Indigenous Knowledge of Natural Resource Management and Population Control for Dong Ethnic Group in Guizhou Province

Dong ethnic people have rich indigenous knowledge in terms of their daily life and production, which plays an important role in the sustainable development of their village. This paper aims to understand traditional knowledge of Dong ethnic people in resource management and population control, including traditional resource management, traditional medicinal knowledge and village regulations in Zhanli Village in Southeast Guizhou Province. The research methods include key informant interview, group discussio...     

Emergy Evaluation of a Village Ecosystem in Wolong Nature Reserve in China

Abstract

Due to historic reasons, there are several human settlements in nature reserves and national parks, which may constitute a threat to biodiversity. Establishment of nature reserves may however generate constraints for development of local communities residing in these reserves. The village ecosystem of Zhuanjinglou Village in Wolong Nature Reserve includes population, farming and livestock (domestic and alpine) and forest ecosystem. An emergy analysis of agro-ecosystem (including the farming and livestock ecosystem) and energy consumption in Zhuanjinglou Village indicates that livestock ecosystem plays an important role in village ecosystem, which may be the source of great pressure on the state of the local environment. The increasing ratio of electricity in energy consumption may play a positive role for environmental conservation. Despite some successful experiences, there are some remaining issues that need to be addressed in the ecological rehabilitation of the village ecosystem.     

归属感对农户参与村域环境治理的影响分析——基于湖北省1007个农户调研数据

基于湖北省1 007份农户调研数据,运用Ordered Logit模型,从主人翁意识、村庄认同、村庄喜爱、事务关心和村庄依恋5个维度,探讨了农户的村庄归属感对其参与村域环境治理的影响。研究发现:(1)98.42%的农户参与了环境治理,但参与2种或以上环境治理行为的农户仅占29.60%,参与程度有待进一步提高;(2)当前农户的村庄归属感普遍较高,但仍有进一步提升的空间;(3)村庄归属感对农户环境治理行为具有显著的促进作用,其中,主人翁意识越强、对村庄的认同感越高、对村庄的喜爱程度越深、对村庄事务越关心、对村庄的依恋程度越高的农户,参与村域环境治理的可能性越大;(4)农户个体特质能够调节村庄归属感对农户环境治理行为的影响,当农户为女性、年老、高学历、居住时间长及大姓时,村庄归属感对其环境治理行为的作用更大。据此,除了继续优化常规经济、制度手段外,还应注重培育与强化归属感这一内在的激励机制,以推动农户环境治理行动,进而实现生态宜居农村的目标。     

基于灰色关联和主成分分析的农村建设用地集约利用评价——以江苏省为例

基于农村集体建设用地集约利用的内涵,构建了一套评价农村集体建设用地利用集约度的指标体系,并以江苏省苏南、苏中、苏北的12个行政村为例,采用灰色关联与主成分分析方法对各行政村集体建设用地利用的集约度进行了对比分析。分析结果表明:苏南地区的农村集体建设用地利用的集约度较高,而位于苏北地区的农村集体建设用地利用的集约度则相对较低,苏中地区在两者之间,整体上与江苏省区域经济的发展水平相符;从近郊与远郊的农村集体建设用地集约利用水平来看,两种评价方法测算的集约度虽有所差异,但两种方法对于近远郊的排序是基本一致的,呈现的趋势是近郊农村集体建设用地利用集约度高于远郊的。研究表明,两种方法所得的农村集体建设用地利用的集约度大致相似,在近郊远郊空间分布以及苏南、苏中、苏北的区域差异所呈现出的规律性,可为制定促进区域农村经济发展和提高农村建设用地的集约利用水平等相关的宏观政策提供参考依据。     

Indicator based approach for monitoring natural resources of village ecosystems: findings from select ecosystems of southern India

Indian village ecosystems are diverse with respect to population pressures, agricultural activities and production, livestock composition, energy sources, economics and infrastructural capabilities. Natural resource degradation is a major global concern and the factors and processes leading to degradation are regional and scale up from the micro levels such as village ecosystems. There is need for integrated multidisciplinary approaches for monitoring the resource status and environmental issues at the decentralized level. This paper presents an approach to assess village ecosystems using a set of key indicators developed and tested across fourteen diverse village ecosystems of the Southern India. The concept of ecosystem services associated with village ecosystems of India has been described and adopted to identify indicators and assess issues and trends. Comparison across villages has been demonstrated and the indicators successfully reflected the key environmental issues at each village level as well as differences across villages. We also report unique cases of stabilized land use and ‘desakota-like’ trends from village ecosystem studied.     

Forest income and dependency in lowland Bolivia

Forests contribute to livelihoods of rural people throughout the tropics. This paper adds to the emerging body of quantitative knowledge on absolute and relative economic importance, through both cash and subsistence income, of moist forests to households. Qualitative contextual information was collected in six villages in lowland Bolivia, followed by a structured survey of randomly selected households (n = 118) that included four quarterly income surveys. We employed a novel data collection approach that allows detailed estimation of total household accounts, including sources of forest income. We estimated the average forest income share of total annual household income (forest dependency) at 20%, ranging from 18 to 24%. Adding environmental income increased the average to 26%, being fairly constant across income quartiles at 24–28%. Absolute levels of forest income increased with total household income, while forest dependency was the highest in the best-off income quartile—the primary harvesters of forest products are better-off households. The pattern of high forest dependency among better-off households has also been reported from other countries, indicating that this pattern may be more common than advocated by conventional wisdom. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions, we found significant determinants of absolute forest income to be household size, sex of household head and area of cultivated land; the significant determinants for forest dependency were level of education, whether household head was born in village and whether household was food self-sufficient. Better-off households were able to realise cash income from forests, while poorer households—in particular if headed by women—were more reliant on subsistence forest income. We argue that the differential patterns of forest income across income quartiles should be considered in future development interventions and that findings indicate a potential for forests to contribute to moving households out of poverty.     

景区依托型乡村聚落用地格局与功能演变研究——以黄果树镇石头寨村为例

以毗邻黄果树瀑布风景区旅游村落石头寨村为典型案例,运用空间分析和参与式评估方法,利用聚落用地现状与多时相遥感影像数据,分析了34年来石头寨村聚落用地格局的变化规律。研究发现:(1)石头寨村聚落用地格局演变经历了缓慢起步、加速扩张及扩张回落3个阶段;土地利用实现了从村落中心区到外围区,从平面到立体的空间拓展过程;空间上呈现较为显著的沿河、沿路扩张模式;(2)"旅游化过程"促使石头寨村乡村聚落用地功能的转变,乡村单一的村民居住型用地比例降低,旅游住宿、旅游餐饮、旅游服务等非居住用地比例上升,乡村聚落功能由单一的居住生活功能向居住—休闲旅游复合功能转变;(3)自然地理条件是乡村聚落空间扩展的基础,旅游资源开发是乡村用地扩展的支撑动力,黄果树瀑布景区旅游市场需求快速增长是乡村功能转化的重要推动力,政府调控是乡村用地变化的引导动力,这些因素相互作用,共同驱动景区依托乡村聚落用地格局的变化。当前石头寨村进入以特色旅游发展为导向的转型升级阶段。对其乡村旅游发展而言,原有用地模式具有不可持续性。因此,要促进乡村旅游可持续发展,必须针对旅游型乡村聚落用地特点和要求,充分考虑现有乡村聚落旅游用地需求,加强乡村用地规划设计和建设管理,并完善相配套的制度体系。     

生态工业园区水资源梯级利用的博弈分析

水资源是生态工业园区中最重要的资源之一,模拟自然生态系统,园区中的水资源用户也可根据功能的不同分为生产者、消费者和分解者.由于供给量的限制和国家的排污政策逐渐趋紧,生态工业园区中水资源数量和质量的分配存在利益冲突的问题,矛盾日渐凸现.本文试图运用博弈论的方法,构建一个水资源管理的梯级利用模式,探讨生态工业园区内水质要求不同的企业间如何实现水资源的合理分配,使之既符合企业的需要,又符合整个园区的供给限制,同时对环境的损害最小.之后从微观经济学的角度对各利益主体参与水资源梯级利用的动因和积极性进行了经济学上的分析,得出生态工业园区中水资源梯级利用体系能否达成“物尽其用、废物最小化”的目标,取决于不同利益者的博弈结果.水资源价格和排污收费价格的提高,可以减少新鲜水资源的购买量和最终的排污量,有利于促进园区内企业间的水资源梯级利用；而梯级利用的过程,也是各级消费者之间的一场博弈,博弈结果将决定再生水资源的售出价格.     

喀斯特山区农村贫困测度与空间分异研究——以盘州市为例

以盘州市474村为研究对象,建立多维贫困评价模型对盘州市村域多维贫困进行测算,并结合GIS分析功能、地理探测器、逐步回归模型对其空间分异进行了深层次探究。结果表明:(1)盘州市自然资本维度、金融资本维度、人力资本维度和环境脆弱维度贫困村个数依次为45、101、201、17,其中人力资本维度贫困村占总行政村42.32%,空间呈聚集化分布;(2)盘州市43个行政村处于多维贫困,约占行政村总数9.1%,主要分布在盘州市北部地区与南部地区,中部地区呈现零散分布状态;(3)盘州市多维贫困空间异质性的主导因子是行政村到县的距离、路网密度、生态保护红线面积比重、起伏度,平均高程、村到乡镇的距离起次要作用,各驱动因子间交互作用对多维贫困空间异质性的影响大于单因子作用产生的影响。对盘州市多维贫困进行定量测度,并对其空间分异的驱动力进行探究,结果对石漠化地区脱贫政策制定,区域可持续发展具有重要意义。     

县域单元美丽乡村建设类型划分与生态廊道构建——以浙江省德清县为例

基于第一次地理国情普查数据,以浙江省德清县为例,探讨县域单元美丽乡村建设类型划分和生态廊道建设。首先,基于自然本底,将村域单元划分为3种类型:山地景观型、丘陵风光型和平原水乡型;在此基础上,考虑城市未来扩展空间,增加都市风貌型,最终将美丽乡村建设划分为4种类型。其次,依据资源空间分布,评价各个村域单元美丽乡村建设潜力,将所有村域分为3个等级:核心建设村落、重点建设村落和一般建设村落。第三,识别出对德清具有重要生态意义的6个生态保护区,考虑不同地表覆盖景观格局对动物迁移的阻碍差异,利用GIS空间分析方法,计算出迁徙成本最小的路径,识别出4条重要的生态廊道。第四,将识别的生态廊道与地表覆盖进行匹配调整分析,最终构建起德清县“六核心、四廊道”的生态空间格局。     

Fuelwood consumption in two tribal villages of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve of the Indian Himalaya and strategies for fuelwood sustainability

Fuelwood is the only important source of energy in the mountainous region of the Garhwal Himalaya, India. Since the commercial source of energy is generally beyond the reach of ordinary people due to their poor socio-economic conditions and due to limited supply and lack of communication facilities for transport of LPG, the villages of the inner region of the Garhwal Himalaya depend on their fuel requirement from the forest. In the present study, two villages of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in Uttarakhand part of the Indian Himalaya i.e. Lata and Dunagiri located at 2,415 and 3,600 m altitudes, respectively, were selected for the study of socio-economic profile and vegetation and for estimation of per capita fuelwood consumption and the degree of disturbance. The study was conducted from 2002–2005. The population of these villages is migratory and belongs to the Bhotiya community, a scheduled tribe consisting of two subgroups known as Tolcha and Marchha. They grow traditional crops as well as cash crops. Important tree species used for fuelwood include Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana, Cupressus torulosa, Taxus wallichiana, Acer indicum, Quercus dilatata and Viburnum cotinifolium. Maximum density among trees was shown by Pinus wallichiana (169.6 trees ha⁻¹) in village Lata and by Cedrus deodara (89.6 trees ha⁻¹) in village Dunagiri. The average per capita consumption of fuelwood in villages Lata and Dunagiri was 4.03 and 4.77 kg capita⁻¹ day⁻¹. Maximum number of trees (29 and 31% lopping for Lata and Dunagiri, respectively) belonged to disturbance class 1 (1–20% lopping) followed by the disturbance class 2 (20–40% lopping). Due to location of these villages in the buffer zone of the biosphere reserve, the fuelwood consumption may cause an adverse impact on the ecological status of this reserve, which urgently requires employing strategies for the conservation and management of this biosphere in terms of fuelwood sustainability e.g. regulation of livestock stock and grazing, using alternative sources of fuels, plantation of multipurpose trees and adoption of ecotourism.     

Emergy Evaluation of a Village Ecosystem in Wolong Nature Reserve in China

Due to historic reasons, there are several human settlements in nature reserves and national parks, which may constitute a threat to biodiversity. Establishment of nature reserves may however generate constraints for development of local communities residing in these reserves. The village ecosystem of Zhuanjinglou Village in Wolong Nature Reserve includes population, farming and livestock （domestic and alpine） and forest ecosystem. An emergy analysis of agro-ecosystem （including the farming and livestock ecosystem） and energy consumption in Zhuanjinglou Village indicates that livestock ecosystem plays an important role in village ecosystem, which may be the source of great pressure on the state of the local environment. The increasing ratio of electricity in energy consumption may play a positive role for environmental conservation. Despite some successful experiences, there are some remaining issues that need to be addressed in the ecological rehabilitation of the village ecosystem.     

基于用地倾向性评价的农村潜在土地利用冲突识别研究——以西峡县东坪村为例

精准识别农村潜在土地利用冲突是预先权衡和协调冲突用地,指导农村和谐发展的重要基础。以西峡县东坪村为例,综合考虑"发展建设—农业生产—生态维护"多重土地利用目标,进行建设用地、农业用地和生态用地的用地倾向性评价,建立倾向性比较矩阵识别潜在土地利用冲突区域,并根据识别成果提出相应的差别化管理建议。结果表明:东坪村有47%的土地存在明显潜在土地利用冲突的风险,包括冲突一般区和冲突激烈区,分别占土地总面积的20.61%和26.39%。冲突激烈区(J)中J1涉及面积最大,占土地总面积的18.84%,是接下来土地利用工作中亟需防治的重点问题。除此之外,用地优势区和冲突微弱区分别占土地总面积48.13%和4.87%。总体来看,东坪村内潜在土地利用冲突范围较大,程度较强,冲突形势较为严峻。     

Assessment of indoor radiation level in the environs of the uranium deposit area of West Khasi Hills District,Meghalaya, India

An estimation of the indoor background radiation dose distribution was carried out in dwellings of eleven villages located within and around the uranium mineralization area of Kylleng-Pyndensohiong, Mawthabah in West Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya, India. The ambient indoor gamma radiation level was monitored using Thermo Luminescence Dosimeters (TLDs) while the indoor radon and thoron concentration was measured using twin-cup dosimeters employing Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs). Results obtained from the study reveals that the local inhabitants of villages located close to the mining site receive higher doses than those inhabitants of villages located at a much farther distance from the mining site. The average total annual effective dose was found to be varying from 1.2 mSv y⁻¹ in the village of Langpa to 3.4 mSv y⁻¹ in the village of Nongbah Jynrin. The data obtained will serve as a reference in documenting changes to environmental radioactivity if mining is to be carried out in the future.     

Laying a solid foundation for sustainable development in Bolivian mountain villages

In Bolivia, recent decentralisation policies have broadened the participation of local actors in development processes. However, development is far from sustainable, and poverty and natural resources degradation still increase. The challenge is to develop strategies that achieve the genuine participation of poor farmers in natural resources management and sustainable development. The logical strategy, which was developed and validated in five Bolivian mountain villages, is an example. In this strategy, first a solid foundation for sustainable development is laid, with activities focussing on five basic conditions for sustainable development in rural villages: leadership and organisation, responsible participation, effective collaboration, mutual trust and environmental awareness. The results show that the existence of a solid foundation is crucial for the success of other development activities, such as soil and water conservation activities. However, given that 2 years after the project’s withdrawal the firmness of the foundation had slightly weakened, it was concluded that a better integration of these villages in local development processes is essential to profit from the new dynamics. This is especially true for soil and water conservation. To achieve this integration, municipalities—with the support of international development agencies—must be encouraged to invest in laying this solid foundation in rural villages and in facilitating follow-up activities to keep the dynamic process going. This study shows that such investments result in better organised villages, more equality, and the genuine participation of more people in sustainable village development. Effective collaboration and accountability at institutional level are, however, required.     

浙江省景区村庄空间分布特征与可达性研究

以浙江省首批3A级景区村庄为研究对象,利用数学模型和ArcGIS软件综合分析不同类型景区村庄的空间分布形态和可达性,为景区村庄的布点选址和建设开发提供科学依据。结果表明:浙江的3A级景区村庄整体上呈空间均匀分布状态,不同类型景区村庄的分布特征明显,总体上核密度聚集区趋向接近中心城市,表现为大核—次核—小核的三大核心格局;整体上可达性较好,平均可达时间为31.6 min,平均可达性的区域间差异明显,受自然环境和交通网络的影响较大;不同类型景区村庄县域可达性呈显著集聚格局,可达性热点区主要是围绕以湖州、嘉兴市为主的浙北和以绍兴、宁波市为主的浙东地区,冷点区主要是以丽水市为主的浙西南地区和舟山群岛。景区村庄空间分布形态和可达性主要与基础肌理和经济政策两个关联条件相关。     

Institutions, Forest Management, and Sustainable Human Development – Experiences from India

New institutional economists have argued that there are many categories of institutions, including market and non-market institutions, which may prove economically efficient, specifically for public goods and common pool goods. The Government of India introduced a non-market community-based institution, known as Joint Forest Management (JFM), for forest management and protection in 1990. JFM is a sharing mechanism for forest planning and management based on sharing of rights and duties, control and decision-making authority over forestlands, between forest departments and local user groups. By 2001, 42 000 Village Forest Committees established under JFM were managing over 11.5 million ha forestland. These institutions have proved very useful, and have contributed to forest management as well as four aspects of sustainable human development (SHD) – ecological output, income generation, village infrastructure development, and community empowerment. In the long-term, community-based institutions will prove to be a foundation of SHD and participatory democracy.     

Environmental and health impacts from the introduction of improved wood stoves: evidence from a field experiment in Guatemala

Improved wood-burning stoves offer a possible solution that can simultaneously impact both problems of deforestation and problems of respiratory health in developing countries. We carried out a field experiment in which new fuel-efficient woodstoves were allocated in a Guatemalan village via the use of a lottery. A 2008 baseline survey was carried out on 2,148 individuals in 351 households, and then a follow-up survey was carried out in 2009, 4 months after households received the stoves. We found that households with the new stoves reduced wood consumption by an average of 59.1%. We also found indications of reductions in indoor air related health problems, where point estimates indicate a significant reduction in reported respiratory symptoms by 48.6% among women and 63.3% among children.     

Sustainability indicators of water sharing compacts

There is an increasing crisis of fresh water availability throughout the world. Sharing the available water resources in a sustainable manner among numerous stakeholders in the backdrop of this crisis is more challenging. Very often water conflicts are triggered out in this challenging scenario. These conflicts are sometimes reconciled with compacts on sharing. Water sharing compacts on both surface and aquifer resources are very common. Whether these compacts are founded on postulates of sustainability is the important question we want to investigate. Conflicts resurface when the sustainability of a compact is at stake. In this paper, we are reviewing three compacts on surface water sharing to understand their sustainability perspectives and how it has helped addressing conflicts. An introduction to various legal instruments promulgated aiming water conflict abatement is given first. Different types of water sharing agreements being signed in the current water management practice are also looked into. Theoretical background of sustainability analysis, both quantitative and qualitative, applicable in the case of water sharing models is then discussed. This is followed by specific case study analysis of three interstate water sharing agreements executed in basins of different agro-climatic regions across the world. It includes the Colorado basin (USA), Murray Darling basin (Australia) and the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) basins (India). Interstate water sharing agreement of these basins is critically examined and compared to comment on its sustainability perspective. The Murray Darling basin and its compact appear to be better in its overall considerations of sustainability. Compared to Colorado and Murray Darling, PAP requires major revisions in its sustainability context. E flows and stochastic modeling are the thrust areas of PAP that require major revision.     

Groundwater market and its implications on water resources and agriculture in the southern peri-urban interface,Chennai, India

This paper describes the informal groundwater market existing in the urban–peri-urban interface of Chennai. The private water tanker suppliers and packaged water industries utilize the land and water resources of the peri-urban villages. Thus, the groundwater sources in peri-urban areas play a significant role in meeting the growing urban demand. The villages that are experiencing the groundwater market are highly influenced by the urbanization and its related activities, due to their proximity to the city. The transfer of groundwater from the peri-urban villages not only deprives the peri-urban areas of their water rights but also leads to environmental damage. Agriculture declined in the water marketed villages in the range of 20–95 per cent during 1990–2007. The pre-monsoon and post-monsoon groundwater level fluctuation varied from 2–6 m to 0–5 m, respectively, during 1971–2007. The declining trend of the groundwater table and agriculture is highly significant in the water marketing villages. Moreover, the present groundwater quality is also in a susceptible state due to over extraction. Hence, strengthening the legal and institutional framework to ensure an equitable access to water for both urban and peri-urban areas is urgently required. This paper also describes the characteristics of the groundwater transfer, quantification of the marketed water, the role of the existing regulatory framework, and the institutional mechanisms. Many stakeholder’s meeting and focus group discussions have been conducted in the villages under study for understanding the socio-economic implications of the water market. The study ultimately emphasized a sustainable groundwater extraction/market which will safeguard the interests of the peri-urban and urban communities.