THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

2005 The World Conference on Ecological Restoration 23
Implications of rural-urban migration for forest restoration in Latin America
Aide 1 T.M., H.R. Grau 2
1 Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2 LIEY, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
Rural-urban migration is one of the most important current demographic processes, in particular, in
countries undergoing socioeconomic changes associated with globalization. In most regions, the lands
that are being abandoned are in the mountains, in areas with steep slopes. These areas play a major role
in determining watershed regimes including floods and the seasonality of water flow. The increase in vegetation
cover by natural regeneration or restoration will help reduce erosion and floods, and at the same
time provide habitat for many organisms. Given that demographic and socioeconomic changes appear to
be as important as conservation efforts, we need to make a stronger effort to understand and incorporate
these processes into forest management and conservation activities.
Keywords: natural regeneration, abandoned agricultural lands, montane forest.
Impact of long term application of wastewater on soil microbial biomass C and N
and accumulation of bacteria of fecal origin
Al-rashidi R., M. Rusan
Land Management and Environment Department, College of Natural resources and Environment, Hashemite university,
13115 Zarqa, Jordan
In most countries of the Mediterranean region such as Jordan, there is an increasing and an urgent need
to conserve and protect water resources. Water is a vital resource but a severely limited one in these countries.
Consequently, the reuse of wastewater for agriculture is highly encouraged. The objectives of this
study were to evaluate the cycling of C and N within the system through the determination of microbial
biomass C and N and the health hazard that may associated with the using and handling of wastewater.
Soil samples were taken from different sites from the Ramtha wastewater treatment plant. Sites that have
been irrigated with wastewater for the last 17, 10, 4, and 1 years were identified and used as the sampling
sites for this study. In addition, another two sites that have not been irrigated with wastewater were sampled
as a control. From each location, soil samples were taken from several sites within each location, and
at the following depths: 0-20, 20-40, and 20-60 cm. Microbial biomass was determined using chloroform
fumigation technique and found to increase with increasing period of wastewater application. Results
showed that microbial biomass as C was a lot higher than the microbial biomass as N. The bacteriological
analysis showed that the total aerobic bacterial count of surface soil ( 0-20 cm) were higher in sites irrigated
with wastewater for the last 10 and 17 years, suggesting that the use of this wastewater stimulate these
microflora.The total coliforms ranged from 0.92x10 2 CFU/g to 17.0x10 2 CFU/g, while fecal coliform were
less and only detected in sites irrigated with wastewater for the last 10 and 17 years.
Keywords: Wastewater. Biomass. Coliforms.
What is Forest Landscape Restoration? Some experiences and lessons learned
from WWF's global portfolio of initiatives
Aldrich M.
Forest for Life Programme. WWF International. Avenue du Mont Blanc. 1196 Gland. Switzerland
In response to the challenges of the continuing loss of forest cover and quality, with associated development
as well as environmental problems in many parts of the world, WWF, working in collaboration with
IUCN and other partners, has adopted a “Forest Landscape Restoration” approach, which is defined as “a
process that aims to regain ecological integrity and enhance human wellbeing in deforested or degraded
forest landscapes”. The concept of FLR is not a new idea. It builds on a number of existing rural development,
conservation and natural resources management principles and approaches, bringing them together
to restore multiple forest functions to degraded landscapes. WWF’s Forests for Life Programme is
actively developing a learning portfolio of FLR initiatives in a number of countries and regions including
the Mediterranean, East Africa and Madagascar, Atlantic Forests of Argentina and Brazil, New Caledonia,
China and Indonesia. Although most of these initiatives are relatively young in terms of a restoration
timescale, a number of interesting and useful lessons and experiences are starting to emerge related to
planning, development and implementation. These include the need for a full and representative multistakeholder
planning process, clear goals – both biodiversity and socio-economic and simple tools for
tracking changes at the landscape level. Further aspects of work which warrant more focus include the
role of FLR in carbon sequestration within the Clean Development Mechanism, and as a tool for engaging