Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
6
In Chapters 2-5 we discussed how to assess the sustainability of natural resource
use, addressing the biological and socio-economic aspects of data collection, and
the use of modelling for analysis. We have highlighted the importance of estab-
lishing scientifically the degree to which different factors contribute to biodiversity
loss and how they interact, rather than assuming that the most obvious factor is
automatically the most influential (Caughley and Gunn 1996). Using the methods
outlined in Chapters 2-5, we can obtain information on a range of factors that will
allow us to plan management interventions effectively. We give the basic explan-
ations of these factors below, together with illustrative examples in Box 6.1.
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Issue of concern
. Why is a change in management needed? This is a fundamen-
tal question, the answer to which is often taken for granted. But without a
statement of the problem and the evidence to back up the assertion that insti-
tuting management of resource use is the answer, we could go badly wrong.
●
Resource type
. The basic characteristics of the natural resource. What is its
monetary value per unit at the point of harvest and sale, how transportable is
it, how perishable is it, and what sort of value does it have to users (both pro-
ducers and consumers)?
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Biological characteristics of the resource
. These include abundance, distribution
and productivity of the target species, the identity of the target species (one or
many taxa?), and by-product mortality to other components of the ecosystem.
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Harvester characteristics
. Does the harvester live locally to the resource or not?
What methods are used for harvest? (What types of gear, seasonal activity,
length of hunting trip, is there more than one harvester type operating?) What
alternate livelihood activities are open to harvesters? What is the profile of
harvesters in comparison to the general population (age, education etc.)?
What attitudes do the harvesters have to the resource and their profession?
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The commodity chain
. The identity, numbers and locations of the actors at
each point in the chain. The length and stability of the commodity chain, and
the points at which intervention might best be targeted (e.g. bottlenecks).
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Consumer characteristics
. The location of consumers (local to the resource,
in-country but removed e.g. urban, international). The preferences of con-
sumers and substitutability of the resource; the narrower the niche the
resource fills, the fewer substitutes it will have. Consumer elasticities of price
