MANAGEMENT MATTER? EFFECTS OF CHARCOAL PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT ON WOODLAND REGENERATION IN SENEGAL

In Senegal, as in many parts of Africa, nearly 95% of its growing urban population depends on charcoal as their primary cooking energy. Extraction of wood for charcoal production is perceived to drive forest degradation. The Senegalese government and international donor agencies have created different forest management types with the ultimate goal of sustainably managing forests. This research combines local ecological knowledge, ecological surveys and remote sensing analysis to better understand questions related to how extraction for charcoal production and forest management affect Senegalese forests. Information derived from 36 semi-structured interviews suggests that the forests are degrading, but are depended on for income, grazing and energy. Interviewees understand the rules governing forest management types, but felt they had limited power or responsibility to enforce forest regulations. Ecological survey results confirmed that plots harvested for charcoal production are significantly different in forest structure and tree species composition than undisturbed sites. Across harvested and undisturbed and within forest management types the Combretum glutinosum species dominated (53% of all individuals and the primary species used for charcoal production) and demonstrated robust regenerative capacity. Few large, hardwood or fruiting trees were observed and had insufficient regenerative capacity to replace current populations. Species diversity was higher in co-managed areas, but declined after wood was harvested for charcoal production. Proximity to villages, roads and park edges in harvested and undisturbed plots and within forest management types had little impact on forest structure and tree diversity patterns with the harvesting of trees for charcoal spread consistently throughout the landscape. Remote sensing analysis with the MISR derived k(red) parameter demonstrated its ability to accurately classify broad land classes and showed potential when differentiating between pre- and post-harvest conditions over a three year time period, but could not accurately detect subtle changes in forest cover of known harvest time since last harvest in a single MISR scene. This research demonstrated the utility of multidisciplinary research in assessing the effects of charcoal production and forest management types on Senegalese forests; concluding that the effects of charcoal production on forest characteristics and regenerative capacity are consistent throughout all forest management types

a scoping review

Funding Information: This work was partly supported by funds from the EU funded COST Action EVBRES ( CA17117 ) and internal funds from Danube University Krems . Funding Information: This scoping review is part of working group 3’s work within the EVBRES (EVidence-Based RESearch) – COST Action CA17117, funded by the European Union ( www.evbres.eu ). The protocol for this scoping review was published a priori via the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/fby54/ ) [11] . Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)Objective: We aimed to map the resource use during systematic review (SR) production and reasons why steps of the SR production are resource intensive to discover where the largest gain in improving efficiency might be possible. Study design and setting: We conducted a scoping review. An information specialist searched multiple databases (e.g., Ovid MEDLINE, Scopus) and implemented citation-based and grey literature searching. We employed dual and independent screenings of records at the title/abstract and full-text levels and data extraction. Results: We included 34 studies. Thirty-two reported on the resource use—mostly time; four described reasons why steps of the review process are resource intensive. Study selection, data extraction, and critical appraisal seem to be very resource intensive, while protocol development, literature search, or study retrieval take less time. Project management and administration required a large proportion of SR production time. Lack of experience, domain knowledge, use of collaborative and SR-tailored software, and good communication and management can be reasons why SR steps are resource intensive. Conclusion: Resource use during SR production varies widely. Areas with the largest resource use are administration and project management, study selection, data extraction, and critical appraisal of studies.publishersversionpublishe

Participatory Ecosystem Management Planning at Tuzla Lake (Turkey) Using Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping

A participatory environmental management plan was prepared for Tuzla Lake, Turkey. Fuzzy cognitive mapping approach was used to obtain stakeholder views and desires. Cognitive maps were prepared with 44 stakeholders (villagers, local decisionmakers, government and non-government organization (NGO) officials). Graph theory indices, statistical methods and "What-if" simulations were used in the analysis. The most mentioned variables were livelihood, agriculture and animal husbandry. The most central variable was agriculture for local people (villagers and local decisionmakers) and education for NGO & Government officials. All the stakeholders agreed that livelihood was increased by agriculture and animal husbandry while hunting decreased birds and wildlife. Although local people focused on their livelihoods, NGO & Government officials focused on conservation of Tuzla Lake and education of local people. Stakeholders indicated that the conservation status of Tuzla Lake should be strengthened to conserve the ecosystem and biodiversity, which may be negatively impacted by agriculture and irrigation. Stakeholders mentioned salt extraction, ecotourism, and carpet weaving as alternative economic activities. Cognitive mapping provided an effective tool for the inclusion of the stakeholders' views and ensured initial participation in environmental planning and policy making.Comment: 43 pages, 4 figure

Coopetition of Ukrainian Enterprises in the Field of Natural Resource Management in the Conditions of the Modern Economy

The article provides an opportunity for collaboration between the enterprises of the fuel production industry in terms of coopetition both on the domestic and on the foreign market. We paid our attention on the specificity of the combination of interests in the creation of collaborative alliances between the extracting enterprises of Ukraine. We determined the main factors of successful collaboration of enterprises in the field of environmental management on a horizontal level and specified the advantages of cooperation of enterprises in the field of environmental management. We identified the dependence of socio-economic development within the country and the competitiveness of the state on the foreign market through the development of corporate social responsibility within the country. We offered the main principles of cooperation were proposed for successful collaboration of enterprises in the environmental management. We determined the main strategies for the development of regions, where the natural resource extraction is carried out, which can be implemented with cooperation of the extractive enterprises under the conditions of coopetition

Lessons for human survival in a world without ecological templates : what can we learn from small-scale societies?

Historical records are incomplete templates for preparing for an uncertain future. The global utility of past ecological knowledge for present/future purposes is questioned as we move from Holocene to Anthropocene. To increase the adaptive capacity of today’s societies, generalizable strategies must be identified for coping with uncertainty over a wide range of conditions and contingencies. We identify two key principles that increase adaptive capacities: diversification and precautionary heuristics. These sharply contrast with the present global state represented by the global production ecosystem characterized by: (1) homogenization and simplification of cultural practices and resource bases; (2) increased global connectivity and forced dissolution of cultural borders; and (3) centralization and intensification of modes of resource production and extraction. We highlight that responses of smaller-scale societies to risks and uncertainties are in many cases emulated by professionals in the high reliability management in today’s critical infrastructures. This provides a modern template for managing unpredictability in the Anthropocene.Peer reviewe

Opportunities for Dutch Biorefineries

Deze Roadmap Bioraffinage beschrijft een aantal mogelijke routes naar de ontwikkeling en implementatie van een bioraffinage-gerelateerde Bio-based Economy in Nederland. De Roadmap combineert korte- en middellange termijn mogelijkheden (commerciële implementatie, demonstratie plants, pilot plants en gerelateerd toegepast onderzoek) met strategisch onderzoek voor de langere termijn. Tevens zijn vier z.g. Moonshots uitgewerkt, als voorziene bioraffinagestrategieën met een grote potentie voor de Nederlandse economi

Revisiting and revitalizing political ecology in the American West

Political ecology, initially conceived to better understand the power relations implicit in management and distribution of natural resources in the developing world, came “home” to the American West in the 1990s and 2000s. This groundswell of research did much to problematize socio-environmental conflicts in the region, long typified by tensions over land and resources, identity and belonging, autonomy and authority. Since first touching down in the West, however, the “big tent” of political ecology has only grown bigger, incorporating new perspectives, epistemologies, and ontologies. At the same time, the nexus of environment and society is perhaps even more salient today, amid a regional conjuncture of populist revolt, climate change, and rapid political economic transformation. Here we reflect on three longstanding regional concerns – energy development, wolf reintroduction, and participatory governance – leveraging the pluralism of contemporary political ecology to better understand their contemporary incarnations. In so doing, we highlight the need to bring together insights from both “traditional” approaches and newer directions to better understand and engage contemporary challenges, with their heightened stakes and complexity. Such an approach demonstrates what we might learn about global processes in this place, as well as what insights regional praxis (often woefully provincial) might gain from elsewhere – new ways of seeing and doing political ecology. Our goal is to generate discussion among and between political ecologists and regional critical scholars, initiating new collaborative engagements that might serve the next wave of political ecology in the 21st century American West