Gretchen Marie Walters

University of Lausanne | UNIL · Faculty of Geosciences and Environment

Forests bear the historical legacies of human activities over thousands of years, including agriculture, trade, disease and resource extraction. Many of these activities may represent indices of the proposed geological epoch of the Anthropocene. Modifications to soil, topography and vegetation evidence anthropogenic influences. Yet studies of veget...

In many industrialised societies, the COVID-19 pandemic has been painted as an unprecedented moment caused by human abuse of nature. Responses to it have, in turn, temporarily slowed down human impacts upon nature. This has led to a rallying cry against human encroachment into what are claimed to be pristine wildernesses. Reflecting upon historic,...

Background and aims – Old-growth savannas in Africa are impacted by fire, have endemic and geoxylic suffrutices, and are understudied. This paper explores the Parc National des Plateaux Batéké (PNPB) in Gabon and the impact of fire on its flora to understand if it is an old-growth savanna. It presents 1) a vascular plant checklist, including endemi...

As a response to global crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, the UN has called for restoring a billion hectares of land. In recognition, both governments and the private sector have pledged to restore landscapes through planting millions of hectares of forests. Private sector investment is to play a critical role in meeting these goals,...

Abstract Conservation research and practice are increasingly engaging with people and drawing on social sciences to improve environmental governance. In doing so, conservation engages with power in many ways, often implicitly. Conservation scientists and practitioners exercise power when dealing with species, people and the environment, and increas...

Evolution 155 (2): 189-206. https://doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.85954 2 RESUME Contexte et buts-Les savanes anciennes d'Afrique sont influencées par les feux, possèdent des suffrutices géoxyliques et endémiques et elles sont encore peu étudiées. Le présent article est une étude du Parc National des Plateaux Batéké (PNPB) au Gabon et de l'incidence des...

Restoration of degraded lands and ecosystems is one of the largest challenges of our times. Many countries are making pledges to restore their lands and use the Restoration Opportunities and Assessment Methodology (ROAM) to prioritise restoration as part of their work on Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR). In FLR, the integration of cultural knowle...

This contribution challenges representations of landscapes and communities within zoos in Europe that may amplify colonial narratives of local people through a racialised and often static lens. Instead of a holistic portrayal of the relationship between humans and nature that the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) stipulates within its...

Context: We describe how large landscape-scale conservation initiatives involving local communities, NGOs and resource managers have engaged with landscape scientists with the goal of achieving landscape sustainability. We focus on two landscapes where local people, practitioners and landscape ecol-ogists have co-produced knowledge to design conser...

Restoration of degraded ecosystem functions and services is an important component of conservation and sustainable development because it allows people to improve human livelihoods by reviving important ecosystem services. For restoration to be achieved a variety of factors must be in place such as policies, laws, capacity and spaces in which to de...

We report on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), especially those who govern, manage and conserve their lands and waters. We explore the themes of access and use of natural resources, solidarity, decision-making, the role of governments and IPLCs in managing COVID-19, and the uptake of traditiona...

In many industrialised societies, the COVID-19 pandemic has been painted as an unprecedented moment caused by human abuse of nature. Responses to it have, in turn, temporarily slowed down human impacts upon nature. This has led to a rallying cry against human encroachment into what are claimed to be pristine wildernesses. Reflecting upon historic,...

This paper argues that the conceptualization of the interplay of 'natural' and 'anthropogenic' influences in shaping tropical forest landscapes is hindered by a debate between two opposing concepts and their supporters: 'disturbance' versus 'domestication'. The former is the standard concept in ecology, wherein anthropogenic influences are seen as...

Dinklageella villiersi is endemic to Gabon

Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) in Ghana combine conservation and development objectives and were introduced in the year 2000. In some cases, they have connected collectors of shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) nuts with certified organic world markets, which can be understood as a 'market-based' approach to conservation. This paper examines h...

Given the diversity of active institutions and stakeholders in a landscape, and the difficulties in ensuring inclusive decision-making, evaluating landscape governance can help surface and address underlying issues. In the context of two protected area landscapes in Uganda, where landscape approaches are being implemented through a wider project on...

Landscape approaches are intended to resolve conflicts and address land and resource scarcity and competition. Often guided by 10 principles, numerous examples exist in the field but remain poorly documented. As a result, it remains difficult to learn about their implementation. This paper provides an example of the implementation of a landscape ap...

Within a landscape of overlapping ecological, social and economic priorities, plans and programmes aim to balance land use dynamics to combine natural resource management with environmental and livelihood considerations. However, in striving to reach such a balance, people and local institutions are often excluded or forgotten. Many landscapes are...

Governance challenges – including ownership, decision-making, accountability, and sharing of costs and benefits – can impede forest landscape restoration in protected area landscapes. Understanding and addressing these challenges can improve the outcomes of forest landscape restoration. We tested the utility of applying an existing framework that f...

Despite substantial increases in the scope and magnitude of biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration, there remains ongoing degradation of natural resources that adversely affects both biodiversity and human well-being. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can be an effective framework for reversing this trend, by increasing the alignment betwe...

This chapter focuses on how non-governmental organisations and donors conceive of participation by legitimately selected representatives and how it fosters the interests of constituencies, using the supply and demand dichotomy. Civil society may supply a role to represent a constituency or by contrast, donors or governments may demand that constitu...

The paper suggests a minimum set of abiotic and biotic threshold indicators and progress indicators for forest landscape restoration (FLR), then also briefly discusses progress indicators of pressures and project outputs. FLR aims to restore multiple functions of forests at a landscape scale. It is predicated on the hypothesis that restoration prod...

REDD+ (Reducing Emissions, Deforestation and forest Degradation+) is a United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) process through which governments reduce the impacts of climate change through forest conservation in a results-based payments scheme. Distinct from international negotiations about the REDD+ framework under the UNF...

Transformative adaptation will be increasingly important to effectively address the impacts of climate change and other global drivers on social-ecological systems. Enabling transformative adaptation requires new ways to evaluate and adaptively manage trade-offs between maintaining desirable aspects of current social-ecological systems and adapting...

Designing natural resource management projects that support local representation and accountable governance If they are to yield effective, equitable outcomes, natural resource management projects need to work with representatives who are responsive and accountable to local people. This brief presents practical suggestions on how projects can avoid...

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are defined by IUCN as actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems, which address societal challenges (e.g. climate change, food and water security or natural disasters) effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. The NbS co...

Urban development is an increasing threat to the integrity of formerly remote protected areas, in some cases resulting in their downgrading, downsizing or degazetting. One-quarter of previously remote protected areas are now within 17km of a city and thus face the threat of urbanization. Here we describe a case of avoided downgrading, downsizing an...

The Responsive Forest Governance Initiative (RFGI) is a research, training and practice program that focuses on environmental governance in 12 countries in Africa. This work was based on the premise that nations worldwide have introduced democratic decentralization reforms aspiring to make local government responsive and accountable to the needs an...

This species is listed as Critically Endangered: CR B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv,v). This small tree is found in only a single area in Oveng area (north of Libreville) in the buffer zone of Akanda National Park, Gabon. The species is particularly threatened by expanding urbanization. Ex situ conservation measures to date have failed. Its ext...

This species is assessed as Vulnerable: VU D2. It was collected three times around Libreville between 1881 and 1899 without precise geographic localities, and has not been found since in Gabon despite targeted fieldwork. It was collected in 1997 in Rio Muni. However, the species is difficult to identify in the field. According to the ecology (old s...

This species is listed as Endangered: EN B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv); D. This species occurs in the estuary area of Gabon and currently occurs in two protected areas (Akanda and Mondah). This sun-loving species prefers disturbed areas, but has a small distribution. Given the impact of expanding urbanization and other threats, the habitat is...

This species was collected six times around Libreville between 1896-1902, but each collection did not provide precise geographic localities. It has not been found since in Gabon despite targeted fieldwork. It was collected in 2001 in Rio Muni, Equatorial Guinea. However, the species is difficult to identify in the field and closely resembles a sist...

This species occurs in the estuary area of Gabon and is found in three protected areas (Akanda National Park, Raponda Walker Arboretum and Pongara National Park). It is grows in dry, coastal forest in association with Zeyherella mayumbensis in the sub-canopy. The seeds of this liana are dispersed by the wind, over short distances. Continued urbaniz...

The species is known from only the type specimen, which was collected from the edge of the Komo River near Mbel (N.Hallé & Villiers 4279) in Gabon. Its area of occupancy (AOO) is estimated to be 4 km² (which falls within the threshold for listing as Critically Endangered under criterion B2). The species is known from only one subpopulation, which r...

This species occurs in the estuary area of Gabon and is currently protected in one protected area (the Raponda Walker Arboretum). Its preferred habitat is mature forest but it can also be found in secondary forest. Given the impacts of urbanization, especially around Libreville, the habitat is severely threatened. The extent of occurrence (EOO) of...

The species was not found during the 2011 fieldwork survey within its habitat and area of distribution. It has not been collected since its description in 1902. The locality from which it was described is not precise, but the species is easily recognizable, and should have been found in recent field studies if it had been encountered. The species i...

This species is assessed as Category of Endangered: EN B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii). It occurs in the estuary area of Gabon and is currently only known from two protected areas (Akanda National Park and the Raponda Walker Arboretum). However, according to its ecology and the habitat it is found in, the species might occur also outside these two national park...

This species was collected twice around Libreville between 1900-1904. It was not found despite intense searching in 2011. This species is difficult to locate due to its lack of identifying characteristics. Given its ecology of occurring in primary, dense forest, it may well be located in the Raponda Walker Arboretum's Parcelle des Conservateurs but...

Addressing today’s environmental challenges is intimately linked to understanding and improving natural resource governance institutions. As a result conservation initiatives are increasingly realizing the importance of integrating local perspectives of land tenure arrangements, natural resource rights, and local beliefs into conservation approache...

In many African savannas, anthropogenic fire regimes are changing for reasons that are poorly understood. However, these changes will likely impact landscapes. Using the case of the Teke-Alima people of Gabon's savannas, the transition from communal, annual hunting fires, organised by land chiefs, to semi-annual, hunting fires lit by individuals is...

https://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/forest/fp_our_work/fp_our_work_thematic/locally_controlled_forests/lcf_projects_partnership/responsive_forest_governance_initiative__rfgi__/ Editor's Note: Struggles for control over and access to nature and natural resources; struggles over land, forests, pastures and fisheries, are struggles for surviva...

La chasse excessive des espèces de viande de brousse constitue l'une des plus grandes menaces pour les écosystèmes forestiers tropicaux en Afrique centrale. Toutefois, la chasse de subsistance est également une activité importante en termes de moyens d'existence des communautés sylvicoles et de chasseurs-cueilleurs en Afrique centrale, présentant n...

Over-hunting of bushmeat species is one of the largest threats to tropical forest ecosystems in Central Africa. Yet subsistence hunting is also an important activity for the livelihoods of hunter-gatherer and forest-dwelling communities in Central Africa, not only providing an important source of protein and income to families but also forming part...

Sustainable hunting is a target of conservation research and action in the Congo Basin. It has been argued that the cultural context must be understood to find solutions. However , the anthropological literature on hunting is separate from the conservation literature on the bushmeat crisis, making it difficult to make links between cultural and sub...

A key management goal in Lopé National Park, Gabon, is to protect regionally-rare savannah ecosystems within the continuous rainforest block. In order to evaluate the impact of existing protection efforts, data on burning season environmental conditions, burning effort and current woody values for savannahs were examined between 1995 and 2008. Resu...

A key management goal in Lopé National Park, Gabon, is to protect regionally rare savannah ecosystems within the continuous rainforest block. In order to evaluate the impact of existing protection efforts, data on burning season environmental conditions, burning effort and current woody values for savannahs were examined between 1995 and 2008. Resu...

Background – A new species of Rubiaceae, Psychotria wieringae O.Lachenaud, is described and illustrated. Methods – Normal practises of herbarium taxonomy have been applied. Key results – P. wieringae is endemic to the Libreville peninsula (Gabon), where it is locally abundant in the undergrowth of littoral forests on sandy soils. It is related to P...

Background and aims - Eighty per cent of Gabon's territory is covered by forest with most species inventory work focused on these areas. However, herbaceous open vegetation types are abundant in this country and can be found in savannas on the coast, in the centre and in the south, and on inselbergs. The species diversity patterns of these habitats...

Most fires in Africa are anthropogenic yet remain understudied. Studies typically address managed fire, or the “fire triad” of early dry season-late dry season-suppression, and fire regimes which are annual or less, leaving unstudied the anthropogenic fire regimes that occur in the majority of African savannas. I take the case of the Bateke Plateau...

Background and aims - Floristic inventories are the primary means by which the plant diversity of an area can be understood and are important in underpinning management plans for conservation. One of the priorities set out for Loango National Park (LNP) in an IUCN assessment of Gabon's protected areas was to produce a vascular plant checklist. Ther...

Background and aims Eighty per cent of Gabon's territory is covered by forest with most species inventory work focused on these areas. However, herbaceous open vegetation types are abundant in this country and can be found in savannas on the coast, in the centre and in the south, and on inselbergs. The species diversity patterns of these habitats r...

Since the publication of the Gabon Checklist in 2006, intensive fieldwork activity has led to the discovery of many novelties. We document here 61 new records for the flora of Gabon, including nine new generic records. Five taxa are also removed from the Gabon flora.

Anthropogenic fire regimes and society are linked: social change modifies fire application which then impacts ecosystems. In the past 40 years, savanna burning has changed markedly around the world as policies, laws, and cultures change. This thesis explores the links between fire regime and culture by analysing the decline of the fire-based Bateke...

Dans ce travail est décrit et illustré Memecylon batekeanum R. D. Stone & G. M. Walters du zone tampon du Parc National des Plateaux Batéké du Sud-est Gabon. Cette nouvelle espèce se rapproche de l'espèce Camerounaise M. amshoffiae Jacques-Félix, mais s'en distingue par sa forme d'arbrisseau, ses jeunes rameaux 4-angulaires-ailés, ses cymes peu fle...