Federal and State Land Acquisition in Hawaii: Conservation in the Epicenter of Extinction

The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, reinstated in 2018 through the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, provided the United States Federal Government the ability to acquire and fund land acquisition for the purpose of preservation, development, and public enjoyment. In 2005, the state of Hawaii passed Act 156 which was later amended by Hawaii Revised Statues §173A. Established through this legislation is a land conservation fund providing the state government of Hawaii analogous land acquisition abilities to that of the federal government. It is through these laws that the federal government and state of Hawaii can reinforce the conservation of the fragile Hawaiian tropical rainforest ecosystem. This paper will identify discontinuities as well as opportunities in the implementation of this legislation to provide recommendations to improve the ability of both state and federal government to protect and conserve at risk ecosystems and lands like those present in Hawaii.

Farmer's Adaptive Strategies on Land Competition between Societal Outcomes and Agroecosystem Conservation in the Purple-soiled Hilly Region,Southwestern China

The worldwide extension and intensification of farming during the last century has led to ecosystem degradation and caused a series of environmental problems.Conservation of ecosystem services in agricultural regions has been implemented by top-down government actions or initiated by resilience scientists in the developed countries,but little attention was paid in the developing countries,especially in some remote mountainous regions.The present paper presents a case study showing how local farmers obtained both maximal societal outcomes and agroecosystem conservation interests in the absence of distinct boundaries between agricultural and protected ecological areas in the densely populated purple-soiled hilly region of southwestern China.The local community(Yanting County) has developed a mosaic agricultural-forestry-fishery-stock breeding system with spatially targeted land uses,diverse agricultural productions and multiple ecological partnerships.It indicates that the local farmers have hereditarily perceived sound strategies on maximizing sustainable societal outcomes and optimizing tradeoffs among macro-market,state policy,new technological facility and ecological reinforcement.

Changes in Ecosystem Service of Soil Conservation Between 2000 and 2010 and Its Driving Factors in Southwestern China

Human activities significantly alter ecosystems and their services; however, quantifying the impact of human activities on ecosystems has been a great challenge in ecosystem management. We used the Universal Soil Loss Equation and county-level socioeconomic data to assess the changes in the ecosystem service of soil conservation between 2000 and 2010, and to analyze its spatial characteristics and driving factors in the southwestern China. The results showed that cropland in the southwestern China decreased by 3.74%, while urban land, forest, and grassland areas increased by 46.78%, 0.86%, and 1.12%, respectively. The soil conservation increased by 1.88 × 10^(11) kg, with deterioration only in some local areas. The improved and the degraded areas accounted for 6.41% and 2.44% of the total land area, respectively. Implementation of the Sloping Land Conversion Program and urbanization explained 57.80% and 23.90% of the variation in the soil conservation change, respectively, and were found to be the main factors enhancing soil conservation. The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake was one of the factors that led to the degradation of soil conservation. Furthermore, industrial adjustment, by increasing shares of Industry and Service and reducing those of Agriculture, has also promoted soil conservation. Our results quantitatively showed and emphasized the contributions to soil conservation improvement made by implementing ecological restoration programs and promoting urbanization. Consequently, these results provide basic information to improve our understanding of the effects of ecological restoration programs, and help guide future sustainable urban development and regional industrial restructuring.

Exclosure land management for restoration of herbaceous species in degraded communal grazing lands in Southern Tigray

Herbaceous species contribute to the largest proportion of the fodder.Despite the profound benefits obtained,anthropogenic disturbances are hindering its development.On the other hand,to ensure the sustainability of herbaceous species,communities and governments have been putting efforts in managing herbaceous species through the establishment of area exclosure(AE).Thus,the main importance of this research paper is to provide information about the role of AE on the restoration of herbaceous species.The objective of this study was to assess the effect of restoration on the herbaceous species following AE established on communal grazing land(CGL).A total of 124 and 73 quadrats of 1×1m^(2) size were laid down at 50 m intervals along parallel transects at AE and CGL,respectively,and data were analyzed by t-test unequal variances using R-software.AE displayed higher plant species richness and diversity than the CGL and showed a significant difference(p<0.001).Similarly,the AE had significantly(p<0.001)higher forage biomass than the CGL.In general,herbaceous species diversity index and species richness were significantly(p<0.001)higher in the AE compared to the CGL.The study concluded that effective AE has the potential to enhance the restoration of herbaceous species and hence forage productivity.

The net ecosystem services value in China's Mainland

Protection of the ecological environment is an effective strategy for maintaining ecosystem health,improving provision of ecosystem services,and increasing human well-being.However,traditional calculations of the value of ecosystem services(VES)provide weak guidance because they ignore the costs of these services,leading to economically inefficient strategies.To understand the difference between VES and the net ecosystem services value(NES,after subtracting costs from VES)and to improve evaluations of ecosystem services,we estimated NES for China's Mainland(including farmland,grassland,forest,and wetland).NES totaled 10.0×10~3RMB ha^(-1)yr^(-1)in 2014,which is only 35.1%of the corresponding VES.Grassland NES was–0.7×10~3RMB ha^(-1)yr^(-1),in contrast with a positive grassland VES.NES of farmland,grassland,forest,and wetland in2014 totaled 7.2×10^(12)RMB,accounting for 27.0%of China’s GNP.Recent Chinese planning based on VES emphasizes forest conservation and ignores the conservation of other important ecosystems,such as grassland,leading to a continuing loss of China’s natural capital.Due to regional differences in economic conditions,resource endowments,and geographical characteristics,VES and NES differ among regions.To maximize the ecological benefits from conservation,it is necessary to account for these differences by comparing strategies based on NES,thereby choosing projects that maximize both economic and ecological benefits.To maintain the ecological balance,ecological restoration and socioeconomic activities should account for the costs of providing ecosystem services.This is essential to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits of projects.