scholarly journals Holistic conservation approaches: Supporting resiliency in times of crisis

Author(s):  
Adam Eric Miller
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 172226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Vercelloni ◽  
Sam Clifford ◽  
M. Julian Caley ◽  
Alan R. Pearse ◽  
Ross Brown ◽  
...  

Aesthetic value, or beauty, is important to the relationship between humans and natural environments and is, therefore, a fundamental socio-economic attribute of conservation alongside other ecosystem services. However, beauty is difficult to quantify and is not estimated well using traditional approaches to monitoring coral-reef aesthetics. To improve the estimation of ecosystem aesthetic values, we developed and implemented a novel framework used to quantify features of coral-reef aesthetics based on people's perceptions of beauty. Three observer groups with different experience to reef environments (Marine Scientist, Experienced Diver and Citizen) were virtually immersed in Australian's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) using 360° images. Perceptions of beauty and observations were used to assess the importance of eight potential attributes of reef-aesthetic value. Among these, heterogeneity, defined by structural complexity and colour diversity, was positively associated with coral-reef-aesthetic values. There were no group-level differences in the way the observer groups perceived reef aesthetics suggesting that past experiences with coral reefs do not necessarily influence the perception of beauty by the observer. The framework developed here provides a generic tool to help identify indicators of aesthetic value applicable to a wide variety of natural systems. The ability to estimate aesthetic values robustly adds an important dimension to the holistic conservation of the GBR, coral reefs worldwide and other natural ecosystems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 101043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orna Raviv ◽  
Shiri Zemah Shamir ◽  
Ido Izhaki ◽  
Hila Sagie ◽  
Maya Negev ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 1030-1032 ◽  
pp. 2468-2488
Author(s):  
Qiu Yun Huang ◽  
Xue Song Xi

Ancient village Azheke, located in Yunnan province in China, surrounded by magnificent Yuanyang Terraced Field and lush forested Mountains, is an excellent living model of Hani people’s vernacular landscape reflecting the wisdom of sustainable land use, agricultural cultivation and stewardship. However, the overwhelming globalization and urbanization construction bring about many problems to the ancient village, such as the currently deteriorating of natural environment, the declining of the ancient knowledge and skills of agricultural cultivation, the discarding of traditional life style with meaningful distinctive traits and the oblivion of cultural identity and religious spirits. Targeting on these challenges, this paper proposes a holistic approach to revive and rescue the ancient village. From the perspective of landscape, this study divided the vernacular cultural landscape into four processes, i.e. ecological, productive, daily & social life, spatial & religious landscape processes, considering the ancient village as an organism with its living demands. Based on the methods of scenes recovery and regeneration of vernacular landscape security network, this approach restores the scenes with the critical landscape elements in Hani vulgar life and unique culture, and respectively regenerates the ecological, productive, daily & social life and spiritual & religious vernacular landscape security network, according to the study results from literature and field observation and investigation. Then, after superposing these four networkers, an integrated village conservation framework is generated, with the complete elements, perfect function and distinctive traits. This strategy leads a way for achieving the objective of holistic conservation and revival of ancient village Azheke, which provides a reference for the ancient villages conservation in the World Cultural Heritage areas of Hani Terraced fields.


2021 ◽  
pp. 175815592110528
Author(s):  
Nitharsan Aloysius ◽  
Shashi Madhushanka ◽  
Chathuri Chandrika

The critically endangered Indian Courser ( Cursorius coromandelicus) is a rare resident bird species in Sri Lanka. This bird species is restricted to the northern avifaunal region of Sri Lanka, and even there it has been recorded from only a few locations. Thus, it is identified as one of the rarest birds in Sri Lanka. A 1-year study was conducted to investigate Indian Courser population and their distribution within the Delft Island from 5th of January to 20th of December 2020. Ten (10) randomly selected points were investigated in this study. Of the 10 sampling points, the Indian Courser was observed within three (03) sampling points year around while several sightings were recorded in points 8, and 9 during 3 months of the year. Their abundance significantly varied among sampling locations (one-way ANOVA, F = 15.04, p < .05). The maximum number of individuals recorded was 18 ± 4.64 in December and the minimum number was 4 ± 4.64 during the non-migrant season. Although most of the area in the island is covered with dry grasslands, their distribution in Delft is largely confined to a few grassland patches where human activities are minimum. Hunting, egg collection, and trampling of their nest by the Delft ponies (feral horses) can be identified as the main threats of this species. It is of utmost importance to immediately implement holistic conservation measures to save this critically endangered bird as Delft is the only known location where a viable resident population of Indian Courser is found.


2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 65-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hulya Yuceer ◽  
Beser Oktay Vehbi

Scattered mainly along the coast of Cyprus, a series of modest stone built carob warehouses provide a historical legacy of the agricultural, social and economic life of the rural areas of Cyprus during the late 19th and early 20th century. They were constructed of local materials and employed local building techniques, and have become a largely unrecognized part of the local landscape. Most remain in a dilapidated condition through neglect and weathering throughout the years. It is suggested that this is largely due to a lack of understanding of their cultural significance, and a lack of vision as to how a holistic conservation approach could help to address wider strategic policy objectives in the areas of sustainable tourism/place marketing, and rural economic development. More specifically it is suggested that a tourism path incorporating former carob collecting routes could support the adaptive re-use of the former warehouses based upon contemporary cultural needs and opportunities. The development of such an approach will require a multi-agency, cross-sectoral involvement that sees these buildings as a significant cultural resource.


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