Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
approximately 90 minutes each (British Trust for
Ornithology 2011b). In addition to bird sight-
ings, data on habitat conditions are also recorded
and monitored at survey sites. These data are
shared to promote appropriate conservation
and management strategies.
Economic Census conducted every i ve years
provides data by economic sector. Other data
relevant to wetlands are collected and dissemi-
nated by various governmental agencies such as
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of
Land Management, Department of Agriculture,
Environmental Protection Agency, Geological
Survey, Fish and Wildlife Service, National
Marine Fisheries Service, and the Natural
Resources Conservation Service.
Survey instruments may be used to collect a
variety of information from individuals who
live in or use resources from wetlands. Sampling
frameworks provide statistically robust ways
to collect such data from a smaller subset of a
larger population. Similar to ecological surveys,
such resource utilization surveys may be admin-
istered to target populations using random, sys-
tematic, stratii ed, or cluster sampling techniques.
Surveys allow for more targeted and in-depth
data collection specii c to wetland activities
and resources and, as such, could yield valuable
information on a number of issues (Secretariat
of the Convention on Biological Diversity 2006).
These include:
3.6 Social science methods and techniques
Wetlands provide fundamental and life sustain-
ing resources to humans, and their use by
humans has been well documented in historical
and contemporary studies. Recognizing and
documenting the cultural and socio-economic
value of these environments is vital to their
sustainable management. Established social
science methods including the analysis of census
data, resource-use surveys, in-depth interviews,
oral histories and other economic valuations
such as resource assessments are used to evalu-
ate human use and value of wetlands.
It is essential to recognize that most wetland
landscapes across the globe have been settled
and modii ed by humans over millennia. Recent
information on the scale and scope of human
habitation in wetland ecosystems may be
obtained through census counts. A census
provides a full count of individuals and often
includes their demographic and socio-economic
characteristics. Such systematic counts provide
necessary information on not just the number
of individuals that live within wetland ecosys-
tems but also how these ecosystems might be
used. For instance, district and village level cen-
suses conducted every 10 years across India
provide information on economic activities by
trade (such as i shing, aquaculture, etc.), in addi-
tion to the population's socio-demographic
characteristics of age, sex, and education. When
analyzed over time, these data provide valuable
insights to ongoing socio-economic changes
across wetland regions.
In the United States, the Bureau of the Census
provides valuable decadal socio-demographic
and income data on residents of the country
at various scales of aggregation from the
individual household to the census track, town-
ship, county and state levels. Similarly, the
• Land tenure
• Traditional management practices
• Ecosystem services and benei ts
• Resource use strategies
• Harvesting techniques
• Site-specii c social or cultural traditions that
inl uence resource use
In addition to surveys, in-depth interviews
with key informants, local experts, indigenous
groups, stakeholders, wetland managers and
the like may provide more detailed perspectives
on wetland-related issues under scrutiny. Oral
traditions passed down through generations
often disseminate practical knowledge regard-
ing i shing, trapping, harvesting, agricultural
techniques and traditional medicine and, as
such, comprise the cultural wealth of many tra-
ditional societies (Papayannis and Pritchard
2008). Oral histories from key informants docu-
menting such wetland-related traditions and
practices could serve to maintain the knowledge
base and inform culturally sensitive manage-
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