Ian J. Bateman, Roy Brouwer, Stavros Georgiou, I. J. Langford and R. Kerry Turner.

Geographical Journal; 169 (2) 2003, pp.99-116

This paper develops a decision support system for evaluation of wetland ecosystem management strategy and examines its, so far partial, application in a case study of an important complex coastal wetland known as the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, in the east of England, UK. Most managed ecosystems are complex and often poorly understood hierarchically organized systems. Capturing the range of relevant impacts on natural and human systems under different management options will be a formidable challenge. Biodiversity has a hierarchical structure which ranges from the ecosystem and landscape level, through the community level and down to the population and genetic level. There is a need to develop methodologies for the practicable detection of ecosystem change, as well as the evaluation of different ecological functions. What is also required is a set of indicators (environmental, social and economic) which facilitate the detection of change in ecosystems suffering stress and shock and highlight possible drivers of the change process. A hierarchical classification of ecological indicators of sustainability would need to take into account existing interactions between different organization levels, from species to ecosystems. Effects of environmental stress are expressed in different ways at different levels of biological organization and effects at one level can be expected to impact other levels, often in unpredictable ways. The management strategy, evaluation methodologies and indicators adopted should also assess on sustainability grounds whether any given management option is supporting, or reducing, the diversity of functions which are providing stakeholders with the welfare benefits they require. (Original abstract)

Ryan K. Danby, David S. Hik, D. Scott Slocombet and Andrew Williams.

Geographical Journal; 169 (3) 2003, pp.191-204

The past, present, and future contributions of science in the St Elias Mountains, and its relationship with regional development, resource management, and traditional ecological knowledge is examined. Science has evolved from an early foundation of exploration, through stages ofresource inventories and surveys, to deductive scientific research and, more recently, a promising reconnection with traditional knowledge.Directly and indirectly, events such as the Klondike Gold Rush, construction of the Alaska Highway, creation of the Arctic Institute of North America's Kluane Lake Research Station, and establishment of protected areas have helped foster scientific activities in the region. In turn, this scientific perspective has influenced regional development by providing detailed information that has been utilized, to varying degrees, in resource use, planning, and decisionmaking. Over the past decade, management of the region has become less sectoral and more cooperative in nature, due partly to the implementation of co-management agreements, regional land use planning, and settlement of first nations'land claims. Incorporating both science and traditional knowledge into this process through collaborative endeavours such as long-term ecological monitoring, adaptive management, and information integration will contribute to ecosystem-based management of the St Elias and ensurethat both perspectives play an integral role in sustainable development of the region. (Original abstract)

Robert France.

Harvard design magazine, no.18, Vol. , No. , Spring-Winter 2003, pp. [30]-36.

Heidi Gjertsen.

World Development; 33 (2) Feb 2005, pp.199-217

The hypothesis that sustainable resource management and biodiversity conservation can result in material benefits to participating communities has existed under different guises in the concepts of sustainable development, integrated conservation and development projects, sustainable use, and community-based resource management. What these approaches have in common is the belief that win-win situations between the environment and human development are possible under particular institutional arrangements. Disentangling the factors that contribute to effective conservation and improved human welfare is difficult, but necessary for understanding when these win-win scenarios are likely to emerge. This paper analyzes data on 40 community-based marine protected areas in the Philippines, to determine the correlates of win-win versus lose-lose or tradeoff outcomes, measured in terms of children's nutritional status and coral reef health. (Original abstract)

K. S. Hadley and M. A. Works.

Geographical Journal; 170 (1) Mar 2004, pp.22-38

Recent changes in the cultural and forest landscapes of the Meseta Purpecha in Michoac\~n, Mexico as a result of forest degradation underscore the complexity of forest change processes in the tropical highlands of Latin America. Differences in community perception and forest structure and composition between the furniture-making and lumber-producing towns of Pich\~taro and Sevina, Purpechan indigenous communities located amidst pine forests on Michoac\~n's volcanic plateau illustrate the dynamics of this process. We base our comparisons on interviews and field measures of forest structure. Our results show dramatic changes in the forests and cultural landscapes of both communities during the past decade. Following high regional timber exports during the early1990s, Sevina shifted from a self-sufficient to a timber importation community. By comparison, communal forests and individual parcels in Pich\~taro continue to provide wood for approximately 300 wood shops. Field data and forest stand maps confirm the perception of forest degradation in both communities. While Pich\~taro has maintained a larger and more diverse forest base to date, stand structure data indicate selective harvesting has led to a shift in dominance toward the less economically desirable pine species and oak. Deforestation and degradationof Sevina and Pich\~taro's community forests are symptomatic of both the Meseta Purpecha and Mexico in general. Current forest conditions in both communities justify local, regional, and national concerns regarding declining biodiversity and sustainable economies. (Original abstract)

S. H. Hallett.

Journal of Arid Environments, vol. 54, no. iii, pp. 513-525, 2003

Kristina Hill.

Harvard design magazine, no.18, Vol. , No. , Spring-Winter 2003, pp. 37-40.

M. Greg Lloyd and Deborah Peel.

Town Planning Review; 75 (3) 2004, pp.358-378

This paper critically considers the emerging idea of marine spatial planning as part of the wider debates associated with the social reconstruction of the marine environment and the rethinking around the conventional boundaries of land use planning. First, the paper seeks to define the contemporary understanding of the marine environmental agenda, following Hannigan's (1995) social constructionist perspective. Second, it traces the evolution of thinking towards the concept of marine spatial planning. This locates the discussion within the current European discourse of spatiality, and strategies for the conservation and sustainable development of the marine environment, together with the evolving ideas associated with the practical management of coastal areas. The argument presented here is that if as a society we are successfully to reconstruct a solution to the perceived marine problem then a paradigm shift is required in terms of how we socially reconstruct the problem. It argues that the current incremental extension of terrestrial land use planning controls over aspects of the marine environment, together with the advocacy of marine spatial planning, requires a much more critically robust theoretical understanding so as to encompass the rapidly changing agenda of change. (Original abstract)

Peter Nijkamp, Emilia Rossi and Gabriella Vindigni.

Regional Studies; 38 (7) Oct 2004, pp.747-765

The concept of an ecological footprint is intriguing and has promptedan avalanche of theoretical and applied research. In recent publications both the scientific basis and the policy relevance of this concepthave been given ample attention, while also much empirical work has been undertaken to assess the value of the ecological footprint in different regions or countries of the world. The paper starts with a concise critical overview of the current discussion on ecological footprints. Its main aim, however, is to provide a meta-analytic assessment andinterpretation of the various empirical findings in the recent literature that offer estimated values or ranges of the ecological footprintindicator. The sensitivity of ecological footprints for the stringentassumptions made in the calculation schemes is investigated using frequency analyses, cross-tabulation methods and decision-tree induction methods (a recent technique based on pattern recognition methods). Theresults show that methodological choice, geographical scales and yearof data collection offer a significant explanation for variations in results. The paper concludes with some suggestions for further research. (Original abstract)

Jeff Pugh and Fausto O. Sarmiento.

Bulletin of Latin American Research; 23 (3) Jul 2004, pp.303-318

The city of Quito, Ecuador, began working in 2000 to protect the ecologically fragile watershed area for its drinking water. In order to protect the Papallacta watershed, the independent Fund for the Conservation of Watersheds (FONAG) was launched to finance and manage economically sound sustainability projects in the area. FONAG is funded in part through start up grants from several organisations and a 1 per cent fee on all Quito water bills, but it has been unable to build an endowment sizeable enough to begin implementing conservation projects. We measure perceptions of the fund among Quito's universitybased residents in two settings and evaluate the quality of the fund's proposed communication campaign based on existing communication theory. Further, we propose an adapted environmental education model based on a synthesis of existing theory and the empirical findings from our examination of the FONAG example. The Papallacta case study illuminates the potential strengths and weaknesses of the cultural ecology and political will of this type of collaborative sustainability project for addressing water problems in a developing country in a mountainous setting, centred around the themes of water conservation and sustainable developmet. (Original abstract)

Andrea Zhouri.

Theory, Culture & Society; 21 (2) Apr 2004, pp.69-89

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most important topics of transnational activism. Based on the assumption that the consumption of timber in the Northern hemisphere is largely responsible for deforestation, campaigners have focused on the global timber trade. From a strategy of boycotting tropical timber in the 1980s, environmentalists shifted their approach to one influenced by a discourse on 'sustainable development' in the 1990s. Believing that they could persuade loggers to use less predatory practices, the mainstream NGOs developed a certification scheme in association with timber companies known as the FSC - Forest Stewardship Council. Since then, the NGOs have gained influence over international policies. The focus on the so-called 'Amazon forestry vocation', however, may lead to doubtful results when sustainability of local societies & ecosystems is considered. This article discusses some dimensions of the new Amazon policies that are driven by a global market perspective & which may consequently render local & diverse cultures invisible. 60 References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd., copyright 2004.].