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It is widely accepted that the main driver of the observed decline in biological diversity is increasing human pressure on Earth's ecosystems. However, the spatial patterns of change in human pressure and their relation to conservation efforts are less well known. We developed a spatially and temporally explicit map of global change in human pressure over 2 decades between 1990 and 2010 at a resolution of 10 km². We evaluated 22 spatial data sets representing different components of human pressure and used them to compile a temporal human pressure index (THPI) based on 3 data sets: human population density, land transformation, and electrical power infrastructure. We investigated how the THPI within protected areas was correlated to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) management categories and the human development index (HDI) and how the THPI was correlated to cumulative pressure on the basis of the original human footprint index. Since the early 1990s, human pressure increased 64% of the terrestrial areas; the largest increases were in Southeast Asia. Protected areas also exhibited overall increases in human pressure, the degree of which varied with location and IUCN management category. Only wilderness areas and natural monuments (management categories Ib and III) exhibited decreases in pressure. Protected areas not assigned any category exhibited the greatest increases. High HDI values correlated with greater reductions in pressure across protected areas, while increasing age of the protected area correlated with increases in pressure. Our analysis is an initial step toward mapping changes in human pressure on the natural world over time. That only 3 data sets could be included in our spatio‐temporal global pressure map highlights the challenge to measuring pressure changes over time.

Humanity now uses 26 percent of total terrestrial evapotranspiration and 54 percent of runoff that is geographically and temporally accessible. Increased use of evapotranspiration will confer minimal benefits globally because most land suitable for rain-fed agriculture is already in production. New dam construction could increase accessible runoff by about 10 percent over the next 30 years, whereas population is projected to increase by more than 45 percent during that period

While ecologists involved in management or policy often are advised to learn to deal with uncertainty, there are a number of components of global environmental change of which we are certain–certain that they are going on, and certain that they are human—caused. Some of these are largely ecological changes, and all have important ecological consequences. Three of the well—documented global changes are: increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; alterations in the biogeochemistry of the global nitrogen cycle; and ongoing land use/land cover change. Human activity–now primarily fossil fuel combustion– has increased carbon dioxide concentrations from °280 to 355 mL/L since 1800; the increase is unique, at least in the past 160 000 yr, and several lines of evidence demonstrate unequivocally that it is human—caused. This increase is likely to have climatic consequences–and certainly it has direct effects on biota in all Earth's terrestrial ecosystems. The global nitrogen cycle has been altered by human activity to such an extent that more nitrogen is fixed annually by humanity (primarily for nitrogen fertilizer, also by legume crops and as a by product of fossil fuel combustion) than by all natural pathways combined. This added nitrogen alters the chemistry of the atmosphere and of aquatic ecosystems, contributes to eutrophiction of the biosphere, and has substantial regional effects on biological diversity in the most affected areas. Finally, human land use/land cover change has transformed one—their to one—half of Earth's ice—free surface. This in and of itself probably represents the most important component of global change now and will for some decades to come; it has profound effects on biological diversity on land and on ecosystems downwind and downstream of affected areas. Overall, any clear dichotomy between pristine ecosystems and human—altered areas that may have existed in the past has vanished, and ecological research should account for this reality. These three and other equally certain components of global environmental change are the primary causes of anticipated changes in climate, and of ongoing losses of biological diversity. They are caused in turn by the extraordinary growth in size and resource use of the human population. On a broad scale, there is little uncertainty about any of these components of change or their causes. However, much of the public believes the causes–even the existence–of global change to be uncertain and contentious topics. By speaking out effectively, we can help to shift the focus of public discussion towards what can and should be done about global environmental change.

Boosting the water productivity of world agriculture will be crucial in meeting the food needs in the future. Scientific research has led to improvements in agricultural productivity, but water constraints remain a problem.

Alternative occupations are frequently promoted as a means to reduce the number of people exploiting declining fisheries. However, there is little evidence that alternative occupations reduce fisher numbers. Seaweed farming is frequently promoted as a lucrative alternative occupation for artisanal fishers in Southeast Asia. We examined how the introduction of seaweed farming has affected village-level changes in the number of fishers on Danajon Bank, central Philippines, where unsustainable fishing has led to declining fishery yields. To determine how fisher numbers had changed since seaweed farming started, we interviewed the heads of household from 300 households in 10 villages to examine their perceptions of how fisher numbers had changed in their village and the reasons they associated with these changes. We then asked key informants (people with detailed knowledge of village members) to estimate fisher numbers in these villages before seaweed farming began and at the time of the survey. We compared the results of how fisher numbers had changed in each village with the wealth, education, seaweed farm sizes, and other attributes of households in these villages, which we collected through interviews, and with village-level factors such as distance to markets. We also asked people why they either continued to engage in or ceased fishing. In four villages, respondents thought seaweed farming and low fish catches had reduced fisher numbers, at least temporarily. In one of these villages, there was a recent return to fishing due to declines in the price of seaweed and increased thefi of seaweed. In another four villages, fisher numbers increased as human population increased, despite the widespread uptake of seaweed farming. Seaweed farming f ailed for technical reasons in two other villages. Our results suggest seaweed farming has reduced fisher numbers in some villages, a result that may be correlated with socioeconomic status, but the heterogeneity of outcomes is consistent with suggestions that alternative occupations are not a substitute for more direct forms of resource management. Las ocupaciones alternativas a menudo son promovidas como un medio para reducir el número de personas que explotan las pesquerías en declinación. Sin embargo, hay poca evidencia de que las ocupaciones alternativas reducen el número de pescadores. El cultivo de algas marinas frecuentemente es promovido como una ocupación alternativa lucrativa para pescadores artesanales en el sureste de Asia. Examinamos el efecto de la introducción del cultivo de algas marinas sobre cambios a nivel de poblado en el número de pescadores en el Banco Danajon, Filipinas central, donde la pesca no sustentable ha llevado a la declinación de la producción pesquera. Para determinar como ha cambiado el número de pescadores desde que comenzó el cultivo de algas marinas, entrevistamos a las cabezas de familia de 300 viviendas en 10 poblados para examinar sus percepciones de cómo ha cambiado el número de pescadores en su poblado y las razones que se asocian con ese cambio. También entrevistamos a informantes clave (personas con conocimiento detallado de los miembros del poblado) para estimar el número de pescadores en esos poblados antes de que comenzara el cultivo de algas marinas y al momento del estudio. Comparamos los resultados de los cambios en el número de pescadores en cada poblado con la riqueza, educación, tamaño de las granjas de algas marinas y otros atributos de las viviendas en esos poblados, que fueron recolectados mediante entrevistas, y con factores a nivel de poblado como la distancia al mercado. También le preguntamos a la gente porque continuaba involucrada en actividades pesqueras o había dejado de pescar. Los encuestados en cuatro poblados pensaron que el cultivo de algas marinas y la disminución de la captura de peces han reducido el número de pescadores, por lo menos temporalmente. En uno de esos poblado, hubo un retorno reciente a la pesca debido a declinaciones en el precio de algas marinas y el incremento en robo de algas. En otros cuatro poblados, el número de pescadores incrementó con el aumento de la población humana, no obstante la amplia aceptación del cultivo de algas marinas. El cultivo de algas falló por razones técnicas en otros dos poblados. Nuestros resultados sugieren que el cultivo de algas marinas han reducido el número de pescadores en algunos poblados, un resultado que se puede correlacionar con el estatus socioeconómico, pero la heterogeneidad de los resultados es consistente con sugerencias de que las ocupaciones alternativas no son un sustituto deformas más directas de manejo de recursos.

Daily et al argue that the questions of sustainability in food production and poverty should be studied together. Their link is revealed in the interactions between ecological and economic systems operating at the geographically localized level.

Migration has key importance in explaining the spatial distribution of the population in Latvia. The study contributes to an understanding of population shift towards coastal areas affected by amenity-driven migration, beach-oriented tourism and land development. This research explores characteristics of the inhabitants of the Engure coastal area, with special attention to individual attitudes on specific life quality attributes. Using a survey of local residents conducted in 2010, we found statistically significant correlations between groups of the research population. The results show that in-migrants differ from long-term residents with regard to most socio-demographic and attitude variables studied. Similarly, differences were found by out-migration intentions of residents. The area selected for the case study serves as a prominent and instructive laboratory for our analysis due to its suburban location, comparatively stable population growth rates and richness in natural amenities. Moreover, the territory is set as a long-term socio-ecological research platform in Latvia. Migrācijai ir būtiska nozīme iedzīvotāju skaita un izvietojuma pārmaiņās. Latvijā maz pētīta iedzīvotāju pārvietošanās uz ainaviski daudzveidīgām un kultūrvēsturiski bagātām teritorijām pievilcīgas dzīves vides meklējumos. Baltijas jūras Latvijas piekraste ir augstvērtīga teritorija ar unikāliem dabas kompleksiem - kāpu mežiem, piekrastes pļavām, smilšainām pludmalēm, kā arī savdabīgām augu un dzīvnieku sugu sabiedrībām. Turklāt piekrastē ir bagātīgs kultūrvēsturiskais mantojums, ko nosaka savdabīga saimnieciskā darbība un aizsargājamo dabas teritoriju apsaimniekošana. Raksta mērķis ir novērtēt iedzīvotāju sastāva atšķirības pēc migrācijas pieredzes un indivīdu attieksmē pret noteiktiem dzīves kvalitātes rādītājiem Engures piekrastes teritorijās. Pētījumā izmantoti 2010. gadā veiktas iedzīvotāju aptaujas dati, bet to analīzē lietoti neparametriskie datu testi. Iegūtie rezultāti parāda atšķirības starp pastāvīgajiem iedzīvotājiem un iebraucējiem pēc noteiktām pazīmēm. Līdzīgas atšķirības parādās, salīdzinot iedzīvotājus pēc to nodomiem pārcelties no Engures piekrastes uz citām teritorijām Latvijā.

This study examined rice marketing as a means of poverty alleviation in Niger State, North Central Nigeria. Ninety-eight representative rice marketers' households were used for the study. Descriptive statistics, Foster, Greer and Thorbecke poverty measures as well as logistic regression model were used as the analytical tools for the study. The result of the descriptive statistics shows that forty-nine percent of the rice marketers have no western education and majority of the rice marketers' households used open spaces for defecation. The result of the poverty profile shows that all the representative households were poor using 1.25 dollar a day poverty benchmark and only 32 percent were poor using the estimated relative poverty benchmark of N 1,894.2 per capita. The result of the logistic regression model shows the following factors influenced the poverty status of the rice marketers' households in the study area. These are age and gender of the rice marketers, household size, other sources of income, marital status of the rice marketers and their educational status. The study recommends manageable household size as well as improved level of education for members of the rice marketers' households for poverty reduction in the study area.

A good understanding of social factors that lead to marine ecological change is important to developing sustainable global fisheries. We used balanced panel models and conducted cross-national time-series analyses (1970-2010) of 122 nations to examine how economic prosperity and population growth affected the sustainability of marine ecosystems. We used catches in economic exclusive zone (EEZ); mean trophic level of fishery landings (MTL); primary production required to sustain catches (expressed as percentage of local primary production [% PPR]); and an index of ecosystem overfishing (i.e., the loss in secondary production index [L index]) as indicators of ecological change in marine ecosystems. The EEZ catch, %PPR, and L index declined gradually after gross domestic product (GDP) per capita reached $15,000, $14,000, and $19,000, respectively, and MTL increased steadily once GDP per capita exceeded $20,000. These relationships suggest that economic growth and biodiversity conservation are compatible goals. However, increasing human populations would degrade marine ecosystems. Specifically, a doubling of human population caused an increase in the %PPR of 17.1% and in the L index of 0.0254 and a decline in the MTL of 0.176. A 1% increase in human population resulted in a 0.744% increase in EEZ catch. These results highlight the importance of considering social and economic factors in developing sustainable fisheries management policy. Un buen entendimiento de los factores sociales que han llevado al cambio en la ecología marina es necesario para las pesquerías sustentables globales en desarrollo. Utilizamos modelos de panel balanceado y realizamos análisis de series de tiempo entre naciones (1970 - 2010) de 122 países para examinar el efecto de la prosperidad económica y el crecimiento poblacional sobre la sustentabilidad de los ecosistemas marinos. Utilizamos capturas en la Zona Económica Exclusiva (ZEE); el nivel trófico medio de las tomas de tierra de las pesquerías (NTM); la producción primaria requerida para sustentar las capturas (expresada como el porcentaje de la producción primaria local [% PPR]); y un índice de sobrepesca de ecosistema (es decir, la pérdida en el índice de producción secundaria [índice L]) como indicadores del cambio ecológico en los ecosistemas marinos. La captura en la ZEE, el %PPR, y el índice L declinaron gradualmente después de que producto interno bruto (PIB) per capita alcanzara los $15,000, $14,000, y $19,000, respectivamente; y el NTM incrementó constantemente una vez que el PIB per capita excedió los $20,000. Estas relaciones sugieren que el crecimiento económico y la conservación de la biodiversidad son objetivos compatibles. Sin embargo, las poblaciones humanas crecientes degradarían los ecosistemas marinos. Específicamente, una duplicación de la población humana causó un incrementó en el % PPR del 17.1 % y en el índice L de 0.0254, y una declinación en el NTM de 0.176. Un incremento del 1 % en la población humana resultó en un incremento del 0.744 % en la captura en la ZEE. Estos resultados resaltan la importancia de considerar los factores sociales y económicos en el desarrollo de políticas de manejo de pesquerías sustentables.

Nutritional status in children is an indicator of health and well-being at both the individual and the population level. Screening for malnutrition should be an integral part of pediatric care universally. Nutritional intervention requires repeated measurement of nutritional status to assess severity and to track progress over time. Methodological issues in the assessment of nutritional status are reviewed with emphasis on anthropometric measurement, body composition, and energy expenditure of children at risk for malnutrition. Use of reference data, measurement error, maturational effects, and hereditary factors are among the issues reviewed and serve as guidelines in the interpretation of measurement of nutritional status