Dataset Information

Urban foraging: Land management policy, perspectives, and potential.

ABSTRACT: Gathering of uncultivated food from green spaces, also known as foraging, is observed in urban areas across the world, but the literature focuses predominantly on the global north. Our study examines the existing urban land management structure and its approach to urban foraging in the eastern coastal region of South Africa. Through interviews with municipal officials in nine cities, we identified different stakeholders and their roles in urban green space management. We then used network analysis to represent interactions and influence of these stakeholders, and environmental worldviews to determine organisational and perceptual barriers to and enablers of foraging in urban green spaces. The policy on urban green space management, as well as land managers themselves are amenable to the concept of foraging in public spaces. Lack of knowledge on wild indigenous species and sustainable offtake, ambiguous, coarse, or lacking policy, and normative views of pristine nature may hinder foraging. We recommend pathways for policy and stakeholder partnerships to incorporate sustainable foraging in their biodiversity conservation and land stewardship strategies.

SUBMITTER: Sardeshpande M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7138303 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Urban foraging: Land management policy, perspectives, and potential.

Sardeshpande Mallika M Shackleton Charlie C

PloS one 20200407 4

Gathering of uncultivated food from green spaces, also known as foraging, is observed in urban areas across the world, but the literature focuses predominantly on the global north. Our study examines the existing urban land management structure and its approach to urban foraging in the eastern coastal region of South Africa. Through interviews with municipal officials in nine cities, we identified different stakeholders and their roles in urban green space management. We then used network analys ...[more]

PMID: 32255778

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Project description:In Latin America, the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus is the primary reservoir of rabies, a zoonotic virus that kills thousands of livestock annually and causes sporadic and lethal human rabies outbreaks. The proliferation of livestock provides an abundant food resource for this obligate blood-feeding species that could alter its foraging behaviour and rabies transmission, but poor understanding of the dietary plasticity of vampire bats limits understanding of how livestock influences rabies risk.We analysed individual- and population-level foraging behaviour by applying ?13C and ?15N stable isotope analysis to hair samples from 183 vampire bats captured from nine colonies in Peru. We also assessed the isotopic distributions of realized prey by analysing blood meals extracted from engorged bats and samples collected from potential prey species. In two adjacent but contrasting areas of the Amazon with scarce and abundant livestock, we used questionnaires to evaluate the incidence of feeding on humans.Population-level isotopic signatures suggested substantial among-site variation in feeding behaviour, including reliance on livestock in some colonies and feeding on combinations of domestic and wild prey in others. Isotopic heterogeneity within bat colonies was among the largest recorded in vertebrate populations, indicating that individuals consistently fed on distinct prey resources and across distinct trophic levels. In some sites, isotopic values of realized prey spanned broad ranges, suggesting that bats with intermediate isotopic values could plausibly be dietary specialists rather than generalists.Bayesian estimates of isotopic niche width varied up to ninefold among colonies and were maximized where wildlife and livestock were present at low levels, but declined with greater availability of livestock. In the Amazon, the absence of livestock was associated with feeding on humans and wildlife. Policy implications. We provide the first insights into the foraging behaviour of vampire bats in habitats with common depredation on humans and show how vampire bat foraging may respond to land-use change. Our results demonstrate risks of rabies transmission from bats to other wildlife and are consistent with the hypothesis that introducing livestock might reduce the burden of human rabies in high-risk communities.

Project description:BackgroundMajor haemoglobinopathies (MH), such as thalassaemia syndromes (Thal) and sickle cell disorders (SCD), are genetic defects associated with chronic anaemia and other complications. In Europe, MH are rare diseases (RD) but their prevalence is significantly growing in many countries due to mobility and migration flows. This creates a growing health problem in the EU that has not yet been effectively addressed by Member States (MS) authorities. The present study has been conducted with the aim of: (i) providing an overview of policies for MH in 10 EU member states (MS) (ii) analysing the challenges linked to these RD due to growing requirements imposed by population, mobility and migration trends and (iii) identifying gaps, proposing improvements on existing policies, or developing new ones to fit the identified needs.MethodsThe study has been undertaken by a group of members of the European Network for Rare and Congenital Anaemias (ENERCA) and the Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF), in collaboration with the public affairs firm Burson-Marsteller Brussels. Data from 10 EU countries have been gathered using targeted desk research and one-to-one interviews with local stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, patients and public health officers/providers.Results1. MH are the most common RD in all the 10 countries, 2. Data on prevalence, overall burden, trends, and clinical follow up costs are lacking in most countries. 3. Neonatal screening practices show a wide variation across and within countries. 4. Awareness on MH and their related complications is very low, exception made of Italy, Greece, Cyprus and UK, 5. No disaggregated data is available to understand the impact of mobility and migration on the prevalence of haemoglobinopathies, and how healthcare delivery systems should adapt to respond to this situation. 6. Targeted policy measures and/or actions are generally lacking and/or delayed.ConclusionsTen policy recommendations have been drawn from this study, building on 2006 WHO recommendations for MH to include haemoglobinopathies in National Plans of Actions for Rare Diseases.

Dataset Information

Urban foraging: Land management policy, perspectives, and potential.

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Urban foraging: Land management policy, perspectives, and potential.

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