Environmental Conservation Exam 2
Biodiversity
1. Form (Diversity across taxonomic groups) 2. level of organization of living things. e.g. variation at level of genes, populations, species, communities, ecosystems. 3. Interaction among other forms of life and their levels of organization. e.g. competition, predation and symbiosis.
Factors driving international expansion of protected areas, boom period 1990-2010
1. Growing concern for biodiversity 2. 1992 Rio Convention mandate: 10% area, 172 signatory countries 3. Rise in funding for international conservation
what are the 7 countries with the highest per capital GHG emissions?
1. United States 2. Canada 3. Australia 4. United Arab Emirates 5. Qatar 6. Kuwait 7. Trinidad and Tobago
Four Primary threats to biodiversity
1. habitat loss or degradation 2. overexploitation 3. Invasive Species 4. Pollution (including climate change)
What were some of the benefits and costs of Green Revolution?
1. yields per area planted increased 2% per year 2. New land brought into production 3. total yields in creased by 2-5X (1970-1988) 4. Avoided famines
John Rawls
1970 - "veil of ignorance" Addressing rule making in society. How to make fair rules in society. Ideally the actors making rules would each have a vail of ignorance that will block them whose party they would be in the aftermath.
what percentage of people live within 9 meters of sea level?
Approximately 10%
Name one argument for why Bangladesh could be considered more vulnerable than the Maldives?
Bangladesh has a larger population than Maldives.
what are major means for stabilizing soils?
Burning vegetation releases nutrients from the vegetation. Adding extra ash to soil will help raise the pH and make it less acidic.
Why do Vandermeer and Perfecto (Wk 7-8 readings, Breakfast of Biodiversity) think conservationists are wrong to focus on national parks? What do V&P think is more important to promote?
By focusing on parks the areas around it are ignored, and taking advantage of the outside lands is not considered 'bad' because they are not part of the park. even though the parks can be conserved everything else will be destroyed. they should be concentrating on the larger picture to conserve all areas. banana plantations threaten directly and indirectly the rain forests.
indigenous
People who have based their livelihoods and cultures on extraction of natural resources over centuries within particular ecological settings
What factors (human-caused and weather-related) caused massive fires in Borneo?
The 1998 and 2015 Indonesian forest fires were caused mainly by illegal slash and burn techniques adopted by farmers in Indonesia.
Name one argument for why why the U.S. could be considered more vulnerable than the Netherlands?
The Netherlands has a higher capacity to adapt.
Intrinsic value
The beauty that biodiversity gives life.
Geological distribution of species
The number of species per area increase with the proximity to the equator and the amount of rainfall. Thus, the tropical rainforest = peak of species richness.
Tilman's model
model of competition for resources.
Results from Canadian research
the smaller the park, the higher the rate of extinction.
What did conservationists implementing REDD in the Chachi Reserve, Ecuador do to attempt to protect the concerns and rights of local Chachi communities?
•Support transparent & democratic mechanism for sharing carbon revenue within community • Train local citizens in legal rights • Improve enforcement of indigenous land rights • Build local capacity to measure and monitor forest carbon found donors, and implemeneted it • Launched in 2005 3 Chachi communities (100 families each) 7,000 hectares of forest in Chachi reserve. • Payment condition: NO LOGGING, NO agric. clearing in designated area (ok to hunt, collect fruit & fiber) • Payment amount: $30/hectare via 2 payments/yr of $15 each 2008: Ecuador launches SocioBosque, a national program
Efficiency in conservation
"Direct conservation payments generally achieve a given level of ecosystem protection at the least cost to the conservation donor (and society)".
Is biodiversity conservation the core concern of the Ese'eja (see video clip from the Tambopata website viewed in class on Nov. 6) or the Kayapo? (See wk 8 reading)
-A manifesto of 400 chiefs and leaders of the Kayapo people rejecting the plans of the federal government to reduce their rights to their traditional lands and resources. -They will not accept mining on their land -Want a stronger Federal National Indian Agency -Brazil holds a historic debt to the indigenous people. 1. Some advocate the need to increase protected areas to 30% of land area ... rate of growth is high but still insufficient. 2. Their size and connectivity of protected areas are not sufficient 3. They may protect against habitat loss and overexploitation but NOT climate change, pollution and invasive species 4. They are underfunded 5. They conflict with human development
According to Nepstad et al, how effective are designated indigenous lands at protecting landscapes from deforestation and fire?
-Conservation scientists agree that many types of protected areas are needed for an effective global strategy to preserve tropical forests. -The conservation value of indigenous lands is lower than that of parks because indigenous people adopt the cultural values, technology, and patterns of resource exploitation of their non-indigenous neighbors. -Data shows that indigenous reserves do a better job at dissuading deforestation and fire. -Indigenous lands that successfully inhibit deforestation were often inhabited by tribes who actively enforced legal restrictions on extraction by outsiders.
"Breakfast of Biodiversity: The Truth about Rain Forest Destruction" (VANDERMEER, J. & I PERFECTO) Chapter 2
-Poses the question of whether or not the rainforest ecology represents a stable web or a fragile house of cards. -The more connections (species), the stronger the web (ecology). OR each connection (specie) is just balanced, so if one falls, they all fall.
What do Vandermer and Perfecto (Wk8) recommend for stabilizing soils in tropical small-scale agriculture?
-We must acknowledge the temptation to assume that in rainforest areas the potential for agriculture is great. -Rainforest soils are usually acidic, containing a type of clay that cannot exchange nutrients well, and are low in organic matter. -The rainforest has evolved mechanisms for storing the system's nutrients in their vegetative matter rather than the soil. -When the forest is cut down and burned, the nutrients are immediately made available to any crops but only for a short period of time until they are used up or washed away. -5 soil types: 1. Acidic 2. Alluvial 3. Volcanic 4. Hillside 5. Swamp -Proposes farming restriction to areas with already good soil -Recommends perennial crops to reduce nutrient loss and growing trees on poor soil -Wants to stop grain production on acidic soil
What is the promise of participatory land use zoning in and around protected areas?
1. Balance conservation and development at landscape scale 2. Bring competing groups together to negotiate rules and create shared sense of landscape. Avoid costly, topdown enforcement & conflicts. 3. Improve local leadership and technical planning skills. 4. Protect areas of special ecological importance.
According to Vandermeer and Perfecto, what are the 6 key factors underlying tropical rainforest function?
1. Biodiversity 2. Pollination 3. Herbivory 4. Seed dispersal 5. Gap Dynamics 6. Soils
What are the 3 countries with the highest aggregate national emissions?
1. China 2. USA 3. India
Problems of Green Revolution
1. Dependency on market: roller coaster ride for rural poor 2. poorest of the poor lost land 3. soil and water contamination (e.g. depletion of fish around Mang Lino's Village) Continued deforestation (no evidence of land sparing)
Explain the basic sequence and impacts of standard 'cut and run' logging as practiced in SE Asia.
1. Direct damage during logging 2. Logging roads open up forest to shifting agriculturalists 3. Industrial agriculture follows
key advantages of direct conservation
1. Effectiveness 2. Efficiency 3. Speed
Achievements of CBC
1. Expand territory of conservation 2. Diversify and expand type of participants in conservation 3. capture money for conservation from development agencies (e.g. world bank) 4. Reduce conflict between conservations and local people
criteria for ranking the vulnerability to Climate Change
1. Exposure to Physical Effects 2. Sensitivity of human welfare to physical changes 3. The capacity of countries to adapt.
What are the political problems associated with community-based projects?
1. Prohibition of peoples' use of their lands with the establishment of protected areas has resulted in significant resistance by local peoples. 2. Problems of wildlife-inflicted damage on human communities in areas outside of the protected perimeter. 3. Limited resources to patrol and regulate human use of protected areas - leading sometimes to highly coercive suppression of local people. 4. Problems of continued extraction of resources from protected areas. 5. Little sense of ownership by local people - wildlife are seen as the "government's livestock" and parks as "tourist playgrounds"
technical criticisms of REDD
1. REDD project might simply displace deforestation elsewhere thus no net reduction of GHG emissions additionally hard to prove: only carbon credits from projects that are "additional to" the business-as-usual scenario represent a net environmental benefit. 2. amount of GHG possible to store in REDD projects is negligible compared to the amount emitted by burning fossil fuels Sociopolitical criticisms: 1. compromises development for Global south countries 2. threatens rights of local resource users, esp. the poor 3. provides giant 'loophole ' for global north 4. corrupts the sacred.
key beneficiaries of Green Revolution
1. better off rural citizens 2. urban costumers (cheaper food) 3. agroindustrialists
Why has the global area under parks and reserves grown exponentially in recent decades?
1. growing concern for biodiversity 2. 1992 Rio Convention mandate: 10% area, 172 signatory countries. 3. rise in funding for international conservation
Why did community-based conservation emerge as a prominent conservation strategy in the 1990s (as per Western and Wright, a Wk 7 reading?
1. unethical, impractical to exclude people 2. most parks too small to protect biodiversity in long term, must work at landscape level & include multiple use lands. 3. new emphasis on linking development and conservation 4. decline of national governments' authority & budget Traditional conservation practices revolved around sustaining food supplies rather than conserving the ecology. Community-based conservation includes buffer-zone protection of parks and reserves on one end and natural resource use and biodiversity conservation on the other.
Uncertainties/challenges with CBC
1. who is the "local community"? What authority do they have? 2. Is conservation economically viable for local communities? 3. Can communities defend land from extractive industry? (mining, oil, etc.) Local, small-scale; ties local development with conservation; often involving management of commonly-held resources; variable levels of community participation
Current rate of species loss
1000-5000 species lost/yr due to human activities. Significantly higher than background extinction rates over geological history (~.1-10 species lost/yr)
Terrestrial area protected - 2013
11.6% in developed regions and 13.3% in developing regions and from those Latin America had the greatest amount by 20.3% * Rural citizens lose access to natural resources in protected areas, resulting in further impoverishment & local hostility to Protected Areas.
How did the colonial experience in Uganda create resentment of wildlife today?
1904: colonial wildlife rules for Uganda no 'native' hunting. No firearms for 'natives' all Ugandian wildlife property of Queen of England Forest cleared for tea plantations. Laborers imported from elsewhere. Poor treatment Adds to rapid population growth. 1920's expelled local communities form parks and reserves. 1962: Uganda independence. Wildlife belongs to gvt. But persistent local resentment. created a lot of resentment towards wildlife, since westerners are the ones paying to conserve these animals that are affecting the way people there live.
Briefly describe Costa Rica's national-level forest protection payment program. Where does the money come from?
1996 law formally puts value on forests for: 1. storing greenhouse gasses 2. protecting hydro-power and drinking water 3. conserving biodiversity 4. providing scenic beautify for recreation and tourism. creates source of funding for forest payments: special fees for energy and water use taxes on gas purchases, international donations.
keystone species
A keystone species is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem.
endemic species
A species found nowhere else the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere.
List one particular vulnerability to climate change experienced by EACH of these four countries: Bangladesh, the Sahel region, the Netherlands, the Maldives.
Bangladesh - Sea level Rise Sahel region - drought Netherlands - sea level rise and intense monsoon rains. Maldives - Sea level rise
Why are elephant numbers in Central Africa dropping so rapidly?
Because large increases in poaching, and killing them because of how they are affecting the communities.
Why is the global demand for biofuels expanding?
Bioenergy has the potential to be "C neutral". However, C is emitted during production so the C debt must be repaid before savings accrues.
soy moratorium
Brazil's Soy Moratorium (SoyM) was the first voluntary zero-deforestation agreement implemented in the tropics and set the stage for supply-chain governance of other commodities, such as beef and palm oil [supplementary material (SM)]. In response to pressure from retailers and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), major soybean traders signed the SoyM, agreeing not to purchase soy grown on lands deforested after July 2006 in the Brazilian Amazon.
Impact of Industrial soybean cultivation
Costs: 1. major deforestation since 1995 2. environmental contamination 3. land concentration (fewer people each own more land) Benefits: 1. increased food production 2. Enormous revenue for gvt. 3. funded construction of reads and ports used by many other economic activities 4. Profit for corporations and large landholders 5. money for env. protection?
What are different criteria for distributing responsibilities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions?
Country's reduction target based on percent reduction of todays aggregate national emissions Country's reduction target based on per capita emissions Country's reduction target based on historical greenhouse emissions
explain how Peru's new forestry law attempted to change logging.
Designated 25 million hectares of forests for permanent timber management and created a forestry agency OSINFOR.
How do Ferraro and Kiss (2002) distinguish direct from indirect investments in conservation?
Direct Payments - paying an individual or community via a contract for conservation. Directly pay for conservation Indirect Payments - Ex. Paying for environmental education and hope that it will result in conservation.
What did the example of a Philippine farmer (Mang Lino) reveal about the experience of poor farmers trying to adapt to green revolution farming?
He adapted to the new technologies, and at the end of it ended up gaining money, but he did not always. He would produce greater yields, but then on certain years we would lose and would have to pay with his own money and he still had to pay for fertilizer and the costs of green revolution. He however, was a bit more educated than the other people in his community and owned land which many people didn't so he ended up wining a bit, but the other community members ended being more affected and losing even more than what they had even before the green revolution.
What does the term 'carbon payback time' refer to? (you don't need to be able to calculate this, but be prepared to briefly explain the term).
How many years needed for the biofuel C savings from avoided fossil fuel combustion to offset C losses form converting land source
See the Wk8 reading from the Economist magazine entitled Miracle of the Cerrado. Why are the authors of the article so impressed by how Brazil boosted soybean yields? What do they think 'big is beautiful' when it comes to soy farms in Brazil? How does Brazil's Rainforest Soy moratorium work and who are key players in this initiative?
In less than 30 years, Brazil has turned itself from a food importer into one of the world's great breadbaskets." The UN's Food an Agriculture Org believes meat output will have to double by 2050. Only 50m of Brazil's 400m hectares are used for farmland. Embrapa transformed the cerrado into usable soil by pouring limestone onto the soil to reduce acidity, then brought brachiaria from Africa to turn land into pasture, turned soybeans into a tropical crop, and created a new farm technique. The biggest farms are being able to grow the most yield per sector. He argues that is very good! That in a hungry world this is amazing. However he never talks about the biodiversity and the animals dying due to this deforestation. Embrapa is the 'hero' of the story, it is a public company Brazil set up (it has a profit motive) to develop new crops (via GModification) and planting techniques. a couple clarifications: the authors are impressed by the tremendous growth in overall crop yields thanks to the high-input farming techniques being used and industrial scale of production. Genetically modified crops and pasture grasses were developed that can tolerate poor soils, produce higher yields and grow faster. another strategy that helped the yield increase was using massive amounts of lime to make soils less acid. They note that the highest productivity (yield of crop per acre planted) occurs on very large farms. in short, the authors have a very different vision of what agriculture should be like in the tropics Essentially, companies vow to store to ensure that soy is grown in a sustainable manner and will not purchase soy from newly deforested land. Cargill, WWF, and Greenpeace are all large players in this initiative.
What type of biofuel crop planted in what kind of land will result in short carbon payback times? How about very long carbon payback times? (be prepared to give an example of one of the shortest and longest).
In terms of mitigating climate change, the best option is to plant biofuels in already degraded or already farmed land. Oil palm particularly productive crop so carbon payback times shorter. Maize, soybean and castor in forest or even degraded forest or savanna. Have long carbon payback times.
What were the basic goals of the Green Revolution during the 1960s and 1970s?
Increase crop yields in developing countries Methods: 1. Plant monocultures of 'improved' crops 2. Use fertilizer, pesticides and water on crops 3. increase intensity and frequency of crops.
What is the basic idea underlying the 'land sparing' model regarding the optimal relationship between biodiversity and agriculture?
Intensify crop production on one piece of land to spare another piece for nature. Allied economic arguments: 1. higher crop yield feeds nation 2. sell food international to make profit for nation 3. use taxes to build infrastructure 4. use taxes to support park protection.
land sparing
Intensify crop production on one piece of land to spare another piece for nature. Allied economic arguments: 1. higher crop yield feeds nation 2. sell food international to make profit for nation 3. use taxes to build infrastructure 4. use taxes to support park protection.
What problem surfaced when conservationists paid significantly more for local Cambodian citizens to protect the nests of an especially endangered species of stork (G. Adjutant)?
It became a moral hazard. Other people that were not given money to protect the nests started affecting the nests because they got jealous that they were not the ones given incentives.
directional felling
Man use to cut down tree (chainsaw example) - cutting down trees in a certain way so they don't disturb other trees on their way down
Forest Management
Maximize economic benefits while minimizing ecological damage by replicating natural forest gap dynamics
Human Development Index(HDI)
Measurement of life expectancy, education and income to a give an indication of the average standard of living a country has.
polycrop
Mixing crops together to discourage pests, monoculture ag is very susceptible to pest infestations; for monoculture to work, requires pesticides
Do most Americans think that climate change will harm people in the U.S.? ...harm themselves as individuals?
Most Americans think that climate change will harm people in the U.S. but they do not believe to be at risk.
How would placing priority on protecting endemic species change where conservationists would focus their efforts?
Most endemic species are in the tropics which means that conservationists would focus their efforts in the Amazon and such places.
What is the promise and peril of biofuels?
PROMISE -Increase income across developing world -GREEN jobs -Improve energy security... -Reduce greenhouse gas emissions with potentially renewable fuels. PERIL -Threaten food security - increased prices and competition for prime aglands -More pesticides and fertilizers -More water withdrawals and pollutions -GMOs, invasive species -Carbon emissions form land conversion.
What did the experience in Cambodia with paying people to protect nests of threatened/endangered species reveal about the advantages and limits of Paying for biodiversity?
Paying people to protect nests allowed a greater conservation of the threatened species. However, when the price increased, less species were able to be protected.
agroforestry
Plant woody species of crops,timber & fruit trees (perennials) -plant it in fields with other crops to keep nutrients in soil
REDD
REDD+ is a mechanism that was developed by countries who participate in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (usually referred to simply as the UNFCCC). The way the mechanism works is that developed countries pay developing countries to conserve their tropical forests and protect them from deforestation. The thinking behind this is that developed countries have little remaining forests and emit large amounts of greenhouse gases, but they can offset their carbon emissions by paying developing countries in the South to keep their forests standing, where it is cheaper to conserve larger tracts of land. As such, the goal of REDD+ is to mitigate climate change by reducing the amount of global net emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere through enhanced forest management and conservation in developing countries. Originally, REDD+ was designed to be funded through a combination of a market-based approach and a donor funds-based approach, but to date, carbon markets have largely failed and REDD+ funding has come from donor countries through voluntary donations made to the Green Climate Fund (administrated by the UN).
technical guidelines for forest management
Reduce damage during felling and extraction of trees. No hunting Encourage natural regeneration, no rile, long rotations Monitor sustainability
Give a couple examples of ambivalent or contrasting attitudes to wildlife of local citizens living next to Kibale National Park (Uganda).
Some people see elephants as danger because they destroy their crops whenever they are sleeping or away and they can't really do anything. To them they are not beautiful creatures, but rather animals that affect their way of life. Other people see elephants as beautiful creatures that need to be conserved and protected. One of the men in the video talks about how he doesn't see elephants as others do, but his job is to protect them so he is going to protect them even though he knows how he affects people in the community.
Gap Dynamics
The idea that falling trees naturally in the forest create gaps in the tree- cover, letting light through. Frequent, small-scale disturbances to the canopy create light gaps that can be replicated in size when farming - can lead to better reforestation.
What did Geographer DeFries' work reveal about the effectiveness of parks at protecting tropical forests? Why is the isolation of parks a problem for long-term biodiversity conservation? Similarly, how does park size affect the risk of species loss over time? (see example of long-term research from Canada).
The isolation of parks is a problem because they start being surrounded by deforestation and it is not conserving a whole area, but the small area. The smaller the area the more biodiversity loss that will happen. Area of resource extraction inside strictly protected Parks (28% in Peru, and 43% in Ecuador) Parks NOT all fortresses of pristine nature. In some parks there is Hunting, logging, mining, oil drilling, agriculture in several parks in Ecuador and Peru. Parks are protecting tropical forests, but they are getting more isolated.
What kinds of interventions are conservationists using to try to conserve elephants in Uganda and Kenya?
They call the conservation people and they try to scare them off through shot guns noises or loud noises that might take them off. Special challenges due to far-ranging behavior difficult ethical issues, clashing attitudes geography shapes feasibility of conservation strategies renewed demand for ivory threatens all elephants.
How do some of these factors connect to sustainability concerns for tropical logging and agriculture?
They need large areas in order for conservation, this is problematic for logging and agriculture because there will be less lands for them to pick, there would not necessarily be a sustainable way to cut trees without affecting the rainforest. High diversity means only some trees are valuable, therefore they have to selectively choose the trees, but even this way it can affect the tree distribution and biodiversity in rainforest. Direct damage during logging Despite only 10% of trees worthy of harvesting, 50% damaged Increase in logging creates roads which increase the amount of land used for agriculture and therefore more destruction. Industrial agriculture follows oil palm which affects so much with carbon emissions. High biodiversity of the tropical rainforest means that any one species of tree is locally sparse and therefore logging of particularly lucrative species of trees (e.g. tropical hardwoods) typical performed through selective logging (not clear cutting). Less sustainable forms of logging in tropical rainforests s due to the magnitude of collateral damage caused by pulling out these single trees which may directly (access roads, damage to forest pulling trees out..etc.) or indirectly (agriculture that follows roads) result in areas cleared beyond the typical "light gap" in size making natural reforestation difficult.
What does Piwicho's story (in Peru) reveal about the feasibility of changing laws versus changing social norms?
Well-intended env. Laws can be hardest on the poor especially if they are constantly monitoring requirements. In the case of Peru, the New law was so drastically different than customary attitudes and practices, it was ignored. This reaffirmed the public perception that 'logging rules are meant to be broken' people are set in their own ways and will go behind laws.
Based on the research described in class, do men and women in East Africa show any difference in the way they value wildlife? How about differences in urban versus rural attitudes to wildlife?
Women, urban residents & more educated respondents more likely to emphasize mutualist & aesthetic values. Men & rural residents more likely to emphasize utilitarian values. Concern for safety and for livelihood (crops, livestock) are strong and persist among most city respondents due to strong linkages to rural communities
According to the field research in Tambopata presented in class on Oct 30, what kinds of wildlife species are most likely to survive in small-scale agroecosystems? (no need to memorize the names of the animals; rather, what are the attributes of the animals that persist in agroecosystems?)
adaptable, fast-reproducing, 'cosmopolitan' (i.e. wide-ranging) species animals like the armadillo or the augoti
the "veil"
essentially blinds people to all facts about themselves that might cloud what notion of justice is developed.
Some analysts think Costa Rica's forest protection payment program was not directly responsible for forest recovery. Other than the payments themselves, what benefits did this program yield?
established legal precedent created new social norm and awareness Direct payments more likely to work and to be hair if host country has strong govt. and envt institutions.
What did Pedro Sanchez conclude about the promise of high input agriculture based on his experiment in the Peruvian Amazon?
every hectare put into such production(fertilizer) spares many other hectares from the shifting cultivator's axe.
selective felling
is the silvicultural practice of harvesting trees in a way that moves a forest stand towards an uneven-aged or all-aged condition, or 'structure'.
What are the physical impacts of climate change on Bangladesh?
it is expected to lose approximately 20% of its land area by 2050 due to sea level rise.
How are loggers encouraging natural regeneration?
liberation thinning (remove vines, low value trees)
What special and economic issues favor unsustainable logging practices?
logging undervalued agriculture and ranching subsidized. Polices encourage clearing (loans and land title conditional on clearing)
What is the key to sustainability in shifting agriculture?
long fallows shifting agriculturalists opt to shorten fallow periods becuase 1. population growth (due to high fertility or mitigation) 2. need to accumulate capital in response to opportunities(school fees) and crises (hospital bills) 3. insecure land ownership
Barro Colorado Island, Panama
loss of species can have 'cascading' impacts Hard to see the effects of apex consumers until they are removed because these species often interact with others over large time and spatial scales. Human impacts additive - habitat restriction AND removal of large carnivores.
how are loggers trying to reduce impact on soils and forest?
low impact "skidding" (remove logs). Directional felling
What kinds of wildlife are less likely to survive without parks? How do these results connect to C. Peres' arguments?
old growth specialists, those with slow reproductive rate... i.e. Endangered species Peres argues that the long-term persistence of the Amazonian biota would be best served by nature reserves that are both embedded in a benign forest matrix and sufficiently large to support a full complement of species and landscape-scale ecological processes. Half of the world's tropical forests have been clearcut since the mid-1900s. The Brazilian Amazon faces the greatest threats to biodiversity conservation. Reserve selection and design protocols are based on existing regional-scale data for species diversity and distribution, but that data is severely skewed. The Amazonia needs mega reserves that can safeguard a full complement of species and function as ecologically viable in the long term.
What other fundamental concern do these leaders emphasize? Vuohailen et al replicated Nepstad's research in Tambopata (Nov 8). How did their results compare to Nepstad's? What type of land category had the lowest deforestation rate in Vuohailen's study?
private ecotourism concessions had the lowest amount of deforestation, while indigenous reserves were not that good at conserving. while private property and gvt managed had a bit more efficiency.
neoliberal policies
refers primarily to the 20th-century resurgence of 19th-century ideas associated with laissez-faire economic liberalism.[2]:7 Such ideas include economic liberalization policies such as privatization, austerity, deregulation, free trade,[3] and reductions in government spending in order to increase the role of the private sector in the economy and society.[11]
Using examples featured in class, identify the achievements and risks associated with direct payments as a conservation strategy.
risks: 1. Introduce social conflict in the community 2. Moral hazard - shift people's motivations and insite them to do something that they were not conserving that to do. 3. Short term vs long term. Direct payments are not asking us to look at the bigger pictures, just to conserve now. Don't ask questions. Achievements: 1. People think that they are taken into account they are not only helping the environment, but them as well.
What social and physical conditions make shifting agriculture a rationale land use option for many poor farmers in the tropics?
social 1. low capital 2. low labor 3. cheap land Physical 1. Poor soils: typically nutrient poor and acidic, highly weathered. solution: burn vegetation, since it releases nutrients form vegetation. Adding ash to soil releases pH. 2. High insect herbibores('pest') populations solution: polycrop 3. Heavy weeds solution: shift to new cultivation site. let land recover.
How are Peru's neoliberal economic policies connected to the gold boom? How did the global financial crisis of 2008 also fuel the gold boom in Peru?
starting in late 1990's, Peru adopts neoliberal economic policies which emphasize 1. free trade 2. attract foreign investment 3. less government regulation 4. sell concessions to companies (foreign and international) for right to extract resources from public and communal indigenous land. the increase in poverty in peru fueled the gold bloom. however, the poverty is declining but not my a lot.
slash and Burn system of agriculture
the cutting and applying of fire to natural vegetation to release the desired plants (the crops) from biological competition and to provide them with a large amounts of nutrients. *Creates a problem of net nutrient loss from the system which requires abandonment from the site not shortly after.
land sharing
the same piece of land is used for BOTH biodiversity and production Allied socioeconomic arguments: 1. local land security 2. local food security 3. local dignity and autonomy
What is the basic idea underlying the 'land sharing' model regarding the optimal relationship between biodiversity and agriculture? Give an example.
the same piece of land is used for Both Biodiversity and crop production. Allied socioeconomic arguments for land sharing: 1. local land security 2. local food security 3. local dignity and autonomy
How did Ecuadorian indigenous leaders react to viewing Avatar (as per video short viewed in lecture)?
they liked the movie, they could relate and could see that conserving their culture and the environment is not only their struggle, but the struggle of their ancestors as well. indigenous are defending their rights in the movie as well.
How did indigenous people in Ecuador respond when the government sold mining concessions to gold and copper lying under their land to international companies?
they went to protest against Canadian mine in indigenous forest land. the president of Ecuador responded saying that protestors are terrorists.. we cannot be beggars sitting on a sack of gold. Correa pledges to use mining revenue for roads, schools, hospitals, etc to benefit ALL Ecuadorians.
Drawing on the Nov 8 lecture (including short video shown in class) and Week 9 reading by Paunchir, identify and briefly explain the central arguments for and against REDD projects.
tropical deforestation releasing massive amounts of GHG (10% total human caused emissions) CHEAPER and faster than other mitigation strategies Politically 'straight forward' China, India and USA all voice support for REDD side benefits: biodiversity, watershed protection.
