Public support for river restoration. A mixed-method study into local residents' support for and framing of river management and ecological restoration in the Dutch floodplains

In many European countries, accommodating water has become the dominant paradigm in river management. In the Netherlands, extensive river restoration projects are being implemented, many of which draw serious opposition from the public. To investigate the causes of such opposition, a comprehensive study of public attitudes towards river restoration was conducted in three floodplains, both before and after river restoration. The study combined quantitative questionnaires (N = 562) with open interviews (N = 29). This paper describes how local residents perceive the effects of river restoration on landscape quality and how residents and protest groups use landscape quality in combination with other arguments to strategically frame river management policies. Results show that measurement of the perceived outcomes of nature restoration needs to be complemented by a more dynamic type of research, focusing on the social processes of the framing of restoration plans. Theoretically, the paper aims to contribute to the development of a rigorous research strategy to study framing processes in environmental management, using a mixed-methods approach.     

Don’t Fight the Site: Three Geomorphic Considerations in Catchment-Scale River Rehabilitation Planning

Three geomorphic considerations that underpin the design and implementation of realistic and strategic river conservation and rehabilitation programs that work with the nature are outlined. First, the importance of appreciating the inherent diversity of river forms and processes is discussed. Second, river dynamics are appraised, framing the contemporary behavioral regime of a reach in relation to system evolution to explain changes to river character and behavior over time. Third, the trajectory of a reach is framed in relation to downstream patterns of river types, analyzing landscape connectivity at the catchment scale to interpret geomorphic river recovery potential. The application of these principles is demonstrated using extensive catchment-scale analyses of geomorphic river responses to human disturbance in the Bega and Upper Hunter catchments in southeastern Australia. Differing implications for reach- and catchment-scale rehabilitation planning prompt the imperative that management practices work with nature rather than strive to ‘fight the site.’     

生态旅游经济关系的二重性辨析

生态旅游经济关系是自然生态关系和社会经济关系的有机统一,两种关系并存于生态旅游经济复合系统中,成为生态旅游经济可持续发展的基础.但是,生态旅游经济关系在实践中出现了严重的变形,利益关系的冲突,正在使生态旅游经济越来越多地出现不和谐的现象,突破利益关系制约的瓶颈,重建和谐的生态旅游经济关系,正是解决生态危机的着眼点.因此,本文对生态旅游经济关系的二重性进行深入辨析,指出无论是生态旅游经济行为主体还是生态旅游经济过程,都具有自然生态属性和社会经济属性相统一的二重性,这些都决定了生态旅游经济关系二重性的协调统一.针对生态旅游经济关系在实践发展中的扭曲变形,只有变革传统经济学的发展观,以生态经济学和可持续发展经济学的理论为平台,对失调的生态旅游经济关系进行修正,还原生态旅游经济关系的本来面貌,即人与自然和谐、生态与经济协调、自然生态关系与社会经济关系统一的理想状态,才能实现生态旅游经济的可持续发展.     

Community participatory landscape classification and biodiversity assessment and monitoring of grazing lands in northern Kenya

In this study, we asked the Ariaal herders of northern Kenya to answer "why, what and how" they classified landscape, and assessed and monitored the biodiversity of 10 km(2) of grazing land. To answer the "why question" the herders classified grazing resources into 39 landscape patches grouped into six landscape types and classified soil as 'warm', 'intermediate' or 'cold' for the purpose of land use. For the "what question" the herders used soil conditions and vegetation characteristics to assess biodiversity. Plant species were described as 'increasers', 'decreasers' or 'stable'. The decreaser species were mostly grasses and forbs preferred for cattle and sheep grazing and the increasers were mostly woody species preferred by goats. The herders evaluated biodiversity in terms of key forage species and used absence or presence of the preferred species from individual landscapes for monitoring change in biodiversity. For the "how question" the herders used anthropogenic indicators concerned with livestock management for assessing landscape potential and suitability for grazing. The anthropogenic indicators were related to soils and biodiversity. The herders used plant species grazing preferences to determine the links between livestock production and biodiversity. By addressing these three questions, the study shows the value of incorporating the indigenous knowledge of herders into classification of landscape and assessment and monitoring of biodiversity in the grazing lands. We conclude that herder knowledge of biodiversity is related to the use as opposed to exclusive conservation practices. This type of knowledge is extremely valuable to conservation agencies for establishing a baseline for monitoring changes in biodiversity in the future.     

Cognitive attributes and aesthetic preferences in assessment and differentiation of landscapes

The increasing pace and scale of landscape changes involve objective measurements in order to estimate the effects of changes on people's landscape preferences in a meaningful way. In the literature, some attempts have been made to provide a more conceptual base related to landscape preferences. These concepts and their indicators need to be tested empirically in different contexts and landscape types. In the present study, different items related to theoretical concepts of both aesthetic preference and cognitive rating were examined. They were combined in an in situ questionnaire, which was conducted among undergraduate students in geography during two different field excursions. Stimuli consisted of 11 landscape vistas selected during the excursions. All vistas represent rather rural landscapes but they vary with regard to relief, degree of urbanisation, and degree of agricultural land use. Statistical analysis of all data yielded significant correlations between aesthetic and cognitive ratings. However, these correlations did not appear to be very strong. When considering landscape vistas separately, the relations between all cognitive ratings seemed to vary. Further, not all cognitive aspects had an equal predicting value for aesthetic preference. Moreover, this predicting value appeared to vary between different landscape vistas. The groups of interrelated cognitive aspects could not be associated consistently with theoretical concepts. The results demonstrated the inconsistencies existing between the contents of the theoretical concepts and the indicators found within the landscape. The findings argued for the necessity to distinguish between different ratings and landscape types instead of using unitary preference measures and generalized data when studying landscape preference.     

Social Sciences and landscape analysis: opportunities for the improvement of conservation policy design

This article develops a methodology aimed at generating a systematic social diagnosis of social and natural landscapes. The analytical process is divided into six easily replicable and causatively connected steps. The goal is two-fold: first, to present the inextricable connections between physical landscapes and the communities that occupy them. And second, to provide a fundamental tool to public policy designers that should simultaneously improve social acceptability of conservation policies and policy efficiency and effectiveness. Finally, this methodology is consciously heterogeneous from a theoretical perspective. This article puts together, in fruitful dialogue, contributions from varying places on the social theory spectrum: from political economy to poststructural theory.     

家居室内设计及新进展的思考

在对传统室内设计基本观点阐述与理解的基础上分析其整体性、可持续发展,并着重探讨在物质文明和精神文明高度发展的今天,现代室内设计在个性化、自然性、现代性、艺术性等方面发展的新趋势.通过对现代室内设计特点和发展趋势的分析,创造出一个适合人们现代生活的理想空间.     

Scenario-visualization for the assessment of perceived green space qualities at the urban-rural fringe

The provision of green space is increasingly being perceived as an important factor for quality of life. However, green spaces often face high developmental pressure. The main objective of this study is to investigate a prospective approach to green space planning by combining three-dimensional (3D) visualization of green space scenarios and survey techniques to facilitate improved participation of the public. Aside from the ‘Status quo’, scenarios ‘Agriculture’, ‘Recreation’, ‘Nature conservation’ and ‘Wind turbines’ are visualized in three dimensions. In order to test responses, a survey was conducted both in print format and on the Internet. Overall, 49 different visualizations that belong to one of the scenarios were available in the survey and were rated according to the perceived esthetic, recreational and ecological values.The highest rated scenes include vegetation elements such as meadows with orchards, single trees, shrubs or forest. The least attractive scenes are those where buildings are highly dominant or where there are no vegetation elements.Based on the ratings for the individual images and on the corresponding scenarios, our study shows that there is high potential for improving the existing landscape. All suggested changes are either rated about equal to or considerably higher than the status quo, with the scenario ‘Nature conservation’ receiving the highest scores.     

常规灭鼠下城市小型兽类生态的初步研究

为了了解常规灭鼠下城市小型兽类的种类组成和数量季节消长,通过分析浙江省杭州、宁波、绍兴、金华、湖州和萧山等6个城市1997－1999年灭鼠情况和3年的监测数据,结果表明,其种类组成啮齿目的的褐家鼠、黄胸鼠、小家鼠、黑线姬鼠和食虫目的臭QuQing;其中袍家鼠占42．9％、小家鼠32．1％、黄胸鼠10．6％、黑线姬鼠6％、臭QuQing8．3％;这些动物的密度季节变化呈现单峰型或双峰型。每年3－4月和9－10月开展两次灭鼠,能有效地控制小型兽类的密度,但应注意灭鼠药的轮换和灭鼠药的发放形式。