[return to A. Fellows by region or B. Condensed tables of Fellows]

 North America

Laura Ruiz, MFS 2003
Land Use and Forest Recovery in a Human-Induced Community Forest

Location: North America, Mexico

Principal Investigator: Laura Ruiz Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Advisor: Mark Ashton, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Collaborating institution: Estudios Rurales y Asesoría A.C. (ERA)

Many regions of rural Mexico are experiencing a dramatic change in the extent of land area occupied by shifting agriculture as a result of various socioeconomic factors that farmers face. For this investigation, a mountain Zapotec community in the Villa Alta District of the Sierra Juarez in Oaxaca Mexico was identified to observe that land uses in a shifting agricultural community might have on the current and future structure of high altitude Pine-Oak forests in Southern Mexico.

Community members were identified through snowball sampling and interviewed for the identification of stands currently forested with pine and oak species having undergone various disturbance histories. Stands were selected based on their land use history and classified according to past and current uses. Land uses considered include previous agriculture (at 30 to 60 years) converted to pasture or firewood extraction, past agriculture to abandonment (no active firewood extraction or pasture), and always having had firewood extraction. Once identified, stands were stratified, measured and sampled with random fixed area plots. Stand areas were also recorded in a GPS unit. Key forest measurements of 2 pine and 3 oak species were made in plots (7 oak species were identified in the area) in the sampled stands in an effort to relate the change in ratio of basal area, individuals and biomass of pines to oaks and modes of regeneration of oaks caused by human disturbances.

It is hypothesized that due to human emigration, land disturbances such as the extractive practices of NTFPs and shifting agriculture are decreasingly taking place in the village forests thus changing the population and distribution of important timber and non-timber tree species.

 
Nathaniel Carroll, MFS 2003
The Capacity of Invaded Forest to Sustain Native Hawaiian Birds

Location: North America, United States

Invasive alien species (IAS) encroachment is one of today's greatest threats to native ecosystems. Accordingly, IAS are also one of the most urgent challenges facing natural resource managers. The process of plant and animal invasion is as complex and variable as the characteristics of the invading organism and host ecosystem. Understanding the impacts of IAS and their underlying mechanisms is critical to effective management of native lands. While much research has been done on the role of predators and diseases in the decline of Hawaiian birds, more information is needed on how invasive plants contribute to the problem.

The objective of the research conducted is to determine the capacity of native forest invaded by Hedychium gardnerianum, an ornamental ginger, to sustain endemic Hawaiian bird diversity. To establish a relationship, I examined the effect of Hedychium invasion on bird density in 2 invaded forty-hectare plots and 2 un-invaded forty-hectare plots. Avian species and density data was collected using the variable circular-plot method and estimated with Distance 4.0. The research also aimed to identify which bird species are most vulnerable and by what mechanism. To identify the specific avian habitat requirements that are disrupted by Hedychium invasion, foraging technique and nest location preference were examined for each species. By identifying the life history characteristics responsible for vulnerability, the corresponding habitat quality might then be targeted for management.

Preliminary results show a significant decrease in Omao (Native thrush) and their native fruiting food shrubs in plot invaded my Hedychium.

 Central America

Daniela Cusack, MESc 2003
The Role of Native Species Plantations in Recovery of Understory Diversity in Degraded Pasturelands of Costa Rica

Location: Central America, Costa Rica

By Daniela Cusack and Florencia Montagnini

Daniela Cusack in Costa Rica.

Tropical plantations can provide a variety of environmental services, including recovery of biodiversity on degraded land. Plantations can speed forest successional processes on abandoned pastureland by recruiting woody species to the understory. Plantation species are hypothesized to differ in understory recruitment success.

In the present research, understory regeneration of woody plants was compared for six native species on tropical plantations in the Atlantic humid lowlands of Costa Rica. Timber species compared were: Vochysia guatemalensis, Vochysia ferruginea, Hyronima alchorneoides, Terminalia amazonia, Calophyllum brasiliense and Virola koschnyi. Abandoned pastures served as control sites.

Research was conducted in a field station as well as on farmers’ land. Each of the six timber species was present at each of 3 sites, and 4 plots were sampled for each timber species at each site using a randomized block design. All understory woody species were counted, identified and separated by height class. Two microhabitat factors, incident light and leaf litter on the plantation floor, were also measured. Plantations showed significantly higher levels of understory regeneration than control plots (p<0.05). Differences in understory regeneration among plantations were also apparent. High variability in abundance and richness of regenerating individuals was evident between the three sites.

Keywords: Native species plantations, biodiversity, understory regeneration, Costa Rica

1 Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 370 Prospect St., New Haven, CT 06511, USA. Tel: (203) 498-1042, Email: Daniela.Cusack@yale.edu, Florencia.Montagnini@yale.edu

 
Boris Mendez Paiz, MFS 2003
Species choices for forest plantations with incentives in the southern lowlands of Guatemala: assessment of past trends and present scenario

Location: Central America, Guatemala

The Government of Guatemala is promoting the establishment of plantations providing financial incentives to landowners. The Pacific Lowlands of the country is one of the natural regions of the country with the highest potential for forestry production.

The preliminary results of this work are:

a) The Forest Law is the main regulatory tool for incentives in Guatemala; to receive incentives landowners have to demonstrate through a technical assessment that the land is proper for forest plantations use and submit a proposal for the establishment of plantations. A Professional Forester must prepare both documents.

b) Plantations established in the Southern Lowlands of Guatemala vary in terms of surface, age, species choices and degree of compliance with approved proposals of management.

c) The criteria to select species has been changed along time: when the program started any species was allowed to be used; now the Forest Service based on the performance during the past years in plantations in the region, the willingness of landowners to continue planting them, and the promising prospective market for timber has defined a group of 4 species as the priority ones for projects: Pinus caribaea, Tectona grandis, Gmelina arborea and Roseodendron donnell-smithii.

d) The seed for projects has been supplied by the different seeds banks in Guatemala as well as from other Central American countries and also by local providers.

 
Bryan Petit, MF 2003
Silvicultural and financial values of mixed and pure plantations of native species for restoration in rural areas of the humid tropics

Location: Central America, Costa Rica

Frequently, planting only one or two well-suited species in an area can serve as a catalyst in returning abandoned areas to diverse forests. This research project is a component of a larger CATIE project-trying to restore areas with native plantations in ways that would financially benefit the surrounding communities.

Growth equations have been constructed for ten native tree species, using twelve years of growth data from research plots in La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. Silvia® — a growth simulation model for tropical plantations — was then used to determine each species’ rotation age (Faustmann and Maximum Sustained Yield) and merchantable volume produced per hectare at time of harvest. Next, these productivity potentials were matched with timber values to compare the value of plantations of each species.

Terminalia amazonia and Vochysia guatemalensis had significantly higher net present values and, thus, are the recommended restoration species for the humid lowlands of Central America. Both species grew faster in mixed plantations. Restoring abandoned agricultural sites with T. amazonia and V. guatemalensis will provide the best financial return to landowners after one rotation

 South America

Emily Sprowls, MESc 2003
Marine education and children's sense of place in the San Andres archipelago

Location: South America, Columbia

Sense of place is defined by the way that an individual's experiences and perceptions of a particular place generate a relationship to that place. Because of the link between sense of place and environmental stewardship, environmental education programs need to incorporate children's experiences and perceptions of their local environment. This research describes children's sense of place with respect to the tropical marine environment in the San Andres Archipelago in order to inform the development of a place-based marine education curriculum for the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve.

Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to investigate the place attachment, experience, identity, dependency, knowledge, and values of children aged 8 to 13 with respect to the local marine environment, including map-drawing activities, structured focus-group interviews, in-depth individual interviews, and questionnaires. Most children identified marine environments as favorite places, and indicated the beach as a preferred place to play. A majority of children identified sea turtles and fish as important to protect, and listed sea grasses and sea urchins as things they dislike about the beach. Children expressed a wide range of knowledge and interest in marine conservation issues across age, gender, ethnic categories.

These research results provide an important child-centered framework upon which conservation organizations can develop marine education curricula that build's upon children's existing sense of place.

 
Margaret Francis, MEM 2003
The Future of Forests in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon: Consequences of Accidental Fire

Location: South America, Brazil

My summer research, titled “The Future of Forests in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon: Consequences of Accidental Fire,” was executed in collaboration with the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) and Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM) as part of a large-scale ecological project in the eastern Amazon.

The objective of the independent research project was to identify patterns of succession and re-colonization of forest vegetation in areas of lowland tropical forests that burned due to accidental fire and were selectively logged. These sites were located outside the city of Santarém, Pará, Brazil. The goal was to determine if any long-term ecological consequences of these vegetative patterns exist on the forests.

In order to achieve the study, I worked with a local botanist to conduct sampling of forest regeneration in four sites that had at one time been primary lowland tropical forest. The objective was to compare composition (family name) and quantity of plant regeneration across sites. After identifying burned and logged sites using satellite images and visiting the treatment areas, I measured forest regeneration in order to quantify, identify and compare patterns of succession. The ten-week study consisted of data collection (sampling), mapping (using a GPS unit) and conducting personal interviews to establish burn histories.

 
Ilmi Granoff, MESc/MA (International Relations) 2004
Boat Building in Extractive Reserves — Para, Brazil

Location: South America, Brazil

Ilmi Granoff worked in the Tapajos-Arapiuns Extractive Reserve in Para, Brazil, as part of a collaboration between the Institute of Environmental Research for Amazonia (IPAM), IBAMA (Brazil's EPA equivalent), and the Administration of the Reserve itself. His work was part of an ongoing project within the Extractive Reserve to develop natural resource management practices in collaboration with rural small-holders.

Ilmi’s project focused on the thriving boatbuilding industry along the periphery of the reserve, and the related timber extraction in and around the protected area. Key findings included the socio-economic and anthropological aspects of boatbuilding and the boatbuilding market, natural resource demands placed by these activities on adjacent forests, and forest inventories of relevant tree species

 Africa

Rebecca Ashley, MESc 2003
Bufferzone Agroforestry

Location: Africa, Uganda

Agroforestry is a tool that is widely used to increase productivity, ameliorate environmental degradation, and bring added market or subsistence benefits to farmers. More recently, people are highlighting the potential for implementing agroforestry technologies within agrarian landscapes that buffer national parks and protected areas to meet the above objects, as well as increase biodiversity conservation on farm. This summer, working in the Afromontane region of Kabale in southwestern Uganda, I conducted research to address the question of whether agroforestry is an appropriate technology to meet local needs and conserve biological diversity of tropical forests.

Working within four parishes around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park I interviewed farmers and visited their fields to ascertain how farmers are actually using the trees on their farms, identify factors that influence where and whether they integrate trees onto the farming landscape, and identify potential priority indigenous trees for domesticatoin on the farming landscape. Increasing our understanding of trees on farm, and what fuctions and factors are dictating their planting, retention, and use will lend a significant perspective on whether agroforestry can play a useful and realistic role in biodiversity conservation and improved livelihoods within the “buffer zone,” and which trees, or types of trees should be considered, if at all.

 
Abdalla Shah, MEM 2003
The Value of Improvement of Water Services in Zanzibar Town

Location: Africa, Zanzibar

The rapid growth of Zanzibar Town and the worsening economic situation over the past two decades are putting significant strain on all social services and infrastructure. This includes water service to the town's inhabitants. In the past three decades the water supply situation in Zanzibar town, along with other social services, has been deteriorating. Both the quantity and quality of the supplied water have decreased. Currently, the shortage of water for home and other uses is a chronic problem in the town.

The situation of the water supply in Zanzibar is very similar to that of other Tropical Island State Countries. For instance, it is comparable to the deterioration of water quality and the degeneration of water supply services in Colombo, Sri Lanka (Kurukulasuriya and Mendelsohn, 2001 (unpublished). The water shortage and drop in water quality in Zanzibar town have been caused and aggravated by multiple factors. These include an aged and poorly maintained water supply system, and rapid urban expansion, limited natural supply sources, and the degradation of watersheds. The problems are further exacerbated by the current government policy of providing "free" water service to the domestic consumers and religious institutions.

In spite of the laudable intentions of the policy to provide the society with access to water at no or minimum costs, over time one of main outcome of the policy has been a deterioration of quality of the services provided. This study use economic tools to study the impact of the current "Free for all" water policy and to suggest one ways to improve current situations through policy change.

Research Question

This study has considered that important first step in such an effort will be to establish whether the people of Zanzibar town are willing and able to pay for improved reliability in water services.

The hypothesis to be tested is thus “the people of Zanzibar town are not willing to pay for reliable water services.” Reliable water service in this study means a 24 hr flow of tap water either into a house or to a nearby stand pipe or other piped sources.

Goal

Measure and establish the value of water supply services to the people of Zanzibar town.

Research Objectives

1. To quantify and document the effects of the existing water policy to the town consumers.
2. To gather empirical data that will demonstrate the need to revise the current government policy on water services provision in Zanzibar town.
3. To evaluate policy options on financing management of the water resources and supply system for the Zanzibar town, and document the potential impact of each option.

Methodology

This study used Contingency Valuation (CV) methods as economic tools to establish the value of reliable water service among the Zanzibar town residents. This involved use of structured questionnaire survey. The survey examined and documented the willingness of the Zanzibar town residents to pay for water services. It established the value (how much) and under what conditions are they willing to pay.

Findings

People of Zanzibar town are willing to pay for water services.

• 65% of the respondents in this survey considered it not OK to pay for water service. This could be due to the current socio-political understanding that the government has taken the responsibility of providing the services for free. Thus people maintain the belief that paying for water services is wrong.
• Only 33% were willing to pay for the current level of reliability in water services. This indicates high level of dissatisfaction of consumers on the quality of services currently provided.
• 58% of respondents were willing to pay for improved services. This indicates that generally people are willing to pay for water services. They are not paying for the services because of the government policy and the fact that the services provided are poor.

 Asia

Elizabeth Allison
Spirit Guardians of the Land? Exploring the Role of Traditional Religio-Cultural Practices in Environmental Protection

Location: Asia, Bhutan

Alone among its Himalayan neighbors, the Kingdom of Bhutan has preserved more than two-thirds of its original forest cover, including numerous rare and endemic species within a biodiversity hotspot of international concern. One factor that may contribute to this preservation is the Bhutanese belief, based in Buddhism, Bon and local tradition, in deities and spirits inhabiting features of the landscape. Spirits and deities are thought to claim certain habitats as their own, preventing human use of such areas, which suggests that some spiritual beliefs have environmental consequences.

To analyze this idea, the deity beliefs, which appear to inhibit villagers' use of natural resources in certain areas, and their influence on behavior, were examined through semi-structured villager interviews, participatory sketch mapping, and participant observation in three villages in eastern Bhutan.

The qualities of the natural features in which the spirits and deities are believed to reside were compared to landscape features outside of the deity habitats. Fear of retribution from disturbing the deities and spirits appears to inhibit the villagers' use of some natural resources. Many areas believed to be protected by deities and spirits contain edible plants, dense forest, and spring water, the maintenance of which may be important to the villagers' well-being. It appears that significant resources have been protected through a spiritually based and locally consistent system. Scholars are increasingly recognizing religion and spirituality as important considerations in environmental conservation efforts.

Gaining a deeper understanding of the dynamics spiritually- based resource protection actions in one area of the world deepens the context for mutually reinforcing linkages between religion and environmental conservation, and provides insight into mechanisms of environmental stewardship that extend beyond science, law, economics and politics to engage the internal belief systems and values of people who must manage natural resources.

 
Naamal De Silva, MEM 2003
Social Aspects of Sea Turtle Conservation in Sri Lanka

Location: Asia, Sri Lanka

Five out of the seven species of sea turtles nest in Sri Lanka. Due to their globally threatened status, the government has long-standing policies banning the trade and harvesting of turtle products. Nevertheless, the consumption of turtle eggs and meat continues in coastal communities. A number of hatcheries along the Southern coastline purport to advance turtle conservation, and also serve as tourist attractions.

I explored the relationship between the sea turtle conservation programs and surrounding communities through the use of semi-structured interviews and participant observation. I also did archival research to learn about recent research on hatcheries and about sea turtle consumption patterns in the past.

In general, there does not appear to have been a decrease in the collection of turtle eggs due to the presence of the hatcheries. In areas with hatcheries, turtle egg collectors do appear to have shifted from egg consumption to sale to hatcheries. Community members hold a favorable opinion about the hatcheries, though some question their effectiveness in conserving turtles. All hatcheries except the govenrment-run hatchery in Rekewa provide income to surrounding areas in the form of employment, cash for eggs, and some cash from sales of souvenirs and food to tourists. They also seem to increase awareness regarding threats to turtles, mainly by encouraging visits from school groups. However, hatchery conservation practices are questionable, and may not significantly aid the recovery of increase turtle populations. Beach development near hatcheries probably further hinders sea turtle conservation efforts.

 
Krithi Karanth, MESc 2003
Conservation in Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary: Protecting a Park's Future and Meeting People's Needs

Location: Asia, India

Krithi Karanth in Bhadra Wildlife Santuary.

A central challenge in conservation biology and protected area management is to reliably assess the impacts that humans have on biodiversity in protected areas. In India, nature conservation is under threat from local livelihood pressures, local and regional markets as well as the process of rapid economic growth and globalization. Yet, it is a country that has a successful record of establishing protected areas and recovering endangered species such as tigers and elephants.

My study examined the impacts village size, land-use and socio-economic activities on biodiversity in Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary located in the Western Ghats (one of the worlds 25 biodiversity hotspots) in southern India.

My study had two components. The ecological component involved walking randomly selected one kilometer transects from the edge of six selected villages. Along these transects I measured eleven habitat disturbance parameters such as cut stems and the abundance of bird-animal species. The social science component involved interviewing (in the local languages Kannada and Tulu) 295 families (total 460) across sixteen villages in the park about their livelihood and activities such as cattle grazing, firewood collection, NTFP collection, fishing and hunting along with human-wildlife conflicts such as crop raiding and livestock predation that they faced.

I also happened to be present at a time when the Bhadra Rehabilitation Project was underway. This project was a joint undertaking of the Government of India, State Government of Karnataka along with the active involvement and support of local NGO's such as Wildlife First! Due to the presence of strict park protection provisions and their isolation, these villages were not developed through new roads, power lines and communication systems as other neighboring villages surrounding the park. When a dam was constructed on the Bhadra River it inundated the major road connecting them and cut off from neighboring towns. These along with the severe human-wildlife conflicts was responsible for the villagers seeking to voluntarily relocate outside the park provided their social and economic needs were adequately met. My project gave me a first hand opportunity to observe and talk to the key players responsible for the project's successes as well document the villager's perspective on what is being touted as one of India's successful rehabilitation projects.

Conservation of biodiversity in protected areas like Bhadra will require a quantitative and qualitative examination of both how and why human impacts operate to bring about changes in the landscape. I expect that my study will help identify possible deterrents to protection of biodiversity in protected areas and document a successful ongoing collaborative project that has met the needs of the people while conserving unique places such as Bhadra, a large and valuable block of the tropical Western Ghats.

Florence Miller, MESc 2003
Carbon storage in young- and middle-aged oil palms

Location: Asia, Indonesia

Oil palm plantations are an increasingly significant component of tropical ecosystems in Southeast Asia, yet their contribution to the global carbon budget has yet to be quantified.

Biomass and hence carbon storage of relatively young palms in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, were estimated using non-destructive methods. Diameter and height measurements were used to calculate volume, which was converted to biomass using a previously published density equation (Corley et al., 1971). Oil palms planted in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998 were sampled and their relative carbon contents compared.

Soni Mulmi, MESc 2003
Effects of Management Systems in the Availability of Dendrocalamus sps in Jhapa District, Nepal

Location: Asia, Nepal

The Eastern Nepal is rich in bamboo resources due to favorable climate.

The decreased supply of forest products as a result of increased forest degradation has considerably raised interest of rural households towards bamboo extraction. Bamboo is an important source of income and sustaining livelihoods for bamboo grower households, craftmakers and traders, many of who are socially and economically disadvantaged.

Jhapa district covers a total land area of 156,500 hectares, of which 10.3% (16,057 ha) is forests cover. The most commonly found species in Jhapa District is Dendrocalamus strictus (Kath Bans). The crux of my study was to compare the availability of bamboo in two contrasting management units, viz,. community forest and national forest. The research was conducted at Arjundhara Community Forest and Jalthal National forest in Jhapa District. The bamboo clumps which were measured were more from the periphery of the forest, in the river banks.

There is a remarkable difference between the availability of bamboo in community forest and national forests. National forest though have their own rules and regulations are not strict in enforcing them and thus the timber and non-timber forest products are illegally harvested by the local people. The distance of village from the forest is inversely proportional to this illegal cutting of the bamboo and bamboo shoots. At the same time, community forest, though seem to have good management of timber as well as bamboo in the periphery and the inner side of the forest, are much effected by lack of local people's participation in decision making. Though managed properly, there still is illegal extraction of tender bamboo shoots.

 
Kabir Peay, MESc 2003
Implications of Strong Drought Events on Forest Structure in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Location: Asia, Indonesia

Kabir Peay on location in Kalimantan.

My original research proposal focused on the impacts of the El Nino Southern Oscillation on mixed-dipterocarp forests in Indonesian Borneo and possible synergies with land-use change. The materialization of the ENSO this year provided a good opportunity to study possible synergies between anthropogenic and natural disturbances.

Unfortunately, due to problems with local bureaucracy I was unable to reach my original research site in a logging concession on the border of the Bukit-Baka Raya National Park. I was, however, able to perform some research on the impact of drought on undisturbed forests in the Gunung Palung National Park.

At Gunung Palung different species of dipterocarps (the dominant canopy species) are associated with major soil types (primarily granite, sandstone and alluvium). Because I was able to show differential dry down between soil types after an 8 day drought my data suggests that strong drought events and drought resistance may be important in determining species composition on different soil types. My future research will attempt to address the implications of this phenomenon on the regrowth of logged dipterocarp forests.

 Australia

Hoang Dinh, MFS 2003
Assess the success of restoration using mixed species plantation in Queensland, Australia

Location: Australia, Queensland

Tropical forest is being degraded at an alarming rate due to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Intact systems are disappearing and becoming fragmented into islands or linked patches. This not only results in the loss of commercial value and woody species but also causes the disappearance of fauna habitat. The loss of one species can affect others by biological processes such as seed dispersal and tree recruitment. Therefore, there is a crucial need to restore tropical forests for economic and/or biological purposes. Restoration is meant to conserve biological diversity and to contribute to the maintenance of biodiversity, thus potentially affecting climate change through a number of intermediate factors. Therefore, the question is how to restore degraded systems? What application can efficiently promote the ecosystem dynamics and bring it back to the original condition?

This is a challenging question for ecologists who focus on tropical forest restoration. Onemethod is to promote mixed species plantations. Several researches have tentatively concluded that mixed species plantation models that prioritize the planting of native species can result in biodiversity conservation. But they appear to be difficult to manage and expensive to scale up in large areas. Still, the most important thing is to understand ecosystem dynamics, especially seedling recruitment and successional pathways over time.

This study aims to assess the pattern of successional development over time under the canopy at the restoration sites using mixed plantation to determine the influent factors to seedling recruitment in the Northern Queensland of Australia. In addition, we also focused on refining recurrent method of restoration.

This research will test two hypotheses:

1. Restoration using mixed species plantation can create biodiversity in a short period of time in term of seedling species composition.
2. Seedling recruitment and its succession will mimic the natural system in regard to forest structure and other habitat.

The research will be conducted in three locations: Douglas Shire, South Johnstone and Cairns in Queensland. Fifteen sites will be selected. Then we will select 3 random plots (75m long and 20m wide) for each site. In each plot, 3 transects (20m long and 4m wide) of random directions will be laid out to assess the whole complexity of each plot. The seedling counting and species definition will be conducted on 1 m2 continuing quadrants along each transect (20m x1m). Data will be processed on SAS and MINITAB software. From this research, we will assess the fundamental change in habitat diversity under the canopy of this forest and determine how factors to seedling recruitment such as the canopy cover, weed cover and stand basal areas effect habitat diversity. To date, research on this topic is quite limited.

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