More frequent and severe algal blooms are symptomatic of increasing ecosystem stress in coastal waters. Economic losses typically follow and local governments are forced to ‘manage’ this issue. Because many blooms are not monitored, local ecological knowledge (LEK) and oral history are the only practical tools to obtain data on bloom characteristics and identify their drivers. LEK was applied to outbreaks of brown algae on popular tourist beaches in south-east Queensland (Australia). Structured interviews with local citizens who had a close and frequent connection with the ocean provided 541 bloom records, which showed that blooms are regional (≥400 km) rather than local, and that they are a historical (≥40 years) rather than a recent phenomenon. LEK frequently cited that particular wind regimes coincided with the arrival of blooms, but this could not be verified by statistical cross-validation with empirical data. Harnessing LEK was valuable in engaging citizens, in generating testable hypotheses about plume causes, in providing a previously unrecognized historical perspective and in identifying the correct spatial scale of the issue. Multi-pronged approaches will be most effective in addressing blooms where local mitigation actions are combined with broader regional coastal environmental conservation efforts.

Due to the existence of entropy, exhaustible resources, and resource scarcity, the condition of sustainability as currently conceived seems unlikely ever to be achieved. Nevertheless, Humankind can ensure advancement towards ecologically sustainable development, thereby prolonging the existence of social and ecological stability, by encouraging the proposed inter generational and intra generational equity requirements. The intra generational condition of ensuring equitable access to resources within the current generation will be likely to be a prerequisite to achieving successfully the other equity requirements. A limited time-frame — in which any one generation would only be responsible for meeting the needs of the current generation, and passing to the next generation the resource stocks that they themselves had inherited, or more if possible — has also been proposed to make the pursuit of sustainability a more concrete task, and one that should be more manageable from a policy perspective.

Bivalves are among the main groups of invasive freshwater species, with the Asian clam genus Corbicula in particular being widely distributed. While global studies have focused on Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774), the invasive potential of Corbicula largillierti (Philippi, 1844) and Corbicula fluminalis (Müller, 1774) is still unknown. The spread of invasive species may be intensified by climate change. We estimated and compared environmentally suitable areas for these species under hypothetical climate scenarios, generating global maps of invasion risk. We found large climatically suitable areas for C. largillierti and C. fluminalis (under species distribution models) and that their invasive potential is currently underestimated. The analysis revealed many areas in which changing climate may favour the invasion of Corbicula spp.

Biodiversity conservation in the Ukrainian Carpathians cannot be accomplished without a clear understanding of the factors negatively impacting habitats and species, and long-term projection of these impacts. One factor that may severely alter the ecosystems involved is the introduction and spread of invasive plant species, but the potential distribution and spatial aggregation of suitable habitats for several invaders have not been quantified. The Maxent approach was used to model the potential establishment within the entire mountain range of 11 alien invasive plant species based on stratified sampling and herbaria records and six variables representing climatic extremes, topography, and anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Predictions of habitat suitability were projected to two future change scenarios depicting increasing rates of climate warming and anthropogenic disturbances in 2050 and 2100. Under current climate and disturbance patterns, the models predicted suitable habitats for invasive species establishment to be aggregated in the south-west, east and north-east of the Ukrainian Carpathians, along major rivers and roads at altitudes of up to c. 700 m. Eight per cent of the total area within protected areas was predicted to be potentially susceptible to invasion by at least one species, with 13% of these susceptible habitats being suitable for all 11 species. Under the future change scenarios, suitable habitat ranges increased significantly in the entire study area and within regions of high conservation value. All species were projected to gain suitable habitats at higher altitudes along linear habitats and to potentially expand their ranges laterally from habitats predicted as suitable for current conditions along small rivers and roads. Under the scenario solely of increased average seasonal temperatures, suitable habitats for the establishment of at least one species within protected areas and a proposed ecological network increased by more than 15 percentage points by 2050 and by more than 30 percentage points by 2100 when compared with predictions for current conditions. Similar future patterns were discernible for the aggregation of suitable habitats for all 11 species. Incorporating increases in anthropogenic pressures into climatic-change projections led to a significantly greater projected expansion of suitable habitats for establishment as compared to scenarios considering only climatic changes. As the 11 species have already established viable populations within protected areas, further spread of at least one species is likely if conservation planning is not changed to include the management of invasive species in such areas.

Appropriate legislation based on in-depth ecological evidence is essential for ecosystem conservation. Wetland areas in the Brazilian Cerrado hotspot are facing difficulties in terms of status under environmental law: only those wetlands with the palm Mauritia flexuosa (veredas) are recognized as protected. Comprehensive fieldwork in central-western Brazil (72 50-m transects) coupled with both exploratory and confirmatory analyses showed that communities with (MP) and without (MA) M. flexuosa are similar in terms of the floristics and ecology. The results demonstrate that the analysed wetlands are part of a continuum, in which a gradual replacement of species and community structure occurs without a pattern related to physiognomy. Considering such floristic and structure patterns when legally defining the ecosystem would promote a more comprehensive and realistic view of the ecosystem's characteristics and functions, and result in laws with a stronger scientific support. Conservationists should further examine the lack of consistent separation of plant community attributes between the MP and MA areas, and reconsider the scientific definition of veredas.

This paper analyses the interdependence between environment and society in terms of socio-ecological webs, in which human and biophysical systems are linked. A quantitative model, based on canonical correlation analysis applied in Fuerteventura Island (Canary Archipelago), detected indicators of human–landscape relationships and predicted potential shifts based on simulated environmental changes. In the last few decades, the landscape of Fuerteventura Island has changed: natural components and cultural agrarian uses have decreased, while the population has increased due to immigration, mainly from mainland Spain and other European countries. The island shows a transition from a coupled local socio-ecosystem to one based on the interaction between environment and coastal tourism that decouples native inhabitants from the landscape and traditional land-use practices. As vulnerability and adaptation to climate change represent critical sets of potential interactions in Canary Islands, a model and a map of the socio-ecological system under four Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios show rural decoupling through ‘deagrarianization’ and ‘deruralization’, as well as stronger links to the tourism system.

Considerable efforts have been put into collaborative conservation efforts across the globe. In the western USA, concern about declines of two sage-grouse species (Centrocercus urophasianus and C. minimus) has led to the creation of over 60 collaborative wildlife management partnership groups to develop and implement local sage-grouse management plans. These sage-grouse local working groups (LWGs) share a common goal, information, and policy environment, but were implemented in diverse ways. As a result, they provide a rare opportunity to study systematically the impact of contextual, organizational, institutional and process factors on local collaborative group success. Data from document reviews and an extensive survey of over 700 group participants from 53 sage-grouse LWGs were used to assess the success of this collaborative conservation effort and identify those group attributes that were related to successful implementation and funding of projects. Specifically, external, internal and emergent group characteristics were considered as likely predictors of LWG implementation success. The LWGs varied broadly in their achievements. The presence of a neutral facilitator, participants' feelings of ownership, groups whose local plans had more authority and early-stage group successes were significantly related to implementation success at the group level.

Wildlife populations provide harvestable meat to people and contribute to local food security. Throughout the year, and particularly at times of agricultural food shortages, wildlife and other wild foods play a critical role in supporting food security and enhancing local human nutrition. We explored the distribution of food security benefits of agricultural food production and a particular ecosystem provisioning service – wildlife harvest in the Makira Natural Park (MNP) of Madagascar – at community, household and individual levels. We found strong variation in wildlife consumption both among communities and among households and less variation among individuals within households. Mean household wildlife consumption in the target community was 10 kg per year ranging by approximately two orders of magnitude, with poorer and more food insecure households more reliant on wildlife for food. Meats (including wildlife) appeared to be evenly distributed within households, unaffected by age, sex, birth order and body weight, while other foods (including stew, rice and other staples) appeared to be allocated based on body mass. Reductions in wildlife consumption cause increased risk of food insecurity and specific nutritional deficiencies. The findings from our multilevel study suggest that disaggregated analysis that merges ecosystem services theory and the microeconomics of resource allocation allows for a more accurate valuation approach.

Global wood consumption trends are reviewed in the context of framing a coherent forest policy in the era of climate change. Over the period 1980 to 2007, global wood consumption has been essentially stagnant, increasing by only 0.4% per year. In contrast over the same period, global consumption of wood products increased steadily, paper by an average 3.2% per annum and solid wood products (sawn timber and wood panels) by 0.8% per annum. Wood saving explains these significantly different growth trajectories in unprocessed wood and processed wood products. Wood saving strategies include recycling paper (in particular), investing in higher yielding pulp technologies, substituting reconstituted wood panels for sawn timber and plywood and growing high pulp-yielding trees in a plantation regime. China's rapidly growing wood products industry has lifted wood saving to a new high. Consistent with the theory of induced innovation, China has so far avoided triggering a global wood shortage and associated wood price increases through a progression of strategies: successful pre-emptive price negotiations, increased use of recycled paper, adoption of high-yielding pulp technologies, substitution of reconstituted wood panels for sawn timber and tree planting substituting for natural forest supply. If China's current wood saving strategies were emulated worldwide, through increased use of recycled paper in particular, and to a lesser extent, substitution of reconstituted wood panels for sawn timber and plywood, the already low growth in global wood consumption would flatten further and perhaps start to decline. These economic realities in the wood products industry align positively with the interlinked imperatives of biodiversity conservation and carbon storage in natural forests, if wood-saving is converted to forest-saving.

Medicinal plants are a valuable resource for regional economic development in the tropics, and the Eastern Himalaya in particular harbours many such species. Extensive deforestation and over-exploitation in this region have brought several species to the brink of extinction, and Coptis teeta is such an endangered species; yet scientific information for its conservation is lacking. Investigations on the distribution range, demography, ecology, cytology, reproductive biology and population genetic structure of C. teeta were carried out; it was found to be endemic to a small area, to occupy a very narrow habitat and to be highly dispersed with very small population sizes. Edaphic factors were found to have played a vital role in ecological preference, natural distribution and evolutionary divergence of the species. The species exhibits a ‘K’ strategy, high male sterility, low reproductive success and efficiency, inadequate seed dispersal, and little genetic variability. A combination of these genetic hurdles and external threats in the form of habitat disturbance and over-exploitation for commercial purposes could result in its extinction. The species was found to have highly specific microsite requirements that cannot be met in other habitats. It is argued that in situ conservation measures would be the best strategy for the continued survival of this species. For effective management of the species it is recommended that its habitat be declared a protected area with the active cooperation of local inhabitants including the sharing of benefits of conservation.

The concept of The Biosphere as the integrated living and life-supporting system comprising the peripheral envelope of planet Earth together with its surrounding atmosphere so far down, and up, as any form of life exists naturally, stems from the writings of V.I. Vernadsky in the 1920s but has only emerged and become widely accepted in the latest decades. Yet it is quite one of the largest and most important entities with which humans have to deal, being, moreover, the only natural habitat and life-support of Mankind and Nature and, as such, needful of safeguarding and healthful maintenance.

No other meaning than the above should be attached to the term Biosphere, the importance of which concept and actuality being such that it should be far more widely known than is currently the case — to which end a small conference was held in 1987 and a larger one is contemplated in 1990 on the theme of Threats to The Biosphere and Imperative Countermeasures.

Other activities on behalf of The Biosphere include the ‘Johnny Biosphere’ media campaign of Dr John R. Vallentyne, those of The World Campaign for The Biosphere and its sponsoring World Council For The Biosphere, and the newly-established [International] Vernadsky Foundation which it is hoped will have, as one of its main objectives, the fostering of due reverence for life in its full Biospheral context.

The utilization of tussock grasslands in the semi-arid and sub-humid tussock grasslands of Central Otago, South Island, New Zealand, by European sheep farmers, began during the 1850s. Many of the sheep farmers and their hired shepherds migrated from the Scottish Highlands, and brought with them the management practices with which they were familiar. The extensive sheep farms or ‘runs’ were rented on government-owned land, and the graziers did not enjoy long-term security of tenure; nor did they receive compensation for any improvements which they might have undertaken during their occupancy.

The combination of frequent burning of the vegetation and overgrazing soon resulted in a perceptible decrease in vegetation cover, such that land deterioration accelerated in the 1870s and 1880s when a rabbit pest irrupted. No effective action was taken to deal with the problem of land deterioration, and by the early part of the twentieth century parts of Central Otago were described as man-made desert. The tussock grassland had given way to almost bare soil interspersed with patches of Scabweed (Raoulia lutescens), and accelerated soil erosion resulted in slope-wash and gullying. Remedial action was delayed by the outbreak of the First World War, but a major Commission of Inquiry at the end of the war concluded that unsuitable forms of land tenure had contributed significantly to the desertification and land deterioration.

Eventually, changes in land tenure were introduced, providing for security of tenure, entitlement to compensation for land improvements, and controls on husbandry and stocking levels.

The deep sea is the world's largest ecosystem by volume and is assumed to have a high assimilative capacity. Natural events, such as the sinking of surface plant and animal material to the seabed, sediment slides, benthic storms and hydrothermal vents can contribute vast amounts of material, both organic and inorganic, to the deep ocean. In the past the deep sea has been used as a repository for sewage, dredge spoil and radioactive waste. In addition, there has been interest in the disposal of large man-made objects and, more recently, the disposal of industrially-produced carbon dioxide. Some of the materials disposed of in the deep sea may have natural analogues. This review examines natural processes in the deep sea including the vertical flux of organic material, turbidity currents and benthic storms, natural gas emissions, hydrothermal vents, natural radionuclides and rocky substrata, and compares them with anthropogenic input including sewage disposal, dredge spoil, carbon dioxide disposal, chemical contamination and the disposal of radioactive waste, wrecks and rigs. The comparison shows what are true analogues and what are false friends. Knowledge of the deep sea is fragmentary and much more needs to be known about this large, biologically-diverse system before any further consideration is given to its use in the disposal of waste.

Despite the plethora of discourse about how sustainable development should be pursued, the production of agricultural commodities is held responsible for driving c. 80% of global deforestation. Partially as a response, the private sector has made commitments to eliminate deforestation, but it is not yet clear what factors these commitments should take into account to effectively halt deforestation while also contributing to broader sustainable development. In the context of private sector commitments to zero-deforestation, this study characterizes the perceptions of different types of stakeholders along the cocoa and chocolate supply chain in order to determine the main challenges and solutions to encourage sustainable production. The main purpose is to understand the key factors that could facilitate a transition to a more sustainable supply while harmonizing the multiple actors’ interests. A qualitative thematic analysis of perceptions was conducted based on responses from 59 interviews with different stakeholders along the cocoa and chocolate supply chain in six key producing and consuming countries. Thematic analysis of the responses revealed six main themes: (1) make better use of policies, regulations and markets to help promote sustainability; (2) improve information and data (e.g., impacts of climate change on cocoa) to inform sound interventions; (3) focus on the landscape rather than the farm-level alone and improve integration of supply chain actors; (4) promote better coordination between stakeholders and initiatives (e.g., development assistance projects and corporate sustainability efforts); (5) focus on interdependent relationships between social, environmental and economic dimensions to achieve sustainable development; and (6) engage with the private sector. The study shows the importance of identifying different stakeholder priorities in order to design solutions that accommodate multiple interests. It also emphasizes the need to improve coordination and communication between stakeholders and instruments in order to address the three different dimensions of sustainability in a synergistic manner, considering the interactions from production of raw material to end consumer.

The discussion above sought to clarify some of the key aspects of the relationships among impoverishment, population, and environmental degradation, and to pose a conceptual framework for addressing the issue. At various times, impoverishment has been identified: as a root cause of environmental degradation; as a proximate cause; and as a contributing factor, merely reinforcing the linkage between environmental degradation and poverty often caused by wealth and greed. Despite an abundance of recent literature on the topic, it is not clear how environmental degradation and impoverishment are linked. What is apparent is that the relationship amongst these elements is complex, multidimensional, conditional and, at present, indeterminate. Although much of the evidence linking impoverishment and environmental degradation is anecdotal, it appears that the key issue is one of equity. Considerations of international equity, national equity, and intergenerational equity, must form the cornerstone of any strategy to confront the joint issues of environmental degradation and impoverishment.

Promoting equity as a key principle or strategy, however, does not reduce the complexity of the issue; equity has an economic dimension, a political dimension, and a social dimension; numerous case-studies can be found to illustrate these dimensions, and a few are noted in our above discussion. This framework is also tied to the goal of sustainable livelihood security, which recognizes that security has both political and environmental components. Despite the complexity of these issues, it is still possible to develop general recommendations to be used as a guide to the design of intervention strategies by agencies providing development assistance. Accordingly, five such recommendations are noted last above.

The conceptual framework developed in this paper sought to extend the work on the impoverishment, population, and environment, issue begun by Leonard (1989), Holmberg (1991), and others. It is clear, however, that much more study of these complex interrelationships is needed before the linkages amongst them are well identified and understood. In addition, it is not enough to accept the importance of equity as a key principle of sustainable livelihood security; development agencies must be willing to act on this principle, and to design intervention strategies which aim at reducing and eliminating the inequities which are a major cause of environmental degradation.

Conservation and utilization of wildlife resources are not new among our local communities in Nigeria, although the present approach to the management of these resources is very recent. Modern technology, urbanization, and human population expansion, have caused the destruction of many indigenous animal and plant species in Nigeria.

This paper highlights the recent developments in the overall conservation programme in Nigeria. It describes the important role which wildlife is playing in helping to feed the nation, in creating employment opportunities, in education, in research, in recreation, and in local medicine. Inadequacy of Nigerian wildlife legislation and of trained manpower to protect and manage the wildlife resources are among the crucial wildlife management problems identified in this paper. It is also stressed that the basic information for effective management is often lacking where Nigerian wildlife reserves are concerned.

The Spotted Tilapia, Tilapia mariae, apparently introduced to Dade County, Florida, between 1972 and 1974, has expanded its range dramatically. This exotic fish is now established in three counties (Broward, Collier, and Dade) in canals and lakes in an area encompassing approximately 2,000 km2.

The Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS) is a collective effort of the world community to acquire, through monitoring, the data needed for rational management of the environment, and arose from recommendations of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment which was held in Stockholm in 1972. The GEMS Programme Activity Centre (PAC) at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, coordinates all that it can of the various environmental monitoring activities which are carried on throughout the world—particularly those within the United Nations System.

Great care is taken to ensure that data gathered by GEMS are of the highest attainable quality, and that data collected from different parts of a particular monitoring network are both comparable and compatible. The GEMS Programme Activity Centre (PAC), in the manner of UNEP itself, is not operational but works mainly through the intermediary of the Specialized Agencies of the United Nations System—most notably FAO, ILO, UNESCO, WHO, and WMO—together with appropriate intergovernmental organizations such as IUCN.

The GEMS monitoring system consists of five closelyinterrelated programmes which have built-in provision for training and for rendering technical assistance to ensure the participation of countries that are inadequately provided with personnel and equipment. The five are:

1. Climate-related monitoring;

2. Monitoring of long-range transport of pollutants;

3. Health-related monitoring (concerned with pollutional effects);

4. Ocean monitoring; and

5. Terrestrial renewable-resource monitoring.

Each of these broad areas contains at least five distinct world-wide monitoring networks. Examples of these latter are the World Glacier Inventory, Background Air Pollution Monitoring Network, Urban Air Pollution Monitoring Network, Global Water Quality Monitoring Network, Tropical Forest Monitoring Network, Species Conservation Monitoring Network, etc.

Monitored data are gathered at suitable coordinating centres for each network at which appropriate data-bases have been, or are being, established. Data are analyzed to produce periodic regional and global assessments which are reported at intervals that are appropriate to the variable which is being considered.