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Abstract Background To develop effective public health policies, programs, and services tailored to the unique sexual health needs of migrant populations, it is essential to understand the myriad socio-ecological factors that influence their sexual health. This qualitative community-based participatory study aimed to explore factors influencing migrants’ sexual health at different socio-ecological levels in a Canadian setting. Methods Participants (n = 34) from African, Caribbean, Black; Latin American; South Asian; Middle Eastern, as well as East and Southeast Asian communities were recruited across Manitoba using printed flyers, community organizations, and social media. Individual interviews, conducted in English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Arabic, Swahili, and Tigrinya languages, explored questions relating to sexual health and experiences with service providers. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and socio-ecological systems theory. Results The study uncovered a range of individual, interpersonal, institutional, and socio-structural factors that affect the sexual health of migrants in Manitoba. Individual factors such as sexual health knowledge and testing practices, interpersonal factors like the type of sexual partnerships, institutional factors such as sexual health information needs, language, and service access barriers, and structural-level factors like gender norms and HIV stigma exerted a significant influence on the sexual health practices of study respondents. Sexual health awareness was influenced by various factors including length of time in Canada and involvement in community-based services. Study respondents identified issues related to access to HIV testing and sexual health information, as well as language barriers, racism in healthcare, and HIV stigma. Gender and social norms played a significant role in discouraging communication about sex and safer sex practices. Conclusions The study highlights the complex interplay of factors that influence the sexual health of migrants, and the need for targeted sexual health awareness campaigns and provision of sexual health information in languages spoken by migrants. Public health interventions focused on improving the sexual health outcomes for migrants should consider the socio-ecological elements identified in this study. These findings can inform public health campaigns to increase access to services and address sexual health inequities among migrant communities in Canada.

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) aids ecosystem conservation and management. While recognising the importance of Western science and knowledge, we argue that TEK practices are not appreciated resulting in continued and accelerated degradation of ecosystem services. This is prevalent among rural communities who are disadvantaged as their livelihoods depend on these ecosystem services. Taking the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province in South Africa as a case study, we explored the TEK practices employed to conserve and manage savanna ecosystem services. Employing the socio-ecological analysis (SEA) theory, we examined the perception and value of savanna ecosystem services. Data were initially collected from interviews with a professional biodiversity expert, an academic biodiversity expert, and a professional archaeologist and cultural expert (n = 4). In phase two, interviews were conducted with tribal representatives, traditional leaders, and community members (n = 43) in the four villages of Ga-Dikgale, Ga-Matlala, Moletlane and Ga-Malebogo across Capricorn District Municipality. Field observations were also undertaken. The findings highlighted the interrelated forms of sociocultural practices for the conservation and management of savanna ecosystem services, including norms, taboos, myths, rules, and cultural lifestyles. There were age differences in valuing and using TEK where younger people perceived TEK as backward. They relied on Western scientific knowledge, which they lauded as contemporary and not in opposition with their religious values. In conclusion, TEK continued to provide best practices for ecosystem conservation and management. This was identified by the respect and attention from the community who were aware of TEK even if they did not practice the processes. However, TEK is under threat as rural communities become more urbanized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To develop effective public health policies, programs, and services tailored to the unique sexual health needs of migrant populations, it is essential to understand the myriad socio-ecological factors that influence their sexual health. This qualitative community-based participatory study aimed to explore factors influencing migrants' sexual health at different socio-ecological levels in a Canadian setting. Methods: Participants (n = 34) from African, Caribbean, Black; Latin American; South Asian; Middle Eastern, as well as East and Southeast Asian communities were recruited across Manitoba using printed flyers, community organizations, and social media. Individual interviews, conducted in English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Arabic, Swahili, and Tigrinya languages, explored questions relating to sexual health and experiences with service providers. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and socio-ecological systems theory. Results: The study uncovered a range of individual, interpersonal, institutional, and socio-structural factors that affect the sexual health of migrants in Manitoba. Individual factors such as sexual health knowledge and testing practices, interpersonal factors like the type of sexual partnerships, institutional factors such as sexual health information needs, language, and service access barriers, and structural-level factors like gender norms and HIV stigma exerted a significant influence on the sexual health practices of study respondents. Sexual health awareness was influenced by various factors including length of time in Canada and involvement in community-based services. Study respondents identified issues related to access to HIV testing and sexual health information, as well as language barriers, racism in healthcare, and HIV stigma. Gender and social norms played a significant role in discouraging communication about sex and safer sex practices. Conclusions: The study highlights the complex interplay of factors that influence the sexual health of migrants, and the need for targeted sexual health awareness campaigns and provision of sexual health information in languages spoken by migrants. Public health interventions focused on improving the sexual health outcomes for migrants should consider the socio-ecological elements identified in this study. These findings can inform public health campaigns to increase access to services and address sexual health inequities among migrant communities in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anarchic urbanization and land artificialization expose urban ecosystems and ecosystem services (ES) to threat. Urban ecosystems and trees play a crucial role in improving urban environments, and their management depends on the perceptions and preferences of urban residents. An assessment of the socio-ecological factors determining the perception of the actors allows for the proper design and planning of ecological urban policies and urban adaptation to climate change. The objective of this work was to determine the key determinants (factors) of urban stakeholders' perceptions of ES in generating socio-ecological information for planning and preservation of ecosystems in Cotonou municipality. In this way, we assessed the perception and discriminating variables of the different stakeholders of urban ES provided in the city of Cotonou. Thus, 381 city dwellers were individually interviewed after statistical sampling. Focus group discussions with the stakeholders also made it possible to highlight the ES provided in the different land use units (LU). The results show that 73.23% of the city dwellers agreed that they were aware of ecosystem services. The hierarchical classification shows two homogeneous groups of perceivers with ethnicity, age, and education as statistically discriminating sociological variables (pv ˂ 0.001). Urban dwellers in the city of Cotonou perceived more SEs in the cultural and regulatory services category significantly (pv < 0.001; v-test > 3). The principal component analysis (PCA) reveals the varying availability of ES according to the different LU in the city. It will be worthwhile to apply this study in the processes of decision-making in climate and environment policy planning for sustainable cities in Africa and all over the world because it adds scientific value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity loss is a consequence of socio-ecological processes. Observations on anthropogenic actions toward ecosystems coupled to observations on ecosystem metrics are needed to help understand these processes so that ecosystem management policies can be derived and implemented to curb such destruction. Such data needs to be maintained in searchable data portals. To this end, this article delivers a first-of-its-kind relational database of observations on coupled anthropogenic and ecosystem actions. This Ecosystem Management Actions Taxonomy (EMAT) database is founded on a taxonomy designed to support models of political-ecological processes. Structured query language scripts for building and querying these databases are described. The use of episodes in the construction of political-ecological theory is also introduced. These are frequently occurring sequences of political-ecological actions. Those episodes that test positive for causality can aid in improving a political-ecological theory by driving modifications to an attendant computational model so that it generates them. Two relational databases of political-ecological actions are described that are built from online news articles and published data on species abundance. The first concerns the management of the East African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) population, and the second is focused on the management of rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) in South Africa. The cheetah database is used to study the political drivers of cheetah habitat loss, and the rhino database is used study the political drivers of rhino poaching. An EMAT database is a fundamental breakthrough because is provides a language for conservation science to identify the objects and phenomena that it is about. Therefore, maintaining political-ecological data in EMAT databases will advance conservation science and consequently, improve management policies that are based on that science.

The South Pacific bay scallop Argopecten purpuratus represents a high‐value species harvested along the Peruvian and Chilean coastline for more than 60 years. Following the strong El Niño event of 1983/84, both countries experienced a boom in scallop fisheries, but catches dropped as soon as environmental conditions normalized. Aquaculture production began in Chile, which dominated the Latin American scallop market in the 1990s. Peruvian production remained small until the early 2000s, but has increased dramatically ever since, with a single location in northern Peru, Sechura Bay, contributing most (50%) to the Latin American scallop production. We review the historical trends of this species' production and analyse the ecological and socio‐economic factors that have favoured Sechura Bay's progress, and largely displaced Chilean production through dominance of the market. Advantageous environmental conditions in Sechura Bay (e.g. low water depths, higher temperatures, high natural seed supply) result in improved scallop growth and production, and the socio‐economic factors, causing lower operational costs than those of the Chilean production favoured this development. The bottom‐up initiation of aquaculture operations by small‐scale producers likely created a personal incentive for the long‐term sustainable use, which differs from the more industrialized aquaculture activities in Chile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Среди культурно обусловленных видов человеческой деятельности война предстает как устойчивый феномен. Подход, сложившийся в отечественной научной литературе, рассматривает войну упрощенно, акцентируя внимание на ее негативных последствиях: разрушении и уничтожении. Вместе с тем война представляет собой многомерное явление, требующее всестороннего анализа, в том числе социально-экологического. Истоки войны лежат в сфере культуры и никак не связаны с биологической природой человека. Война уходит корнями в эпоху палеолита, хотя настоящие войны появляются только в сложных стратифицированных обществах, производящих прибавочный продукт. Войны имеют различную причинность. Главной является борьба за власть, поскольку власть позволяет присваивать продукты труда других людей и целых обществ. В прошлом война сыграла определенную эволюционную роль. Долгое время она обеспечивала селективное распространение культурной информации и отбор более крупных и жизнеспособных социальных коллективов. Завоевательные войны увеличивали размеры обществ, расширяли ареал культурной однородности. Создание гомогенных культурных зон и мир, устанавливающийся в их пределах, способствовали кооперации и сотрудничеству все большего числа людей.

Some urbanising rural (i.e. 'amenity') landscapes have seen an increase in forest cover over recent decades. Small-acreage landowners are key stakeholders in this forest recovery and its future ecological trajectory. Using 17 qualitative case-studies of small-acreage properties located in the Noosa hinterland in south-east Queensland, this study explores the types and condition of forests on these properties, the landholder's differing forest management perspectives, practices and outcomes, and the implications for local biodiversity conservation. The properties contained a diverse mix of managed and un-managed natural and planted forests. Invasive weed species were a common component. Protecting and enhancing the ecological values of amenity landscapes will require an increase in active, best-practice forest management on small-acreage properties. Small-acreage landowners will require greater access to labour support and other subsidised resources to implement recommended practices. Such practices include controlling and reducing the spread of invasive weeds and soil erosion, reducing fire hazards, and positively influencing the rate and pathway of succession in regrowth forests. Peer-mentoring programs incorporating guided tours of 'model' small-acreage forests, and supporting landowners to establish their own small native plant nurseries and engage with local community nurseries (i.e. supplying seeds, volunteering labour), could help to increase small-acreage landowners' forest management interests, knowledge, skills and activity. Long-term cooperative, cross-boundary forest management projects with on-going monitoring and adaptive management guided or implemented by skilled professionals are needed in amenity landscapes, particularly to increase the success of restoration interventions in weed-dominated regrowth forests. There is also a need for long-term socio-ecological analyses of amenity landscapes' diverse and evolving small-acreage forests to better inform their future management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional planning approaches to mining infrastructure aim to reduce the conflict associated with mining operations and existing land uses, such as urban areas and biodiversity conservation, as well as the cumulative impacts that occur offsite. In this paper, we describe a method for conducting Geographical Information System (GIS) least-cost path and least-cost corridor analysis for linear mining infrastructure, such as roads. Least-cost path analysis identifies the optimal pathways between two locations as a function of the cost of traveling through different land use/cover types. In a case study from South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia, we identify potential linear networks for road infrastructure connecting mines, smelters, and ports. The method used interview data from government officials to characterise their orientation (perceived importance and positive/negative attitude) toward the social and environmental factors associated with mining infrastructure. A cost-surface was constructed by integrating spatial layers representing the social and environmental factors to identify areas that should be avoided and areas that were compatible with linear infrastructure using the least-cost path analysis. We compared infrastructure scenario outputs from local and national government officials by the degree of spatial overlap and found broad spatial agreement for infrastructure corridors. We conclude by discussing this approach in relation to the wider social-ecological and mine planning literature and how quantitative approaches can reduce the conflict associated with infrastructure planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional planning approaches to mining infrastructure aim to reduce the conflict associated with mining operations and existing land uses, such as urban areas and biodiversity conservation, as well as the cumulative impacts that occur offsite. In this paper, we describe a method for conducting Geographical Information System (GIS) least-cost path and least-cost corridor analysis for linear mining infrastructure, such as roads. Least-cost path analysis identifies the optimal pathways between two locations as a function of the cost of traveling through different land use/cover types. In a case study from South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia, we identify potential linear networks for road infrastructure connecting mines, smelters, and ports. The method used interview data from government officials to characterise their orientation (perceived importance and positive/negative attitude) toward the social and environmental factors associated with mining infrastructure. A cost-surface was constructed by integrating spatial layers representing the social and environmental factors to identify areas that should be avoided and areas that were compatible with linear infrastructure using the least-cost path analysis. We compared infrastructure scenario outputs from local and national government officials by the degree of spatial overlap and found broad spatial agreement for infrastructure corridors. We conclude by discussing this approach in relation to the wider social-ecological and mine planning literature and how quantitative approaches can reduce the conflict associated with infrastructure planning.