In book: Ecotourism : A Guide for Planners and Managers (Vol. 2)Publisher: The Ecotourism Society, 1998
Protected areas play an important role in the evolving challenge of maintaining a sustainable wor... more Protected areas play an important role in the evolving challenge of maintaining a sustainable world. Not only do they provide refuges for biological diversity, but they play an equally significant role in the changing economic and social basis of local communities and nations. That protected areas are increasingly becoming a source of tourist revenue is not surprising. In many cases, such as the community baboon sanctuary in Belize or Kinabalu Park in Malaysia, entrance fees and other revenues from visitors not only maintain the cost of management but also provide the local community with additional income that then provides incentive for continued protection. The income derived from the protected area, and the attachments people form with the area, often become an important component of the local community. However, the cultural and economic effects of protected areas and their management may disproportionately impact the local community, perhaps leading to resentment toward the park. Actions affecting the protected area may be controversial because of those effects. Conducting consultation and achieving the support of local constituencies will be essential to the success of any protected area planning effort.
Federal and state wildlife managers have endeavored to reduce populations of cormorants on Lake C... more Federal and state wildlife managers have endeavored to reduce populations of cormorants on Lake Champlain since 1999. These efforts have relied on the presumption of a nuisance species attitude toward cormorants shared among the public. We employed the concept of attitude strength to explore beliefs, sentiments, and intentions that different recreational groups hold toward cormorants, and to gauge the social acceptability of population control on Lake Champlain. Results confirmed that people generally agreed with the nuisance species label. Overall attitudes toward cormorants leaned toward the negative side, and respondents tended to support hazing of nesting birds, egg oiling, and even state-sponsored shooting as population control measures. Strongest objections to cormorants came from anglers and lakeshore homeowners, whereas boaters and conservation group members were more ambivalent about cormorants and population control measures. Moreover, when analyzing attitude strength dimensions, results showed that overall ambivalence about cormorants was prevalent, negative attitudes may be based in cultural differences and social class, and those with the strongest negative attitudes may be fitting knowledge to attitudes.
This review explores the recent development of research on rainbow herbicides as chemical weapons... more This review explores the recent development of research on rainbow herbicides as chemical weapons and the geographies of chemical warfare in what is now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. While the use and impacts of Agent Orange have previously been well documented, the production and extensive application of five other rainbow agents by the United States military has only recently been investigated in detail. What is exceptional about this research of chemical warfare landscapes is that the 23 refereed journal publications in this review were designed, implemented, and published in a unique collective research project by Ken Olson and a Merry Band of Military Retirees. Their groundbreaking research portfolio includes many geographical dimensions and the political ecology of chemical warfare. This includes the extensive exposure of civilians in Vietnam to these chemical agents, exposure of US military personnel in Southeast Asia and Panama, exposure of civilians near the private industrial sites that produced these rainbow agents in North America and the hazardous soil contamination that perseveres at these sites in Vietnam and the US. Given this impressive research depth and global scope, this review explores the unique way this research portfolio was developed by a Merry Band of Retirees through an interview with its leader, Ken Olson. It examines the goals and ethical orientation of these military veterans, the political ecology involved, the creative strategies they utilized to produce this innovative research, and how they changed the way Veterans exposed to chemical warfare agents are treated by the US government.
The relationships between housing programs and elite social classes are fundamental to understand... more The relationships between housing programs and elite social classes are fundamental to understanding contemporary urban development and hegemony in Latin America. This investigation of the territorial development process starts by examining the distinct class interests within different urban regions of Nicaragua. It then dissects how the Somoza dictatorship instituted "disaster capitalism" after the violent Managua earthquake in 1972. A key feature in this political ecology was state housing programs and the complex manner in which they were transformed into a lucrative "cash cow" for the Somocistas. Next, it analyzes the way in which the profits from housing were used as venture capital in a broader national strategy to secure the class hegemony of this group. Finally, the implications of this case study for the development of Latin American cities are explored.
For centuries American Indians have been an object of Western fascination. All too often this fas... more For centuries American Indians have been an object of Western fascination. All too often this fascination has been an invented view of Indian people. This is especially evident with the recent movement of Indians to urban areas within the United States and Canada. Not only ...
This research project was funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency to identify the socio-... more This research project was funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency to identify the socio-economic character and tourism economy of the Lake Champlain Basin and interpret its relations in the Management of Lake Champlain.
In book: Ecotourism : A Guide for Planners and Managers (Vol. 2)Publisher: The Ecotourism Society, 1998
Protected areas play an important role in the evolving challenge of maintaining a sustainable wor... more Protected areas play an important role in the evolving challenge of maintaining a sustainable world. Not only do they provide refuges for biological diversity, but they play an equally significant role in the changing economic and social basis of local communities and nations. That protected areas are increasingly becoming a source of tourist revenue is not surprising. In many cases, such as the community baboon sanctuary in Belize or Kinabalu Park in Malaysia, entrance fees and other revenues from visitors not only maintain the cost of management but also provide the local community with additional income that then provides incentive for continued protection. The income derived from the protected area, and the attachments people form with the area, often become an important component of the local community. However, the cultural and economic effects of protected areas and their management may disproportionately impact the local community, perhaps leading to resentment toward the park. Actions affecting the protected area may be controversial because of those effects. Conducting consultation and achieving the support of local constituencies will be essential to the success of any protected area planning effort.
Federal and state wildlife managers have endeavored to reduce populations of cormorants on Lake C... more Federal and state wildlife managers have endeavored to reduce populations of cormorants on Lake Champlain since 1999. These efforts have relied on the presumption of a nuisance species attitude toward cormorants shared among the public. We employed the concept of attitude strength to explore beliefs, sentiments, and intentions that different recreational groups hold toward cormorants, and to gauge the social acceptability of population control on Lake Champlain. Results confirmed that people generally agreed with the nuisance species label. Overall attitudes toward cormorants leaned toward the negative side, and respondents tended to support hazing of nesting birds, egg oiling, and even state-sponsored shooting as population control measures. Strongest objections to cormorants came from anglers and lakeshore homeowners, whereas boaters and conservation group members were more ambivalent about cormorants and population control measures. Moreover, when analyzing attitude strength dimensions, results showed that overall ambivalence about cormorants was prevalent, negative attitudes may be based in cultural differences and social class, and those with the strongest negative attitudes may be fitting knowledge to attitudes.
This review explores the recent development of research on rainbow herbicides as chemical weapons... more This review explores the recent development of research on rainbow herbicides as chemical weapons and the geographies of chemical warfare in what is now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. While the use and impacts of Agent Orange have previously been well documented, the production and extensive application of five other rainbow agents by the United States military has only recently been investigated in detail. What is exceptional about this research of chemical warfare landscapes is that the 23 refereed journal publications in this review were designed, implemented, and published in a unique collective research project by Ken Olson and a Merry Band of Military Retirees. Their groundbreaking research portfolio includes many geographical dimensions and the political ecology of chemical warfare. This includes the extensive exposure of civilians in Vietnam to these chemical agents, exposure of US military personnel in Southeast Asia and Panama, exposure of civilians near the private industrial sites that produced these rainbow agents in North America and the hazardous soil contamination that perseveres at these sites in Vietnam and the US. Given this impressive research depth and global scope, this review explores the unique way this research portfolio was developed by a Merry Band of Retirees through an interview with its leader, Ken Olson. It examines the goals and ethical orientation of these military veterans, the political ecology involved, the creative strategies they utilized to produce this innovative research, and how they changed the way Veterans exposed to chemical warfare agents are treated by the US government.
The relationships between housing programs and elite social classes are fundamental to understand... more The relationships between housing programs and elite social classes are fundamental to understanding contemporary urban development and hegemony in Latin America. This investigation of the territorial development process starts by examining the distinct class interests within different urban regions of Nicaragua. It then dissects how the Somoza dictatorship instituted "disaster capitalism" after the violent Managua earthquake in 1972. A key feature in this political ecology was state housing programs and the complex manner in which they were transformed into a lucrative "cash cow" for the Somocistas. Next, it analyzes the way in which the profits from housing were used as venture capital in a broader national strategy to secure the class hegemony of this group. Finally, the implications of this case study for the development of Latin American cities are explored.
For centuries American Indians have been an object of Western fascination. All too often this fas... more For centuries American Indians have been an object of Western fascination. All too often this fascination has been an invented view of Indian people. This is especially evident with the recent movement of Indians to urban areas within the United States and Canada. Not only ...
This research project was funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency to identify the socio-... more This research project was funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency to identify the socio-economic character and tourism economy of the Lake Champlain Basin and interpret its relations in the Management of Lake Champlain.
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Papers by Bryan Higgins