Évaluation économique des services écosystémiques dans la région de Montréal : analyse spatiale et préférences exprimées

Les services écosystémiques (SE) réfèrent aux bénéfices que produisent et soutiennent la biodiversité et les écosystèmes et qui profitent à l’être humain. Dans beaucoup de cas, ils ne sont pas pris en compte dans le système économique. Cette externalisation des SE engendre des décisions sur l’utilisation du territoire et des ressources naturelles qui ignorent leur contribution à la qualité de vie des communautés. Afin notamment de sensibiliser l’opinion publique à l’importance des SE et de mieux les intégrer dans les processus décisionnels, ont été développées des démarches d’évaluation économique des SE. Dans cette thèse, nous avons cherché à comprendre à la fois comment l’utilisation passée et actuelle des sols dans la région de Montréal affecte la valeur des SE et comment ces aménités naturelles sont perçues et valorisées par la population, dans une perspective d’aménagement futur du territoire. Pour ce faire, nous avons utilisé deux approches : l’analyse spatiale recourant aux systèmes d’information géographique et l’analyse des préférences exprimées par des techniques d’enquête. Pour l’analyse spatiale, nous avons combiné des analyses cartographiques à des valeurs monétaires associées aux SE publiées dans la littérature. Nous avons alors estimé la valeur des écosystèmes d’un territoire par le transfert de bénéfices, de prix de marchés directs et de coûts évités. Cette démarche nous a permis de comprendre la relation entre l’utilisation actuelle du territoire du Grand Montréal écologique et la valeur des services fournis par les écosystèmes, que nous avons estimée à 2,2 milliards de dollars par année. Elle nous a permis aussi de mesurer les effets sur la valeur des SE du changement d’utilisation des sols entre les années 1960 et 2010. Nous avons montré que malgré différentes politiques de contrôle et d’encadrement de l’étalement urbain au cours de cette période, les pertes économiques non marchandes liées aux SE s’élèvent à 236 millions de dollars par année. Pour l’analyse des préférences exprimées, nous avons utlilisé deux méthodes, l’évaluation contingente et le choix multi-attributs, avec l’objectif de mesurer le consentement à payer de répondants pour des variations dans l’aménagement du territoire. Nous avons montré d’une part que les répondants valorisent significativement l’incidence des pratiques agro-environnementales sur la qualité de l’environnement et des paysages en consentant à payer entre 159 et 333 dollars par ménage par année pour une amélioration de la diversité du paysage agricole. D’autre part, leur volonté à payer pour l’amélioration de l’état des milieux humides du Québec est estimée entre 389 et 455 dollars par ménage par année. L’utilisation conjointe des deux méthodes nous a permis d’en comparer les résultats. Nous avons en outre démontré que le choix du format de question de valorisation de l’évaluation contingente affecte la convergence des résultats. Enfin, nous avons proposé des pistes de recherches futures portant sur l’intégration des démarches d’analyse biophysique, économique et politique dans des outils de prise de décision mieux adaptés à la dynamique des écosystèmes, de la biodiversité et des communautés humaines.

Ecological and Biochemical Studies On Cyanobacteria of Cochin Estuary and Their Application as Source of Antioxidants

The main objectives of the present investigation were to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative distribution of natural cyanobacterial population and their ecobiological properties along the Cochin estuary and their application in aquaculture systems as a nutritional supplement due to their nutrient-rich biochemical composition and antioxidant potential. This thesis presents a detailed account of the distribution of cyanobacteria in Cochin estuary, an assessment of physico-chemical parameters and the nutrients of the study site, an evaluation of the effect of physico-chemical parameters on cyanobacterial distribution and abundance, isolation, identification and culturing of cyanobacteria, the biochemical composition an productivity of cyanobacteria, and an evaluation of the potential of the selected cyanobacteria as antioxidants against ethanol induced lipid peroxidation. The pH, salinity and nutritional requirements were optimized for low-cost production of the selected cyanobacterial strains. The present study provides an insight into the distribution, abundance, diversity and ecology of cyanobacteria of Cochin estuary. From the results, it is evident that the ecological conditions of Cochin estuary support a rich cyanobacterial growth.

Ecological characteristics of prawn culture fields in the Cochin area

Prawn culture by traditional method forms an important occupation for the people in these areas, especially in the Vypeen island. Though short term studies have been made on various aspects of prawn culture field and its ecology, a study of detailed nature covering perennial, seasonal, fields and canals between coconut plantation is lacking from these areas. This study will also enable to assess the relative productivity of different systems during different seasons and the influence of the environment on the production potentials. Therefore the present study is taken upto throw more light on the ecological characteristics of these fields with special emphasis on its primary, secondary and tertiary production. The present area of investigation includes the prawn culture fields adjacent to Cochin backwater. The Cochin backwater (O9° 58'N 76° 28'E) is a shallow semi-enclosed body of water of tropical estuary. A narrow gut, about 450 M wide forms its main connection with the Arabian sea and this region is subjected to regular tidal influenceertiary production.

Fish Driven Bioturbation as a Viable Aquaculture Technology for Increasing Production and Improving Ecological Sustainability of Giant Tiger Shrimp Penaeus Monodon (FABRlClUS)

A general introduction to the problems faced in the shrimp culture due to waste formation and its consequent environmental hazards and production problems of Giant tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon is highlighted by the author in this thesis. The objective of the present work was to assess the potential of brackish water finfish to improve bottom soil conditions and thereby increase the growth and production of Penaeus monodon. The salient findings of the present study are summarized in chapter 7. This is followed by the references cited in the thesis and list ofpublications originated from the present study.

Nature and Ecological significance of Nutrient Regeneration in Different Prawn Culture Fields

The present work "Nature and Ecological Significance of Nutrient Regeneration in different Prawn Culture Fields" was undertaken to understand the seasonal variation of nutrients, nutrient cycling and primary productivity of the prawn culture systems. The main emphasis was to find the qualitative and quantitative estimates of distribution of total phosphorus, inorganic phosphorus, organic phosphorus, total nitrogen and nitrogen fractions in the water. The effect of nutrient cycling on primary productivity and concentration of metals also form one part of the study. The entire thesis comprise of only one major chapter with subchapters such as, Introduction (I), Review of Literature (2), Material and Methods (3), Results (14), Discussion (5), Executive Summary (6) and Biblio~ graphy (7)

Distribution and bioactive potential of soil actinomycetes from different ecological habitats

Emergence of drug resistance among pathogenic bacteria to currently available antibiotics has intensified the search for novel bioactive compounds from unexplored habitats. In the present study actinomycetes were isolated from two relatively unexplored and widely differing habitats such as mountain and wetlands and their ability to produce antibacterial substances were analyzed. Pure cultures of actinomycetes were identified by morphological and biochemical tests. Various genera of actinomycetes encountered included Nocardia, Pseudonocardia, Streptomyces, Nocardiopsis, Streptosporangium, Micromonospora, Rhodococcus, Actinosynnema, Nocardiodes, Kitasatosporia, Gordona, Intrasporangium and Streptoalloteichus. The frequency of occurrence of each genus was found to vary with sample. About 47% of wetland isolates and 33% of mountain isolates were identified as various species of Nocardia. The isolated strains differed among themselves in their ability to decompose proteins and amino acids and also in enzyme production potential. Antibiotic activities of these actinomycetes were evaluated against 12 test pathogenic bacteria by well diffusion method using agar wells in glycerol-yeast extract agar. About 95% of actinomycete isolates from wetland ecosystem and 75% of highland isolates suppressed in different degrees the growth of test pathogens. Relatively high antibacterial activity among these isolates underlined their potential as a source of novel antibiotics.

Antagonistic effect of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from various ecological niches on Vibrio species pathogenic to crustaceans

This is a valuable research work in which authors have demonstrated the antagonistic effects of pseudomonas on the growth of vibrio

Ecological studies of the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats of India, using Remote Sensing and GIS

mbikulam Tiger Reserve of Western Ghats using Geospatial technology. The major objectives of the study are Land use land cover mapping (LULC) and Phytodiversity analysis. Satellite data was used to map the land use / land cover using supervised classification techniques in Erdas imagine. The change for a period of 32 years was assessed using the multi-temporal satellite datasets from Landsat MSS (1973), Landsat TM (1990), and IRS P6 LISS III (2005). A geospatial approach was used for the land cover analysis. Digital elevation models, Satellite imageries and SOI topo sheets were the data sets used in the analysis. Vegetation sampling plots distributed over the different forest types were enumerated and studied for Phytodiversity analysis.

Sustainable Solid Waste Management Through Ecological Footprint Analysis – A Solution To Kochi City, India

Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, South India and second most important city next to Mumbai on the Western coast is a land having a wide variety of residential environments. Due to rapid population growth, changing lifestyles, food habits and living standards, institutional weaknesses, improper choice of technology and public apathy, the present pattern of the city can be classified as that of haphazard growth with typical problems characteristics of unplanned urban development especially in the case of solid waste management. To have a better living condition for us and our future generations, we must know where we are now and how far we need to go. We, each individual must calculate how much nature we use and compare it to how much nature we have available. This can be achieved by applying the concept of ecological footprint. Ecological footprint analysis (EFA) is a quantitative tool that represents the ecological load imposed on earth by humans in spatial terms. The aim of applying EFA to Kochi city is to quantify the consumption and waste generation of a population and to compare it with the existing biocapacity. By quantifying the ecological footprint we can formulate strategies to reduce the footprint and there by having a sustainable living. The paper discusses the various footprint components of Kochi city and in detail analyses the waste footprint of the residential areas using waste footprint analyzer. An attempt is also made to suggest some waste foot print reduction strategies thereby making the city sustainable as far as solid waste management is concerned.

Sustainable Solid Waste Management Solutions To Kochi City, India, Through The Environmental Management Tool Ecological Footprint Analysis

Solid waste management nowadays is an important environmental issue in country like India. Statistics show that there has been substantial increase in the solid waste generation especially in the urban areas. This trend can be ascribed to rapid population growth, changing lifestyles, food habits, and change in living standards, lack of financial resources, institutional weaknesses, improper choice of technology and public apathy towards municipal solid waste. Waste is directly related to the consumption of resources and dumping to the land. Ecological footprint analysis – an impact assessment environment management tool makes a relationship between two factors- the amount of land required to dispose per capita generated waste. Ecological footprint analysis is a quantitative tool that represents the ecological load imposed on the earth by humans in spatial terms. By quantifying the ecological footprint we can formulate strategies to reduce the footprint and there by having a sustainable living. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the tool Ecological Footprint Analysis with special emphasis to waste generation. The paper also discusses and analyses the waste footprint of Kochi city,India. An attempt is also made to suggest strategies to reduce the waste footprint thereby making the city sustainable, greener and cleaner

Ecological Foot Print Analysis-A Sustainable Environmental Management Tool for Kochi City

Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala and the second most important city next to Mumbai on the Western coast of India, is a land having a wide variety of residential environments. The present pattern of the city can be classified as that of haphazard growth with typical problems characteristics of unplanned urban development. This trend can be ascribed to rapid population growth, our changing lifestyles, food habits, and change in living standards, institutional weaknesses, improper choice of technology and public apathy. Ecological footprint analysis (EFA) is a quantitative tool that represents the ecological load imposed on the earth by humans in spatial terms. This paper analyses the scope of EFA as a sustainable environmental management tool for Kochi City

Sustainable Development through the Environment Management Tool Ecological Footprint Analysis – A Study in Kochi City, India

In the past, natural resources were plentiful and people were scarce. But the situation is rapidly reversing. Our challenge is to find a way to balance human consumption and nature’s limited productivity in order to ensure that our communities are sustainable locally, regionally and globally. Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, South India and the second most important city next to Mumbai on the Western coast is a land having a wide variety of residential environments. Due to rapid population growth, changing lifestyles, food habits and living standards, institutional weaknesses, improper choice of technology and public apathy, the present pattern of the city can be classified as that of haphazard growth with typical problems characteristics of unplanned urban development. Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is physical accounting method, developed by William Rees and M. Wackernagel, focusing on land appropriation using land as its “currency”. It provides a means for measuring and communicating human induced environmental impacts upon the planet. The aim of applying EFA to Kochi city is to quantify the consumption and waste generation of a population and to compare it with the existing biocapacity. By quantifying the ecological footprint we can formulate strategies to reduce the footprint and there by having a sustainable living. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the tool Ecological Footprint Analysis and calculate and analyse the ecological footprint of the residential areas of Kochi city. The paper also discusses and analyses the waste footprint of the city. An attempt is also made to suggest strategies to reduce the footprint thereby making the city sustainable

Ecological Footprint Analysis – An Overview

In the past, natural resources were plentiful and people were scarce. But the situation is rapidly reversing. According to the Living Planet Report 2006, during the last thirty years, consumption of natural resources has increased 40%, while Earth’s natural wealth in biodiversity has decreased 30%. Our challenge is to find a way to balance human consumption and nature’s limited productivity in order to ensure that our communities are sustainable locally, regionally and globally. Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is physical accounting method, developed by William Rees and M. Wackernagel (1992), focusing on land appropriation using land as its “currency”. It provides a means for measuring and communicating human induced environmental impacts upon the planet. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the tool Ecological Footprint Analysis. The paper also analyses the methods for calculating ecological footprint, scope of the tool as an impact assessment tool for India and measure for reducing the ecological footprint