STATE-AND-TRANSITION MODELING AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT: TOOLS FOR FUTURE CO-DEVELOPMENT OF MADAGASCAR’S NATURAL RESOURCES AND PEOPLE

Madagascar’s terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems have long supported a unique set of ecological communities, many of whom are endemic to the tropical island. Those same ecosystems have been a source of valuable natural resources to some of the poorest people in the world. Nevertheless, with pride, ingenuity and resourcefulness, the Malagasy people of the southwest coast, being of Vezo identity, subsist with low development fishing techniques aimed at an increasingly threatened host of aquatic seascapes. Mangroves, sea grass bed, and coral reefs of the region are under increased pressure from the general populace for both food provisions and support of economic opportunity. Besides purveyors and extractors, the coastal waters are also subject to a number of natural stressors, including cyclones and invasive, predator species of both flora and fauna. In addition, the aquatic ecosystems of the region are undergoing increased nutrient and sediment runoff due, in part, to Madagascar’s heavy reliance on land for agricultural purposes (Scales, 2011). Moreover, its coastal waters, like so many throughout the world, have been proven to be warming at an alarming rate over the past few decades. In recognizing the intimate interconnectedness of the both the social and ecological systems, conservation organizations have invoked a host of complimentary conservation and social development efforts with the dual aim of preserving or restoring the health of both the coastal ecosystems and the people of the region. This paper provides a way of thinking more holistically about the social-ecological system within a resiliency frame of understanding. Secondly, it applies a platform known as state-and-transition modeling to give form to the process. State-and-transition modeling is an iterative investigation into the physical makeup of a system of study as well as the boundaries and influences on that state, and has been used in restorative ecology for more than a decade. Lastly, that model is sited within an adaptive management scheme that provides a structured, cyclical, objective-oriented process for testing stakeholders cognitive understanding of the ecosystem through a pragmatic implementation and monitoring a host of small-scale interventions developed as part of the adaptive management process. Throughout, evidence of the application of the theories and frameworks are offered, with every effort made to retool conservation-minded development practitioners with a comprehensive strategy for addressing the increasingly fragile social-ecological systems of southwest Madagascar. It is offered, in conclusion, that the seascapes of the region would be an excellent case study worthy of future application of state-and-transition modeling and adaptive management as frameworks for conservation-minded development practitioners whose multiple projects, each with its own objective, have been implemented with a single goal in mind: preserve and protect the state of the supporting environment while providing for the basic needs of the local Malagasy people.

Remembering Lee Metcalf - Natural Resources, Environmental and Conservation Excerpts (done for 75th Anniversary of Montana State Parks System - 2014)

Montana's Lee Metcalf was an extraordinary Montana leader with an unbelievable record of accomplishment fighting for the little people against the forces of economic and political power. The public memory is so short that this film will serve to help reacquaint Lee & Donna Metcalf to most of those who were around during their time. But it will also provide an opportunity for new generations to receive a perspective of an important leader from an important time. (Language from YouTube version of the film, written and provided by Executive Producer Evan Barrett) Lee Warren Metcalf (January 28, 1911 – January 12, 1978) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1953–1961) and a U.S. Senator (1961–1978) from Montana. He was permanent acting President pro tempore of the Senate, the only person to hold that position, from 1963 until his death in 1978. Excerpts from main film for 75th Anniversary of Montana State Parks System

Desert tortoise habitat conservation : hearing before the Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, first session, on H.R. 880, to provide for the acquisition of property in Washington County, Utah, for implementation of a desert tortoise habitat conservation plan, May 10, 2001.

Shipping list no.: 2001-0272-P.

BPA in promoting energy conservation and renewables : hearing before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, first session to receive testimony on the role of the Bonneville Power Administration in promoting energy conservation and renewables, August 13, 2001, Seattle, WA.

"Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources."

The National Biological Diversity Conservation and Environmental Research Act [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Natural Resources, Agriculture Research, and Environment of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, June 9, 30, 1988.

"No. 143."

Entrance fees and resource protection for units of the national park system : hearing before the Subcommittee on Public Lands, Reserved Water, and Resource Conservation of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, second session, on S. 2130 ... S. 2204 ... June 12, 1986.

Mode of access: Internet.

Prairie parklands : an inventory of the region's resources /

"A project of the critical trends assessment program."

The Illinois Big Rivers : an inventory of the region's resources /

Statement of responsibility from P. [3] of cover.

The Embarras River basin : an inventory of the region's resources /

"A product of the Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP) and the Ecosystems Program of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)."

The Illinois River bluffs : an inventory of the region's resources /

Statement of responsibility from P. [3] of cover.

The Kishwaukee River Basin : an inventory of the region's resources /

"A product of the Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP) and the Ecosystems Program of the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR)"--P. [2] of cover.

The Spoon River basin : an inventory of the region's resources 1998 /

"A product of the Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP) and the Ecosystems Program of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)--P. [2] of cover.

The upper Des Plaines River basin : an inventory of the region's resources /

"A project of the Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP and the Ecosystems Program of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)"--P. [2] of cover.

Various authorizations to units of the national park system and an addition to the wild and scenic river system : hearing before the Subcommittee on Public Lands, Reserved Water, and Resource Conservation of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, second session ....

Shipping list no.: 86-432-P (pt. 2).

Miscellaneous conveyances, transfers, and boundary modifications pertaining to public lands : hearing before the Subcommittee on Public Lands, Reserved Water, and Resource Conservation of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, first session on S. 304, S. 829, S. 360, S. 1530, S. 446, S. 1625, S. 565, S. 1690, S. 567.

"March 4, 1986"--Pt. 2.