pathways include more robust evaluations of the theoretical and actual practice. Within the UHI context, these include development of an integrated urban form characterization model, application of study methodology in other geographic areas and at different scales, and use of novel experimental methods including distributed sensor networks and citizen science.</p> / Dissertation

Face à l'urgence dans la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique, la transition énergétique bas carbone est une transition sociétale constituant un véritable défi du fait de ses singularités. Les conditions de sa réalisation résident dans un pilotage politique multi-niveaux afin d'agir dès à présent sur les différents leviers d'action possibles. En effet les Etats interviennent d'une part lors des négociations internationales afin de parvenir à un accord universel sur le climat, et d'autre part dans la législation de leur cadre réglementaire national. Les collectivités locales interviennent également du fait de leurs compétences leur conférant un pouvoir d'influence conséquent sur les modes de production décentralisés et sur la consommation d'énergie. L'échelle locale joue un rôle de premier ordre car elle bénéficie des liens de proximités et de confiance qui favorisent l'action collective et constitue un véritable effet de levier. C'est au niveau des territoires que les projets de la transition énergétique émergent et que la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique se concrétise. C'est pourquoi il est nécessaire de comprendre quels types de projets locaux pour la transition énergétique émergent, et quelle est leur performance tant d'un point de vue économique, que social et environnemental. Cela permettra d'une part aux pouvoirs publics d'identifier les types de projets performants pour impulser leur développement, et d'autre part quels sont les freins à lever le cas échéant pour faire émerger des projets innovants. Sur le long-terme, il s'agit de comprendre quels types de projets se déploieront et se généraliseront dans le cadre de la transition énergétique en fonction du type de valeur qu'ils parviendront à générer. Pour répondre à cela, l'approche des business models est pertinente : elle constitue en effet une grille d'analyse permettant de déterminer les caractéristiques de chaque projet, en décrivant sa proposition de valeur et la configuration de cette valeur, et de déterminer sa viabilité et sa durabilité en fonction de la création (ou destruction) de valeurs (économique, financière, sociale, environnementale) qu'il génère. La thèse propose ainsi une typologie des business models de la transition énergétique à l'échelle locale, une grille d'analyse de projet adaptée à l'enjeu sociétal que représente la transition énergétique et propose enfin des recommandations pour la politique publique en matière d'évaluation de la performance économique, sociale et environnementale de projets locaux de transition énergétique. / To face the climate change, energy transition is required. Energy transition is a societal transition, which is really challenging because of its singularities. The multi-level governance is necessary in order to act now for the energy transition. Indeed States take action by negotiating international agreements for the climate on the one hand, and on the other hand by legislating their national regulatory framework. Local authorities intervene too owing to their competencies which give them a high influence power on decentralized production system and on energy consumption. The local scale plays a major role because they benefit from closed and trustful relationships which foster collective action and act as a real leverage. It is at the territories level that energy transition projects emerge and that fight against global warming become true. That's why it is necessary to understand what types of local projects for the energy transition arise, and what is their economic, social and environmental performance. This can allow public authorities to identify what are the performant projects and to encourage to replicate them on the one hand, and on the other hand to remove barriers in order to make arise innovant projects. In the long run, we must understand what kinds of projects will unfold and generalize as part of the energy transition depending on the value they will generate. To answer this, the business models perspective is highly appropriate: it constitutes an analytical framework which allows to describe the project features (its value proposition, its value configuration) and to determine its viability and sustainability according to the (economic, financial, social, environmental) values creation it builds. The thesis puts forward a typology of energy transition business models at the local scale, an analytical framework for projects adapted to the energy transition societal stake. Finally the thesis suggests some public policy recommandation in terms of assessment of the economic, social and environmental performance of the local projects for the energy transition.

Local perceptions and livelihood strategies have in this study been examined through extensive fieldwork in two villages in rural Pondoland in the former homeland Transkei in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province. Using a bottom-up perspective, changes in livelihoods and the processes involved in choosing between and combining various types of livelihood activities are analysed. The study also looks at specific South African policies, targeted at poverty relief and restriction of natural resource use, from the local perspective and points at communication problems between the national and local levels. Livelihoods in Transkei are today often conceptualised as consisting of subsistence agriculture combined with monetary incomes in the forms of state pensions and remittances from migrant labourers. This view is challenged by the results of the present study, showing that local jobs are the major components of livelihoods in the studied villages. Informal jobs are stressed as constituting an important, and perhaps previously underestimated, part of local job opportunities. While pensions also do make important contributions to livelihoods, the significance of agriculture, livestock keeping and various forms of natural resource use is shown to be relatively low. Key insights are that livelihood activities in rural Transkei vary a lot between specific localities, and that important recent changes in livelihoods have taken place. Transkei is furthermore often conceptualised as a region where severe environmental degradation is taking place, a fact that is also contradicted by findings from the study area. In accordance with recent research on an ‘African degradation narrative’, the hopeless and homogenous picture of Transkei as a generally degraded region is questioned. These results are also used to critically examine concepts such as ‘multiple livelihood strategies’ and the tendency to generalise about rural livelihoods across regions, countries or even continents. / Lokala uppfattningar och försörjningsstrategier har i denna studie undersökts genom långvarigt fältarbete och omfattande intervjuer med lokalbefolkningen i två byar i den rurala kustregionen i Pondoland, i Sydafrikas f.d. ‘homeland’ Transkei (idag Östra Kapprovinsen). Under apartheidtiden tvingades Sydafrikas befolkning av afrikanskt ursprung i hög utsträckning att bo i dessa s.k. homelands, vilket anses ha lett till både fattigdom och omfattande miljöförstöring i dessa områden. Transkei konceptualiseras idag därför ofta som ett problemområde, där befolkningen överlever på småskaligt jordbruk, nyttjande av, statliga bidrag och pengar från släktingar som jobbar i storstäder. Denna studie ifrågasätter upprätthållandet av en sådan bild av Transkei, genom att peka på att majoriteten av hushållen i fältområdet idag har lokala jobb. I detta sammanhang har informella jobb en viktig och troligtvis tidigare underskattad roll. Studien pekar också på att försörjningsstrategier är föränderliga och att det finns stora skillnader mellan olika lokaliteter med avseende på olika försörjningsmöjligheter. Många studier i Afrika har på senare tid ifrågasatt antaganden om att olika regioner är generellt degraderade, och visat på att detta ofta kan vara ett narrativ som av olika skäl upprätthålls utan att närmare granskas. Denna studie visar däremot på att miljön i fältområdet inte är generellt degraderad och att lokalbefolkningen inte överutnyttjar naturresurserna. Därmed bidrar studien till att nyansera en ibland alltför homogen och hopplös bild av Transkei som region. Studien granskar också specifika Sydafrikanska policies för naturvård och fattigdomsbekämpning utifrån lokalbefolkningens perspektiv och visar på problematiska kommunikationsbrister mellan nationell och lokal nivå.