Traffic lights for crop-based biofuels

This editorial was written while the author was a Raymond and Beverly Sackler research fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge, working on research funded by the Isaac Newton Trust and the RSPB. He assumes all responsibility for the opinions expressed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.This is the submitted version of the article. The final version is available at http://www.future-science.com/doi/abs/10.4155/bfs.10.83

Taxonomic status of the Liberian Greenbul Phyllastrephus leucolepis and the conservation importance of the Cavalla Forest, Liberia

We thank Jochen Martens for his long-lasting patience in dealing with the specimen of leucolepis, and Brian Hillcoat for comments and advice. It is hardly possible to thank by name all those who have supported WG over the past 30 years and more since 1981 in the fields of forest ecology and ornithology in eastern Liberia. In particular, we express gratitude to Alex Peal and Theo Freeman, both Heads of Wildlife and National Parks, for their many years of cooperation, and the Silviculture Officers Wynn Bryant, Momo Kromah and Steve Miapeh. The knowledge of the tree experts Joe Keper and Daniel Dorbor helped us to gain insights into the ecological complexities of the relationship between man, birds and trees. William Toe worked for three years as bird trapper and assistant in bird banding. WG’s attachment to the University of Liberia and to the students who so often accompanied him was made possible by Ben Karmorh from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and University of Liberia. NABU, the German Conservation Society, has supported the Liberian projects for almost 30 years now. We also thank Nigel Collar, Françoise Dowsett-Lemaire and Hannah Rowland for comments and advice. We thank the African Bird Club and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds for helping to fund the 2013 expedition to the Cavalla Forest, in particular Alice Ward-Francis, Robert Sheldon, Alan Williams and Keith Betton. We also are extremely grateful to Michael Garbo and staff of the Society for the Conservation of Nature in Liberia for all manner of help with the expedition, to Harrison Karnwea and colleagues at the Forest Development Authority of Liberia for permissions and other support, as well as to Emmanuel Loqueh, Trokon Grimes, Flomo Molubah and Amos ‘Dweh’ Dorbor for being such excellent companions in the field. YL performed the genetic work as part of her M.Sc. (Genetics) at the University of Aberdeen, whose support is acknowledged.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Crop expansion and conservation priorities in tropical countries

Expansion of cropland in tropical countries is one of the principal causes of biodiversity loss, and threatens to undermine progress towards meeting the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. To understand this threat better, we analysed data on crop distribution and expansion in 128 tropical countries, assessed changes in area of the main crops and mapped overlaps between conservation priorities and cultivation potential. Rice was the single crop grown over the largest area, especially in tropical forest biomes. Cropland in tropical countries expanded by c. 48,000 km2 per year from 1999–2008. The countries which added the greatest area of new cropland were Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Brazil. Soybeans and maize are the crops which expanded most in absolute area. Other crops with large increases included rice, sorghum, oil palm, beans, sugar cane, cow peas, wheat and cassava. Areas of high cultivation potential—while bearing in mind that political and socio-economic conditions can be as influential as biophysical ones—may be vulnerable to conversion in the future. These include some priority areas for biodiversity conservation in tropical countries (e.g., Frontier Forests and High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas), which have previously been identified as having ‘low vulnerability’, in particular in central Africa and northern Australia. There are also many other smaller areas which are important for biodiversity and which have high cultivation potential (e.g., in the fringes of the Amazon basin, in the Paraguayan Chaco, and in the savanna woodlands of the Sahel and East Africa). We highlight the urgent need for more effective sustainability standards and policies addressing both production and consumption of tropical commodities, including robust land-use planning in agricultural frontiers, establishment of new protected areas or REDD+ projects in places agriculture has not yet reached, and reduction or elimination of incentives for land-demanding bioenergy feedstock

Translating cognitive insights into effective conservation programs: reply to Schakner et al.

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2014.09.00

Suriname: Reconciling agricultural development and conservation of unique natural wealth

National and transboundary adverse effects of competition for land are being increasingly recognized by researchers and decision-makers, however the consideration of these impacts within national planning strategies is not yet commonplace. To estimate how increasing agricultural production can be conciliated with protection of natural resources at the national scale, we analyzed current land use in Suriname, and investigated opportunities for, and constraints to developing a sustainable agricultural sector. Suriname is a remarkable case study. To date, Suriname has retained most of its natural resources with forest areas covering over 90% of the country. Surinamese forests combine extremely high levels of both biodiversity and carbon, making them top priority from a global ecosystem services perspective. Among other national and international pressures from increased demand for agricultural products, the country is also considering significant expansion of agricultural output to both diminish imports and become a ‘bread basket’ for the Caribbean region, which collectively may pose risks to natural resources. In this study, combining locally-obtained primary data, expert consultation and secondary data from the Food and Agriculture Organization we analyzed a range of scenarios, we show the complexities associated with current land management and we discuss alternatives for developing a sustainable agricultural sector in Suriname. We show that Suriname can increase the production of rice, which is the most important agricultural activity in the country, without expanding rice area. Rather, future increase in rice production could be promoted through an increase in rice productivity, and the employment of more environmentally-favorable management methods, in order to both diminish pollution and avoid encroachment of the agriculture into pristine areas. Further, we show a potential to both contribute to greening of the agricultural sector and to higher economic returns through expanding the production of ‘safe food’ and through possible development of organic agriculture in Suriname. If Suriname develops a ‘greener’ agricultural sector, it may both increase economic returns from the agricultural sector and benefit from continuing protection of natural resources. Because most of Suriname forests present top levels of carbon and biodiversity, the country could benefit from so-called ‘early-action’ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) finance, which is already being paid mostly through bilateral agreements. Further, by adopting land-use planning that protects natural resources, Suriname may be in extraordinary position to benefit from both improved-quality agricultural production and from incentives to conserve forest carbon and biodiversity, such as payments for ecosystem services. Given the high stakes and the severe lack of both primary data and applied analyses in Suriname, further research focused on better informing land-use policies would be a valuable investment for the country. Although this analysis was performed for Suriname, conclusions drawn here are transferrable and may assist formulation of policy recommendations for land use elsewhere

Framing the relationship between people and nature in the context of European conservation

A key controversy in conservation is the framing of the relationship between people and nature. The extent to which the realms of nature and human culture are viewed as separate (dualistic view) or integrated is often discussed in the social sciences. To explore how this relationship is represented in the practice of conservation in Europe, we considered examples of cultural landscapes, wildlife (red deer, reindeer, horses), and protected area management. We found little support, for a dualistic worldview, where people and nature are regarded as separate in the traditional practice of conservation in Europe. The borders between nature and culture, wild and domestic, public land and private land, and between protected areas and the wider landscape were blurred and dynamic. The institutionalized (in practice and legislation) view is of an interactive mutualistic system in which humans and nature share the whole landscape. However, more dualistic ideals, such as wilderness and rewilding that are challenging established practices are expanding. In the context of modern day Europe, wilderness conservation and rewilding are not valid for the whole landscape, although it is possible to integrate some areas of low-intervention management into a wider matrix. A precondition for success is to recognize and plan for a plurality of values concerning the most valid approaches to conservation and to plan for this plurality at the landscape scale

TRUSTS - HONORARY TRUST - AUTHORITY OF A SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE

Paragraph 24 of testatrix\u27 will gave to the executor and trustee, appointed under the will, $10,000 \u27\u27to be used by him to place a memorial window, or some other memorials, to cost any sum in his discretion up to the sum of One thousand Dollars, in Christ Church Cathedral, at St. Louis, Mo., and to place monuments and markers in my family subdivision of the Clark and Glasgow plot in the Bellefontaine Cemetery, at St. Louis, Mo. Soon after testatrix\u27 death the trustee died. A successor trustee was appointed and by special order of the court was authorized to administer the trust created by paragraph 24. He spent$1000 for a church memorial window and $1732.60 for monuments. From the income of the remainder he paid premiums for insurance on a statue in the above named plot and made certain other expenditures. The successor trustee having died, residuary legatees now object to certain of the expenditures from the income, claiming that while the successor trustee could properly administer the trust, it terminated after he had selected and purchased the monuments. Held, a successor trustee could not be empowered by a court to make the expenditures designated by paragraph 24. Since no complaint was made to the expenditures for the memorial window and monuments but only to expenditures of income of the balance on hand, certain of those expenditures were surcharged against the account of the deceased successor trustee, including the amount for the insurance premiums on the statue. Estate of Julia Voorhis, (N. Y. Surr. Ct. 1941) 27 N. Y. S. (2d) 818

FRAUDULENT CONVEYANCES - RIGHT OF CREDITOR WHOSE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUED AFTER THE DEBTOR\u27S VOLUNTARY CONVEYANCE

On the morning following the accident in which plaintiff\u27s husband was struck and fatally injured by an auto owned and driven by defendant John Manning, the latter conveyed to his sister, Anna, his undivided one-half interest in certain realty, thereby making himself insolvent. About two and one-half weeks later, plaintiff\u27s husband died as a result of the accident, and plaintiff brought suit on behalf of herself and her daughter to recover damages for the wrongful death of her husband. Plaintiff recovered judgment, and then filed the present action to set aside the conveyance. The court so decreed, and defendants John and Anna appealed. One of their contentions was that, although after the collision there was a cause of action in the injured party which upon his death could have been prosecuted by the plaintiff as administratrix, her cause of action on her own behalf to recover for wrongful death did not accrue until the death, which was after the alleged fraudulent conveyance. Held, although the cause of action did not accrue until after the conveyance, plaintiff was entitled to have the fraudulent conveyance set aside. Edwards v. Manning, 137 Ohio St. 268, 28 N. E. (2d) 627 (1940)

TRADE MARKS AND TRADE NAMES - UNAUTHORIZED USE OF REGISTERED VESSELS - SEARCH WARRANT

A number of milk bottles bearing registered marks of various dairies were seized from the possession of plaintiff dairyman by defendant deputy sheriff, under a search warrant issued by defendant district judge, upon affidavit and showing by defendant deputy commissioner of agriculture that the bottles were being unlawfully used. Notice was given of a hearing to be held before the judge to determine the persons entitled to possession of the seized property. Plaintiff brought this action for an original writ of prohibition to restrain further proceedings, charging that the search warrant section of the statute under which the proceedings were authorized was unconstitutional. Held, the search warrant section of the statute violated the state constitutional provisions against unreasonable searches and seizures and against class legislation. Allen v. Trueman, (Utah, 1941) 110 P. (2d) 355