communication is improving. E-mail and the Internet provide rapid means
of communication. Telephone service is quite reliable throughout the developed world. Internet access provides a way to access recent publications
and newly acquired data. As a result, managers expect access to the up-todate information and knowledge.
The world is becoming networked, not only electronically but also in
reality. Many people travel to distant destinations for both business and
pleasure. Air travel has become common as costs have diminished.
Improved communication and transportation networks not only facilitate
the flow of information, they also enhance the spread of environmental
problems. For example, global transmission of disease organisms and other
undesirable biota is recognized as a major concern.
Globalization of the economy is growing with increased travel, communication, and networking. Produce and goods are shipped around the
world. The result is that global coffee or banana prices can rapidly affect
the livelihood of small farmers in developing countries. By the same token,
an untimely frost in Brazil can affect the prices, sales, and employment at
coffeehouses across the United States. The availability of oil, gas, or other
sources of energy is a critical resource, and the need for energy connects
the world’s economy. Thus, some resource management models are being
designed to consider global interrelations, including economics and human
population expansion.
At the same time, environmental pressures are increasing. Providing
access to energy and natural resources often calls for the development
of new infrastructure. Roads built into new regions to acquire resources
typically provide a route for development and instigate pressures on the
environment. Increases in human population density and per capita use of
resources also add pressure to manipulate the environment. For instance,
housing developments are being built in areas that were once thought to
be environmentally undesirable.
Awareness of environmental pressures increases with these demands and
enhanced networking. For example, global climate change is now a recognized phenomenon, although ways to deal with the problem are not agreed
upon (IPPC 2001). Cognizance of current environmental conditions is
enhanced by worldwide access to television and print media. Environmental security has become a big concern since the spread of mad cow disease,
the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, and the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Simultaneously, stakeholders are becoming more educated and more
actively involved in resource management issues (Wondolleck and Yaffee
2000). The worldwide recognition of the plight of Chico Mendes in his fight
for rubber tappers against large-scale development has become a call to
arms for individuals to organize in their efforts to protect access to natural
products. But such stakeholder groups typically lack access to information
on how management or preventive measures can affect natural resources.
Models offer a means to make such information available.
16. New Directions in Ecological Modeling for Resource Management
311
of communication. Telephone service is quite reliable throughout the developed world. Internet access provides a way to access recent publications
and newly acquired data. As a result, managers expect access to the up-todate information and knowledge.
The world is becoming networked, not only electronically but also in
reality. Many people travel to distant destinations for both business and
pleasure. Air travel has become common as costs have diminished.
Improved communication and transportation networks not only facilitate
the flow of information, they also enhance the spread of environmental
problems. For example, global transmission of disease organisms and other
undesirable biota is recognized as a major concern.
Globalization of the economy is growing with increased travel, communication, and networking. Produce and goods are shipped around the
world. The result is that global coffee or banana prices can rapidly affect
the livelihood of small farmers in developing countries. By the same token,
an untimely frost in Brazil can affect the prices, sales, and employment at
coffeehouses across the United States. The availability of oil, gas, or other
sources of energy is a critical resource, and the need for energy connects
the world’s economy. Thus, some resource management models are being
designed to consider global interrelations, including economics and human
population expansion.
At the same time, environmental pressures are increasing. Providing
access to energy and natural resources often calls for the development
of new infrastructure. Roads built into new regions to acquire resources
typically provide a route for development and instigate pressures on the
environment. Increases in human population density and per capita use of
resources also add pressure to manipulate the environment. For instance,
housing developments are being built in areas that were once thought to
be environmentally undesirable.
Awareness of environmental pressures increases with these demands and
enhanced networking. For example, global climate change is now a recognized phenomenon, although ways to deal with the problem are not agreed
upon (IPPC 2001). Cognizance of current environmental conditions is
enhanced by worldwide access to television and print media. Environmental security has become a big concern since the spread of mad cow disease,
the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, and the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Simultaneously, stakeholders are becoming more educated and more
actively involved in resource management issues (Wondolleck and Yaffee
2000). The worldwide recognition of the plight of Chico Mendes in his fight
for rubber tappers against large-scale development has become a call to
arms for individuals to organize in their efforts to protect access to natural
products. But such stakeholder groups typically lack access to information
on how management or preventive measures can affect natural resources.
Models offer a means to make such information available.
16. New Directions in Ecological Modeling for Resource Management
311