UBVYork Exchange

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Landscapes, Ecology, and Sustainability
UBV-York Exchange Justin Podur June 14, 2007
CL-215 airtanker dropping water on a fire
Photo courtesy Ontario Ministry of Natural
Resources
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Forest fire has positive and negative aspects
Aspects of Fire
Nature and Management
Area Burned and Large Fires
Fire can threaten communities
Possible Bridges
Future Directions
Or be used in ecological restoration
Photo spruce.ca City of Toronto
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How to describe nature, for forest fires?
Spatial patterns of fire on a landscape Fires
occur in spatial clusters by ignition source
(people, lightning), fuel, and climate
Aspects of Fire
Nature and Management
Area Burned and Large Fires
Possible Bridges
Temporal patterns of fire There has been a
significant increase in area burned in recent
years
Future Directions
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I model dispatch, growth, and suppression of
forest fires in Ontario
Aspects of Fire
Nature and Management
Dispatch
Resource Pool (Decision)
Area Burned and Large Fires
Possible Bridges
Fire growth suppression
Future Directions
Fire growth
Photo from http//www.rtmodels.com/CL-415.html
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Broader research questions in landscape ecology
How much should we influence nature? How much
can we influence nature? If influencing nature
is inescapable, how should we influence it? Can
we emulate nature? If so, how? How do the
natural and built environments interact? The
role of human intervention in natural
processes Models and decision support help
planning Why?
Aspects of Fire
Nature and Management
Area Burned and Large Fires
Possible Bridges
If we think of the industrial city at the
simplest possible level in systematic terms, we
can visualize it as a system of one-way flows of
energy and materials. The flows proceed from
sources in the outer landscape, to production and
consumption in the city, to waste sinks in the
air, water, and land. Among the sources are
farms, forests, mines, oil fields, and large
areas of the oceans. John T. Lyle, Urban
Ecosystems (From Dr. Canzonieris class reading
list)
Future Directions
http//www.context.org/ICLIB/IC35/Lyle.htm
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Tambien trabajo como periodista y investigador
sobre latinoamerica (y otros lugares)
Links Decision making has an ethical dimension
that cannot be neglected Science can be a tool
of the oppressed
Aspects of Fire
Nature and Management
Area Burned and Large Fires
Possible Bridges
Future Directions
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Los Nasa del Norte de Cauca, Colombia
This project takes its roots in a vigorous
community of Colombia's indigenous Paez people.
Together, they sustainably manage a territory of
49,000 hectares, partially located within the
Nevada del Huila Biosphere Reserve on the
Colombia-Ecuador border. Since 1980 they have
courageously worked to incorporate holistic
strategies for natural and cultural preservation
into daily life while in the midst of civil
strife and violence from conflicts in their
region These activities include environmental
education and the promotion of traditional
medicinal and agroforestry techniques funded
creatively through the sale of environmentally
friendly products, such as juices and objects
crafted from artisanal marble. - UNDP
Aspects of Fire
Nature and Management
Area Burned and Large Fires
Winners of the UNDP Equatorial Initiative Prize
for Sustainable Development in 2004 For the
reduction of poverty through the conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity
Possible Bridges
Future Directions
http//www.undp.org/equatorinitiative/secondary/20
04-winners.htmone
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Libertad para la madre tierra!
Development in Colombia, as elsewhere in the
Americas, has featured the displacement of
indigenous people from their ancestral
territories. In Cauca, the Nasa have developed
a strategy in response -Stay in the
territory -Create and implement autonomous,
participatory development plans -Recover lost
land and bring it back to life (first wave in the
1970s and 80s, second wave today) -Reach out to
other communities, in Colombia and beyond
Aspects of Fire
Nature and Management
Area Burned and Large Fires
Late 2005 Land recovery in Japio, an hacienda in
Cauca
Possible Bridges
Future Directions
http//www.undp.org/equatorinitiative/secondary/20
04-winners.htmone
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PLAN DE VIDA
UNIDAD
EDUCACIÓN Y SALUD
ECONOMIA
Reciprocidad
Cobertura y permanencia
Suficiencia
Armonía
Uso respetuoso de la tierra
Espiritualidad
Conservación
RECURSOS NATURALES
CULTURA
TERRITORIO
AUTONOMÍA
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Construyendo autonomias
I visited Cauca in 2004 as a journalist My work
with ACIN has been in communication (training,
journalism, translation) ACIN has an expanding
vision for autonomy Comunicacion propia Salud
propia Educacion propia Seguridad
propia Justicia propia Autonomous energy?
Aspects of Fire
Nature and Management
Area Burned and Large Fires
Possible Bridges
Future Directions
http//www.undp.org/equatorinitiative/secondary/20
04-winners.htmone
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Investigaciones juntos
Aspects of Fire
Nature and Management
Area Burned and Large Fires
La comunicacion politica y periodismo para apoyar
proyectos comunitarios y autonomas www.en-camino.
org www.zmag.org
Cambio climatico y manejo forestal Modelos
matematicos en el manejo de recursos
naturales Ecologia terrestrial
Possible Bridges
Future Directions
http//www.botany.utoronto.ca/plantings/duffy/