Scientific frontiers in the management of coral reefs
- Authors: Aswani, Shankar , Mumby, Peter J , Baker, Andrew , Christie, Patrick , McCook, Laurence J , Steneck, Robert S , Richmond, Robert H
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70582 , vital:29677 , https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2015.00050
- Description: Coral reefs are subjected globally to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stressors that often act synergistically. Today, reversing ongoing and future coral reef degradation presents significant challenges and countering this negative trend will take considerable efforts and investments. Scientific knowledge can inform and guide the requisite decision-making process and offer practical solutions to the problem of protection as the effects of climate change exacerbate. However, implementation of solutions presently lags far behind the pace required to reverse global declines, and there is a need for an urgent and significant step-up in the extent and range of strategies being implemented. In this paper, we consider scientific frontiers in natural and social science research that can help build stronger support for reef management and improve the efficacy of interventions. We cover various areas including: (1) enhancing the case for reef conservation and management, (2) dealing with local stressors on reefs, (3) addressing global climate change impacts, (4) and reviewing various approaches to the governance of coral reefs. In sum, we consider scientific frontiers in natural and social science that will require further attention in coming years as managers work toward building stronger support for reef management and improve the efficacy of local interventions.
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- Date Issued: 2015
Epidemic transmission of intestinal schistosomiasis in the seasonal part of the Okavango Delta, Botswana:
- Authors: Appleton, C C , Ellery, William F N , Byskov, Jens , Mogkweetsinyana, S S
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/144364 , vital:38339 , DOI: 10.1179/136485908X311867
- Description: A well documented epidemic of human intestinal schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma mansoni occurred at Maun in the seasonal part of the Okavango Delta, Botswana, building from very few cases in the 1950s and early 1960s to a peak prevalence of greater than80% in the 1980s. A retrospective analysis was performed on all available records of the prevalence of S. mansoni in the Maun area and the corresponding flow records of the Thamalakane River. These revealed a statistically significant correlation between prevalence and flow, but only when a lag period was introduced. The correlation was greatest with a lag period of 5–6 years between the rise and fall of discharge and the rise and fall of transmission. Since the hydrological events in the delta follow a cyclical pattern, another epidemic around 2020 appears likely.
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- Date Issued: 2013
New lives for old: modernity, biomedicine, traditional culture and HIV prevention in Lesotho (a response to Nicola L. Bulled)
- Authors: Vincent, Louise
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141855 , vital:38010 , DOI: 10.1080/23269995.2013.805526
- Description: This is a reply to - Bulled, Nicola L. 2013. “New lives for old: modernity, biomedicine, traditional culture and HIV prevention in Lesotho.” Global Discourse. 3 (2): 284–299. http://0-dx.doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1080/23269995.2013.804700.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Protection of development-induced internally displaced persons under the African Charter: the case of the Endorois community of Northern Kenya
- Authors: Juma, Laurence
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/127100 , vital:35955 , https://heinonline.org./HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/ciminsfri46amp;div=15amp;g_sent=1amp;casa_token=amp;collection=journals
- Description: The discourse on development-induced displacement has highlighted the enormity of problems faced by communities who are forcefully removed to create room for development projects, while at the same time, exposed the insularity of national and international legal frameworks for their protection. Using the case of Centre for Minority Rights Development (CEMIRIDE) on behalf of the Endorois Community v Kenya (No 276/200), decided by the African Commission on Human and People's Rights in November 2009, this article analyses the support that regional and continental rights enforcement mechanisms could provide to the protection of IDPs, particularly those displaced by development projects.
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- Date Issued: 2013
What are the best and worst times in the lives of South African township dwellers? A content analysis of the self-defined end-anchors for Bernheim’s ACSA scale of subjective well-being
- Authors: Moller, Valerie , Theuns, P
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67155 , vital:29042 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0073-1
- Description: publisher version , Bernheim’s ACSA, a less conventional measure of subjective well-being originally developed for use in a clinical setting, was applied to a sample of black South African township dwellers (n = 1,020) in the Eastern Cape Province. The Anamnestic Comparative Self Assessment is an experiential self-anchoring scale with concrete anchors (Bernheim in Psychologie médicale 15:1625–1626, 1983). Respondents described the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ periods experienced in their lives in their own words and rated their current life situation within these two extremes that served as the end-anchors of an 11-point rating scale, ACSA. The ACSA score was significantly positively correlated with conventional measures of subjective well-being. The study examined in detail the content of the ACSA anchors, the best and worst periods of respondents’ lives, classified by domain, to gain insights into reference comparisons applied in quality-of-life evaluation in a developing country setting. As was the case in earlier ACSA studies, most domains that served as reference standards were related to the self and family life. However, material living standards, represented by the domains of income, financial security and housing also featured prominently as personal anchors—a reflection of life goals in post-apartheid South Africa. Age, gender, education and self-reported health were associated with the choice of select anchors. The discussion provides pointers for future applications of ACSA in large sample surveys using a pre-coded multiple-choice format for anchor descriptions. It is concluded that the content of ACSA anchors corresponds closely to contemporary definitions of the good life among ordinary South Africans.
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- Date Issued: 2013