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.     

50年来我国自然灾害变化对粮食产量的影响

根据我国近50年的粮食产量统计资料,分析了各个年代主要粮食作物产量与影响和促进粮食产量的因素(耕地资源、化肥施入量、农机动力、农用水资源、自然灾害)之间的关系,结果表明,自然灾害对我国粮食产量的影响极大,要确保我国粮食生产的安全,不仅需要有外部资源及投入,而且在粮食生产过程中要积极进行防灾减灾.     

2010—2019年我国特别重大事故规律研究

为研究我国现阶段特别重大事故规律特征,选取2010—2019年的34起特别重大安全事故作为研究对象,利用统计学手段,以这些事故的发生地域、时间、死亡人数、事故分类等因素作为统计标准进行分析。研究发现:从时间角度,我国特别重大事故在近10年整体呈现震荡下降趋势;每年下半年,尤其是8月份为特别重大事故的高发期;特别重大交通事故易发生在夜间与午后,煤矿事故易发生在上午至中午,爆炸事故易发生在上午。针对不同行业或事故类别,交通运输及煤矿行业为特别重大事故的高发行业,爆炸事故为特别重大事故的高发类型且事故后果最为严重。同时,发现同类事故在同地区、同年月、同时段均存在聚集性现象。     

Hybrid economy research in remote Indigenous Australia: seeing and supporting the customary in community food economies

Hybrid economy research in remote Indigenous Australia is what Gibson-Graham [2008. Diverse economies: performative practices for “other worlds”. Progress in Human Geography, 32 (5), 613–632] describe as a performative ontological project. This research seeks to address the marginalisation of customary economic activities that contribute to the well-being of Indigenous Australians. It aims to make the customary sector more real, more credible and more viable as an object of policy and activism, challenging the dual dominance of the state and the market as the focus of development (cf. Gibson-Graham 2008 Gibson-Graham, J. K. 2008. Diverse economies: performative practices for “other worlds”. Progress in Human Geography, 32(5), 613–632. doi: 10.1177/0309132508090821[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). This paper outlines how hybrid economy research has sought to broaden views of the economic landscape in remote Indigenous Australia amid the withdrawal of key policy and programmatic support by the Australian Government. This research draws on Canadian national surveys of Indigenous peoples, harvest studies and programmatic support for customary harvest – hunting, fishing and gathering of bush foods – to identify ways in which the Australian Government might better see and support Indigenous community food economies.     

秦皇岛开发区生态现状与保护措施

秦皇岛市开发区受开发活动的影响,植被面积和生物多样性减少,生态系统服务功能价值下降,水土流失增加。基于秦皇岛开发区生态保护现状,从敏感生态系统建设、城区绿化、城市综合生态功能廊道、生态补偿、水土保持等方面,加强开发区生态保护,构建和谐生态,实现人与自然的协调发展。     

基于模糊数学方法的清水河水环境安全分析

为了正确评估河流水环境安全状况及其演变规律,提出城区河流水环境安全管理的相关措施,通过调查黔中喀斯特地区清水河流经市区前后的花溪、水口寺、普渡桥三个断面河流水环境监测数据,构建9个参数的水环境质量安全指标模型,采用模糊综合评价方法,对清水河市区段的水环境安全进行综合评价分析。上游花溪断面在平水期和枯水期为非常安全,但丰水期稍差,处于安全状态,城区及其下游的普渡桥和水口寺两个断面全年处于极不安全状态。说明清水河经过贵阳城区的过程中水体受到污染而处于极不安全状态,甚至经过长距离的河段净化也没能使得水环境质量恢复到安全状态,根据此提出了城区河流水环境安全管理的相应措施。     

废弃场地修复的微尺度生态安全评估优化体系

针对我国陆域废弃场地生态修复的技术需求,从生态安全角度提供了可操作性强的评估与优化方法和技术体系,重点包括场地调查,场地污染等级划分,阻力因子体系构建与模型分析,生态安全指标评估以及技术方案比选优化等步骤.研究同时展示了该生态安全评估与优化技术方法在典型陆域废弃场地生态修复中的具体应用,为陆域废弃场地的微尺度生态修复方案确定与优化提供了一种定量化科学方法.     

Fostering food and energy security through by-product valorization within agricultural and agro-industrial networks: study of the province of Santiago de Cuba

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to investigate of how the concept of ‘integrated food and energy systems’ or IFES production networks could be applied – within the specific context of Eastern Cuba’s agricultural and agro-industrial sectors – as an innovative approach to improve food and energy security. The Province of Santiago de Cuba in southeast Cuba was the focus of this study; its existing operations, infrastructure, resource flows and scarcities, and actor relationships provide the basis of the data used for the evaluation.

The authors investigated the regional context, identify potential members of an agricultural and agro-industrial network in three municipalities of the province, and identify the main residuals and by-products of key facilities. Potential avenues for by-product valorization are investigated along with the possible influence/impacts on the sustainability of the surrounding systems and actors. A conceptual model for a regional network for integrated food and energy production is then provided based upon the development of three agricultural/agro-industrial scenarios: influence at the farm level, regional agro-industrial networks, and ‘anchor tenant’ eco-industrial systems. The main challenges and opportunities for the development of the networks are described with recommendations for addressing such where possible.     

Sharing and preparing: cross-institutional,food security-based knowledge in Canada

This study proposes a framework for the collection and management of knowledge related to food security in Canada. This paper has several goals. First, the paper summarizes the current state of food security knowledge in Canada. Second, the paper presents data from an experiment where food security issues were discussed by stakeholders at two fora, the first of which was held in western Canada and the second held in eastern Canada. Finally, based on the notes taken during and feedback received after the fora, this paper suggests a framework for organizing and managing the multiple perspectives and complex types of knowledge about food security and sustainable development from a Canadian context. Two fora were held in Canada where food security issues were presented and discussed by multiple stakeholders. Most provinces in Canada were represented in at least one of the two sessions. Sessions were designed to be informative and interactive; agenda were designed to take advantage of the needs and experiences of multiple stakeholders in both western and eastern regions of Canada. To develop the framework, the sessions were also designed to assess the types of issues and knowledge about food security in Canada. Evidence presented from this experiment supports arguments that food security work must be approached in a collaborative manner, no matter the approach or discipline. Data from fora held in western and eastern regions of Canada indicate a number of specific ways in which those along the food continuum have the desire to share knowledge and enter into partnerships to work toward secure and sustainable food systems. Data also indicate how academia and institutions of higher learning might play a key role in sharing food security-based knowledge. The data from this study suggest that academia could play a leadership role in collecting and sharing information about food security-based knowledge from all disciplinary approaches that could help collaborative in addressing the complexity of food security challenges. The framework developed in this paper could provide the guide for organizing knowledge about food security and sustainable development. The framework could be used as a map to guide understanding about the different ways in which food security can be approached and understood; this could help reduce tensions among partners in projects where a wide variety of experiences are attempting to work collaboratively. The two food security fora brought together stakeholders with specialized knowledge about food security in a Canadian context. The analysis of data arising from the fora permitted unique insights to arise about the nature of knowledge by region. The data in this study also allowed us to build a framework for food security knowledge from these regional knowledge bases. This paper suggests that academia actively take a leadership role and openly share knowledge about food security. Open sharing of knowledge will help collaborates in dealing with complex food security issues understand in-depth other approaches; this sharing may help to make explicit the tensions that arise during collaborative work.     

Contribution of national bioassessment approaches for assessing ecological water security: an AUSRIVAS case study

River managers in Australia are managing in the face of extremes to provide security of water supply for people, production and the environment. Balancing the water requirements of people, environments and economies requires that water security is viewed holistically, not just in terms of the water available for human consumption. Common definitions of water security focus on the needs of both humans and ecosystems for purposes such as drinking, agriculture and industrial use, and to maintain ecological values. Information about achieving water security for the environment or ecological purposes can be a challenge to interpret because the watering requirements of key ecological processes or assets are not well understood, and the links between ecological and human values are often not obvious to water users. Yet the concepts surrounding river health are inherently linked to holistic concepts of water security. The measurement of aquatic biota provides a valuable tool for managers to understand progress toward achieving ecological water security objectives. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the reference condition approach to river health assessment, using the development of the Australian River Assessment System (AUSRIVAS) as a case study. We make the link between the biological assessment of river health and assessment of ecological water security, and suggest that such an approach provides a way of reporting that is relevant to the contribution made by ecosystems to water security. The reference condition approach, which is the condition representative of minimally disturbed sites organized by selected physical, chemical, and biological characteristics, is most important for assessing ecological water security objectives.