Connectivity conservation at the crossroads: protected areas versus payments for ecosystem services in conserving connectivity for Colombian carnivores

Protected areas (PAs) constitute one of the main tools for global landscape conservation. Recently, payments for environmental services (PES) have attracted interest from national and regional governments and are becoming one of the leading conservation policy instruments in tropical countries. However, the degree to which areas designated for PES overlap with areas that are critical for maintaining species' landscape connectivity is rarely evaluated. We estimated habitat distributions and connectivity for 16 of the 22 mammalian carnivores occurring in the Caribbean region of Colombia, and identified the overlap between existing PAs and areas identified as being important for connectivity for these species. We also evaluated the potential impact of creation of new PAs versus new PES areas on conserving connectivity for carnivores. Our results show that PAs cover only a minor percentage of the total area that is important for maintaining connectivity ( x = 26.8 % ± 20.2 s . d . ). On the other hand, PES, if implemented extensively, could contribute substantially to mammalian carnivores’ connectivity ( x = 45.4 % ± 12.8 s . d . ). However, in a more realistic scenario with limited conservation investment in which fewer areas are set aside, a strategy based on implementing new PAs seems superior to PES. We argue that prioritizing designation of new PAs will be the most efficient means through which to maintain connectivity.

As Unidades de Paisagem no município de Areado, sul de Minas Gerais: uma proposta de estudo ambiental integrado a partir da concepção geossistêmica

A paisagem se apresenta como uma unidade de investigação de significativa importância no que tange aos estudos ambientais. Dessa forma, o agrupamento de suas variáveis em unidades pode avultar como estratégia metodológica para compreensão das estruturas e dinâmicas espaciais, e nesse sentido a concepção geossistêmica, aqui trabalhada segundo os pressupostos russo-soviéticos, fornece o aporte teórico-metodológico adequado. Desse modo, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo interpretar, classificar, cartografar e discutir os aspectos estruturais da paisagem no município de Areado (sul de Minas Gerais) a partir da abordagem geossistêmica. Para tal, foi necessário por intermédio do Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG) reunir um banco de dados com variáveis chave e complementares, que se referem às seguintes variáveis: solo, geologia, unidades geomorfológicas, uso e cobertura da terra. Tais variáveis foram individualizadas em grupos de fácies segundo a proposta de hierarquização dos geossistemas de Sochava (1977,1978). Dessa forma, obteve-se 14 tipologias geossistêmicas que representam em grande parte a estrutura da paisagem, reunidos em duas classes de fácies, que retratam as principais organizações geomorfológicas regionais definidas pelas superfícies altimontanas e intermontanas. Os resultados obtidos podem subsidiar diretamente programas de planejamento territorial e governança do patrimônio ambiental, garantindo a manutenção dos serviços ambientais existentes e orientando da forma mais parcimoniosa possível os usos econômicos do espaço. The Landscape Units in the municipality of Areado, south of Minas Gerais: a proposal for an integrated environmental study from the geosystemic conception A B S T R A C TThe landscape presentes itself as an investigation unity of significant importance with regard to environmental studies. Thus, the grouping of its variables into units can enlarge as a methodological strategy towards the comprehension of the spacial structures and dynamics, and in this sense the geosystemic conception, considereded here according to the Russian-Soviet assumptions, provides the appropriate theoretical and methodological support. Thereby, this present research aims to interpret, classify, map, discuss the structural aspects of the landscape in the municipality of Areado (south of Minas Gerais) from the geosystemic approach. For that purpose, it was necessary through the Geographic Information System (GIS) to gather a database with key and complementary variables, which refer to the following variables: soil, geology, geomorphological units, land use cover. Such variables were individualized in groups of facies according to the geosystems hierarchization proposal of Sochava (1977, 1978). Thus, fourteen geosystemic typologies were obtained, which largely represent the landscape structure, gathered in two classes of facies, that retract the main regional geomorphological organizations defined by the altimontana and intermontana surfaces. The obtained results may directly subsidize programs of territorial planning and governance of environmental heritage, ensuring the maintenance of existing environmental services and guiding in the most parsimonious way possible the economic uses of space.Key words: landscape, geosystem, environmental analysis, management, planning.

Ocupação da Terra e Conflitos de Uso com as Áreas de Preservação Permanente Nativa Remanescente de Cerrado na Sub-bacia do Córrego do Veado, Bacia do Alto Taquari, MS

A conservação das florestas é de grande interesse de toda a sociedade, pois garante os serviços ambientais básicos que sustentam a vida e a economia do país. Nesse estudo, realizou-se um diagnóstico do uso da terra e cobertura vegetal visando avaliar os conflitos entre as atividades antrópicas e as áreas de vegetação nativa remanescente de Cerrado na sub-bacia do Córrego do Veado e propor ações de adequação, do ponto de vista da conservação dos recursos naturais e da biodiversidade, com base na legislação pertinente e nas características físicas da bacia. O estudo se baseou em imagens orbitais e dados vetoriais, processados em Sistema de Informação Geográfica para a geração de produtos cartográficos. Na bacia, foram registradas 81 propriedades rurais, a maioria composta de imóveis com menos de quatro módulos fiscais, onde a principal forma de uso da terra foi a Pastagem sobre áreas consolidadas. A bacia contém em torno de 20% da área coberta por vegetação nativa de Cerrado, porém grande parte das propriedades não apresenta área de Reserva Legal e muitas nascentes de afluentes e do Córrego encontram-se degradadas. As ações propostas referem-se à recuperação das faixas de vegetação ciliar que descumprem o mínimo de largura estabelecido pela legislação, e das áreas de Reserva Legal; à readequação do uso em áreas voltadas à conservação da biodiversidade e à avaliação do potencial turístico da região, como forma de uso sustentável em áreas com alta declividade, solos altamente erodíveis e onde a vegetação de Cerrado encontra-se preservada. The conservation of forests is of great interest to all of society, as it guarantees the basic environmental services that support the life and economy of the country. In this study, a diagnosis of land use and vegetation cover was carried out in order to assess the conflicts between human activities and the areas of native Cerrado remnant in the sub-basin of the Córrego do Veado and propose adaptation actions, from the point of view of the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity, based on the legislation and the physical characteristics of the basin. The study was based on orbital images and vector data, processed in a Geographic Information System for the generation of cartographic products. In the basin, 81 rural properties were registered, the majority consisting of properties with less than four fiscal modules, where the main form of land use was Pasture over consolidated areas. The basin contains around 20% of the area covered by native Cerrado vegetation, however most of the properties do not have a Legal Reserve area and many tributary and stream springs are degraded. The proposed actions refer to the recovery of the strips of riparian vegetation that do not comply with the minimum width established by the legislation, and the areas of Legal Reserve; the readjustment of use in areas aimed at the conservation of biodiversity and the evaluation of the tourist potential of the region, as a form of sustainable use in areas with high declivity, highly erodible soils and where the Cerrado vegetation is preserved.Keywords:River Basin, Conservation, Ecosystem Service, Forest Code.

The Challenges of Implementing Payment for Environmental Services to Prevent The Agricultural Land Conversion

<p>Payments for environmental services mechanism is expected to strengthen decisions of agricultural landowners to maintain the existence of their agricultural land. This mechanism is expected to prevent the conversion of land that occurs due to its lower appreciation compared to other uses. This study is aimed to critically examine the challenges of implementing payments for environmental services in Indonesia and strategies to improve the implementation of payments for environmental services schemes to reduce agricultural land conversion. Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development framework is used to examine the implementation of Payments for environmental services. The implementation was able to run well through the establishment of institutions that regulate constitutional rules. The collaboration between the Government (as the user of environmental service) and farmers (as the service provider) should be declared and fully understood before the scheme is implemented. Therefore, full participation of all related parties was crucial in achieving the program’s goals. Collective understanding of the need to prevent land conversion and the coordination of stakeholders needs to be carried out sustainably.<br />Keywords: Land, conversion, environmental services, payment</p><p><strong><br /></strong></p><p><strong>Abstrak</strong></p><p><strong>TANTANGAN IMPLEMENTASI PEMBAYARAN JASA LINGKUNGAN UNTUK PENCEGAHAN KONVERSI LAHAN PERTANIAN</strong></p><p>Mekanisme pembayaran jasa lingkungan diharapkan dapat memperkuat keputusan pemilik lahan pertanian untuk mempertahankannya. Mekanisme tersebut diharapkan dapat mencegah konversi lahan yang terjadi akibat apresiasi terhadap lahan pertanian secara ekonomi lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan penggunaan lainnya. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menelaah secara kritis tantangan implementasi pembayaran jasa lingkungan di Indonesia dan strategi meningkatkan implementasi skema pembayaran jasa lingkungan untuk mengurangi konversi lahan pertanian. Kerangka Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development digunakan untuk mengkaji implementasi pembayaran jasa lingkungan. Implementasi pembayaran jasa lingkungan dapat berjalan dengan baik melalui penetapan lembaga yang mengatur aturan konstitusional. Kontrak kerja sama antara pemerintah sebagai pengguna jasa lingkungan dengan petani sebagai penyedia jasa lingkungan harus disosialisasikan dan dipahami sebelum skema pembayaran jasa lingkungan dijalankan. Pelibatan partisipan secara penuh merupakan hal yang sangat penting dalam mencapai keberhasilan program. Pemahaman bersama tentang perlunya pencegahan konversi lahan dan koordinasi seluruh pemangku kepentingan terkait secara berkelanjutan sangat diperlukan.<br />Kata kunci: Lahan, konversi, jasa lingkungan, pembayaran</p>

Implementing sustainable food forests: Extracting success factors through a cross-case comparison

Food forests are multistrata ecosystems that pro­vide healthy food, livelihood opportunities, as well as social-cultural and environmental services. With these features, food forests address several prob­lems industrial food systems cause. While the overall number of food forests is continuously increasing worldwide, the rate of uptake is still low. This study reconstructs in detail how different types of food forests (n=7) were realized, mostly in Europe, with a focus on organization and manage­ment. Findings confirm and add to previous studies indicating that the successful implementa­tion of food forests depends on long-term land access, sufficient start-up funds, and adequate farming and entrepreneurial know-how, among other factors. While these are not unique factors compared to other farm and food businesses, sustainable food forests face particular obstacles to secure them. This study offers guidance to food entrepreneurs, public officials, and activists on how to successfully implement food forests to realize their full sustainability potential.

Determinants of Preferences of the Respondents for the Payment for Environmental Services among the Rural Farming Households in Oyo State Nigeria

This study attempted to uncover the factors that influence preferences of the poor farming households for the attributes of Payment for environmental services (PES) in the Oyo State farm settlement Nigeria. Educational attainment, age of the respondents, previous knowledge of PES, land tenure, provision of micro credit, number of dependents, marital status and main occupation of the respondents. Dependent variable is preference for PES attributes.A multi-stage sampling technique was employed for this study.This study used exclusively Primary data.Which were collected through the use of a well-structured questionnaires and interview schedule for the literate and non-literate farmers respectivelyTotal sample of 395 out of 547respondents (i.e.72%) were drawn cumulatively. The regression results showed that previous knowledge of PES and provision of microcredit are significant at 5% each, while land ownership right is significant at 10% in the educational poverty group. In the consumption poverty group, previous knowledge of PES is significant at 5%, while land ownership right is positively significant at 1%, respectively. Housing/living standard poverty group; previous knowledge of PES and land ownership rights are significant at 5% each. From the findings of this study, it implies that if micro credit facilities are provided to these poor farming households, they will be willing to conserve the environmental resources (i.e. agricultural land). It therefore suggests that a well thought institutional arrangement with PES in view could be put up to enhance natural resource conservation and by extension reduction of poverty.