Vol 2, No 2 (2018) International Journal of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves
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Item The status, drivers, and impacts of poaching in Lake Chilwa Biosphere Reserve(Electronic version published by Vancouver Island University, 2018) Zakeyo, Patrick; Makenzi, Paul; Chikuni, MarleneAn assessment of the status, drivers, and impacts of poaching was conducted in the Lake Chilwa Biosphere Reserve (LCBR) in Malawi. One hundred households from which primary data was collected were sampled using systematic random sampling. Secondary data was collected from fisheries and agriculture departments, and the bio-sphere reserve manager. The results of the study indicate that poaching in the LCBR exists, and its level of frequency is high, as indicated by 61.3 percent of respondents, and the annual licensing of <5 percent of tools. The main drivers of poaching are poverty, food insecurity, population growth, low level of education, and unemployment. Poaching is causing a decline in fish catches, reduction in composition of both birds and fish species, and size of fish caught. There is also a reduction of income in the area, as well as an in-crease in malnutrition, due to lack of cheap protein sources. The Malawi government should put up policy framework that will create a good environment for small businesses to thrive, improve the livelihood of communities, and eliminate the exploitation of resources from the biosphere reserve. Deliberate policies must be enacted to provide sustainable alternative protein sources.Item The analysis of mangrove forest changes period of 20 years in Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, Viet Nam using remote sensing and GIS technology(Electronic version published by Vancouver Island University, 2018) Nguyen, Luong Viet; To, Tu Trong; Trinh, Hong Xuan; Hoang, Thu Thuy LuuOn January 21, 2000, the MAB/UNESCO Committee recognized the Can Gio mangrove forest as an International Biosphere Reserve. The MAB/UNESCO committee requires every potential biosphere reserve to be assessed for a period of 10 years. During this time, the ecology of the area is closely reviewed, including the vegetation cover. This study used 45 sample plots in the field and utilized Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (RS & GIS) technology for mapping, allowing for the close observation of changes in the mangrove forest during a 20 year period (1996-2016). The results show that, from the SPOT, Landsat 8 OLI satellite imagery, we can categorize the land cover maps in Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve, including periods of 1996, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2016, into six classes: dense mangrove forest, open mangrove forest, young mangrove forest and scrub, agriculture land, water body, and barren land. The accuracy of the land cover maps for 1996, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2016 was high, with scores of 84.89 percent, 83.89 percent, 87.78 percent, 82.78 percent, and 84.44 percent, respectively.Item Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) enhancement plots in the Salish Sea(Electronic version published by Vancouver Island University, 2018) Shaw, Pamela; Heath, William; Tomlin, Haley; Timmer, Brian; Schellenberg, ChrissyData regarding the abundance of bull kelp (Ne-reocystis luetkeana) along the east coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia is lim-ited, but there is evidence that bull kelp popu-lations have been in steady decline within the central Strait of Georgia within recent decades (Lamb et al., 2011). In addition, local residents that frequent the coast have reported that N. lu-etkeana has been significantly declining in the Salish Sea over the past 30 years, becoming nonexistent in regions where it was previously abundant (Lindop, 2017). Reasons for signifi-cant declines of N. luetkeana forests in the Sa-lish Sea may include coastal development, ris-ing ocean temperatures, local changes in oceanographic conditions (e.g. salinity, turbid-ity and sedimentation), intensified herbivore grazing or a combination of these factors (Ste-neck et al., 2002, Heath et al., 2017).Item International Journal of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves - Volume 2, Issue 2 (2018)(Electronic version published by Vancouver Island University, 2018)The volume 2, issue 2 of the International Journal of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.