Nature Conservation

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Le présent rapport expose les motifs justifiant la mise en place d’une action de promotion concertée des outils transactionnels relatifs au foncier et aux droits fonciers pour concrétiser les objectifs de conservation et de résilience climatique dans la région Pacifique. Il s’appuie sur deux études de référence : un tour d’horizon mondial des outils transactionnels mettant en jeu les biens et les droits fonciers, complété par les données d’expérience relatives à l’application de ces outils à l’échelon régional et dans certains pays océaniens ; et une évaluation de la faisabilité du recours accru à ces outils dans quatre États et Territoires insulaires océaniens cibles : les Fidji, Vanuatu, la Nouvelle Calédonie et la Polynésie française. L’analyse exposée ici s’inspire de ces deux études qui ont associé recherche documentaire, entretiens avec des informateurs clés et ateliers de consultation des parties prenantes.

A Heringeriana é o periódico científico do Jardim Botânico de Brasília que divulga artigos, comunicações e notas originais nas áreas de Botânica, Ecologia, Conservação, Educação Ambiental e áreas afins. Os interessados em publicar trabalhos na Heringeriana deverão comunicar-se com o Jardim Botânico de Brasília.

By adopting nature conservation practices, farmers can enhance the environmental quality and biodiversity of their land. In this exploratory study, a behavioral intervention that focused on improving Dutch farmers’ nature conservation practices was developed and tested. This intervention was based on insights derived from social psychology and combined tailored information and public commitment. Participating farmers were divided in three groups: one group received tailored information only, one group received both tailored information and a public commitment manipulation, and one group served as a control. A questionnaire measuring relevant aspects of conservation was completed before and after the intervention. Results show that tailored information combined with public commitment making resulted in a stronger desire to engage in conservation, an increase in surface area of non-subsidized natural habitat, and an increase in time farmers spent on conservation. The intervention affected both subsidized and non-subsidized conservation, but the effects were stronger for non-subsidized conservation.

Changing human behaviour and preserving natural resources are ones among the greatest challenges to the perspective of sustainable development for the world today. Human existence is inevitably engaged with the utilisation and consumption of natural resources for their survival and reproduction. However, under the pressure of population growth and poverty, these resources have been over-exploited at a high rate. The way humans behave through their livelihoods exceeds the carrying-capacity of the ecosystem, and that ecosystem will die , and could directly lead to a human crisis .

SUMMARY Following the paradigm shift in nature conservation policy towards the inclusion of local inhabitants in the planning and management of protected areas, tourism is emphasised as a means to achieve economic development in peripheral areas. Governance issues and the real impacts from tourism on development are thus often under scrutiny. This article focuses on the role of tourism in

We report on illegal international trade in Indian Star Tortoises (Geochelone elegans), with a particular focus on India and Thailand.Within India, this species has received protection as a Schedule IV list species of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 for over 40 years. This study documents the illegal trade of 55,000 individuals poached from just one 'trade hub' in India. Although domestic demand persists, these individuals appear to have been primarily sourced to satiate international demand for pets in other Asian countries (e.g. Thailand and China). Since 1975, this species has been included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) that regulates all commercial trade. However, an analysis of the CITES trade records relating to Thailand imports (between 2004 and 2013) found large discrepancies indicating potential illegal activity which question the legitimacy of its founding captive stock. Given its role as a major hub of illegal trade activity, both as a consumer and a country of transit, we support calls for Thailand to prohibit private ownership by extending its domestic legislation to also cover non-indigenous tortoise species. In consideration of conservation and animal welfare concerns, we also call for more field research to determine the impacts of illegal trade on wild populations, an updated assessment of its conservation status, increased cooperation between national enforcement agencies, and the implementation of targeted human behaviour change initiatives to help reduce consumer demand for this species.

1. Recent national and international policy initiatives have aimed to reduce the exposure of humans and wildlife to lead from ammunition. Despite restrictions, in the UK, lead ammunition remains the most widespread source of environmental lead contamination to which wildlife may be exposed. 2. The risks arising from the use of lead ammunition and the measures taken to mitigate these have prompted intense and sometimes acrimonious discussion between stakeholder groups, including those advancing the interests of shooting, wildlife conservation, public health and animal welfare. 3. However, relatively little is known of the perspectives of individual ammunition users, despite their role in adding lead to the environment and their pivotal place in any potential changes to practice. Using Q-methodology, we identified the perspectives of ammunition users in the UK on lead ammunition in an effort to bring forward evidence from these key stakeholders. 4. Views were characterised by two stat...

A better understanding of the factors influencing the distribution of amphibians is needed to conserve amphibian species in regions highly populated by people. A total of 71 water bodies were examined in the Upper Oka Basin (the Central Part of the Russian Plain, Russia, Kaluga Oblast and adjacent regions). For each site, the presence and absence of 11 amphibian species were determined. We use the logistic regression within the glm function from the R Stats Package to estimate the influence of predictors on the probability of the species presence. The species with the highest occurrence were Pelophylax lessonae, P. ridibundus, Rana temporaria, and Bufo bufo. The type of terrestrial vegetation that surrounded the water body was a significant factor for three amphibian species. We found R. temporaria and B. bufo avoiding open habitats; and P. ridibundus avoiding wooded habitats. The degree of water moving was a significant factor for two amphibian species. Lissotriton vulgaris was present more frequent at lentic waters, and P. ridibundus preferred lotic waters. The percentage of the vegetation covering the water surface was a significant factor for Rana arvalis, which was more often present in water with 50% or more coverage. Acidity was a significant factor for Pseudepidalea viridis, which was detected only in neutral and alkaline waters. Total dissolved salts and the area of water body were significant predictors for no amphibian species. The presence of the Chinese sleeper (Perccottus glenii), an invasive fish species, was not significantly important in predicting detection or non-detection for any species. Many water bodies in the Upper Oka Basin that were likely once suitable for amphibians may not be occupied by amphibians due to barriers to dispersal from other sites and due to stochastic extinction. To estimate the capability of amphibian immigration from other sources, we identified the presence of lotic and lentic permanent water bodies within 1 km of a surveyed site. These factors were not significant for any species. Further investigations may achieve the best measure of connectivity of amphibian habitats. To conserve amphibians we need to keep terrestrial habitats surrounding the water bodies, especially wooded habitats.

Wetlands perform functions that support the generation of ecologically, socially and economically important values. European legislation has increasingly recognised the importance of preserving wetland ecosystems. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) embodies many of the existing directives that have implications for wetlands. The EU funded EVALUWET project (European Valuation and Assessment tooL sUpporting Wetland Ecosystem legislaTion) aims to develop and implement an operational wetland evaluation decision support system to support European policy objectives. A multidisciplinary approach is adopted combining expertise from natural and social scientists.

Der Beitrag fasst wesentliche Befunde eines Gutachtens im Auftrag des Bundesamts für Naturschutz zusammen. Er erklärt, was Gerechtigkeitsargumente im Naturschutz bedeuten, welche Personen und Themen sie betreffen und welche praktische Relevanz sie haben.
Zunächst wird die Kategorie „Gerechtigkeit“ von anderen ethischen Argumenten wie „Klugheit“ und „Glück“ abgegrenzt. Als ihr wesentliches Merkmal wird ihr unbedingter Geltungsanspruch dargestellt, der zwar eine hohe Verbindlichkeit, aber auch eine große Begründungslast mit sich bringt. Anhand der Frage, wem gegenüber moralische Verpflichtungen postuliert werden, werden Fragen sozialer, globaler, intergenerationeller und ökologischer Gerechtigkeit unterschieden. Im Hinblick auf die Frage, um was es bei Gerechtigkeitsforderungen geht, werden die Konzepte Verteilungsgerechtigkeit, Verfahrensgerechtigkeit und ausgleichende Gerechtigkeit erläutert. Abschließend wird die
praktische Relevanz von Gerechtigkeitsargumenten am Beispiel des Rechts auf Naturerleben, der gleichberechtigten Teilhabe von Menschen mit Behinderungen und der Rio-Deklaration erläutert.

The paper presents basic results of a study prepared for the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. It explains the concept of justice, portrays different groups and topics referred to by justice, and clarifies the practical relevance of these conceptual considerations. First, the category ‘Justice’ is discriminated from the categories ‘Prudence’ and ‘the Good Life’. The main difference is that arguments of justice claim intrapersonal validity. This claim brings about stricter obligations, but therefore also requires comprehensive justifications. With regard to the question to whom we have moral obligations, the article discriminates between social, global, intergenerational and ecological justice. Regards different topics of justice, distributive justice, procedural justice and retributive justice are considered. The practical relevance of these considerations is demonstrated using the examples of the right to
experience nature, the equal participation of people with disabilities and the Rio Declaration.

In this paper we provide an analysis of an auction-based approach to allocating biodiversity conservation contracts on private land. The auction, called BushTender, was conducted by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) in two regions of Victoria.

Democracy in the Woods: Environmental Conservation and Social Justice in India, Tanzania, and Mexico

Oxford University Press (January 2017)


How do societies negotiate the apparently competing agendas of environmental protection and social justice? Why do some countries perform much better than others?

Democracy in the Woods addresses these question by examining land rights conflicts—and the fate of forest-dependent peasants—in the context of the different forest property regimes in India, Tanzania, and Mexico. These three countries are prominent in the scholarship and policy debates about national forest policies and land conflicts associated with international support for nature conservation. This unique comparative study of the trajectories of their national forestland regimes, challenges the received wisdom that redistributive policies necessarily undermine the goals of environmental protection.  It shows instead that national environmental protection efforts take on either an inclusive (as in Mexico) or an exclusive form (as in Tanzania and, for the most part, in India), depending on whether dominant political parties are compelled to create structures of political intermediation, which help channel peasant demands for forest and land rights into the policy process.

The political analysis of the control over and the use of nature presented in this book opens up new avenues for reflecting on how legacies of the past and international interventions interject into domestic political processes to produce specific configurations of outcomes of environmental protection and social justice.

This book offers three different tests of this theory of political origins of forestland regimes: First, India’s most radical forestland reforms became possible because of the opening of a unique political opportunity structure, which enabled forestland rights movements to successfully press for long-awaited institutional reforms needed to address land rights conflicts.  Second, it successfully explains the rather counter-intuitive local outcomes of the programs for formalization of land rights in India, Tanzania, and Mexico. Third, it offers a coherent explanation of why each of these three countries proposes a significantly different distribution of the benefits of forest-based climate change mitigation programs being developed under the auspices of the United Nations. Democracy in the Woods offers a theoretically rigorous argument about why and in what specific ways politics determine the prospects of a socially just and environmentally secure world.

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If you have ever gone off the track riding over rough terrain, then you can relate with the feeling one gets, after a long ride with life’s best mountain bike when sweat is dripping and muscles are tired but we still laugh and enjoy the landscape. This conqueror feeling does tremendous healing to our mental stress, anxiety, and insecurities. As health concerns including obesity, heart disease, mental health, and diabetes are on the rise, physical exercise, especially in the outdoors while inhaling fresh air without the requirement of best air purifiers, is becoming more critical to our health as individuals and as a society.

Traditionally, the commonly recognized functions of greenways focus on natural conservation and recreation. Lewis has described greenways as environmental corridors, which he dubbed 'E-ways', for the four main purposes which he listed as environment, ecology, education, and exercise. In this paper a fifth 'e' purpose of 'expression' will be suggested. Five different ways of promoting expression will be illustrated with examples. These means include personal, patriotic, commemorative, cultural, and social-political forms of expression. Examples to illustrate this range will include the following: (1) Anne Lusk's initiative with the Stowe Greenway in Vermont. This can be regarded as an example of personal social expression. (2) The US emergency war gardens from World War I and the subsequent Victory Gardens of World War II, as examples of symbolic patriotism. (3) 'Meanwhile Gardens', begun by Jamle McCollough as a reclamation adventure in the creative expression of neighborhood participants in a greenway area along the Grand Union Canal in London. (4) The Santa Cruz River Park, which features the public art tile project by Susan Gamble in Tuscan, Arizona. (5) The former 'no-man'sland' in Berlin, where avant-garde artists have created a radical new greenway of social-political commentary in their outdoor environmental sculptures snaking through this long, linear strip. This important, yet perhaps overlooked role as a source of expression to its makers and users helps broaden the meanings of greenways, thereby contributing to the growing strength of the greenway idea in peoples' minds. In conclusion, the range of possible expressions which greenways afford their makers and users will be developed.

For most of the 20th century, charophytes were not particularly popular among naturalists in Flanders (Belgium). Next to a general introduction on the morphology, ecology and conservation issues of this group we provide an assessment of their past and present distribution in the region, taking into account a fair amount of new records that have been made since the mid-1990’s. So far, 29 established taxa have been reliably reported, of which 24 were recorded since 1950 and only 21 since 1990. An analysis of the number of grid squares in which
they were found during these successive periods indicates that the representation of Chara baltica, C. hispida, Nitella capillaris, N. tenuissima, Tolypella intricata and T. prolifera declined most strongly, whereas that of Chara contraria, C. virgata and quite markedly – C. vulgaris improved. These shifts correspond to a regression of the more stenoecious taxa in favour of euryoecious stoneworts, tolerant to more eutrophic conditions and capable of rapidly establishing new populations. Based on the observed trends, present distribution, potential threats and site conditions, a preliminary Red List is presented for Flanders. The relevance of artificial habitats for the survival of certain sensitive taxa in the region, e.g. Chara aspera, Nitella gracilis, N. translucens, Nitellopsis obtusa, is highlighted.

There appears to be generally a broad consensus that the multidimensional nature and complexity underlying the critical problems of Africa such as poverty, food insecurity and disease urge for integrated and holistic views and approaches to deal with the challenges successfully. Innovation systems approaches are promising, but in practice they require new mindsets and competences for systemic thinking, institutional interfaces and partnerships. Often curriculum review is seen as a solution to such new demands, but in reality, even before considering curriculum review, it is critical that universities deal with the basic elements of changing mindsets, and building a new vision and new skills for training and research amongst the academic staff. This paper is based on a 'personal mastery/soft skills experiment towards reorienting mindsets and building complementary skills among university lecturers for holistic and interactive learning; and impact oriented research and consultancy. The initiative was conducted with 26 lecturers from three agriculture related Faculties of Makerere University over a period of two years. Overall enhancement it enhanced personal and professional development profiles of the lecturers which resulted in more interactive teaching, a move towards action research, and more marketable development consultants and facilitators. Specifically, the assessment brought out the following outcomes: enhanced self-awareness and taking action to develop their full potentials; the abilities to influence change in the university system through feedback; taking initiative to work in team and promote peer-learning; facilitation skills for interactive learning and collective action processes; overcoming fear to try out new things as reflective practitioners; communication for problem solving -negotiation, conflict resolution; and thinking beyond disciplinary boundaries to influence development impact through action research and process consultancy.

Landform replication attempts to create species-rich calcareous grassland ecosystems on disused limestone quarry faces. This is important because: (i) similar semi-natural communities are often at risk from agriculture and other development; and (ii) although there are many abandoned quarries of nature conservation importance, modern extraction processes increase the time required for natural colonisation. Quarry faces were blasted selectively to produce several landforms, including scree slopes which were hydroseeded with an appropriate seed mix based on local daleside communities. The vegetation communities established after 2 years on three such areas are compared with those of a natural daleside and seven disused quarries (40-85 years since abandonment). It is encouraging for the restoration programme that the vegetation communities on the landform replications are more closely allied to the natural dalesides than to the disused quarries. However, rabbit grazing appears to influence the species composition of the landform replications and the development of cover. The implications for the management of these sites are discussed.

Michoacá n, as one of the most species-rich provinces of Mexico and with high levels of endemism, was used for testing the potential of a conservation approach based on biodiversity as determined by scientists and local stakeholder's preferences. The resulting zones covered over 17% of the area of Michoacá n in 18 zones. As a result of this study the first ''large'' tropical dry forest biosphere reserve in Mexico is currently being established. In conclusion, landscape-based conservation zoning based on local stakeholders' perspectives as well as on critical biodiversity indicators, proved to be effective for achieving science-based and politically acceptable nature conservation schemes.

The Berlin-Brandenburg Colloquium for Environmental History is an open forum for discussing environmental history research broadly defined.
This semester, our topics are either European or global.


Elisa Tizzoni will present her research on the environmental policies of the European Court of Auditors, and we will discuss the new Handbook on European Environmental History edited by Anna Katharina Wöbse und Patrick Kupper.

Jacob Darwin Hamblin will take us across the global history of Atoms for Peace, while Elizabeth Hameeteman will familiarise us with the techno-scientific Can-Do world of visions of water desalinization - some of which driven by nuclear energy, too...

Comprehensive classification systems to accurately account for lands managed for biodiversity conservation, are an essential component of conservation planning and policy. The current international classification systems for lands managed for nature conservation are reviewed, with a particular emphasis on Australia. The need for a broader, all-encompassing, categorisation of lands managed for conservation is presented and a proposed broader categorisation system is developed-the Conservation Lands Classification. This classification system has the advantage of incorporating data on both tenure and protection mechanisms and has been applied in this paper using conservation lands in three Australian jurisdictions as examples. It is envisaged that this method of classification has the potential to significantly improve the ability to measure current and future trends in nature conservation across all land types at a variety of scales and hence is put forward in order to stimulate discussion on this important topic.

The urban housing market of China has been transformed since the 1980s from a centrally-planned to a free-market system. This study aimed to (1) investigate the position of outdoor environmental quality in house-buyers' preferences; (2) assess monetary values attributed to environmental externalities by the hedonic pricing method (HPM); and (3) test the applicability of HPM in China. The study area was Guangzhou, the major city of south China with a booming real-estate market. A questionnaire survey was conducted with households in new residences sold in 2004. The main buying motives were improving living quarters and floor area. Security concerns and a preference for high-rise buildings were somewhat unexpected. Good outdoor environment, including green space provision, proximity to parks, and views of green space and water, carried significant hedonic values. Differences between the submarkets of old and new towns were found; new town households expected apartments in high-rise blocks, exclusive residential land use, and views of green space, while old town households preferred proximity to shopping areas and workplaces, green space within the development and proximity to nearby parks. The findings could help to fine tune the developing housing market to match supply with demand in quality terms. Values accorded to environmental attributes could justify funding for urban green spaces and nature conservation. The study verified the applicability of HPM to the housing context in China.

In recent years, there has been a rethinking of the role of disturbance regimes in nature conservation: from exceptional and destructive events to be controlled and/or avoided, to key ecological processes to be nurtured and choreographed. These regimes concern the spatiotemporal dynamics of ecological disturbances, understood here as events that disrupt the structure of an ecology, community or population, causing profound changes in an ecosystem. The rethinking of their role precedes but resonates with current enthusiasms for proactive and experimental modes of conservation, such as rewilding.
This thesis draws on three case studies (the New Forest, Knepp Castle Estate and Dundreggan Estate) to explore the ontological, epistemic and socio-political implications of rewilding for the governance of forest disturbance regimes in the UK, particularly through the use of large herbivores. Drawing upon relational understandings of nature, space and time, it develops an understanding of disturbance regimes as process and practice. It first examines how rewilding departs from orthodox biopolitical modes of governing life and the ontological politics at the interface between these various modes. To this end, it attends to the ways in which disturbances have been historically understood and how these understandings have come to shape their governance. Second, it explores the knowledge practices through which ecologists and forest managers know and enact disturbances, comparing a traditional ‘prescriptive’ approach with rewilding. It argues that in practice rewilding is multiple, in contrast to rewilding discourse. Finally, it maps the different and sometimes conflicting social, economic and cultural values associated with working with natural processes, exploring the political ecologies of governing disturbance regimes. It argues that controversies around forest management pertain to a large extent to contrasting perceptions of different types of ‘work’ within the idea of working landscape and how they are ‘naturalised’.
In the conclusion, the thesis explores three empirical and conceptual contributions of these findings for those seeking to understand the logics of rewilding and the processes, practices and dynamics by which nonhuman forms and processes are governed in a post-Natural and uncertain future. First, by deploying a relational approach to the governance of disturbance regimes and by focusing on a long-term disturbance, I draw out the relevance of temporality for thinking through and with disturbances as social and ecological processes. Second, by drawing attention to the intertwining of bio- and socio-political regimes, I propose a reframing of (European) rewilded landscapes as working landscapes. Finally, by attending to the intricacies of practice, I argue that rewilding praxis is multiple and hybrid. It often involves compromises and is shaped by past governance histories and the broader political and social context.

Population viability risk management (PVRM) provides a framework for explicitly including qualitative information about the possible outcomes of a management decision with regard to the viability of an endangered population in conservation management. Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques enables managers to select the most preferred choice of action in a context where several criteria apply simultaneously. In that context a combined approach of the PVRM concept and a MCDM technique is presented for the development, evaluation and finally ranking of the in situ conservation strategies. We discuss the concept based on a case study for the maintenance of a gene conservation forest of an English yew population (Taxus baccata L.) in Styria, Austria. As part of the PVRM the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to evaluate six conservation strategies with regard to the viability of the yew population. The viability of the population is evaluated based on the results of an analysis of the current environmental, social and economical state and a characterization of the ecological parameters of its population. The most significant risk factors (illegal cutting, browsing by game, tree competition, light availability and genetic sustainability) are structured and prioritised according to their impact on the viability of the yew population applying the AHP. Effects of the six conservation strategies on the viability of the yew population are determined through a qualitative assessment of the probability of a decrease of the population along with four different environmental scenarios. In this context strategy IV combining selective thinning, protection measures, game control with public relation activities seems to be the most effective alternative. The benefits of the combined approach of the PVRM concept with the AHP for the rational analysis of conservation strategies for this endangered tree species are discussed.

Úbytok biodiverzity a narušenie život udržujúcich systémov Zeme sa v posledných rokoch stávajú čoraz vážnejšou hrozbou. Táto situácia len zdôrazňuje nutnosť potreby zmeny paradigmy a realizáciu účinnej a efektívnej modernej ochrany prírody. Predkladané skriptá s názvom Všeobecné aspekty ochrany prírody a krajiny sú prvou časťou troch učebných textov venovaných ochrane prírody a krajiny. Pre získanie celkového prehľadu čitateľom odporúčame aj ostatné dve časti. V nich sa pozornosť venuje problematike národného systému ochrany prírody a krajiny vrátane územnej ochrany (Škodová & Urban 2015) ako aj prípadovým štúdiám z ochrany prírody a krajiny a starostlivosti o prírodné zdroje (Urban et al. 2015).

Skriptá pozostávajú zo štyroch hlavných kapitol. Prvá je venovaná biologickým a ekologickým aspektom ochrany prírody a krajiny vrátane vymierania druhov, ohrozeniam a negatívnym vplyvom, ktoré pôsobia aj na ich biotopy. Druhá kapitola poskytuje stručný prehľad vývoja ochrany prírody a krajiny v globálnom ale aj národnom kontexte. Pre zabezpečenie vykonateľnosti praktickej ochrany je potrebný právny a inštitucionálny rámec, ktorý je popísaný v tretej  kapitole. Záverečná, štvrtá kapitola zdôrazňuje medzinárodný kontext, keďže chránené územia sú často dôležitou súčasťou medzinárodných sústav a sietí vrátane sústavy chránených území Natura 2000.

Skriptá boli napísané a vydané s podporou projektu „Inovatívne kroky pre potreby vysokoškolského vzdelávania v 21. storočí“ (ITMS: 26110230109) v súlade s Operačným programom Vzdelávanie. Projekt bol spolufinancovaný zo zdrojov Európskej únie. Poďakovanie patrí všetkým spolupracovníkom a recenzentom za starostlivé posúdenie textu.

The plantations of American cranberry introduced from the US in Hantsavichy district became a site for the research and development of a strategy to control accompanying invasive species in cranberry plantations. From 21 species, five species were characterized as aggressively invasive: Persicaria sagittata (L.) H. Gross (Truellum sagittatum (L.) Soják); Agrostis scabra Willd. (A. hyemalis auct. non (Walt.) Britt.); Aster lanceolatus Willd. х A. dumosum L.; Scirpus cyperinus (L.) Kunth., Ludwigia palustris (L.) Elliott and eight species were characterized as potentially invasive: Carex crawfordii Fernald); Lycopus uniflorus Michx. (L. virginicus auct. non L.); Lysimachia terrestris (L.) Britton; Myriophyllum farwellii Morong.; Penthorum sedoides L.; Solidago graminifolia (L.) Salisb. = Euthamia graminifolia (L.) Nutt. The remaining eight species do not appear to be invasive at this time. A database of the North American species that naturalized in Belarus at experimental and commercial plantations was compiled. Botanical descriptions with explanations of their invasiveness are included for each specie. Weed management with practical measures of control are also listed. This database along with the weed management recommendations will be beneficial for farms growing large-fruited cranberries, as well as for teachers and students of biological or agricultural. This work was funded by BRFFR (grants B16MC-019 and B19MC-038).
Spiridovich E.V., Vlasava N.B., Pavlovsky N.B., Lenkovetz T.I., Reshetnikov V.N., Dubovik D.V., Skuratovich A.N., Miller D., Naumcev Y.V., Moe P., Vinogradova Yu.K. Biological characterization and control measures of invasive plant species at American cranberry plantations in Belarus : Practical Guidelines // Ed. V.V. Titok, Corr member, DSci, Associate Professor, A.V. Pugachevsky, PhD, Associate Professor.  Minsk : "Publishing House "Four Quarters", 2021. – 76 p. – ISBN 978-985-581-475-8.

The Delos3 Workshop

The third workshop of the Delos Initiative took place from 1 to 3 July 2010. in Inari, Lapland, Finland. It was organised jointly by the Delos Initiative and Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services that was the local organiser and host. Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services manages Finland’s state owned protected areas, including 35 national parks. The Ministry of the Environment and the IUCN National Committee of Finland also supported the event. The Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida at Inari, Finland was the venue of the workshop.

The indigenous Sámi people participated in the Delos 3 Workshop as keynote speakers and observers. The President of the Finnish Sámi Parliament Klemetti Näkkäläjärvi and Sámi Museum Director Tarmo Jomppanen welcomed the sacred natural site experts to Finnish Sámi homeland. Researchers from Norway and Finland shed also light on Sámi culture.

The workshop was attended by 30 participants from 14 countries. The theme of the meeting was ‘Diversity of Sacred Lands in Europe’. Interconnectiveness between human beings and the natural world, as well as the respect of indigenous people for nature emerged as key issues during the workshop. The participants were particularly impressed by the Sámi traditions and profound relation to nature, as well as the close co-operation between their Parliament and the Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services.

In addition, the diversity of SNS in Europe and that of the minority faiths in the broader continent were examined during workshop sessions. Moreover, the management of lands of mainstream religions and of monastic communities was also addressed, and an evaluation of the IUCN-UNESCO Guidelines for Managers of Protected Areas on SNS was made.

The workshop programme included a visit to a Sámi sacred site the Ukonsaari Island on Lake Inari and a hike to Pielpajärvi Wilderness Church. Ukonsaari is recognised under the Delos Initiative.

The workshop proceedings were published in book form in 2011 and include texts of the contributions presented during the meeting.

Special Nature Reserve Milesevka and the Mileseva Monastery Abstract

Located at the heart of Raska, considered a holy region since the beginning of the 12th century, when the first Serbian state was established by the holy Nemanjic dynasty, the Mileseva Monastery became the most sacred place of the Serbian Orthodox Church, especially when the relics of Saint Sava were transferred there from Trnovo (Bulgaria) in 1236. From that time on, it became a place of pilgrimage for the Serbians and other Orthodox nations from the Balkans, which continue until this day. The immediate surroundings of the Monastery are dominated by the impressive canyon of the river Milesevka, with mediaeval fortifications on the rocky top, St. Sava’s cave and its holy spring, as well as a plethora of monastic hermitages. In 1979, the Monastery was declared Cultural Property of Exceptional National Significance, and in 1990, Protected Area of Natural and Cultural Importance. Although the Monastery was torn down many times in its history, like other Serbian holy places, its spiritual radiance has been preserved.

Perhaps due to this origin the “holy unity” between Nature and the Monastery has always been preserved. The gorge of the Milesevka River, where the Monastery is situated, was designated Regional Nature Park in 1976. In the closest vicinity is the Uvac Special Nature Reserve, established in 1971. Those two natural assets make one inseparable unity and are particularly important for the protection and conservation of the griffon vulture population, the flagship species of the region.

The collapse of the old regime, sanctions, ethnic conflicts in the Balkans and NATO strikes caused economic stagnation in the region, leading to local population migrations. Poverty, institutional and personal irresponsibility, incompetence and lack of planning led to the exploitation of the natural resources, and uncontrolled building.  However, many cultural events are being organised, which fulfill the pilgrims’ spiritual needs. After consultation with the main stakeholders, a number of recommendations have been made -covering a wide range of issues from planning to specific management aspects- that can affront the main challenges and pressures the site is receiving.

Die Naturgarten-Bewegung hat für den Naturschutz im Anthropozän wichtige Pionierarbeit geleistet. Naturgärten zeigen, wie viel der Mensch als Gärtner und Pfleger für die Erhaltung der Natur leisten kann, und sie illustrieren das große Potenzial der Naturförderung gerade auch in der intensiv genutzten Agglomerations- und Siedlungslandschaft.
Die große neue Herausforderung ist es, die Naturgärten aus dem einzelnen Garten des Liebhabers in die gesamte Siedlungslandschaft auszubreiten: »Raus aus den Naturgärten – rein in die intensiv
genutzten Agglomerations- und Siedlungslandschaften«. Dafür braucht es zum Teil ein Umdenken und mehr Offenheit von Seiten der Naturgarten-Bewegung: Erstens braucht es Toleranz für die neuartige Natur des Anthropozäns. Zweitens muss die Natur in der Gemeinde
die gesamte Bevölkerung (nicht nur einige Naturgärten) erreichen. Dafür
braucht es unter anderem mehr gestalterische Vielfalt beim Naturgärtnern: Ein Naturgarten kann, muss aber nicht, eine kleine Wildnis sein. Dieser kann auch gepflegt und »designed« sein. Drittens sollten wir vermehrt den Blick über den Gartenzaun wagen. Die meisten Naturgärten sind zu klein und isoliert, um für sich alleine Arten erhalten zu können. Dies kann nur durch die Zusammenarbeit in der Nachbarschaft, im Quartier und in der Gemeinde erreicht werden. Viertens geht es im Siedlungsraum nicht nur um die Förderung von seltenen Arten sondern insbesondere auch um die Erhaltung einer genügenden Vielfalt von mittelhäufigen bis häufigen Arten.

The Carabids were pitfall-trapped in Madrid in 43 sites in the city interior and in its surroundings from late June to early
August 1986. Altogether 78 species were recorded. They represented 6.7% of the Carabid fauna of the Iberian Peninsula. The
communities consisted exclusively of small or medium sized species. There was not recorded any species of the genus Carabus in
the city interior in spite of the fact that there exist very extensive areas of seminatural vegetation like the Casa de Campo park.
However, their absence in the material from such places could result just from the fact that the sampling took place in the warmest
and driest part of the year. Unlike cities in other areas, the Carabid communities of Madrid consisted of a considerable portion of
West Mediterranean species or even of the Iberian endemics like Calathus granatensis. In contrast, in the city interior, especially in
watered grassy plots, an obvious convergence to the fauna of Central European cities and, at a more general level, even to the East
Asian cities was observed. The species of larger distributional areas prevailed there. The communities in the seminatural habitats
showed very low diversity indices, similarly as in the analogous habitats in Central Europe. In seminatural habitats a considerable
portion of highly specialized granivorous species of the genera Ditomus, Carterus and Acinopus was recorded.

Canlılar içinde en büyük grubu oluşturan böcekleri topluma tanıtmak, bilgilendirerek sevdirmek ve bu şekilde farkındalık yaratarak bilgi düzeylerini arttırmak üzere 2007-2009 yıllarında TÜBİTAK Bilim ve Toplum Projeleri kapsamında BÖFYAP (Böcek Farkındalığı Yaratma Projeleri) olarak anılan bir seri proje gerçekleştirilmiştir.

Fire history and stand structure was examined in twelve virgin forest stands situated within forest reserves in northern Sweden. The selected stands represented fire refuges as well as different successional stages after fire. Six of the stands were dominated by Norway spruce (Piceu abies L. Karst.), three were dominated by Scats pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), and three were dominated by hairy birch (Be&a pubescens Ehrh.) or aspen (Populus tremulu L.). In 3 of the southernmost stands, the average fire interval was 34 to 65 years during the late 1600s to late 18OOs, but since 1888 no fires had occurred in any of the stands. The absence of fire disturbance since 1888 is probably caused by the fire suppression in the overall landscape. The standing volume of living trees ranged between 87 and 5 11 m3 ha-' while the volume of dead trees, including both snags and logs, ranged between 27 and 201 m3 ha-'. The volume of dead trees constituted ca. 30% of the total stem volume. In the conifer dominated stands, there was a statistically significant relationship between total stem volume, including both living and dead trees, and site productivity. A comparison between the amount of dead and living trees indicated substantial changes in tree species composition in several stands. It is suggested that data on the amount of dead trees, especially logs, and its distribution over decay classes could be used to examine the continuity of certain tree species. All stands had a multi-sized tree diameter distribution, which in most cases was similar to a reversed J-shaped distribution. In general spruce was numerous in the seedling cohort and in small diameter classes, indicating that its proportion in the stands was stable, or was increasing at the expense of pioneer tree species such as pine, aspen and silver birch (Beth pendulu Roth.). The most numerous species in the seedling cohort, rowan (Sorbus aucupuriu L.), was almost totally missing in the tree layer, indicating a high browsing pressure preventing rowan seedlings from growing into trees. The general increase of spruce and the sparse regeneration of pioneer species, in the stands previously affected by fire, are discussed in relation to natural disturbance regimes, biological diversity and nature conservation policies. It is proposed that reintroduction of fire disturbance is a necessity for future management plans of forest reserves. Other management practices to increase species diversity within forest reserves are also discussed. 0 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

The articles included in this special collection examine the implementation of varied conservation agendas, seeking to integrate the strengths of a political ecology framework with insights derived from Science and Technology Studies (STS). By taking an ethnographic approach to the study of conservation projects, they challenge the nature/culture divide so central to the Western philosophical tradition and draw attention to the ways in which nature and culture are co-constituted in and through practice.

У довіднику наведено інформацію про сучасний стан та подальші перспективи збереження рідкісних та зникаючих трав’янистих рослин у Національному дендрологічному парку «Софіївка» НАН України. Охарактеризовано 72 види рослин, серед яких занесені до Червоного списку Міжнародного союзу охорони природи, Європейського Червоного списку, додатків міжнародних конфенцій — Бернської та СІТЕС, Червоної книги України, списків регіонально рідкісних рослин Черкаської, Вінницької та Кіровоградської областей.
Для ботаніків, екологів, спеціалістів у галузі охорони природи, викладачів та студентів вищих навчальних закладів, вчитилів біології.

Lantana camara is a recognized weed of worldwide significance due to its extensive distribution and its impacts on primary industries and nature conservation. However, quantitative data on the impact of the weed on soil ecosystem properties are scanty, especially in SE Australia, despite the pervasive presence of the weed along its coastal and inland regions. Consequently, mineral soils for physicochemical analyses were collected beneath and away from L. camara infestations in four sites west of Brisbane, SE Australia. These sites (hoop pine plantation, cattle farm, and two eucalyptus forests with occasional grazing and a fire regime, respectively) vary in landscape and land-use types. Significant site effect was more frequently observed than effect due to invasion status. Nonetheless, after controlling for site differences,~50% of the 23 soil traits examined differed significantly between infested and non-infested soils. Moisture, pH, Ca, total and organic C, and total N (but not exchangeable N in form of NO 3 -) were significantly elevated, while sodium, chloride, copper, iron, sulfur, and manganese, many of which can be toxic to plant growth if present in excess levels, were present at lower levels in soils supporting L. camara compared to soils lacking the weed. These results indicate that L. camara can improve soil fertility and influence nutrient cycling, making the substratum ideal for its own growth and might explain the ability of the weed to outcompete other species, especially native ones.