Paris agreement on climate change and Botswana’s Vision 2036: an examination of linkages

Sustainable use of natural resources and sustainable development are concepts that are gaining momentum globally in the advent of global warming and climate change. The threshold for the entry in force of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was achieved exactly 5 days after the unveiling of Botswana’s Vision 2036 document. This development framework envisages sustainable economic development and climate change adaptation. This article uses exploratory research methodology of systematic document analysis to analyze these principles in the context of Botswana. It investigates government's intentions in achieving the third pillar of the national vision. Botswana has declared its intensions to reduce carbon emissions by 15% by 2030 through the intended nationally determined contributions. While the country’s ambitions are largely forward-looking and aligned with those of the Paris Agreement, the economic diversification plans of Botswana threaten to potentially contribute significantly to the emission of greenhouse gases. The article applies sustainability and/or sustainable development theory in examining the relationship between the Paris Agreement and Botswana’s vision. It concludes that there is link between the two documents, both of which are anchored of the development which is environmentally sustainable. It further concludes that developing nations should make international commitments which are aligned to their developmental plans.     

Water Resource Potential in Northern India: Constraints and Analyses of Price and Non-Price Solutions

The paper examines the linkages between water depletion, continuous population growth and economic development viewed primarily as agricultural development. This is done within a framework of a dynamic simulation model of ecological-economic type over extended periods of time. It is found that intensive agriculture, driven by an increase in the cropping intensity as a result of increase in area under paddy crop, has led to an increased gap between the demand for and supply of water resources, in particular subsurface resources. The consequent fall in water table may lead to constraints in the use of water. This has strong inequity implications in the resource use as well as threats to future of agricultural development in the region. It is revealed that a mix of interventions based on price solutions, non-price solutions and institutional set up are decisive in bringing a sustainable development and use of resource. The paper concludes with emphasising the role of state/government in achieving the desired goal.     

水资源持续利用的特性与原理

随着可持续发展战略的推进与实施，水资源持续利用成为可持续发展研究的重要内容，也是水资源学科和开发利用水资源中要研究的重要课题。水资源具有别于其它资源的独有特性，基于可持续发展理论分析了水资源的基本特性，包括自然特性、社会特性和经济特性。水资源的这些独有特性决定了在实现水资源持续利用中必须服从的原理。用系统学理论、公共选择理论、福利经济学理论、资源分配和市场经济理论，分析了这些基本原理。这些原理揭示了水资源利用自然、社会和经济运动规律，试图为实现水资源持续利用提供指导原则和规划思想。     

Exploring regional futures,tools and methodologies

The new English regional governance framework presents fresh opportunities to direct regional development in a more sustainable direction. However, for the North West region it is yet to be seen how these aspirations can be reconciled with the strong 'pro-growth' aims of the regional economic strategy. Within this context, the nature and findings of two interlinked projects which aimed to investigate and model regional development processes are presented. The first, 4-sight, is a resource flow audit for the promotion of sustainable resource management. Focusing on mineral flows, a mass balance methodology is used to facilitate a clearer connection between the use of resources and the generation of waste. Findings from 4-sight were then used in a second project, Atlas^NW, involving the development of a digital atlas and future scenario model. Both projects make a useful contribution to the regional sustainability agenda through providing data and tools to underpin decision-making. Electronic Publication     

我国农业可持续发展的水问题及对策

随着我国人口增长和经济发展,水资源问题日益突出,农业用水问题成为农业可持续发展中的焦点问题.文章从探讨我国水资源与农业可持续发展的关系入手,分析了我国水资源严峻的现实及其存在的主要问题,并提出了解决我国农业可持续发展中水问题的对策建议;加强管理,建立系统的管理体制;依靠科技,提高水资源利用率;增加投入,打好水资源高效利用的基础;实施虚拟水贸易,缓解水资源短.     

南水北调中线工程与汉江中下游地区可持续发展

汉江是长江最大的支流,汉江中下游地区是湖北省经济基础最强的地区。同时汉江流域也存在着洪涝灾害威胁大、水资源开发利用水平不高、环境建设和生态保护力度不够、传统的工农业生产方式和产业结构加重环境的恶化、管理体制不顺等问题。南水北调中线工程以及配套工程的实施,对汉江流域的经济发展将起推动作用,同时从汉江的丹江口水库调水,将改变汉江中下游的水资源分配,社会经济发展与生态环境的协调将会出现新的矛盾。要解决好流域经济发展问题,必须把握好建设南水北调中线工程的机遇,更新观念,加强前期研究和规划,注重生态环境的保护和示范工程的建设,建立相应的政策法规和流域管理体制,全面保证汉江中下游地区的可持续发展。     

我国电解金属锰行业可持续发展探讨

电解金属锰作为一种重要的冶金、化工原材料,为我国工业快速发展做出了较大贡献。但在锰资源的开采和加工过程中，存在着资源利用效率低下、生产集约程度不足、资源管理不善等多方面的问题，这不仅严重破坏了资源基础，更加重了环境恶化的趋势。我国的电解锰行业面对着资源短缺和环境保护的严峻挑战。为此，在系统分析我国电解锰行业面临的资源压力、环境压力、安全压力的基础上，探讨了我国电解锰行业可持续发展的途径和对策。重点强调国家应实行限产，适度开发，加大找矿工作力度，充分利用国内外两种资源；加快电解锰工业产业结构调整，通过并购、重组等措施发展壮大一批生产规模大、工艺先进、资源利用率高的企业；以资源和环境确定和优化经济增长模式，制定和完善电解锰行业发展政策，鼓励企业推行清洁生产。     

Resource management for sustainable development: a community- and GIS-based approach

A combined approach utilizing GIS, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) has been developed for resource mapping in a rural poverty-prone area of Bangladesh. This model integrated GIS and participatory tools to include the voices of the stakeholders in assessing available resources and needs. The resource mapping framework, developed using PRA with local community people and community gatekeepers, was aimed at sustainable resource management, and ArcView GIS was used to digitize the resource maps as a Decision Support System (DSS). A detailed assessment and analysis of the quality, quantity and physical status of resources was first mapped in the field and then digitized using GIS. FGD-based interaction with community people at each union in a subdistrict of Bangladesh revealed stakeholders’ opinions on land and water body management. The present paper demonstrates the power of this model as a policy-making tool for sustainable development and poverty eradication. It also recognized the need for collaboration between interdisciplinary policy planners and researchers to develop and implement a policy on agricultural resource management for poverty-prone areas.     

中国水资源与水工业的可持续发展

可持续发展是当今世界发展的一种新模式,已成为全世纪普遍关注的热点。 可持续发展的基本观点。分析了影响我国水工业可持续发展的主要限制因素;（１）水资源写水污染严惩）水工业基础设施薄弱,传统的水工业对污染水处理难以相适应;（３）水工业管理存在多种问题。针对目前我国水资源开发利用和水工业发展２及存在的主要问题,提出了我国水工业面向可持续发展的优化对策与途径;（１）保护水源,防治水污染;（２）开源节流,节     

Multicriteria decision-making for efficient water and land resources allocation in irrigated agriculture

The irrational use of water in agriculture is often responsible for several problems concerning the depletion and/or the pollution of water resources. In these cases specific policy measures should be taken to protect water resources from harmful agricultural activities, mitigating at the same time their potential impact on farmers’ welfare. To this end, a multicriteria decision-making model is formulated that aims at allocating efficiently water and land resources in a rural area of Greece, by optimizing a set of important socio-economic and environmental objectives. According to the model’s output, past and current decisions on irrigated agriculture turned out to be oriented towards meeting exclusively the socio-economic objectives. Yet, there are several other possible allocations schemes that could be applied in order to improve the performance of environmental indicators and to contribute to a more sustainable use of natural resources. Moreover, the decision-making model can be further employed to assess a number of additional policy measures in irrigated agriculture. In this framework, the outcome of imposing various water pricing policies was evaluated. The efficiency of these policies was found tightly connected to the elasticity of water demand. Namely, higher elasticity seems to enhance the flexibility in resource allocation and the movement towards environmental objectives. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

地区发展差异与湖北省可持续发展战略

湖北省的经济发展水平与全国其它地区存在着较大的差异，从全国范围看，湖北省多年一直处在中等偏下的水平，而在长江流域，近年湖北省一下游省市的差距在迅速扩大；在中心地区各省中，湖北则相对领先。     

长江流域可持续发展基本政策研究

可持续发展是一种既满足当代人需求又不破坏后代人为满足其需求能力的一种发展模式,任何一个地区,均可以根据自身的资源优势和经济发展特点,走出一条适合于自身的可持续发展道路,实现可持续发展的途径与方式取决于区域的资源特征和经济发展水平;而能否实现可持续发展在较大程度上与地方政府部门制定的政策密切相关,研究实现可持续发展的适宜政策具有实际意义。本文在分析长江流域基本特征和影响因素的基础上,从经济、生态环境     

Community participation in cultural heritage and environmental policy formulation in Botswana

Cultural heritage does not have direct economic benefits. However, if properly managed it can stimulate social cohesions, improving the environment and have beneficial economic spin offs for the local communities. This paper discusses the role of communities in the formulation of the policies concerning their local environment. It argues that community engagement by policy makers is important in giving legitimacy and ownership of the policies. Furthermore, this paper discusses the potential of cultural heritage in diversifying the economy in Botswana. This paper recommends for the re-assessment of the relationship between the state and local communities which is critical in resuscitating the seemingly ailing community business organizations. In conclusion, it argues for the sustainable management of cultural heritage as a social and economic resource in the next 50 years of Botswana’s independence.     

气候变化下水资源适应性系统脆弱性评价——以鄱阳湖流域为例

从系统科学的视角出发,分析气候变化下水资源适应性系统脆弱性的内涵,基于脆弱性PSR分析框架,从胁迫性、敏感性、适应性3个维度构建了脆弱性评价指标体系,并采用熵值法和集对分析相结合的方法对脆弱性进行评价。结合2001～2010年鄱阳湖流域数据进行了实证研究,结果表明：10 a间鄱阳湖流域水资源适应性系统脆弱性的变化受胁迫性、敏感性和适应性的综合影响,脆弱性先明显增加后缓慢下降,但基本处于中等偏差水平。鄱阳湖流域水资源适应性系统脆弱性主要由降水量变化、自然灾害和经济发展产生的能源消耗、污染问题引发,提高系统适应性对缓解脆弱性有明显作用。根据评价分析,建议鄱阳湖流域未来从提高管理能力、经济及社会响应能力和加强环境生态治理等方面采取适应性对策;通过改善鄱阳湖流域发展方式和生态环境,减少脆弱性和提高可持续发展能力,更好地发挥鄱阳湖流域对国家生态安全的保障作用     

长三角地区城市土地开发强度特征及影响因素分析

合理控制土地开发强度是提高土地利用效率和改善环境质量的重要手段。以建设用地面积占该区域土地总面积的比例为土地开发强度的表征指标，运用GIS软件和经济计量模型，探讨了1996~2008年长三角地区城市土地开发强度的特征及其影响因素。结果表明：长三角城市土地开发强度总体上呈增长趋势，城市间土地开发强度差异明显，并且具有空间集聚特征，形成了以上海、杭州为中心的高强度地区，这与目前长三角经济增长极相吻合。同时，经济增长、城镇化、产业结构与城市土地开发强度之间显著正相关，行政区划调整与城市土地开发强度在短期内表现为负相关关系，土地管理政策的影响尚不显著。今后，只有转变经济发展方式，严格执行土地管理政策和城市规划，合理推动城镇化和城市产业布局，才能使城市土地开发强度保持在合理水平。将为长三角地区城市土地可持续利用提供参考，对控制城市建设用地规模和发展方向，也有一定的理论和现实指导意义     

可持续发展的经济政策体系探讨

本文从经济政策和可持续发展的基本涵义出发，揭示了可持续发展经济政策的客观基础是在于它能通过经济手段调节产业组织方式、资源与环境要素配置方式及人们的消费方式。基于这些认识，本文在理论上较为深刻地阐述了可持续发展经济政策的基本概念、政策主体、政策目标、政策对象和政策手段；并从产业、区域、投资、金融、税收、价格、贸易等方面探讨了可持续发展的经济政策体系。     

金沙江下游梯级电站开发影响区域的资源开发与产业可持续发展

金沙江下游是我国长江经济带的重要组成部分,也是西南地区生态建设和区域经济社会发展的中心。“西电东送”骨干工程的向家坝、溪洛渡、白鹤滩、乌东德四大水电站均分布在这一江段。通过对该区域资源开发和产业发展的现状、问题和发展前景进行分析,得到如下主要结论：（1）该区域农业资源丰富多样,矿产资源分布广泛且优势矿种地位突出,旅游资源待开发潜力巨大,但是资源开发却面临着勘探开发程度不够、浪费污染严重、资金交通制约和生态环境脆弱等几大问题;（2）区域产业经济发展迅速但总体水平低,部门结构中以种植业为主的农牧业占主导,林牧业和特色产业有待进一步开发,产业发展面临着部类和区域不均衡、结构矛盾突出以及效益低下等问题的困扰。在此基础上,提出该区域必须以梯级电站和水能开发为契机,切实抓好移民工作,立足资源优势,主打“特色”和“品牌”战略,经济效益和社会生态效益并重,寻找区域资源开发和产业可持续发展的道路。     

Tourism Development and Water Pollution: Case Study in Lijiang Ancient Town

Tourism development results in water pollution not only in water-scarce areas, but also in areas with relatively abundant water resources, such as Lijiang Ancient Town (LAT). In this article, LAT is described for its use of the freshwater resource, on account of its attractive landscaping. Tourism here has grown rapidly in recent years and at the same time the water quality has deteriorated sharply. Several investigations have been made, with the aim of finding out the causes and consequences of water quality deterioration because of tourism development. The results show that the present mode of water utilization is not sustainable, and some of the local residents have already complained about water quality degradation. Increasing numbers of tourists, relative service infrastructures, such as, shops, restaurants, and hotels, and in addition, insufficient management measures, result in the decline of water quality. Countermeasures on water management approaches are suggested to deal with the current water pollution, and make tourism development sustainable..     

丽江古城的旅游发展与水污染研究

许多发展中国家和地区视旅游业为增加收入和多样化产业结构的捷径。本文中，丽江古城利用淡水资源作为景观用水发展旅游业。近年来。其旅游业快速发展并保持旺盛的增长态势，这种发展情况对优质淡水资源的需求越来越大，在此过程中，古城内水体水质却在下降。对水质恶化的原因和所造成的影响进行详细调查是根本解决目前这种水资源不可持续利用方式的前提和依据。调查结果表明。水质恶化主要是由于古城旅游业发展过程中的不合理因素，如商铺、餐饮店和客栈数量的惫剧增加以及管理失效造成的，并对当地经济、居民生活质量和环境质量产生了负面影响。然后，提出了三条水资源管理措施以应对目前的水污染，促进丽江古城旅游业的可持续发展。     

川西地区水能资源优势、开发障碍及战略

川西地区包括甘改，阿坝，凉山，雅安，攀枝花，乐山和眉山七个州市。金沙江水电基地，雅砻江水电基地和大渡河水是基地集中分布该区域，是长江上游水能资源富集区的核心。从水系和行政区方面分析该地区水能资源分布状况，国际国内比较优势，开发利用水平，管理体制，丰枯矛盾和资金短缺等。最后提出以溪落渡，向家坝，瀑布沟和独松电站为主的开发重点；华东，西北市场开发为主的市场开拓战略方向；四川电网与华东，西北电网的联网建设，以电代柴保生态的战略；规范集资办电的投融资制度，实行项目资本金制度，明晰产权关系，进行现代化企业制度的改制方向和实行企业所得税优惠政策。