Use of Zostera marina for conservation

Seagrass has a number of important eco system functions including habitat for fish spawning, nutrient cycling, erosion protection and buffering of pollutants (Han et al. 2008). The eelgrass, Zostera marina L., has traditionally been used for a myriad of purposes in these North Atlantic coastal communities (Alm 2003). Unfortunately, During the 1930s, a widespread infection of the slime mold, Labryinthula spp., stopped the harvest of this plant species (Cottam 1934; Muhlstein 1989). The plant community rebounded shortly thereafter and was briefly used for the collection of a product called sea-felt. Fiberglass soon filled that cultural and economic niche and ended the wild harvest once again (Wyllie-Echeverria et al. 2000). Thereafter, the areas where the species had previously been protected for the harvest began to be developed and mismanaged.

The hopeful news is that there may be more uses, which will lead to conservation, for the troubled seagrass habitat areas the circumpolar North Atlantic. Ethnobotany plays a role in these cultural conservation mechanisms (Norton & Hannan 1997). Ethnobotany and paleo-ethnobotany of the species was explored through the archives and structured interviews throughout the North Atlantic. Based on these interviews, awareness raising about the cultural and ecological diversity of Z. marina and its habitat have already lead to preservation of historical work sites and habitat conservation in Nova Scotia (Wyllie-Echeverria et al. 2000).

Alm T. 2003. On the Uses of Zostera marina, Mainly in Norway Economic Botany. 57(4):640-45

Cottam, C., 1934. Eelgrass disappearance has serious effects on waterfowl and industry. pp 191-93 in US Department of Agriculture Yearbook of Agriculture ed by M.S. Eisenhower.

Han, Qiu-Ying; Shi, Ping. 2008. Progress in the study of seagrass ecology, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research for Sustainable Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences. 28(11):5561-5570.

Muhlstein, L. K., 1989. Perspectives on the wasting disease of eelgrass, Zostera marina. Diseases of Aquat. Organ. 7: 211-21

Norton B.G., Hannon B. 1997, Environmental Values: A place-based theory. Environ. Ethics 19: 227-45.

Wyllie-Echeverria, S., Arzel, P., Cox, P. A. 2000. Pacific Conservation Biology. 5:329-35

Maine Woods

I just got a response from Senator Olympia Snowe about this issue. I wrote to her with concern about the changes that are planned for the maine Woods.. 

Looks like it could be bad. Big changes are planned for the Maine woods. 

Maine Governor LePage, among others, is planning to open up the woods to development. 

Snowe assured me that funding is being channeled to help establish better forest management. 

I don't feel that investment of capitol means anything about the effectiveness of programs for conservation.. I worked for the USNPS and I know that more money means more meetings, it means more fat veterans in office chairs waiting for retirement.. It means more starts and less finishes.. more paperwork.. More fancy equipment.. more plaques and statues... 

also.. i am dubious of recreation as a mechanism for conservation.. The farmers where I live have been watching the trails turn to streams and paved walkways.. the roadside stands along the trail turn to restaurants.. the farms in the valley turn to condos.. 

More on this issues from 'Environment Maine' http://www.environmentmaine.org/

Rethinking Property

Above is a cartoon by Edward Linley about the imperialist and colonialist Cecil Rhodes. His vision for a world under British colonial rule has had serious and lasting implications on politics everywhere. His life offers a good example of how morality is missing from both education and visions for 'development' around the world. He was an extremely brilliant Oxford graduate who managed to cause a lot of suffering in his short life.

Today land grabbing, changes in uses of land and general misuse of land is begging attention to some basic fundamental questions about land ownership. To get deeper into this topic I am planning to join the "Re-thinking property. Towards a Well-being Society?" exchange platform from the 25th to the 27th of August in Bangkok.  

Talks are planned from many amazing people including:
Sulak Sivaraksa, Peace Activist
Dasho Karma Ura, Bhutan ("100% organic country"-movement)
Silke Helfrich, Commons Strategy Group, Germany
Takayoshi Kusago, Social Systems Design, Japan
Nicanor Perlas, Centre for Alternative Development Initiatives...

Learn more at the School for Wellbeing Studies and Research
schoolforwellbeing.org  

Here is 'Just Enough' by Nanao Sakaki, a short poem to drive home the notion of enough:


Soil for legs
Axe for hands
Flower for eyes
Bird for ears
Mushroom for nose
Smile for mouth
Songs for lungs
Sweat for skin
Wind for mind

Ethnobiology and Conservation

Conservation through utilization. 

Work needs to be done that looks at ways to improve the relationship of people to nature through efficient and sustainable use of a diversity of species from native habitats. - I think of it as 'use it or lose it'. I also know that 'we will not fight for what we do not love' and that the cultural importance of native species has lead to much of the activism for environmental conservation. 

Work still needs to be done to find out how ethnobiology can best help with the maintenance of indigenous knowledge of native species, and what the challenges and benefits of this cooperation are. 

Here is a poem about work from Mary Oliver:

My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.

Buffalo Urban Outdoor Education, Inc.

The Buffalo Urban Outdoor Education, Inc. (BUOE) is a small organization that makes a huge impact on the lives of low-income youth in Western New York.  It has recently been chosen as a semi-finalist in a local video contest hosted by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.

The winner of the video contest will win a $10,000 unrestricted grant and the runner-up will win a $5,000 grant.  This funding could make a huge difference in BUOE's ability to serve WNY youth with extraordinary, on-water programming on Lake Erie.

PLEASE VOTE FOR OUR VIDEO, TITLED "SCIENCE AFLOAT"!

To vote for the video, please click on the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/GrowWNY?sk=app_95936962634

You may vote every day between June 13 - June 26.  VOTE TODAY!

IFOAM is NGO Coordinator of 64th UN DPI/NGO Conference to Be Held in Bonn from 3 to 5 September 2011: Sustainable Societies – Responsive Citizens

IFOAM is NGO Coordinator of 64th UN DPI/NGO Conference to Be Held in Bonn from 3 to 5 September 2011: Sustainable Societies – Responsive Citizens

The 64th Annual United Nations Conference of the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) will be held in Bonn from 3 to 5 September 2011. The German government, the City of Bonn, the NGO/DPI Executive Committee and UN Volunteers are organizing the conference.   The event is a strategic steppingstone for NGOs preparing for twenty-year review of the groundbreaking UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The outcomes of the DPI/NGO conference are expected to be integrated into future negotiations of the Rio+20 process taking place next year. 

September 24th 2011 is Moving Planet: "A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels"

Hoping that this gets to someone who is inspired to make it happen. We'll be starting the bio-tours for the IFOAM OWC http://www.kowc2011.org/eng/index.asp here in Namyangju.


350.org is a new kind of kind of "people powered movement" (PPM) that is made of communities in every corner of the planet. 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Scientists measure carbon dioxide in "parts per million" (ppm), so 350ppm is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.


Moving Planet is 350.org's next BIG global day of action, and it's happening on September 24th. They're calling it "A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels", hundreds of events are already being planned--from big bike parades and marches with tens of thousands of people to smaller community education events. 


350.org is now asking that people come together in communities around the world, and brainstorm ideas for a local Moving Planet event for September 24th.


Click here to start or join a Moving Planet Meetup today: www.moving-planet.org/meetup


If you register your local meetup, they'll put it on the website so others can find it and make sure to follow up with you to make sure you have everything you need. They have materials to help you nail down a solid action plan for September 24th, including a guide to hosting a meetup, a "fill in the blanks" action worksheet, and an optional presentation you can give about campaign strategy.


You can grab all the materials you'll need to plan and host a successful meetup here: www.moving-planet.org/meetup/materials


With strong local teams and solid strategic plans, we'll be able to make September 24th a historic day in the journey to move beyond fossil fuels.
start a meetup in your community. 


350.org is building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis: online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions are led from the bottom up by thousands of volunteer organizers in over 188 countries.  You can join 350.org on Facebook by becoming a fan of the page at facebook.com/350org and follow them on twitter by visiting twitter.com/350.