Fire as an Economic Disincentive to Smallholder Rubber Planting in Imperata Areas

This paper reports on research conducted in the Imperata project at CRES. Land infested with Imperata cylindrica has traditionally been regarded as being of low productivity. Recent research has shown tree growing to be an option for the Imperata areas of Southeast Asia. In this context, fire is seen as a major constraint. Rubber is one tree that is successfully grown in Imperata areas by many smallholders. In this paper, the physical impacts and private economic costs of fire associated with rubber planting are examined. Also, an aspect of the social costs of fire control are examined - in particular, the costs associated with the risk of fire spreading from one farm to another. These social benefits are not usually factored into private decisions regarding fire control, and thus may result in fire control, and tree plantings, being below the desirable level. A simple conceptual model of fire in Imperata areas is presented. This `fire model' is then incorporated within an existing bioeconomic model of a smallholder rubber agroforestry system involving Imperata. In the latter model, rice is initially the understorey to rubber followed after two years, by Imperata. The geographical focus of the study is South Sumatra, Indonesia. Much of the empirical data which was used to calibrate the model is from the Palembang region

Fire as an Economic Disincentive to Smallholder Rubber Planting in Imperata Areas.

This paper reports on research conducted in the Imperata project at CRES. Land infested with Imperata cylindrica has traditionally been regarded as being of low productivity. Recent research has shown tree growing to be an option for the Imperata areas of Southeast Asia. In this context, fire is seen as a major constraint. Rubber is one tree that is successfully grown in Imperata areas by many smallholders. In this paper, the physical impacts and private economic costs of fire associated with rubber planting are examined. Also, an aspect of the social costs of fire control are examined - in particular, the costs associated with the risk of fire spreading from one farm to another. These social benefits are not usually factored into private decisions regarding fire control, and thus may result in fire control, and tree plantings, being below the desirable level. A simple conceptual model of fire in Imperata areas is presented. This `fire model' is then incorporated within an existing bioeconomic model of a smallholder rubber agroforestry system involving Imperata. In the latter model, rice is initially the understorey to rubber followed after two years, by Imperata. The geographical focus of the study is South Sumatra, Indonesia. Much of the empirical data which was used to calibrate the model is from the Palembang region.

The business of noncitizenship

Private actors play an increasing role in mediating the relationship between States and noncitizens and even in creating or perpetuating exclusions associated with noncitizenship. This paper offers a way to analyse the forms of engagement of the for-profit private sector in migration control and asks what it means for how noncitizenship is constructed. It presents the private sector as acting like a buffer, altering whether and how individuals may engage with a State constructing what noncitizenship means within a State’s territory, and removing so-constructed individuals from a relationship with that State. It shows how this may occur directly or indirectly, explicitly or implicitly. The paper addresses two main concerns: the impact on the State-noncitizen relationship and whether there are some areas of the relationship between the State and the noncitizen that should not be so-delegated. It argues that privatised migration control raises problems for standard justifications of migration control and noncitizenship construction

Citizen scientists track a charismatic carnivore: Mapping the spread and impact of the South African Mantis (Miomantidae, Miomantis caffra) in Australia

The recent integration of citizen science with modern technology has greatly increased its applications and has allowed more people than ever to contribute to research across all areas of science. In particular, citizen science has been instrumental in the detection and monitoring of novel introduced species across the globe. This study provides the first records of Miomantis caffra Saussure, 1871, the South African Mantis, from the Australian mainland and uses records from four different citizen science and social media platforms in conjunction with museum records to track the spread of the species through the country. A total of 153 wild mantises and oothecae were observed across four states and territories (New South Wales, Norfolk Island, Victoria, and Western Australia) between 2009 and 2021. The large number of observations of the species in Victoria and the more recent isolated observations in other states and territories suggest that the species initially arrived in Geelong via oothecae attached to plants or equipment, likely from the invasive population in New Zealand. From there it established and spread outwards to Melbourne and eventually to other states and territories, both naturally and with the aid of human transport. We also provide a comparison of M. caffra to similar native mantises, specifically Pseudomantis albofimbriata (Stål, 1860), and comment on the potential impact and further spread of the species within Australia. Finally, we reiterate the many benefits of engaging directly with citizen scientists in biodiversity research and comment on the decision to include them in all levels of this research investigation

Citizen scientists track a charismatic carnivore: Mapping the spread and impact of the South African Mantis (Miomantidae, Miomantis caffra) in Australia

The recent integration of citizen science with modern technology has greatly increased its applications and has allowed more people than ever to contribute to research across all areas of science. In particular, citizen science has been instrumental in the detection and monitoring of novel introduced species across the globe. This study provides the first records of Miomantis caffra Saussure, 1871, the South African Mantis, from the Australian mainland and uses records from four different citizen science and social media platforms in conjunction with museum records to track the spread of the species through the country. A total of 153 wild mantises and oothecae were observed across four states and territories (New South Wales, Norfolk Island, Victoria, and Western Australia) between 2009 and 2021. The large number of observations of the species in Victoria and the more recent isolated observations in other states and territories suggest that the species initially arrived in Geelong via oothecae attached to plants or equipment, likely from the invasive population in New Zealand. From there it established and spread outwards to Melbourne and eventually to other states and territories, both naturally and with the aid of human transport. We also provide a comparison of M. caffra to similar native mantises, specifically Pseudomantis albofimbriata (Stål, 1860), and comment on the potential impact and further spread of the species within Australia. Finally, we reiterate the many benefits of engaging directly with citizen scientists in biodiversity research and comment on the decision to include them in all levels of this research investigation