International audience ; This research aims to assess potential risk and estimate economic damage caused by landslides. The study area is located in the Ybbs valley, Lower Austria. Methods:Methodology consists of Arc GIS based spatial analysis and estimation of the potential monetary losses caused by landslides. Spatial analysis was used for defining elements at risk located in the risk zone of 100 m near landslides, and assessment of potential consequences. Results: calculated possible losses caused by the destruction of immobility and transport: costs for buildings demolition, restoration, roads rebuilding, debris transport, excavation and removal. The region of Ybbs valley is located in mountainous Alpine Foreland, Austria. It covers a total area of 131.3 km2. The environmental conditions of the the Ybbs valley are especially prone to landslides: Geology: deposits of gravel, sand, marl, conglomerate, calcareous sandstone and clay. Most of the region is used as pasture, agricultural land, and large forests. Climatic humid to continental. Intensive rainfalls in spring and autumn months. The region is attractive for tourists due to its environmental and historical value.Data:● Source: the data used in this research were generously provided by the Provincial Government of Lower Austria.● Content: data include vector thematic layers covering the area, aerial imagery, topographic vector layers and maps.● Organization: data have been organized in a ArcCatalog database and sorted according to their types.● Compatibility: all data have been stored in the ArcGIS project in Austrian National grid Austria Bundesmeldenetz (BMN) M34.Results:1. Defining elements at risk The elements at risk were selected in 100-meter buffer area near the landslides. The length and number of the elements at risk within the distance of 100 m near landslides totals to 20.9 km of railway lines, 13.5 km of roads and 641 buildings. 2. Calculation the economic losses The calculation of the real estate losses is computed from the calculation of ...
Land use change due to agriculture and forestry, generates a significant loss of biodiversityand is an important part of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions causing climate change. The Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, conservation, sustainable management and restoration of carbon stocks (REDD+) mechanism initiated ten years ago isstruggling to establish because of many political and scientific constraints. Despite the existence of guidelines developed by the international scientific community, tools and data necessary to provide accurate, cost and usable at different scales. The objective of this thesis is to develop innovative methods to reduce uncertainties in the estimates of CO 2 emissions and sequestrations from deforestation, degradation and land regeneration. Madagascar, a country committed in REDD+ for eight years and subjected to significant losses of biodiversity and forest cover, is taken as an example. Three complementary studies were carried out: i) monitoring of deforestation in tropical humid and dry regions, ii) estimates ofcarbon stocks in soils and forests and iii) land use change model. We have developed a new methodology for monitoring deforestation in Madagascar considering the national definition of forests and accounted for small plots of slash and burn practices. The figures of deforestation vary from one region to another, and have been updated to 2013. An innovative methodology for soil organic carbon stock mapping at fine resolution and regional scale has been developed by coupling many environmental factors and a field inventory using a machine learning model. This spatial carbon model was applied on satellite images acquired twenty year ago to assess the degradation of soil carbon stocks and potential regeneration.Loss and gain factors due to various land use change were estimated. Finally, the land use change framework developed allowed us to understand the biophysical and socio-economic factors related to deforestation, land degradation and regeneration, and provide spatially scenarios to assist policy makers. The results obtained in this thesis and the methodologies developed allow to feed the discussions and documents relating to the REDD + strategy in Madagascar. It contributes and is aimed at a better management of agro-ecosystems by providing accurate spatial information, locally relevant and globally consistent. ; Le changement d'usage des terres, lié à l'agriculture et à la foresterie, engendre une perte importante de biodiversité et représente une part importante de nos émissions de gaz à effet de serres à l'origine du changement climatique. Le mécanisme de Réduction des Émissions liéesà la Déforestation et à la Dégradation des forêts, conservation, gestion durable et restauration des stocks de carbone (REDD+) initié il y a dix ans peine à se mettre en place du fait de nombreuses contraintes politiques et scientifiques. Malgré l'existence de lignes directrices élaborées par la communauté scientifique internationale, des outils et données sont nécessaires afin de fournir des informations précises, à moindre coût et utilisables à différentes échelles. L'objectif de cette thèse est de développer des méthodologies innovantes pour réduire les incertitudes sur les estimations des émissions et séquestrations de CO2 associées à la déforestation, dégradation et régénération des terres. Madagascar, pays engagédans la REDD+ depuis huit ans, et soumis à des pertes importantes de biodiversité et de couvert forestier, est pris comme exemple. Trois études complémentaires ont été réalisées : i) le suivi de la déforestation en région tropicale humide et sèche par satellites, ii) l'estimation des stocks de carbone dans les sols et les forêts et iii) la modélisation des changements d'usage de terres. Nous avons développé une nouvelle méthodologie de suivi de la déforestation à Madagascar permettant de tenir compte de la définition des forêts et d'améliorer la prise en compte des petites parcelles de défriche brûlis. Les chiffres de la déforestation ont ainsi été actualisés jusqu'en 2013. Une méthodologie innovante de cartographie des stocks de carbone dans le sol à des résolutions fines et à des échelles régionales a été mise au point en couplant plusieurs facteurs environnementaux etdesinventaires de terrain à l'aide d'un modèle d'arbres de « forêts aléatoire » (Random Forests). Ce modèle spatial du carbone a été appliqué sur des images satellites acquises vingt années plus tôt afin d'évaluer la dégradation des stocks de carbone du sol et leur régénération potentielle. Des facteurs de perte et gain de carbone dans le sol ont pu ainsi être estimés. Enfin, une approche de modélisation des changements d'usage des terres a permis de mieux comprendre les facteurs biophysiques et socio-économiques liés à la déforestation, dégradation des terres et régénération, et de proposer des scénarios spatialisés pour aider les décideurs. Les résultats obtenus dans cette thèse et les méthodologies développées permettentd'alimenter les discussions et documents concernant la stratégie REDD+ de Madagascar. Elle contribue plus largement à fournir des informations spatiales justes, précises spatialement et cohérentes à large échelle dans le but d'améliorer la gestion de nos écosystèmes terrestres.
The Lake Chad Climate resilience action plan outlines the concept that there is a need to turn Lake Chad into a rural hub for regional development in parallel to the restoration of peace and security. The Plan intends to contribute significantly to food security, employment, and the social inclusion of the youth by improving, in a sustainable way, the living conditions of populations settled on the Lake's banks and islands as well as the resilience of a system characterized by a strong demographic growth, high hydrological variability, and climate uncertainty. To achieve it, the Action Plan proposes actions in seven Priority Themes based on observations and knowledge currently available. The four riparian States plus the Central African Republic and Libya, local powers (local governments or customary authorities), Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), and the civil society will be responsible for implementing the proposed actions. The Plan includes enhancing the capacity of LCBC in terms of data collection, sharing of information, and carrying out analyses useful to governance of the basin`s shared natural resources. The success of this Plan requires continuing on-going efforts to strengthen the LCBC. The tentatively estimated cost of the Lake Chad Action Plan is about 916 million Euros.
The ever increasing emission of carbon dioxide due to rapid industrialization, urbanization, unplanned tourism and alteration of land use pattern is causing unprecedented changes to marine biodiversity. Irrespective of political philosophy, nation, caste, sex and religion, mankind is under the appalling shadow of climate change. Today nature-based approaches for the mitigation of climate change are increasingly accepted as part of the low-cost solution. Thrust has been given by several scientific communities to assess the magnitude and viability of carbon sequestering potential of plants. Coastal producer communities like mangroves, salt marsh grass, seagrass beds, and seaweeds absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide during the process of photosynthesis. This carbon known as the 'blue carbon' is thus associated with the marine and estuarine ecosystems. However, a number of gaps in our scientific knowledge on blue carbon domain still exist. Molluscs, coral reefs, phytoplankton, which are amongst the important storehouses of carbon, have not been addressed. Very few scientific studies on the carbon stored in these valuable natural vaults have been performed, and no data bank is available on their carbon sequestering capacity on global basis. The methodologies for assessing blue carbon stock also need further standardization so that credit from blue carbon reservoir is accepted by the International bodies in the form of a concrete policy. It is a matter of great appreciation that Conservation International (CI), the International Union for Conservation of Natural Resources (IUCN), and the Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO is collaborating with governments, research institutions, non-governmental and international organizations, and communities around the world to develop management approaches, financial incentives and policy mechanisms for ensuring conservation and restoration of blue carbon ecosystems and implement projects around the world that demonstrate the feasibility of blue carbon accounting, management, and incentive agreements. The present book has critically presented the data bank for each community of blue carbon not merely in the form of text description, but also through case studies that are the outcomes of research projects and pilot programmes. Dr. Abhijit Mitra, Associate Professor and former Head, Dept. of Marine Science, University of Calcutta (INDIA) has been active in the sphere of Oceanography since 1985. He obtained his Ph. D as NET qualified scholar in 1994. Since then he joined Calcutta Port Trust and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature-India), in various capacities to carry out research programmes on environmental science, biodiversity conservation, climate change and carbon sequestration. Presently Dr. Mitra is serving as the advisor of Oceanography Division of Techno India University, Kolkata. He has to his credit about 274 scientific publications in various National and International journals, and 26 books of postgraduate standards. Dr. Mitra is presently the member of several committees like PACON International, IUCN, SIOS, Mangrove Society of India etc. and has successfully completed about 16 projects on biodiversity loss in fishery sector, coastal pollution, aquaculture, alternative livelihood, climate change and carbon sequestration. Dr. Mitra also visited as faculty member and invited speaker in several Universities of Singapore, Kenya, Oman and USA. In 2008 Dr. Mitra was invited as visiting fellow at University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, USA to deliver a series of lecture on Climate Change. Dr. Mitra also successfully guided 22 Ph.D students. Presently his research areas include environmental science, mangrove ecology, sustainable aquaculture, alternative livelihood, climate change and carbon sequestration. Dr. Sufia Zaman, presently serving as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Oceanography in Techno India University (Kolkata) started her career in the field of Marine Science since 2001. She worked in the rigorous region of Indian Sundarbans and has wide range of experience in exploring the floral and faunal diversity of Sundarbans. She has published 1 book on carbon sequestration, 45 scientific papers and contributed chapters in several books on biodiversity, environmental science, aquaculture and livelihood development. Dr. Zaman is presently a member of Fisheries Society of India. She is also running projects on carbon sequestration by mangroves of Indian Sundarbans. She is the recipient of DST Women Scientist and Jawaharlal Memorial Doctoral fellowship awards. Her areas of research include aquaculture, fish nutrition, phytoplankton diversity, climate change and mangrove ecology. Dr. Zaman is also the first researcher in the maritime state of West Bengal (India), who initiated trial experiments on iron fertilization and subsequent enhancement of primary (phytoplankton) and secondary (fish) productions in the brackish water ponds of Indian Sundarbans with the financial assistance of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
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Contents: Introduction: Inga Krättli: Long-term Responsibility for a Sustainable Life: Introductory Panel Session and Roundtable Discussion (15-22); Part 1: On Organisations and Philosophies of Development: Isolde M. Schönstein: Die Verantwortung der Kirchen für nachhaltige Entwicklung (25-33); Emil Brix: Zivilgesellschaft als Chance für die Demokratie (35-42); Michal Sicinski: Ecology and Sustainable Development within a General Social Theory: Old and New Approaches (43-52); Part 2: On Higher Education and Cases of Institution Building: Norbert Derner: Mutual Relationships of Personal Interests and the Evolution of Complex Social Systems (55-59); R. Garleja, I. Kerpe: Innovative Changes in the Social Demand for Lifelong Education (61-66); Richard J. Bartak: Bioakademie - Bildungsprojekt zum ökologischen Landbau in der Tschechischen Republik (67-74); Vijaya Sherry Chand, Elmar A. Stuhler and Sasi Misra: The Fachhochschule System of Higher Education: University of Applied Sciences, Landshut and University of Applied Sciences, Freising-Weihenstephan (75-86); Part 3: Interdisciplinary Studies on National Parks, Ecotourism and Investment: Jan W. Dobrowolski: An Interdisciplinary Study of, and Education for, the Sustainable Development of National Park Regions in Poland and a New Concept of Sound Tourism Management applied to the Cinque Terre National Park in Italy (89-100); Aleksandra Wagner, Jan W. Dobrowolski, Maria Zielinska: Ecotourism as a Factor of Sustainable Development of Specially Protected Regions (101-108); Philippos Nicolopoulos: The Large Scale Investments in Alternative Tourism and Sustainable Development: The Case of Crete and Arcadia (109-121); Part 4: Living Space Resources, Evaluation of Raw Materials, Agricultural and Food Policy: Drago Muvrin: Sustainable Development through Research and Learning. Sustainable Development and Habitation. An Approach to the Use of Living Space Resources (125-136); Ingeborg Bauer: Basic Principles of the Bavarian Agricultural Policy and its Contribution to Sustainable Development (137-142); Aija Melngaile: Global Aspects of Food Chain Development (143-149); Richard J. Bartak: Evaluating the Use of Raw Materials for Food Production from Economic, Ecological, Ethical and Social Points of View (151-162); Part 5: International Agricultural Research for Development: Sabine Homann, Andre van Rooyen, Thinah Moyo and Zivayi Nengomasha: Strengthening Livestock Market Flows and Feeding Practices for Improved Livelihoods in Southern Zimbabwe (165-173); Sabine Homann, Barbara Rischkowsky, Jörg Steinbach, Michael Kirk: Towards Endogenous Development: Borana Pastoralists' Response to Environmental and Institutional Changes (175-182); Sabine Homann, Barbara Rischkowsky, Jörg Steinbach: Herd Mobility Leads the Way for Sustainable Pastoral Development: The Case of Borana Rangelands, Southern Ethiopia (183-194); Part 6: Aspects of Eco-Design and Development, Innovation as well as Renewable Energy Sources: Marion Hersh: Ecodesign for All: Principles and Practice (197-216); Jozica Knez-Riedl: Developing a Sustainable/Holistic Firm (217-225); Majda Bastic: Analysis of Slovenian New Products from Environmental Viewpoint (227-234); Jan Fiedler: The Economics of Renewable Energy Sources in the Czech Republic (235-240); Part 7: Technological Issues and Opportunities: Zinaida Klestova, Alexander Makarenko, Eugene Samorodov: Geoinformational Systems in society Transformation. System Analysis and Transregional Infrastructure (243-250); T. Abadjieva: Effect of Solar Radiation on Materials and Design of Buildings in Botswana (251-258); Vera Vokolkova: Road Transport and its Contribution to Global Warming with Special Regards to Developing Countries (259-269); Dana Wenscheova: Transportation and Environment in the City of Brno (271-275); Antonin Kremr: The Modrice Project - Reconstruction and Intensification of the City Waste Water Treatment Plant in Brno (277-280); Part 8: Latvian Processes and Methodologies: I. Skards, J. Raipulis, I. Karlsone, V. Strazdina: Why Have Suicide Rates in Baltic States Increased after Restoration of Independence after 1990 (283-296); Ilmars Skards, Jekabs Raipulis, Ilga Karlsone: Demographic Situation in Latvia and the Conditions which Limit it (297-310); A. Goldsteins: State Forest Certification Activities in Latvia (311-315); Part 9: Our New Enemy: Timi Ecimovic: The Climate Change System (319-334); Melanie Thun: "Shishmaref Must Yield" (335-336); Werner Zeppenfeld: Tuvalu: An Island Nation Cables SOS (337); Part 10: Possible Follow up Studies: Rainer Fuchs, Shalini Misra: Need and Possibility for Analysing Human Motivation Potential - Related to Sustainability (341-363); Rainer Fuchs: Goal-oriented Action: The Interaction of Process Components in Terms of Cybernetic Theory (365-380); Elmar A. Stuhler: The Usefulness of Action Psychology for Multipurpose Agribusiness (381-393); Elmar A. Stuhler: Retrospect and Prospect (395-400).
12 pages, 5 figures, 6 tables, supplemental material https://doi.org/10.25387/g3.12640691 ; The octocoral, Paramuricea clavata, is a habitat-forming anthozoan with a key ecological role in rocky benthic and biodiversity-rich communities in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic. Shallow populations of P. clavata in the North-Western Mediterranean are severely affected by warming-induced mass mortality events (MMEs). These MMEs have differentially impacted individuals and populations of P. clavata (i.e., varied levels of tissue necrosis and mortality rates) over thousands of kilometers of coastal areas. The eco-evolutionary processes, including genetic factors, contributing to these differential responses remain to be characterized. Here, we sequenced a P. clavata individual with short and long read technologies, producing 169.98 Gb of Illumina paired-end and 3.55 Gb of Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) reads. We obtained a de novo genome assembly accounting for 607 Mb in 64,145 scaffolds. The contig and scaffold N50s are 19.15 Kb and 23.92 Kb, respectively. Despite of the low contiguity of the assembly, its gene completeness is relatively high, including 75.8% complete and 9.4% fragmented genes out of the 978 metazoan genes contained in the metazoa_odb9 database. A total of 62,652 protein-coding genes have been annotated. This assembly is one of the few octocoral genomes currently available. This is undoubtedly a valuable resource for characterizing the genetic bases of the differential responses to thermal stress and for the identification of thermo-resistant individuals and populations. Overall, having the genome of P. clavata will facilitate studies of various aspects of its evolutionary ecology and elaboration of effective conservation plans such as active restoration to overcome the threats of global change ; We acknowledge the funding support of the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 689518 (MERCES) and the Strategic Funding UID/Multi/04423/2013 through national funds provided by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), in the framework of the programme PT2020. JBL is funded by an assistant researcher contract framework of the RD Unit - UID/Multi/04423/2019 - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research – financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE2020 - Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI) and national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). AA was partially supported by the FCT project PTDC/CTA-AMB/31774/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER/031774/2017). DGG was supported by an FPU grant (FPU15/05457) from the Spanish Ministry of Education. We acknowledge support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to the EMBL partnership, the Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa, the CERCA Programme / Generalitat de Catalunya, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, the Generalitat de Catalunya through Departament de Salut and Departament d'Empresa i Coneixement, and the Co-financing by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation with funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) corresponding to the 2014-2020 Smart Growth Operating Program. JBL and JG planned and granted the funding to start the project ; Peer reviewed
The restoration of European rivers has been aligned with the Water Framework Directive, which promotes the concept of river continuity. This concept was codified in French law in 2006, whereby it was termed "ecological continuity of rivers" and defined as the free movement of living organisms and the efficient transfer of natural sediments. Since the 2012, the ecological continuity of rivers has been one of the most significant policy developments affecting rivers in the country. However, efforts to restore or establish ecological continuity have been met with problems, including the opposition of local residents, which have given rise to disagreements. In an effort to better understand these oppositions, this dissertation traces the socio-political origins of ecological continuity of rivers. We analyse how the construction of the concept and the development and implementation of the policy of the ecological continuity combined science and politics. After providing an analyzis of the history of the concept and the policy, we describe its various translations (European and French) in order to detail the evolution of scientific and political entanglements that have resulted in its application to French territory. The thesis adopts an approach that borrows from discursive analysis to explain different ways to interpret the ecological continuity of rivers through science (knowledge, expertises) and politics (entities, values). The final part provides a fine-grained analysis of how public policy implements the removal or alteration of hydraulic works on rivers so as to realize ecological continuity in two French watersheds. The aim is to better understand the main reasons of disagreements and conflicts. Flowing from the critical analysis of these difficulties, we propose a conceptual tool to tackle main challenges involved in implementing of ecological continuity and produce what we describe as a "territorial connectivity of rivers". ; Concept introduit dans la Loi sur l'Eau et les Milieux Aquatiques en 2006, la continuité écologique d'un cours d'eau (CECE) est considérée comme un moyen d'atteindre le (très) bon état écologique des masses d'eau dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre de la Directive-Cadre sur l'Eau. Depuis les années 2010, les projets de restauration de la continuité écologique sont entrepris sur des cours d'eau en France. Certains font l'objet de vives oppositions venant ralentir, voire empêcher sa réalisation. La thèse analyse les origines socio-politiques de ce concept et de la politique publique de CECE afin de rechercher dans le passé des éléments explicatifs des difficultés de son application au présent. Elle cherche ainsi à savoir comment les élaborations du concept et de la politique publique de CECE ont cadré, par des mélanges de sciences et politiques, une manière particulière de produire une continuité sur les cours d'eau, laquelle est discutée et contestée par des acteurs dans le but de l'infléchir. Dans une première partie, nous proposons un récit de son élaboration durant la Directive-Cadre sur l'Eau, la Loi sur l'Eau et les Milieux Aquatiques et le Grenelle de l'Environnement n°1. Plusieurs traductions européennes et françaises sont présentées pour comprendre l'évolution de sa définition et de son cadrage. Dans un deuxième temps, nous menons une analyse des discours, utilisée pour rendre compte des diverses manières de présenter et d'interpréter ce concept. En proposant un examen de la controverse entre des acteurs à l'échelle nationale, nous faisons de premières propositions pour expliquer la conflictualité de ce concept. Par la suite, nous étudions la mise en œuvre de la CECE sur plusieurs cours d'eau appartenant à deux bassins versants français (la Dordogne et la Têt) afin d'étudier les causes de désaccord entre les acteurs de terrain qui portent sur différents savoirs, valeurs, expertises et entités mobilisées pour composer ce projet de cours d'eau. Enfin, à la lumière des résultats de l'analyse, nous étudions ce que pourraient être les caractéristiques d'une CECE, davantage territorialisée et connectée aux attentes des acteurs locaux.
The restoration of European rivers has been aligned with the Water Framework Directive, which promotes the concept of river continuity. This concept was codified in French law in 2006, whereby it was termed "ecological continuity of rivers" and defined as the free movement of living organisms and the efficient transfer of natural sediments. Since the 2012, the ecological continuity of rivers has been one of the most significant policy developments affecting rivers in the country. However, efforts to restore or establish ecological continuity have been met with problems, including the opposition of local residents, which have given rise to disagreements. In an effort to better understand these oppositions, this dissertation traces the socio-political origins of ecological continuity of rivers. We analyse how the construction of the concept and the development and implementation of the policy of the ecological continuity combined science and politics. After providing an analyzis of the history of the concept and the policy, we describe its various translations (European and French) in order to detail the evolution of scientific and political entanglements that have resulted in its application to French territory. The thesis adopts an approach that borrows from discursive analysis to explain different ways to interpret the ecological continuity of rivers through science (knowledge, expertises) and politics (entities, values). The final part provides a fine-grained analysis of how public policy implements the removal or alteration of hydraulic works on rivers so as to realize ecological continuity in two French watersheds. The aim is to better understand the main reasons of disagreements and conflicts. Flowing from the critical analysis of these difficulties, we propose a conceptual tool to tackle main challenges involved in implementing of ecological continuity and produce what we describe as a "territorial connectivity of rivers". ; Concept introduit dans la Loi sur l'Eau et les Milieux Aquatiques en 2006, la continuité écologique d'un cours d'eau (CECE) est considérée comme un moyen d'atteindre le (très) bon état écologique des masses d'eau dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre de la Directive-Cadre sur l'Eau. Depuis les années 2010, les projets de restauration de la continuité écologique sont entrepris sur des cours d'eau en France. Certains font l'objet de vives oppositions venant ralentir, voire empêcher sa réalisation. La thèse analyse les origines socio-politiques de ce concept et de la politique publique de CECE afin de rechercher dans le passé des éléments explicatifs des difficultés de son application au présent. Elle cherche ainsi à savoir comment les élaborations du concept et de la politique publique de CECE ont cadré, par des mélanges de sciences et politiques, une manière particulière de produire une continuité sur les cours d'eau, laquelle est discutée et contestée par des acteurs dans le but de l'infléchir. Dans une première partie, nous proposons un récit de son élaboration durant la Directive-Cadre sur l'Eau, la Loi sur l'Eau et les Milieux Aquatiques et le Grenelle de l'Environnement n°1. Plusieurs traductions européennes et françaises sont présentées pour comprendre l'évolution de sa définition et de son cadrage. Dans un deuxième temps, nous menons une analyse des discours, utilisée pour rendre compte des diverses manières de présenter et d'interpréter ce concept. En proposant un examen de la controverse entre des acteurs à l'échelle nationale, nous faisons de premières propositions pour expliquer la conflictualité de ce concept. Par la suite, nous étudions la mise en œuvre de la CECE sur plusieurs cours d'eau appartenant à deux bassins versants français (la Dordogne et la Têt) afin d'étudier les causes de désaccord entre les acteurs de terrain qui portent sur différents savoirs, valeurs, expertises et entités mobilisées pour composer ce projet de cours d'eau. Enfin, à la lumière des résultats de l'analyse, nous étudions ce que pourraient être les caractéristiques d'une CECE, davantage territorialisée et connectée aux attentes des acteurs locaux.
In: Breine , J 2009 , Visgemeenschappen als ecologische indicator voor estuaria: de Zeeschelde (België) = Fish assemblages as ecological indicator in estuaries: the Zeeschelde (Belgium) . Doctoraten van het Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek = PhD theses of the Research Institute for Nature and Forest , no. INBO.T.2009.1 , Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek .
The Schelde is a lowland river originating in the northern part of France (St. Quentin), and entering the North Sea near Vlissingen, The Netherlands. The estuary covers about half of its length (355 km) as the tidal influence is stopped by sluices near Gent 160 km upstream. We focused on the Zeeschelde, the estuarine part in Flanders comprising a mesohaline, an oligohaline and a freshwater tidal zone. The Zeeschelde is subject to severe eutrophication as it receives high inputs from domestic, industrial and agricultural activities. The ecological values and nature conservation interests of the Zeeschelde are taken into consideration by a series of (inter)national policy instruments, aiming at a sustainable management and conservation of this aquatic environment. As a result several management plans apply also to the Zeeschelde or to parts of it. The most far-reaching plans are the Long Term Vision for the Schelde estuary (LTVS) and the updated Sigmaplan which combine ecological rehabilitation and sustainable habitat creation with flood control measures and navigation requisites. Compliance with almost all national and international agreements requires monitoring of biota. In the WFD fish is one of the biotic quality elements to be used in order to assess the ecological status of transitional waters. Species composition, abundance and the proportion of disturbance-sensitive species should be quantified. Any distortion attributable to anthropogenic impact is calculated by means of the Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR), representing the difference between monitored data and reference conditions. The fish-based assessment tool that we developed was designed to comply with these criteria. In addition it can be used on a metric level to assess fish species of special interest under the Habitats Directive. The fish assemblages in the Zeeschelde were described based on sampling results recorded over a period of 13 years. An overview was provided of the temporal and spatial variation in those assemblages along the salinity gradient in the Zeeschelde estuary (Chapter 2). The species richness and abundance increased over these years in the different salinity zones of the Zeeschelde. Between 1991 and 2008 a total of 71 fish species were recorded within this part of the estuary. Each salinity zone is characterised by a typical fish assemblage, although some species are shared between all three zones. The observed increase since 2007 in species richness in the freshwater and oligohaline zones coincides with a remarkable increase in dissolved oxygen. Guild specific qualitative Maximal and Good Ecological Potential (MEP/GEP) lists were composed for the different zones within the Zeeschelde estuary and its tidal tributaries (Chapter 3). The geographical range and ecological demands of the detected fish species were assessed. The outcome was decisive for acceptance within these lists, which served to develop a fish-based index for the Zeeschelde. In chapter 4 the ecological goals and associated habitat needs were described for fish populations in estuaries. The Zeeschelde was presented as a case study for the description of ecological goals for the fish species listed in the MEP/GEP lists. In order to make the method more widely applicable we first classified fishes into guilds, relevant for the formulation of ecological goals. Next we described guild-specific ecological goals and defined habitat needs linked with a proper functioning of the estuarine ecosystem. The habitat needs ensure the completion of all lifecycle stages: spawning, breeding, feeding and growth to maturity. A hierarchical approach was adopted to define the goals and habitat needs: from a regional scale to habitat level. On a regional and basin wide scale the essential habitat need is connectivity, on an estuarine scale this is space and on a habitat scale diversity is most important. The proposed ecological goals need further quantification. However in general the rehabilitation of marshes and mudflats and the enhancement of flood control areas as fish habitats, with special attention for connectivity with the estuary, will significantly increase the carrying capacity of the Zeeschelde for most of the relevant populations. In Chapters 5 and 6 two essential habitat needs are discussed in detail. In chapter 5, we modelled the environmental constraints controlling the movements of anadromous and catadromous fish populations that migrate through the tidal watershed of the river Schelde. For remaining diadromous populations (flounder, three-spined stickleback, twaite shad, thinlip mullet, European eel and European smelt) a data driven logistic model was parameterized. We modelled the presence/absence of fish species in samples taken between 1995 and 2004 as a function of temperature, dissolved oxygen, river flow and season. We demonstrated that it is possible to make acceptable predictions about the future spatiotemporal distribution of migrant fishes, even if only relatively limited information is available. An important management issue that derived from our study is that it is essential to avoid at all times DO concentrations below 5 mg l-1 in the freshwater and brackish tidal estuary of the watershed. Restoration of habitats such as marshes and mudflat areas will enhance aeration of the water and help to avoid severe DO drops. The use of tidal marshes for fish and the influence of creek characteristics on the visiting fish assemblages were assessed (Chapter 6). As expected the influence of the salinity gradient is reflected in the different fish assemblages. We caught a high proportion of juveniles suggesting that the creeks are a juvenile habitat. The highest fish abundance was recorded in summer (after hatching) because then juveniles seek shelter in the creeks. It was also observed that the visit frequency was related to creek dimensions and inundation time. Larger creeks, lower in the tidal frame and with a more complex structure, as they include side creeks and permanent pools, are of higher interest for fish. We also observed a positive effect of rivulets on the mudflat adjoining the tidal marsh as they guide the fish towards the creeks. These observations are important for the design of tidal wetland restoration projects. In chapters 7 and 8 different approaches to define a fish-based evaluation tool to assess the ecological quality status of an estuary (the Zeeschelde) were described. The fish index comprises metrics which are ecologically relevant variables that are sensitive to human pressures. A first step in the selection of these metrics consisted in assessing how they evolve along a pressure gradient (graphical selection). In chapter 7 a new concept in the index development was introduced i.e. the balance between type I (false positive) and type II (false negative) errors. The magnitude of these errors was expressed as the area under the curve (AUC). Graphical screening assured the selection of metrics responsive to anthropogenic degradation. We scored metrics by judging the metric value variation in the best available site (quintiles). A forward stepwise regression selected the metric with the best balance between the type I and type II error. Metric selection was continued until the lowest AUC was obtained. To define the EBI thresholds we fixed the maximum type I error of each integrity class threshold at 10%. It was a major concern that not all quality classes can be discriminated because of unbalanced pre-classification data. Secondly the final index had a high type II error, although we believe both types of error should be small. Therefore in the next chapter a different approach was used in order to obtain a better index. In chapter 8 we described the development of a Zone specific fish-based multimetric Estuarine index of Biotic Integrity (Z-EBI) based on fish surveys data from the Zeeschelde estuary (Chapter 2). Again we pre-classified sites using indicators of anthropogenic impact and selected metrics showing a monotone response with pressure classes for further analysis. Metric values were calculated using pooled annual data within one salinity zone and expressed as catch per unit effort. Metrics were selected using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) combined with a redundancy test. We defined thresholds for the Good Ecological Potential (GEP) from salinity zone specific references developed in chapter 3. andapplied a modified trisection for the other thresholds (moderate, poor and bad). The Z-EBI is defined by the average of the metric scores calculated over a one year period within each zone and translated into an Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR) to comply with the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). The indices integrate structural and functional qualities of the estuarine fish communities and can be used to assess the ecological quality of the Zeeschelde. We successfully validated the Z-EBI performances for habitat degradation in the various habitat zones. With this new index we encompass small temporal and spatial variations within the estuary. It accounts for the seasonal variation and covers the complete salinity zone, which is an improvement compared to the previous index. The developed indices are able to make the distinction between impacted and unimpacted (GEP) status. Our results showed that the ecological status of the Zeeschelde at present varies from bad to moderate. A comparison of the average scores obtained with EBI and Z-EBI indicated that in those cases where a different appreciation appeared, the EBI scores lower. This confirms our view that local and temporal appreciations are too sensitive to small variations, which do not necessarily represent an overall negative impact on the ecosystem functioning. Implementing rehabilitation and conservation measures will improve the ecological quality status of the Zeeschelde. At present the Z-EBI corresponds best with the demands from the different legislations and provides the most holistic information from an ecological point of view. ; De Schelde ontspringt in St. Quentin (Frankrijk) en mondt 355 km verder uit in de Noordzee nabij Vlissingen (Nederland). Tussen Gent en de monding is de Schelde over zowat 160 km onderhevig aan getijdewerking. In deze studie concentreerden we ons op de Zeeschelde (Belgisch estuarium) met haar drie saliniteit zones: een mesohaline zone, een oligohaline zone (inclusief de Rupel) en een zoetwater zone (inclusief de Durme, Dijle, Zenne, Grote en Kleine Nete). De Zeeschelde wordt vervuild door huishoudelijk en industrieel afval en ten gevolge van landbouwactiviteiten. Toch heeft de Zeeschelde een hoog ecologisch potentieel en een natuurwaarde die door nationale en internationale richtlijnen worden gewaarborgd. Voor het verzekeren van natuurherstel, gecombineerd met veiligheid en toegankelijkheid, werd gekozen voor het wenselijk alternatief van het geactualiseerd Sigmaplan. Als onderdeel van de studies die nagaan of aan de verschillende richtlijnen wordt voldaan, is in de meeste gevallen ook een beoordeling vereist van de status van biota. In de Kaderrichtlijn Water wordt vis vooropgesteld als een kwaliteitselement voor het beoordelen van de ecologische status van overgangswater. Een verschuiving tengevolge van menselijke activiteiten in de soortensamenstelling, abundantie en aantal gevoelige soorten wordt weergegeven in een ecologische kwaliteitsratio, die het verschil aantoont tussen de actuele en de referentietoestand. Daarom ontwikkelden we een visindex die gevoelig is voor dergelijke verschuivingen en die tevens elementen opneemt die van belang zijn voor de habitatrichtlijn. Op basis van vangstgegevens, verzameld over 13 jaar, beschreven we de vissamenstelling in de Zeeschelde langsheen de zoutgradiënt (Hoofdstuk 2). In totaal vingen we voor de drie saliniteitszones 71 verschillende soorten. Elke zone was gekenmerkt door een typische visgemeenschap, die we verder onderverdeelden in gildes of ecologische groepen. De toename van het aantal soorten in de verschillende zones viel samen met een verbetering van de waterkwaliteit (opgeloste zuurstof). Op basis van de recente en historische visstandgegevens stelden we referentielijsten samen diebeantwoorden aan het Maximaal Ecologisch Potentieel (MEP) en het Goed Ecologisch Potentieel (GEP) van de drie saliniteitzones in de Zeeschelde vis (Hoofdstuk 3). De geografische spreiding en ecologische vereisten van elke vissoort waren bepalend om deze al dan niet in de lijst op te nemen. Deze referentielijsten werden gebruikt voor het ontwikkelen van een zone specifieke visindex voor het Zeeschelde estuarium. We groepeerden de vissen uit de referentielijsten in gildes en expliciteerden hun ecologische doelstellingen en de ermee geassocieerde habitateisen (Hoofdstuk 4). De aanwezigheid van de vereiste habitatten garandeert dat de betrokken vissen hun levenscyclus kunnen voltooien. Op regionale en bekkenschaal houdt dat ondermeer ecologische connectiviteit in, op estuariene schaal is dat voornamelijk ruimte en op habitatniveau diversiteit. De bescherming en de maatregelen natuurherstel waarbij slikken, schorren en gecontroleerde overstromingsvlaktes worden gerealiseerd, verhogen de draagkracht van de Zeeschelde voor vis. De habitateisen beschreven in hoofdstuk 4 zijn kwalitatief. Om de connectiviteit te kwantificeren modelleerden we omgevingsvariabelen die een belangrijke invloed uitoefenen op de migratie van diadrome vispopulaties in de Zeeschelde (Hoofdstuk 5). Zo modelleerden we de aan- en afwezigheid van migratoren in de Schelde in functie van temperatuur, opgeloste zuurstof, stroomsnelheid en seizoen. We toonden aan dat met relatief weinig informatie aanvaardbare voorspellingen konden gemaakt worden van de ruimtelijke en tijdelijke verspreiding van migrerende vissoorten. Dat in het zoetwater- en brakwatergedeelte een zuurstofconcentratie van minstens 5 mg l-1 een noodzakelijke habitatvereiste blijkt te zijn, is belangrijk voor het estuariumbeheer. De realisatie en bescherming van afdoende oppervlakten slikken en schorren zijn noodzakelijk om de zuurstofuitwisseling te verbeteren. Het gebruik van schorren door vissen en het belang van kreekeigenschappen voor de bezoekende visgemeenschappen verduidelijkten we in hoofdstuk 6. Naargelang het zoutgehalte troffen we in de schorkreken andere visgemeenschappen aan. In alle schorkreken vingen we hoofdzakelijk juveniele exemplaren met een piek in de zomer. De positie van de kreek in het getijdevenster beïnvloedt de bezoekfrequentie van de vissen, dit is ook het geval bij aanwezigheid van een geul op het slik vóór het schor. Kreken die relatief lager liggen, breed zijn en vertakkingen hebben met permanente poelen worden het meest bezocht door vissen. In hoofdstuk 7 beschreven we de ontwikkeling van een op vis gebaseerd scoresysteem: de visindex (EBI). Deze visindex bevat metrieken of ecologisch relevante variabelen die gevoelig zijn voor verstoring. Een metriek die een staalnameplaats bijna altijd een zelfde status geeft als deze bepaald op basis van de omgevingsindicatoren is een goede metriek met een kleine foutenmarge. Het evenwicht tussen type I- en type II- fout kan met een curve weergegeven worden en het oppervlak onder deze lijn (AUC: area under the curve) is een maat voor de performantie van de metriek: hoe kleiner de oppervlakte hoe performanter. Met een stapsgewijze regressieanalyse selecteerden we eerst de metriek met de laagste AUC, waarna we de volgende metriek selecteerden die in combinatie met de eerste een nog kleinere AUC geeft tot uiteindelijk de AUC niet verder afnam. Finaal selecteerden we vijf metrieken en de spreiding van hun gemiddelde waarde werd gebruikt om de grenswaarden van de index te bepalen. Deze index is in staat op basis van één afvissing de kwaliteit van een staalnameplaats vast te leggen. Hij vertoont echter nog enkele tekortkomingen en daarom ontwikkelden wemet een alternatieve benadering nog een andere visindex voor de Zeeschelde (Hoofdstuk 8). Bij de alternatieve benadering opteerden we om voor het berekenen van de metriekwaarden alle gegevens per jaar binnen één zone te combineren. Dat impliceerde dat de resulterende index (Z-EBI) de Zeeschelde per saliniteitzone evalueert, gebaseerd op jaargegevens. Metrieken werden geselecteerd met behulp van statistische analyses, gecombineerd met ecologische achtergrondkennis. De referentielijsten werden gebruikt om grenswaarden voorelke geselecteerde metriek te bepalen. Het gemiddelde van de metriek scores berekend voor één jaar gaf de indexwaarde aan. Deze werd vertaald in een ecologische kwaliteitsratio (EQR) in overeenstemming met de Kaderrichtlijn Water. In elke zone beoordeelt de index structurele en functionele kwaliteiten en bepaalt hij de staat van de ecologische kwaliteit van de Zeeschelde. Door het gebruik van jaargegevens hielden we rekening met seizoensverschillen en door het beoordelen van een totale zone werden eveneens ruimtelijke verschillengeïntegreerd. De indexwaarden toonden aan dat de ecologische status van de Zeeschelde naargelang de zone varieert tussen slecht en matig. Bij een vergelijking van de EBI en Z-EBI scores stelden we vast dat bij een verschil de EBI steeds lager scoorde. Dit bevestigde onze hypothese dat het gebruik van locale en tijdelijke beoordelingen te gevoelig is voor kleine veranderingen die daarenboven niet noodzakelijk een negatieve invloed hebben op het functioneren van het ecosysteem. Momenteel beantwoordt de Z-EBI het best aan de criteria van verschillende richtlijnen en vanuit een ecologisch perspectief verschaft ze de meest holistische beoordeling.
The current knowledge is reviewed of the diet and predator–prey relationships of the feral cat (Felis catus), fox (Vulpes vulpes) and dingo (Canis familiaris dingo) (including wild dogs). The effect of forest fragmentation by roads on the use of native forest ecosystems by these species and the significance of this for native fauna is considered. The cat, fox and dingo are significant predators in Australia that interact with native fauna in various ways, including predation, competition for resources, and transmission of disease. On the basis of current knowledge, it is clear that the nature and impact of predation by the cat, fox and dingo on native fauna are primarily determined by prey availability, although there are exceptions to this rule. Generally, dingoes prey upon large to medium-sized prey species (e.g. wallabies, common wombats, and possums), foxes prey upon medium-sized to small prey (e.g. possums and rats) and consume a significant component of scavenged material and vegetation, while cats also prey upon medium-sized to small prey, but may have a greater proportion of reptiles and birds in their diet. The cat is generally considered to be an opportunistic predator and to have contributed to the demise of a number of mammals. The fox is considered more of a threat to small native mammals and it has been asserted that all species of mammals that fall within the critical weight range (CWR) of 120–5000 g are at risk of local extinction when the fox is present. The severity of the impact of the dingo upon the native fauna is considered to be minimal, at least in comparison with the impact that the cat and fox can have on populations. The dingo is not considered a threat to CWR mammals in undisturbed environments. The fox, feral cat and dingo are all considered to have the ability to selectivity prey upon species and, to some extent, individual sexes and age-classes of a number of larger prey species. Although many of Australia's forested areas are relatively heavily fragmented by roads, there are no published studies specifically investigating the use of roads by feral predators. Information on the distribution and abundance of foxes, cats and dingoes in these ecosystems, their ecology and their impact on native fauna is particularly limited. Further, the extent to which roads influence the distribution and abundance of these species and the consequences of these for native fauna are poorly known. One of the most important research needs is to establish the relative impact that exotic predators may have on native fauna under varying degrees of road construction within native forests. For example, are areas with and without roads in forests used differently by exotic predators and what is the significance of this in terms of the potential impact on fauna? The extent to which feral predators forage away from roads needs further investigation, as does the rates of predation within edges, because this may have several consequences for the design, location and size of retained strips and wildlife corridors as well as restoration programmes. Further observations on regional differences influencing predator–prey interactions are required, as is research on the potential impacts on native fauna resulting from prey selection in forests subjected to various degrees of fragmentation and modification.
Biodiversity offset, as the last step of the mitigation hierarchy (avoid/reduce/offset), aims to address the current biodiversity loss crisis. The main goal of this PhD, which relies on the new institutional economics approach as a theoretical framework, is to understand the organizational and institutional issues of implementing biodiversity offsets policies for impacts on continental and offshore wetlands in Europe and the United-States. Hierarchical organizations (i.e. permittee responsible mitigation) often lead to little to no implementation of biodiversity offsets because the ecological effectiveness of case-by-case compensatory measures is unproven and the monitoring and control of numerous measures are difficult. In the United-States, the mitigation banking system aims to compensate for multiple small impacts on wetlands by carrying out restoration projects on fewer but larger wetland areas in order to reach the goal of no net loss of biodiversity. This hybrid organizational form is highly regulated and therefore stands halfway between hierarchical and market organizations. However, actors have individual and collective strategies that generate negotiations with consequences on economic development and biodiversity conservation stakes. The mitigation banking system leads to a decrease of transaction costs and a change of the actors bearing them. It seems that the evolution of the whole framework of biodiversity offsets policy implementation in the United-States leans toward an institutional complementarity between these two organizational forms rather than a disappearance of hierarchical organizations. ; La compensation écologique, envisagée dans le respect de la séquence éviter-réduire-compenser les impacts, cherche à apporter des réponses à la crise actuelle d'érosion de la biodiversité. L'objectif de la thèse est de comprendre quels sont les enjeux organisationnels et institutionnels de la mise en œuvre du principe de compensation écologique pour les impacts sur les écosystèmes aquatiques marins et continentaux en Europe et aux Etats-Unis. La thèse mobilise le cadre théorique de l'économie néo-institutionnelle. Les organisations de type hiérarchique (compensation au cas par cas) ont pour principales limites d'avoir une efficacité écologique discutable et de ne pas permettre le suivi et le contrôle des mesures compensatoires ce qui conduit souvent à ce que la compensation ne soit pas ou peu mise en œuvre. Aux Etats-Unis, les banques de compensation consistent en une réponse anticipée et mutualisée aux dommages à l'environnement. Il s'agit d'une forme organisationnelle alternative hybride fortement régulée à mi-chemin entre la hiérarchie et le marché. Cependant, les acteurs ont des stratégies collectives et individuelles qui engendrent des négociations ayant des conséquences sur les enjeux de développement économique et de maintien des objectifs de conservation de la biodiversité. Le système des banques de compensation crée un double phénomène de redistribution des coûts de transaction et de diminution de ceux-ci mais il semble que l'évolution de l'ensemble du cadre d'application de la compensation écologique américain permet aujourd'hui une complémentarité institutionnelle entre ces deux formes organisationnelles plutôt qu'une disparition des formes hiérarchiques.
