Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are an increasingly promoted approach to conservation. These approaches seek to develop financial mechanisms that create economic incentives for the maintenance of ecosystems and associated biodiversity by rewarding those who are responsible for provision of ecological services. There are, however, few cases in which such schemes have been used as a strategy for conserving wildlife in developing countries and very few operational examples of such schemes of any sort in sub-Saharan Africa. In savannah ecosystems, large mammal populations generally depend on seasonal use of extensive areas and are widely declining as a result of habitat loss, overexploitation, and policies that limit local benefits from wildlife. Community-based conservation strategies seek to create local incentives for conserving wildlife, but often have limited impact as a result of persistent institutional barriers that limit local rights and economic benefits. In northern Tanzania, a consortium of tourism operators is attempting to address these challenges through an agreement with a village that possesses part of a key wildlife dispersal area outside Tarangire National Park. The operators pay the community to enforce voluntary restrictions on agricultural cultivation and permanent settlement in a defined area of land. The initiative represents a potentially cost-effective framework for community-based conservation in an ecologically important area and is helping to reconcile historically conflicting local and national interests relative to land tenure, pastoralist livelihoods, and conservation. Wider adaptation of payments for ecosystem services approaches to settings where sustaining wildlife populations depends on local stewardship may help address current challenges facing conservation outside state-protected areas in savannah ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world.
The current U.S. Navy Physical Readiness Test (PRT) measures aerobic fitness and muscular endurance via a 1 1/2 mile run and curl-up/push-up tests, respectively. Nine new modalities were recommended to either replace or supplement the current PRT. Personnel and civilians (N = 179) were recruited from a local Navy base and participated in all modalities (duplicate if possible) over 4 weeks following familiarization sessions. Subjects performed single-leg plank, single-leg wall squat, cadence push-ups, leg/hip dynamometer, standing long jump, and pro-agility test. Cardiovascular modalities were also performed via the 300-yard shuttle, 2-km row, and 5-km bike. Performance in the modalities was correlated to the subjects' existing PRT scores as well as within the new modalities. Although most modalities could not be concretely recommended, the plank and wall squat were eliminated from consideration because of poor reliability scores. The strongest correlation existed between the standing long jump and pro-agility test for the entire sample. Correlation scores were also analyzed by gender. The cardiovascular modalities did not have strong enough scores to elicit a recommendation to replace the 1 1/2 mile run, but future considerations for similar testing would be to collect scores for the existing modalities in addition to the proposed modalities.
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