Articles:
Forestry practices intended to ensure ecological sustainability have been developed rapidly during the past decade and now are widely deployed and promoted. In a recent special issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, forest ecologists and biodiversity experts consider how this new management responds to Fennoscandian concerns about biodiversity. The authors conclude that the new forestry practices are largely untested scientific hypotheses, and explore a sound research framework aimed at improving management of boreal forests.
The authors present the results of a study evaluating the contribution of agri-environment schemes to the protection of biodiversity in intensively used Dutch agricultural landscapes. Agri-environment schemes are widespread in Europe, and are thought to counteract the negative impacts of modern agriculture on the environment. The authors survey plants, birds, hover flies and bees on 78 paired fields that either had agri-environment schemes in the form of management agreements or were managed conventionally. The authors find that management agreements have not effectively protected species richness.
Perrings' article discusses the importance of biodiversity in agroecosystems, particularly as a form of insurance against shocks (environmental and market) to the system, and asks whether current levels of biodiversity loss are efficient? Efficiency is used to describe the maximization of total consumer and producer surplus; does the outcome of the system provide the most private and social benefit? He discusses the private and social costs of biodiversity loss and concludes that losses in developing countries are not efficient. The main issues he covers are (i) the identification of external costs of biodiversity loss in developing countries, (ii) the relationship between market failures and income, and (iii) what can be done through market based instruments and through institutional and property rights reform to address the problem of biodiversity loss.
Lindenmayer (1999) reviews the use of indicator species in forest management and explores the usefulness of this approach for indicating the impact of logging on forest biodiversity. She discusses the benefits of using indicator species to monitor biodiversity, mainly that this approach generates rapid feedback and avoids some of the complications (i.e. finances, etc.) presented by long-term experimental manipulations. She stresses, however, that the effectiveness of indicator species must be verified via long-term studies before such measures can be use to accurately gauge biodiversity on managed land. She argues that one of the largest difficulties in assessing how logging practices might be performed to leave the least impact on biodiversity is the lack of data: more data is needed on the impact of target species to different logging schemes. Finally, Lindenmayer notes that with increasing population growth, addressing the problem of how to use natural resources while preserving biodiversity will become increasingly more important.
This article discusses the benefits of wildlife and remnant vegetation in sustaining farm productivity. In this article, Dr. Denis Saunders defines biodiversity as ‘the variety of all life forms-the different plants, animals and micro-organisms, the genes they contain and the ecosystems they form part of.’ Dr. Saunder’s discusses his concern that too many people see biodiversity as merely species diversity and assume it is restricted to nature reserves, uncleared agricultural or on remaining patches of wilderness on farms. The article further discusses how agriculture is totally dependent on ecosystem processes and functions provided by biodiversity, such as soil formation, nutrient cycling, pollination of crops and maintaining water cycles. It is suggested that farmers and communities can stop the decline in biodiversity in their region, and even help repair it, by such actions as protecting remnant wilderness, planting locally native vegetation to stabilize rising water tables and revegetate catchment areas, eradicating weeds and controlling feral pests. According to the author, the most efficient biodiversity conservation measure is to protect existing native vegetation, as it is very difficult to reconstruct healthy, complex native vegetation communities once they have been destroyed. Thus, one of the main points this article is trying to impart is that the management of biodiversity on farmlands can promote agricultural productivity and development.
This article looks at natural resource management and the impact of agricultural development. Issues drawn out include how to measure an impact on an environment and how this affects biodiversity. These theories are then applied to agricultural practices within South Africa. However these case studies paint a grim picture showing the degradation and disappearance of natural resources due to agricultural practices. Although not specifically touched upon, this article alludes to the coexistence of agriculture and natural resources which although not blatantly stated is the essence of sustainable development.
This describes a case study of a private company's (Shaman Pharmaceuticals) efforts to identify active compounds in indigenous medical treatments for market development in the U.S. The company has incorporated several of the major points of the Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio Earth Summit 1992) even in advance of the convention's adoption. The article includes "Guidelines and Research Protocols" and "Steps to Establish Prior Informed Consent" as well as a detailing of points of compliance with the CBD. The company seeks to promote and encourage biodiversity, cultural diversity, and the preservation of indigenous knowledge -- including by the sharing of profits with the local (Nigerian) communities. [Note: Shaman Pharmaceuticals failed in its very costly Phase III trials to gain FDA approval (1999?) for a "pharmaceutical" but continues today as Shaman Botanicals with the same protocols.]
This report on the fourth Conference of the Parties (COP-4) of the CBD includes introduction to the CBD, summary of key COP-4 developments, discussion of Articles of the Convention, Conference Summary, and one especially interesting piece on "The Ecosystem Approach: An Innovative Way to Incorporate the CBD's Holistic Perspective." (p. 17) This article includes "Twelve Principles of an Ecosystem Approach" and discusses biodiversity approaches for Inland Waterways, Agriculture, Forest, and Marine and Coastal ecosystems.
Eaton describes a particular case of the wildlife management area strategy for conserving biodiversity. Traditional rights and customary land tenure are reinforced and made legally binding under the WMA system of Papua New Guinea. By this method, indigenous landowners may control the exploitation of their resources by outsiders. It is hoped that WMAs will lead to the successful incorporation of indigenous people into the conservation of a unique wetland area. He highlights some of the strengths of this strategy, as well as some of the weaknesses of this particular area, and suggests ways it could be made more sustainable.
This article is an interview with a man who traces his family's presence back to 1740, and a discussion about a current project on his land. In 1905, his family cleared off the balsam fir (‘Blister Pine’) forest that was in Blister Swamp so that the land could be used for grazing. It's been open rangeland since then, but Dalen is now working with the Nature Conservancy and the Mountain Institute to restore the land to its former state. This article is particularly interesting for its look at the "other" local perspective; that is, a non-indigenous inhabitant, who is still connected to the land.