Publications: 2010–Present

Abstract: Sustainable use of natural resources in tropical regions is subject to more constraints than in temperate areas. Aggressive climates, fragile ecosystems, high population densities, inappropriate land use; and socio/political and economic uncertainties promote significant land and soil degradation and dictate high levels of community awareness of and compliance with conservation principles. In this chapter we discuss human factors that threaten natural resource stability and sustainability in the tropics; present available information on degradation extent and trends; provide some reasons for the insufficient adoption and conservation technologies by land users; suggest means for maximizing the harmony between production-driven and environmentally sensitive objectives of land use; and employ an "EcoTipping Points" perspective to present a case study from Thailand, in which agroforestry and community protection forests leveraged a turnabout from ecosystem degradation to restoration and sustainability.

Abstract: There were approximately 2,300 abandoned swimming pools in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, creating breeding habitat for Culex, Culiseta, and Anopheles mosquitoes on a massive scale. West Nile virus was a particularly serious concern. With 750 unmaintained swimming pools already containing fish from the Katrina floodwaters, Gambusia affinis were introduced to 1,278 of the remaining unmaintained pools during April-September 2006. Subsequent pool inspections revealed that fish were missing from 14% of those pools. The reasons were (a) stress experienced during transport to the swimming pools, (b) toxicity from rotting materials cast into the pools by the hurricane and flood, and (c) destruction of fish in pools that were drained and subsequently left to collect rainwater. Fish experienced massive deaths when homeowners dumped bleach in unmaintained pools to “clean them up,” but fish populations usually rebounded on their own. Gambusia introductions continued through 2007, and virtually all unmaintained pools contained lasting fish populations by the end of that year. During 2006-2008, larvae were observed in 2.2% of inspections of pools containing fish, compared to 36.0% of pools that did not contain fish. Ecological measurements revealed four swimming pool habitat types significant for mosquito larvae and fish. The “organic pollution” habitat type, created by decomposing branches and other organic debris, provided ideal habitat for Cx. quinquefasciatus larvae. Gambusia usually thrived in this habitat type, providing effective control except when toxicity from extreme pollution depressed fish populations. The “saline with floating pine needles” habitat type was particularly suitable for Anopheles and Cx. salinarius larvae. Anopheles larvae sometimes survived even with fish in the pool. The “oak leaves” habitat type was suitable for mosquito larvae of all species but poor habitat for fish. It sometimes contained Cx. quinquefasciatus or Anopheles larvae even when fish were in the pool. The “floating algal mats” habitat type was poor habitat for mosquito larvae and excellent for fish. Using the presence of mosquito larvae in pools without fish as an indicator of adult mosquito populations, the percentage of pools containing larvae declined from 53% during 2006 to 8% in 2007 and 6% in 2008. The number of West Nile virus cases in New Orleans followed the same pattern, declining from 12 cases in 2006 (which was much more than the years immediately preceding Katrina) to two cases each year during 2007-2008 and none since then. The decline from 2006 to 2007-2008 can be attributed in large part to the fact that the vast majority of unmaintained swimming pools in New Orleans contained fish by the end of 2006. Natural ecological succession during 2006 to 2008, which transformed pools from the “organic pollution” and “saline with floating pine needles” habitat types to “floating algal mats,” also contributed to the decline. This report concludes with recommendations based on lessons learned from the New Orleans experience: establishing a source of fish in advance; procedures for identifying houses with swimming pools; communication with residents; access to private property; ensuring that fish are healthy when introduced to pools; use of larvicides; cleaning trash out of pools; maintaining systematic records; supervision and training of volunteers; organizational self-sufficiency.

Overview: This article introduces the EcoTipping Points concept by examining environmental recovery efforts documented by the EcoTipping Points Project. It presents examples from the Philippines, Thailand, New York City, Utah, India, California, Mexico, and Germany to illustrate different ways communities have responded to interconnected environmental and social problems. Drawing comparisons across these cases, the article describes recurring features associated with shifts from reinforcing cycles of decline toward reinforcing cycles of recovery. It concludes by identifying characteristics shared among the cases, including outside stimulation and facilitation, strong local institutions and leadership, coordination between social and ecological systems, use of natural processes, rapid results, social and ecological diversity, learning from past experience, and building resilience.

Overview: This review examines Current Trends in Human Ecology, an edited collection based on presentations from the Society for Human Ecology’s 2007 international conference in Rio de Janeiro. It describes the book’s three sections, which address relationships between culture and environmental change, the application of human ecology to resource management, and topics including human health, fisheries, and human ecology education. Marten assesses the collection’s contribution to understanding sustainability while questioning how fully it reflects emerging directions in human ecology or provides practical responses to contemporary environmental challenges. The review uses the book as a starting point for a broader discussion of the role of human ecology as a field and the need to strengthen and communicate its practical contributions to sustainability.

Resumen: Este capítulo presenta el concepto de puntos de inflexión ecológica como una manera de comprender y abordar problemas ambientales complejos mediante la identificación de acciones capaces de transformar círculos viciosos de deterioro en círculos virtuosos de restauración. Examina en detalle la recuperación de la pesca y el ecosistema marino de la isla Apo, en Filipinas, y la transición de la aldea de Punukula, en India, hacia el manejo de plagas sin plaguicidas. También presenta otros casos de restauración ambiental y comunitaria y analiza características recurrentes que el autor identifica entre ellos. El capítulo explora además la aplicación de este enfoque a la deforestación en el sureste de Asia, utilizando los casos de Nakhon Sawan, Tailandia, y Sulawesi, Indonesia, para mostrar cómo los diagramas de retroalimentación y las experiencias de otros lugares pueden utilizarse para identificar posibles palancas de cambio.

Overview: This chapter presents the concept of EcoTipping Points as a way to understand and address complex environmental problems by identifying actions capable of shifting reinforcing cycles of decline toward reinforcing cycles of restoration. It examines in detail the recovery of the fishery and marine ecosystem at Apo Island in the Philippines and the transition of the village of Punukula, India, toward non-pesticidal pest management. It also presents other cases of environmental and community restoration and examines recurring characteristics that the author identifies among them. The chapter further explores application of the approach to deforestation in Southeast Asia, using cases from Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, and Sulawesi, Indonesia, to illustrate how feedback diagrams and experiences from other locations can be used to identify potential leverage points for change.

Abstract: The quantity of mosquito larval habitat in a specified area was assessed by placing a known number of ovitraps in the same area. The ovitraps competed for oviposition with the unknown quantity of larval habitat, and that quantity was deduced by comparing the number of eggs laid in the ovitraps when the number of ovitraps was changed from one time to another. This method can be used to assess the effectiveness of source reduction. It also provides key information for using ovitraps to eradicate local mosquito populations by competing with existing breeding sites for oviposition. The same ovitraps that are used for control can provide information on how many ovitraps are necessary to ensure eradication.

Overview: This article describes New Orleans’ use of Gambusia affinis to control mosquito larvae in thousands of unmaintained swimming pools following Hurricane Katrina. It traces the development and operation of the fish-introduction program, including locating abandoned pools, obtaining and transporting fish, monitoring their survival, and assessing mosquito populations in pools with and without fish. The article also examines ecological conditions that affected fish and mosquito larvae, research undertaken to improve the program, and operational challenges encountered during the post-disaster response. It concludes by describing lessons from the New Orleans experience for mosquito control and disaster-readiness planning, including fish supply and handling, pool surveillance, recordkeeping, public communication, volunteer coordination, and follow-up monitoring.

Overview: At the end of 2012 a “food resilience” working group was organized in the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) to explore and frame food resilience – the capacity to prevent or deal with possible crises in food supply – in a way that points to what environmental scientists and teachers can do through research, education, community action, or other means to help make the North American food system more resilient. The working group’s first “product” was three sessions on food resilience at the AESS annual conference. This publication is a complete record of the presentations and discussions in those sessions.

Abstract: Gambusia affinis was introduced to approximately 1500 unmaintained swimming pools that provided breeding habitat for Culex and Anopheles mosquitoes. Because subsequent inspections revealed that fish were missing from 14% of those pools, an ecological study was conducted to clarify what was responsible. The study revealed four habitats of particular significance for fish and mosquito control. The “organic pollution” habitat, created by decomposing organic debris, was ideal for Cx. quinquefasciatus larvae. Gambusia appeared to tolerate low oxygen associated with severe pollution, but high ammonia concentrations were detrimental. If pollution was light, fish thrived and provided effective larval control; however, if pollution was severe, fish populations were depressed and mosquito control was incomplete. The “saline lake water” habitat was particularly suitable for Anopheles and Cx. salinarius larvae. Fish thrived, but Anopheles larvae sometimes survived with fish in a pool because floating debris such as pine needles provided refuge from fish predation. The “oak leaves” habitat was suitable for both Culex and Anopheles larvae but poor for fish, sometimes containing mosquito larvae even when fish were in a pool. The “floating algal mats” habitat was poor for mosquito larvae and excellent for fish. There was a natural reduction in mosquito production from 2006 to 2008 as ecological succession transformed pools from “organic pollution” and “saline lake water” to “floating algal mats.”

Overview: In 2015, the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences published a two-part Symposium on American Food Resilience. The 27 articles in the symposium explore the vulnerability and resilience of food production and distribution from a variety of perspectives, providing a wealth of material that can be used by researchers, teachers, practitioners, and policymakers in their own circumstances.

Abstract: The resilience of the American food supply—the ability of the food system to withstand shocks or stresses that could lead to disruption or collapse—is a matter of genuine concern. While all seems well with supermarkets stocked to the brim, changes in the food system and our environment during recent decades have created risks that are no longer hypothetical possibilities. They are with us now. The 27 articles in the Symposium on American Food Resilience explore the vulnerability and resilience of food production and distribution from a diversity of perspectives. Four central questions provide a framework for the exploration:

• What are the main lines of vulnerability?
• What are leverage points for reducing the risks and improving the capacity to deal with breakdowns if they occur?
• What is already being done by government, civil society, and the private sector to reduce the risks?
• What can scientists, teachers, and other environmental and food system professionals do through research, education, community action, or other means to make the food system and food supply more resilient?

Some of the articles use case studies that highlight various kinds of disturbances: influenza pandemic, war, nuclear-reactor catastrophe, natural disasters (e.g., floods and earthquakes), and crop failure due to drought or other climatic perturbations. Lessons for improving resilience are drawn from the experiences. Other articles examine the significance of globalization, food system consolidation, diversity, and food storage; the interplay of efficiency, adaptive capacity, sustainability, and resilience; the potential and limitations of local or regional food systems to compensate for shortcomings in the mainstream food system; organizational learning and networking, integrating local food systems with the mainstream, channeling promising innovations into the mainstream; and success stories and the lessons they offer. The articles afford a wealth of material that can be mined by researchers, teachers, practitioners, and policy makers for application to their own circumstances.

Abstract: The security of the US food supply faces unprecedented challenges due to changes in our food system and the environment during recent decades. The 27 articles in the Symposium on American Food Resilience examine the resilience of food production and distribution—the system’s ability to withstand shocks or stresses that could lead to disruption of the food supply. Four central questions provide a framework:

1. What are the main lines of vulnerability and how do they function?
2. What are leverage points for reducing the risks and improving the capacity to cope with breakdowns?
3. What is already being done by government, civil society, and the private sector?
4. What can scientists, teachers, and other professionals do through research, education, community action, or other means to make the food system more resilient?

The Symposium is in two parts. Part 1, which was published in the last issue of this Journal, laid out a conceptual framework and surveyed the problems. Part 2, which is in this issue, focuses on solutions. Paradigm shift is a major theme in Part 2. It revolves around two key ingredients:

1. Conflict between the prevailing “industrial” paradigm and sustainability
2. The scale of food system operations, and the contribution that more resilient regional food systems can make to the security of our food supply

Concrete details are provided by case studies from New England, Ohio, North and South Carolina, and Wisconsin, where researchers or nonprofit organizations have collaborated with food system practitioners to strengthen and diversify regional food production and food supply chains. A case study from Washington applies the diversity perspective to a strategic analysis of regional capacity for disaster response. Resilience planning in Australia features strategic policy analysis with quantitative techniques such as linear programming optimization and system dynamics, which can profitably be employed elsewhere as well. Together, the Symposium articles provide a bounty of material that can be mined by researchers, teachers, policy makers, farmers, and other food system practitioners for application to their own circumstances.

Abstract: The twenty-first century challenges of climate change and resource scarcity bring a new urgency to the widely recognized sustainability challenges of the US food system. Environmental and social impacts associated with the geographic concentration and specialization in production, processing, and distribution that accompanied industrialization of the US food system have degraded our nation’s capacity to adapt to changing climate conditions. A consensus is emerging in sustainable food system scholarship that two fundamental changes—a transformation of production methods from industrial to sustainable and a transformation of food system geography from regional specialization to regional diversity—should enhance the resilience of the food system to climate change. A review of the literature suggests that transition to a nationally integrated network of sustainable metropolitan food systems (“metropolitan foodsheds”) would improve climate resilience by enhancing three key qualities associated with resilience in social-ecological systems—diversity, modularity, and balanced accumulation of capital assets. These qualities promote the capacity of a system to respond, to recover, and to transform in ways that reduce damaging effects and take advantage of opportunities created by change. Using a set of behavior-based resilience indicators in a review of case study research, this article examines the general resilience of sustainable production and supply chain systems. Sustainable production systems managed by award-winning sustainable food producers expressed all of the behaviors of a resilient system and demonstrated remarkable resilience to weather variability and extremes. These producers attributed the climate resilience of their farms and ranches to high-quality soils, planned biodiversity, and diversified marketing. Like many sustainable producers, these farmers and ranchers not only produce crops and livestock, they also participate in processing, distribution, and retailing. Resilient behavior was also expressed in sustainable supply chains developed by networked community cooperatives and through government investment in a large nonprofit food terminal. As recent food system planning projects in the USA illustrate, there is growing recognition of the potential sustainability and resilience benefits of regional food systems designed to develop positive relationships between the metropolitan core and surrounding areas. We can begin now to shift public support for a transition to more diversified production, to develop regional food system infrastructure, and to conduct comprehensive research to refine resilience indicators and develop food system performance metrics to guide a transformation of the US food system to a more sustainable and resilient future.

Abstract: This article explores problems and solutions in the New England groundfish fishery, where social, economic, environmental, and food system sustainability are major challenges. With industrialization of fishing during the past century, managers have turned a blind eye to issues of scale (e.g., industrial scale vs. community scale), which has led to chronic overfishing. There have been recurring stock collapses of favored species (e.g., cod) during the past 50 years despite federal government management of the fishery during most of that period. Small- and medium-scale fishermen—with better local knowledge, motivation for local sustainability, and smaller ecological footprints—have increasingly been displaced by large-scale operations, especially during recent years with policies that are privatizing fisheries access and consolidating the fleet. Coastal fishing communities and the fishery have suffered. The Fish Locally Collaborative (FLC)—an international decentralized network of fishermen and their allies—is promoting a paradigm shift. Its efforts to keep the smaller-scale boats afloat and support local communities include economic and political strategies. Defining value with quadruple bottom line accounting (i.e., assessing social, economic, environmental, and food system impacts), the FLC promotes a shift from high-volume/low-value production to low volume/high value. The FLC has reestablished local food supply chains with community-supported fisheries, public seafood markets, and “boat-to-hospital” and “boat-to-school” programs based on procurement contracts that specify local and sustainable catch. FLC participants promote the consumption of lesser-known fish species to motivate more balanced and ecologically sustainable fishing. Politically, FLC participants continue to build the strength of the network and engage in policy discussions at local, national, and international levels.

Abstract: Monte Verde, a peri-urban squatter community near San Pedro Sula, virtually eliminated Aedes aegypti production in all known larval habitats: wells; water storage containers including pilas (open concrete water tanks used for laundry), 200-liter drums, 1000-liter plastic “cisterns,” buckets; and objects collecting rainwater. The project began in 2016 when Monte Verde was overrun with dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. During more than a year of experimentation, Monte Verde residents crafted an effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly toolkit that was inexpensive but required full community participation. Biological control with copepods, turtles, and tilapia was at the core of the toolkit, along with a mix of other methods such as getting rid of unnecessary containers, scrubbing them to remove Ae. aegypti eggs, and covering them to exclude mosquitoes or rainwater. Environmentally friendly larvicides also had a limited but crucial role. Key design features: (1) toolkit components known to be nearly 100% effective at preventing Ae. aegypti production when fitted to appropriate larval habitats; (2) using Ae. aegypti larval habitats as a resource by transforming them into “egg sinks” to drive Ae. aegypti population decline; (3) dedicated community volunteers who worked with their neighbors, targeting 100% coverage of all known Ae. aegypti larval habitats with an appropriate control method; (4) monthly monitoring in which the volunteers visited every house to assess progress and improve coverage as an ongoing learning experience for both volunteers and residents. Taking pupae as an indicator of Ae. aegypti production, from September 2018 to the end of the record in December 2021 (except for a brief lapse during COVID lockdown in 2020), the monthly count of pupae fluctuated between zero and 0.6% of the 22,984 pupae counted in the baseline survey at the beginning of the project. Adult Ae. aegypti declined to low numbers but did not disappear completely. There were no recognizable cases of dengue, Zika, or chikungunya after June 2018, though the study design based on a single site did not provide a basis for rigorous confirmation that Monte Verde’s Ae. aegypti control program was responsible. Nonetheless, Monte Verde’s success at eliminating Ae. aegypti production can serve as a model for extending this approach to other communities. Key ingredients for success were outside stimulation and facilitation to foster shared community awareness and commitment regarding the problem and its solution, enduring commitment of local leadership, compatibility of the toolkit with the local community, overcoming social obstacles, rapid results with “success breeding success,” and building resilience.