Gary E. Machlis

The human ecosystem Part I: The human ecosystem as an organizing concept in ecosystem management

The organization and description of a comprehensive ecosystem model useful to ecosystem management is necessary. In this article, we propose the human ecosystem as an organizing concept for ecosystem management. First, we describe the history of the human ecosystem idea; both biological ecology and mainstream social theories provide useful guidance. Next, we present the key elements of a human ecosystem model: critical resources (natural, socioeconomic, and cultural), social institutions, social cycles, and social order (identities, norms, and hierarchies). In each element, we (1) provide a general definition and description, (2) suggest ways that the variable can be measured, and (3) give selected examples of how it may influence other components of the human ecosystem. The article concludes with specific suggestions as to how the human ecosystem model can play an organizing role in ecosystem management.

Warfare in biodiversity hotspots

Conservation efforts are only as sustainable as the social and political context within which they take place. The weakening or collapse of sociopolitical frameworks during wartime can lead to habitat destruction and the erosion of conservation policies, but in some cases, may also confer ecological benefits through altered settlement patterns and reduced resource exploitation. Over 90% of the major armed conflicts between 1950 and 2000 occurred within countries containing biodiversity hotspots, and more than 80% took place directly within hotspot areas. Less than one-third of the 34 recognized hotspots escaped significant conflict during this period, and most suffered repeated episodes of violence. This pattern was remarkably consistent over these 5 decades. Evidence from the war-torn Eastern Afromontane hotspot suggests that biodiversity conservation is improved when international nongovernmental organizations support local protected area staff and remain engaged throughout the conflict. With biodiversity hotspots concentrated in politically volatile regions, the conservation community must maintain continuous involvement during periods of war, and biodiversity conservation should be incorporated into military, reconstruction, and humanitarian programs in the worlds conflict zones.

Response rates and mail recreation survey results: how much is enough?

This study examines whether survey results profiling homogeneous recreation populations can be valid at lower response rates. Four similar, but separate national park visitor surveys using on-site ...

The contribution of sociology to biodiversity research and management

Abstract As the loss of biodiversity is a serious ecological problem, biodiversity research and management are important components of current conservation biology. This paper describes how sociology can contribute to biodiversity research and management. Biodiversity is, like all scientific and environmental issues, partially a socially constructed problem. Case study and comparative multinational data suggest that the causes of biodiversity decline are largely socio-economic, and solutions will require interdisciplinary approaches. Sociology can make several contributions to biodiversity research and management, including (1) a better understanding and management of habitat change; (2) improved research and decision-making methodologies; (3) development of a theoretical synthesis; and (4) analysis of the social organization of conservation and conservation biology.

Relations between Strangers: Cycles of Structure and Meaning in Tourist Systems

Tourism is a paradoxical human activity—a supposedly ‘smokeless industry’ that produces littered beaches, a cornucopia to local economics that gives rise to inflation and embittered natives, a profitable enterprise that often requires governmental subsidy. It is also a major social and economic phenomenon: witness 280 million international tourists and 180 billion dollars in expenditures in 1979 (Waters, 1979). For the populations of many societies, it is a primary source of work; for others it is a primary outlet for leisure. An understanding of the modern era is incomplete without understanding the social processes of tourism. This paper speculates about cycles of structure and myth in tourism development. The goal is an integrated theory of tourism, based on empirical evidence, amenable to test, and permitting the prediction of future behaviour. The paper is divided into several sections. First, we briefly review some earlier analytic frameworks used for understanding tourism. We draw upon these frameworks to develop an integrated explanation of the behaviour of tourists, the evolution of the tourist industry, and the consequences of tourism for host and guest populations. Second, our attention is devoted to structural and symbolic factors shaping relations between strangers. Such relations, we argue, are the engine of change in tourism. Third, we present a typology of the social cycles involved in tourism. We attempt to describe which elements of the social order are likely to respond in predictable patterns to tourism development; speculate on the form these responses might take and provide a set of hypothetical curves for potential indicator measures. We close by suggesting some theoretical and practical implications of our discussion.

Managing Parks as Human Ecosystems

It is late spring in a western national park. As the air and soil warm with longer days, the snow melts, and the alpine meadows are increasingly uncovered. Bear move in the lower valleys, and backpackers begin a yearly migration along their favorite routes to camping sites at the high elevations. As the spring turns to early summer, the number of employees and visitors climb, gift shops and restaurants open, the payrolls grow, electricity, water, and gasoline consump tion rise. Underground, sewer systems flow at increased rates, leach fields swell, wildflowers break through along roadways and trails. The pace of life in the park quickens, for the deer, elk, fish, and people.

Land- use and threats to parks in the neotropics

The ecological consequences of contemporary land-use in the neotropics have important influences on national park management in the region. Historical patterns suggest that major land-use changes have occurred regularly, and that these patterns have recently intensified. Is there a relationship between specific land-uses and specific threats to protected areas? Can this relationship be detected in a population of parks? In a survey of managers of 183 national parks, 122 returned questionnaires from 19 countries in the neotropics. We found that a range of land-uses, from livestock grazing to quarrying, are occurring in and around the parks. The results of our statistical analysis indicate that many of these activities are associated with specific threats to park resources: for example, poaching for subsistence was statistically associated with each of the ten most-reported threats. We offer two suggestions for improving our understanding of environmental degradation within parks. First, that research and park management be expanded to acquire a regional focus, namely that the land-transforming activities which threaten park resources can best be understood by incorporating the regional-social and political-economic contexts in the analysis. Second, that the influences of the global economic system be increasingly considered in conceptual frameworks of conservation biology.

The role of geography in extending biodiversity gap analaysis

Abstract The loss of biological diversity is a serious ecological problem and a central component in current strategies for managing environmental change. Global biodiversity is declining at an accelerated rate. This is both a biological and social concern: it may lead to dysfunctions at genetic, species or ecosystem levels, and lost species or habitats may have important commodity and/or socio-cultural values. Human action, particularly land uses that alter habitat, is a key cause of biodiversity loss. Research is needed to understand and manage biodiversity loss. Biodiversity gap analysis is being developed by biologists to map biodiversity and identify gaps in its protection. Several biological variables, such as vegetation, vertebrate distributions and endangered species, are entered into a GIS, from which biodiversity maps are generated, which are then overlaid with land management and ownership status. Unprotected components of biodiversity are identified as ‘gaps’. Gap analysis efforts are now underway in many locations but the technique needs to be extended to include socioeconomic factors, such as population change, so that habitat change and biodiversity loss can be described and predicted. Geography has a role in developing this ‘extended gap analysis’ technique. This paper discusses the measurement, importance, and causes of biodiversity loss, describes the biodiversity gap analysis technique and its proposed socioeconomic extension, provides a worked example of extended gap analysis, offers a rationale for geographys involvement in such efforts, and suggests a research agenda for geographers interested in biodiversity gap analysis.

Economic Development and Threats to National Parks: A Preliminary Analysis

This paper examined the relationship between economic development and threats to national parks. Many Authors have suggested that the type and intensity of threats to parks may be influenced by the socio-economic characteristics of the region where the park is located. This idea was tested, using a stratified sample (N=135) of the worlds national parks, with data derived from a survey of park managers.

The human ecology of parks

Abstract This paper explores a human ecological approach to the study of people and parks. A human ecological perspective is outlined, along with the key units of analysis in human ecology. A theoretical framework for treating parks as human ecosystems is developed. Several ecological processes relevant to understanding human activity within parks are discussed, including adaptation, competition, and succession. The paper concludes by outlining several important research questions.