The word nomad, etymologically from the Greek word for pasture, evokes images of a pastoral lands... more The word nomad, etymologically from the Greek word for pasture, evokes images of a pastoral landscape, a culture that relocates periodically, and suggests also that people's movement might occur in accordance with "rhythms of the landscape." Nomadic cultures, particularly those which survive today in the face of increasing cultural homogeneity, have long held a fascination for more settled cultures. NOMAD is not however, an anthropological investigation of differing nomadic cultures and their representation. Rather, the use of nomad as a theme for this issue provides the opportunity to conceive of the idea of nomad more broadly through themes of travel, movement, memory, displacement, imposition of boundaries and ideas about home, Diaspora and belonging. The nomad is at once the versatile intellectual, the wandering revolutionary, the environmental studies student, the cyber junky, the canoe tripper, and so on. His or her engagement with language, thought, praxis and interaction relates to differing notions about stillness, fixedness or movement through particular spaces. As revealed by Deleuze and Guattari, Nomadism extends our subjectivity through an understanding of the rootless self that both informs and is informed by the spaces of becoming. The delineation between the nomadic and the fixed gives way when thinking about movement more generally. One could consider the ways in which technological devices virtually transport us from one space to another, or how the global commodity market and the politics of space affect the ability and freedom of people to move as they please. Geographical movements are not necessarily occasioned by choice. War, genocide, exile, deportation, or displacement caused by famine, drought, and disasters (such as the recent tsunami in Southeast Asia) provide us with further understanding of nomadic tendencies, broadening our understanding of who can be considered a nomad. In his paper, Towards a 'Nomadicity': Embodied Movement in the Modern Metropolis, Jay Worthing makes meaning out of geography, place, and space. The concept 'nomad' necessitates envisioning locations and boundaries, differentiating here from there and placing human beings and their movements in relation to landscape and to language. Bruce Erickson's work, Mapping Security: Writing the Trace of Nation, presents an understanding of the written word as augment to the spoken word and the map as a supplement to our interaction with nature. The nomadic quality of representation cannot be overlooked. Nomad forever reveals itself in the vicissitudes that elude signification. Nature is always on the move and an understanding of nature is correspondingly fluid. This year, the nomadic theme is particularly timely as the Faculty of Environmental Studies, in which UnderCurrents is situated, moved into a new building on the York University campus. Since the move, faculty and students have engaged in a number of projects aimed at 'transforming space into place'. Through the creation of murals, the growing of indoor plants and the installation of bannerlike hand-knit scarves, students and faculty seek to create a sense of community as we move in and out of our daily appointments, classes, and meetings. As this year's graduates move on and next year's students move in, we witness further transience and are left with the continuing reconsideration of how the achievement of inclusion and the creation of 'place' can occur. Many thanks to all who contributed to NOMAD: to those whose submissions follow, to those in layout and editing and to members of the editorial board and the editorial collective. Enjoy your journey as you voyage through UnderCurrents' volume 14, NOMAD. g
As an ecologically significant area, the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor in south-central Co... more As an ecologically significant area, the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor in south-central Costa Rica is intended to protect biodiversity through sustainable land use management and ecological restoration. In support of this goal, in 2008 we undertook an analysis of forest cover and land use in the corridor to assess the degree of change since 1998. Our intent was to identify trends that may limit the protection of biodiversity, and to recommend conservation strategies. We verified and digitized forest patches >5 ha and adjacent land uses from a high-resolution satellite image for 2008. This data was compared to land use and forest cover data from 1998 using visual analyses and spatial statistics to measure patch size, connectivity and shape. Our results show that the corridor has lost 19% of its forest cover since 1998, with a corresponding decrease in average forest patch size from 92 ha in 1998 to 78 ha in 2008, and a 15% reduction in core habitat area. Land use data indic...
As an ecologically significant area, the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor in south-central Co... more As an ecologically significant area, the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor in south-central Costa Rica is intended to protect biodiversity through sustainable land use management and ecological restoration. In support of this goal, in 2008 we undertook an analysis of forest cover and land use in the corridor to assess the degree of change since 1998. Our intent was to identify trends that may limit the protection of biodiversity, and to recommend conservation strategies. We verified and digitized forest patches >5 ha and adjacent land uses from a high-resolution satellite image for 2008. This data was compared to land use and forest cover data from 1998 using visual analyses and spatial statistics to measure patch size, connectivity and shape. Our results show that the corridor has lost 19% of its forest cover since 1998, with a corresponding decrease in average forest patch size from 92 ha in 1998 to 78 ha in 2008, and a 15% reduction in core habitat area. Land use data indicate that shade-grown coffee plantations have decreased at the expense of increasing pasture, sugar, and pineapple plantations. The overall loss of forest since 1998, combined with increasingly intense land uses, suggests that the corridor is less able to sustain native species populations over time. Therefore, the ecological restoration of key areas will be essential for the long-term protection of biodiversity. Areas prioritized for restoration include non-forest patches located within large forest areas, buffering of small forest patches, and restoration of vegetated corridors along major rivers.
Key words: ecological restoration; geographic information systems; habitat fragmentation; land use change; tropical biodiversity.
Una década de cambio: evaluación de la cobertura boscosa y tendencias de uso de la tierra en el Corredor Biológico Alexander Skutch, Costa Rica
Resumen
El Corredor Biológico Alexander Skutch es un área de importancia ecológica ubicada en el sureste de Costa Rica destinada a la protección de la biodiversidad a través del manejo sostenible y la restauración ecológica. Con este objetivo, en el 2008 realizamos un análisis del cambio de la cobertura boscosa y el uso de la tierra en el corredor desde 1998. Nuestra intención era identificar las tendencias que pudieran limitar la protección de la biodiversidad y recomendar estrategias para la conservación. Verificamos y digitamos terrenos forestales (> 5 hectáreas) y los usos de las tierras adyacentes a partir de imágenes satélite de alta resolución del año 2008. Esta información fue comparada con los datos sobre el uso de la tierra y la cobertura boscosa de 1998 utilizando análisis visuales y estadísticas espaciales para medir el tamaño de los terrenos, la conectividad y su forma. Nuestros resultados demuestran que el corredor ha perdido 19% de su cobertura boscosa desde 1998, con la correspondiente disminución del tamaño promedio de terrenos boscosos de 92 ha en 1998 a 78 ha en 2008, y una reducción del 15% en el área central de hábitat. Los datos de uso de la tierra indican que las plantaciones de café de sombra se han reducido a expensas del crecimiento de los pastos, el azúcar y las plantaciones de piña. La pérdida de cobertura boscosa desde 1998 y la intensificación de los usos de la tierra, indican que con el tiempo disminuirá la capacidad del corredor de mantener poblaciones de especies nativas. Por lo tanto, la restauración ecológica de áreas claves es esencial para asegurar la protección de la biodiversidad a largo plazo. Las áreas prioritarias para restauración incluyen los terrenos no boscosos ubicados dentro de las grandes áreas forestales, las zonas de separación entre pequeños terrenos de bosque y los corredores de vegetación a lo largo de los ríos principales.
Palabras clave: biodiversidad tropical; cambio de uso de la tierra; fragmentación del hábitat; restauración ecológica, sistemas de información geográfica.
The word nomad, etymologically from the Greek word for pasture, evokes images of a pastoral lands... more The word nomad, etymologically from the Greek word for pasture, evokes images of a pastoral landscape, a culture that relocates periodically, and suggests also that people's movement might occur in accordance with "rhythms of the landscape." Nomadic cultures, particularly those which survive today in the face of increasing cultural homogeneity, have long held a fascination for more settled cultures. NOMAD is not however, an anthropological investigation of differing nomadic cultures and their representation. Rather, the use of nomad as a theme for this issue provides the opportunity to conceive of the idea of nomad more broadly through themes of travel, movement, memory, displacement, imposition of boundaries and ideas about home, Diaspora and belonging. The nomad is at once the versatile intellectual, the wandering revolutionary, the environmental studies student, the cyber junky, the canoe tripper, and so on. His or her engagement with language, thought, praxis and interaction relates to differing notions about stillness, fixedness or movement through particular spaces. As revealed by Deleuze and Guattari, Nomadism extends our subjectivity through an understanding of the rootless self that both informs and is informed by the spaces of becoming. The delineation between the nomadic and the fixed gives way when thinking about movement more generally. One could consider the ways in which technological devices virtually transport us from one space to another, or how the global commodity market and the politics of space affect the ability and freedom of people to move as they please. Geographical movements are not necessarily occasioned by choice. War, genocide, exile, deportation, or displacement caused by famine, drought, and disasters (such as the recent tsunami in Southeast Asia) provide us with further understanding of nomadic tendencies, broadening our understanding of who can be considered a nomad. In his paper, Towards a 'Nomadicity': Embodied Movement in the Modern Metropolis, Jay Worthing makes meaning out of geography, place, and space. The concept 'nomad' necessitates envisioning locations and boundaries, differentiating here from there and placing human beings and their movements in relation to landscape and to language. Bruce Erickson's work, Mapping Security: Writing the Trace of Nation, presents an understanding of the written word as augment to the spoken word and the map as a supplement to our interaction with nature. The nomadic quality of representation cannot be overlooked. Nomad forever reveals itself in the vicissitudes that elude signification. Nature is always on the move and an understanding of nature is correspondingly fluid. This year, the nomadic theme is particularly timely as the Faculty of Environmental Studies, in which UnderCurrents is situated, moved into a new building on the York University campus. Since the move, faculty and students have engaged in a number of projects aimed at 'transforming space into place'. Through the creation of murals, the growing of indoor plants and the installation of bannerlike hand-knit scarves, students and faculty seek to create a sense of community as we move in and out of our daily appointments, classes, and meetings. As this year's graduates move on and next year's students move in, we witness further transience and are left with the continuing reconsideration of how the achievement of inclusion and the creation of 'place' can occur. Many thanks to all who contributed to NOMAD: to those whose submissions follow, to those in layout and editing and to members of the editorial board and the editorial collective. Enjoy your journey as you voyage through UnderCurrents' volume 14, NOMAD. g
As an ecologically significant area, the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor in south-central Co... more As an ecologically significant area, the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor in south-central Costa Rica is intended to protect biodiversity through sustainable land use management and ecological restoration. In support of this goal, in 2008 we undertook an analysis of forest cover and land use in the corridor to assess the degree of change since 1998. Our intent was to identify trends that may limit the protection of biodiversity, and to recommend conservation strategies. We verified and digitized forest patches >5 ha and adjacent land uses from a high-resolution satellite image for 2008. This data was compared to land use and forest cover data from 1998 using visual analyses and spatial statistics to measure patch size, connectivity and shape. Our results show that the corridor has lost 19% of its forest cover since 1998, with a corresponding decrease in average forest patch size from 92 ha in 1998 to 78 ha in 2008, and a 15% reduction in core habitat area. Land use data indic...
As an ecologically significant area, the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor in south-central Co... more As an ecologically significant area, the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor in south-central Costa Rica is intended to protect biodiversity through sustainable land use management and ecological restoration. In support of this goal, in 2008 we undertook an analysis of forest cover and land use in the corridor to assess the degree of change since 1998. Our intent was to identify trends that may limit the protection of biodiversity, and to recommend conservation strategies. We verified and digitized forest patches >5 ha and adjacent land uses from a high-resolution satellite image for 2008. This data was compared to land use and forest cover data from 1998 using visual analyses and spatial statistics to measure patch size, connectivity and shape. Our results show that the corridor has lost 19% of its forest cover since 1998, with a corresponding decrease in average forest patch size from 92 ha in 1998 to 78 ha in 2008, and a 15% reduction in core habitat area. Land use data indicate that shade-grown coffee plantations have decreased at the expense of increasing pasture, sugar, and pineapple plantations. The overall loss of forest since 1998, combined with increasingly intense land uses, suggests that the corridor is less able to sustain native species populations over time. Therefore, the ecological restoration of key areas will be essential for the long-term protection of biodiversity. Areas prioritized for restoration include non-forest patches located within large forest areas, buffering of small forest patches, and restoration of vegetated corridors along major rivers.
Key words: ecological restoration; geographic information systems; habitat fragmentation; land use change; tropical biodiversity.
Una década de cambio: evaluación de la cobertura boscosa y tendencias de uso de la tierra en el Corredor Biológico Alexander Skutch, Costa Rica
Resumen
El Corredor Biológico Alexander Skutch es un área de importancia ecológica ubicada en el sureste de Costa Rica destinada a la protección de la biodiversidad a través del manejo sostenible y la restauración ecológica. Con este objetivo, en el 2008 realizamos un análisis del cambio de la cobertura boscosa y el uso de la tierra en el corredor desde 1998. Nuestra intención era identificar las tendencias que pudieran limitar la protección de la biodiversidad y recomendar estrategias para la conservación. Verificamos y digitamos terrenos forestales (> 5 hectáreas) y los usos de las tierras adyacentes a partir de imágenes satélite de alta resolución del año 2008. Esta información fue comparada con los datos sobre el uso de la tierra y la cobertura boscosa de 1998 utilizando análisis visuales y estadísticas espaciales para medir el tamaño de los terrenos, la conectividad y su forma. Nuestros resultados demuestran que el corredor ha perdido 19% de su cobertura boscosa desde 1998, con la correspondiente disminución del tamaño promedio de terrenos boscosos de 92 ha en 1998 a 78 ha en 2008, y una reducción del 15% en el área central de hábitat. Los datos de uso de la tierra indican que las plantaciones de café de sombra se han reducido a expensas del crecimiento de los pastos, el azúcar y las plantaciones de piña. La pérdida de cobertura boscosa desde 1998 y la intensificación de los usos de la tierra, indican que con el tiempo disminuirá la capacidad del corredor de mantener poblaciones de especies nativas. Por lo tanto, la restauración ecológica de áreas claves es esencial para asegurar la protección de la biodiversidad a largo plazo. Las áreas prioritarias para restauración incluyen los terrenos no boscosos ubicados dentro de las grandes áreas forestales, las zonas de separación entre pequeños terrenos de bosque y los corredores de vegetación a lo largo de los ríos principales.
Palabras clave: biodiversidad tropical; cambio de uso de la tierra; fragmentación del hábitat; restauración ecológica, sistemas de información geográfica.
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Key words: ecological restoration; geographic information systems; habitat fragmentation; land use change; tropical biodiversity.
Una década de cambio: evaluación de la cobertura boscosa y tendencias de uso de la tierra en el Corredor Biológico Alexander Skutch, Costa Rica
Resumen
El Corredor Biológico Alexander Skutch es un área de importancia ecológica ubicada en el sureste de Costa Rica destinada a la protección de la biodiversidad a través del manejo sostenible y la restauración ecológica. Con este objetivo, en el 2008 realizamos un análisis del cambio de la cobertura boscosa y el uso de la tierra en el corredor desde 1998. Nuestra intención era identificar las tendencias que pudieran limitar la protección de la biodiversidad y recomendar estrategias para la conservación. Verificamos y digitamos terrenos forestales (> 5 hectáreas) y los usos de las tierras adyacentes a partir de imágenes satélite de alta resolución del año 2008. Esta información fue comparada con los datos sobre el uso de la tierra y la cobertura boscosa de 1998 utilizando análisis visuales y estadísticas espaciales para medir el tamaño de los terrenos, la conectividad y su forma. Nuestros resultados demuestran que el corredor ha perdido 19% de su cobertura boscosa desde 1998, con la correspondiente disminución del tamaño promedio de terrenos boscosos de 92 ha en 1998 a 78 ha en 2008, y una reducción del 15% en el área central de hábitat. Los datos de uso de la tierra indican que las plantaciones de café de sombra se han reducido a expensas del crecimiento de los pastos, el azúcar y las plantaciones de piña. La pérdida de cobertura boscosa desde 1998 y la intensificación de los usos de la tierra, indican que con el tiempo disminuirá la capacidad del corredor de mantener poblaciones de especies nativas. Por lo tanto, la restauración ecológica de áreas claves es esencial para asegurar la protección de la biodiversidad a largo plazo. Las áreas prioritarias para restauración incluyen los terrenos no boscosos ubicados dentro de las grandes áreas forestales, las zonas de separación entre pequeños terrenos de bosque y los corredores de vegetación a lo largo de los ríos principales.
Palabras clave: biodiversidad tropical; cambio de uso de la tierra; fragmentación del hábitat; restauración ecológica, sistemas de información geográfica.
Key words: ecological restoration; geographic information systems; habitat fragmentation; land use change; tropical biodiversity.
Una década de cambio: evaluación de la cobertura boscosa y tendencias de uso de la tierra en el Corredor Biológico Alexander Skutch, Costa Rica
Resumen
El Corredor Biológico Alexander Skutch es un área de importancia ecológica ubicada en el sureste de Costa Rica destinada a la protección de la biodiversidad a través del manejo sostenible y la restauración ecológica. Con este objetivo, en el 2008 realizamos un análisis del cambio de la cobertura boscosa y el uso de la tierra en el corredor desde 1998. Nuestra intención era identificar las tendencias que pudieran limitar la protección de la biodiversidad y recomendar estrategias para la conservación. Verificamos y digitamos terrenos forestales (> 5 hectáreas) y los usos de las tierras adyacentes a partir de imágenes satélite de alta resolución del año 2008. Esta información fue comparada con los datos sobre el uso de la tierra y la cobertura boscosa de 1998 utilizando análisis visuales y estadísticas espaciales para medir el tamaño de los terrenos, la conectividad y su forma. Nuestros resultados demuestran que el corredor ha perdido 19% de su cobertura boscosa desde 1998, con la correspondiente disminución del tamaño promedio de terrenos boscosos de 92 ha en 1998 a 78 ha en 2008, y una reducción del 15% en el área central de hábitat. Los datos de uso de la tierra indican que las plantaciones de café de sombra se han reducido a expensas del crecimiento de los pastos, el azúcar y las plantaciones de piña. La pérdida de cobertura boscosa desde 1998 y la intensificación de los usos de la tierra, indican que con el tiempo disminuirá la capacidad del corredor de mantener poblaciones de especies nativas. Por lo tanto, la restauración ecológica de áreas claves es esencial para asegurar la protección de la biodiversidad a largo plazo. Las áreas prioritarias para restauración incluyen los terrenos no boscosos ubicados dentro de las grandes áreas forestales, las zonas de separación entre pequeños terrenos de bosque y los corredores de vegetación a lo largo de los ríos principales.
Palabras clave: biodiversidad tropical; cambio de uso de la tierra; fragmentación del hábitat; restauración ecológica, sistemas de información geográfica.