The Economic Value of Health Benefits Associated with Urban Park Investment.

The allocation of resources towards the development and enhancement of urban parks offers an effective strategy for promoting and improving the health and well-being of urban populations. Investments in urban parks can result in a multitude of health benefits. The increased usage of greenspace by park users has been linked to positive physical and mental health outcomes. Additionally, the expansion of greenspace in urban areas can mitigate harmful impacts from air pollutants, heat, noise, and climate-related health risks. While the health benefits attributed to urban parks and greenspaces are well documented, few studies have measured the economic value of these benefits. This study applied a novel ecohealth economic valuation framework to quantify and estimate the potential economic value of health benefits attributed to the development of a proposed park in the downtown core of Peterborough, Canada. The results indicated that development of the small urban park will result in annual benefits of CAD 133,000 per year, including CAD 109,877 in the avoided economic burden of physical inactivity, CAD 23,084 in health savings associated with improved mental health, and CAD 127 in health savings attributed to better air quality. When including the economic value of higher life satisfaction, the economic benefit is more than CAD 4 million per year. The study demonstrates the value of developing and enhancing urban parks as a strategy to improve population health and well-being, and as a means of cost savings to the medical system.

Improved management of farm dams increases vegetation cover, water quality, and macroinvertebrate biodiversity.

In many farming landscapes, aquatic features, such as wetlands, creeks, and dams, provide water for stock and irrigation, while also acting as habitat for a range of plants and animals. Indeed, some species threatened by land-use change may otherwise be considerably rarer-or even suffer extinction-in the absence of these habitats. Therefore, a critical issue for the maintenance of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes is the extent to which the management of aquatic systems can promote the integration of agricultural production and biodiversity conservation. We completed a cross-sectional study in southern New South Wales (southeastern Australia) to quantify the efficacy of two concurrently implemented management practices-partial revegetation and control of livestock grazing-aimed at enhancing the vegetation structure, biodiversity value, and water quality of farm dams. We found that excluding livestock for even short periods resulted in increased vegetation cover. Relative to unenhanced dams (such as those that remained unfenced), those that had been enhanced for several years were characterized by reduced levels of turbidity, nutrients, and fecal contamination. Enhanced dams also supported increased richness and abundance of macroinvertebrates. In contrast, unenhanced control dams tended to have high abundance of a few macroinvertebrate taxa. Notably, differences remained between the macroinvertebrate assemblages of enhanced dams and nearby "natural" waterbodies that we monitored as reference sites. While the biodiversity value of semilotic, natural waterbodies in the region cannot be replicated by artificial lentic systems, we consider the extensive system of farm dams in the region to represent a novel ecosystem that may nonetheless support some native macroinvertebrates. Our results show that management interventions such as fencing and grazing control can improve water quality in farm dams, improve vegetation structure around farm dams, and support greater abundance and diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates.

The value of estuarine producers to fisheries: A case study of Richmond River Estuary.

Nutrient input from estuarine producers underpins coastal fisheries production and knowing which producers are the most responsible for fish diet helps effectively protect and restore coastal ecosystems. Focussing on the Richmond River in Australia as a case study, we sampled the main estuarine producers and estimated their proportional contributions of nutritional input to seven commercially important fisheries species using Bayesian isotope mixing models. We valued the dietary input of estuarine producers to the commercial fisheries by combining dietary contribution estimates with total annual catch data from commercial fishers. A conservative estimate is that estuarine producers in the Richmond River Estuary contribute at least 82 725 kg (78%) of the total annual catch of the seven commercially important fish with an estimated annual value of $AU 450 117. Sea mullet and Mud crab contributed 95% of the total catch, and 93% of the total value assigned to estuarine producers. The two highest valued estuarine producers were tidal marsh (Juncus kraussii) $AU 82 432 and seagrass (Zostera capricorni) $AU 65 423. This study demonstrates the substantial role of estuarine producers to commercial fisheries production and the fisheries economy more broadly. With large areas of estuarine producers under threat globally from land clearing for agriculture, aquaculture and urbanisation, the results presented here provide evidence to support the value of coastal habitats and benefits of their preservation and restoration.

DE LO RURAL A LO URBANO: EL CASO DE DOS PROVINCIAS DE LA REGIÓN CAPITAL COMO GEOGRAFÍA DE LA TRANSFORMACIÓN SOCIOAMBIENTAL. PERCEPCIONES DESDE LA COMUNIDAD / FROM THE RURAL TO THE URBAN: THE CASE OF TWO PROVIINCES IN THE CAPITAL REGION AS THE SOCIO ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHY TRANSFORMATION. INSIGHTS FROM THE COMMUNITY

Objetivo: Presentar algunos hallazgos relacionados con el proceso de integración regional Bogotá-Cundinamarca en el periodo 2000-2010, en particular la dimensión ambiental, en las provincias de sabana occidente y sabana centro que hacen parte de esta región. Metodología: El estudio se basa en el análisis de los cambios presentados en el ambiente natural de los territorios objeto de estudio, durante el periodo de tiempo considerado (2000-2010), desde la perspectiva de los actores del mismo. En este caso, a través de ejercicios de participación en talleres realizados en los municipios objeto de estudio con dichos actores (representados en organizaciones sociales que tienen presencia allí) e incluyó recorridos en dichos territorios. Se pretende construir colectivamente información y conocimiento, planteando una línea del tiempo en la que los actores reconozcan momentos clave con referencia a dos grandes fenómenos que se presentaron: asentamientos humanos (urbanización) y entrada de empresas. Esta línea abarca la primera década del presente siglo. Resultados: La investigación intenta mostrar que dos elementos: asentamientos urbanos y entrada de empresas, son las dinámicas antrópicas que impactan los territorios, olvidando el elemento agua, como eje fundamental sobre el cual debería ordenarse el territorio. De ello se deriva que la misma comunidad reconoce que el ordenamiento del territorio nunca consultó sus intereses.

Objective: regional integration in the period 2000-2010, particularly the environmental dimension in the Western and Central Bogotá-Cundinamarca Savannah. Methodology: The study is based on the analysis of the changes shown in the natural environment of the territories under study during the period considered (2000-2010) from their actors' perception..In this case, through the participation exercises in workshops carried out in the municipalities under study with those actors (represented in social organizations present in the area), and included tours around those territories It is intended to collectively build information and knowledge presenting a timeline in which the actors recognize key moments with reference to two major events: Human Settlements (urbanization) and enterprise arrival. This line comprises the first decade of the current century. Results: The research attempts to show that two elements, urban settlements and enterprises arrival, are the anthropic dynamics that impact the territories forgetting the water element as the fundamental axis from which the territory should be planned. From this it is derived that the community recognizes that land use planning never consulted their interests.