The third session of the Student Conference on Conservation Sciences was held in the afternoon of November 7, 2015, with speakers discussing people’s roles in the conservation of wildlife.
Lynn Huntsinger, professor of rangeland ecology and management at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management of UC Berkeley, was the keynote speaker for the session. As a rangeland ecologist and manager, she looks at social relations in order to understand the structure and function of agro-ecosystems like rangelands used for livestock production, with the goal of learning how long-term, sustainable management for rangelands can be created.
Lynn first introduced the climate and geographical conditions in California, as well as local land ownership. The fact that half of the land in California, usually also with the highest biodiversity, is privately owned, it makes ranchers indispensable in the conservation of ecosystems. California Black Rail (L. jamaicensis) is a mouse-sized bird species living in small, shallow wetlands that Professor Huntsinger is concerned about. Ranchers who keep livestock need to maintain irrigated pastures for the dry summers, and at the same time, they have to provide a habitat for the Black Rail bird. Pastures affected by accidental water leakage from old canals have also become important habitats for these birds. Therefore, landowner decisions on whether to keep wetlands, as well as governmental decisions on whether to stop the leaks, both become essential in the maintenance of wetlands, thus essential for the survival of the Black Rail bird. Professor Huntsinger briefly showed the audience information from her interviews and surveys, revealing how people’s decisions can be affected by typologies and government policy.
After Professor Huntsinger’s insightful talk, Rishi Ram Subedi from Nepal talked about Nepal’s wildlife conservation on hands of local people. In Nepal, ecosystems are threatened by wildlife hunting, deforestation, and tourism. While countless endemic or new species are present in Nepal, the local government is now working in concert with residents to make it possible to improve ecosystem conditions and at the same time improve people’s standard of living.
Krizler Tanalgo, a Filipino who works at the Tropical Garden in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, introduced how he used mathematics to assess bat cave vulnerability in species and habitat conservation.
About 10 speakers gave impressive presentations this afternoon, providing the audience with extensive insights on conservation efforts all over the world.
Written by: Bai Luolan
Edited by: Wei Yuchen
