Riding the Rhino: Conservation,Conflicts, and Militarisation of Kaziranga National Park in Assam

Since 2004, media and public opinion in Assam (India) have focused on increasing instances of poaching of rhinoceros for their horns and presence of Bengali‐speaking Muslim peasants, especially in and around the iconic Kaziranga National Park. From hastily made digital films, to anti‐poaching motifs at Durga Puja pandals, the plight of the rhinoceros has occupied an important position in an acrimonious political discourse on Assamese culture. The innocence and dignity attributed to the animal stands in marked contrast to the lack of discussion on the large numbers of young men who have been killed in anti‐poaching campaigns by the state. This article looks at the interstices of class, culture and commerce in an attempt to understand the popular deification of the rhinoceros and implications of the developmental discourse that seeks to put people and rhino in their “rightful” place.     

以虹口公园为例论都市公园之命名

都市公园是都市重要旅游资源。都市公园命名是旅游文化、都市文化、地名文化之重要课题。本文以上海著名旅游景观虹口公园（鲁迅公园）园名问题为例,从个性与共性两大方面探讨都市公园之命名。     

The Contested Landscapes of World Heritage on a Tourist Island: the case of Garajonay National Park,La Gomera

This paper considers the World Heritage Site of Garajonay National Park on the island of La Gomera (Canary Islands). It is based on a research project carried out during 1999-2000 that explored the circumstances surrounding its declaration as a National Park and inclusion into the World Heritage List, in conjunction with the consequences for local communities which ensued. The proximity of Garajonay National Park to a large concentration of mass coastal tourism constitutes a further source of potential conflict which may have a wider relevance to other sites of a similar and indeed diverse nature. This paper, therefore, examines the configurations of space and social relations occasioned by the processes of social change, conservation and tourism development in and adjacent to this protected forest. In doing so it elucidates the manner in which these processes are locally mediated in and through contested values over the meaning and purpose of nature conservation in this 'world heritage space'. It argues that a sense of the forest as a place of cultural belonging has been marginalised in favour of its intrinsic ecological value.     

Faecal Coliform Levels in Mountain Streams of Winter Recreation Zones in the Cairngorms National Park,Scotland

This study aims to establish the spatial distribution of stream water faecal coliform (FC) concentrations in specific winter recreation areas in the Northern Corries of the Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland. A total of 207 water samples were collected from 10 sites during two winter seasons (2007–2008 and 2008–2009) and analysed by Colilert^® 24 for the presence of FC, specifically Escherichia coli (E. coli). E. coli was not detected at Sites 1–7, above 635?m. Sites 8, 9 and 10 (below 635?m) had positive detection rates for E. coli, these being 32%, 35% and 31%, respectively. Results provide important data on the level of faecal bacteria in selected Scottish mountain streams, whilst also providing comparative benchmark data for similar studies proposed in other UK upland recreational hotspots.     

阴山岩画古车图像与早期草原交通

阴山岩画古车图像可以与传说时代"轩辕"故事联系起来分析,有益于说明车辆发明与早期使用推动上古文明进步这一历史过程.汤因比在<历史研究>中曾经指出,草原为旅行和运输提供了方便.在远古文化交往和文化传播过程中,草原交通曾经发挥过重要的作用.<穆天子传>记录周穆王西行路线,经历阴山地方的情形值得注意.断代是岩画考察一大难点.分析阴山岩画古车图像,可以借助考古学经验试推定若干画面的大致年代.对阿尔泰山、贺兰山、卢山、黑山等地岩画的古车图像进行综合考察.显然是必要的.这样的工作,或可能深化对中国北方草原地区早期交通形态的认识.     

Social capital, environmental health and collective action: a Hamilton, Ontario case study

This article explores the relationships among environmental health, social capital and collective action in the industrial city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Survey results from 512 households are used to document intra-urban variation in levels of social capital (defined as norms, networks and trust) and collective action in the context of environmental health issues, and specifically air quality. Despite real differences between areas in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, little variation in either social capital or collective action by area was observed. Further, while social networks and community involvement were significant predictors of collective action, indicators of norms and trust were not. Hence, the conception of social capital as a unitary construct that produces place-specific benefits is not reflected in the example explored here.     

National identity and the limits of constructivism in international relations theory: a case study of the Suez Canal

Constructivism in most of its variants emphasises the creation of circumstances and the social construction of reality. In international relations theory (IR), it also emphasises the establishment of international regimes. The Suez Canal and its governing regime, established at a high point of European nationalism and imperialism in the nineteenth century, are explored as a test case. I argue that, while the early history of the Canal is illuminated by a constructivist approach, maintenance of the regime to govern it involved military intervention and debt restructuring. Military force, balance of power considerations and economic interests all have to be invoked to explain the later history of the Canal, that is, factors usually stressed by the realist school. A combination of realist and constructivist approaches is recommended. The paper is also critical of certain constructivist concepts of national identity.     

Preservation of old‐growth forests: a case study of Big Timber Park,Whistler, BC

This paper explores the concepts of old‐growth forests, preservation and natural disturbance and demonstrates how contemporary biogeographic theory contributes to successful preservation of old‐growth forests. The case study analyzes the composition, structure, age and growth histories of trees in Big Timber Park, Whistler, British Columbia. Composition. The structure of the forest was diverse and tree ages ranged from 122 to 305 years. The densities of large old Douglas‐fir, shade‐tolerant trees and all snags are indicative of old‐growth forests; however, maximum tree diameters and densities of large snags and logs do not meet quantitative criteria for old‐growth forests. The abundance of tree regeneration and understory vegetation are relatively low. We conclude that some aspects of Big Timber Park are transitional between the mature and old‐growth stages of forest development. In the future, fine‐scale canopy gaps caused by tree senescence and interactions among insects, pathogens and wind are expected to dominate stand dynamics. Forest structure will become increasingly complex, exemplifying the dynamic nature of old‐growth forests. To successfully preserve Big Timber Park and La préservation des forêts other old‐growth forests in Canada requires understanding of natural disturbances. Preservation and the criteria and indicators used to measure successful preservation must explicitly include elements of natural change.     

Conservation as a social contract in a violent frontier: The case of (Anti-) poaching in Garamba National Park,eastern DR Congo

Protected areas located in areas of violent conflict are often conceived as spaces where the state has lost its control and parks are ‘dissolved’, to the point where poaching and violent extraction of resources run free. Our analysis of conservation in Garamba National Park, in eastern DRC, shows that forms of regulation of (anti-)poaching activities continue to exist within such spaces through the persistence of social contracts that bind different actors in and around the park around conservation. We show that these contracts have long histories and change substantially over time, and yet continue to function as reference points for populations and authorities with regards to (anti-) poaching activities, and the organization of social life in and around the park more broadly. Faced with insecurity, poverty and uncertainty, the population living close to Garamba National Park continues to refer to these social contracts, or seeks to devise new ones in search for predictability, livelihoods, security and the provision of basic social services. By focusing on the ‘contractual layer’ of conservation in a violent frontier, we aim to contribute to the understanding of the re-configuration of public authority in these spaces, and demonstrate the conceptual and empirical relevance of analysing social contracts for geographers. We do so by drawing a conceptual and empirical bridge between the literature that has conceived conservation as enclosures, and the literature that has focused more on the contractual dimension of conservation.     

A park of the people: the demotion of Platt National Park,Oklahoma

Platt National Park, Oklahoma, was the smallest national park in the United States until it was combined with an adjacent, reservoir-centered recreation site in 1976 to form Chickasaw National Recreation Area. Set aside as Sulphur Springs Reservation by agreement with the Chickasaw Indians in 1902 and designated a national park in 1906, Platt is the only American national park to be demoted since World War II. The story of Platt's creation and demotion reflects the changing mission of the National Park Service (NPS), shifting images of nature and recreation among the American public, and broader social forces that frame park purposes. What started as local boosterism of hydrotherapy in cold mineral springs grew into one of America's most visited national parks by the 1920s. Despite its popularity, Platt lacked both scenic grandeur and political influence; it did not fit prevailing images of wild nature among NPS bureaucrats and the urban elite who formed the core of the environmental movement; it was too small, too humanized, and too ordinary. As images of people embedded in nature have gained wider acceptance in recent decades, would this small, geographically distinctive, and culturally rich “park of the people” have met a similar fate today?     

Exploring the context and elements of local environmental stewardship: An embedded case study of the Niagara Region,Canada

Environmental stewardship—a concept that describes the relationships between humans and the environment—is gaining increased attention as an approach that can address planetary sustainability issues. In-depth empirical investigations of local environmental stewardship are needed to understand how social-ecological context influences stewardship, as well as the arrangement of conceptual elements in applied settings. This study addresses these needs by conducting an in-depth exploration of environmental stewardship in the Niagara Region of Canada. A single embedded case study design is employed, with environmental stewardship initiatives constituting the individual units of analysis with the case. Analysis of the spatial arrangement of a total of 89 initiatives indicated that initiatives tended to cluster closer to the Niagara River and in more populous municipalities. The significance of collaboration, tensions between the environment and economic development, and concerns about political impacts emerged as themes across contextual factors. The configuration of stewardship elements reveals interesting discrepancies between initiatives and previous stewardship research focused on larger scales, individuals, and organizations. Further analysis is encouraged to illuminate environmental stewardship in other settings as well as advance relational understanding of conceptual elements.     

Measuring ethnic belonging from within: The case of the Vuotso Saami

Finland anchors its legal definition of Saaminess in the bedrock of language ability either of oneself or of at least one of one's parents or grandparents. The Saami Nordic Council's Tromsø definition (1980) reech?s the official Finnish Statement (1973). Back in the villages, however, the grass‐roots Saami use other criteria when determining who is Saami, “blood”. This paper discusses the discrepancies between official government as well as ethnic political wing statements as to the components of Saami identity and those of foot‐soldier Saami in villages such as Vuotso, Finnish Lapland.     

Chiefs,hunters and adventurers: the foundation of the Okavango/Moremi National Park,Botswana

This article is about the politics of wildlife management in Botswana. The existing literature on the origins of wildlife conservation in Africa has portrayed the formation of protected areas as an imposition of colonial state authorities. Preservationist policies are usually cast as the product of European conservationist ideas, and related notions of the ‘wilderness’ value of African landscapes. Many recent studies have emphasized the negative effects of such ideas and policies in a colonial context: they have drawn attention to the way in which they devalued local African ideas, undermined local management strategies, and criminalized access to important economic and cultural resources. The case discussed here, however, suggests that this interpretation needs closer scrutiny: the meaning and impact of global ideas and policies of wildlife conservation depends on how they are localized in particular places. The key actors in the foundation of Botswana's Okavango/Moremi National Park in the 1960s were not state officials but local BaTawana chiefs and a network of hunters and adventurers turned conservationists. The initiative was conceived as a means of protecting wildlife from the depredations of illegal South African hunting parties and ensuring future local use, and was initially opposed by the colonial state. The article discusses why Okavango/Moremi was an exception, and why the initial coalition of African and local settler interests came to see preservationist policies as being in their interest.     

Analyzing the process of domestication: Hagoshrim as a case study

Recent excavations at the Neolithic site of Hagoshrim, northern Israel, have yielded a large assemblage of skeletal fragments, representing mostly caprines, cattle and pigs. The three layers of the site's occupation span approximately 2000 years of a crucial period in the domestication of these taxa in the southern Levant, including Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (Layer 6, 7562 ± 85 BP and 7735 ± 55 BP) and the Pottery Neolithic cultures, Jericho IX (Layer 5, 6725 ± 120 BP) and Wadi Raba (Layer 4, 6505 ± 120 BP). Therefore, this site provides an outstanding opportunity to study the process of domestication in a comparative manner, both across taxa and through time. We used kill-off patterns, size reduction and changes in body proportions, and introduced statistical methods to discern the different stages of the domestication process for each taxon. Pig remains reflect simultaneous changes at the end of the 7th millennium BP: kill-off patterns, size and proportions of cranial and post-cranial elements all change between Layer 5 and 4 with no significant changes between Layer 6 and 5. Gradual changes—both between Layer 6 and 5 and between Layer 5 and 4—were found only for cattle, while caprine remains exhibit no changes throughout the site's occupation. These results can be explained in light of the differences between the taxa in terms of their life history strategies, among other things, that can be viewed as pre-adaptations to domestication.