International Groups, Global Organizations, World Regions
(ECP and CTSP members, sites of interest for mapping/GIS, scholarly
papers and ESRI Conference Proceedings, and sites with public conservation
and GIS data for downloading)
Scholarly papers and ESRI Conference Proceedings
(Legend: ESRI User Conference Papers list the title, then in parentheses
"paper" or "abstract" plus the year. Other web-located
papers list title, author if known, and excerpt.)
Cumulative Effect
Assessment On Alberta's Southern Eastern Slopes (by Michael Sawyer,
Project Manager & Landscape Ecologist, Hayduke and Associates Ltd. Calgary
Alberta. Role: Project Management; Watershed Assessment; Grizzly bear,
wolves and elk cumulative effects assessment. Dave Mayhood, Aquatic Ecologist,
Freshwater Research Ltd. Calgary, Alberta. Role: Watershed Assessment
& Fish Dr. Paul Paquet, Wildlife Biologist, John Paul & Associates. Meecham,
Sask. Role: Grizzly bear, wolves and elk cumulative effects assessment.
Cliff Wallis, Botanist, Cottonwood Consultants Ltd. Calgary, Alberta.
Role: Rare plant assessment. Dr. Richard Thomas, Ornithologist, Edmonton,
Alberta. Role: Cumulative effects on birds & forest fragmentation. Bill
Haskins, Ecologist, The Ecology Center Inc. Missoula, Mt. Role: GIS analysis.)
"This Project is intended as a geographic information system (GIS)
based reconnaissance level cumulative effect assessment with the intent
of providing results of immediate management utility, quickly and cheaply.
It quantitatively documents and analyses land-use in a 4500 km² study
area on Alberta's Southern Eastern Slopes region. The analysis is intended
to be applicable to management of extractive resources, recreation, and
off-road vehicle use. It is also intended to contribute in a positive
and constructive manner to debate about future directions in public policy
and land-use management on Alberta's Southern East Slopes."
British Columbia's Level
1 Interior Watershed Assessment Procedure as a Tool for Monitoring Potential
Impacts of Development on Aquatic Ecosystems in Canada's Rocky Mountains.
(by David W. Mayhood[1], Michael D. Sawyer[2] and William Haskins[3].
Paper presented to the Science and Management of Protected Areas Association
(SAMPA III) Conference, Calgary, AB, 12-16 May 1997. Accepted for publication
in the Proceedings. Contact; Mike Sawyer, Rocky Mountain Ecosystem Coalition,
921, 610 - 8th Avenue SW, Calgary AB Canada T2P 1G5 ph: (403)266-2468,
fax: (403) 265-2467, email: sawyer@rmec.org ) "The British Columbia
Forest Service and BC Environment recently developed standard procedures
for assessing the type and extent of water-related problems induced by
forestry operations in watersheds. We applied the Level 1 Interior Watershed
Assessment Procedure to existing digital geographic data as a quick method
to screen 90 watersheds (fourth order or higher) for potential damage
to watercourses from industrial and urban development in the southern
east slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. Presently 28 of these watersheds
show very high potential for increased peak flows and surface erosion
from these activities; another 59 show moderate potential for such damage.
Only 3 of the watersheds are undeveloped and show low potential for damage.
We illustrate how the procedure can be used to evaluate some potential
effects of development proposals, and suggest certain changes and additions
to make the procedure more widely applicable to assessing potential impacts
from a variety of land uses."
A
Participatory GIS for Community Forestry User Groups in Nepal: Putting
People Before the Technology (Mountain Forum: Gavin Jordan Department
of Agriculture & Forestry Newton Rigg College, University of Central Lancashire
Penrith, Carlisle, CA11 1OH gjordan@newtonrigg.ac.uk Bhuban Shrestha People
and Resource Dynamics Project International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development, Kathmandu, Nepal ) "There is an increasing interest
in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in a participatory
context, with this development either causing alarm or being seen as providing
a potentially valuable tool. The key reasons behind this have already
been given in issue 33 of PLA notes (Abbot et al., 1998). This article
explores some of the benefits and concerns of using GIS as a participatory
tool, using a case study to provide real-life context. It is mainly concerned
with key issues that have been identified during the work."
AERIAL
PHOTOGRAPHS AND 'PHOTO-MAPS' FOR COMMUNITY FORESTRY (Mountain Forum:
Richard Mather, Martin de Boer, Meena Gurung and Nick Roche ) "The
main purpose of the work reported is the field-evaluation of large-scale
aerial photographs (1:1,250 and 1:2,500 scale) as non-literate aids for
supporting participatory work by Forest User Groups (FUGs) and for participatory
mapping of community forests in Nepal. Aerial photographs used in conjunction
with a Geographical Information System (GIS) were also tested as a possible
alternative to current chain-and-compass practices for surveying community
forests."
Application
of Geographical Information Systems-GIS in Characterization and Plan Management
for the Nature Reserves of the Civil Society in Colombia (1997 ESRI
paper: Olga Cardenas Fundacion Herencia Verde Cali Valle Columbia
Organ Calle 4 Oeste #3A-32 El Panon, COLOMBIA Telephone: 57-92-8808484
Fax: 57-92-881-3257 email: fhv@cali.cetcol.net.co) .Defining Issue: There
exists the necessity to consolidate the efforts of conservation and sustainable
use of natural resources in different regions of the country through the
potentialization of social and environmental services offered by the nature
reserves. For this purpose it is essential to know the biotic and physical
aspects as well as the social strengths and weaknesses that are involved
in order to make decisions at the local, regional, and national level.
GIS Solution: On the basis of the data obtained by GIS analysis, we pretend
to know the existing ecosystems in order to arrange a management plan
that involves not only the owners of the reserves but also the neighbors,
the state, and the civil society as responsible for the sustainable management
and peace factors.
ArcInfo for the Integrated
Evaluation of Ecosystem Components and Resources within the Bikin River
Watershed (1995 ESRI Conf. Abstract, Sergei M. Krasnopeyev, Vladimir
N. Bocharnikov, Anatoly V. Vertel) The Bikin is the only large scale watershed,
which is included in a list of UN World Heritage sites, that has not undergone
extensive anthropogenic impact. The Middle and Upper Bikin are also part
of the traditional homelands of three indigenous peoples: Udege, Nanai
and Oroch.
Biodiversity
Conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean Using Appropriate Spatial
Information Technologies. (1997 ESRI paper: Andrea Cristofani
The Nature Conservancy 1815 N Lynn St Arlington, VA 22209 Telephone: 703-841-4214
Fax: 703-841-2722 email: acristofani@tnc.org) .Defining Issue: Development
of spatial information technologies in international nonprofit conservation
organizations can be hindered by the limited resources and technical expertise.
For useful results directly applicable to our conservation priorities
we must develop ways in which we can unite forces to access appropriate
levels of technology.
ECONOMICS
OF EIS (By Mr. Svein Tveitdal, Director GRID-Arendal, Longum Park,
P.O. Box 1602 MYRENE, N-4801, Arendal, Norway. TEL: +47-370-35500 FAX:
+47-370-35050 email tveitdal@grida.no) "..GIS/EIS is expected to
play a key role in the development of resource management and environmental
protection in developing countries in the 1990s....If GIS is introduced
solely as a production tool, in most cases benefit/cost ratios of about
1:1 have been found....Higher beneficial effects (b/c 2:1) have been achieved
where GIS has been also used for internal planning and administration."
An Ecoregional
Conservation Strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean. (1997
ESRI paper: Roger Sayre The Nature Conservancy 1815 N Lynn St Arlington,
VA 22209 Telephone: 703-841-4211 Fax: 703-841-2722 email: rsayre@tnc.org)
Two recent biodiversity priority setting initiatives undertaken by The
World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) have emphasized the delineation of ecoregions for Latin America
and the Caribbean (LAC), and an assignment of biodiversity importance
values to these ecoregions. A total of 191 terrestrial ecoregions resulted
from these two parallel initiatives. The World Bank and USAID are now
using these ecoregion priority assessments to help determine project placements
and conservation allocations. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has formulated
a strategy for biodiversity conservation in LAC, which reorganizes these
ecoregions into a set of 41 ecoregional conservation units. This simplification
of the ecoregional classification hierarchy permits the design of portfolios
of sites that collectively capture the representative habitat diversity
throughout the region. A network of 61 protected areas in LAC (the Parks-in-Peril
program, a joint TNC/USAID initiative) is assessed for its contribution
to the protection of these ecoregional conservation units. A bias toward
protection of tropical moist broadleaf forests is documented; other environments
(xeric, subtropical coniferous) are found to be substantially under represented.
Ecotourism: Direct
Road to Ruin by Dr. Olin B. Rhodes, Jr., Assistant Professor of wildlife
ecology at Purdue University. Russian Conservation News Service Issue
#17). "I write these words having just spent four days within Denezhkin
Kamen, a Zapovednik located deep in the Ural mountains. I am fortunate
to have experienced this adventure and to have worked with the Zapovednik
staff over the past two years from my position as an Assistant Professor
of wildlife ecology at Purdue University. Our work together has focused
on the scientific aspects of the Zapovednik system, encompassing both
nature protection and long-term ecological monitoring. The goal of our
collaboration and that of the symposium we have just held with a subset
of the Ural mountains Zapovedniks is to use modern technologies, such
as GIS, to enhance the abilities of the preserve personnel to collaborate
with one another, as well as with western scientists. We recognize that
there are many challenges ahead for the Zapovednik system, in light of
the economic and political changes that are now occurring in Russia, and
our strategy is to help the preserves to survive without altering their
basic mission and unique status in the global environmental scheme. Russian
Zapovedniks, despite their turbu lent history, represent a rather unique
opportunity for the global environmental community to invest in true preservation
of natural territories and a chance for long-term ecological research
to exist within the framework of large, set aside areas rather than within
the matrix of a human dominated landscape."
Geographic
Information Systems in Sustainable Development (by the Geographic
Information Systems Group, Environment and Natural Resources Service (SDRN),
FAO Research, Extension and Training Division) "Most sustainable
development decisions are inherently multidisciplinary or cross-sectoral,
because they require trade-offs between conflicting goals of different
sectors. However, most natural resource development agencies are single-sector
oriented. Geographic Information System (GIS) technology can help establish
cross-sectoral communication - by providing not only very powerful tools
for storage and analysis of multisectoral spatial and statistical data,
but also by integrating databases of different sectors in the same format,
structure and map projection in the GIS system....
(IUCN Commission on Parks
and Protected Areas (WCPA) & Australian Nature Conservation Agency
(ANCA), LThomas@ANCA.gov.au) "There is a clear message from the above
that investment in protected areas can provide a significant benefit to
national and local economies. Far from being locked up and lost to local
users, these areas represent an opportunity for sustainable industries
and for the generation of financial returns. With proper management, the
product on offer can be sold over and over again without diminishing its
value. Unlike extractive industries, the string of returns can be maintained
over a long period for the benefit of a wide range of users and stakeholders."
RUSSIAN PRESERVES
THREATENED: (Greenlines News Service Issue 614, Defenders of Wildlife,
Tuesday, April 28, 1998. Call (505) 277-8302 or email rfeather@defenders.org)
"Environmental News Network reported last week scientists from
Purdue University are working with Russian officials to protect 100-year-old
Russian nature preserves from development. The 74 million acres of "zapovedniks"
— thought to be the only completely undeveloped inhabitable places in
the world — are unique in that since 1905, no human activity has been
allowed inside them except scientific research. Purdue is working with
the Russians to develop a GIS database for ecological research, but "[t]he
only way we can save these preserves is to bring in western scientists
and western money," said Purdue ecologist Gene Rhodes. "Without that,
the Russian government will no doubt succumb to economic and social pressures
and allow the preserves to be developed."
SIEZCHA:
Information System for the Determination of Critical Areas of Management
in the "Chingaza" Natural National Park. (1997 ESRI paper:
German Bravo Cordoba Universidad de Los Andes Cra 1 Este #18-A 70 Santafe
de Bogota, D. COLOMBIA Telephone: 57-1-2-81-56-80 Fax: 57-1-3-36-46-81
Email: gbravo@uniandes.edu.co, Liliana Diaz, Carolina Lastra). This
work presents the SIEZCHA system, a tool that helps park administrators
define management policies by determining critical areas based on representative
variables of natural national parks. These variables represent both physical
and administrative features. The Chingaza Natural National Park was chosen
as a case study, and its representative variables are vegetation unit,
type of property, soil use, and natural disasters.
Strategies
for Effective Monitoring in Community Based Natural Resource Management
A Case Study of the ADMADE Program in Zambia. (Andy Lyons Department
of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida September,
1999 email:alyons@nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu) "In this study I have attempted to analyze the monitoring
system of ADMADE, in light of the above framework, as a case study of
an ICDP that has experimented with ways of involving local communities
in monitoring. Specifically, this research attempted to answer: Who are
the stakeholders in ADMADE's monitoring system and what are their information
needs? What are the goals of ADMADE's monitoring system and what strategies
have been used in its design? What lessons have been learned? How rigorous
is data collected in ADMADE, and what can it be used for? What factors
determine the quality of data collected by village scouts, and how can
data quality be measured? Where are the weak points in ADMADE's monitoring
system and how can these be strengthened? Like a lot of fieldwork, this
research evolved over its course as new issues were encountered and unforeseen
circumstances demanded new approaches for collecting data. In particular,
the primary unit of analysis was shifted away from individual village
scouts to ADMADE Units and the project as a whole. This was primarily
due to the fact in practice that little monitoring data is linked to individual
scouts, and travel constraints made it difficult to reach a sufficient
number of scouts in the field. In addition, conceptually many of the truly
interesting and unique characteristics of ADMADE's monitoring program
occur above the level of the scout, warranting analysis at higher levels."
Using ArcInfo
to Evaluate Plan Biodiversity in Southern Siberia. (1997 ESRI paper:
Roman R. Bukarev Novosibirk State University 20/2, Pirogov Street Novosibirsk,
630090 RUSSIA Telephone: 011-383-2-397885 Fax: c/o (406) 728-9432 email:
roman@ecoclub.nsu.ru). The Baraba Steppe is a southern Siberian region
with native physical and geographical conditions with close coexistence
of grassland, forest, steppe, and wetland plant communities. Using PC
ArcInfo, we developed a GIS to provide the capability to operate with
large databases on southern Siberia ecosystems biodiversity. The main
objectives of the GIS are to answer users' inquiries of two types: (1)
evaluating a species' or a regime of species' spatial distribution within
a given site (species of plants and animals, associated communities, etc.)
and (2) obtaining data on the biodiversity of a given site (the species
list, the list of communities within their areas, the Red Book species
list, analytical maps, etc.) in order to evaluate the biodiversity of
large regions to configure and designate a protected areas network. Using
topo maps (1:25,000) and aerial photographs (1:14,000), the hypsometric,
road, vegetation, and hydrological layers were developed. These coverages
were then modified with field research surveys to include items such as
plant communities and abundance. The region analyzed was subdivided and
an algorithm was developed to evaluate the biodiversity indices for each
site. The identified sites of greatest vegetation biodiversity can be
used in designation of protected areas and be considered for human activity
within Baraba.
Using ArcInfo
to Identify and Promote Designation of Katun National Park, Altai Region,
Russia. (1997 ESRI paper: Alexander Yumakaev Socio-Ecological Union/Altai
PO 845 Barnaul, 656015 RUSSIA Telephone: 3852.22.0908 Fax: 406-728-9432
email: katun@glas.apc.org). SEU/Altai has developed a proposal to create
a national park in the Ust-Koksa region in the Altai Republic, Russia,
by expanding and changing the management regime of the Katun Nature Preserve.
This area, which is at the headwaters of the Katun River, was chosen for
potential national park designation because of its unique natural and
cultural features. Using PC ARC/INFO, SEU/Altai digitized and combined
geologic, vegetative, hydrographic, and cultural layers at a scale of
1:200,000 to gain an understanding of the natural resources and the human
impacts on nature in the area. This GIS information allowed us to create
land use designations for the proposed park and will aid in management
of the future park, as well as aid in the park designation process.
Using GIS
of Climate, Vegetation at Knuckles Range Education and the Public.
(1997 ESRI paper: W.M. Giragama Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research
PO Box 1522 Wijerama Mawatha Colombo, WP SRI LANKA Telephone: 011-94-1-696981
Fax: 011-94-1-692423, A. Ramakrishnan). Defining Issue: To study the
highly variable topographic, forest, and climatic conditions that prevail
in this area for better ecosystem management. GIS Solution: Information
on the Knuckles Range and its rugged terrain is difficult to visualize
when the topographic, vegetation, and climate data are hardly available
and accessible.
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