Making Forest Values Work: Enhancing Multi-Dimensional Perspectives towards Sustainable Forest Management

Background and Purpose: Sustainability, sustainable development and sustainable forest management are terms that are commonly, and interchangeably used in the forest industry, however their meaning take on different connotations, relative to varying subject matter. The aim of this paper is to look at these terms in a more comprehensive way, relative to the current ideology of sustainability in forestry.Materials and Methods: This paper applies a literature review of the concepts of: i) sustainable development; ii) sustainable forest management; and iii) economic and non-economic valuation. The concepts are viewed through a historical dimension of shifting paradigms, originating from production- to service-based forestry. Values are discussed through a review of general value theory and spatial, cultural and temporal differences in valuation. Along the evolution of these concepts, we discuss their applicability as frameworks to develop operational guidelines for forest management, relative to the multi-functionality of forests.results and conclusions: Potential discrepancies between the conceptual origins of sustainable development and sustainable forest management are highlighted, relative to how they have been interpreted and diffused as new perceptions on forest value for the human society. We infer the current paradigm may not reflect the various dimensions adequately as its implementation is likely to be more related to the distribution of power between stakeholders, rather than the value stakeholders’ place on the various forest attributes

Going the Way of the Dodo: De-Extinction, Dualisms, and Reframing Conservation

De-extinction, a suite of selective breeding or biotechnological processes for reviving and releasing into the environment members or facsimiles of an extinct species, has been the subject of a recent surge of analysis in popular, scientific, and legal literature. Yet de-extinction raises more fundamental questions about the relationship between humans and nature and about the more and less useful ways that the law serves to navigate that relationship. Unfortunately, the endangered species, invasive species, and public land management laws likely to govern the revival and introduction of de-extinct species largely remain premised on an understanding of nature as static and easily divisible from human activity. In these contexts, the law habitually privileges and even actively promotes what it identifies as natural and native over the unnatural and exotic. Through the example of de-extinction, this article illustrates the limitations of the law’s reliance on these crude dualisms. Currently, de-extinct species will often be obstructed as non-native and introduced (even if they might promote ecological function in a particular area) and may be allowed or promoted in locations they used to exist (even if likely to cause ecological damage). De-extinction illustrates how policymakers need to reformulate natural resources law to be less dependent on these strict dualities. Instead, the article argues in favor of cautious risk assessment that acknowledges the dynamism of nature and humanity’s indivisibility from it

Uloga i značaj centara za genetsko unapređenje u očuvanju i održivom korišćenju ribljeg fonda salmonida

Cilj ovog rada je da ukaže na potrebu znatno većeg učešća naučno zasnovanih principa u procesu poribljavanja salmonidnih ribolovnih voda na području Srbije. Rad ukazuje na potrebu za izgradnjom i unapređenjem objekata za uzgoj riblje mlađi u kojima će se ona proizvoditi u adekvatnim uslovima, odgovarajućim biotehnološkim procesima i bez genetičke kontaminacije. Rezultati rada dobijeni su na osnovu proučavanja podataka o poribljavanju ribolovnih voda koji su prikazani u Programima upravljanja ribarskim područjima na teritoriji Srbije. Kao primer uzeta su područja u zaštićenim oblastima kao što su: Nacionalni park “Kopaonik”, Park prirode “Stara planina” i Predeo izuzetnih odlika “Vlasina”. Dosadašnja praksa poribljavanja voda u Srbiji neadekvatnom ribljom mlađi doprinela je narušavanju prirodne ravnoteže i potiskivanju autohtonih vrsta riba što se odrazilo na potencijal ribolovnih voda, kako u biološkom tako i ekonomskom smislu. Do poboljšanja bi moglo da dođe ukoliko bi se u Srbiji proizvodila kvalitetna riblja mlađ u dovoljnim količinama u centrima za reprodukciju (reprocentrima). Reprocentri za razliku od postojećih ribnjačkih mrestilišta obezbeđuju riblju mlađ koja je adekvatna za ekosisteme koji se poribljavaju. Osnovne razlike između reprocentara i ribnjaka jesu što reprocentri uzgajaju ribu sa proverenim genetskim poreklom i što na odgovarajući način pripremaju riblju mlađ za život u prirodi

The Benefits to People of Expanding Marine Protected Areas

This study focuses on how the economic value of marine ecosystem services to people and communities is expected to change with the expansion of marine protected areas (MPAs). It is recognised, however, that instrumental economic value derived from ecosystem services is only one component of the overall value of the marine environment and that the intrinsic value of nature also provides an argument for the conservation of the marine habitats and biodiversity

Effects of Rate of Drying, Life History Phase, and Ecotype on the Ability of the Moss Bryum Argenteum to Survive Desiccation Events and the Influence on Conservation and Selection of Material for Restoration

Desiccation stress is frequently experienced by the moss Bryum argenteum and can influence survival, propagation and niche selection. We attempted to disentangle the interacting factors of life history phase (five categories) and rate of desiccation (time allotted for induction of desiccation tolerance) for 13 ecotypes of B. argenteum. Using chlorophyll fluorescence as a stress index, we determined how these parameters influenced desiccation tolerance. Rate of drying and life phase significantly affected desiccation tolerance. The reaction norms of desiccation tolerance displayed by the 13 ecotypes showed a substantial degree of variation in phenotypic plasticity. We observed differences in survival and fluorescence between rapid and slow drying events in juveniles. These same drying applications did not produce as large of a response for adult shoots (which consistently displayed high values). Some juvenile and protonemal ecotypes, such as those from the southwest United States, possessed higher innate tolerance to rapid drying, and greater resilience compared to ecotypes sourced from mesic localities in the United States. These results show a complex nuanced response to desiccation with ecotypes displaying a range of responses to desiccation reflecting both inherently different capacities for tolerating desiccation as well as variation in capacity for phenotypic plasticity. Our results suggest that we should expect few short-term effects of climate change due to high desiccation tolerance of adult shoots, but significant adverse long-term effects on colony establishment due to low tolerance of protonema and juvenile shoots. Further, we would recommend that future studies using mosses for habitat restoration of aridlands consider the desiccation tolerance capacity of individual ecotypes used for cultivation and later re-introduction. Understanding how mosses respond to desiccation is essential to interpret ecological roles, habitat preferences, selective pressures, and responses to climate change, and to estimate the potential effects of climate changes on bryophyte species and populations

The \u27Ascent of Man\u27: Legal Systems and the Discovery of an Environmental Ethic

A decade ago, firefighters in a warehouse on the Rhine in Switzerland washed chemicals, solvents, and mercury into the river, destroying all life in the river for miles, killing millions of fish, and endangering the water supplies of cities in Germany and the Netherlands. This tragedy galvanized the river valley states into action. They vowed to clean up the river, not just from that incident but from the effects of having used the river as a sewer for two centuries. But how clean is clean? The goal for this calculated plan, which will take decades to achieve, is symbolized by the salmon. When salmon spawn again in the Rhine, then it will have been restored. Will these nations succeed? If the twenty five year history of our Clean Water Act offers a precedent, “restoring and maintaining” the waters of the United States for fish and swimming, the prognosis may be good