Review on Quantitative Research Methods of Regional Sustainable Development in China

Abstract

Since the 1990s, with the in-depth study and understanding of sustainable development, quantitative study of regional sustainable development (RSD) was increasingly hot in China. Based on quantitative study of RSD from Core Periodical in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (1992–2008), statistical analysis on the annual distribution, periodicals distribution and changes of the distribution were made. And from perspectives of social–economic, ecological, systematic and emerging methods, the course, problems and trends of the quantitative study methods on RSD were examined and analyzed to get a clear summary. By the review, the context on the quantitative study of RSD was to be clarified. The study also showed that, primarily, fields involving quantitative study are expanding; second, big progresses and constant development have been made on the systematic method gradually sophisticated, the flourishing ecological method and emerging new methods in the context of cross and integration which has made complex integrated systems a more satisfactory solution; third, the method system has been more multi-angled, and the clues of independent innovation have been observed despite the fact that the introduction of imported method is the main trend. Although many problems exist, multi-scale study, dynamic timeseries study and inter-regional comparative study will be further exploited and increasingly carried out with the progress of spatial information technology, which would boost the development and application of new methods in RSD study.     

Progress in Enclave Tourism Study of Overseas: A Literature Review

Abstract

In response to the “isolated island” phenomenon emerging from the development of tourist resorts in China, this paper reviews the study of enclave tourism overseas, which has similar features to the resort “island”. Based on the literatures related to enclave tourism from Tourism Management and Annals of Tourism Research, this paper reviews the study of enclave tourism from the following aspects: definition discussion, theories used, causation of enclaves, characteristics and impacts of enclave tourism. The understanding of the overseas researches on enclave tourism would provide instructions for the study on the problems of Chinese resorts, such as enclavity and “island effects”, and suggest measures for the sustainable development of resorts in China. This paper is divided into three sections. Section 1 briefly introduces the development of enclave tourism in developing countries and the outline of enclave tourism study. Section 2 elaborates on the contents of enclave tourism research and gives deep insights into the study on concepts, characteristics, causations and effects respectively, which is the key part of this paper; Section 3 concludes the review and proposes suggestions for the enclave tourism study in China.     

Low-carbon transitions in world regions: comparison of technological mitigation potential and costs in 2020 and 2030 through bottom-up analyses

This study focuses on low-carbon transitions in the mid-term and analyzes mitigation potentials of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020 and 2030 in a comparison based on bottom-up-type models. The study provides in-depth analyses of technological mitigation potentials and costs by sector and analyzes marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves from 0 to 200 US $/tCO₂ eq in major countries. An advantage of this study is that the technological feasibility of reducing GHG emissions is identified explicitly through looking at distinct technological options. However, the results of MAC curves using the bottom-up approach vary widely according to region and model due to the various differing assumptions. Thus, this study focuses on some comparable variables in order to analyze the differences between MAC curves. For example, reduction ratios relative to 2005 in Annex I range from 9 % to 31 % and 17 % to 34 % at 50 US $/tCO₂ eq in major countries. An advantage of this study is that the technological feasibility of reducing GHG emissions is identified explicitly through looking at distinct technological options. However, the results of MAC curves using the bottom-up approach vary widely according to region and model due to the various differing assumptions. Thus, this study focuses on some comparable variables in order to analyze the differences between MAC curves. For example, reduction ratios relative to 2005 in Annex I range from 9 % to 31 % and 17 % to 34 % at 50 US /tCO₂ eq in 2020 and 2030, respectively. In China and India, results of GHG emissions relative to 2005 vary very widely due to the difference in baseline emissions as well as the diffusion rate of mitigation technologies. Future portfolios of advanced technologies and energy resources, especially nuclear and renewable energies, are the most prominent reasons for the difference in MAC curves. Transitions toward a low-carbon society are not in line with current trends, and will require drastic GHG reductions, hence it is important to discuss how to overcome various existing barriers such as energy security constraints and technological restrictions.     

‘Complex crisis’ and the rise of collaborative natural resource governance: institutional trajectory of a wildlife governance experience in Ghana

Natural resource governance is underpinned by institutions which evolve ‘circumstantially’ over time. An attempt at understanding the contemporary institutions and governance structure of a resource requires an in-depth ethnographic enquiry. Adapting a four-phase institutional analysis framework, this study discusses the evolution and adaptation of wildlife governance structures and institutions using the unique experience of Boabeng–Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in Ghana. The study adopted a transdisciplinary research approach which was participatory and consultative. The key observations are that: wildlife institutions have gone through three main evolutionary phases, a pre-collaborative phase, which was exclusively underpinned by informal institutions; a critical juncture stage, where contextual challenges led to an adaptive response; the third and contemporary phase is a collaborative governance regime, where the erstwhile informal institutions have been complemented by formal state structures and institutions to synergistically enhance viability of the wildlife species. In spite of the problems posed to community members by the monkeys (wildlife), the study still observes a cordial human–wildlife relationship. Based on the study outcomes, we derive four key conclusions which have implications for institutionalism and natural resource governance.     

Willingness to pay and demand elasticities for two national parks: empirical evidence from two surveys in Pakistan

Using survey-based data approach for modeling the demand for environmental goods/resources, this study estimates income and price elasticities of demand for improved environmental quality of two National Parks in Northern Pakistan. The study uses data from two studies. The estimates indicate that improved environmental quality effects can be described as a luxury and an ordinary and price elastic service. Confidence intervals show however that the classification as a luxury is not statistically significant. Income elasticities of willingness to pay are estimated for a broad range of environmental services. The study finds that income and willingness to pay vary directly and significantly. The elasticity estimates, in general, are greater than zero, but less than unity. The study concludes that environmental improvements are more beneficial to low-income groups than for high-income groups.

Experimental investigation of diesel engine using EGR and fuelled with Karanja oil methyl ester

Karanja oil methyl ester (KOME), a biodiesel prepared from Karanja oil, a potential source of non-edible oil in India and a prospective alternative to the diesel fuel, shows comparable performance and considerable reduction in emissions except NO_x. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is a popular method of reducing the NO_x emission. The aim of this experimental work was to study the potential of the cooled EGR in a direct injection compression ignition engine operating with the KOME and its blend. The study was conducted with the different EGR rates. Performance and emission parameters were compared by using diesel, KOME and its blend employing EGR and with the same fuels without EGR. The study also differentiates the effect of EGR on KOME and its blend with the neat diesel. The effect of EGR was found to be slightly higher for KOME biodiesel and its blend than for neat diesel. Increased NO_x emission using KOME biodiesel was also found to be reduced by using EGR.     

Identification of potential applications for recycled polymeric multi-material

Abstract

This research aims to characterise a recycled polymeric multi-material, explore potential areas of application for it and analyse the eventual impacts of the introduction of this new recycled material (NRM) on end-of-life activities. Thus, this research presents a practical study regarding recycled polymeric multi-material from toothbrushes. A preliminary characterisation (via density determination, tensile test and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis – DMTA) and data analysis using the Cambridge Engineering Selector (CES-Edupack 2013) software have been done. The study also presents an analysis of the impacts of introducing the NRM into end-of-life activities. Results shows that, based on the properties considered in this study, NRM may have potential for new applications. The impact on recycling networks indicates that it is a positive solution that would improve process variable efficiencies, maintaining material value as long as possible in industrial closed-loop life cycles. However, an in loco analysis of the treatment of waste containing the NRM is necessary.     

Eco-sanitation and its benefits: an experimental demonstration program to raise awareness in central Nepal

This study focuses on awareness and an experimental demonstration about the use of human urine and wood ash as a fertilizer. This study was conducted in Chanauta, central Nepal, from November 2009 to February 2010. The villagers (N = 27) were asked about their awareness of eco-sanitation and fertilizer value of urine and ash. All the participants agreed that the use of urine and ash was a good idea. In the experimental study, the fertilizer value of urine+ash was compared with animal manure and no-fertilizer in the cultivation of radish, potato, broadleaf mustard, cauliflower, and cabbage. Different plants cultivated plots received 54–81 kgN/ha with urine+ash or manure fertilizer. The urine+ash fertilizer produced significantly (p < 0.05) higher broadleaf mustard biomass than obtained from animal manure and without fertilization. Urine+ash-fertilized plots growing radish, potato, cauliflower, and cabbage produced similar or slightly higher yields biomass compared to those achieved with manure fertilization. This might be because of high P, K as well as greater availability of N in applied urine compared to manure. It is concluded that urine+ash fertilizer can be used instead of animal manure; in this study, a dose of 4 L of urine was equal to 1 kg of dry cattle manure and produced a similar or greater yield of vegetable biomass than manure fertilization. To be able to generalize this conclusion, it is important to conduct these kinds of experiments with different seasonal crops and in other parts of the world.     

A people‐centred perspective on climate change,environmental stress,and livelihood resilience in Bangladesh

The Ganges–Brahmaputra delta enables Bangladesh to sustain a dense population, but it also exposes people to natural hazards. This article presents findings from the Gibika project, which researches livelihood resilience in seven study sites across Bangladesh. This study aims to understand how people in the study sites build resilience against environmental stresses, such as cyclones, floods, riverbank erosion, and drought, and in what ways their strategies sometimes fail. The article applies a new methodology for studying people’s decision making in risk-prone environments: the personal Livelihood History interviews (N = 28). The findings show how environmental stress, shocks, and disturbances affect people’s livelihood resilience and why adaptation measures can be unsuccessful. Floods, riverbank erosion, and droughts cause damage to agricultural lands, crops, houses, and properties. People manage to adapt by modifying their agricultural practices, switching to alternative livelihoods, or using migration as an adaptive strategy. In the coastal study sites, cyclones are a severe hazard. The study reveals that when a cyclone approaches, people sometimes choose not to evacuate: they put their lives at risk to protect their livelihoods and properties. Future policy and adaptation planning must use lessons learned from people currently facing environmental stress and shocks.     

Movement towards a low carbon emitted environment: a test of some factors in Malaysia

There exists a high global concern in different nations on environmental sustainability especially at the focal stage of increased economic growth and development process due to high level of environmental degradation and pollution. The major aim of this study was to empirically examine how to minimise carbon emissions (CO₂) in Malaysia which are mainly caused by energy production, fossil fuel consumption, population density and economic growth. The study adopted the method of autoregressive distributed lag bound testing approach to analyse the data for the period 1971–2011. The study found that economic growth in Malaysia has a direct relationship with CO₂ emissions in both the short run and the long run. Similarly, there is a positive relationship between fossil fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions over the same period. Population density was found to have positive impacts on CO₂ emissions. Contrarily, the relationship between the activities of energy production and pollution is negative in the long run. The study recommends that a targeted GDP growth rate should be set with the consideration to avoid more environmental pollution. In addition, the positive impact of fossil fuel consumption on the environmental pollution implies that there is a need to make and implement policies that will encourage the use of public transportation system more than private transportations. That is, the unnecessary use of private vehicles should be discouraged in order to reduce the extent of fossil fuel consumption.     

Communicating in the public sphere: effects of patriarchy on knowledge sharing among community-based organizations leaders in Botswana

Knowledge and knowledge sharing are widely regarded as important assets for the overall performance and competiveness of organizations. This study explored the effect of gender on selected predictors of knowledge sharing behaviors among community-based organizations leaders in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. The study, guided by the patriarchy theory, employed a quasi-experimental research approach, using a counterbalanced design. A sample of 120 subjects, drawn from a cluster sample of 13 villages’ Board of Trustees participating in community-based conservation projects, was used. Data were collected using a retrospective pretest instrument and analyzed using one-way mixed between-within doubly repeated measures ANCOVA. The results revealed that only behavioral intention showed significant effects, F(1, 107) = 6.60, p = .01, suggesting differential effects of gender on intention to share knowledge. The study concluded that females are less likely to share information acquired as part of their portfolio responsibility in the public sphere when compared to their male counterpart.     

Sedimentology models from activity concentration measurements: application to the “Bay of Cadiz” Natural Park (SW Spain)

A previous study on seabed sediments of the Bay of Cadiz (SW of Spain) enabled us to identify several relations between sedimentological variables and activity concentrations of environmental radionuclides such as ¹³⁷Cs, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K. In this paper the study has been extended to a large neighbouring inter-tidal area in order to establish if the above mentioned models can be generalized. As a result we have determined that the measured activity concentrations are closely to the values predicted by the theoretical models (correlation coefficient range = 0.85–0.93).     

Environmental Implication of Intensive Farming Practices on North China Plain

Abstract

The current pressure on production resources of North China Plain, such as land and water to feed the growing population, necessitates the assessment of the sustainability of farming practices. This study focuses on the sustainability of farming practices related to groundwater and soil fertility management. The assessment is based on selected site-specific key indicators and their established threshold limits. The current farming practices in the study area are clearly unsustainable. Only about 6% of the surveyed farm households practice sustainable farming. The study stresses that farming practice, which is economically sustainable, should not be promoted at the cost of environment. Holistic strategies need to be developed and implemented that aim at balanced use of inputs, which satisfy both productivity and environmental concerns.     

Sustainable supplier selection for the cold supply chain (CSC) in the context of a developing country

Cold supply chain (CSC) is a process that involves temperature-controlled activities ranging from the acquisition of raw materials and down to the end consumers. A sustainable cold chain supplier is the one that incorporates sustainable practices in its complete cycle of operations. This is to ensure keeping the products from going to waste, especially in the case of a developing country. To identify the driving factors towards the sustainable cold chain supplier, this study utilizes the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach in the first phase. Fifteen various sustainability factors were analyzed and the “utilization of renewable resources” factor concluded to be the most important driving factor. By implementing renewable resources, a supplier can be able to convert its manufacturing processes and services to sustainable assets. The second phase of this study conducts the selection of cold chain suppliers in the context of Pakistan. For this purpose, fuzzy VIKOR, a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique is incorporated to analyze eight suppliers based on fifteen distinct criteria. The results concluded Mitchell foods to be the most economically, environmentally and socially sustainable suppliers in the context of Pakistan. This study recommends providing business-friendly incentives to suppliers like Mitchells and new investors who tend to keep their operations sustainable by adopting renewable resources. Furthermore, the relaxation of taxes and creating job employability by working with sustainable suppliers can contribute positively towards economic growth and the overall society. The study holds novelty in the area of cold chain supplier selection for Pakistan by utilizing a novel approach in the form of ISM and fuzzy VIKOR techniques, thus forming a major application of this research study.

Graphic abstract

     

海岸带土地开发利用及生态环境效应研究简述

海岸带土地利用变化是影响海岸带生态环境的一个重要方面，也是目前国内外学术界广为关注和研究的热点问题，研究海岸带土地利用变化及其对生态环境的影响对于了解区域的生态环境演变乃至全球变化具有重要意义。分析海岸带土地利用变化研究在全球变化研究中的地位，阐述海岸带地区土地利用变化及生态环境效应研究，对研究全球气候变化、海平面上升、陆地与海洋交互作用及由此引起的岸线变迁、入海营养盐和悬浮物及沉积物等物质通量变化、海岸带生物多样性、海岸带区域乃至整个全球C、N等物质总循环等都具有重要意义。基于以上研究，简述海岸带土地利用变化及其对生态环境影响研究进展，总结分析海岸带土地利用变化及环境效应影响研究目标和重点研究内容     

Household-specific variables and forest dependency in an Indian hotspot of biodiversity: challenges for sustainable livelihoods

Deforestation studies have attracted considerable attention over the past two decades. Analyses of local deforestation examine the significance of numerous explanatory variables for the extraction of forest products. This study distinguishes among the explanatory variables as household-specific and site-specific, and argues for in-depth analysis of household-specific variables. It examines the role of household size, income, and education on firewood extraction and beedi-making in the Western Ghats of India, a hotspot of biodiversity. The study documents the incidence of these livelihoods, investigates the interaction among the three variables, and uses logistic regression models to determine the exact probability for the livelihoods. Two novel features of the study include analysis of wood and non-wood extraction through a single dataset and determination of model by the data. The results show high dependency of households on forest-based livelihoods, situations when the probability of livelihoods changes substantially, and non-parallel trends for household dependency. The study suggests the role of household-specific variables as the agents of motivation and persistence for forest-based livelihoods and presents a hypothesis about the critical size of household in forest dependency. The study recommends four measures—harvest of ecosystem services, rise in income, migration and mobility, and environmental education—to promote sustainable livelihoods.     

Microbial content of household dust associated with exhaled NO in asthmatic children

Exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) is increasingly used as a non-invasive measure of airway inflammation. Despite this, little information exists regarding the potential effects of indoor microbial components on eNO. We determined the influence of microbial contaminants in house dust and other indoor environmental characteristics on eNO levels in seven-year-olds with and without a physician-diagnosis of asthma. The study included 158 children recruited from a birth cohort study, and 32 were physician-diagnosed as asthmatic. The relationship between eNO levels and exposures to home dust streptomycetes, endotoxin, and molds was investigated. Streptomycetes and endotoxin were analyzed both as loads and concentrations in separate models. Dog, cat, and dust mite allergens also were evaluated. In the multivariate exposure models, high streptomycetes loads and concentrations were significantly associated with a decrease in eNO levels in asthmatic (p < 0.001) but not in healthy children. The presence of dog allergen, however, was associated with increased levels of eNO (p = 0.001). Dust endotoxin was not significant. The relationship between eNO and indoor exposure to common outdoor molds was u-shaped. In non-asthmatic children, none of the exposure variables was significantly associated with eNO levels. To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating a significant association between microbial components in the indoor environment and eNO levels in asthmatic children. This study demonstrates the importance of simultaneously assessing multiple home exposures of asthmatic children to better understand opposing effects. Common components of the indoor Streptomyces community may beneficially influence airway inflammation.