Status of ecotourism in Nepal: a case of Bhadaure-Tamagi village of Panchase area

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This study was conducted with an aim to assess the status of ecotourism in terms of tourism demand, tourist characteristics, and strength,...     

Interaction of ant species in associations: An attempt to formalize behavioral characters

Behavioral adaptations of ant species were studied in associations of different biotopes in the Crimean Mountains. The pattern of an association was found to depend on the mode of the territorial behavior of dominant species, irrespective of their number. The dominance hierarchy was more strict in monodominant than in bidominant associations. Ant species demonstrated different behavioral strategies, plasticity of foraging, and avoidance of aggressive encounters. A method for formalizing interspecies relationships and a model describing stochastic properties of the biological system are proposed, which can be useful in solving various ethological and ecological problems.     

Determination of the optimal land use allocation pattern in Nowshahr County,Northern Iran

Regional models of land use change are evaluated as a way of identifying land use pattern based on recent quantitative and probabilistic approaches. Differentiation between models in this area is the result of the approach to the concept of land use and type of indicators used in the modeling process. Since the determination of the optima land use pattern, due to the different uses of land based on the availability of regional capabilities and spatial difference in land use, depends on an integrated model, there must be a model that can assess the existing conditions of the region and present reasonable models of land use according to regional capacities and potentials. In this research, we developed a model to present the Optimal Land Use Allocation Pattern (OLUAP) for maximizing the advantages of change and determining the methods of influencing land use change priorities. This model uses spatial models and analysis, moderates the cost-benefit function, and calculates the allocation priorities of various areas based on regional conditions. The model results show that a wide scope of Nowshahr area is allocated to natural and agricultural uses. At the same time, a limited area has been assigned to urban and industrial uses. In addition, it shows that northern strip of the region due to higher accessibility of services and infrastructures is more suited than other regions to urban and industrial areas, and these two uses have first and second priority, respectively. Besides, according to the man-made environment and the special environmental conditions, the model allocates the central lowlands and southern parts sporadically to agricultural and natural areas as first and second priorities. Since the model is spatial optimization, the suggestions of the model show the OLUAP. Therefore, one can see the optimal condition for each plot and compare it with the existing land use.     

Study of non-revenue water status and enforcement measures to reduce water loss: case study in villages of Kermanshah Province of Iran

In this study, the volume and the cash value of water loss, and reduction of water loss as a result of enforcement action during 2011–2013 in the drinking water network of villages in Kermanshah Province, Iran, have been investigated. Date collected by referring to the different parts of rural water and waste water company of Kermanshah Province and checklist were completed. The study showed the volume of produced water and sold water has increased and the water loss percentage has decreased. High cost of water production compared to revenue of sold water and water loss resulted in significant detriments in terms of the water production costs. Water loss level decreased from 33% to 30% as result of measures taken to reduce water loss but, it is still 15% higher than the world average level. Also the reduction in number of water resources and increase in the number and volume of reservoirs indicates a lack of water and a growing need. As result of high water loss, waste of costs in the contrast of water production cost and also because physical water loss accounts for most of the water loss of villages, necessary measures can be effective in reducing loss and have economic justification.     

Impact assessment of climate change on farming systems in the South Mediterranean area: a Tunisian case study

Regional Environmental Change - This study considers a quantitative approach for assessing the performance of Tunisian farming systems to face climate change. It is based on the resilience concept...     

Research on central village selection in western underdeveloped region: a case study of Lidian Town,Jingning County,Gansu Province,China

Central village selection is the priority of small town construction. Depending on the development potential analysis, classification analysis, and quantitative and qualitative analysis, this article systematically proposes the specific methods of central village selection and also constructs the indicator system used in central village selection in small towns of western underdeveloped region in China. The article also puts forward ideas and methods for selection of central village in the western underdeveloped region through an empirical research on Lidian Town, Jingning County, Gansu Province. In the final part, suggestions and recommendations on how to develop central village for Lidian Town are made.     

An assessment of the attitudes of the inhabitants of Northern Karpathos, Greece: towards a framework for ecotourism development in environmentally sensitive areas

This paper is a case study that sets out to explore the extent to which the local residents of the region of Northern Karpathos and Saria in the southeast corner of the Aegean have positive attitudes and perceptions towards ecotourism ventures for sustainable development. The area is included in the European Ecological Network Natura 2000 and was chosen for studying since it constitutes an ideal location for the promotion of soft and alternative forms of tourism. The investigation of the attitudes of the inhabitants of the Community of Olympos, in Northern Karpathos was carried out using as research tool a questionnaire that was drawn up specifically for the needs of the present work. The attempt to provide a systematic way of studying the inhabitants’ attitudes led to the proposition of a framework that contains the necessary conditions for sustainable ecotourism development. This is based on three fundamental factors, namely: (a) environmental conservation, (b) environmental education and (c) empowerment of local community. The main conclusion drawn was that the perceptions of the local people accord with the basic principles of ecotourism. Residents (a) showed a high degree of awareness and sensitivity regarding environmental conservation issues in the area, (b) recognised the need for environmental education concerning ecotourism activities and (c) had a favourable attitude towards the implementation of initiatives in the ecotourism field aimed at their empowerment and at promoting sustainable development in the area. The participants’ place of permanent residence and level of education appeared to influence significantly their perceptions of this alternative form of tourism.     

Water management from tradition to second modernity: an analysis of the water crisis in Iran

This article reflects on the fundamentals of first and second modernity and its usefulness and practicability for problem formulation and solving in the context of water management practices in Iran. It is argued that the current water crisis in Iran resulted from modernization based on first modernity paradigms, and second modernity concepts are used to present a framework for new water management approaches. Based on the concept of sub-political arrangements, we suggest that water management issues can be treated best in process-based ways under a reflexive modernity point of view.     

Population collapses in the pre-modern period: case study of the Fuping County,Northwest China

The pre-modern history of population change in the Fuping County (Shaanxi Province, China) during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (AD 1368–1911) was reconstructed using historical sources. The Fuping County experienced two major population collapses, i.e. the late Ming Dynasty (1550–1640s) and the 1860–1880s. The first one was caused by the great AD 1556 earthquake and the extreme droughts and warfare in the 1630–1640s. The second one was caused by warfare and extreme droughts. As a whole, natural disasters, including extreme drought and great earthquake, were the key direct causes of population collapse, and climatic cooling would be a potential indirect cause. It is very interesting that population collapses occurred almost synchronously in the Fuping County and whole China, and the trends of population change were also very similar. Climate–population relationship in China would be valid at finer geographic level, and climatic cooling could be a potential indirect cause of population collapse.     

An approach to sustainable development: the case of Cuba

This paper analyzes the Cuban model of sustainable development and explains the causes that made Cuba the only country that meets the conditions of sustainability according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). The Human Development Index has three main components: quality of life (health indicator measured as life expectancy at birth), knowledge (education indicator measured as adult literacy) and the standard of life (economic indicator measured by the Gross Domestic Income). This paper analyses the aspects of the educational and health system of Cuba and also of its energy policies that explain the excellent scores of the Human Development Index. Cuba shows a Human Development Index of 0.8 with an Ecological Footprint of 1.8?gha. This is achieved with a Gross Domestic Income lower than other countries with similar Human Development Index. The Ecological Footprint of Cuba is mainly determined by the CO₂ and the agricultural land footprint. The paper shows how the economic transition, after the economic crisis of the early 1990s, was realized without significantly increasing the Ecological Footprint.     

The impact of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme in Sangzhi County,Hunan Province

In August 2011,the Sangzhi County government,Hunan Province,adopted a series of new health care policies as a national pilot of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme(referred to as 2011 NCMS).These policies were designed to further resolve illness-led poverty and the poor state of health care in the local area.The program had a positive impact and spread to other regions in Hunan Province.This paper will discuss the progress made as a result of the policies and several issues that challenge the scheme in practice.A total sample of 1212 individuals and 303 households were included in the analysis,and98 interviews were conducted with people related to the scheme.Our major findings indicate that the 201!NCMS has significantly reduced the out-of-pocket medical payment of rural residents,and also increased the township hospitals’patient flow.However,the medical scheme still faces many challenging issues during the implementation.With the increasing interest among the Chinese policy makers in strengthening and promoting the Sangzhi Model,the impacts of the scheme deserve greater attention in practice so as to further improve NCMS in rural China.     

Application of artificial intelligence in groundwater ecosystem protection: a case study of Semnan/Sorkheh plain,Iran

Groundwater ecosystems have unparalleled environmental value. Accurate modeling of groundwater level (GWL) fluctuations is a vital requirement for the protection of the groundwater ecosystems. The GWL modeling is a challenge due to complexities of the underground geological structure. Among the various modeling methods, artificial intelligence (AI)-based approaches serve as desirable alternatives due to their distinctive and potent properties. One of the most practical AI-based approaches is an artificial neural network (ANN) model. The purpose of the current study was to apply time delay neural networks (TDNN) with different network structures and input delays to model the GWL fluctuations. The variables used in the construction and validation of the models were average weekly GWL from January 2002 to January 2013 in two monitoring sites in Semnan/Sorkheh plain, Iran. The study area is an arid region, where overutilization of groundwater threatens the water security in this area. The computational results of the current research demonstrated that the TDNN model is a practical tool in modeling time-series GWL compared to the other state-of-the-art AI-based approaches. Future studies are recommended to explore application of proposed model for more sustainable and effective Groundwater Resources Management (GWRM).

     

Research on targeted land poverty alleviation patterns based on the precise identification of dominant factors of rural poverty: a case study of Siyang County,Jiangsu Province,China

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Poverty is a common problem faced by various social and economic forms. Eliminating poverty is a major issue of common concern and research all over...     

Planned retreat as a management response to coastal risk: a case study from the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia

Australian coastal areas have been identified as highly vulnerable to climate change, with major projected impacts including sea level rise, extreme weather events, increased erosion, and a change in coastal processes and wave patterns. Such impacts would cause coastal settlements and ecosystems to face increasingly uncertain conditions. In response to increased risk, effective coastal management at local and regional scales is needed, with governing bodies providing significant leadership. This research explores the challenges of applying effective adaptation responses to projected climate change in vulnerable coastal systems on the South Coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. In particular, the option of planned retreat as a management response to coastal risk is critically examined, with the incorporation of learning from Byron Bay, NSW. A mixed methods approach was undertaken by integrating documentary interrogation with the analysis of interview responses from key coastal managers. It was determined that despite the increase in adaptation planning and development of management strategy options to manage sea level rise on the Fleurieu Peninsula, there is a lack of implementation of adaptation responses. In addition, planning seems to focus largely on the implications of sea level rise on infrastructure, often overlooking other risks and possible ecological impacts. Inconsistencies in governance are reflected at all levels, indicating a need for comprehensive improvements to ensure the incorporation of appropriate risk responses into planning decisions.     

Investigating the malleable socioeconomic resilience pathway to urban cohesion: a case of Taipei metropolitan area

It is known that globalization has led first- and second-tier cities’ urban restructuring trajectories, excreted pressures, and caused tremendous socioeconomic volatility. This resulted in marginalized communities in dire of social empowerment, employment structure variance, and industry sectoral adjustment. Moreover, recent successive climate and health crisis unfolded and affirmed the state of our urban incompetence to sustain socioeconomic resilience or otherwise; lacking swift responses in providing critical management and services, cites are facing multifaceted challenges. Urban well-being and resilience are at stake. Although the environmental and health dimensional effects are apparent, this study ascertains that the transept multi-scalar analysis within the urban socioeconomic structure is crucial in sustaining core resilience to foster health and well-being of the community. As an integral part of the investigation, the revised DPSIR assessment framework is applied to evaluate the sectoral shift; spatial structure disarray and urban codependence degree are examined within the Taipei metropolitan area (TMA), a medium size but densely populated metropolitan area in Taiwan. The place-based DPSIR analysis ascertained the states and impacts in TMA: (1) A population decline speeded the restructuring of the urban core, while the impact of demographic aging and shrinkage rate mandates proper management and planning responses to the decline process; (2) the socioeconomic state effect is determined but does not critically affect the periphery zone, while an uneven demographic shift within the urban core necessitates dynamic adjustment responses to appropriately provide intergenerational services; (3) the uneven sector redistribution stimulated the core’s spatial and structural inter-dependency with peripheral zones, requiring governance with tighter cross-administration cooperation among respective public sectors; and (4) facing the sector/temporal and demographic pressure, urban cohesiveness in the TMA is greatly affected, which in turn disrupts the resilience pathway toward a cohesion. The study ascertained that the revised DPSIR framework could provide cities facing pressing socioeconomic drivers with effective analysis to allocate pressures, states, and impacts and formulate the necessary responses. To assure the socioeconomic resilience and urban cohesiveness, planning policy should carefully monitor and evaluate socio-demographic and sector redistribution factors to promote the urban resilience.

     

Sustainability of a local government-instituted ecotourism development: Tayak adventure,nature and wildlife Park in Rizal,Laguna, Philippines

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Ecotourism development is a strategy of the Philippine Government. The existence of untapped natural resources and cultural/heritage assets has impeded...     

平原区农村居民点用地空间整治分类研究——以河北省曲周县为例

土地整治是对低效、空闲和不合理利用的土地进行治理,提高土地利用率和产出率的活动,是各类土地整理、复垦、开发以及城乡建设用地增减挂钩等活动的统称,其实质内容之一是从空间上对土地利用进行优化布局。农村居民点用地是我国进行土地整治的重要区域,对于农村居民点用地空间整治进行分类研究是新农村建设和农村土地整治的前提和基础工作。曲周县位于黄淮海平原的中部,黄淮海平原是我国主要的粮食主产区和农村人口的集聚地,对于其农村居民点用地空间整治分类进行研究,对于实现区域城乡一体化发展具有战略意义。论文按照新农村建设的要求,从发展基础、生产条件、生活条件和生态环境四个方面选取农村居民点用地整治的评价指标,利用量化后的指标和多因素综合评价法,运用聚类分析法将曲周县农村居民点用地空间整治划分为就地城镇化型、重点发展型、限制扩建型和迁移合并型四种类型。研究结果符合实际,为当地土地整治和新农村建设工作提供了理论支撑,对于其他类似地区具有借鉴意义。