Social contrasts and land use conflicts in the context of sustainable development and management needs: a case study from an estuarine area at northeastern Brazil

This paper discusses the misuses of estuaries in Northeast of Brazil and the social contrasts there found. The several kinds of impacts promoted by capitalist enterprises in one side and by traditional population, who uses estuary areas at another side, are in complete disagreement with the ethic of sustainable development. Our intention is to demonstrate how these aspects occur in the River Paraíba do Norte estuary, in the State of Paraíba. Observing the conditions of infrastructure besides the multiple ways to handle along with the extension of the estuary, we could recognize 59 focus of conflict between the incorrect use and sustainable mode. Most of the uses concern to traditional artisan fishing, slums and recreational marinas, reflecting the great social contrast between rich and poor people settled in area studied. Ecological and social implications of these conflicting uses are discussed and measures to improve the situation are suggested.     

(Relative) autonomism,policy currents and the politics of mobilisation for food sovereignty in the United States: the case of Occupy the Farm*

Food sovereignty movements (FSMs) globally have sought to rearrange relations between land, power, state actions and societal forces outside the state, towards a new ideal of democratised, egalitarian and ecological food systems. The question of how best to reach this ideal has vexed movements and scholars alike, with many anti-capitalist theorists proposing that because of the historical dedication of states to maintaining unequal and unsustainable capitalist relations, change must be pursued outside and against the state rather than through it (i.e. through “autonomism”). Yet, analysis of FSMs globally shows that autonomism is relative, partial and best seen as an aspirational ideal rather than a fixed dogma. This paper deepens this insight by analysing a case within the United States where a local direct action group promoted food sovereignty by illegally occupying public land. The case shows how even apparently autonomist movements can through influence on state and societal actors contribute to state-based “policy currents” that flow in the direction of food sovereignty. This mutual codetermination by actors in and out of state institutions of the possibility and shape of “policy currents” renders state–society relations as important, even to those interested in (relative) autonomism. This paper thus leaves behind dichotomous interpretations of (and recommendations for) FSMs vis-à-vis autonomism, in order to unpack the influence (in thought) and impact (in action) of autonomist tendencies in food sovereignty construction.     

影响中国碳价的能源价格因素灰关联研究

本文选取中国碳排放价格数据和8种能源价格指数为研究变量,运用灰色关联方法研究了中国能源价格对中国碳价的影响。研究结果发现,化石能源价格对中国碳排放价格的影响较大,特别是煤炭、成品油和基础油价格对碳价的影响最大;低污染能源中,与天然气相比,液化气价格对中国碳排放价格影响明显。研究结果指出了保持碳市场价格稳定、防范价格异常波动的重要性,并从能源价格体系和能源消费结构角度提出了政策建议。     

Trophic specificity of theRana arvalis population from the eastern ural radioactive trace in relation to the state of the soil mesofauna

Studies on the population ofRana arvalis Nilss. frogs performed in the radioactively contaminated area near Lake Berdanish in 1993 revealed a number of features indicating that the contents of nutrients in the organisms of adults and juveniles is low. The analysis of simultaneously collected data on food supply to this population showed that the structure of food chains in the study area is simplified and the diversity and biomass of soil invertebrates (the main food for amphibians) are sharply reduced. These factors account for food deficiency, which manifests itself in a low level of stomach filling and individual energy reserves of the frogs and is reflected in their population characteristics.     

The psychological benefits of indoor plants: A critical review of the experimental literature

People have been bringing plants into residential and other indoor settings for centuries, but little is known about their psychological effects. In the present article, we critically review the experimental literature on the psychological benefits of indoor plants. We focus on benefits gained through passive interactions with indoor plants rather than on the effects of guided interactions with plants in horticultural therapy or the indirect effect of indoor plants as air purifiers or humidifiers. The reviewed experiments addressed a variety of outcomes, including emotional states, pain perception, creativity, task-performance, and indices of autonomic arousal. Some findings recur, such as enhanced pain management with plants present, but in general the results appear to be quite mixed. Sources of this heterogeneity include diversity in experimental manipulations, settings, samples, exposure durations, and measures. After addressing some overarching theoretical issues, we close with recommendations for further research with regard to experimental design, measurement, analysis, and reporting.     

Governance of environmental risk: new approaches to managing stakeholder involvement

Disputes concerning industrial legacies such as the disposal of toxic wastes illustrate changing pressures on corporations and governments. Business and governments are now confronted with managing the expectations of a society increasingly aware of the social and environmental impacts and risks associated with economic development and demanding more equitable distribution and democratic management of such risks. The closed managerialist decision-making of the powerful bureaucracies and corporations of the industrial era is informed by traditional management theory which cannot provide a framework for the adequate governance of these risks. Recent socio-political theories have conceptualised some key themes that must be addressed in a more fitting approach to governance. We identify more recent management and governance theory which addresses these themes and develop a process-based approach to governance of environmental disputes that allows for the evolving nature of stakeholder relations in a highly complex multiple stakeholder arena.     

利益相关者视角下的旅游资源安全问题研究

基于旅游资源安全的不同利益相关者的纬度,从其实践和威胁因素的研究出发,从政府、旅游企业、旅游资源经营者、社区、旅游者以及其他利益相关者等几个方面分析利益相关者与旅游资源安全的关系;探讨旅游资源安全管理的制度需求;认为旅游资源安全的利益相关者可分为核心层、战略层、外围层等3个层次。虽然威胁旅游资源安全的因素有很多,但旅游资源安全管理的重点仍然是处理好与核心层的利益相关者的关系。     

The Challenge of Civil-military Relations in International Peace Operations

The relationship between military and civilian humanitarian organisations has developed in an increasingly integrative way. Military initiatives to institutionalise the relationship, since the interventions in Somalia and the Balkans, entail a dilution of humanitarian independence as was manifested in practice in Kosovo. Further, the state-centric foundations of military intervention run counter to the potential for humanitarian organisations to foster a cosmopolitan ethos that would not only preserve humanitarian principles but also contest statist assumptions about conflict, development and power.     

运用证据权重与确定性系数合成模型进行钉螺-环境因子的空间关系研究

钉螺是血吸虫唯一中间宿主,研究钉螺与孳生环境因子的空间关系对采取有效的查螺、灭螺措施有重要的科学和社会价值。以鄱阳湖恒湖农场茶叶港草洲为研究对象,应用证据权重法与确定性系数法合成模型研究植物南荻、苔草、藜蒿、土壤温度、土壤湿度、导电率、海拔高程7个证据因子与"钉螺出现与否"的空间关系。结果表明:研究区内一定范围内高程的增加易于钉螺孳生;钉螺在湿度相对较大(大于0.35%(m~3/m~3))的环境中分布较少;苔草丰度过大(高于4 368 cm~3/m2)过小(低于1 457 cm~3/m2)都不利于钉螺孳生;钉螺较易孳生在南荻丰度较大(高于2 745 cm~3/m2)的区域;电导率较高(高于0.07 m S/cm)区域钉螺较少;土壤温度在16~20℃范围利于钉螺孳生。在模型预测结果图中,占研究区总面积13.7%的极高易发区的较小范围内预测到82%的钉螺空间分布,评价曲线的曲线下面积高达88.7%,说明模型的预测成功率很高,表明该模型适合研究区域钉螺孳生与其影响因子之间的空间关系。     

NIEO revisited: A new international environmental order in the making

In the past, most of the attempts to improve the situation of the developing countries have focused on economic policy, on the conditions of international trade, on aid and direct investment. A debate on a New International Economic Order (NIEO) was launched in the 1970s (c.f. Tinbergen, 1976)—and largely failed (c.f. Simonis, 1989). This paper shows that environmental policy could be a more effective lever for improving the lot of the developing countries; the near future may see the evolution of a new international environmental order which is likely to better link environmental protection and economic development.