Oil, War and U.S. Foreign Policy. Essay Example for Free

Oil, War and U.S. Foreign Policy. Essay The war against Iran by the Anglo-American powers has been in planning since 1990s as part of their Greater Middle East strategy. A number of sources have recently reported plans by the Iranian government to institute a Tehran oil bourse and this might be the hidden agenda behind the evident march to war by the Anglo-American powers on Iran. The oil bourse argument is a red herring which diverts the attention of people from the real geopolitical grounds which is behind the real motive for the march to the war which is a high risk game on the nuclear weapon. In 1996, two neo-conservatives, Douglas Feith and Richard Perle who later played an important role in the formulation of the Pentagon policy in the Middle East under the Bush administration authored a paper which was presented to the elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The advisory paper, â€Å"A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm†, had the intention of making Netanyahu to make â€Å"a clean break from the peace process†. Feith and Perle also demanded Netanyahu to strengthen the defense of Israel against Syria and Iraq and to attack Iran as the prop for Syria. More than a year before the declaration of the former US president George W Bush of his â€Å"shock and awe† operations against Iraq, he made his January 2002 State of the Union address which is now infamous to the Congress in which he Iran, together with North Korea and Iraq as members of the â€Å"axis of evil† trio. This occurred before anybody in Tehran had even considered establishing an oil bourse in trading oil in various currencies. According to Engdahl, the US believed that the Tehran oil bourse would be the casus belli, which would trigger the pushing of Washington down the road to the potentiality of annihilation of Iran, which seems to be based on the notion that trading on oil openly to other nations in other currencies would make Tehran set in to motion a chain of events in which buyer after buyer, nation after nation, would come to buy oil no longer in US dollars but in euros. This in turn according to an argument, would lead to a panic in selling of the US dollars on the world foreign exchange markets and also lead to the collapse of the role of the US dollar as the reserve currency, which is one of the pillars of the â€Å"US Empire†. According to Engdahl in his book, A Century of War, the creation of â€Å"petrodollar recycling† in 1974, which is a process where the by then US secretary of state Henry Kissinger was deeply involved, led to oil price hike of 400% and this was orchestrated by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Engdahl puts it that US dollar did not manage to become a â€Å"petrodollar† even though Kissinger emphasized the process of â€Å"recycling petrodollar†. According to the author, what Kissinger was referring to was the initiation of a new phase of global hegemony of US in which the export earnings from the petrodollar of OPEC oils lands would be recycled back to the hands of the major London and New York banks and later re-lent in the form of US dollars to other nations which are deficient in oil such as Argentina and Brazil and this led to the creation of what was soon to be known as the Latin America debt crisis. By this time, the US dollar had been a fiat issue since August 1971 following the abrogation of the Bretton Woods Treaty and refusal by the then US president Richard Nixon to redeem US dollars which were held in foreign central banks for gold. Due to the 400% increase in oil prices, nations such as Germany, France, and Japan suddenly had the reason to buy oil in their own currencies with the aim of lessening the pressure on their reserves of trade dollars which was rapidly declining. This led to the coming up of the Pentagon and US treaty partly with their secret diplomacy by Kissinger through bullying threats According to Engdahl, the US military were sent to Afghanistan for two main reasons; the first reason was to restore and control the world’s largest supplier of opium in the world while at the same time use the drugs as a geopolitical weapon against their opponents especially Russia. The control of the drug market is an essential ingredient for the liquidity of the corrupt and bankrupt Wall Street financial market. U. S. Military and CIA Interventions in the Middle-East. Blom traces the origin of the current conflict from the brutal 1980-88 war which was between Iran and Iraq. At the time of the war, Kuwait was busy stealing oil from the Iraqi territory which was worth more than $2. 4 billion of oil. Soon after the battle, United Emirates and Kuwait started to exceed the production quotas that had been established by OPEC and this led to flooding in the oil market leading to a reduction on oil prices. This led Iraq to become deeply in debt and the then president Saddam Hussein declared this policy a threat to hi country by pointing out that Iraq was loosing billions of dollars each year due to the drop in oil prices. In an attempt to offset these loses, Saddam decided to gain possession of the two Gulf islands which were blocking Iraq from ownership of Rumaila oilfield. Kuwait continued to ignore Iraq’s territorial and financial demands and the OPEC’s request to follow the quota system and this led to Iraq to form large number of troops who were posted along the Kuwait border. This led to the intervention of the US who viewed themselves as the world’s supper power. After Iraq attacked Kuwait, US came to the defense of Kuwait by declaring that their interest was in protecting nations with whom they had longstanding and deep ties while at the same time, The White House declared their concern about the buildup of troops by Iraq. According to the author, United States had an official position on the Kuwait-Iraq border dispute. This is evident from the official statement that were found by the Iraqis in some of the Kuwait intelligence files which was a memorandum concerning a meeting between the CIA Director William Webster and Kuwait state security in November 1989. in the document, there was an agreement between the Americans and Kuwait that it was of great importance to take advantage of the deteriorating economic situation in Iraq with the aim of putting pressure on Iraq’ government so as to delineate their common borders. It is evident that US was involved from the beginning and advised Kuwait to apply pressure on Iraq so as destabilize the country economically. The CIA later denied these allegations saying that it was a fabrication. Blum puts it that the US has been behind the Kurdish’ slaughter of many innocent citizens and also encouraged the Shiite Muslims in Iraq to rebel. All these were done in an attempt to incite Saddam so that he could incite a coup which would result in to the intervention of the United States. The killings in the Persian Gulf by the American soldiers have been due to a voice command from George Herbert Walker Bush according Blum. The United States started supporting Afghan Islamic fundamentalists in 1979 in their bid to fight the Soviet Union. The US continued with their support despite the kidnapping of American ambassador in the capital city of Kabul in February 1979. American intervention according to Blom had some hidden agenda. The US was using lies and tricks to gain influence of Iraq so as to control the oil prices. In both cases, the authors recognize the use the use of tricks by the US government to make the Middle East unstable. Both the authors share a common view on the idea behind the control of Middle East affairs. In both cases, the authors acknowledge the use of military force in the wars in the Middle East and in both cases, it appears that US is the main cause of all these wars. The aim of the United States according to the two authors is to take control of the rich oil nations and make sure that they continue to price and sell oil in US dollars. They both acknowledge the pretence of the US to send their military force in these countries with the aim of restoring peace while in the real sense; the US is after establishing permanent military base in places such as Iraq so that they can control the resources of these countries. Under the Bush administration, there was a severe military attack in Iraq with the aim of removing Saddam from power with the pretence that he was behind manufacturing of nuclear weapons. After the attack, it became apparently clear that such a thing never existed in Iraq. Bush was only accomplishing a war that was started by his father against Saddam who had refused to consent to the demands of the United States. The Use of Torture in Iraq and Afghanistan. A lot has been said regarding what lies behind the shocking images of torture at Abu Ghraib which were released in 2004. many American were shocked by such images and novel with the exception of one American; Alfred McCoy who had been following the operations of the Central Intelligence Agency since the early 1970s, when the agency tried unsuccessfully to stop the publication of his book, The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade. McCoy had long been conducting study on the pioneering research by the CIA in to the methods of psychological torture. He writes that the CIA had started this project in the early 1950s with their initial study on the Chinese and Soviet methods of breaking and interrogating prisoners. The author has a negative image regarding the torture policies that America has used in the last decades. The CIA’s discovery of Psychological torture had its breakthrough in the 17th century. This was in contrast to the physical approach which they saw most of the times produced unreliable information or heightened resistance. Under the new psychological paradigm introduced by the CIA, the interrogators used two essential techniques; self-inflicted pain or disorientation so as to make the victims feel responsibility of their own suffering. The first stage of psychological torture involves the use of non-violent methods to by the interrogator to disorientate the subject. After disorientating the subject, the second stage involves simple self inflicted discomforts which may be in form of standing for many hours with the arms in extended position. Although psychological torture is less brutal due to the fact that there is no touch, the torture leaves both the interrogator and the victim with deep psychological scars. Victims normally require long-term treatment in order to recover from the trauma far much more than the physical pain. On the part of the interrogator, they may suffer from dangerous expansion of ego which may eventually lead to escalating cruelty and lasting emotional problems. According to McCoy, torture was conducted by the CIA directly and also indirectly through outsourcing. The use of torture is against humanity since it involves forcing the subject to confess in criminal cases with the assumption that they are guilty prior to trail. The CIA also used this method to serve as a deterrent to other potential offenders. According to the author, torture did less in bringing any trustworthy information or truthful confession neither did it prevent other people from breaking the law in any significant way. Following the September 11 bombing of the Twin Towers in the US, the administration of the former President George W. Bush allowed US intelligence service and the military to use torture as the only means to â€Å"quickly obtain information†. They did this by creating a category of prisoners who they claimed fall outside the protection by any treaty or law obligations and are deemed to be tortured. According to the CIA, they argue that this policy which considered the most abusive approach to interrogation is the most efficient and effective quick way to get information that is accurate and useful. From McCoy’s book, he clearly puts it that torture is always not a good way of producing reliable information. The experience from Colonel John Rothrock, who was heading a combat interrogation team in Vietnam, reported that â€Å"he doesn’t know any professional intelligence officers of my generation who would think this [torture] is a good idea,† but the US under the Bush administration failed to listen and this led to death of many innocent people in the name of state security. These torture cases were concealed from the general public and the Congress when CIA was busy for the past half of the century developing and applying a sophisticated form of psychological torture which were meant to go against investigation, prohibition or prosecution and this made it very successful. Americans have found themselves have found themselves in six separate accounts of this same moral quagmire in the last 50 years period. The first was the exposure of the CIA sponsored torture which took place in South Vietnam in 1970, Iran in 1978, Brazil in 1974, Honduras in 1988, and the cases in Iran and Iraq. Each of these cases was exposed at different times and as each case fades, the agency resumes with their lethal work in the shadows. The role of torture in the geopolitics of the Middle East is to divert attention on the real issue. While the CIA was busy torturing prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq, they were at the same time busy exporting opium to other countries. The use of torture was also a means of making sure that no information was leaked to the public. Another role that torture play is to make the subject confess to what the interrogator expects them to do. Also the use of torture by the CIA was to make people from Middle East to desist from any corporation with those who could get in to their secret conducts in these countries. An example is when McCoy was doing a research for his book in the mountains of Laos; a group of CIA machineries attempted to kill him and even threatened his translator to stop working for him. While these were happening, the CIA was secretly transporting opium using Air America helicopters to South Vietnam. Use of torture helped the American’s to exert great influence in the Middle East as those who experienced the tortures gave their experiences once they were out of the prison. The psychological damage was so much that the victims could not become normal again. This coupled with the killings of many people during the war led to weakening of these nations such that American control of oil and drugs like opium could be easy. All these acts were conducted with the aim of building an â€Å"American Empire†. Works Cited. Alfred McCoy. A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror (American Empire Project).

Corporate Social Responsibility Essay example -- Business Corporate So

Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a very controversial topic. A question that has been debated for the past few decades is; is it corporately viable to introduce social responsibility as a proposed addition to the work ethic of business organisations. As well as, if adopting the framework of corporate social responsibility would yield positive improvements for those organisations. The purpose of this essay is to research the notion of CSR and uncover its true framework and outline what social responsibility truly means to corporate organisations, and whether it should be seriously considered to be a legitimate addition to the corporate framework of an organisation. This will be done by outlining some of the basics through the explanation of some terms underpinning CSR and managerial involvement. An explanation of how CSR is an essential part of business language. This will then be followed by a breakdown of the complex framework that CSR is believed to have. The social expectations that consumers have of business, and ways those businesses can meet these expectations will be addressed. Then an outline of the role management plays in the incorporation of socially responsible attributes to a corporation will be expressed, evidence to suggest that ?if this means that there a social contract that requires business to honour a moral bare minimum, then a business manager is duty-bound to obey it? (Bowie 1991: 56-66). This essay shall also investigate some of the classical theories of CSR and its contribution to profit maximisation. Finally, some specific arguments that state that the introduction of social responsibility is not a good idea and how it has failed to create the ?good society? (Friedman 1970: 122-126) will be discussed. Corporate social responsibility has undergone a definitional evolution over the past half century but has always and will always remain an essential part of business language. Definitions of CSR have became more specific; since the 70?s, with alternative emphases, being placed on issues such as the understanding of corporate citizenship (which is a key concept of CSR), and the stakeholder theory. In early writings CSR was referred to more often as social responsibility (SR) rather than as CSR. Bowen (1953: 6) set forth an initial definition of the social responsibility: "It re... ...974. ?Social responsibilities of business managers?. Academy of Management Journal, vol. 17, pp. 135-143. McWilliams, A. and Siegel, D. 2001, ?Corporate Social Responsibility: A Theory of the Firm Perspective?, Academy of Management Review, vol 26, no. 1, pp 117-128. Mitchell, R., Agle, B., & Wood, D. 1997. ?Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts?. Academy of Management Review, vol. 22, pp. 853-886. Robbins, S. P., Bergman, R., Stagg, I. and Coulter, M. (2000) ?Management?, French?s Forest: Prentice Hall. Verschoor, C. (2001) ?Corporate Power Must Be Balanced With Good Citizenship?, Strategic Finance, vol. 83, no. 3. Waddock, S., & Graves, S. 1997. ?The corporate social performance--financial performance link?. Strategic Management Journal, vol. 18, pp. 303-319. Weigelt, K., & Camerer, C. 1988. ?Reputation and corporate strategy: A review of recent theory and application?. Strategic Management Journal, vol. 9,pp. 443-454. Wright, P., & Ferris, S. 1997. ?Agency conflict and corporate strategy: The effect of divestment on corporate value?. Strategic management Journal, vol. 18, pp. 77-83.

The Decline in the Ecological Quality of the woodland, Heathland and Wetland Areas in the New Forest

The New Forest, a landscape enjoyed by many as a wonderful break from the bustle of city life, An abundance of species rich habitats, a place of solitude, as open space to be valued and conserved for both present and future generations. To many the New forest may seem an unchanging mosaic of forest, heath and wetland interlocked with small rural settlements whose traditional character seem almost timeless. However beneath this uniquely picturesque landscape lies an environment which is both complex and forever changing, a landscape which through history, has been heavily influenced by man and his activities. The precise role of man and the influence he is having upon the natural environment often creates a complex set of management issues. These issues embody not only concerns for the environment but often have economic implications for the wider community. The New Forest is a good example of this; it has many conflicting uses and hence requires management. Figure two displays this range of habitats. Habitat Area/ha Heathland/Acid Grassland 11740 Valley Mires and Wet Heaths 238 Unenclosed Deciduous Woodland 4049 Statutory Silvicultural Enclosures 8100 Unenclosable (open to exercise of common rights) 19028 Fig2: The proportions of different habitats It is the largest area of unsown vegetation in lowland Britain. Each habitat is affected differently by different uses, which in the past may have caused a decline in their ecological quality, it is both these uses and the management strategies associated with them that will be the focus of this article. History of Landuse and Management The forest became appointed to the crown as Royal Forest nine hundred years ago, it was used as a reservation for deer and domestic stock. This grazing and browsing limited the regeneration of trees and shrubs. It is currently under the management of the Forestry Commission as detailed in the Forestry and New Forest acts. The Forestry Commission is responsible for the ancient and ornamental woodlands and their timber enclosures this is refered to as the ‘Crown Land'. They are required to give priority to conservation of the forests traditional character. They practice forestry in the Silvicultural Enclosures and have a responsibility for managing the unenclosed forest. The New Forest Heritage area will be referred to as the ‘New Forest'. The common land within the perambulation will be referred to as the ‘Open Forest'. Privately owned and fenced lands will be refered to as ‘Enclosed lands'. Fig 1:Dockens area Fig 3: The New Forest Heritage Area Ten Verderers became responsible for management of communal animals depastured in open forest. They regulated the right of the common promoting the improvement of grazing for the commoners. However these days there are strict guidelines which commoners must adhere to, to try to ensure the retention and sometimes improvement of the landscape quality. In July 1994 the government recognised the New Forest as a unique area giving it similar protection as a national park. It also possesses other designations, it is a SSSI although this offers protection from development it offers little in the way of conservation. In 1996 the New Forest Committee published a management plan entitled ‘A strategy for the New Forest' its individual aims and strategies will be assessed throughout this article. The Committee represents the principal central and local government organisations in the forest who include Countryside Commission English Nature Forestry Commission Hampshire County Council New Forest District Council Verderers of the New Forest Salisbury District Council Test Valley Borough Council Wiltshire County Council (as Observers) Country Landowners' Association National Farmers' Union (as Observers) The development of a management strategy like The New Forest Strategy is important as it recognises the interests of all groups concerned, although the participation of so many organisations that often have conflicting interests may often make management difficult. Today most of the New Forest exists as a pastoral economy based on the exercise of common rights and grazing. The community of farmers made up of between three to four hundred commoners depend upon this for their livelihoods hence the combination of this and conservation makes management more difficult. It is thought that grazing has had a greater effect on vegetation than peat cutting and deforestation, indeed it is thought the landscape has evolved to its present state through the effects of grazing. In each area ecological quality is affected differently by a variety of different uses, so it will be necessary to assess the decline of each one in turn. Woodland Although there are both Silvicultural enclosures and ancient unenclosed deciduous woodland it is the later that possess the most nature conservation value. The silvicultural enclosures though contain approximately 40% of Oak and Beech some containing unmodified former pasture woodland. Because these enclosures have been less grazed than the unenclosed woodland contain many rare plants including bastard balm and the lungwort. These enclosures also contain large populations of predatory birds such as Buzzards and sparrow hawks. Fig 4: Native trees during flood Oak and Beech dominate the unenclosed deciduous woodland, Oaks being more dominant on heavier soils varying in proportion. Under this canopy Holly dominates along with maple and hawthorn. Older oaks contain the richest woodland lichen flora in Lowland Europe while insectivorous birds colonise decaying timber. This area is open to the exercise of common rights and has been for many years, indeed this habitat is Semi-natural, and exists as a Plagioclimax. There has been much research to determine whether this grazing of domestic stock has caused an ecological decline in these forests The animals can be very selective hence the less edible plants may become the most dominant. As a result much research has been undertaken to assess the effects of grazing on woodland. This is in many ways an attempt to determine the level of grazing necessary to prevent further damage to the environment and slow down any ecological decline associated with it. During 1960 Dr George Peterken established ‘The age structure of the enclosed woodlands was related to fluctuations of large herbivores since at least the eighteenth century'. He also found that the most recent periods of regeneration of woodland were 1860-1910 and 1930-1945. The first of these followed the killing of most of the deer population after the order of the deer conservation act in 1851, while the second was due to a slow market and a corresponding reduction in stocks. This had a dramatic effect on the landscape and remains proof of the limiting effect of grazing both on woodland quality and area, as it followed the generation of new trees in adjacent areas. However nowadays commoning has been more intensive and there have been too many invertebrates to allow such natural regeneration. Clearly Herbivores influence species composition and age structure of woods so much so that in the New Forest today elm lime and hazel no longer make up the canopy of the majority of woodland. Research by Prof. Barber of Southampton Univ. has highlighted these reductions in diversity. His pollen diagrams show that elm and lime die out suddenly. He attributes this to them being felled and failing to regenerate. He has also documented a decline in hazel and its disappearance recently. Documentary evidence from 16th and 17th centuries shows hazel to be common. All of this evidence shows a slow increase in browse resistant holly, a decline in ecological quality, which can only be attributed to selective grazing. In comparing this to private forest of similar edaphic quality that has mainly been coppiced we find hazel still abundant along with a rich herb layer. This is in comparison to the sparse herb layer of the grazed area, which comprises of around a poor thirty species. The ungrazed area also contains many lichens and deadwood invertebrates, hence a wide variety and species richness. Management of Woodland The New Forest Committee in their Strategy for the New Forest recognises that ‘Grazing in open forest by sheep and cattle has a strong influence on the age regeneration and species type of the vegetation' They also recognise that the numbers and proportions of ponies to cattle have a significant effect on the ecology of the forest. It refers to ‘The Lingworth Report' on grazing. It suggests that pony and cattle premium schemes and marking fees should be used as a mechanism for influencing numbers turned out. Recent research however has shown that social and cultural factors play a greater role in decision making. The report recognises that commoning is poor source of income for commoners and that restrictions on landuse and stock numbers may have profound effects on their livelihoods and the local economy. The Forestry commissions policy is ‘to conserve woodland as an essential component of the traditional character of the forest'. Part of the ‘New Forest review' recommends that ‘The maximum feasible area of native area of broardleaved component should be grown on the longest feasible rotations, and the possibility of restoring some conifer plantations to broardleave should be investigated'. Such recommendations are encouraging for conservation however the actual implementation may be more difficult to put into practice, while the affects of any recent measures are too early to assess. Unfortunately it is difficult for the Forestry Commission to assess the extent of deterioration or have any control over development in the privately owned forests. This is identified in the ‘Strategy for the New Forest', it recognises ‘Changes in the design and siting of new planting, changes in management practices and species composition and loss of hedgerows all have important implications for the forest as a whole' Indeed comparison of the area today to that recorded in the New Forest by English Nature during 1994 shows a reduction in quality of the landscape. It identified 94 sites supporting ancient woodland amounting to 2330ha in privately owned areas. The Report identifies that 37% of ancient woodland from these areas has now been replanted with conifers. Heathlands These are the result of mans activities particularly burning over the last three thousand years and are hence regarded as Semi-natural. Heathlands similar to woodlands have been grazed throughout history. Some heaths were part of the commoning system these are outside the Crown lands and have been enclosed since the 19th Century. Some heath is unenclosed on higher ground. The fringes of the forest in the west have extensive heaths. The heaths inside the perambulation have become degraded through recreational use and gravel extraction, this has contributed to much fragmentation and a reduction in this habitat. Scrub encroachment has become a particular problem and has led to a reduction in bio-diversity through competition. Grazing by Ponies is believed to have led to the rapid decline in populations of Dwarf Gorse an important component of the heathland. The evidence is indicating that grassland is expanding while heathland contracts and this is leading to a decline in the ecological quality of the forest. It is thought and shown by observation that this is apparent where there is intensive grazing and trampling. In 1973 Dr Colin Tubbs showed that areas of heath that had been burnt failed to regenerate due to the grazing pressure. Heathlands support birds like the Dartford Warbler, which in the New Forest has been put under threat by grazing. In 1974 Colin Bibby conducted a national survey of Dartford Warbler populations he concluded that burning and heavy grazing had reduced the birds habitat namely the heathlands, and had hence he attributed a decline in populations of Dartford Warbler to this decline in habitat. It is thought by entomologists that insects particularly butterflies were more frequently sited during the 1930's. However this is difficult to place certainty on as much of the data is unreliable. They have found that species such as High Brown, Dark Green, Pearl Bordered and many other rare species, which were abundant, are now confined to local areas. During the 1930's there was less grazing, both this and the higher diversity and this can be said is proof of this ecological decline. Colin Tubbs has expressed concern over buzzard populations who rely on heathlands as their habitat. Competition with large vertebrates is causing them to decline through limiting the number of small ground vertebrates such as rabbits by over grazing. This is the underlying Hypothesis surrounding much of Colin Tubbs work in this area. He established in 1973 that there was a large fall in buzzard production with only one out of six pairs known to rear young since then the number of successful pairs has stayed below the levels during the 1960's. This followed a large fall in the number of small rodents counted in southern England during 1970. It is difficult to place much reliability on this data. The grazing by ponies continues to be intensive and remain so unless the Forestry Commission takes action. Actions such as the erecting of fences are of little use, as Ponies seem to have a remarkable ability to leap over fences. The Forestry Commission has had to dedicate time to the removal of Ponies and this can often be very costly. Management Of Heathlands The Heathlands are managed by the Forestry Commission, during 1986 the New Forest Review group recommended that some conifer or open woods should be returned to open heathland to reduce there decline, purely in the interests of conservation. The Forestry Commission has already started this holistic approach away from the economic needs of forestry to those of conservation. Many of the proposals outlined in the ‘Strategy for the New Forest' aims to: ‘work with landowners to conserve and extend heathland reinstating traditional management where possible' RA3.73b.8. This will be possibly hard to implement, as the economic needs of commoners may be difficult to overcome in the pursuit of conservation. This may only be possible through the adoption of joint marketing of Forest animals and produce to offset the financial implications of this proposal. This is outlined in section 4.1.6 of the report. The Forestry Commission is responsible for the management of the majority of these areas and there is a tendency for their economic implications to override those of conservation. Management also aims to: ‘Raise awareness of the ecological importance of heathland and encourage local support for its conservation' [RA3.7c]. This is important as raising awareness of the public can lead to involvement through voluntary organisations which can lead to a reduction in expenditure by government and an increase in the amount of positive management for conservation. Although this is hard to implement as it often involves some expensive form of interpretative media. All these policies aim to restore and recreate heathland, although the effects of these actions to the problems already discussed are not yet visible. Wetland's The New Forest possesses ninety valley mires of which there are only 120 in the whole of Europe, these have high conservation importance. Draining during the 1950's and 60's has lead to a reduction in the ecological quality of these environments. Restoration of these areas is important as some pockets contain unique flora and flora, an immense biological richness. They provide both grazing and water for forest animals. Rare species include slender cotton grass (Eriophorum gracile), bog orchid (Hammarabga paludose) which are very rare in Southern England. The Forestry Commission previously had a duty to drain many mires in an effort to fulfil the statutory obligations of ‘The New Forest Act of 1949'. Unfortunately it is only recently that the importance of this habitat ecologically has become realised. It is now part of the ‘New Forest special area of conservation' and is both a ‘RAMSAR' wetland and a ‘SSSI'. The most important Mires are located in the Crown lands. The wetlands also include many rivers and their floodplains, while there are historic water meadows and fifty ponds, these also posses high bio-diversity and require management. Many of the streams are rare due to there acid nature hence they support rare species. There has been a reduction in the ecological quality of these areas by modifying or straitening of the marine channels. Low levels in the Rivers and streams have been attributed to a lowering of the water table by boreholes and streams. Management of Wetlands In relation to rivers and streams, the ‘Environment Agency' has developed a ‘Catchment management plan' for the New Forest. Which is concerned with the future management of these areas. The recommended actions associated with this management I am unaware of. In relation to mires the Strategy aims to: ‘Restore and enhance damaged valley mires' [RA3.8b]0 This involves techniques to slow the flow of water restoring levels of water to how they were before drainage. This is achieved by installing small dams along small ditches in an attempt to drain the mire. It tries to mimic natural channel blocking; it is hoped that this will halt headwald erosion. Deep channels have developed in some places, which are a hazard to livestock and damaging to the mire. ‘The Forestry Commission' has been aiming to infill these with local material to hope that they blend in with surrounding heathland vegetation. Again many of these important areas of conservation occur in the Crown land i.e.- Mires. In one of its recommended actions the Forestry Commission work with land managers and advise them in areas where conservation may not be the land managers highest priority. In Relation to this the strategy aims to: ‘Identify wetland features important to the traditional character of the New Forest and work with landowners/land managers to secure their conservation.' [RA3.8a], see also RA3.3c0 It is clear now that the New possess a very complex range of management issues and that successful management will require great co-operation between all groups who have an interest for one reason or another in the New Forest.

If You Touch a Butterflys Wings, Can It Still Fly

If youve ever handled a butterfly, you probably noticed the powdery residue left behind on your fingers. A butterflys wings are covered with scales, which can rub off on your fingertips if you touch them. Will losing some of these scales prevent a butterfly from flying, or worse, will a butterfly die if you touch its wings? Butterfly Wings Arent as Fragile as They Look The idea that merely touching a butterflys wings may prevent it from flying is more fiction than fact. Although their wings appear fragile, consider the following butterfly flight records as evidence of their strong construction: The longest documented flight by a migrating monarch butterfly was 2,750 miles, from Grand Manan Island, Canada to the overwintering grounds in Mexico.Painted lady butterflies are known to fly even farther, covering 4,000 miles from North Africa to Iceland. Researchers studying the flight of this species using high-speed cameras reported that painted ladies flap their wings an astounding 20 times  per second.  The Paralasa nepalica, a butterfly found only in Nepal,  lives and flies at an altitude of nearly 15,000 feet. If a simple touch could render a butterflys wings useless, butterflies could never manage such feats. Butterflies Shed Scales Throughout Their Lives The truth is, a butterfly sheds scales throughout its lifetime. Butterflies lose scales just by doing the things butterflies do: nectaring, mating, and flying. If you touch a butterfly gently, it will lose some scales, but rarely enough to prevent it from flying. A butterfly wing is made of a thin membrane webbed with veins. Colorful scales cover the membrane, overlapping like roof shingles. These scales strengthen and stabilize the wings. If a butterfly loses a great number of scales, the underlying membrane may become more prone to rips and tears, which in turn, could affect its ability to fly. Butterflies cannot regenerate lost scales. On older butterflies, you may notice tiny clear patches on their wings, where scales have been shed. If a large section of scales is missing, you can sometimes see right through the clear membrane. Wing tears, on the other hand, do affect a butterflys ability to fly. You should always try to minimize tears to a butterflys wing when catching them. Always use a proper butterfly net. Never trap a live butterfly in a small jar or other containers in which it may damage its wings by flapping against the hard sides. How to Hold a Butterfly So You Wont Damage Its Wings When you handle a butterfly, gently close its wings together. Using a light but firm touch, hold all four wings together and keep your fingers in one place. Its best to hold the wings at a point close to the butterflys body, to keep it as still as possible. As long as youre gentle and dont handle the butterfly excessively, it will continue to fly when you release it and live out its life cycle no worse for the wear. Sources: Insect Flight, Encyclopedia Smithsonian website, Smithsonian Institution. Accessed online June 9, 2015.Frequently Asked Questions, Learn About Butterflies website.  Accessed online June 9, 2015.Monarch Tag and Release, Virginia Living Museum website.  Accessed online June 9, 2015.Gammon, Katharine. The Mathematical Butterfly: Simulations Provide New Insights On Flight. Inside Science News Service, April 19, 2013.  Accessed online June 9, 2015.