Browsing by Subject "Land use planning"
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Are CAMA Land-Use Plans Protecting Coastal Resources? An Evaluation of North Carolina’s Coastal Planning Requirement(2010-12-09) Bruce, JenniferNorth Carolina’s Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) was created in 1974 to “establish a comprehensive plan for the protection, preservation, orderly development, and management of the coastal area.” One of CAMA’s key tools for managing coastal lands is a state-mandated land-use planning process, which tries to incentivize environmental protection through required analyses, planning exercises, and policy creation. The goal of this study was to determine the degree to which the CAMA planning requirement encourages counties to think critically about their environmental resources and plan strategically for future development. This report evaluates the effectiveness of the CAMA planning requirement through two main analyses: a critical review of plan content and quality using case studies from Carteret, Dare, and Gates Counties; and a social survey to assess current opinions and usage of CAMA land-use plans by county officials and planning employees. Plan evaluation results showed that while counties excelled at data assessments of current infrastructure and environmental resources, the application of environmental analyses into responsible development planning fell short. Plan policies were typically weak and unenforceable, and rarely exceeded state and federal standards. Survey results communicated overall satisfaction with the planning requirement, and noted that the process does encourage counties to consider environmental resources but additional protection is still needed. This report concludes that the required environmental inventories and suitability analyses are the most beneficial aspects of the planning process, and encourages the State to dedicate future efforts towards expanding these elements and providing more localized data assistance and guidance.Item Open Access Environmental Land Use Planning and Integrated Management at the River Basin Scale in Coastal North Carolina(2011-04-29) Coppola, HenryAt its core environmental management is achieved through the design and control of human behavior. Land use planning provides an excellent tool for the management of a variety of influential human activities by controlling and designing the ways in which we use land and natural resources. In its present state, land use planning falls short of its potential as an environmental and natural resource management tool. This is primarily due to a lack of coordination and the failure of land use planners to consider the environment in their charge holistically. While this situation exists in North Carolina, the state is well positioned to leverage existing environmental management and land use planning programs to create greater effectiveness and efficiency. This is particularly true in the coastal zone where land use planning tools, specifically land use suitability analysis, can be applied through the river basin planning system to improve coastal management for both human and environmental sustainability and success.Item Open Access Land Use Planning in Maui, Hawaii, to Prevent Sedimentation of Fringing Coral Reefs(2011-04-28) Crane, KathrynOne of the greatest threats to coral reefs of the Hawaiian Islands is sedimentation from land-based sources. Sedimentation occurs when runoff from storm events carries terrigenous sediments into the marine environment. Once in the marine environment it increases turbidity and eventually settles onto the coral, effectively smothering it. The severity of sedimentation depends on the type of sediment, the sediment load, and the residence time of the sediment. Land use that results in exposed soil, such as development, causes an increase in sedimentation. Because sedimentation begins on land, the policies addressing it must also be focused on the land. Current land use policy in Maui does not effectively address sedimentation, as it only tries to minimize the total sediment load. Land use policy does not address residence time of the sediment. Residence time is limited by wave exposure. Where wave exposure is higher, sediment is removed faster, thus having less impact on the coral. In order to effectively limit the impact of sedimentation, there must be spatially explicit land use regulations that require sediment filtration, density restriction, increased limits to total exposed soil, impervious surface restrictions, while encouraging habitat restoration and open space preservation, in areas where wave exposure is low. To better understand spatial and temporal variations in wave exposure in Maui, I created a GIS-based model of nearshore wave exposure. Using a model such as the one described here to identify critical areas that are more susceptible to sedimentation could result in more effective management of Maui’s reefs.Item Open Access Local Community Values and Perceptions of Natural Resource Management in Northeast Gabon(2017-04-28) Hamilton, NinaConservation and development activities could positively or negatively affect communities dependent upon natural resources to sustain their livelihoods. Yet, community values and priorities are often not considered in landscape-level management decisions. This study pilots the use of value mapping as a means of documenting the importance of forest resources for rural communities living in multi-use forests in northeastern Gabon. Community mapping with a resource prioritization activity, in which participants distribute tokens across the map to score resources by their importance to local livelihoods, was conducted in 10 villages to assess local values and perceived threats to natural resources, and identify potential solutions to address local concerns. Perceptions of forest access and community forests as a community-based environmental management approach were also investigated through surveys and key informant interviews. Findings suggest that crops are the most highly valued resource and communities value a wide range of forest resources. There are significant differences in how men and women value natural resources, closely linked to the traditional roles that each gender plays in natural resource use. Community members identified forests elephants and logging operations as the greatest threats to resources, but put the onus of designing and implementing solutions on the State. Despite an overall positive perception of forest access, satisfaction with forest access increased with distance to the national park. There was widespread awareness among village chiefs about the benefits of community forests for forest protection and community development. However, there remain significant barriers to the establishment of community forests, including the lack of village scale community organizing and technical assistance. To integrate local communities into the decision-making process regarding access rights to natural resources, I recommend prioritizing: (1) mitigation of crop raiding with transition to intensified agriculture, (2) work with forestry operators and NGOs to improve local perceptions of industrial logging operations and promote community forestry, and (3) implement a decentralized approach for communities to access information on and participate in regional land-use decisions. These steps would likely mitigate tension that could derail national conservation and development goals, while promoting strategies that are compatible with both local and national interests.Item Open Access The Sustainable Palm Oil Puzzle: Evaluating Land Management Strategies for Forest Conservation and Climate Change Mitigation in the Global Palm Oil Industry(2018) Austin, KemenThis research evaluates the potential for regulatory measures governing oil palm plantation expansion, and corporate voluntary sustainability commitments in the oil palm industry, to contribute to forest protection and greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals at regional and national scales, using case studies from Indonesia and Gabon. Globally, agricultural production will need to increase by 60–110% by 2050, to meet anticipated demand for food, fiber and biofuels (Alexandratos and Bruinsma, 2012; Tilman et al., 2011). Achieving this increase without negative consequences for forests, biodiversity, and climate will require innovative solutions including increasing productivity, minimizing waste and inefficiencies, improving food distribution and access, shifting diet preferences, and optimizing land use (Foley et al., 2011; Godfray et al., 2010; Newton et al., 2013). Palm oil, which comprises 35% of global vegetable oil consumption, is emblematic of this challenge (Sayer et al., 2012). The production of palm oil is increasing more rapidly than any other oil crop, and an increasingly urban and wealthy global population is anticipated to drive further demand (Hertel, 2011). In Southeast Asia, where 87% of global palm oil production is currently concentrated, industrial-scale plantations nearly quadrupled in extent from 1990–2010 (Gunarso et al., 2013), and drove the conversion of millions of hectares of forest and peat lands (Carlson et al., 2013; Koh et al., 2011). There is therefore growing concern among environmental advocates that, if appropriate safeguards are not put in place, future expansion of oil palm cultivation will reflect historical patterns, leading to the continued destruction of biodiversity- and carbon-rich forest landscapes (Linder, 2013; Wich et al., 2014). In response to these concerns, government and private sector stakeholders have proposed or established policies aimed at minimizing the negative environmental consequences of oil palm production. Here, I investigate the potential impacts of these programs and policies by examining historical trends in industrial-scale oil palm plantation expansion patterns, predicting business-as-usual trajectories of future plantation expansion, and estimating the potential impacts of alternative policy scenarios on future plantation development, and on forests, peatlands, and carbon stocks. In Chapter 1, I provide background information on palm oil and its uses, cultivation requirements, production patterns, and documented environmental impacts. I additionally discuss actual or proposed government regulations and private sector sustainability initiatives that are relevant in the contexts of Indonesia and/or Gabon. In Chapter 2, I present an analysis of patterns of oil palm expansion, and impacts on forest and peat lands, in Indonesia from 1995–2015. In Chapter 3, I develop predictions of future Indonesian oil palm expansion under a range of policy scenarios, and provide estimates of the extent to which these scenarios will contribute to forest protection and concomitant CO2 emissions reductions. In Chapter 4, I evaluate the extent to which greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the oil palm sector will contribute to Indonesia’s national mitigation goals, given uncertainties in the current national greenhouse gas inventory system. In Chapter 5, I develop national suitability maps for oil palm cultivation in Gabon, a new frontier of oil palm expansion, and identify priority areas which have the potential to support production goals while protecting forest landscapes. Finally, I summarize findings across these studies, present next steps, and provide concluding remarks in Chapter 6.
Item Open Access Theory and Practice in Sustainability Science: Influence of Urban Form on the Urban Heat Island and Implications for Urban Systems(2016) Doran, Elizabeth M. B.As the world population continues to grow past seven billion people and global challenges continue to persist including resource availability, biodiversity loss, climate change and human well-being, a new science is required that can address the integrated nature of these challenges and the multiple scales on which they are manifest. Sustainability science has emerged to fill this role. In the fifteen years since it was first called for in the pages of Science, it has rapidly matured, however its place in the history of science and the way it is practiced today must be continually evaluated. In Part I, two chapters address this theoretical and practical grounding. Part II transitions to the applied practice of sustainability science in addressing the urban heat island (UHI) challenge wherein the climate of urban areas are warmer than their surrounding rural environs. The UHI has become increasingly important within the study of earth sciences given the increased focus on climate change and as the balance of humans now live in urban areas.
In Chapter 2 a novel contribution to the historical context of sustainability is argued. Sustainability as a concept characterizing the relationship between humans and nature emerged in the mid to late 20th century as a response to findings used to also characterize the Anthropocene. Emerging from the human-nature relationships that came before it, evidence is provided that suggests Sustainability was enabled by technology and a reorientation of world-view and is unique in its global boundary, systematic approach and ambition for both well being and the continued availability of resources and Earth system function. Sustainability is further an ambition that has wide appeal, making it one of the first normative concepts of the Anthropocene.
Despite its widespread emergence and adoption, sustainability science continues to suffer from definitional ambiguity within the academe. In Chapter 3, a review of efforts to provide direction and structure to the science reveals a continuum of approaches anchored at either end by differing visions of how the science interfaces with practice (solutions). At one end, basic science of societally defined problems informs decisions about possible solutions and their application. At the other end, applied research directly affects the options available to decision makers. While clear from the literature, survey data further suggests that the dichotomy does not appear to be as apparent in the minds of practitioners.
In Chapter 4, the UHI is first addressed at the synoptic, mesoscale. Urban climate is the most immediate manifestation of the warming global climate for the majority of people on earth. Nearly half of those people live in small to medium sized cities, an understudied scale in urban climate research. Widespread characterization would be useful to decision makers in planning and design. Using a multi-method approach, the mesoscale UHI in the study region is characterized and the secular trend over the last sixty years evaluated. Under isolated ideal conditions the findings indicate a UHI of 5.3 ± 0.97 °C to be present in the study area, the magnitude of which is growing over time.
Although urban heat islands (UHI) are well studied, there remain no panaceas for local scale mitigation and adaptation methods, therefore continued attention to characterization of the phenomenon in urban centers of different scales around the globe is required. In Chapter 5, a local scale analysis of the canopy layer and surface UHI in a medium sized city in North Carolina, USA is conducted using multiple methods including stationary urban sensors, mobile transects and remote sensing. Focusing on the ideal conditions for UHI development during an anticyclonic summer heat event, the study observes a range of UHI intensity depending on the method of observation: 8.7 °C from the stationary urban sensors; 6.9 °C from mobile transects; and, 2.2 °C from remote sensing. Additional attention is paid to the diurnal dynamics of the UHI and its correlation with vegetation indices, dewpoint and albedo. Evapotranspiration is shown to drive dynamics in the study region.
Finally, recognizing that a bridge must be established between the physical science community studying the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, and the planning community and decision makers implementing urban form and development policies, Chapter 6 evaluates multiple urban form characterization methods. Methods evaluated include local climate zones (LCZ), national land cover database (NCLD) classes and urban cluster analysis (UCA) to determine their utility in describing the distribution of the UHI based on three standard observation types 1) fixed urban temperature sensors, 2) mobile transects and, 3) remote sensing. Bivariate, regression and ANOVA tests are used to conduct the analyses. Findings indicate that the NLCD classes are best correlated to the UHI intensity and distribution in the study area. Further, while the UCA method is not useful directly, the variables included in the method are predictive based on regression analysis so the potential for better model design exists. Land cover variables including albedo, impervious surface fraction and pervious surface fraction are found to dominate the distribution of the UHI in the study area regardless of observation method.
Chapter 7 provides a summary of findings, and offers a brief analysis of their implications for both the scientific discourse generally, and the study area specifically. In general, the work undertaken does not achieve the full ambition of sustainability science, additional work is required to translate findings to practice and more fully evaluate adoption. The implications for planning and development in the local region are addressed in the context of a major light-rail infrastructure project including several systems level considerations like human health and development. Finally, several avenues for future work are outlined. Within the theoretical development of sustainability science, these pathways include more robust evaluations of the theoretical and actual practice. Within the UHI context, these include development of an integrated urban form characterization model, application of study methodology in other geographic areas and at different scales, and use of novel experimental methods including distributed sensor networks and citizen science.