Analysis of a rural water supply project in three communities in Mali: Participation and sustainability

This paper presents a qualitative assessment of the participatory water management strategies implemented at the community level in rural Mali through a water supply project — The West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI) — coordinated by World Vision International, a non‐governmental and humanitarian organization. Data for the study were generated through a combination of primary and secondary sources in three villages. Results of the study indicate that while community‐based rural water supply is a positive step in responding to the needs of rural Malians, the installation of boreholes with hand pumps informed merely by consultative participatory approaches and limited extension involvement will not necessarily proffer sustainable rural water supply in the region. A “platform” approach to rural water supply management that can mobilize the assets and insights of different social actors to influence decision making at all stages, including the design and choice‐of‐technology stages, in water supply interventions is instead advocated.     

Sustainable agriculture and eradication of rural poverty in Pakistan

Poverty is rampant in the rural areas of Pakistan, where people are in a state of deprivation with regard to incomes, clothing, housing, healthcare, education, sanitary facilities and human rights. Agriculture generates nearly 20.9 percent of the country's GDP and provides employment for 43.4 percent of its workforce. Most importantly, 65.9 percent of the population living in rural areas is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Rising population, shrinking agricultural land, increasing demand for water resources, widespread land degradation and inadequate infrastructure appear to be major concerns of the agriculture sector in Pakistan. An attempt has been made to examine the population growth–agriculture growth–poverty alleviation linkage. It is argued that agriculture will continue to be one of the most important sectors of Pakistan's economy for years to come. To alleviate poverty, it is suggested that Pakistan enhance the productivity of the agriculture sector through the provision of a series of inputs including provision of easy credit to the small farmer, availability of quality fertilizers and pesticides, tractor and harvester services, improvement in the effectiveness of the vast irrigation system and, finally, farmer education. It is concluded that the high rate of population growth needs to be curbed for increased agricultural productivity to have any significant effect on poverty in rural areas of Pakistan.     

岫玉产业发展中的问题及经济学分析

岫玉产业是我国辽宁省岫岩满族自治县的特色产业和县域经济的支柱产业。由于岫玉产业生产原材料的稀缺性、独特性和不可再生性而成为国宝级的产业。近年来,岫玉产业的发展出现了过度开采、过度加工和无序竞争,导致岫玉产品贬值,盲目扩大产业规模带来了规模报酬递减。针对岫玉产业发展中的诸多问题,运用经济学的理论加以分析,提出岫玉产业可持续发展的政策性对策与建议。     

The evolution of community water governance in Uchira, Tanzania: The implications for equality of access, sustainability and effectiveness

Community participation, ownership and cost sharing are key components of Tanzania's water policy, in common with the broad international consensus on water governance. However these policy goals are difficult to achieve, beset with paradoxes and their benefits may be overstated, both in terms of efficiency of resource management and equality of outcomes. This article draws on longitudinal ethnographic research of a village water supply in Tanzania to explore two issues: the contested nature of community ownership and the complex evolution of a ‘community‐owned’ institution. The evidence from the Uchira Water Users Association leads us to question some of the simplistic assumptions made concerning the capacity of local communities to manage service delivery and to balance equity and sustainability principles. The limitations of ‘bottom‐up’ and demand led approaches need to be recognised without discrediting their potential for challenging inequalities. The article concludes with a consideration of some of the tensions in community‐driven development, which raises some important questions about the role of the State and external agencies in setting and enforcing equity criteria in community‐managed initiatives.     

Environmental Policy Implementation in Rural China: A Case Study of Yuhang, Zhejiang

The rapid growth of rural enterprises has transformed the Chinese countryside. Although rural industrialisation has resulted in increased financial well-being, it has also contributed to decreased environmental quality. While China has strong environmental protection laws, this paper will demonstrate that they are not being effectively implemented in a rural region in Zhejiang Province. This is due to a number of social, political, and economic barriers that prevent agencies from effectively enforcing environmental policies and regulatory mechanisms. This paper investigates the implementation of China's environmental policies through a case study in Yuhang County, Zhejiang Province. It demonstrates that the implementation of environmental impact assessment, discharge fees, and limited time treatment is limited by inadequate technology, low finances, limited human resources, poor public environmental awareness, faulty data, inferior agency reports, organizational conflict, relations based on guanxi, and low discharge fee prices.     

沈阳市环保产业市场发展需求与发展策略研究

总结沈阳市环保产业发展的历程和特点,结合环保产业发展的市场需求状况,提出了沈阳市环保产业市场发展途径及策略,以期为环保产业规划编制、政策制定及环保企业发展提供参考。     

四川省农村面源污染问题的环境保护对策

农村面源污染主要来源于化肥、农药、畜禽养殖粪便、农村污水、生活垃圾和农作物秸秆等。“十二五”期间,国家将农业面源污染纳入了减排计划,作为农业大省的四川农业面源污染也比较严重,制定相关政策措施、采用先进技术显得尤为必要。文章综述了四川农村面源污染的现状以及对生态环境的影响,提出解决办法,最后对如何缓解目前四川农村面源污染提出了合理化建议与对策。     

农村环境质量评价方法研究——以江苏省泰州市姜堰沈高镇河横村为例

制定针对性强的农村环境质量指标体系与技术方法,对于加强农村环境管理、保护和改善农村环境质量十分迫切。通过对典型区河横村环境质量的研究,提出农村环境质量指数,用以表征和评价农村环境质量,并提出了农村环境监测的布点及监测指标的选择原则。     

Environmental characteristics of urban-rural farming migrants in the Republic of Korea and their significance for rural sustainability

ABSTRACT

The number of households migrating to agricultural villages has sharply increased in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) since the late 1990s when the Asian economic crisis developed. This study investigates the environmental behaviour and the socio-economic characteristics of urban-rural migrant farming households and provides insights into their significance for rural sustainability in South Korea. The study is based on survey data collected in 2016 from a sample of 166 migrant farming households and 46 native farming households from the Namwon region in South Korea. The migrant farming households are divided into 29 return and 137 non-return farming households. It was found that most non-return migrants are organic farmers, and can be characterised as anti-urban, amenity-pursuing, green, and lifestyle migrants. It is no wonder that they have a strong intent to make their new home an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable place for their children. Thus, appropriate policy measures need to be designed in such a way to facilitate the synergy between the repopulation of rural areas by farming migrants, their uptake of organic farming, their active engagement in community rebuilding, and regional economic development.     

工业事故演变混沌特性研究

混沌与随机是本质上不同的两种特性.区分产生工业事故演变系统的混沌性和随机性是进行工业事故模拟和预测的基础.本文通过对工业事故演变特性进行分析,初步结果表明,工业事故演变具有混沌动力系统的一些特征,提出通过相空间重构及Lyapunov指数来判定工业事故演变的混沌特性.