Mutually supportive relationships between communities and nearby protected areas are critical to ... more Mutually supportive relationships between communities and nearby protected areas are critical to the long-term success of conservation efforts. In sub-Saharan Africa, many protect-ed areas were first created during colonial times as hunting grounds or parks for European elites, with little or no regard for the needs or desires of local communities (Anderson and
Having improved knowledge on global, regional and/or national trends in illegal wildlife trade is... more Having improved knowledge on global, regional and/or national trends in illegal wildlife trade is required to develop effective combating strategies. In this paper, nine years (2011–2019) data on illegal wildlife trade and trafficking (IWT) seizure records were used to explore trends in IWT activities in Ethiopia and to identify countries involved most in the IWT. Trends of IWT activities were assessed in two indicators: as relative transaction index (TI), and as relative weight index (for ivory [WI]) or as relative number of items for ivory and other wildlife products [NI]. To account for potential yearly variations in seizure rates, proxy variables to law enforcement efforts and effectiveness were used and predictive models that produced bias-adjusted estimates of relative trends in IWT activities were built. To explore the underlying reasons for the trend observed, relevant national officers were also interviewed to assess how well has been wildlife law enforcement working in com...
Rural communities in the West are often highly dependent upon surrounding public lands for a wide... more Rural communities in the West are often highly dependent upon surrounding public lands for a wide range of natural resource-based goods, services, and activities. When it comes to planning and management, public land management agencies are mandated to consider the welfare of these communities, but oftentimes are limited in their ability to fully describe and understand the socioeconomic impacts of community/resource linkages at the local or sub-county level. This paper demonstrates how readily available agency permit data collected by the Bureau of Land Management can be used to help describe how communities surrounding Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument depend upon and use Monument resources. We also offer guidelines for improving the quality and usefulness of agency permit data. Keywords: economics, grazing, land use, public lands, resource dependence, social impact assessment, spatial data, sustainability
Mutually supportive relationships between communities and nearby protected areas are critical to ... more Mutually supportive relationships between communities and nearby protected areas are critical to the long-term success of conservation efforts. In sub-Saharan Africa, many protect-ed areas were first created during colonial times as hunting grounds or parks for European elites, with little or no regard for the needs or desires of local communities (Anderson and
Having improved knowledge on global, regional and/or national trends in illegal wildlife trade is... more Having improved knowledge on global, regional and/or national trends in illegal wildlife trade is required to develop effective combating strategies. In this paper, nine years (2011–2019) data on illegal wildlife trade and trafficking (IWT) seizure records were used to explore trends in IWT activities in Ethiopia and to identify countries involved most in the IWT. Trends of IWT activities were assessed in two indicators: as relative transaction index (TI), and as relative weight index (for ivory [WI]) or as relative number of items for ivory and other wildlife products [NI]. To account for potential yearly variations in seizure rates, proxy variables to law enforcement efforts and effectiveness were used and predictive models that produced bias-adjusted estimates of relative trends in IWT activities were built. To explore the underlying reasons for the trend observed, relevant national officers were also interviewed to assess how well has been wildlife law enforcement working in com...
Rural communities in the West are often highly dependent upon surrounding public lands for a wide... more Rural communities in the West are often highly dependent upon surrounding public lands for a wide range of natural resource-based goods, services, and activities. When it comes to planning and management, public land management agencies are mandated to consider the welfare of these communities, but oftentimes are limited in their ability to fully describe and understand the socioeconomic impacts of community/resource linkages at the local or sub-county level. This paper demonstrates how readily available agency permit data collected by the Bureau of Land Management can be used to help describe how communities surrounding Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument depend upon and use Monument resources. We also offer guidelines for improving the quality and usefulness of agency permit data. Keywords: economics, grazing, land use, public lands, resource dependence, social impact assessment, spatial data, sustainability
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Papers by Mekbeb Tessema