Introduction: the media, animal conservation and environmental education

Natural History filmmaking has a long history but the generic boundaries between it and environmental and conservation filmmaking are blurred. Nature, environment and animal imagery has been a mainstay of television, campaigning organisations and conservation bodies from Greenpeace to the Sierra Club, with vibrant images being used effectively on posters, leaflets and postcards, and in coffee table books, media releases, short films and viral emails to educate and inform the general public. However, critics suggest that wildlife film and photography frequently convey a false image of the state of the world’s flora and fauna. The environmental educator David Orr once remarked that all education is environmental education, and it is possible to see all image-based communication in the same way. The Media, Animal Conservation and Environmental Education has contributions from filmmakers, photographers, researchers and academics from across the globe. It explores the various ways in which film, television and video are, and can be, used by conservationists and educators to encourage both a greater awareness of environmental and conservation issues, and practical action designed to help endangered species. This book is based on a special issue of the journal Environmental Education Research.

The media, animal conservation and environmental education

Natural History filmmaking has a long history but the generic boundaries between it and environmental and conservation filmmaking are blurred. Nature, environment and animal imagery has been a mainstay of television, campaigning organisations and conservation bodies from Greenpeace to the Sierra Club, with vibrant images being used effectively on posters, leaflets and postcards, and in coffee table books, media releases, short films and viral emails to educate and inform the general public. However, critics suggest that wildlife film and photography frequently convey a false image of the state of the world’s flora and fauna. The environmental educator David Orr once remarked that all education is environmental education, and it is possible to see all image-based communication in the same way. The Media, Animal Conservation and Environmental Education has contributions from filmmakers, photographers, researchers and academics from across the globe. It explores the various ways in which film, television and video are, and can be, used by conservationists and educators to encourage both a greater awareness of environmental and conservation issues, and practical action designed to help endangered species. This book is based on a special issue of the journal Environmental Education Research.

The media, animal conservation and environmental education

Editorial

Phylogenetics, conservation, and historical biogeography of the West Indian members of the Adelieae (Euphorbiaceae)

The Caribbean Island Biodiversity Hotspot is the largest insular system of the New World and a priority for biodiversity conservation worldwide. The tribe Adeliae (Euphorbiaceae) has over 35 species endemic to this hotspot, representing one of the most extraordinary cases of speciation in the West Indies, involving taxa from Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. These species form a monophyletic group and traditionally have been accommodated in two endemic genera: Lasiocroton and Leucocroton. A study based on: (1) scanning electron microscopy of pollen and trichomes, (2) macromorphology, and (3) molecular data, was conducted to reveal generic relationships within this group. Phylogenies were based on parsimony and Bayesian analyses of nucleotide sequences of the ITS regions of the nuclear ribosomal DNA and the non-coding chloroplast DNA spacers psbM-trnD and ycf6-pcbM. One species, Lasiocroton trelawniensis, was transferred from the tribe into the genus Bernardia. Of the remaining species, three major monophyletic assemblages were revealed, one was restricted to limestone ares of Hispaniola and was sister to a clade with two monophyletic genera, Lasiocroton and Leucocroton. Morphological, biogeographical, and ecological data provided additional support for each of these three monophyletic assemblages. The Hispaniolan taxa were accommodated in a new genus with four species: Garciadelia. Leucocroton includes the nickel hyperaccumulating species from serpentine soils of Cuba, while the rest of the species were placed in Lasiocroton, a genus restricted to limestone areas. The geographic history of the islands as well as the phylogenetic placement of the Leucocroton-alliance, allows the research to include the historical biogeography of the alliance across the islands of the Caribbean based on a dispersal-vicariance analysis. The alliance arose on Eastern Cuba and Hispaniola, with Lasiocroton and Leucocroton diverging on Eastern Cuba according to soil type. Within Leucocroton, the analysis shows two migrations across the serpentine soils of Cuba. Additional morphological, ecological, and phylogenetic analyses support four new species in Cuba (Lasiocroton gutierrezii) and Hispaniola ( Garciadelia abbottii, G. castilloae, and G. mejiae). ^

Effective energy conservation and management in the building sector : the answer to the energy predicament

Modern civilization has developed principally through man's harnessing of forces. For centuries man had to rely on wind, water and animal force as principal sources of power. The advent of the industrial revolution, electrification and the development of new technologies led to the application of wood, coal, gas, petroleum, and uranium to fuel new industries, produce goods and means of transportation, and generate the electrical energy which has become such an integral part of our lives. The geometric growth in energy consumption, coupled with the world's unrestricted growth in population, has caused a disproportionate use of these limited natural resources. The resulting energy predicament could have serious consequences within the next half century unless we commit ourselves to the philosophy of effective energy conservation and management. National legislation, along with the initiative of private industry and growing interest in the private sector has played a major role in stimulating the adoption of energy-conserving laws, technologies, measures, and practices. It is a matter of serious concern in the United States, where ninety-five percent of the commercial and industrial facilities which will be standing in the year 2000 - many in need of retrofit - are currently in place. To conserve energy, it is crucial to first understand how a facility consumes energy, how its users' needs are met, and how all internal and external elements interrelate. To this purpose, the major thrust of this report will be to emphasize the need to develop an energy conservation plan that incorporates energy auditing and surveying techniques. Numerous energy-saving measures and practices will be presented ranging from simple no-cost opportunities to capital intensive investments.

The non-timber forest products sector in nepal : policy issues in plant conservation and utilization

The non-timber forest products (NTFPs) sector in Nepal is being promoted with the concept of sustainable management as articulated by the Convention on Biological Diversity. To promote and regulate this sector, Nepal adopted the Herbs and NTFP Development Policy in 2004. The goal of this thesis was to assess the effectiveness of this policy along with other forestry and natural resource policies in Nepal concerning the conservation and sustainable use of NTFPs. I conducted open-ended semi-structured interviews with 28 key informants in summer 2006 in Nepal where I also collected relevant documents and publications. I did qualitative analysis of data obtained from interviews and document review. The research found many important issues that need to be addressed to promote the NTFP sector as envisioned by the Government of Nepal. The findings of this research will help to further implement the policy and promote the NTFP sector through sustainable management practices.

Evaluating conservation and fisheries management strategies by linking spatial prioritization software and ecosystem and fisheries modelling tools

Well-designed marine protected area (MPA) networks can deliver a range of ecological, economic and social benefits, and so a great deal of research has focused on developing spatial conservation prioritization tools to help identify important areas. However, whilst these software tools are designed to identify MPA networks that both represent biodiversity and minimize impacts on stakeholders, they do not consider complex ecological processes. Thus, it is difficult to determine the impacts that proposed MPAs could have on marine ecosystem health, fisheries and fisheries sustainability. Using the eastern English Channel as a case study, this paper explores an approach to address these issues by identifying a series of MPA networks using the Marxan and Marxan with Zones conservation planning software and linking them with a spatially explicit ecosystem model developed in Ecopath with Ecosim. We then use these to investigate potential trade-offs associated with adopting different MPA management strategies. Limited-take MPAs, which restrict the use of some fishing gears, could have positive benefits for conservation and fisheries in the eastern English Channel, even though they generally receive far less attention in research on MPA network design. Our findings, however, also clearly indicate that no-take MPAs should form an integral component of proposed MPA networks in the eastern English Channel, as they not only result in substantial increases in ecosystem biomass, fisheries catches and the biomass of commercially valuable target species, but are fundamental to maintaining the sustainability of the fisheries. Synthesis and applications. Using the existing software tools Marxan with Zones and Ecopath with Ecosim in combination provides a powerful policy-screening approach. This could help inform marine spatial planning by identifying potential conflicts and by designing new regulations that better balance conservation objectives and stakeholder interests. In addition, it highlights that appropriate combinations of no-take and limited-take marine protected areas might be the most effective when making trade-offs between long-term ecological benefits and short-term political acceptability.

Hardpan and maize root distribution under conservation and conventional tillage in Agro-Ecological Zone IIA, Zambia

Hardpans (plough/hoe pans) are commonly believed to restrict plant root growth and crop yields under conventional small-scale agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. This study questions the notion of widespread hardpans in Zambia and their remedy under conservation tillage. Soil penetration resistance was measured in 8x12 grids, covering 80 cm wide and 60 cm deep profiles in 32 soil pits. Large and fine maize roots were counted in 8x6 grids. Soil samples from mid-rows were analysed for pH, exchangeable H+, exchangeable Al3+, cation exchange capacity, total N and extractable P (Bray 1) at six depths from 0-10 to 50-60 cm. Cultivation-induced hardpans were not detected. Soils under conservation tillage were more compact at 5 cm depth than soils under conventional tillage. No differences in root distributions between conservation and conventional tillage were found. Maize ( Zea mays L. ) roots were largely confined to a relatively small soil volume of about 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm. Root growth appeared to be restricted by a combination of low concentrations of N and P. Soil acidity and Al saturation appeared to play a minor role in root distribution. L-shaped taproots in soils under manual tillage reported earlier were not necessarily due to hardpans, but may rather be caused by temporarily dry, impenetrable subsoils early in the rain season. There is no scientific basis for the recommendation given to farmers by agricultural extension workers to “break the hardpan” in fields under manual or animal tillage in the study areas.

FIELD TOLERANCE OF SELECTED VARIETIES TO AND FUNGICIDE EFFICACY AGAINST ALTERNARIA BLIGHT OF SWEET POTATO

Alternaria blight (AB) of sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas L. ), caused by Alternaria spp., was recently reported in South Africa, but is common in southern and eastern Africa. Elsewhere in the world, AB is controlled primarily using resistant varieties. Twenty-five sweet potato varieties/breeding lines, from different origins were assessed for tolerance to AB. The materials were planted in fields having a history of AB disease and rated for tolerance based on a General Disease Index (GDI), with the lowest scores representing tolerance, and the higher scores representing susceptibility. Variety 199062-1 had the lowest GDI value, and was the most tolerant to AB; while W119 had the highest GDI value and was the most susceptible to the disease. Other varieties/breeding lines showed a variation in GDI values between most tolerant and most susceptible. Among the fungicides tested under field conditions, the mixture azoxystrobin-difenoconazole was the most effective in reducing AB intensity. Fungicides pyraclostrobin-boscalid, unizeb, azoxystrobin-chlorothalonil and cymoxanil-mancozeb were also effective against the disease.