Friday, April 07, 2017

Unintended side effects of conservation: case study in China.

New publication from Assistant Professor of Geology Amanda Schmidt

Schmidt, Amanda H., Yongxian Li, and Ya Tang. 2017. Unintended side effects of conservation: A case study of changing land use in Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan, China. Mountain Research and Development 37, no. 1: 56-65.

Mountain Research and Development is an open access journal.

Partial abstract and conclusions of the study:

Photos by Amanda Schmidt showing
treeless areas of the JNNR
"Toward the goals of returning the landscape of Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve (JNNR) to a perceived “natural” state and protecting the environment, the Reserve in 1998–2002 implemented forest preservation policies that included restrictions on forestry, agriculture, and animal herding practiced by resident Tibetans. ...As argued in prior studies in JNNR (Trac et al 2013; Urgenson et al 2014; Harrell et al 2016), we suggest that land managers carefully consider the baseline conditions to which they are trying to restore landscapes. If, as is the case in JNNR, landscapes have been altered by human activity for millennia (eg d'Alpoim Guedes et al 2015), it may not make sense to aim for restoration to a “natural” landscape that does not include people. Likewise, if management policies and changing economic conditions result in people relocating from traditional villages, complete assessments of natural hazards would enable those making relocation decisions to make informed choices about where to situate new developments."

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