15,008 research outputs found

    Hydrological controls of in situ preservation of waterlogged archaeological deposits

    Get PDF
    Environmental change caused by urban development, land drainage, agriculture or climate change may result in accelerated decay of in situ archaeological remains. This paper reviews research into impacts of environmental change on hydrological processes of relevance to preservation of archaeological remains in situ. It compares work at rural sites with more complex urban environments. The research demonstrates that both the quantity and quality of data on preservation status, and hydrological and chemical parameters collected during routine archaeological surveys need to be improved. The work also demonstrates the necessity for any archaeological site to be placed within its topographic and geological context. In order to understand preservation potential fully, it is necessary to move away from studying the archaeological site as an isolated unit, since factors some distance away from the site of interest can be important for determining preservation. The paper reviews what is known about the hydrological factors of importance to archaeological preservation and recommends research that needs to be conducted so that archaeological risk can be more adequately predicted and mitigated. Any activity that changes either source pathways or the dominant water input may have an impact not just because of changes to the water balance or the water table, but because of changes to water chemistry. Therefore, efforts to manage threatened waterlogged environments must consider the chemical nature of the water input into the system. Clearer methods of assessing the degree to which buried archaeological sites can withstand changing hydrological conditions are needed, in addition to research which helps us understand what triggers decay and what controls thresholds of response for different sediments and types of artefact

    Climate Change and the Historic Environment

    Get PDF

    Heritage and Resilience: Issues and Opportunities for Reducing Disaster Risks

    Get PDF
    This paper examines the unique role of cultural heritage in disaster risk reduction. Itintroduces various approaches to protect heritage from irreplaceable loss and considers ways to draw upon heritage as an asset in building the resilience of communities and nations to disasters. The paper proposes ways forward and builds on the current momentum provided by the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters” (HFA) and the advancement of a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction (HFA2) and the post-2015 development agenda. Cultural heritage is often associated with grandiose monuments and iconic archaeological sites that can hold us in awe of their beauty, history and sheer scale. However, the understanding of cultural heritage has undergone a marked shift during the last few decades in terms of what it is, why it is important, why it is at risk and what can be done to protect it. Cultural heritage today encompasses a broader array of places such as historic cities, living cultural landscapes, gardens or sacred forests and mountains, technological or industrial achievements in the recent past and even sites associated with painful memories and war. Collections of movable and immoveable items within sites, museums, historic properties and archives have also increased significantly in scope, testifying not only to the lifestyles of royalty and the achievements of great artists, but also to the everyday lives of ordinary people. At the same time intangibles such as knowledge, beliefs and value systems are fundamental aspects of heritage that have a powerful influence on people’s daily choices and behaviors. Heritage is at risk due to disasters, conflict, climate change and a host of other factors.At the same time, cultural heritage is increasingly recognized as a driver of resilience that can support efforts to reduce disaster risks more broadly. Recent years have seen greater emphasis and commitment to protecting heritage and leveraging it for resilience;but initiatives, such as the few examples that are presented here, need to be encouraged and brought more fully into the mainstream of both disaster risk reduction and heritage management. These are issues that can be productively addressed in a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction and, likewise, in the post-2015 development agenda

    Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for Protected Areas in Puerto Rico

    Get PDF
    The goal of this project was to provide climate change adaptation strategies to supplement Para la Naturaleza’s existing management plans and protect ecosystems and infrastructure within the coastal areas of Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve and Área Natural Protegida Medio Mundo y Daguao. This was accomplished by assessing the two sites, prioritizing at-risk areas, and proposing adaptation strategies. We have proposed non-invasive adaptation strategies in two forms: general strategies to be broadly applied, as well as specific recommendations for areas within the two sites

    Risk Assessment of Urban Development in the Recharge Zone of the Karstic Edwards Aquifer: A Literature Survey and Analysis

    Get PDF
    The Edwards Aquifer is a unique groundwater system and provides drinking water for millions of people in Central Texas. Central Texas has seen an increase in urban development across this region and poses a threat to its water supply and water quality. A literature review and an analysis of existing risk assessment frameworks was conducted to gather information about the Edwards Aquifer and other karst aquifers around the world. The information gathered from the literature review and analysis assisted in the development of the Edwards Aquifer Vulnerability Interface. This tool identifies vulnerable areas in the Edwards Aquifer and can strengthen existing laws and protocols for urban development in this region. The Edwards Aquifer Vulnerability can ultimately prevent further degradation caused by anthropogenic activities and can play a crucial role in protecting the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer

    National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans: Natural Catalysts for Accelerating Action on Sustainable Development Goals

    Get PDF
    In 2010, the Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreed to an ambitious set of 20 targets, called the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, as part of their commitment to the CBD Strategic Plan. One of the Targets (Target 17) called for each country to revise its National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) in accordance with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. From 2010 to November 2016, virtually all countries have revised, or are currently completing the revision of, their NBSAP. As of November 2016, 123 countries (76 of them eligible for official development assistance) have submitted post-2010 NBSAPs. At the same time, the world agreed to an ambitious set of 17 Goals and 169 Targets in 2015, called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The absence of a widely accepted taxonomy for describing NBSAP actions makes any systematic and cross-cutting analysis of NBSAPs difficult. Moreover, the collective contribution of specific NBSAP actions to SDGs has not yet been studied. The purpose of this report is to systematically understand the breadth and depth of actions proposed across all NBSAPs, to propose a common framework for analysis, and to understand the relationship between NBSAPs and the SDGsThe data in this report comes from more than 6000 actions included in NBSAPs of 60 countries. These NBSAPs have all been submitted to the Secretariat of the CBD after 2010, and all are from countries eligible to received funding from the Global Environmental Facility. The researchers tagged each of the actions in this analysis not only by the thematic categories and generic actions of this taxonomy, but also by the associated primary and secondary SDGs and their associated targets (as well as by Aichi Biodiversity Targets). In doing so, the collective impact of the contribution of NBSAPs toward fulfilling the SDGs is beginning to emerge. The data from this analysis are far richer and more complex than this interim report can convey. However, it is clear from this preliminary analysis that the impact of NBSAP actions extends far beyond Goal 14 (Life Below Water) and Goal 15 (Life on Land). The NBSAP examples of actions provided under each of the categories illustrate how a single action can contribute to multiple goals. The actions included across all NBSAPs would, if fully implemented, catalyze progress in national food security, water security, livelihoods, economic growth, disaster risk reduction, health, gender and climate resilience, among other goals. Furthermore, because NBSAPs are adopted as policy instruments, they provide a ready pathway for fast implementation of national sustainable development goals.Investing in biodiversity and ecosystems through NBSAP actions also ensures that no one is left behind in the implementation of the SDGs. Nature provides a safety net to billions of people around the world: 1.6 billion people depend on forests for jobs, livelihoods, food and fuel; one out of eight people depend on fisheries for their livelihoods; and more than 4 billion people depend on medicines derived from forests for their health.  Investing in nature helps ensure that the most vulnerable people in society, especially the more than 800 million people living in poverty, have a durable safety net.The recommendations included at the end of this report highlight the potential need for targeted support to countries to implement key thematic areas. The authors hope that this preliminary analysis will enable governments, and the organizations that support them, to focus their efforts on supporting those thematic areas that will have the most impact in accelerating progress in implementing NBSAP actions. They also hope this report will encourage donor organizations to consider supporting the implementation of NBSAP actions that have direct SDG outcomes

    Seafloor characterization using airborne hyperspectral co-registration procedures independent from attitude and positioning sensors

    Get PDF
    The advance of remote-sensing technology and data-storage capabilities has progressed in the last decade to commercial multi-sensor data collection. There is a constant need to characterize, quantify and monitor the coastal areas for habitat research and coastal management. In this paper, we present work on seafloor characterization that uses hyperspectral imagery (HSI). The HSI data allows the operator to extend seafloor characterization from multibeam backscatter towards land and thus creates a seamless ocean-to-land characterization of the littoral zone

    Protecting the Fire: A Community-Focused Approach to Reduce Vulnerability and Risk to Industrial Heritage in a Historic Clay District

    Get PDF
    The Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Historic Site preserves an industrial landscape on the southern prairies of western Canada. The district contains 150 acres of industrial heritage, including a brick plant, two intact pottery factories, the remnants of two other clay products plants, a raw material manufacturer, and a rail spur line interconnecting these industries. In June 2013, the province of Alberta experienced a devastating flood resulting in damages exceeding 5 billion dollars. In Medicine Hat, floodwaters inundated over 39,000 sq. ft. of historic resources, altering the cultural landscape, and damaging most of the archaeological sites. This flood was one in a long history of disasters contributing significantly to the changes seen in this heritage district over time. To date, in-place emergency protocols and preservation policies impede heritage protection; these policies are notably incongruous, despite a robust historic designation. This dissertation examines how to prioritize heritage against flooding and demonstrate how heritage designations guarantee neither protection nor priority of response. I will explain how heritage “values” underpin the protection and the development of preparedness strategies for at-risk industrial heritage resources through the establishment of a heritage vulnerability community profile. Heritage districts are vulnerable to disasters because of complicated ownership frameworks, multijurisdictionality, inventory, interpretation of risk, and who is involved in protecting heritage before, during, and after an event. Heritage values inform and frame the resources considered the critical heritage infrastructure; they also create barriers to the development of effective disaster planning. Drawing on qualitative and historical methods, archival tools and document analysis, this dissertation illustrates how heritage valuation, assigned to tangible heritage, directs preservation, programming, and influences a community’s ability to develop disaster planning. Archaeologists are critical assets within disaster planning, conservation, and have vested interest in protecting heritage value. By understanding how values contribute to the development and reuse of industrial heritage districts we can identify the challenges associated with protecting tangible heritage against unforeseen events. This dissertation contributes unique insights into how heritage valuation may interfere with disaster planning and response development. By incorporating archaeological methods alongside conservation planning, we can assign priority and strengthen disaster protocol. Industrial heritage districts contain vast inventories of resources that may exist at various levels of disrepair. Assigning priority allows a community to decide how to protect and recover essential heritage first

    Strengthening America's Best Idea: An Independent Review of the National Park Service's Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate

    Get PDF
    NRSS requested that an independent panel of the National Academy conduct a review of its effectiveness in five core functions, its relationships with key internal stakeholders, and its performance measurement system. Among other things, the National Park Service's Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate (NRSS) is responsible for providing usable natural and social science information throughout the National Park Service (NPS). NRSS leadership requested this review of the directorate's performance on five core functions, its relationships with key internal NPS stakeholders, and its performance measurement system.Main FindingsThe panel determined that NRSS is a highly regarded organization that provides independent, credible scientific expertise and technical information. The panel also found that NRSS and NPS have additional opportunities to advance natural resource stewardship throughout the Service. If implemented, the panel's eight major recommendations will: (1) help the Service respond to the parks' environmental challenges while raising public awareness about the condition of these special places; (2) strengthen NRSS as an organization; (3) promote scientifically based decision-making at the national, regional, and park levels; and (4) improve the existing performance measurement system
    • 

    corecore