U.S. MAB BULLETIN
U.S. Department of State
95/12/01 US MAB Bulletin, Volume 19, Number 3
Bur. of Oceans & International Environmnetal & Scientific Affairs
U.S. MAB Bulletin
The United States National Committee for
the Man and the Biosphere Program
December 1995 Volume 19, Number 3
DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 10234
Bureau of Oceans and International
Environmental and Scientific Affairs
The U.S. MAB Bulletin is published by the U.S. MAB Secretariat,
OES/ETC/MAB, SA-44C, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20522-
4401.
" The mission of the United States Man and the Biosphere Program
(U.S. MAB) is to explore, demonstrate, promote, and encourage harmonious
relationships between people and their environments building on the MAB
network of Biosphere Reserves and interdisciplinary research. The long-
term goal of the U.S. MAB Program is to contribute to achieving a
sustainable society early in the 21st Century. The MAB mission and long
term goal will be implemented, in the United States and internationally,
through public-private partnerships and linkages that sponsor and
promote cooperative, interdisciplinary research, experimentation,
education and information exchange on options by which societies can
achieve sustainability." Adopted by the U.S. National Committee for
the Man and the Biosphere Program, July 26, 1995.
U.S. MAB is supported by the Agency for International Development;
the Department of Agriculture-Forest Service; the Air Force; the
Department of Commerce-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
the Department of Energy; the Department of the Interior-Bureau of Land
Management, -National Biological Service, -National Park Service; the
Department of State; the Environmental Protection Agency; the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration; the National Science Foundation;
the Peace Corps; and the Smithsonian Institution.
The program is organized into six directorates: Biosphere Reserve,
High Latitude Ecosystems, Human-Dominated Systems, Marine and Coastal
Ecosystems, Temperate Ecosystems, and Tropical Ecosystems.
In This Issue
* Comments from the U.S. MAB Chair D.
Dean Bibles
* Comments from the U.S. MAB
Executive Director Roger E. Soles
* NAFTAMAB
* Biosphere Reserves Managers' Workshop
* Biosphere Reserve Awards
* MABNetAmericas
* New Directorate Members
* Community Development in the Mayan
Rainforest
* Marine and Coastal Ecosystem
Directorate Advisory Committee
Workshop
* EuroMAB V Congress
* SI/MAB Biodiversity Program
Certification Training
* Conservation Impact Grants Competition
* Call for Papers
* Publications
From U.S. MAB Chair D. Dean Bibles
We took an historic step on October 30. As a culmination of a
proposal by Mexico MAB, I signed, as Chair of U.S. MAB, along with
Ambassador John Fraser, Chair of Canada MAB, and Miguel Equihua for
Gonzalo Halffter, Chair of Mexico MAB, a Memorandum of Cooperation of
the biosphere reserves of our three countries to facilitate cooperative
research and electronic access to information. This initiative was one
of several significant steps this fall to help merge the information age
with the environmental age.
The U.S. MAB National Committee has approved a new category of
Biosphere Reserves which will be approved by the U.S. National
Committee. The objective is to encourage innovative regional approaches
in development of cooperative partnerships as recommended in the
Constable Commission Report. I hope this will offer an opportunity for
adaptive management which might encompass those critical areas
containing important biological diversity and social and economic
opportunity to move toward the objective of a sustainable society.
These partnerships may not meet all of the current criteria of a model
biosphere reserve and the participants may not be prepared to join the
international network of biosphere reserves. We do not intend this in
any way as competitive with the World Network of Biosphere Reserves
coordinated through UNESCO, In fact, this designation could be an
interim step towards becoming a part of the international network. This
will allow organizations and areas not ready to join an international
program to cooperate on a regional scale with other similar
organizations within the U.S. I have asked the Biosphere Reserve
Directorate to submit preliminary criteria for nomination to U.S.
Biosphere Reserve status to the National Committee in early 1996.
At the September EuroMAB V Conference in Greenland a resolution was
approved to promote electronic communications and adopt common meta data
standards among EuroMAB biosphere reserves. Participants further
pledged to insure that these efforts are compatible with the
communication networks of UNESCO MABNet.
Other networking projects include US MABNet initiated by Dr. Jim
Quinn, University of California, Davis under the direction of the
Biosphere Reserve Directorate. This is a three year commitment by the
directorate to facilitate electronic communication among the U.S.
Biosphere Reserves. Dr. Bill Teska of the U.S. MAB Secretariat has been
working since September to forge the partnerships which will be the
foundation for MABNetAmericas (formerly referred to as EcoNetAmerica),
the electronic linking of the biosphere reserves of the western
hemisphere.
As we close the book on 1995, I enter 1996 with great enthusiasm
for the progress to be made in carrying out MAB objectives.
###
From the Executive Director Roger E. Soles
The second meeting of the managers of U.S. Biosphere Reserves was
even better than the first. I believe that it initiated a meaningful
dialogue between the research directorates and the managers to seek ways
to address common issues.
Prudence, if not historical records and projections of increasing
rates of extinction, require that we make our very best efforts to learn
of the complexities of biological preservation as well as of sustainable
development. Both research and management concerns must be combined.
Indeed, that is the rationale of the Man and the Biosphere Program.
Today we accept that preserving biological diversity requires us to
implement sustainable development. These concepts are simply different
sides of the same coin. The research and managerial communities
increasingly recognize the need for each other. U.S. MAB’s research has
shown the synergism of interdisciplinary research -- that the ecological
research simply makes more sense when combined with the social sciences,
from the very initiation. Similarly, today’s managers of biosphere
reserves know that both science and the meaningful involvement of the
local and regional communities are essential to maintain the region’s
natural and cultural resources.
To help us meet these challenges, the National Science Foundation
is seconding a Presidential Management Intern, Keelin Kuipers, to the
U.S. MAB secretariat staff. Ms. Kuipers will be primarily involved
with developing the EuroMAB Biosphere Reserve Integrated Monitoring
(BRIM) program in light of the resolutions which were passed at the
EuroMAB V congress as noted elsewhere in this Bulletin. The purpose
of developing a BRIM organizational infrastructure is to increase the
accessibility of long term data and information which has already been
gathered on biosphere reserves, while at the same time increasing the
inter- communications between biosphere reserve managers, scientists,
private organizations and the general public.
Ecologist Dan Botkin has noted that we live in both a
“communication age” and an “environmental age,” yet somehow we have
managed to keep the two from merging. U.S. MAB's initiatives in
EuroMAB BRIM, MABNetAmericas, “NAFTAMAB” as well as UNESCO MABNet, are
all intended to meet this challenge and, indeed, merge the information
age with the environmental age. We’ll need your ideas, support and
efforts to make it a reality.
Finally, the MAB secretariat is especially pleased to welcome as a
new staff member Ms. Donna Ifill who will be serving as the secretary of
the office. Ms. Ifill’s presence is especially welcomed and we have
already benefited from her organizational skills. I am certain that we
will considerably shorten our response time to your requests for
information and mailings. Your patience during the past months is
appreciated. With Donna’s help soon I may even be able to find my
desktop!
###
NAFTA MAB
A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed October 30 among the MAB
Programs of Canada, the United Mexican States, and the United States of
America. Ambassador John Fraser, Chair of the Canada National Committee
for MAB; D. Dean Bibles, Chair of the U.S. National Committee for MAB;
and Miguel Equihua for Gonzalo Halffter, Chair of the Mexico National
Committee for MAB signed the memorandum at the 1995 U.S. Biosphere
Reserves Managers' meeting in Washington, DC.
The agreement, among the three MAB Programs of North America to
share scientific data collected on their 63 biosphere reserves, will
benefit scientists and resource managers. The biosphere reserves of
North America collectively represent most of the major biogeographic
provinces of the earth. They are found from Arctic tundra to tropical
rainforest and from coastal lowlands to mountain alpine areas. An open
exchange of data and ideas will permit a scientific assessment of our
environment and provide the necessary background for informed
environmental policy decisions.
The three MAB Programs agreed to cooperate in developing an
ecological information network for developing standards and
methodologies for documenting and monitoring biodiversity, facilitating
cooperative research, improving electronic access to information, and
sharing technologies and management experiences.
Specifically, each MAB Program pledges to:
* make available and publicly share lists of species and biological
inventories found in the biosphere reserves of their respective nations
and to the degree reasonably possible, of other protected areas, through
networks, such as MABNetAmericas. These lists shall be provided and
updated electronically through the Internet.
* adopt a common reporting format for biodiversity data such as MABFauna
and MABFlora or other compatible meta data standards for most of the
species lists.
* make available vegetative land cover use maps and ultimately a geo-
referencing system in order to encourage an integrated ecosystem-based
approach and analysis.
* explore mechanisms to collaborate with the Model Forest Networks of
Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.A.
###
Biosphere Reserves Managers' 1995 Workshop
Biosphere Reserves Managers from across the U.S. as well as
representatives from Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Russia met October 29-
31 in Washington, DC. The workshop was sponsored by the Biosphere
Reserves Directorate of the U.S. MAB Program, Hubert Hinote, Chairman.
The purpose of the workshop was to develop proposals to implement the
Strategic Plan for the U.S. Biosphere Reserve Program and to improve
communication between the research directorates of U.S. MAB and the
biosphere reserve managers.
Special speakers at the workshop were Honorable John A. Fraser,
Canada's Ambassador for the Environment; John Reynolds, Deputy Director
of the National Park Service; and F. Eugene Hester, Deputy Director of
the National Biological Service.
Ambassador Fraser, Chair of Canada MAB; Miguel Equihua for Gonzalo
Halffter, Chair of Mexico MAB; and D. Dean Bibles, Chair of U.S. MAB
signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to encourage the sharing of
information among biosphere reserves of the three countries. See
NAFTAMAB elsewhere in this Bulletin.
D. Dean Bibles announced the creation of a new category of
biosphere reserve. This designation would entitle the area to become
part of the network of U.S. Biosphere Reserves but not recognition by
UNESCO as part of the international network of biosphere reserves. The
new category is designed to encourage participation in the principles
of the biosphere reserve program among those areas which are interested
in the issues of sustainable development, conservation of biodiversity,
and sharing of research information, but may not be prepared to join an
international program. This designation would not preclude the
biosphere reserve from seeking international recognition at a later
time.
Roger E. Soles, Executive Director of U.S. MAB, spoke to the group
on the international leadership of the U.S. Biosphere Reserves. He
remarked that biosphere reserves make up only a small percentage of the
world's protected areas. Dr. Soles noted the challenge of managers to
work to involve their communities in such a way that the U.S. Biosphere
Reserves can be documented models of community involvement in the
protection of biological diversity and promotion of sustainable
development.
Michael Ruggiero, of the National Biological Service, gave an
update on the review of the existing network of U.S. Biosphere
Reserves. The purpose of the review is to identify areas that should
be considered for biosphere reserve status to establish the MAB concept
in every biogeographic province in the U.S.
Electronic communication involving biosphere reserves was discussed
in several presentations and working groups. John Dennis, of the
National park Service, as facilitator with the technical expertise of
Brand Niemann and Jennifer Gaines, both of the National Biological
Service, explored the UNESCO-MAB and U.S. MAB Internet home pages in
the Communications working group. Professor James Quinn, of the
University of California, Davis, reviewed the MABFauna database, the
accessibility of biological inventory data on theInternet, the
development of the U.S. MAB E-mail discussion group, and a new U.S. MAB
Project to provide software and technical support to obtain biological
inventory data from additional U.S. Biosphere Reserves.
Mark Harwell, Chair of the Human-Dominated Systems Directorate,
gave an overview of the U.S. MAB research program. The chairs of the
five research directorates reported on their multi-year research
projects and discussed with managers ways to relate research results to
management needs. Directorate chairs in addition to Dr. Harwell were:
Jack Kruse, Chair of the High Latitude Ecosystems Directorate; Robert
Naiman, Chair of the Temperate Ecosystems Directorate; John Wilson,
Chair of the Tropical Ecosystems Directorate; and Michael Crosby, Chair
of the Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Directorate.
Presentations of case studies focused on the efforts of agencies,
organizations, and local people to plan and implement the goals of the
U.S. Biosphere Reserve Program in particular biogeographic areas. The
studies and speakers were:
Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Program by Hubert Hinote of
the Southern Appalachian MAB Cooperative; Sonoran Desert Biosphere
Cooperative by Tony Ramon of the Tohono O'odham Nation and Harold Smith
of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument; Mammoth Cave Area Biosphere
Reserve by Jeff Bradybaugh of Mammoth Cave National Park; Colorado
Rockies Regional Cooperative by Craig Axtell of Rocky Mountain National
Park; Proposed Catskills Biosphere Reserve by Janet Crawshaw of The
Catskill Center; Proposed Lake Superior Basin Multi-Site Biosphere
Reserve (U.S.-Canada) by Robert Brander of the National Park Service;
Proposed Tijuana Watershed (U.S.-Mexico) by Fred Cagle of IMMEDSYS.LTD;
New Jersey Pinelands by Robert Zampella of the Pinelands Commission;
Crown of the Continent Biosphere Reserves (U.S.-Canada) by Brace Hayden
of Glacier National Park; and Proposed Ozark Highlands Biosphere Reserve
by David Foster of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The
presentations showcased problems in establishing the biosphere reserve
concept as well as notable accomplishments.
Bill Gregg of the National Biological Service reported on the
results of a survey of managers' perceptions regarding the biosphere
reserve program. Managers indicated many benefits from biosphere
reserve status, particularly in facilitating ecosystem management (most
significant of the 16 benefits surveyed), promoting public environmental
awareness, facilitating research and international cooperation, and
addressing regional environmental problems. Managers involved in
cooperative programs indicated that cooperative activities were most
likely to involve universities and government agencies; private sector
organizations, local communities, native Americans, and international
entities were less frequently involved. Increased local funding and
staff, more emphasis on long-term ecological research, and expanding
local constituencies were cited as the greatest needs for enhancing
biosphere reserve activities. These areas of need remain unchanged
from the 1992 survey.
Six concurrent topical working groups recommended ways to implement
the goals of the Strategic Plan for the U.S. Biosphere Reserve Program.
These goals focus on communication, education and training, local
participation, operational framework, research and monitoring, and
"filling biogeographic gaps in the network." Though the participants
began from different starting points, in their summary presentations all
working groups stressed the need for community involvement,
communication of the goals of MAB to diverse audiences, and
communication among biosphere reserve managers. Particular
recommendations focused on the legal basis for regional cooperation,
identifying the manager's responsibilities in implementing biosphere
reserve goals, and training of biosphere reserve personnel. The
summaries of the working groups will be available by late January in
hard copy from the U.S. MAB Secretariat, and electronically on the U.S.
MAB Home Page: http://www.nbs.gov/nbii/mab/
###
Biosphere Reserve Awards
Karen Wade, Harold Smith, and Raymond F. Dasmann were all honored
at the October 30 banquet at the Biosphere Reserves Managers' Workshop.
D. Dean Bibles, Chair of the U.S. MAB National Committee presented
awards for their work in the U.S. Biosphere Reserve Program.
Superintendent Wade and staff of Great Smoky Mountains National
Park, one of five units within the Southern Appalachian Biosphere
Reserve Cooperative, and Superintendent Smith and staff of Organ Pipe
Cactus National Monument Biosphere Reserve were each presented a plaque
recognizing each of their sites as 1995 Outstanding U.S. Biosphere
Reserve, a site of U.S. MAB excellence, demonstrating conservation and
sustainable development on a regional scale. Dr. Raymond F. Dasmann was
commended for his many years of support and service to the Golden Gate
Biosphere Reserve.
Ms. Wade has served at several Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage
sites during her career with the National Park Service. As a World
Heritage Site manager of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, she
was an active participant in the Biosphere Reserves Managers' Workshop
in Estes Park in 1993. Upon assuming her duties as Superintendent of
Great Smoky Mountains National Park in July 1994, Ms. Wade became a
member of the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Cooperative's
Executive Committee and has actively supported the program, with
financial and in- kind resources. She has been especially involved with
local community planning and environmental education activities. The
Great Smoky Mountains National Park has worked very closely with the
local school system in developing a "Parks as Classrooms" education
program. Superintendent Wade has also contributed to the U.S.
Biosphere Reserve Program by participating in the fall 1994 EuroMAB
managers' workshop in Cevennes, France; providing technical assistance
to biosphere reserve managers in the Slovak Republic, and serving on
the committee to develop guidelines for selection of U.S. Biosphere
Reserves.
Mr. Smith has led and supported the International Sonoran Desert
Alliance (ISDA), a grass-roots, community-based, binational effort.
ISDA aims to develop an international, comprehensive approach to
natural resource management, community development, and environmental
education in the Sonoran Desert that incorporates community residents
in the decisionmaking process. Superintendent Smith helped convene
three international conferences, attended by over 400 individuals each
from the U.S., Mexico, and O'odham Nation. He was instrumental in
securing funds for 22 projects ranging from publication of a regional
profile informing the general public about the unique natural resources
and cultural heritage of the Sonoran Desert and the importance of
finding a balance between economic development and preservation of the
area's natural wonders, to implementation of pilot projects that
incorporate concepts of sustainable development. Mr. Smith and his
staff spearheaded development of the first environmental education
curriculum for elementary school age children in the region. "Juntos:
Maestros y Niños del Desierto" has been noted as a model for bilingual
environmental education and was officially approved by the State of
Sonora for implementation in area elementary schools. Mr. Smith has
personally donated hundreds of hours to supporting training efforts,
most recently convening training programs for the newly established
management team in the Pinacate Biosphere Reserve of Mexico.
Dr. Dasmann, Professor of Ecology emeritus at the University of
California, Santa Cruz, has been involved with the MAB Programme for
over twenty years. While Director of International Programs for the
Conservation Foundation in Washington from 1966-70, Dr. Dasmann was a
consultant to UNESCO on the development of the MAB Programme as well as
a consultant to the UN Economic and Social Council on Development of
the UN
Conference on Human Environment. For both he produced major background
papers that were critical in steering these conservation efforts. Dr.
Dasmann was a member of the first Board and later co-president of the
Board of the Central California Coast Biosphere Reserve now titled the
Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve. He organized the symposium on
biodiversity of Central Coastal California which brought together more
than 60 agencies and organizations. His professional work has been a
unique and comprehensive blend of conservation, sustainable development,
and demonstration. Nearly all of his more than 150 books and papers
teach us more fully about the potential of biosphere reserves.
###
MABNetAmericas
MABNetAmericas is an initiative to foster collaboration among the
biosphere reserves of the Western Hemisphere through electronic
communication. Formerly titled EcoNetAmerica, the MABNetAmericas
initiative is moving forward as the ecological network for the Americas.
The first meeting of the Steering Committee is scheduled for
January 14-18 at the La Selva Biological Station of the Organization
for Tropical Studies in CostaRica, located within a biosphere reserve.
Mario Rojas of El Programa Iberoamericano de Ciencia y Technology para
el Desarrollo (CYTED) and Bill Teska of the U.S. MAB Secretariat are
co-chairs for this meeting. Participants are expected from at least 11
countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico,
Panama, Peru, the U.S. and Costa Rica. The meeting will develop the
structure for MABNetAmericas, form the Consultative Group to guide the
work in the future, and draft proposals to obtain funding for specific
activities. The Steering Committee will also meet with individuals of
the CYTED network, thereby fostering common grounds by which both
programs can work together more effectively. The Steering Committee
will build upon the foundation laid during an initial planning session
that occurred in May 1995 when over 30 scientists and biosphere reserve
representatives met in Washington, DC.
The overall objective of MABNetAmericas is to electronically link
the biosphere reserves so as to easily share scientific and cultural
information. The committee will discuss how to make data maintained on
biosphere reserves compatible with each other while still retaining
local identity. MABNetAmericas may also connect the biosphere reserves
of the Western Hemisphere with networks that are developing in other
regions, such as the EuroMAB/BRIM effort.
Bill Teska is currently surveying the biosphere reserves of Latin
America and the Caribbean region to learn about their needs, interests,
and current electronic capabilities. Results from this survey will help
identify candidate biosphere reserve sites to initially participate in
training programs and installation of technical equipment. Ultimately,
such programs as MABNetAmericas will better enable the biosphere reserve
managers to work more effectively and to share management experiences
and successes.
###
New Directorate Members
Henri R. Bisson is the new member of the Biosphere Reserve
Directorate. Mr. Bisson is the California Desert District Manager for
the Bureau of Land Management. As district manager he is responsible for
the management of more than 10 million acres of public lands in southern
California in not too distant proximity to the Los Angeles basin and its
18 million residents. Mr. Bisson has jumped wholeheartedly into his
duties as directorate member. He attended the Biosphere Reserves
Managers' Workshop in October and is hosting the next Biosphere Reserve
Directorate meeting in January.
The Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Directorate has five new members.
Gary Davis has previously been a grantee of U.S. MAB. Dr. Davis is
currently Director of Channel Islands Research Station for the National
Biological Service. He has been involved in marine conservation for
more than 30 years and is a strong supporter of the biosphere reserve
concept.
Christine Gault is President-Elect of The Waquoit Bay National
Estuarine Research Reserve Association and Reserve Manager of Waquoit
Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, 2,500 acres of estuarine and
coastal habitat on Cape Cod, Waquoit, MA. Ms. Gault has twelve years
experience in wetlands management.
Davianna Pomaika'i McGregor is currently Assistant Professor of
Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Dr. McGregor has
worked with the Hui O Mo'omomi which is seeking to manage the Mo'omomi
community-based subsistence fishing area on the northwest coast of the
island of Moloka'i. She was a member of the Governor's Moloka'i
Subsistence task Force Study from 1993-4. Dr. McGregor has authored
several articles on the ocean cultures of Hawaii.
Elliott A. Norse is the Chief Scientist for the Center for Marine
Conservation, Washington, DC and Redmond, WA. He has had over 15 years
experience with NGOs interested in conservation policy. Dr. Norse is
especially interested in marine and forest conservation biology,
sustainable fisheries and forestry, ecosystem management, alien species,
global climatic change, and geographical ecology.
Ernst S. Reese is currently Professor of Zoology at the University
of Hawaii. He has been involved in research in the near shore, coastal
marine environment, and the conservation and management of coral reef
ecosystems for more than 30 years. Dr.Reese is the past President of
the
Hawaiian Academy of Science and the Conservation Council of Hawaii, and
previously director of the Mid-Pacific Research Laboratory at Atoll.
###
Community Development in the Mayan Rainforest
The U.S. MAB Tropical Ecosystems Directorate (MAB/TED) held the
Conference on Conservation and Community Development in the Maya
Rainforest of Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico (Selva Maya) November 8-11,
1995, in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Sponsors were MAB/TED, the
Patronato para la Ecologia y el Desarrollo Forestal de Quintana Roo, the
Sociedad de Productores Forestales Ejidales de Quintana Roo, and the
Inter-American Foundation. The meeting brought together over 60
participants representing government agencies, local communities, NGOs,
and grass roots organizations from the United States, Mexico, Guatemala,
Belize, Canada, and Germany. Facilitated by simultaneous translation,
the diversity of this group of participants led to a rich and frank
exchange of perspectives and information on the role of local
communities in resource management and conservation efforts and the
actions that can be taken by communities, researchers, and governments
to foster partnerships for the protection and sustainable development
of the Selva Maya. (The Selva Maya extends across parts of Chiapas and
Quintana Roo, Mexico; the northern Petan, Guatemala; and western
Belize. It represents the Western Hemisphere's largest remaining block
of tropical forest north of the Amazon, and is home to globally
significant biological, cultural, and archaeological resources.)
The conference presented the results of three years of work funded
by MAB/TED in the Selva Maya. It provided a framework for sharing
research findings, examining successful and unsuccessful local and
regional forest conservation and management strategies, and supporting
new and innovative partnerships for developing and conserving the
thriving biotic and human communities of the region.
The participants emphasized the usefulness of ecosystem management
principles and biosphere reserves as tools to explore and demonstrate
approaches to forest management and sustainable development at the
regional scale. The participants highlighted the importance of
effective, sustainable management of forest resources in the vicinity of
the protected area and the essential role that local communities and
grass roots groups play in this process. Edited proceedings from this
conference will be published in both English and Spanish. For
information contact: Dr. Richard Primack, Biology Department, Boston
University, Boston, MA 02215. Fax. (617) 353-6340.
An outcome of the conference was the establishment of a new Alianza
para la Selva Maya. This Alianza will function as a tri-national forum
to help spearhead continued coordination efforts for improving
management and conservation of the Selva Maya. Another charge for the
new Alianza is to help develop innovative mechanisms for incorporating
grass roots groups and local communities in the formulation and
implementation of policies, plans, and activities to improve forest
management.
The close proximity of five existing biosphere reserves and one
proposed biosphere reserve in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize makes the
Maya Tri-national region the home of the largest collection of tropical
biosphere reserves in Latin America and the second largest in the
Americas. Yet, despite these biosphere reserves and growing recognition
of the importance of the Selva Maya, loss of forest continues, posing a
serious threat to development in the region. Fortunately, throughout
the Selva Maya there is increasing dedication to conservation and
sustainable management of tropical forests, including the establishment
of a regional system of reserves, parks, and other protected areas.
The MAB/TED is proceeding with the development of plans for a Phase
II program. Goals of Phase II will be to foster partnerships and
strengthen linkages among the components of this critical system of
reserves (e.g., through MABNetAmericas) and otherwise to promote the
conservation and sustainable development of the Selva Maya, a globally
significant resource.
###
Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Directorate Advisory Committee Workshop
The Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Directorate (MACE) held its annual
Core Project Joint Directorate-Principal Investigator-Advisory Committee
Workshop in Santa Barbara, CA, August 14-16, 1995. The Committee
consists of managers from each of the case study areas, representatives
of user groups, marine and coastal zone managers, and representatives of
other pertinent natural resource management programs. Present at the
workshop were: Dr. Michael Crosby, directorate chair and co-chair of the
workshop; Mr. Reed Bohne, directorate member, co-chair of the workshop,
and manager of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary; Dr. Jerald Ault,
principal investigator and on the faculty of the Rosenstiel School of
Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami; Dr. Gary Davis,
directorate member and research marine biologist with Channel Islands
National Park; Dr. Walter Milon of the Food and Resources Economics
Department, University of Florida; Dr. Jenny Dugan of the Marine Science
Institute; Dr. Scott Farrow of Dames & Moore; Ms. Christine Gault
directorate member and manager of Waquoit Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve; Ms. Laura Gorodezky of Channel Islands National
Marine Sanctuary; Dr. Davianna McGregor directorate member and on the
faculty of the University of Hawaii-Manoa; Mr. Steve Rebuck of the
California Abalone Association; Dr. Drew Rosen of the Cameron School of
Business Administration, University of North Carolina at Wilmington;
Dr. Jack Sobel of the Center for Marine Conservation; Dr. Emmett Aluli
of the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission; Ms. Deborah McArdle of
California Sea Grant, University of California, and Mr. Mack Shaver of
Channel Islands National Park.
The MACE Core Project Ecological and Socio-economic Impacts of
Alternative Access Management Strategies in Marine Protected Areas is
examining alternative management strategies which seek to preserve the
unique aesthetic and ecological characteristics of marine ecosystems.
Specifically, the project seeks to focus on critical management
strategies that influence ecological, economic, and sociological
sustainability in marine and coastal environments; foster analyses and
recommendations for dealing with other current and emerging management
issues on sustainability of marine and coastal resources; and illustrate
how sociological, cultural, and economic factors can be integrated into
natural science analyses of marine ecosystems.
The three Core Project study sites will examine the effects of
different access management strategies which allow open, limited, or
closed access to different recreational and commercial activities. The
Kaho'olawe and Hawaii Islands (De Facto-Complete Closure Strategy) study
is examining the level of species diversity and overall condition of
habitat in areas exposed to different levels on non-point source
pollution and recreational diving. The California Channel Islands
(Single/Multi-Species Closure Strategy) project is analyzing the size,
shape, and distribution of the abalone population when people are
allowed into the zone and limited harvest is permitted. The protection
from human consumption has been undertaken due to the collapse in the
population of non-reproductive species. The test idea is to use two
small areas to determine how large of an area is appropriate to bring
back abalone stock. The Florida Keys (Multi-Use Zonation Strategy)
project is investigating the effectiveness of a multi-zonation strategy
by determining the optimum size, number, total area, and location of
reserves.
The MACE Core Project is to produce a reference manual by the end
of year four. The workshop participants reviewed the existing outline
for the reference manual and determined that revision was in order. A
more comprehensive outline for the reference manual was developed by
Mr. Bohne and Dr. Crosby. This draft outline was presented at the MAB
Biosphere Reserve Managers' Workshop October 30. The initial draft
manual is expected to begin distribution in late January 1996. It will
be widely distributed to stakeholders in an effort to create more
cohesive partnerships between managers, scientists, special interests,
and the public at large for the development, implementation, and
operation of marine protected areas. For more information contact: Dr.
Michael Crosby, NOAA, SSMC-3, Room 15216, 13055 East-West Highway,
Silver Spring, MD 20910.
###
EuroMAB V Congress
Participants at the September EuroMAB V Congress in Greenland
passed two resolutions dealing with BRIM and data sharing.
The Resolution to Promote Electronic Communications and Adopt
Common Metadata Standards among EuroMAB Biosphere Reserves pledged the
efforts of the representative of the national MAB Programs present to
facilitate the increased electronic access to and the communication
among their biosphere reserves by encouraging the following measures to
be undertaken in electronic exchanges and networks -- the publication
of biodiversity data and land cover maps and the contribution of
species lists of animals and plants to the MABFauna and MABFlora (when
operative) databases or compatible formats for reporting data on
biological diversity. The delegates further resolved to promote
efforts to cooperate on the creation of a EuroMABNet among their
programs and biosphere reserves on the Internet systems and further
pledge to insure that these efforts are compatible with the
communication networks of UNESCO MABNet.
The Resolution of International Cooperation ensures that meetings,
correspondence and proposals bearing the EuroMAB or BRIM names have been
circulated and represent the member countries' coordinated efforts.
Specifically, the EuroMAB Bureau will review all program proposals and
substantive communications that are made to international or national
organizations in the name of EuroMAB or proposed symposia or meetings
that are to be organized in the name of EuroMAB. The proposals must be
accepted and approved by a working majority of the members of the
EuroMAB Bureau to be declared authorized and legitimate EuroMAB events
or programs. This resolution authorizes the chairperson of the EuroMAB
Bureau to define the term "working majority" subject to the
chairperson's interpretation of the importance of the proposed event or
correspondence. In addition, proposals or substantive correspondence
to international or national scientific or funding organizations, in
the name of the EuroMAB Biosphere Reserve Integrated Monitoring (BRIM)
program will be reviewed by the EuroMAB Bureau and the BRIM Secretariat
to ensure the appropriate collaboration, coordination and presentation
of all EuroMAB BRIM efforts.
###
SI/MAB Biodiversity Program Certification Training
Smithsonian Institution/MAB Biodiversity Program announces two
upcoming courses. Biodiversity Measuring and Monitoring: In-residence
Certification Training May 12-June 14, 1996 (cost US $4,000) will
provide professionals with a methodology for establishing long-term
monitoring programs. The training will help the participants
incorporate their work and ideas with the measuring and monitoring
framework established by SI/MAB as well as other biodiversity
monitoring programs. By the end of the course, the participants will
have the tools necessary to integrate and apply these methods to their
unique situations back home.
Biodiversity Monitoring at Permanent Plots: In-residence
Certification Training September 9-20, 1996 (cost US $1,900) is for
professionals who have or will establish long-term research plots for
monitoring forest biodiversity. This is the professional certification
training that meets the standards of the International Network of
Biodiversity Plots.
Both courses are held at the Conservation and Research Center,
Front Royal, Virginia USA. For further information and application
form contact: Dr. Francisco Dallmeier Biodiversity Measuring and
Monitoring Certifications SI/MAB Program 1100 Jefferson Drive, SW, Suite
3123 Washington, DC 20560, USA Fax. (202) 786-2557 E-mail:
simab@ic.si.edu
###
Conservation Impact Grants Competition
The Biodiversity Support Program (BSP), a consortium of World
Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and World Resources Institute,
funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is
soliciting proposals under its 1995 Conservation Impact Grants program
for applied field-based research and analysis relevant to the
conservation of biological diversity in selected USAID-assisted
countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Proposed research should result in conclusions that will have
direct conservation impact and/or policy implications. Projects may be
ecological, economic, anthropological, or socio-political in focus or
may use an interdisciplinary methodology that combines two or three of
these approaches. One of the principal investigators must be from a
developing country.
Deadline for submission of proposals is March 15, 1996. The
maximum grant awarded will be US $15,000. For information and a copy
of the request for proposals, contact:
Conservation Impact Grants Competition, Biodiversity Support Program,
c/o World Wildlife Fund,
1250 24th Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20037, USA,
Tel. (202) 778-9793/822-3462,
Fax. (202) 293-9211/861-8324,
E-mail: locker+r%wwfus@mcimail.com
###
Call for Papers
Papers are being accepted for presentation at the Third Annual
Conference on the Adirondacks sponsored by Adirondack Research
Consortium, Sagamore Institute, and Cornell Center for the Environment
May 13-14, 1996, Great Camp Sagamore, Raquette Lake, NY. Authors of
accepted papers will be invited to present for approximately 20 minutes.
Submissions from all disciplines are encouraged, as are proposals for
poster sessions or workshops. Abstracts from participants will be
included in the conference proceedings and presenters will be invited to
submit papers for publication review to the Adirondack Journal of
Environmental Studies. For consideration please submit a one page
abstract with author's name and contact information by January 15th to:
Jon Erickson and Michael Wilson
Co-chairs
Third Annual Conference on the Adirondacks
409 Warren Hall
Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853
E-mail: jde3@cornell.edu.
Queries may be addressed to Jon Erickson at above E-mail or Tel. (607)
255-9984, Fax. (607) 255-1608.
Papers are being requested for the Universities Council on Water
Resources conference Integrated Management of Surface and Ground Water
July 30-August 2, 1996 in San Antonio, Texas. Papers should address one
or more of the following topic areas; legal and institutional
impediments to integrated use and management, incorporation of
groundwater into watershed management plans, risk assessment for
surface and ground water systems, water marketing, preservation of
biological diversity, artificial recharge, water quality impacts of
integrated use, or conflict resolution in an integrated use setting.
Where possible papers should also address the roles of universities and
their faculties in resolution of these issues. Paper abstracts should
be submitted by February 1, 1996
to:
Dr. Lloyd Urban
Technical Program Chair
Water Resources Center
Texas Tech University
Box 41022
Lubbock, TX 79409-1022
Tel. (806) 742-3597
Fax. (806) 742-3449
E-mail: lurban@coe2.coe.ttu.edu.
###
Publications
To order publications from the U.S. MAB Secretariat, OES/ETC/MAB, SA-
44C, Department of State, Washington, DC 20522-4401, please include
self- addressed mailing labels.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
from U.S. MAB:
draft report Regional Conservation Assessment Workshop for the Maya
Tropical Forest: Preliminary Results of the August 1995 workshop
sponsored by the Tropical Ecosystems Directorate of U.S. MAB,
Conservation International, ECOSUR, and MAYAFOR. November 1995 (18pp.)
from others
Environmental Psychology: A Psycho-social Introduction by Mirilia Bonnes
and Gianfranco Secchiaroli emphases the role of social psychology theory
as a practical bases for research in environmental psychology. One
chapter title is "The ecological-naturalistic field, environmental
problems and the UNESCO MAB (Man and Biosphere) programme." Dr. Bonnes
is a member of the Italian MAB Committee. 1995, 240 pp., £35.00 cloth,
£12.95 paper.
SAGE Publications
6 Bonhill Street
London EEC2A 4PU, UK
STILL AVAILABLE
from U.S. MAB:
Isle au Haut Principles: Ecosystem Management and the Case of South
Florida is a pamphlet that defines the ecosystem management principles
developed by the U.S. MAB Human-Dominated Systems Directorate at the
charette held at Isle au Haut, Maine in June 1994. 1994. (12pp.)
Island Ecotourism as a Development Tool is a report of the workshop held
at San Juan, Puerto Rico on October 26-28, 1992. The workshop was
sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Caribbean
Islands Directorate of U.S. MAB, and the Caribbean Environment and
Development Institute. 1994. (52pp.)
from others:
The four volume Provincial Land Use Strategy: V. 1 A Sustainability Act
for British Columbia describes the development of sustainability
concerns in B.C. and the overall structure of the Provincial Land Use
Strategy; V. 2 Planning for Sustainability describes the changes
needed in the land use planning system and makes recommendations for
improving the structures, legislation, procedures and methods for
preparing, approving and implementing plans at all levels of the
system; V. 3 Community Participation discusses how public and
community participation in decisions can be improved, recommends the
creation of community resource boards to provide multi-stakeholder,
consensus-seeking advice to government, and suggests guidelines for
their operation; V. 4 Dispute Resolution discusses reform of the
dispute resolution system for land use and related resource and
environmental decisions. It gives recommendations to make the system
more fair and efficient, and to help prevent disputes from occurring by
British Columbia Commission on Resources and Environment. 1994. free.
Available from: CORE, 7th Floor, 1802 Douglas Street, Victoria, B.C.,
Canada V8V 1X4,
Community Action for the Environment: A Guide to Helping Your Community
Go Green is a publication of the Conservation Council of Ontario. The
booklet discusses building support within the community, drafting a
community action plan and implementation of a community based
environmental program. 1995. $10 Canadian. Available from: The
Conservation Council of Ontario, Suite 506, 489 College Street, Toronto,
Ontario M6G 1A5, .
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