Nature Conservation Practices Research Articles

Frontier ecologies: Israel's settler colonialism in the Jawlan-Golan

In June 2023, thousands of non-Jewish residents of the Jawlan (in Arabic) or Golan (in Hebrew) protested for several days against the construction of a new wind farm near the picturesque village of Majdal Shams (Arabic for Tower of the Sun) on the southeastern border between Syria and Israel. This event and its fallouts were arguably the culmination of 56 years of Israeli frontier making projects in the region. Drawing on in-depth interviews as well as field observations, this article traces Israel's ecological frontier. Specifically, the article chronicles five strategies of nature related frontier making deployed by the Israeli settler state in the Jawlan-Golan in the last six decades: terra nullius, animal nullius, naturalization, militarization, and renewable energy. I refer to such settler colonial investments in various modes of natural and environmental management, when these occur in contentious political regions and near borders, as “frontier ecologies.” The power of frontier ecologies lies precisely in that they seem to exist naturally—namely, beyond the realm of humans and their wars. Ultimately, the nexus of colonialism and nature conservation highlights the ways in which violence travels in between vulnerable human and nonhuman communities. Documenting the Jawlani resistance to colonialism, and to climate colonialism in particular, this article also calls for a more collaborative practices of nature conservation that would unsettle the colonial legacies of frontier ecologies.

MANAGEMENT OF THE NATURE RESERVE FUND OF UKRAINE TERRITORIES WITHOUT SPECIAL ADMINISTRATION (LANDSCAPE RESERVE (“ZAKASNYK”) OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE “KOZINSKYI” CASE STUDY)

The article is devoted to the implementation of the management of the Nature reserve fund of Ukraine (NRF) territories without a special administration. Management of such territories involves non-state management of it through the landowner or land user. This approach is new for the NRF, although it is сommon in the global nature conservation practice, in particular, it is one of the key approaches of the Natura 2000 network and the Emerald network. The actual area of ​​protected areas without special administration is almost 29% of the area of ​​the NRF, so the issue of their reasonable management is one of the key issues for the entire protected network. The approach to the management of such territories is outlined in the article by landscape reserve (“zakasnyk”) of national importance “Kozinskyi” case study. In particular, areas of priority activities have been allocated, which is essentially similar to zoning in national natural parks, but implemented within the limits of the national legislation provided specifically for “zakaznyk” (national protected area category which is equal to IUCN protected area categories IV or V). Three types of areas have been identified; (1) nature protection; (2) ecological; (3) educational and recreational. The second important feature of the approach presented in the article is the planning and implementation of protected area management measures through the public organization (“Green Wave”), which essentially plays the role of a land user. Practical management measures were outlined in the “Program of Development and Recreational Activities of the Landscape Reserve of National Importance “Kozynskyi” with a Plan for Arrangement of the Reserve Site at the Location of the Golf Course.”

Environmental NGOs and Protected Area Conservation in Australia: The Political Consequences of Aligning with Private Interests

This article examines the political consequences of environmental nongovernment organization (ENGO) involvement in protected area conservation in Australia. Rapid growth of a nongovernment protected area (NGPA) estate this century has involved a range of individuals, communities, First Nations, and ENGOs, and has been closely tied to government policy and private finance. Although NGPA conservation achievements have been profound, there has been limited examination of what expanded nongovernment involvement, responsibility, and leadership mean for the practice and governance of nature conservation. Thematic analysis of twenty-four key informant interviews and selective gray literature identifies how financing, accountability, and partisan politics are emerging as key domains in shaping an NGPA estate that reflects a closer alignment with capital and market forces. ENGOs are playing a key role in crafting new political conditions for protected area conservation, where their role in neoliberal governance is not just service delivery, but statecraft and agenda setting. ENGOs are increasingly casting protected area conservation as apolitical, and thereby a bipartisan activity, driven by a “pragmatic” agenda that seeks to secure private financing for land ownership and management obligations. Frameworks of accountability to donors shape ENGO practices and conceptions of conservation through exposure to novel market mechanisms. As a result, ENGO operation permits limited space for plural, ideological, and structural debate about protected area conservation, the public interest, and the root causes of ecological crises to which it responds. The embrace of conservation led by nongovernment actors marks a substantive shift from the formative politics of ENGOs in Australia.

Valuing the Quaternary – Nature conservation and geoheritage

This paper introduces the Special Issue of the Proceedings of the Geologists' Association on ‘Valuing the Quaternary – Nature Conservation and Geoheritage’, arising from the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) Congress in Dublin, in July 2019. It presents an overview of the values of Quaternary geoheritage, which merit recognition as an integral part of nature conservation, to protect priority sites and features for scientific research and education, and to deliver wider ecological, cultural and aesthetic benefits. The paper highlights the benefits of incorporating knowledge and understanding of Quaternary geoheritage for nature conservation and society. Palaeoenvironmental, palaeoecological and palaeobiological archives are a key source of ecological and environmental data that allow learning from the past to help address contemporary conservation challenges such as biodiversity loss, anthropogenic pressures and climate change. Quaternary science plays a vital part in supporting the wider nature conservation agenda, including strengthening the role of protected and conserved areas in the sustainable management of natural capital and ecosystem services, climate change adaptation, marine conservation, nature restoration and recovery, connecting people and nature and informing nature-based solutions to threats faced by society. However, challenges remain to achieve protection of key geoheritage sites and landscapes globally, and to integrate better understanding of geodiversity in nature conservation research, policy development and practice to help address the twin crises facing nature conservation – biodiversity loss and climate change. Quaternary studies provide temporal and spatial perspectives to inform forward-looking nature conservation that is dynamic rather than static in outlook.

Towards reliable monitoring of grass species in nature conservation: Evaluation of the potential of UAV and PlanetScope multi-temporal data in the Central European tundra

The reliability of remote sensing technology is essential for its efficient operational applications in nature conservation practices. In our study, multi-temporal, multispectral, and hyperspectral data from an Unoccupied Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with a ground sampling distance (GSD) of 3 cm were applied to a permanent research plot (1 ha), while spaceborne PlanetScope multi-temporal data with GSD of 3 m were used for a wider area of 250 ha. The main aim of the study was to evaluate the potential of these data for monitoring vegetation at the species level in the Central European relict arcto-alpine tundra (in the Krkonoše Mountains, Czech Republic). We evaluated both types of data and their performance for various classifiers, and the benefits of adding multi-temporal aspects to the classification and robustness of remote sensing for monitoring grass species. This study addresses the requirements of nature conservation practices in the Krkonoše Mts. National Park to find a suitable method for monitoring changes in dominant and expanding grass species in response to global warming. The object-based Support Vector Machine, pixel-based Random Forest and Maximum Likelihood classifiers were evaluated. We confirmed that the UAV multispectral and hyperspectral data with GSD of 3 cm can monitor dominant grass species (Nardus stricta, Calamagrostis villosa, Molinia caerulea, Deschampsia cespitosa) in tundra with excellent accuracy (95.9% and 94.0% overall accuracy for multi-temporal and mono-temporal composites, respectively). The best F1-scores for these species ranged from 94.7 to 99.4%. However, the accuracies were substantially lower for small and sparse growing species (Avenella flexuosa and Carex bigelowii). Unexpectedly, the UAV multispectral and hyperspectral data yielded comparable results. The multi-temporal approach improved the accuracy of all types of data. Overall, we confirmed the robustness of the remote sensing approach for grass monitoring at the species level given the high spatial match between various classification outputs. Our study established a workflow for reliable monitoring of tundra grass vegetation according to the requirements of nature conservation and proposed innovative measures for the spatial accuracy assessment of classification outputs.

Contribution and challenges of mangrove conservation to community’s well-being in eastern Tanzania

Abstract. Ngowi NJ, Zakayo G. 2023. Contribution and challenges of mangrove conservation to community’s well-being in eastern Tanzania. Intl J Bonorowo Wetlands 13: 15-21. Several mangrove conservation programs have been implemented in Tanzania to reverse degradation of mangrove ecosystem in the country. However, after their introduction in 1990s, many small-scale farmers relying on the mangrove ecosystems lost their livelihoods. To ensure that the people’s well-being and ecological integrity of the mangrove ecosystem are sustained, this study investigated the impact of nature conservation practices on financial sustainability, food security of local communities as well as ecological integrity of the mangrove ecosystem. The study employed a mixed-method approach where a survey was used to collect quantitative data from 90 household respondents selected randomly for a questionnaire survey. This was supplemented by data collected through personal observations and interviews administered to 30 local people (mainly key informants and focus group discussion). Quantitative data were analyzed through crosstab IBM SPSS version 20. Qualitative data were analyzed using content method. The results indicated that the conservation practices introduced brought a significant difference in financial stability (p<0.05) by increasing incomes of the implementing households to US $80.29 compared to US $69.20 for the non-implementing households. However, 83% of the implementing households still faced food insecurity by having meals only twice daily, although it was slightly higher compared to 80% for the non-implementing households. The 85% of the implementing and 65% of non-implementing households perceived that the conservation practices had improved the ecological integrity of the mangrove ecosystem by increasing the vegetation cover. The results of this study suggest that conservation practices in the mangrove ecosystem have increased financial sustainability and ecological integrity but failed to enhance food security. This study recommends the integration of rights of local communities on usage of land for paddy and fish farming to achieve sustainable economic growth in the estuary.

Some observations and reflections on geodiversity, the oft-forgotten half of nature

Abstract Geodiversity first emerged nearly 30 years ago in the wake of the Convention on Biological Diversity, when geoscientists realized that they too study diverse natural phenomena that are also often threatened with loss or degradation resulting from human activities. Since then, geodiversity has emerged as an important geoscientific paradigm with a central position in the relationships between the geoscientific ‘Gs’ (Geoheritage, Geoconservation, Geoparks, etc). It has spawned much discussion on how geodiversity can be classified and measured; it is often used as the basis for selecting geoheritage sites for geoconservation, including the development of the World Heritage List; it is often used by geoparks to publicize their range of geofeatures; and it is the basis for many ‘geosystem services’ essential to our modern societies. But despite its importance, it is poorly understood and poorly integrated into nature conservation policy and practice. The result is that the value of the whole of nature is underestimated, and the policy and practice for the management of nature lack integration.

Uniting Ecocentric and Animal Ethics: Combining Non-Anthropocentric Approaches in Conservation and the Care of Domestic Animals

ABSTRACT Currently, there is no non-anthropocentric guide to the practice of nature conservation and the treatment of invasive species and domestic animals. In examining the so-called ‘ecocentric’ and ‘animal’ ethics, we highlight some differences between them, and argue that the basic aspiration for support of all nonhuman life needs to be retained. We maintain that hierarchies of value need to be flexible, establishing basic principles and then weighing up the options in the context of anthropocentrism, industrial development and human population growth. Acknowledging the role of these conditions creates space for combining individual-based and collective-based ethics in practice.

Professionalisation and the spectacle of nature: Understanding changes in the visual imaginaries of private protected area organisations in Australia

Imaginaries of protected areas as state-based fortresses have been challenged by expansion of the global nature conservation estate on non-government lands, notably in contexts such as Australia where neoliberal reform has been strong. Little is known about the implications of this change for the meanings, purposes and practices of nature conservation. Images are central to public understandings of nature conservation. We thus investigate the visual communication of environmental non-government organisations (ENGOs) involved in private protected areas in Australia, with particular focus on Bush Heritage Australia (BHA). We employ a three-part design encompassing quantitative and qualitative methods to study the visual imaginaries underlying nature conservation in BHA's magazines and the web homepages of it and four other ENGOs over 2004–2020. We find that visual imaginaries changed across time, as ENGOs went through an organisational process of professionalisation comprising three dynamics: legitimising, marketising, and differentiating. An imaginary of dedicated Western volunteer groups protecting scenic wilderness was replaced by the spectacle of uplifting and intimate individual encounters with native nature. Amenable to working within rather than transforming dominant political-economic structures, the new imaginary empowers professional ENGOs and their partners as primary carers of nature. It advertises a mediated access to spectacular nature that promises positive emotions and redemption for environmental wrongs to financial supporters of ENGOs. These findings reveal the role of non-government actors under neoliberal conditions in the use of visual representations to shift the meanings, purposes and practices of nature conservation.

Corridor Talk: Conservation Humanities and the Future of Europe’s National Parks

Corridor Talk: Conservation Humanities and the Future of Europe’s National Parks is a DFG-AHRC funded project at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society at LMU Munich (Germany), and the University of Leeds (UK). The project focuses on three European transboundary national park areas: the Pyrenees, the Bavarian Forest and Šumava, and the Wadden Sea Biosphere Reserve. It uses comparative literature, visual ethnography and environmental history methodologies to connect insights into human culture, values, history, and behaviour that are central to humanities and social sciences research to nature conservation science and practice. It aims to foster a conservation that is more culturally aware, more aware of human behaviour and values, and more aware of the ethical complexities of its work by applying the “corridor talk” metaphor in three ways: to address and support the material ecological corridors that link protected sites; to address and support the symbolic corridors that connect governance and cultural perspectives on protected sites; and to bring humanities research into discussions on nature conservation.

Balancing nature and landscape conservation practices of Leukon Community in Simeulue Island

This study described the Leukon Community's daily interactions with the natural environment to preserve nature's balance and landscape conservation in social spaces conducive to sustainable growth. The natural environment's behavior features can be studied through the interaction of interacting areas such as fields, flora, and the sea that are habitable for the Leukon Community. Natural resources and the environment play a critical role in the Leukon Community's survival system due to the community's availability and ability to utilize raw materials. This research applies a qualitative strategy, an investigative procedure used to comprehend social or human problems based on a holistic description. The ethnographic technique is employed as a paradigm, with in-depth interviews and participant observation. The results indicate that the Leukon Community practices environmental stewardship by avoiding mechanization and chemical use in farming, capturing fish with environmental friendly technology, and relying on woody tree vegetation for basic requirements. As a result, the delicate balance between nature and environmental preservation is preserved. Avoiding soil and water damage promotes landscape conservation, resulting in a more natural and beautiful landscape. This is because the Leukon Community manages the area sustainably by utilizing natural resources in accordance with local wisdom values and belief systems.

From activism to “not-quite-government”: the role of government and non-government actors in the expansion of the Australian protected area estate since 1990

What can we learn from the prodigious expansion of the non-government protected areas that now comprise 12% of terrestrial Australia? An increasingly professional, formal, and diverse non-government sector has developed since 1990, comprising private individuals, non-government organizations, and First Nations and having close ties to governments. We investigate the drivers, dynamics, and diversity of this sector through thematic analysis of 24 key informant interviews and associated gray literature. Changing environmental movements, science-led conservation, partial recognition of First Nations land rights, international agreements, and neoliberal reforms combined to formalize the sector during the 1990s. A bipartisan policy framework for incorporating non-government lands in the national conservation estate, diverse partnerships, transnational networks, and innovation in public and private funding helped grow the sector. The confluence of interests that has transformed the politics and practice of nature conservation in Australia is likely to inform those engaged with similar changes elsewhere.

Tortoise panopticon: Linkages between taboos and conservation management in Madagascar

Species-specific taboos are relevant to nature conservation, yet the relation of conservation with such social mechanisms and connected traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is underexposed in both conservation science and nature conservation practices. This paper researches taboos of the Mahafaly and Antandroy tribes in South and Southwest Madagascar in relation to the critically endangered radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata). We develop the idea that the collection of taboos denotes a ‘panoptic’ self-surveilling system, which we call a ‘tortoise panopticon’. Theoretically, using performativity as a lens, we analyse the dynamic relation between practice and meaning in species-specific taboo systems, in the context of conservation management. Empirically, we define tortoise conservation potential and threats in the current state of the site-specific tortoise panopticon and the internal and external factors that shape it. This is particularly important in light of identifying favourable site locations for potential tortoise release. Based on (semi-)structured interviews with 282 Mahafaly and Antandroy respondents from 12 communes across 9 sites, we identify influential factors and components of the tortoise panopticon to measure its strength in each region and determine the extent to which favourable social situations for radiated tortoise conservation exists. Developing a connection between panopticon theory and practice theory, this paper presents a novel model that aides the assessment of the dynamics of species-specific taboo systems.

ОБЗОР ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ВСЕРОССИЙСКОГО ОБЩЕСТВА ОХРАНЫ ПРИРОДЫ В 1934–1941 гг.

Based on archival documents, the article reviews the activities of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation in the 1930s. The focus on this chronological period is due to its uneven reflection in the scientific discourse, as well as the completeness and relevance of the sources for studying the pre-war stage of the history of nature conservation in the RSFSR. This stage of the formation of nature conservation is important for a complex understanding of the phenomenon of the environmental movement in the Soviet Union, its achievements and problems that must be taken into account in the process of current and future state-public dialogue on environmental problems. The research methodology is based on classical methods of historical knowledge. It is noted that the Society activity was built in 4 main directions: scientific (including scientific popularization), consultative, environmental protection, international. It managed to carry out a colossal amount of work: new reserves were organized, legislative restrictions in the field of rational management were developed and introduced into practice, consultations were given to state bodies and departments on environmental management issues, mass enlightenment events were held. The Society members took part in the activities of international organizations for the protection of nature, carried out scientific and cultural interaction with foreign scientists, created and supported a positive image of the USSR. However, the Society’s vigorous activities caused discontentment on the part of the economic departments that exploited natural resources. The Society’s plan to get all-Union status was not supported by the government, which was not interested in raising its authority and institutional organization. Nevertheless, the Society in the pre-war decade succeeded in restoring nature conservation in the country and made a significant contribution to the Soviet practice of nature conservation.

NaturaSat—A Software Tool for Identification, Monitoring and Evaluation of Habitats by Remote Sensing Techniques

The NaturaSat software integrates various image processing techniques together with vegetation data, into one multipurpose tool that is designed for performing facilities for all requirements of habitat exploration, all in one place. It provides direct access to multispectral Sentinel-2 data provided by the European Space Agency. It supports using these data with various vegetation databases, in a user-friendly environment, for, e.g., vegetation scientists, fieldwork experts, and nature conservationists. The presented study introduces the NaturaSat software, describes new powerful tools, such as the semi-automatic and automatic segmentation methods, and natural numerical networks, together with validated examples comparing field surveys and software outputs. The software is robust enough for field work researchers and stakeholders to accurately extract target units’ borders, even on the habitat level. The deep learning algorithm, developed for habitat classification within the NaturaSat software, can also be used in various research tasks or in nature conservation practices, such as identifying ecosystem services and conservation value. The exact maps of the habitats obtained within the project can improve many further vegetation and landscape ecology studies.

Using Paleoecological Data to Inform the Conservation Strategy for Floristic Diversity and Isoetes taiwanensis in Northern Taiwan

Paleoecological data can be used to inform nature conservation practice. Dream Lake (DL) is the best-preserved peat bog in the Tatun Volcanic Group of northern Taiwan. We analyzed continuous pollen and charcoal data from a well-dated sediment core from DL to reconstruct the changes in climate, lacustrine condition, and floristic diversity during the last 4500 cal BP. An absence of volcanic ash from all sediments indicates weak volcanic activity. Significant changes in lithology and pollen composition show that DL changed from a deep lake to a shallow peat bog from 3000 cal BP onwards. The palynological diversity index was negatively correlated with fire frequency. A substantial decline in Isoetes (quillwort) spores suggests increased vulnerability during the peat bog period. Natural terrestrialization will lower the mean water depth of DL below the minimum required for Isoetes taiwanensis survival within 300 years. Our findings indicate that winter precipitation driven by intense East Asian winter monsoons is the critical force determining the long-term variation in floristic diversity and abundance of I. taiwanensis. This long-term ecological history of DL, derived using paleoecological techniques, will be used to inform conservation practice in the Tatun Volcanic Group.

Planning practical evidence-based decision making in conservation within time constraints: the Strategic Evidence Assessment Framework

It is widely accepted that nature conservation practice benefits from incorporating scientific evidence into decision-making. However, even when the evidence is already collated, the task of applying evidence to all of the decisions undertaken by conservation professionals can seem overwhelming. The apparent magnitude of this task may deter individuals and organisations from applying evidence-based conservation. Our aim here is to create a framework to enable organisations to create a strategy for scientific evidence use appropriate for the range of decisions required and the time allocated. We illustrate this framework by showing how two conservation organisations used this approach to plan their evidence-based decision making.

Brokering science, blaming culture: The US-South Korea ecological survey in the Demilitarized Zone, 1963-8.

This paper examines the planning, execution, and closure of the US-Korea Cooperative Ecological Survey project in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the 1960s. In this period, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) initiated bilateral scientific cooperation between the NAS and similar organizations in developing countries along the line of the developmental turn of U.S. foreign assistance. Working closely with the NAS, U.S. conservationists used this scheme to introduce nature conservation practices and the discipline of ecosystem ecology to developing countries. In this context, by way of the NAS's Pacific Science Board, two countries' biologists initiated the preliminary cooperative project in the DMZ in 1966. Korean and U.S. scientists soon began to realize that their collaboration was marked by dissonance. The U.S. side attributed the cooperation failure to Korean culture while the Korean side criticized the unequal structure of their cooperation. Joining the global historiography of Cold War scientific collaboration, this paper pays particular attention to the intermediaries of the collaborative project and their rivalry. It argues that political struggles revolving around the position of go-betweens - as what I call knowledge brokers - on the recipient side provoked contestation between American and Korean scientists. The contention between the two sides played out in the collaboration coming to an end, albeit partially. Throughout this analysis, this study suggests paying more serious attention to the politics of scientific exchange among actors on the recipient side as an outset from which to analyze the heterogeneity of the Korean side without losing sight of their active role in the building process of American hegemony.

Regionalizing Tourism through Transfrontier Conservation: Implications for Local Development in Southern Africa

Abstract The term ‘region’ no longer functions to denote a strictly geographical or spatial reference (Söderbaum, 2003). Owing to the radical shift in the conception of regions, their role in promoting local development has likewise changed drastically over time. Nowadays regions are conceived as multi-dimensional networks that emerge through partnerships between states and non-state actors, linking together local and foreign individuals and companies, powerful and powerless individuals and their communities. Rather than existing as bounded spatial expanses per se, regions in this expanded sense are fluid, continually constructed and deconstructed by the practices of these different partners and therefore their parameters are in perpetual flux. This paper explores how the practices of nature conservation and the promotion of nature-based tourism have contributed to the creation of new regions in this sense. The paper applies the case of Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and their constructions as cross-border regions of significance for promoting tourism. The paper draws some insights from studies that have examined transfrontier tourism to demonstrate how different actors have acquired political support and legitimacy for promoting cross-border tourism but that on-the-ground experiences have not matched the claims that tourism promotes local development. The main argument of the paper is that regional-wide conservation initiatives through which cross-border tourism is promoted by different partners have had spatial implications that are largely associated with various kinds of local livelihood (in) securities.

Exceptional hydrological stability of a Sphagnum-dominated peatland over the late Holocene

Lowering of the water table and substantial drying are observed in peatlands worldwide. A significant drying of European peatlands in the last 200–300 years influenced the vegetation, lowered carbon storage potential in peatlands, and modified microbial diversity. Here, we reconstructed in high resolution hydrological changes, local and extra-local vegetation composition, and fire activity based on a peat core from a Sphagnum-dominated peatland located in a young glacial landscape in Central Eastern Europe, NE Poland. The last ca. 1500 years of history of the Jaczno bog has been supported by a dense accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon (14C) dating resolution: 20 dates per 400 cm of the peat profile. We also investigated changes in the functional and morphological traits of testate amoebae as well as the functional diversity of testate amoeba communities over time. Our reconstruction showed a rare case of hydrological stability in the peatland over the late Holocene, and no dry shifts were recorded during the study period. Relatively stable hydrological conditions and undisturbed Sphagnum growth enabled the bog to maintain notably high peat accumulation rates. Although increasing human impact has been recorded in the last ca. 400 years, we did not reconstruct strong disturbances (e.g., vast deforestations, intensive grazing or farming, fires) influencing the site. Compared with other hydrological records from Europe, the Jaczno bog was one of the few bogs in Central and Eastern Europe that did not experience drying during the Little Ice Age. Moreover, the traits and functional diversity of testate amoebae did not show any critical turnover. In the last 70 years, human impact on the site decreased, and the area became afforested. Unlike most of the European peatlands, the Jaczno bog possesses high water tables up to the present time. Therefore, our data suggest that nature conservation practices, which target high water tables, are essential to maintain peatlands as a sink and not as a source of carbon in the future.