FloodProBE: technologies for improved safety of the built environment in relation to flood events

The FloodProBE project started as a FP7 research project in November 2009.Floods, together with wind related storms, are considered the major natural hazard in the EU in terms of risk to people and assets. In order to adapt urban areas (in river and coastal zones) to prevent flooding or to be better prepared for floods, decision makers need to determine how to upgrade flood defences and increasing flood resilience of protected buildings and critical infrastructure (power supplies, communications, water, transport, etc.) and assess the expected risk reduction from these measures.The aim of the FloodProBE-project is to improve knowledge on flood resilience and flood protection performance for balancing investments in flood risk management in urban areas. To this end, technologies, methods and tools for assessment purposes and for the adaptation of new and existing buildings and critical infrastructure are developed, tested and disseminated.Three priority areas are addressed by FloodProBE. These are: (i) vulnerability of critical infrastructure and high-density value assets including direct and indirect damage, (ii) the assessment and reliability of urban flood defences including the use of geophysical methods and remote sensing techniques and (iii) concepts and technologies for upgrading weak links in flood defences as well as construction technologies for flood proofing buildings and infrastructure networks to increase the flood resilience of the urban system.The primary impact of FloodProBE in advancing knowledge in these areas is an increase in the cost-effectiveness (i.e. performance) of new and existing flood protection structures and flood resilience measures.     

西部山区坡地村落空间演进与农户生计改变

坡地村落是指分布在山地、丘陵坡面上的村庄,广泛分布于我国的山区聚落中,是我国乡村聚落的重要类型。西部山区是坡地村落分布的主要地区,"十二五"期间随着主体功能区规划的实施,不仅会影响坡地村落的空间重组和人口迁移,也会影响到坡地村落的农户生计和山区区域发展问题。论文以坡地村落空间演进和农户流动为切入口,借助黄土高原和西南山地典型地区的分析,运用GIS和大比例尺地形图分析了坡地村落空间集中和分散的基本特征。通过实地考察和问卷分析,剖析了村落空间演进和人口流动过程中农户耕地资产、收入、基本生活方式等主要生计的改变。结论认为,以减缓生态环境压力、调和人地矛盾和扭转经济贫困为最初目标的人口迁移,总体来说,有着显著的正效应,主要表现在退耕使生态用地比重得到提高、劳动力收入渠道拓宽、基础设施和社会公共服务得到显著改善等方面。     

乡村韧性研究进展与展望

在快速城镇化背景下,各种不确定性扰动并制约着乡村可持续发展。乡村韧性作为乡村风险治理的一种新思路,已逐渐成为国内外学者广泛关注的新课题。在概述乡村韧性的缘起与概念演变的基础上,从乡村韧性的应用领域、社会—生态层面对乡村韧性的影响、乡村韧性评价等方面对当前乡村韧性的研究现状进行探讨,指出当前乡村韧性研究仍存在诸多薄弱环节,如:尚未形成公认的乡村韧性理论框架,应用性的乡村韧性实证研究相对薄弱,科学系统的乡村韧性评价体系构建有待完善。     

经济韧性与经济高质量发展的关系研究——以长三角地区26个地级市为例

基于熵值法测算得到经济韧性指数和经济高质量发展指数,运用耦合协调模型和多种面板回归模型探究我国长三角城市群经济韧性与经济高质量发展之间的协同关系和影响效应。结果表明:①长三角城市经济韧性和经济高质量发展水平不断提升,表现出"核心—边缘"的空间格局。②二者协同关系呈现稳中有升态势,但核心城市和边缘城市的相对差异逐渐扩大。③经济韧性显著促进经济高质量发展,边缘地区经济韧性对经济质量的作用效果更强。因此,长三角地区要充分发挥中心城市的辐射作用,加强城市内外产业联动发展,以推动经济稳定持续的高质量发展。     

From disaster management to adaptive governance? Governance challenges to achieving resilient food systems in Australia

Building resilient food systems in the context of climate change and increased natural disasters depends on governance being more ‘adaptive’. Through a case study of events surrounding the extensive flooding that occurred in Queensland, Australia, in 2011, this paper examines how governance settings and processes affected food system actors’ engagement with three aspects of adaptive governance – responsibility, participation and collaboration – as those actors sought to ensure food availability and access during the crisis. We found that, despite the existence of formal governance instruments committed to disaster management, food security and resilience at local, state and national levels, responsibilities for ensuring food supply during a disaster were not clearly articulated. Responsibility was largely assumed by supermarkets, who in turn increased the influence of retailer–government coalitions. The participation of non-supermarket food system actors in governance was low, and there was limited collaboration between local, and other, levels of governance. The policy challenge is to ensure that responsibility, participation and collaboration become a stronger foci for adaptive governance during and after a disaster such as flooding.     

Transformation of rural communities: lessons from a local self-initiative for building resilience in the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is vulnerable to negative impacts from climate change, where people’s livelihoods and their well-being are threatened, especially the viability of isolated communities. Realising the increasing risks from climate change on communities, government, in partnership with aid-donor partners, has invested millions of dollars in climate change projects, through mitigation and adaptation strategies. As a form of adaptation, the government invests in programmes aimed at increasing the adaptive capacity of the vulnerable communities through landscape and seascape projects across the rural communities. Focusing on the “transformation concept” as a long-term adaptation strategy and enlargement of climate engineering and ecological resilience concepts, the paper discusses why building resilience from transformation of rural communities, as well as from landscape and seascape projects, would benefit communities and relevant authorities. This paper describes the findings of a study on two rural villages, Keigold and Mondo, from Ranogha Islands, Western Province, in Solomon Islands, where 80% of households decided to relocate from their old village “Mondo” to their new home “Keigold” after an earthquake in 2007, as part of a self-initiative. The reallocation process can be seen as a case of pro-active community transformation that provides valuable lessons to other rural communities that may be forced to move due to impacts from natural catastrophes, including those explained by climate change risks. Lessons from this experience suggest that policy-makers and non-government organisations should consider and empower local transformation initiatives as a way to building long-term adaptation to climate change.     

农户家庭生计禀赋对农地流转的影响——以湖北省不同类型功能区为例

论文以湖北武汉、孝感为实证,构建农户家庭生计禀赋衡量体系,运用Logit模型分析不同类型功能区农户生计禀赋对农地流转的影响。研究表明：1）重点开发区农户已参与农地流转的比例（48.38%）及未来愿意参与农地流转的比例（61.99%）相对较高,且流转程序较规范;农产品主产区农户农地流转参与率（46.72%）相对较高,但农户农地依赖程度高,未来愿意参与农地流转的比例（38.61%）相对最低;生态功能区资源环境承载能力较低、农业生产条件差,农地流转实际比例较低（31.82%）,但受农业种植低利益及非农产业高回报的诱导,受访农民未来流转意愿（45.87%）较强烈。2）自然资产及物质资产对农户参与农地流转行为影响较大,目前承包耕地面积大的农户转出农地的概率较大,而经营耕地面积大和拥有生产性工具多的农户转入耕地的概率较大。3）人力资产、自然资产、物质资产、金融资产及社会资产的差异会使农地流转后农民生存风险不同,从而对农户未来参与农地流转意愿影响显著。家庭整体劳动能力、家庭承包耕地面积、实际经营耕地面积、农地机耕条件、家庭拥有生产性工具、拥有耐用消费品数量及人情开支均对农户转入农地意愿产生正向影响;同时,家庭承包耕地面积的增加、农地交通条件及景观环境改善能够增加农户的农地转出意愿。     

Rain forest dwellers' livelihoods: income generation,household wealth and NTFP sales,a case study from Xishuangbanna,SW China

Through annual in-depth household questionnaire interviews of 60% of households in Daka and Baka villages from 1998 to 2004, we explored wealth-related differences and similarities in the sale of NTFPs of tropical rain forest fringe dwellers in Xishuangbanna, SW China. Contribution of different NTFPs to cash income and different seasonal access to NTFPs between Baka and Daka were analysed. There were significant differences in income and role of NTFPs per household between Baka and Daka related to different access to: NTFPs in forests, labour and market sales in different seasons. In Baka, the ranking of NTFP income was: fungi, wild vegetables, bamboo shoot in 2000 and 2001. Differences in gender and generational involvement in NTFP sales was also examined. For example, households without a son, as well as those with a female householder depended more on income from NTFPs and less on income from rubber than other households. Resource use patterns between relatively wealthy and poor households were also analysed. Wealthy households sold 2.50 ± 0.50 types while poor households sold 2.08 ± 0.26 NTFPs. The Gini coefficient of gross income per household for Baka in recent years was 0.393, increasing to 0.414 without NTFPs. The Gini coefficient of gross income for Daka in recent years was 0.291, increasing to 0.292 without NTFPs, showing the different role of NTFPs in mitigating wealth inequality in the two villages.     

On water security, sustainability, and the water-food-energy-climate nexus

The role of water security in sustainable development and in the nexus of water, food, energy and climate interactions is examined from the starting point of the definition of water security offered by Grey and Sadoff. Much about the notion of security has to do with the presumption of scarcity in the resources required to meet human needs. The treatment of scarcity in mainstream economics is in turn examined, therefore, in relation to how each of us as individuals reconciles means with ends, a procedure at the core of the idea of sustainable development. According to the Grey-Sadoff definition, attaining water security amounts to achieving basic, single-sector water development as a precursor of more general, self-sustaining, multi-sectoral development. This is consistent with the way in which water is treated as “first among equals”, i.e. privileged, in thinking about what is key in achieving security around the nexus of water, food, energy and climate. Cities, of course, are locations where demands for these multiple resource-energy flows are increasingly being generated. The paper discusses two important facets of security, i.e., diversity of access to resources and services (such as sanitation) and resilience in the behavior of coupled human-built-natural systems. Eight quasi-operational principles, by which to gauge nexus security with respect to city buildings and infrastructure, are developed.     

Building resilience by challenging social norms: integrating a transformative approach within the BRACED consortia

Resilience is a complex phenomenon whereby a multitude of social and environmental factors, including gender, combine to shape the ways that shocks affect people. Looking at two BRACED (Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters) projects, in Burkina Faso and in Ethiopia, this article uses a desk review and primary data from partners and people at risk to explore how a gender‐transformative approach can be an integral part of resilience‐building projects, particularly those implemented by multi‐stakeholder consortia. It also suggests ways to incorporate a stronger gender component in similar future projects. The article argues that donors and programme managers must provide clear principles and guidelines for achieving gender equity within resilience‐building efforts. However, these must allow flexibility to adapt to norms, needs and resources as determined by implementing partners. The right balance can be achieved by facilitating spaces for individual and collective goal‐setting; assessing current capacity and trajectories; and lesson‐sharing as an iterative process for institutional learning.