Integrating social science into conservation planning

A growing body of literature has highlighted the value of social science for conservation, yet the diverse approaches of the social sciences are still inconsistently incorporated in conservation initiatives. Building greater capacity for social science integration in conservation requires frameworks and case studies that provide concrete guidance and specific examples. To address this need, we have developed a framework aimed at expanding the role for social science in formal conservation planning processes. Our framework illustrates multiple ways in which social science research can contribute to four stages of such processes: 1) defining the problem and project team; 2) defining goals; 3) identifying impact pathways and designing interventions; and 4) developing and evaluating indicators of success (or failure). We then present a timely case study of wolf reintroduction in Colorado, U.S.A., to demonstrate the opportunities, challenges, and complexities of applying our framework in practice

Direct-drive ocean wave-powered batch reverse osmosis

Ocean waves provide a clean, reliable source of energy making them a viable energy source for desalination, especially in coastal communities and island nations. However, large capital costs render current wave-powered desalination technologies economically infeasible. This work presents a configuration for ocean-wave-energy-powered batch reverse osmosis. The proposed system uses seawater as the working fluid in a hydro-mechanical coupling and replaces the reverse osmosis high-pressure pump with a hydraulic converter for direct-drive, allowing for minimal intermediary power conversions, which leads to fewer parts necessary for operation and higher efficiencies. The concept was analyzed with MATLAB and Simulink to model the transient energy dynamics of the wave energy converter, power take-off system, and desalination load. The coupling, incorporating energy recovery, could achieve an SEC and LCOW as low as 2.30 kWh/m3 and $1.96/m3, respectively, for different sea states and a second law efficiency of 0.461. The results of the model were validated at the sub-system level against existing literature on wave energy models and previous work completed on batch reverse osmosis models. This system is the first to combine these two technologies. SEC and LCOW values were validated by comparing to known and predicted values for various types of RO systems

Osmocean

The objective of this Build & Test was to prove that the Osmocean wave-powered batch reverse osmosis (BRO) system is physically realizable. Through a comprehensive and systematic engineering process, the optimal components for the WEC-side Osmocean coupling were procured, assembled, and tested. The results indicate that a control effort developed for the main loop throttle valve successfully tracks input signals meant to simulate interaction with the BRO system to within 6% error. Future work will include developing a controller for the kidney loop throttle valve to assist in keeping the main loop flow rate constant as well as the direct coupling and synchronous testing of the WEC-side to BRO