Dissertations / Theses on the topic '3D conservation spatial planning'

Doutoramento em Biologia - Instituto Superior de Agronomia
Spatial Conservation Planning is a scientific-driven procedure to identify cost effective networks of areas capable of representing biodiversity through time. This conceptually simple task accommodates sufficient complexity to justify the existence of an active research line with more than 20 years already. But costefficiency and representation of biodiversity is only part of the whole challenge of Spatial Conservation Planning.The recognition that Nature operates dynamically has stimulated researchers to embrace the additional challenges of developing methods to make conventional (static) conservation approaches more dynamic and therefore increase the chances that biodiversity are preserved in the longer term. In this thesis, I present a set of tools to assist spatial conservation decision-making and address issues such as uncertainty and spatial dynamics of species ranges. These two topics are particularly relevant in the context of ongoing climate changes. I start by investigating two connectivity paradigms for the identification of conservation areas. In the first, a distance-based approach is applied for the identification of areas representing a set of species. In the second, I present a conceptual framework based on the analysis of environmental similarity between protected areas. The framework seeks to identify effective spatial linkages between protected areas while ensuring that these linkages are as efficient as possible. Then, I introduce a methodology to refine the matching of species distributions and protected area data in gap analysis. Forth, I present a comprehensive assessment for the expected impacts of climate change among European conservation areas. Finally, I address a framework for cost-efficient identification of the best areas that, in each time period, assist species’ range adjustments induced by severe climate changes. There exists a wealth of theoretical insight and algorithmic power available to ecologists. This thesis took advantage of it and (I hope) it offers useful guidance for genuine biodiversity protection.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) was established in 1997 to facilitate Transfrontier Conservation (TFCA) initiatives in the SADC region and thereby support economic development, conservation of biodiversity, as well as the promotion of regional peace and stability. To this effect, their regional planners require a thorough knowledge of the condition of areas in which the estimated actions will be carried out. To date, the PPF have used base datasets, such as land cover and population densities, in their GIS projects to support their decision making processes. However, they have realised the importance of developing rigorous methods for the extraction and generalization of biodiversity information for informed conservation decisions. The main aim of this study was, therefore, to develop a spatial framework for the generalisation and integration of data to become meaningful information that may be readily interpreted. The resultant framework represents a methodology for, firstly, identifying and, secondly, prioritizing core natural areas or units (CNU). CNUs were modelled to represent large blocks (minimum 100 km') of contiguous natural vegetation that are far from major roads and densely populated places. They were, then, ranked into three classes of importance (low, medium and high) according to an ecological value derived for each. This made the framework comprehensive in its considerations of regional biodiversity and robust enough to be used for planning at the SADC scale. By organising data and quantitative approaches logically in a robust, but rigorous, way, spatial frameworks provide the structure for combining specialized knowledge as well as scientific analysis and pragmatic politics in an effective planning process. This could guide plans which are proactive instead of reactive, visionary as well as pragmatic and well founded in research and understanding.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) was gestig in 1997 om oorgrens bewarings-initiatiewe in die SADC streek te fasiliteer en daardeur steun te verleen aan ekonomiese ontwikkeling, die bewaring van biodiversiteit asook die bevordering van vrede en stabiliteit in die streek. Om dit te behaal benodig die betrokke streeksbeplanners 'n grondige kennis van die toestand van die areas waarin die beoogdede aksies uitgevoer sal word. Tot op hede het die PPF basis datastelle, van byvoorbeeld landgebruik en populasie-digtheid, ingespan m hul GIS projekte om besluitnemingsprossese te ondersteun. Daar is egter besef dat dit van hoogste belang is om deeglike metodes te onwikkel vir die onttrekking van biodiversiteits-informasie sodat ingeligte besluitneming moontlik gemaak kan word. Gevolglik was die hoof oogmerk van hierdie studie om 'n ruimtelike verwysingsraamwerk te ontwikkel wat data kan veralgemeen en integreer tot betekenisvolle inligting wat geredelik interpreteerbaar is. Die daaruit-vloeiende raamwerk stel 'n metodologie voor wat Kern Natuurlike Areas (KNA) eerstens kan identifiseer en tweedens kan prioritiseer. Hierdie KNA is gemodelleer om groot blokke (minstens 100km2 ) van aaneenlopende natuurlike plantegroei, ver van hoofpaaie en dig bevolkte gebiede, voor te stel. Hulle is hieropvolgend gesorteer in drie range van belangrikheid (laag, medium en hoog) na gelang van 'n ekologiese waarde wat vir elk afgelei is. Hierdeur is die raamwerk, in terme van voldoende oorwegings teenoor streeks-biodiversiteit, omvattend gemaak en terselfdertyd robuus vir beplanning op die SADC skaal. Deur data en kwalitatiewe benaderings logies en in 'n deeglike en robuuste wyse te organiseer, bied ruimtelike verwysingsraamwerke die struktuur om gespesialiseerde kennis met wetenskaplike analise en pragmatiese politiek te kombineer in 'n effektiewe beplanningsproses. Hierdeur kan planne geformuleer word wat proaktief is instede van reaktief, visionêr sowel as pragmaties, en terselfdertyd goed gefundeer bly op navorsing en begrip.

Artisanal fisheries are a key source of food and income for millions of people worldwide. However, unmanaged or excessive fishing activity can lead to declining returns for fishing effort and livelihood insecurity, and adversely impact wetland ecosystems. Management interventions such as protected areas and temporal closures may improve fishery sustainability and reduce environmental degradation, but often carry costs for fishers. Understanding predictors of fishing behaviour would allow conservation planning to minimise the adverse impacts of interventions, increasing the likelihood of fisher support of change. However, factors influencing fishers’ behaviour are rarely identified or taken into account when implementing conservation actions. Madagascar’s Lake Alaotra wetland supports the nation’s largest and most productive artisanal freshwater fishery, and provides critical habitat for endemic wildlife. Local fishers depend on the fishery for livelihood throughout the year. Catch-monitoring interviews, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and follows were conducted over 16 months with 784 fishers at Lake Alaotra to understand the socioeconomic dynamics of the fishery. Although information from the fishers was sometimes imprecise, participatory monitoring methods engaged fishers and improved understanding of system dynamics. Linear mixed models confirmed that proposed restricted areas and temporal closures would generate direct short-term costs through reduced catch sizes, which vary between gear types. Socioeconomic data, spatial distribution of fishing effort, and fishers’ evaluations of management scenarios were used to explore alternative strategies. The conservation planning tool Marxan was used to identify reserve networks capable of achieving conservation goals while minimising adverse impacts for fishers. The research demonstrates that: interventions can have unequal impacts on local people: information about costs and benefits of interventions can produce more realistic and implementable conservation plans: and actively engaging fishers and understanding their spatial behaviour at relevant scales is critical for managing fisheries sustainability and promoting effective long-term conservation of freshwater ecosystems.

Spatial prioritization and systematic conservation planning methods are designed to improve land use decisions and conservation outcomes, yet remain underutilized in many biologically-rich places that need them most. This thesis applies the theory and methods developed in the discipline of spatial prioritization to conservation and land use decisions in the Central African country of Gabon. Creating a spatial information base of priority species, habitats and land uses in a region that is notoriously data-poor, I reveal that many features important for both conservation and natural resource production are highly localized; their coincidence has important implications for management. Setting conservation targets for species and habitats, I find that representation in existing protected areas is relatively low, and identify a number of near-optimal solutions that meet all targets, with minimal impact on land used for local livelihoods. I distill these solutions down to a handful of critical biodiversity sites that are top priority to protect, and make management actions explicit for the species and habitats they contain. To make the work more widely applicable, I also develop a novel method to identify where field surveys are most likely to improve decisions about protected area expansion, providing decision-makers with more options of places that could be protected to achieve conservation goals. This study contributes to the research, development and practice of conservation prioritization and spatial planning, particularly in data-poor contexts like Gabon, which still have a wealth of biodiversity, and need to carefully plan for its conservation alongside development.

Conservation of historic buildings requires comprehensive and correct information of buildings to be analyzed in conservation decision making process in a systematic and rational approach. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are advantageous in such cases which can be defined as computer based systems for handling geographical and spatial data. GIS have the potential to support the conservation decision making process with their storing, analyzing and monitoring capabilities. Therefore, information systems like GIS can be seen as a potential significant instrument for dealing with the conservation projects. This thesis aims to analyze the transformation process of the data collected in conservation process into practical information in order to adapt this process to a spatial information system. In this context, use of Geographical Information Systems is tested in the process of historic building conservation on spatial information system designed for Doganlar Church izmir chosen as the case study. Hence the advantages and disadvantages of local information systems in conservation decision making process of historic buildings can be criticized.

Conservation strategies frequently require prioritization of targets due to limited budgets and personnel. Prioritization involves choosing those areas that return the most conservation value for the time and money invested. Hence, the process of prioritization involves evaluating multiple conservation values and the uneven spatial distribution of those values across a landscape of concern. The goal of this study was to help conservation organizations improve decision making for implementation of prioritization-based strategies for land protection using a GIS-based, multi-criteria decision support system (GIS-MCDS). Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can assist conservation planners in quantifying the relative desirability of one area over another, therefore enabling better business and ecological decisions. GIS analyses for planning are routinely undertaken over large geographic extents such as ecoregions to identify priority areas. These analyses often summarize priority by pixel values in a raster image. Implementation of conservation strategy often takes place at the much larger parcel level. Therefore, aggregating pixel-based results by parcels is a prerequisite to implementation of a purchase or easement strategy. I developed a spatial decision support system in an attempt to quantify private land holdings in the High Knob area of Virginia for their relative conservation value, as defined by the Clinch Valley Program of The Nature Conservancy. It utilizes a proxy approach for measuring conservation values and an analytical hierarchy process to aggregate the results by privately held real estate parcels. Simple prioritizations are often based on parcel size alone, rather than consideration of the many conservation values that characterize land parcels. Though it is much quicker and easier to prioritize parcels in this manner, such simplicity risks missing important smaller areas for conservation while prioritizing larger parcels with less value. I compared this simple â bigger is betterâ ranking method to the GIS-based multi-criteria method developed for TNC. There was a 0.57 correlation between the ranked lists produced by the two models, suggesting that parcel size alone does partially explain the complexity modeled by the multi-criteria method. However, the more complex method did produce different top priority parcels, which could significantly change an organization's implementation strategy. I conclude that both methods have their applications, though the multi-criteria method is better for long-term implementations of strategic acquisition and easement. A secondary goal was to identify to what extent land trust organizations are prepared to implement a multi-criteria type analysis like the one considered in this study. I conducted an online survey of conservation professionals on how their organization currently uses GIS and their satisfaction with GIS analyses to meet their organizational mission. Sixty-one responses were collected and analyzed. The overwhelming majority of conservation organizations recognize the benefits that GIS bring and have already developed some level of internal expertise, though many barriers to using GIS were also identified. From these results, I conclude that most land trust conservation organizations are not currently utilizing the insights that multi-criteria GIS prioritization is capable of offering, but that their previous positive experience with GIS makes such analyses an attractive proposition for those on the cutting edge of the land conservation movement.
Master of Science

With the growth in human pressures on the marine environment and the increase in competition for space and resources there has been recognition by many governments of the need to use the marine environment sustainably and allow for its acceptable allocation for each sector. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the use of Marxan and Marxan with Zones as practical tools to enable the production of marine plans that integrate environmental and socioeconomic data and to suggest best practice in the types of data used. In this thesis three key aspects of data type and integration were identified and evaluated. The resolution and complexity of data required to protected marine biodiversity was assessed. The effects of using different substrate data resolution on the selection of sites to protect a range of biotopes using Marxan are determined. The nature of the data used in marine planning has significant implications for the protection of marine biodiversity. Using less complex data, of any resolution, did not adequately protect marine biodiversity. There is a need to determine what is an acceptable allocation of marine resource to each sector. Two case study areas were used to determine how to integrate conservation and socioeconomic data and objectives in a marine plan. Objectives for all the sectors could not be met completely in a single marine plan and each sector had to compromise. This research highlighted the potential compromises required and indicates that if marine heritage and biodiversity are to be protected each sector will have to change the impact it has on the marine environment. Currently marine conservation assumes that all data on habitats and species presented for use in marine planning are equal, in accuracy, precision and value. This is not always the case, with data based on a wide range of sources including routine government monitoring, specific innovative research and stakeholder based data gathering. A case study area was used to evaluate the impacts of using confidence levels in habitat data on marine biodiversity. It was found that data outputs that best protected marine biodiversity used data over 20% and over 30% confidence. With the data currently available for the UK marine environment it is not possible to be confident that a representative MPA network can be created. Together these studies contribute key recommendations for best practice in marine planning and demonstrate that the use of spatial decision support tools (Marxan and Marxan with Zones) are essential for the integration of data in marine planning, to assess how using different types of data will impact marine planning and marine biodiversity protection and to explore implications of different management actions.

Historically the practice of conservation planning has occurred in an ad hoc manner in areas that have no economic or agricultural value. When systematic conservation planning has been implemented it has ensured the identification of priority areas that contain species, habitats, and processes essential to achieving conservation targets and goals set out by government. In the recent past a number of authors within the conservation planning fraternity have started questioning the actual impact of conservation plans. Only one third of the conservation plans (globally) published between 1998 and 2000 resulted in actual implementation. Prendengast et al. (1999) described this gap between conservation plans and conservation action as the ‘research–implementation–gap’. The same phenomenon is experienced in local government conservation planning, in South Africa. This has led to a lack of conservation planning and implementation. By using the Gauteng provincial Conservation Plan (C–Plan), that is considered the strategic conservation planning document for the province government, a critical evaluation of the extent to which environmental aspects are considered in strategic level municipal decision making was done. Six local and two district municipalities within the Gauteng Province were selected to ascertain, through a comparative and objective analysis, to what extent their strategic documents (Integrated Development Plan, Spatial Development Framework and Environmental Management Framework) reflect the conservation planning done on a provincial sphere (C–Plan). An analysis was done of the selected documentation and spatial maps to determine whether incorporation occurred either explicitly and/or implicitly. The expectation is that municipalities within the Gauteng Province, should, as part of their Integrated Development Plan process, integrate the Gauteng C–Plan with their Integrated Development Plans. The research found that all the municipalities fully incorporated the C–Plan within their Environmental Management Frameworks indicating that local government conservation planners do consult and incorporate provincial conservation plans when they are generating their own plans. The Spatial Development Frameworks and Integrated Development Plans did not reflect this strong connection with regards to conservation planning. There is a lack of integration between the different documents and an inability to bring a planning aspect(s) to delivery and implementation. There is no problem with the incorporation of the C–Plan into the Environmental Management Frameworks, thus future research or conservation initiatives should focus on the effective incorporation of the Environmental Management Frameworks into other strategic municipal documentation (Spatial Development Frameworks and Integrated Development Plans) and promote the integration that occurs between the municipal documents themselves.
Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Urban development has long been the major threat to archaeological sites. Recent theoretical discussions advocate that archaeological sites in urban areas should be protected not only through technical solutions and archaeological studies, but also through spatial planning processes, which define basic mechanisms to direct and control the urban development. Despite a specific type of spatial plan, the &
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conservation plan&
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in Turkish legislation, negative impacts of urban development on archeological sites could not be successfully eliminated. This is due to the reason that conservation and planning systems do not concern &
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integration of the archaeological site with the urban built environment&
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, which results in either isolation or destruction of the archaeological remains. Based on this assumption, the objective of this dissertation is to determine in which points Turkish conservation and planning systems fail to achieve integration and how this failure could be overcame. Turkish conservation and planning systems are evaluated on selected case study area, Soli-Pompeiopolis Archaeological Site, by using three-step qualitative analysis methodology. First, conservation and planning decisions and the built environment shaped by these decisions are examined in details through process analysis. Then, based on qualities of spatial planning process redefined through theoretical discussions, &
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process integration&
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and &
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outcome integration&
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are evaluated through context analysis. Lastly, reasons of problematic issues on integration are discussed through causality analysis. Concluding the study, a discussion is carried on how to achieve &
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integration of conservation of archaeological sites in urban areas into spatial planning processes&
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by making modifications within the &
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Turkish conservation and planning systems&
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.

The marine environment provides essential ecosystem services that are critical to the functioning of the earth’s life support system and the maintenance of human well-being. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are recognised as being the mechanism though which marine natural capital may be conserved. This thesis focuses on the value associated with marine conservation in a case study area, Lyme Bay, England where a ‘closed area’ was created in 2008. A review of literature spanning 20 years shows that despite sound ecological knowledge of a marine area, the reliance on traditional neo-classical economic valuations for marine spatial planning can obscure other issues pertinent to the ecosystem approach. A further valuation of the marine leisure and recreation industry shows that the industry is of economic significance and that the MPA enables the protection of the most valuable sites but has limited benefits for protecting the full resource base. In terms of ecological value, a ‘service orientated framework’ was developed to enable decision makers to understand the links between benthic species, ecological function and indirect ecosystem services. Results spatially identify which ecosystem services occur and demonstrate the value of the MPA in ensuring delivery of these ecosystem services. In relation to the social value of the MPA the research reveals that support for the MPA is strong amongst the majority of stakeholder groups. Values are expressed as the economic, environmental and social benefits of the MPA. However, there have been clear social costs of the MPA policy and these have been borne by mobile and static gear fishermen and charter boat operators. Each valuation methodology can inform decision making. Though, if ecosystem service valuation is to become a deliberative tool for marine conservation and planning, then there is a need for a larger societal discussion on what activities and trade-offs society considers acceptable.

This thesis, firstly, examines the main characteristics of comprehensive and strategic spatial planning and by comparing both planning understandings indicates that strategic spatial planning is thought as more suitable to the demands of both developing and developed countries in the contemporary era. Then, the main argument of the thesis is presented as Ulus Historical Center Conservation and Improvement Plan is an example of a strategic plan prepared for the purposes of conservation (development). In conformity with the general conviction that strategic plan is more flexible, adaptable to changing circumstances, action oriented, open to negotiation by various actors involved in the planning process and allowing participation by beneficiaries of the planning process, this study aims to find out the strategic plan characteristics of Ulus Historical Center Conservation and Improvement Plan by looking at its development stage, main characteristics and the implementation process. As a conclusion, displaying an alternative view and as a planning process Ulus Planning Project is different than the traditional comprehensive conservation (development) plans more displaying the characteristics of strategic spatial planning.

I ”Översiktsplan Älvkarleby Kommun 2009” framgår att kommunen vill utveckla de demokratiska formerna och underlätta för medborgarnas politiska delaktighet. Tidigare forskning har visat att behovet av medborgardeltagande ökar i den offentliga planeringen och att planerare kan dra flera fördelar av medborgardeltagande i planprocesser. Ett sätt att öka medborgardeltagandet är att integrera digital 3D-visualisering i planprocessen, ett verktyg som Älvkarleby kommun inte använder i framtagandet av dagens detaljplaner.   Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka den digitala 3D-visualiseringens framtid i en liten svensk kommun. Studien kommer att identifiera inställningen till digital 3D-visualisering hos politiker, planerare och medborgare. Slutligen ska studien också undersöka hur mindre kommuner kan använda digital 3D-visualisering i framtida planarbete för att öka det befintliga medborgardeltagandet. Målet med denna studie är att påvisa för Älvkarleby, och andra kommuner där digital 3D-visualisering inte används, hur de med enkla medel och kostnadseffektivt kan använda 3D-visualisering i framtida planprocesser.   För att identifiera synen på digital 3D-visualisering hos ett urval av kommunala tjänstemän och politiker har det genomförts semistrukturerade intervjuer. För att kvantitativt undersöka medborgarnas syn har digitala enkäter skickats ut via det sociala nätverket Facebook. Under studien har det genomförts åtta intervjuer och 99 enkäter har besvarats.   Politiker, planerare och medborgare inom kommunen är överens om att 3D-visualiseringen kan bidra till att effektivisera och förbättra planprocessen för detaljplaner. Studien har också resulterat i identifiering av de hinder som kan uppstå inom planprocesser med digital 3D-visualisering.   Digital 3D-visualisering som en del i planprocessen för detaljplaner kan medföra att medborgardeltagandet i Älvkarleby kommun ökar. Detta eftersom intresset för det kommunala planarbetet och viljan att bidra hos medborgare kan påverkas positivt av digital 3D-visualisering i planprocessen. Utöver medborgardeltagandet kan också digital 3D-visualisering förenkla arbetsgången hos såväl kommunala tjänstemän som politiker.       Nyckelord: Digital 3D-visualisering, Planprocess, Detaljplan, Älvkarleby kommun, Medborgardeltagande.
In “Översiktsplan Älvkarleby Kommun 2009” is it clear that the municipality of Älvkarleby want to develop the democratic forms and facilitate citizens’ political participation. Earlier research shows that the need for citizen participation increases in public planning and believe that planners can draw multiple benefits of citizen participation in planning processes. One way to increase citizen participation is the integration of digital 3D visualization in the planning process, a tool that the municipality of Älvkarleby not using for local plans today. The purpose of this study is to examine the future of digital 3D visualization in small Swedish municipality. The study will identify attitudes to digital 3D visualization of politicians, planners and citizens. Finally, the study will also examine how small municipalities can use digital 3D visualization in the future planning to enhance the existing civic participation. The goal of this study is to demonstrate to Älvkarleby, and other municipalities where the digital 3D visualization is not used, how to by simple means and cost-effective use digital 3D visualization in future planning processes. To identify the perception of 3D digital visualization, a selection of municipal officials and politicians, semi-structural interviews have been carried out. To quantitatively examine the citizens' attitudes, digital questionnaires have been sent out via the social network Facebook. During the study eight interviews and 99 surveys have been answered. Politicians, planners and citizens in the municipality agree that digital 3D visualization can help to streamline and improve the planning processes for local plans. The study has also resulted in identifying the obstacles that digital 3D visualization may lead to in the planning process. Digital 3D visualization as a part of the planning process for the local planning could lead to increased citizen participation in the municipality of Älvkarleby, as the interest in the planning process increases and the desire to participate are positively affected by digital 3D visualization. In addition to civic participation, the digital 3D visualization can also be used to simplify the workflows for both municipal officials and politicians.         Keywords: Digital 3D Visualization, Planning Process, Zoning Plan, Älvkarleby kommun, Public Participation.

La quantité et la disponibilité sans cesse croissantes de données urbaines dérivées de sources variées posent de nombreux problèmes, notamment la consolidation, la visualisation et les perspectives d’exploitation maximales des données susmentionnées. Un problème prééminent qui affecte l’urbanisme est le choix du lieu approprié pour accueillir une activité particulière (service social ou commercial commun) ou l’utilisation correcte d’un bâtiment existant ou d’un espace vide. Dans cette thèse, nous proposons une approche pour aborder les défis précédents rencontrés avec les techniques d’apprentissage automatique, le classifieur de forêts aléatoires comme méthode dominante dans un système qui combine et fusionne divers types de données provenant de sources différentes, et les code à l’aide d’un nouveau modèle sémantique. qui peut capturer et utiliser à la fois des informations géométriques de bas niveau et des informations sémantiques de niveau supérieur et les transmet ensuite au classifieur de forêts aléatoires. Les données sont également transmises à d'autres classificateurs et les résultats sont évalués pour confirmer la prévalence de la méthode proposée. Les données extraites proviennent d’une multitude de sources, par exemple: fournisseurs de données ouvertes et organisations publiques s’occupant de planification urbaine. Lors de leur récupération et de leur inspection à différents niveaux (importation, conversion, géospatiale, par exemple), ils sont convertis de manière appropriée pour respecter les règles du modèle sémantique et les spécifications techniques des sous-systèmes correspondants. Des calculs géométriques et géographiques sont effectués et des informations sémantiques sont extraites. Enfin, les informations des étapes précédentes, ainsi que les résultats des techniques d’apprentissage automatique et des méthodes multicritères, sont intégrés au système et visualisés dans un environnement Web frontal capable d’exécuter et de visualiser des requêtes spatiales, permettant ainsi la gestion de trois processus. objets géoréférencés dimensionnels, leur récupération, transformation et visualisation, en tant que système d'aide à la décision
The constantly increasing amount and availability of urban data derived from varying sources leads to an assortment of challenges that include, among others, the consolidation, visualization, and maximal exploitation prospects of the aforementioned data. A preeminent problem affecting urban planning is the appropriate choice of location to host a particular activity (either commercial or common welfare service) or the correct use of an existing building or empty space. In this thesis we propose an approach to address the preceding challenges availed with machine learning techniques with the random forests classifier as its dominant method in a system that combines, blends and merges various types of data from different sources, encode them using a novel semantic model that can capture and utilize both low-level geometric information and higher level semantic information and subsequently feeds them to the random forests classifier. The data are also forwarded to alternative classifiers and the results are appraised to confirm the prevalence of the proposed method. The data retrieved stem from a multitude of sources, e.g. open data providers and public organizations dealing with urban planning. Upon their retrieval and inspection at various levels (e.g. import, conversion, geospatial) they are appropriately converted to comply with the rules of the semantic model and the technical specifications of the corresponding subsystems. Geometrical and geographical calculations are performed and semantic information is extracted. Finally, the information from individual earlier stages along with the results from the machine learning techniques and the multicriteria methods are integrated into the system and visualized in a front-end web based environment able to execute and visualize spatial queries, allow the management of three-dimensional georeferenced objects, their retrieval, transformation and visualization, as a decision support system

Avoiding the negative effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity is especially challenging when also the management institutions are spatially and administratively distributed. This doctoral thesis introduces five case studies that investigate ecological, social and social-ecological relations in fragmented landscapes. I present new approaches in which research and governance can detect and manage mismatches between landscape ecology and planning. The case studies include urban and forested landscapes where an intense land-use is limiting the connectivity, i.e., the potential for many species to disperse between the remaining patches of habitat. Graph-theoretic (network) models are applied to map connectivity patterns and to estimate the outcome for dispersing species at the patch level and for the whole study system. In particular, the network models are applied to evaluate the spatial complexity and the potential mismatches between ecological connectivity and geographically distributed management institutions like protected areas and municipalities. Interviews with municipal ecologists complement the spatial analysis; revealing some problems and ways forward regarding the communication and integration of ecological knowledge within local spatial-planning agencies. The results also show that network models are useful to identify and communicate critical ecological and social-ecological patterns that call for management attention. I suggest some developments of network models as to include interactions between species and across governance levels. Finally, I conclude that more effort is needed for network models to materialize into ecological learning and transformation in management processes.

At the time of the doctoral defence the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 2: Manuscript.

In metropolitan areas where the exploitation pressure increases, also the importance to point out nature areas grows, both for the sake of outdoor life and for biodiversity conservation. Since nature conservancy and spatial planning constitute two different parts of the municipalities land use control, a case study has been carried out in two municipalities in the Stockholm region, Huddinge and Järfälla. Both these municipalities have protected about one third of their land and today there are plans to repeal parts of the reserves to enable exploitation. This thesis shows – from the theoretical concept of sustainable development – officials, politicians and non-governmental organizations perspectives on questions concerning land use together with the work with nature reserves and repeals. The study focuses on how different basic attitudes and paradigms emphasizes different aspects of sustainable development and how this in turn affects the work to repeal nature reserves. Interviews with stakeholders in the municipalities and documents concerning land use and nature reserves demonstrates that there is distinct differences between the planning-paradigm, based on spatial planning, and the environmental-paradigm, based on nature conservation. From the planning-paradigm it is considered that nature reserves had to big impact on the munici­pality's land use and that valuable nature more frequently should be protected by the Swedish planning and building act. From the environmental-paradigms view the nature conservancy is – and should also in the future be – an important tool in the long-term prevention to stop valuable nature from being exploited. The thesis also stresses the importance to in the work with repeals take all effects that this kind of decision can lead to into account – not just in the repealed area but also for the future work with nature reserves on the whole.

I storstadsregioner där exploateringstrycket blir allt större, ökar också vikten av att peka ut naturområden, både för det rörliga friluftslivet samt för bevarande av den biologiska mångfalden. Utifrån det att naturskydd samt fysisk planering utgör varsin del av kommuners styrning av mark­användningen har en fallstudie genomförts i två kommuner i Stockholmsregionen, Huddinge och Järfälla. Båda dessa kommuner har skyddat ungefär en tredjedel av kommunens mark och idag finns planer på att upphäva delar av reservaten för att där möjliggöra exploatering. Uppsatsen visar – utifrån det teoretiska begreppet hållbar utveckling – hur tjänstemän, politiker och intresse­organisationer ser på markanvändningsfrågor samt arbetet med naturreservat och upphävande. Studien fokuserar på hur olika grundinställningar och paradigm lyfter fram olika aspekter av hållbar utveckling samt hur detta i sin tur påverkar arbetet med att upphäva naturreservat. Intervjuer med kommunala aktörer samt dokument rörande markanvändning och naturreservat visar att det finns tydliga skillnader mellan planparadigmet, med grund i den fysiska planeringen, och miljö­paradigmet, med grund i naturvården. Utifrån planparadigmet anser man att naturreservaten har fått för stor inverkan på kommunens markanvändning och att värdefull natur oftare borde skyddas med hjälp av plan- och bygglagens verktyg. Från miljöparadigmets vinkel är naturskyddet – och bör även i fortsättningen vara – ett viktigt verktyg för att långsiktigt förhindra att värdefull natur exploateras. Uppsatsen framhåller också vikten av att man vid upphävande av naturreservat tar hänsyn till alla effekter som ett sådant beslut kan leda till – inte bara i det upphävda området utan även för det fortsatta arbetet med naturreservat i stort.

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Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq
Human-induced climate change are acknowledged as one of the major treats to biodiversity over the 21 st century. However, species/populations are not equally affected by climate change. Therefore, identify where and which species are more vulnerable to climate change is paramount for guide conservation efforts. Hence, I sought to i) evaluate mamall exposure to climate change and assess the effectiveness of Amazon network of Protected Areas (PAs) in buffer the impacts of climate change on “critically-exposed” species; ii) develop a spatial conservation scheme for mammals in the Brazilian Amazon that efficiently identifies highlyexposed areas within species current and future distributions in which conservation efforts should be targeted in order to mitigate the impacts of climate change on the biodiversity found in the Brazilian Amazon. In general, the results indicated that mammals might face high exposure to climate change and Protected Areas will probably not be efficient enough to avert impacts of climate change on “critically-exposed” species. In this vein, we hope that our spatial conservation plan may help planners and stakeholders to guide conservation efforts aiming at mitigate impacts and avert biodiversity loss due to climate change.
As mudanças climáticas de causa antrópica são consideradas uma das principais ameaças a biodiversidade no século XXI. Contudo, nem todas espécies/populações serão igualmente afeadas pelas mudanças no clima. Portanto, identificar onde e quais espécies são mais vulneráveis às mudanças climáticas é fundamental para guiar ações de conservação. Assim, procurei i) avaliar a exposição de mamíferos da Amazônia às mudanças climáticas e se as Unidades de Conservação desse bioma são eficientes em mitigar os efeitos das mudanças climáticas sobre as espécies “criticamente expostas”; ii) desenvolver um esquema de priorização para conservação de mamíferos que eficientemente identifica áreas prioritárias dentro das áreas de distribuição atual e futura das espécies nas quais esforços de conservação devem ser direcionados de modo a mitigar os efeitos da mudanças climáticas sobre a biodiversidade. De modo geral, os resultados indicam que grande parte dos mamíferos poderão ser altamente expostos às mudanças climáticas e que as atuais Unidades de Conservação provavelmente não serão eficientes para evitar os impactos das mudanças climáticas nas espécies “criticamente expostas”. Sendo assim, esperamos que nosso plano espacial para conservação possa ajudar planejadores e tomadores de decisão a guiar esforços de conservação de modo a mitigar impactos e evitar a perda da biodiversidade na Amazônia.

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O litoral da Região dos Lagos, no estado do Rio de Janeiro, atravessa atualmente um processo de modificação acelerado da paisagem, tornando necessário a elaboração de estratégias preventivas de conservação para os próximos anos. Uma medida de conservação adotada foi a criação pelo decreto estadual nº 42.929 de 18 de abril de 2011 do Parque Estadual da Costa do Sol (PECSoL), que abrange os municípios: Armação de Búzios, Cabo Frio, Araruama, São Pedro d’Aldeia, Arraial do Cabo e Saquarema. O objetivo do trabalho foi analisar a variação da paisagem entre 2006 e 2016 da área correspondente ao Núcleo II Atalaia Dama Branca do PECSoL com a utilização de métricas da paisagem. A partir da confecção dos mapas de uso e ocupação do solo calculamos as métricas para os níveis de paisagem e classe. Também foram realizadas a análise dos fragmentos de restinga arbustiva quanto ao seu tamanho, forma e grau de isolamento. Os resultados obtidos revelaram importantes alterações na dinâmica da paisagem ao longo desse período.
The coast of the Lakes Region, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, is currently undergoing a process of accelerated landscape modification, making it necessary to develop preventive conservation strategies for the coming years. A conservation measure adopted was the creation of the Parque Estadual da Costa do Sol (PECSol) - which translates to Costa do Sol Estate Park - by state decree nº 42.929 of April 18, 2011. The park covers the following municipalities: Armação de Búzios, Cabo Frio, Araruama, São Pedro d'Aldeia, Arraial do Cabo and Saquarema. The objective of this work was to analyze and diagnose the variation of the landscape between 2006 and 2016 of the area corresponding to the nucleus II named Atalaia Dama Branca with the use of landscape metrics. From the preparation of land use maps we calculate the metrics for landscape and class levels. The fragments of shrub were also analyzed for their size, shape and degree of isolation. The results obtained revealed important changes in the dynamics of the landscape during this period.

Face à l'intensification des pressions exercées par les activités humaines sur l'environnement marin, une organisation rationnelle de ces activités est nécessaire pour endiguer la dégradation des écosystèmes sur lesquels reposent l'approvisionnement en biens et services des sociétés humaines. Les concepts récents de l'approche écosystémique et leur prometteuse application à la planification spatiale maritime apportent des réponses à ce défi, mais la complexité du tissu formé par les écosystèmes marins et les usages humains interagissant avec rend difficile l'opérationnalisation de ces approches. Les travaux de cette thèse proposent de replacer la conservation des écosystèmes marins au cœur du processus de planification, par l'intégration des principes de la gestion écosystémique au sein de la planification spatiale maritime, et par l'évaluation du rôle des aires marines protégées (AMP) comme outil préférentiel pour la conservation des écosystèmes au sein du processus de planification. L'évaluation de l'impact cumulé des activités humaines à une échelle pertinente pour la gestion à Moorea, en Polynésie française, a permis de mettre en évidence la forte contribution des activités terrestres dans l'impact cumulé à l'échelle de lagon, soulignant la nécessité d'une gestion intégrée du continuum terre-mer. Nous démontrons ensuite la valeur ajoutée de cette même approche afin d'orienter de manière rationnelle et transparente les décisions de gestion et notamment la contribution des AMP à effectivement réduire les pressions humaines en leur sein. En effet, les AMP sont un outil de zonage préférentiel pour la conservation des écosystèmes marins et s'intègrent ainsi dans la planification spatiale maritime, à condition de gérer efficacement les activités responsables de pressions délétères sur le milieu. Nous avons utilisé un système de classification des AMP basé sur les activités régulées ou non en leur sein pour évaluer le niveau de protection réel des AMP en France et en Mer Méditerranée. Les résultats indiquent que, même si certains pays ont atteint les objectifs de 10% d'AMP en 2020, la grande majorité des AMP ne présentent pas de niveaux de protection suffisants pour délivrer des bénéfices socio-écologiques. Afin de s'assurer que les AMP puissent remplir leur rôle dans la conservation des écosystèmes, les objectifs récemment fixés pour 2030 fixent désormais 10% de protection stricte ou forte. Dans cette optique, nous analysé quels facteurs expliquent la présence des plus hauts niveaux de protection en Mer Méditerranée, et les résultats montrent les hauts niveaux de protection en Mer Méditerranée sont opportunistes et ne ciblent ni une biodiversité remarquable, ni des niveaux de pressions humaines élevés. Considérés ensemble, les résultats des différents chapitres mettent en lumière le manque de considération des objectifs de conservation, que ce soit au sein du MSP, par un manque d'approches dédiées localement à l'évaluation de l'impact cumulé des activités humaines et d'évaluation de différents scénarios de planification au regard des enjeux de conservation, et au sein des AMP, pourtant dédiées à l'atteinte de ces objectifs de conservation. Au-delà d'apporter ce constat, les différentes approches proposées ici permettent de replacer la biodiversité au cœur de la planification de l'espace marin
As the pressures exerted by human activities on the marine environment intensify, a rational organization of these activities is needed to stem the degradation of the ecosystems on which the supply of goods and services to human societies depends. Recent concepts of the ecosystem approach and their promising application to maritime spatial planning provide answers to this challenge, but the complexity of the tissue formed by marine ecosystems and the human uses interacting with them makes it difficult to operationalize these approaches. This thesis proposes to put marine ecosystem conservation back at the heart of the planning process, by integrating the principles of ecosystem-based management into maritime spatial planning, and by assessing the role of marine protected areas (MPAs) as a preferred tool for ecosystem conservation within the planning process. Assessing the cumulative impact of human activities at a scale relevant to management in Moorea, French Polynesia, has highlighted the strong contribution of land-based activities to cumulative impact at lagoon scale, underlining the need for integrated management of the land-sea continuum. We then demonstrate the added value of this same approach in guiding management decisions in a rational and transparent way, and in particular the contribution of MPAs to effectively reducing human pressures within them. Indeed, MPAs are a preferential zoning tool for the conservation of marine ecosystems, and can thus be integrated into maritime spatial planning, provided that the activities responsible for deleterious pressures on the environment are effectively managed. We used an MPA classification system based on regulated and unregulated activities to assess the actual level of protection afforded by MPAs in France and the Mediterranean Sea. The results show that, although some countries have achieved the target of 10% MPAs by 2020, the vast majority of MPAs do not have sufficient levels of protection to deliver socio-ecological benefits. In order to ensure that MPAs can fulfill their role in ecosystem conservation, the recently set targets for 2030 now set 10% of strict or strong protection. We therefore analyzed which factors explain the presence of the highest levels of protection in the Mediterranean Sea, and the results show that the high levels of protection in the Mediterranean Sea are opportunistic, targeting neither particular biodiversity components nor high levels of human pressure. Taken together, the results highlight the lack of consideration given to conservation objectives, both within the MSP, through a lack of approaches dedicated locally to assessing the cumulative impact of human activities and evaluating different planning scenarios with regard to conservation issues, and within the MPAs, which are nonetheless dedicated to achieving these conservation objectives. the various approaches proposed here make it possible to place biodiversity back at the heart of marine spatial planning

Le concept de « réseau écologique » souligne l'importance de la connectivité écologique entre différents espaces naturels. Produit des évolutions historiques des pratiques de conservation et des nouvelles découvertes scientifiques, ce concept propose une nouvelle manière d'appréhender la protection de la nature. De nombreuses initiatives de « réseaux écologiques » ont ainsi lieu à travers le monde, notamment dans les Alpes. Elles témoignent de cette nouvelle conception de la protection de la nature, qui dépasse la simple conservation d'espèces pour s'orienter vers la préservation de systèmes écologiques. L'application de ce concept est étudiée dans trois régions alpines en Allemagne, Suisse et France. Sur ces territoires, de nombreuses initiatives différentes viennent se superposer, engendrant des questionnements quant à la coordination et la coopération entre ces divers échelles, acteurs, actions et les objectifs qui en découlent. En plus de ses impacts purement écologiques, la démarche de réalisation de réseaux écologiques semble également offrir un potentiel particulier allant au-delà des objectifs liés à la protection de la nature. Ce sont également ces autres effets fortuits qui sont au cœur de la recherche : le potentiel mobilisateur de l'outil offrant des possibilités particulières de gouvernance territoriale, les liens existants et potentiels avec l'aménagement du territoire, et les nouvelles logiques d'acteurs. Le concept de réseaux écologiques est venu bouleverser les pratiques de protection de la nature entrainant des modifications de la perception de la nature par la société et transformant ainsi également la relation entre la société et la nature
The concept of “ecological networks” emphasises the importance of ecological connectivity between different natural areas. As a result of the historical evolutions of nature conservation practices and new scientific evidence this concept provides a new approach to nature protection. Numerous initiatives of “ecological networks” exist worldwide and also in the Alps. They are evidence of this new conception of nature protection going beyond the conservation of single species aiming the protection of functioning ecosystems. The implementation of this concept is analysed in three alpine regions in Germany, Switzerland and France. In these regions various different initiatives are overlapping one another generating interrogations concerning the coordination and cooperation between the different scales, actors, actions and related aims. In addition to the pure ecological impacts the creation of ecological networks seems to offer a particular potential going beyond the general objectives related to nature protection. These additional casual effects are in the centre of this research: the potential of the tool to mobilise various categories of different actors, the particular possibilities of regional governance, the prospective and existing links with spatial planning. The concept of ecological networks has completely changed nature protection practice inducing modifications of the perception of nature by society and therefore of the relation between society and nature

La Manche orientale représente une zone économique importante qui supporte diverses activités anthropiques comme le tourisme, le transport maritime et l'exploitation de ressources vivantes ou minérales. De plus, cette région possède un riche patrimoine biologique illustré par sa grande diversité d'habitats. Les Aires Marines Protégées (AMP) sont souvent évoquées comme un instrument de gestion permettant d'aménager l'exploitation durable de ces ressources marines, dans le cadre d'une gestion écosystémique intégrée et responsable. Si les Etats ont pour obligation de créer des réseaux d'AMPs dans leurs eaux nationales, chacune d'elles est souvent localisée au cas par cas. Afin de coordonner la mise en place des différents réseaux d'AMPs, une démarche de planification spatiale systématique de la conservation est de plus en plus encouragée. Cette démarche a pour but de proposer un réseau d'AMP qui soit cohérent, même dans un contexte transfrontalier, comme c'est le cas en Manche orientale. Les travaux de recherche menés lors de cette thèse apportent ainsi une contribution scientifique à la mise en cohérence de l'aménagement des activités anthropiques avec les objectifs de conservation de l'écosystème marin de Manche orientale. Dans le cadre d'une approche de conservation intégrée, toute la biodiversité de la Manche orientale doit être représentée. Pour cela, en complément des typologies benthiques existantes dans la zone, une typologie des masses d'eau a été proposée et validée avec différents jeux de données d'espèces pélagiques. Marxan et Zonation, deux logiciels largement répandus en planification de la conservation ont été comparés dans le processus de conception du réseau d'AMP en Manche orientale. La conclusion a été que Marxan serait le logiciel utilisé pour la suite des analyses. En effet, ce logiciel est conçu pour atteindre clairement les cibles de conservation, ce qui facilite l'interprétation des résultats.Puis une étape essentielle de planification de la conservation a été réalisée à travers une analyse des lacunes (gap analysis) à l'échelle de la Manche orientale. Elle a permis de montrer que le réseau d'AMP existant atteint les cibles de conservation calculées dans cette thèse et qu'il couvre 33% de la Manche orientale. Il faut toutefois noter que l'étude des possibles lacunes au niveau de la gestion des AMPs n'a pu être réalisée de façon approfondie car la majorité de ces AMPS ne possèdent pas encore de plan de gestion défini.Finalement, l'influence de l'intégration des activités humaines dans le processus de conception du réseau d'AMP a été explorée grâce à l'utilisation de données d'effort de pêche et de données de débarquements. De plus, d'autres informations sur le trafic maritime, les extractions de granulats marins et les potentielles zones d'éoliennes en mer ont été ajoutées pour prendre en compte la totalité des usages et réglementation qui génèrent des contraintes spatiales en Manche orientale.

碩士
國立海洋大學
電機工程學系
88
It is widely studied to find the shortest path of two points on a map. This means that the path will cost a minimum on time and distance. The Lee path connection algorithm, which proposed in 1961, is the most widely used method for finding wire paths on PCB and VLSI design. Recently, Jan proposed an algorithm with O(N) of time and memory space complexities, where N is the number of pixels on a raster map. It improved Lee’s algorithm from searching four connected neighbors to eight connected neighbors. However, the problem of finding shortest path in real world is led to 3D space. We extended Jan’s algorithm from the 2-dimensional to the 3-dimensional raster space and reduce the computation of the cells’ arriving time by applied grass fire scheme. This algorithm, which also has the less auxiliary link lists and remains at O(N) of time and memory space complexities where N is the number of voxels on a 3D raster map, has been coded in C++ language on a personal computer with an Intel Pentium 233 processor running MS windows 98, and some illustrations are presented.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
生物環境系統工程學研究所
103
Biodiversity has been rapidly lost in recent years due to destruction of habitat. Biodiversity conservation and economic growth often conflict, and conservation resources that can be used are often limited. Therefore, a key issue of biodiversity conservation is how to improve the efficiency of limited resources and identify where conservation management are needed. A number of systematic conservation planning tools are available to aid in making land use decisions. It is essential that methodological differences and their potential effect on conservation planning outcomes are understood. In this study, we utilize two commonly used decision-support tools, Marxan and Zonation, to identify a conservation planning for maintaining biodiversity of 16 birds at the Meifeng Highlands Experiment Farm of National Taiwan University in Nantou. We calculated the Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) for each bird by logistic regression, and selected the species which are representative in regression analysis as target species. Marxan and Zonation analyses were carried out using different Boundary Length parameters and conservation targets. Moreover, we apply representativeness, comprehensiveness, connectivity, cost- efficiency and irreplaceability as principles of quantifying conservation benefits for all analyses. Our results indicated that Boundary Length Penalty (BLP) of Zonation analyses are suggested to set from to and Boundary Length Modifier (BLM) of Marxan analyses are suggested to set to ; Marxan with high BLM value generally produced large reserve leading to ineffective results . Zonation results implied that low BLP value contribute to better perform. As a whole, both Marxan and Zonation generated representative and representative reserve appropriately and Zonation performed better in all principles. Based on our results, we suggested utilizing the results of Zonation for Meifeng conservation planning due to high biodiversity, optimal spatial configuration and high efficacy. The results revealed that northern and eastern natural forest and the edge areas of orchard are the areas with the largest conservation benefit; there are priority areas as reserve when resources limited. In addition, the western area has the least benefit and lowest irreplaceability in high conservation target and high boundary length parameter analyses. This study showed a case study of systematic conservation planning and different spatial characteristics; moreover, we proposed a quantifiable concept and provided the efficiently scheme for conservation planning. This result will be useful for future conservation planner to determine the appropriate decision-support tools.

碩士
國立成功大學
都市計劃學系
103
In the year of 2001, Typhoon Toraji struck Taiwan. CEPD initiated National Conservation Plan for Safety which was personal-safety-oriented, preventing and controlling disasters by technical engineering. Typhoon Mindulle struck Taiwan in 2004, CEPD initiated National Land Recovery Plan which was focus on recovering national land to original state. In 2009, Typhoon Morakot caused serious damages. Adaptation became the main thinking, adapting to unknown climate factors and making the maximum efficiency. Therefore, CEPD initiated The Conservation-Oriented Guideline of Reconstruction, National-Land Conservation Plan, Strategic Plan for National Spatial Development and Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change in Taiwan after Typhoon Morakot. As a highest-level institution in spatial planning system, CEPD initiated conservation policies and the policies should command regional and local spatial plan. This study firstly analyzed highest-level policies and generalized conservation keywords. Secondly, we used conservation keywords to examine lower-level spatial plans and found that urban plans of Neipu and Kaoshu had less associativity with the conservation. In the last, we analyzed and summarized the current situation and the difficulties of implementation in each level of spatial plan. We found that CEPD, Construction and planning agency ministry of interior(CPAMI), local planning departments had different conservation ideas. This study suggests that a policy implementation system should be built up, the system includes legislation, the feedback system of policy, stakeholders participation.

Tese de Doutoramento, Ciências do Mar (Biologia Marinha)
As áreas marinhas protegidas (AMPs) desempenham um papel chave na preservação da biodiversidade e dos habitats, e na gestão sustentável dos recursos naturais. Um desenho representativo, conectado, resiliente e adequado das redes de AMPs requere uma boa compreensão da distribuição das espécies e da sua preferência de habitats. No entanto, um conhecimento detalhado está geralmente concentrado em apenas alguns locais de amostragem e espécies. A presente tese está direcionada para os peixes marinhos em habitats costeiros até os 40 m. A abordagem que foi desenvolvida foca-se no desenho de redes de AMPs planeadas para otimizar benefícios ecológicos. Para esta finalidade, previsões preditivas de um conjunto de variáveis dos peixes foram mapeadas para identificar áreas prioritárias para a conservação de múltiplos espécies e objetivos. A dissertação está organizada em sete capítulos. O capítulo 1 dá uma introdução geral ao estado do conhecimento da ciência das AMPs, modelos de distribuição de espécies (MDEs) e ao ecossistema marinho da área de estudo, que integra duas ilhas vizinhas do arquipélago dos Açores (Nordeste Atlântico). Uma visão geral da rede existente de AMPs e das pescas regionais está descrita. O capítulo conclui com a motivação e objetivos desta dissertação. O capítulo 2 apresenta o método de amostragem para aquisição dos dados de ictiofauna, a seleção das espécies-alvos, e os dados ambientais que foram usados na dissertação. Os principais métodos de MDEs utilizados para a produção de mapas preditivos são explicados em detalhe. Este capítulo é a base metodológica para os seguintes três capítulos. Abundância ou presença-ausência de peixes de recife com diferentes ecologias tróficas são modelados e mapeados no capítulo 3. Os resultados mostram que o ambiente determinou o padrão espacial das espécies estudadas. Por exemplo, a abundância foi sempresuperior na interface entre os principais tipos de habitat: rocha e sediment. As áreas com a presença potencial de espécies individuais foram espalhadas na área de estudo mas mais pequenos para múltiplas espécies de um determinado nível trófico. Estes hotspots de multi-espécies são uma potencial contribuição para o 'efeito de reserva' minimizando a área necessária para a conservação. O capítulo 4 apresenta modelos espaciais para a biomassa desovante e a fecundidade potencial (o número de oócitos das fêmeas matures) de peixes de recife selecionados. As duas medidas mostraram uma distribuição espacial heterogénea por espécie e influenciada pela batimetria, forças oceanográficas e distância à fronteira do habitat. Mapas de fecundidade potencial refinaram os padrões espaciais da biomassa desovante para espécies com um sex-ratio altamente enviesado para os machos. Hotspots reprodutivos de várias espécies são potenciais "habitats fonte" aumentando a produção e exportação de larvas para áreas adjacentes. Como tal, vêm potencialmente apoiar o "efeito de recrutamento" das AMPs. Consequentemente, a sua total proteção deve ser promovida. Diferentes índices de biodiversidade e de vulnerabilidade intrínseca para a pesca são analisados no capítulo 5. A proteção de locais de alta biodiversidade é frequentemente exigida em conservação marinha. No entanto, os resultados mostraram que somente os padrões de biodiversidade podem não representar bem as áreas de maior interesse e necessidade para a conservação. A integração da vulnerabilidade intrínseca para a pesca no planeamento espacial resultou numa identificação mais precisa de sítios prioritários. A combinação de ambos os parâmetros é proposta como uma nova abordagem para apoiar o planeamento espacial marítimo que serve a gestão pesqueira e os objetivos de conservação. O capítulo 6 é uma análise abrangente que combina os mapas preditivos que foram produzidos nos três capítulos anteriores com outras características do habitat e sócio-econômicos. Cenários alternativos da rede de reserva foram produzidos com o software 'Marxan', considerando diferentes alvos de conservação e objetivos. Os resultados demonstraram que a estatística da rede (ex. tamanho, 'rácio da-borda-à-área', e percentagem da linha de costa protegida) e o posicionamento da reserva foram influenciados, principalmente, pelos diferentes níveis de proteção. As diferenças foram menos pronunciadas entre soluções que se focaram na pesca ou na conservação da biodiversidade. As soluções criadas pelo Marxan correspondem parcialmente à atual rede de AMPs. Estas mostram alternativas para a localização e tamanho das áreas protegidas, que podem ser usadas em processos de gestão adaptativa. O capítulo 7 combina a discussão geral dos resultados da dissertação, impactos e possíveis trabalhos futuros. Os resultados evidenciam que as AMPs não podem beneficiar igualmente todas as espécies, portanto, é fundamental incluir informação da ecologia espacial de multi-espécies no seu desenho. Análises de representatividade mostraram que todos os hotspots de multi-espécies são quantitativamente bem integrados na rede existente de AMPs. Porém dada a elevada importância biológica/ecológica e a pequena extensão destes hotspots, os futuros processos de gestão devem promover a proteção de toda a área de hotspots para assegurar o seu funcionamento ecológico. Devido à sua clareza a aplicação de mapas preditivos deve ser uma ferramenta prioritária para a gestão do espaço marítimo, especialmente em situações de escassez de dados, desde que rigorosos critérios de validação sejam aplicados. O enquadramento apresentado é simples, direto e eficiente na identificação de habitats com potencialmente alta abundância, fecundidade, diversidade e vulnerabilidade para a pesca. Propõe-se a integração desta abordagem promissora como um primeiro passo de um múltiplo processo para a identificação de sítios prioritários para a conservação que servem vários objetivos.
ABSTRACT: Marine protected areas (MPAs) can play a key role in preserving biodiversity and habitats and in managing the sustainable use of natural resources, including fish stocks. Designing representative, connected, resilient, and adequate MPA networks requires a good understanding of the species’ distribution and habitat preferences. Yet, detailed knowledge is often reduced to a few sampled locations and species. This thesis focuses on marine reef fishes in coastal habitats down to the 40 m isobath. A framework is developed to design MPA networks that optimise ecological benefits. For this purpose, predictive distributions of a set of fish variables are spatialised to identify potential sites of priority for conservation that can serve multiple species and objectives. The thesis is organised in seven chapters. Chapter 1 gives an overall introduction to the state of the art on the science of MPAs, species distribution models (SDMs) and the marine ecosystem of the study area, two neighbouring islands of the Azores archipelago (Northeast Atlantic). It includes an overview of the existing MPA network and regional fisheries. The motivation and objectives of the thesis are outlined. Chapter 2 presents the sampling method to acquire fish data, the selection of individual study species, and the environmental data that are used in the thesis. The main methods and background knowledge for the statistical models used to describe the species-environment relationships and to produce predictive maps are explained in detail, setting the basis for the following three chapters. The occurrence and abundance of reef fishes with different trophic ecologies are modelled and spatialised in chapter 3. Results showed that the environment shapes the spatial distribution patterns of the reef fishes. For instance, the abundance was typically highest at the interface between rock and sediment, highlighting the importance of this main ecotone for subtidal fish assemblages. Individual species were predicted to occur in large parts of the study area but these areas were much smaller if multiple species from the same trophic guild were considered. These multi-species abundance hotspots can be a major potential contribution to the 'reserve effect' of MPAs while minimising the area needed for protection. Chapter 4 presents spatially explicit models for the spawning biomass and the potential fecundity (number of oocytes of mature females) of selected reef fishes. The spatial distribution of both measures was heterogeneous, species-specific and influenced by bathymetry, oceanographic forces and the distance to the habitat edge. Maps of the potential fecundity further refined the spatial patterns of the spawning biomass for species with sex-ratios highly skewed towards males. Multi-species reproductive hotspots were identified and are potential 'source habitats' of increased larvae production and export to adjacent areas. As such, they potentially support the 'recruitment effect' of MPAs and their complete protection should be promoted. Chapter 5 evaluates different indices of biodiversity and vulnerability to fishing of fish assemblages. The protection of high-biodiversity sites is often demanded in marine conservation. Yet, results showed that biodiversity patterns alone may not represent well the areas of higher need for conservation. Integrating the intrinsic vulnerability to fishing in spatial planning resulted in a more precise identification of priority sites. The combination of both parameters is proposed as a novel approach to support marine spatial planning that serves fisheries management and conservation objectives. Chapter 6 is one comprehensive analysis that combines the predictive maps produced in the previous three chapters with additional habitat and socio-economic characteristics. Alternative scenarios for a reserve network are produced with the systematic conservation software 'Marxan' considering different conservation targets and objectives. Results demonstrated that the network statistics (e.g. size, edge-to-area ratio, and percentage of protected coastline) and reserve localisation were mainly influenced by the targeted level of protection. In contrast, differences were less pronounced between solutions that focused either on fisheries aspects or the protection of biodiversity within a given conservation target. The solutions provided by Marxan overlapped only partially with the existing MPA network. They provide potential alternatives for the location and size of protected areas that can be used in adaptive management processes. Chapter 7 combines a general discussion of the thesis results, impacts and possible future work. Results highlight that MPAs may not equally benefit all species, thus it is critical to include information of multi-species spatial ecology in their design. Analyses of representativeness showed that all multi-species hotspots are quantitatively well integrated in the existing MPA network. However, given the high biological/ecological significance and the rather small extent of these hotspots, future adaptive management processes should, possibly, promote the protection of the entire area of the hotspots to ensure their ecological functionality. Because of its clarity the application of predictive species distribution maps should be a principle tool for marine spatial management, especially in data scarce situations, provided that rigorous validation criteria are applied. The presented framework is simple, straightforward and efficient in identifying habitats with potentially high fish abundance, fecundity, biodiversity or vulnerability to fishing. It is proposed to integrate this promising approach as a first step of a manifold process for the identification of priority sites for conservation that serve multiple purposes.

Large-scale land-use change across the tropics has led to the decline of animal populations and their habitat. With large investments into mining, hydropower dams and industrial agriculture this trend is likely to continue. Consequently, there is a need for systematic land-use planning to set aside areas for protection and allocate scarce conservation funding effectively. Even though primates are relatively well studied, data-driven systematic planning is still rarely implemented. The overall aim of this dissertation was to investigate population parameters needed for evidence-based conservation planning for the critically endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) in West Africa. To this end, I compiled density datasets covering the entire geographic range of this taxon from the IUCN SSC A.P.E.S. database and modeled chimpanzee densities as a function of 20 social-ecological variables. I found that western chimpanzees seemingly persist within three social-ecological configurations: rainforests with a low degree of anthropogenic threats, steep areas that are less likely to be developed and are harder to access by humans, and areas with a high prevalence of cultural taboos against hunting chimpanzees. The third configuration of reduced hunting pressure is not yet reflected in commonly implemented conservation interventions, suggesting a need for designing new approaches aimed at reducing the threat of hunting. Based on the modeled density distribution, I estimated that 52,811 (95% CI 17,577-96,564) western chimpanzees remain in West Africa, and identified areas of high conservation value to which conservation interventions should be targeted. These results can be used to inform the expansion of the protected area network in West Africa, to quantify the impact of planned industrial projects on western chimpanzees, and to guide the systematic allocation of conservation funding. In addition, this thesis highlights the unique position of taxon-specific databases of providing access to high-resolution data at the scale needed for conservation planning. Data-driven conservation planning has the potential to enable conservationists to respond more proactively to current and emerging threats, and ultimately improve conservation outcomes.

Human impacts on ocean ecosystems are driving declines in marine biodiversity, including marine mammals. Comprehensive spatial data are vital for making informed management decisions that may aid species recovery and facilitate the sustainable use of ocean ecosystems. However, marine mammal studies are often data limited, thereby restricting possible research questions. Developing novel analytical approaches and incorporating unconventional datasets can expand the scope of analysis by increasing the information content of existing data sources. The goal of our research is to support conservation and management of marine mammals in British Columbia (BC), Canada, through the application of advanced spatial statistical methodology to characterize spatial distribution and density patterns and provide assessments of data uncertainty. Our first objective is to generate statistical models to map spatially continuous predictions of marine mammal distributions and densities within BC’s north coast and apply methodology from spatial statistics to identify hotspots of elevated use. We use species observations collected from systematic line transect surveys previously adjusted to generate estimates of density per nautical mile of transect. We predict the distribution and density patterns of nine marine mammal species by employing a species-habitat model to relate species densities to environmental covariates using a generalized additive model. We use spatial statistical hotspot analysis (Getis-Ord Gi*statistic) and an aspatial threshold approach to identify hotspots of high density. Our analysis reveals that hotspots selected using a top percentage threshold produced smaller and more conservative hotspots than those generated using the Gi*statistic. The Gi*statistic demonstrates a robust and objective technique for quantifying spatial hotspots and offers an alternative method to the commonly applied aspatial threshold measure. We find that maps show agreement with prior research and hotspots align with ecologically important areas previously identified by expert opinion. Our second objective is to apply map comparison techniques to compare cetacean density maps from disparate data collection methods (systematic surveys and citizen science) to evaluate the information content of each map product and quantify similarities and differences. Discrepancies are quantified by performing image differencing techniques on the rank order values of each map surface. We subsequently use the Gi*statistic to isolate regions where extreme differences occur. To assess similarities, a Gi*statistic is applied to both maps to locate spatially explicit areas of high cetacean density. Where clusters of high density values in both maps overlap we infer higher confidence that the datasets are representing a true ecological signal, while areas of difference we recommend as targeted locations for future sampling effort. We contextualize map similarities and differences using a dataset of human activity in the form of cumulative human effect scores. Overall, our analytical approach integrates novel spatial datasets from systematic surveys, citizen science, and remote sensing to provide updated information on cetacean distributions in BC. Our study generates geographic data products that fill knowledge gaps and results provide baseline information valuable for future decision-making. The methodology applied in this study can be generalized across species and locations to support spatial planning and conservation prioritization in both marine and terrestrial contexts.
Graduate
2017-11-13

The motivation for the research described in this thesis is the imperative to minimise energy consumption of buildings in the urban environment. A comprehensive approach to analysing energy usage involves the whole life cycle of buildings and infrastructure including embodied energy consumption. Embodied energy represents all of the energy consumed in the production of building materials and components, as well as the energy used to assemble them into the built form. This thesis describes the development and application of a model which spatially depicts embodied energy as a basis for undertaking more holistic analyses of urban energy consumption. The need for comprehensive analyses of energy consumption is initially explored. Such analyses would enable more favourable energy outcomes to be achieved when making decisions about urban planning and development. Research on the value of representing energy usage in a spatial format is reviewed and the case is made for modelling the embodied energy as a contribution to the broader understanding of urban energy consumption. This thesis concentrates on residential areas of the urban environment. The model for spatially representing the embodied energy consumption of residential areas has three components which are embodied energy theory, property register data and geographical information software. A methodology is described which commences with hybrid embodied energy coefficients, integrates these with property register data for a metropolitan area and displays the results using GIS techniques in the form of maps. The model is general but developed using information pertaining to the Adelaide metropolitan area and tested using data from both Adelaide and Sydney. To show that the model can usefully contribute to life cycle energy analyses in the urban environment, it is applied to three case studies involving current urban planning issues involving the densification of dwellings in cities and the redevelopment of older residential areas. These show that such analyses can represent embodied energy spatially and with sufficient accuracy to inform urban planning and development decisions aimed at reducing overall energy usage. In summary, the research has extended knowledge on the embodied energy of the built form by focusing on residential areas which include urban infrastructure rather than just individual buildings. It has provided new insights into the significance of embodied energy of the existing built form by considering it as a ‘sunk cost’ which may be partially recovered and form part of the energy flows in the urban environment. The mapping of embodied energy of the existing built form also offers the potential for quantifying resources which can be re-used to modify total energy consumption of new developments.
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Thesis(Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, 2008

abstract: Biodiversity is required to guarantee proper ecosystem structure and function. However, increasing anthropogenic threats are causing biodiversity loss around the world at an unprecedented rate, in what has been deemed the sixth mass extinction. To counteract this crisis, conservationists seek to improve the methods used in the design and implementation of protected areas, which help mitigate the impacts of human activities on species. Marine mammals are ecosystem engineers and important indicator species of ocean and human wellbeing. They are also disproportionally less known and more threatened than terrestrial mammals. Therefore, surrogates of biodiversity must be used to maximize their representation in conservation planning. Some of the most effective surrogates of biodiversity known have only been tested in terrestrial systems. Here I test complementarity, rarity, and environmental diversity as potential surrogates of marine mammal representation at the global scale, and compare their performance against species richness, which is the most popular surrogate used to date. I also present the first map of marine mammal complementarity, and assess its relationship with environmental variables to determine if environmental factors could also be used as surrogates. Lastly, I determine the global complementarity-based hotspots of marine mammal biodiversity, and compare their distributions against current marine protected area coverage and exposure to global indices of human threats, to elucidate the effectiveness of current conservation efforts. Results show that complementarity, rarity, and environmental diversity are all efficient surrogates, as they outcompete species richness in maximizing marine mammal species representation when solving the minimum-set coverage problem. Results also show that sea surface temperature, density, and bathymetry are the top environmental variables most associated with complementarity of marine mammals. Finally, gap analyses show that marine mammals are overall poorly protected, yet moderately exposed to hotspots of cumulative human impacts. The wide distribution of marine mammals justify global studies like the ones here presented, to determine the best strategy for their protection. Overall, my findings show that less popular surrogates of biodiversity are more effective for marine mammals and should be considered in their management, and that the expansion of protected areas in their most important habitats should be prioritized.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Biology 2019

Forests in the Drakensberg Mountains, although generally small and fragmented, represent a wealth of globally significant biodiversity. This is especially true of the invertebrate fauna, which includes a range of localized endemic species. Ground dwelling, flightless invertebrates living in forests show relative immobility and poor dispersal abilities compared to birds, butterflies and other animal taxa. The naturally fragmented state of Afrotemperate forests also geographically isolates these taxa. No quantified, systematic surveys of flightless invertebrates have been conducted in Afrotemperate forests in the Drakensberg Mountains. This means that, to date, invertebrates have not been considered in the management of these habitats. However, invertebrates are vitally important in ecosystem functioning and maintenance and must be included in management plans. This study quantified flightless invertebrate diversity in Afrotemperate forest patches in the Drakensberg by investigating spatial patterns and seasonal changes in invertebrate diversity. The broad objectives were to: 1) Determine the appropriate spatial scale at which conservation of flightless invertebrates should be implemented; 2) Determine which season, taxa and sampling methods are most suitable for biodiversity assessment and monitoring in Afrotemperate forest; and 3) Investigate methods of prioritizing Afrotemperate forests for conservation of flightless invertebrate diversity. Seventeen forest patches in six valleys in four Drakensberg reserves (Rugged Glen Nature Reserve, Royal Natal National Park, Cathedral Peak and Injisuthi) were sampled in the summer of 2004/2005. In addition, three forests at Injisuthi were sampled in March, June, September and December 2004 to enable seasonal comparisons. Sampling methods included soil samples, leaf litter samples, pitfall traps, active search quadrats and tree beats. The study focused on terrestrial molluscs (Class Gastropoda), earthworms (Class Annelida), onychophorans (Class Onychophora), centipedes (Class Chilopoda), millipedes (Class Diplopoda) and ants (Class Insecta). Target taxa were sorted to morphospecies and then identified to species by taxonomic experts. Seventy-two species and a total of 5261 individual specimens from the six target taxa were collected. Species composition of sites varied along the north-south gradient, and species turnover (beta diversity) was related to the distance between sites. Flightless invertebrate species richness and community structure fluctuated seasonally. Therefore, I recommend that sampling should take place during the wet season (summer months). Molluscs were the most suitable taxon among those surveyed to represent flightless invertebrate diversity and leaf litter samples and active search quadrats are the most suitable sampling methods for flightless invertebrates in forest. This study compared approaches to prioritizing Afrotemperate forests in terms of their invertebrate diversity using ranked species richness with complementarity indices of species presence/absence, taxonomic distinctness (orders, families and genera) and endemicity. There was no consistent spatial trend in the priority ranking of forests based on species richness. Complementarity based on species richness only required eight out of 17 forests to represent all 62 species. Although complementarity based on taxonomic distinctness and endemicity required fewer sites, not all species were represented. The minimum set of sites identified using complementarity based on species richness and augmented with information on taxa of conservation importance (local endemic and threatened species) was the most rigorous approach to prioritizing Afrotemperate forest patches in the Drakensberg for flightless invertebrate conservation. Urgent conservation interventions are required because invertebrates play a critical role in ecosystem functioning. As many forest patches and invertebrate populations as possible should be protected to conserve the full complement of invertebrate species of the region. Special management attention should be paid to the eight forests identified as priority sites in the complementarity analyses. Forest patches cannot survive in isolation, so it is important to manage the grassland, riverine vegetation, forest ecotone and forests holistically. Provisional targets were set for the conservation of flightless invertebrates, based on estimates of the requirements for persistence of invertebrates in Afrotemperate forest, made within the constraints of available information and expert opinion.
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Bangladesh has an extensive maritime area in the Bay of Bengal (BoB), which has high prospects of Blue Economy benefits along with risk of marine pollution. In this context, Bangladesh needs a balanced approach in the exploration of ocean resources for economic benefits and to protect the marine environment. Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) may be a way forward to achieve the balance in the exploration of ocean resources and the protection of the marine environment. Despite of some inadequacies, MSP in the GBR has achieve good progress in Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) to implement a balanced approach for Sustainable Ocean Governance (SOG) in the Reef region. This experience of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) may be a lesson for Bangladesh to develop necessary legal and institutional arrangements for the development of MSP. This research analyses the legal and institutional regimes for MSP in the GBR to understand the adequacies for the implementation of MSP, and the current legal and institutional arrangements in Bangladesh for ocean governance to understand the regulatory frameworks for management of marine resources in the BoB. The research conducts a comparative analysis of the legal and institutional regimes for the governance and management of ocean space of Bangladesh and the GBR in order to explore the prospects and challenges for the development of MSP in Bangladesh. The research addresses the legal regimes for MSP under international and regional instruments in order to apply them to pre-judges the development of MSP for governance at the national level. The research concludes with recommendations for necessary law reforms and institutional changes for the development of MSP in Bangladesh to facilitate sustainable governance in the BoB. The research thus determines adequate legal and institutional arrangements for the development of MSP in Bangladesh to achieve sustainable governance in the BoB.

Increasing awareness of the impact of biodiversity loss and natural system instability on human life is changing the societal perception of the environment and the amount of effort put into solving environmental problems. In spatial planning, this translates into a quest for the sustainable use of the territory, allocating areas to their most suitable usage while managing conflicting interests and forces. Conservation areas are the cornerstone of any spatial strategy for nature conservation, but are strongly affected by socio-economic constraints that affect their implementation and maintenance. Prioritising interventions thus becomes fundamental to achieve efficient and effective results. Conservation planning has come a long way since its infancy, gradually putting aside traditional ad hoc reserve selection in favour of a more scientific and systematic approach. This development has been supported by advances in technology, especially in the area of geographic information systems, which allow for improved acquisition and faster treatment of spatial data. Modelling has also became a fundamental scientific activity for conservation planning, offering a better understanding of natural and biological phenomena and generating indispensable data used in emerging conservation planning support software. This dissertation looks at methods for the selection of high-quality areas for conservation, focusing on the maximum cover problem and analysing how traditional strategies translate into spatial differences on the resulting selection. The study area chosen to test our methodology is the Alpine region of the Canton of Vaud, in Switzerland, an area known for its biodiversity and cultural richness. After a thorough analysis of the area, focused on the biodiversity, socio-economic, political, and legal aspects that affect conservation planning, we decided to concentrate on prioritisation for vegetation conservation. Using Zonation v4 — a software package developed to aid conservation planning decision — and taking into account the previous analysis, we assess the spatial differences that result from different decisions, such as privileging rarity or richness, weighting species according to different criteria, or including socio-economic costs. We also examine the logic behind existing protected areas and investigate a possible expansion to benefit vegetation conservation. The outputs and subsequent analysis show the strong influence of both strategic preferences and socio-economic constraints on the priority ranking for potential protected areas. However, regardless of the strategy chosen, some areas are consistently ranked high and are therefore good candidates for further expansion. Furthermore, existing protected areas already show good coverage, and an increase of merely 2% in protected area would suffice to retain almost full representation of the vegetation species under consideration In the end, there are no perfect or universal solution for conservation planning prioritisation: different spatial translations can yield similar results for biodiversity. The process is an exercise in trade-offs in which software like Zonation can be of great assistance, allowing for an easier assessment of different scenarios and conservation strategies.
A crescente consciencialização das repercussões da perda de biodiversidade e da disrupção dos sistemas naturais na vida humana tem modificado a percepção dos problemas ambientais e fomentado a mobilização de recursos para os resolver. Em ordenamento do território, esta preocupação traduz-se na procura de uma ocupação sustentável do espaço, tentando gerir forças e interesses muitas vezes opostos e dificilmente conciliáveis. As áreas protegidas são os alicerces de qualquer estratégia para a conservação ao nível territorial, mas a sua implementação e manutenção é fortemente influenciada por limitações contextuais de origem socioeconómica. Priorizar intervenções e investimentos em conservação de forma a torná-la mais eficaz e eficiente torna-se, assim, essencial. A planificação para a conservação ambiental e o método de selecção de reservas por esta empregado têm sido alvo de desenvolvimentos nas últimas décadas, passando de uma abordagem pouco científica a um processo sistemático. Esta mudança de paradigma só foi possível devido ao desenvolvimento paralelo de tecnologias de informação geográfica que vieram possibilitar uma melhor e mais rápida aquisição de dados espaciais e seu tratamento. A modelação tornou-se uma ferramenta científica indispensável no processo de planeamento, permitindo a recolha de informação sobre fenómenos naturais e de dados indispensáveis para a utilização de software de ajuda à decisão. Esta dissertação pretende estudar os métodos empregues na identificação e selecção de áreas a proteger, focando-se no problema da máxima representatividade e na análise de estratégias comuns de priorização na tradução espacial dessa selecção. A área de estudo escolhida para esta análise foi a zona alpina do Cantão de Vaud, na Suíça, uma área conhecida pela sua biodiversidade e riqueza cultural. Depois de uma análise detalhada às características de biodiversidade, socioeconómicas e político-legais locais, decidimos concentrar o nosso estudo na preservação da vegetação. Recorrendo ao programa de apoio à decisão em planeamento de conservação Zonation v4, analisámos as diferenças espaciais resultantes de diferentes opções de conservação e dados de entrada, tais como a preferência pela salvaguarda da raridade ou da riqueza biológica, a atribuição de diferentes pesos às espécies com base em critérios vários ou a inclusão de informação socioeconómica. Tentámos ainda apurar a lógica subjacente à criação das reservas existentes e identificar possibilidades de expansão que beneficiariam a conservação. Concluímos que a tendência para proteger a raridade ou a riqueza tem tradução espacial relevante, sendo, no entanto, as limitações socioeconómicas o maior factor de constrangimento para a salvaguarda de biodiversidade. Independentemente da estratégia usada, certas áreas são consistentemente seleccionadas, mostrando-se boas candidatas para expansão futura. Os resultados revelam ainda que as reservas actuais têm boa cobertura e um aumento de 2% da área seria suficiente para atingir uma representação quase total das espécies consideradas. É possível encontrar soluções interessantes sem comprometer de forma marcante a salvaguarda da biodiversidade. Em planeamento de conservação, não existem soluções perfeitas e universais, tratando-se antes de um constante exercício de concessões. Programas de ajuda à decisão em planeamento de conservação, como o Zonation v4, demonstram grande potencial, permitindo uma melhor compreensão das alternativas e a sua rápida visualização espacial. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: priorização, planeamento de conservação, SIG, Zonation, Vaud

abstract: In the face of increasing anthropogenic threats to marine systems, marine reserves have become a popular tool to promote sustainable fisheries management and protect marine biodiversity. However, the governance structures that determine marine reserve success are not well understood. The response of resource users to reserve establishment, as well as the socioeconomic, institutional, and political contexts in which they occur, are rarely considered during reserve implementation. I use the Coupled Infrastructure Systems (CIS) framework to better understand the interdependencies between social, economic, natural, and institutional processes affecting reserve implementation and performance efficacy in the Gulf of California, Mexico. I used a combination of interviews, qualitative case study comparisons, and systematic conservation planning tools to evaluate the role of different infrastructures, institutions, and governance for marine reserve efficacy in the Gulf of California, Mexico. At a local scale, I assessed stakeholder perceptions, preferences, and knowledge on reserves in the Midriff Islands sub-region of the Gulf. My results show differences in fisher perceptions about the use of reserves for biodiversity conservation and fisheries management, misconceptions about their location, and non-compliance behavior problems. At the regional scale, I explored the trajectories of reserve implementation and performance. I show that capacity-building programs and effective collaboration between non-profit organizations, environmental, fisheries, and other government authorities are essential to coordinate efforts leading to the provisioning of infrastructure that enables effective marine reserves. Furthermore, these programs help facilitate the incorporation of fishers into diversified management and economic activities. Infrastructure provision tradeoffs should be carefully balanced for designing scientifically-sound reserves that can achieve fisheries recovery objectives and incorporating stakeholder engagement processes during the planning phase that allow fishers to include their preferences in a way that complements proposed reserve network solutions. Overall, my results highlight the importance of multiple infrastructures in understanding the dynamics of interacting action situations at various stages of marine reserve implementation and operation. I identify strengths and weaknesses within marine reserve systems that help understand what combinations of infrastructures can be influenced to increase marine reserve effectiveness and robustness to internal and external challenges, as well as delivering benefits for both nature and people.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Environmental and Resource Management 2017

Effective conservation strategies for sea turtles require knowledge of animal movements and protection of biologically important habitats and life history stages. For breeding adult sea turtles, understanding both their inshore and pelagic spatial patterns is imperative to the successful protection of the species and the accurate identification of their vulnerabilities. This study provides insight into the inter-nesting, post-nesting, and foraging movements of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) that nest on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, by using satellite telemetry to track green turtles (n=12) during two nesting seasons (2017-18, 2018-19), and as they migrated to foraging grounds after the nesting season. These tracks were fit with a switching state space model to characterize movements, and then analyzed in relation to environmental and anthropogenic factors. Dive depth data was also used to determine utilization patterns within the water column. The 12 tagged turtles migrated for an average of 1064 km to two distinct foraging grounds, with 10 migrating west for an average of 1115 km to the coastal waters of Ghana, and 2 migrating south for an average of 1563 km to the coastal waters of Angola. Migrating turtles used both direct, pelagic migration strategies, and biphasal, coastal strategies, which included intermittent foraging throughout migrations. Dive depths varied depending on behavior, with an average of 19.3 m during inter-nesting, 12.6 m during migration and 8.5 m during foraging. Knowledge of inter-nesting habitat use, migration patterns, and foraging ground locations will be critical for the development of marine conservation management plans in the Gulf of Guinea and aide in sea turtle conservation efforts throughout the area. Additionally, spatial and dive depth data can inform zonal fishing regulators and provide information needed for modifications to fishing practices and gear that is most likely to reduce sea turtle bycatch. These data will provide a more complete understanding of marine areas critical to sea turtle conservation and aide in sustainable economic development in the Gulf of Guinea.

A coastal lagoon is a landform that is influenced by natural processes and human activities. All human activities at the upstream, particularly agriculture and cultivation bring soil, waste, and other materials to the downstream area through the river drains into the lagoon. Even though its position is inland of water bodies, the lagoon is still affected by waves and winds from the sea. Additionally, coastal lagoon will be the depository place for sedimentation from the upland area. Segara Anakan (SA), which is located in Indonesia, is an example of a coastal lagoon area, which has a unique biophysical characteristic. The region has a great natural ability to ensure the sustainability of the interrelationships between terrestrial, estuarine and marine ecosystems in harmony and balance as a habitat for flora and fauna. The region is an area of migration of various types of protected animals and it is a place of breeding for diverse species of the shrimp and fish, which have a highly economical value. Segara Anakan lagoon (SAL), currently experiencing acceleration narrowed on its area due to a very intensive sedimentation from the mainland. The research aims to answer the question of how ecological dynamic occurs in the SAL area due to sedimentation. Achieving the objectives of this study required examining the morphology and land use changes with multitemporal remote sensing approaches. While, to assess the role of community participation and planning management strategies is using qualitative descriptive methods and SWOT analyze. The using of multitemporal remote sensing Landsat images is possible to analyze the morphological and land use changes with different time and sensors. These Landsat has image accuracy about 92.66%. It can be used for image interpretations resulting 13 classes of land use. The morphodynamics of SAL indicated by the changes of area of lagoon and accreted land and also the distance of coastlines during the periods 1979-2013. In addition, the land use or land cover also changes during that time. The bigger portions of land use changes are in the tropical and mangrove\''s forests. There are distinctive forms of participation in conservation efforts. The upstream community involvement in conservation tends to be different participating in the way of ideas, money, materials, properties, skills and expertise or social activities. In addition, the community at downstream area has a sufficiently high level of participation in environmental conservation. There are also strong relationships between the level of education and level of income and basic knowledge in conservation with the participation of SA conservation. The ecological dynamics of the SAL area are described with a historical time line. It is divided into three time periods: the 1970s - 1980s, the 1990s and from 2000 onwards. Each of these has occurrences that can lead to changes in the environment. The implementation of appropriate conservation technique can reduce the sedimentation rate. Hence, the synergic coordination measures between upstream and downstream regions are necessary in the future. Increasing community awareness and participation in the conservation by improving educational sector, providing information, and applying sustainable development land use are the ways to match human activities with the temporal and spatial dynamics of the coastal resources.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse and interpret the existent and future needs of the people and environment of the mission station, Kwasizabantu,to ensure settlement growth that will enhance the social, economical and environmental aspects of the settlement. This will result in a development framework of the whole site, a master plan for the lifespan of the settlement and detailed design of the heart of the settlement.
Dissertation (ML(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2009.
Architecture
unrestricted

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are important conservation tools that can support the resilience of marine ecosystems. Many countries, including Canada, have committed to protecting at least 10% of their marine areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi Target 11, which includes connectivity as a key aspect. Connectivity, the movement of individuals among habitats, can enhance population stability and resilience within and among MPAs. This thesis aimed to understand regional spatial patterns of marine ecological connectivity, specifically through the mechanism of adult movement, and how these patterns may be affected by climate change. I used the Northern Shelf Bioregion in British Columbia, Canada, as a case study for four objectives: (1) evaluate potential connectivity via adult movement for the entire bioregion, using habitat proxies for distinct ecological communities; (2) assess potential connectivity via adult movement among existing and potential MPAs, using the same habitat proxies; (3) model potential connectivity via adult movement among marine protected areas for two focal species (Metacarcinus magister and Sebastolobus alascanus) and predict how this interconnectedness may shift based on projected ocean temperature changes; and (4) contribute the results of these analyses to the MPA technical team’s ongoing planning process so that connectivity may be considered in the implementation of a new MPA network in the bioregion. This thesis developed an approach to assess and design MPA networks that maximize inferred connectivity within habitat types for adult movement when ecological data are limited. It applied least-cost theory and circuit theory to model MPA suitability and interconnectedness, finding that these are projected to decrease for Sebastolobus alascanus but increase for Metacarcinus magister. I showcased some methods that may be used in MPA design and evaluation, with lessons for other contexts. Importantly, this thesis informed an ongoing MPA planning process, enabling ecological connectivity to be considered in the establishment of a new MPA network in the bioregion. Overall, this work provided examples for incorporating connectivity and climate change into MPA design, highlighting what is possible even when data are limited.
Graduate

Balancing increasing elephant numbers with biodiversity conservation in small reserves has become a concern for many protected area managers. Elephants are considered important agents of disturbance creating heterogeneity and thus contributing to the maintenance of biodiversity. However elephants also damage vegetation through their destructive feeding habits, and this has led to pressure to reduce elephant populations in many reserves. Quantitative data on the impact of elephants on invertebrates, the main component of biodiversity at the species level, are lacking. The aim of this project was to assess the effect that habitat alteration by elephants has on the diversity of selected ground-dwelling invertebrates (ants, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, scorpions and termites) through the provision of logs and dung as a potential refuge niche for these invertebrate communities, and to determine the effect of spatial (vegetation types) and temporal (season and age of dung) variation on the invertebrates using these refugia. Variation in impacts was considered important because savanna is not homogenous and the impact of the refugia is likely to be dynamic in terms of seasonal trends in invertebrate populations, and in terms of changes in the environmental conditions offered by the refugia. Elephant impact on vegetation, quantity of refugia (logs and dung) produced and invertebrate diversity associated with refugia were determined for 115 transects within Madikwe Game Reserve in the North Western Province, South Africa. Invertebrate abundance, species richness and diversity were always higher under refugia than in areas without refugia. Vegetation utilisation, frequency of refugia production and invertebrate diversity showed strong temporal variation (seasonal); elephant impact and production of logs were higher in winter than in summer because elephants are more likely to feed on woody vegetation in winter when grass nutrient levels are low. Invertebrate diversity under the logs was higher in summer than in winter, and this probably reflected the higher abundance and diversity of invertebrates that are usually associated with the warmer, wetter summer months. The effect of adding refugia to three vegetation types on invertebrate diversity was tested experimentally at Makalali Private Game Reserve in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Logs and elephant dung were set out in five plots each measuring 20m x 20m within Govender - iii mixed bushveld, riverine and mopane woodland. Significant differences were observed in invertebrate abundance, species richness and diversity between the refugia and control plots that lacked refugia and between the three vegetation types sampled. Similarity between invertebrate communities utilising the different refugia types and between the three different vegetation types were tested using the Jaccard similarity coefficient. The three vegetation types shared fewer than 50% of their species, as did the logs, dung and control sites. However the results obtained do illustrate a higher degree of similarity between the refugia substrates (logs and dung) than the control sites and between the more heterogeneous vegetation types (mixed bushveld and riverine) than the mopane veld. This indicated that invertebrate communities associated with refugia were not uniform, but were influenced by vegetation type. An experimental test of temporal changes in invertebrate community composition illustrated the importance of elephant dung as a microhabitat for different invertebrate groups over different ages of dung (three days, two, four, 12 and 32 weeks old). Colonisation of the dung, by dung beetles was immediate but as the microclimate of the dung changed with time, the new conditions were ideal for other invertebrate taxa. Over a period of eight months, the change of invertebrate communities utilising the dung included dung beetles, followed by millipedes and [mally ant and termite communities. The results of this study illustrated the importance of refugia (logs and dung) produced by elephants for ground-dwelling invertebrate species in the savanna environment. The extent of the influence of the refugia varied both spatially and temporally and this should be considered in future monitoring or in measuring impacts. While further research on a broader range of organisms and at larger scales is necessary, elephants do have a positive impact on at least some components of biodiversity, through the process of facilitation of refugia.
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.