Jonathan Kwok

Introduction Mangroves play an important role in their ecosystem due to the ecological benefits they provide (Buelow and Sheaves 2015).  A Provisioning service provided by mangroves include supporting fish and other sea life biodiversity for fishermen (Quimby 2015). They provide regulating services such as increasing overall coast protection from storm surges and erosion (Rahdarian et al. 2017).  They also provide cultural services such as they provide a place for fisherman to fish (Quimby 2015). The questions arise to whether communities affect mangrove loss due to human interactions.  Our group decided…read more

Overview In 2000, Panama committed to two national objectives as an initiative to receive REDD+ funding intended to be used for sustainable agricultural incentives: 1) reduce deforestation of mature forest, and 2) increase forest area through agroforestry plantations. Taking a combined national-level and project-based approach, what follows is evidence to support our overall position that Panama has partially met its objectives and qualifies for REDD+ funding. Reduced Deforestation of Mature Forest As seen in Figure 1, Panama’s landscape has undergone a rapid conversion of mature forest to cropland and fallow…read more

The maps are at the bottom of the page… Abstract Mosquitoes are also a common insect encountered during outdoor activities in the lower mainland and Howe Sound and thus can be a nuisance to some people. Mosquitoes are well studied in other parts of the world such as tropical and subtropical regions. Using that information of prefered and potential habitat sources, a map of the Fraser Valley and Howe Sound is created to suggest potential habitat sources for mosquitoes based on moisture availability. We have also included layers like old…read more

According to Canadian Buisness and CBC, The BC province has given its approval for developing a ski resort for Garibaldi at Squamish.  The two main stakeholders are Luigi Aquilini and Bob Gaglardi, which they have been planning the project for decades.   Many affected stakeholders have filed against the proposed project, holders such as Whistler Blackcomb, First Nations, and Environmental professionals such as applied biologist. In this analysis, a map of the Garibaldi region has been mapped with important ecological areas.  The data of old growth and ungulate areas were retrieved from the…read more

Vancouver is well-know for a city that is well integrated with nature.  This city is right next to a beautiful shoreline (protected by Vancouver Island), and is only an hour drive to the local mountains and glaciers.  With all its sheer beauty and greenery, there is a cost.  Vancouver is also infamous for its rising house prices.  As of 2017, our lovely city ranked the 6th most expensive real estate market. Learning about different break methods, I have been able to learn to categorize shelter cost values differently Below are a…read more

The Greater Vancouver area is developed on a delta which is susceptible to tide changes, specially if there is a sudden change in sea level.  Luckily Vancouver Island’s presence helps decrease the effects of tsunamis from seismic activity, but the area is still at risk of a storm surge.  With large amounts of datasets, I have learned to mine through the data and to represent them based on scenarios.  Below are a few maps of the Greater Vancouver area made in ArcMaps using the ArcGIS software.     Map4 xx…read more