Community Management of Natural Resources: A Case Study from Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar

We analyzed the management, resource use and conservation of the Ankarafantsika National Park (Madagascar) to develop a management plan, which provides a sustainable development strategy of the area while empowering the local residents. Using qualitative methodology we performed interviews with villagers and local organizations to assess the park’s successes and failures from local stakeholders’ perspectives. People living in a village with a permanent Madagascar National Parks (MNP) agent are more favorable to and supportive of the park conservation. People living in the park are supportive but are more divided. On the other hand, people living on the periphery of the park see conservation as more of a burden. Strategies like more equitable distribution of wealth, environment improvement and decentralization of power are discussed to achieve a more sustainable management plan based on community natural resources management. Short-term, medium, and long-term interventions from park authorities are needed to ensure the cooperation of local people in conservation endeavors.     

农村面源污染现状分析与防治对策——以四川省南充市为例

通过走访、问卷调查及查阅文献等形式对四川省南充市农村面源污染现状进行调研,为加强农村环境质量监督监测及污染防治提供依据。结果表明:过量施用化肥和农药,畜禽废弃物、生活废水和垃圾、污水灌溉等是农村面源污染日趋严重的主要原因。为此,本文针对性地提出了推广循环农业和先进适用技术,加强基础设施建设及完善法规体制等对策。     

Sustainable mobility in rural China

Rural areas in China suffer from various problems. The stagnating economic development and a lack of (sufficient) job opportunities and basic services, etc., lead to disadvantages for great parts of China's population. In this context, the transport sector plays a crucial role for the development of rural settlements. Although the degree of undersupply varies between villages, the situation of Chinese villages is often worsened by an insufficient developed transport sector. Regarding mobility in rural China, major constraints and therefore challenges are the difficult access to the transport infrastructure, bad road conditions and the lack of public transport systems. Improvements within the transport sector can be regarded as crucial for the economic and social development of (rural) China and should be carried out in a sustainable and holistic manner using participatory approaches. The aim should be the development of mobility strategies considering the specific needs within the field of transport, which shall have a decisive and positive impact on related sectors. This paper is based on experiences made during the 3 years lasting Sino-European research project SUCCESS (Sustainable Users Concept for China Engaging Scientific Scenario) that analyses the present and the potential future role of transport systems in selected rural areas of China. Referring to the case studies of three villages in rural China, some mobility-related projects that present a favourable impact not only on the transport sector but also on the social system and the economy shall be highlighted. Finally, based on the analysis, instruments and measures for the development of a pathway to a sustainable mobility in rural China will be outlined.     

Evaluating the prospects for sustainable energy development in a sample of Chinese villages

This paper describes the methods used to evaluate the potential for achieving sustainable energy development in six Chinese villages included in the Sustainable Users' Concepts for China Engaging Scientific Scenarios (SUCCESS) Project by examining energy efficiency potential and local renewable energy prospects. The approaches needed to obtain and analyse information on possible energy efficiency measures and renewable energy resources are summarised. Results are presented in terms of cumulative net savings in primary energy consumption, as an indicator of energy resource depletion, and associated carbon dioxide emissions, as an indicator of global climate change. Options for sustainable energy development are ranked in order of likely implementation and practical actions which could be considered in each village are identified.     

Diffusion of Policy Discourse into Rural Spheres Through Co-Management of State Forestlands: Two Cases from West Java,Indonesia

In the context of state forestland management in tropical regions, the implementation of a co-management approach has been widely advocated in order to include the voices of local people and accommodate their interests in management decision-making. Most co-management literatures, however, underestimate the significance of statutory authority held by state to control forestlands and resources. By clarifying the implications of state ownership of forestland, this article aims to critically examine co-management processes with reference to Foucault's notion of power and subject. Case studies were conducted at two co-management pilot sites in Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park, West Java, Indonesia. Findings demonstrate that co-management processes actually materialize shared decision-making arrangements between state forest bureaucracy and rural people through the application of equity approaches, such as deliberation, negotiation, and experimentation. At the same time, these processes can also function to diffuse state policy discourse in rural spheres, which makes rural subjects who accept and practice the policy discourse. The research also reveals that the diffusion process is complex and does not necessarily make a durable subject unless they are pertinently organized. The results of this research indicate that co-management of state forestlands is a double-edged process for local people who risk becoming a proxy of state bureaucracy in the implementation of state policy. Proponents of co-management should, therefore, critically examine whether new institutional arrangements, which are developed through co-management, truly reflect values and needs of local people and assist them to develop a pertinent subject to deal with it.     

Sustainability assessment of national rural water supply program in Tanzania

Sustainability of rural water supply programs in developing countries is still an elusive goal. It is widely accepted that, as a rule, they have failed to deliver benefits to society in the long run. Emphasis has frequently been placed on the short‐term activities. Fast production of new schemes is thus a common strategy, prioritizing the engineering component, while sidestepping social and participatory issues and community empowerment. In 2006, the Government of Tanzania launched a national program to meet water sector targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015. In this study we evaluate key features of the program on a sustained basis. There is evidence that the Government is promoting more sustained facilities, focusing on cost recovery and on ‘decentralization by devolution’. Nevertheless, there are several shortcomings which threaten the long‐term functionality of the infrastructure that has to be built. In light of the implementation of the program, and based on the outputs of its pilot phase, we review the factors that can determine its sustainability.     

河北省农村城镇化对生态环境的影响及对策研究

当前河北省农村城镇化进入了快速发展的时期,由于规划不合理、传统经济增长方式制约、基础设施薄弱等原因,出现了自然资源的浪费和耗竭,以及严重的环境污染问题。因此各级政府须科学合理规划、切实推进农村城镇化,转变农村传统经济增长方式,加大对农村环境基础设施建设的资金投入,同时也要加强对农村居民生态环境保护的教育。     

PRA和GIS在小尺度土地利用变化研究中的应用

论文借助PRA,结合实地测量和GIS,以宁夏南部山区的上黄村为例对小尺度区域的土地利用变化进行了初步研究。重建和恢复了其25年来各时期的土地利用过程,绘制了上黄试区不同时期的土地利用空间变化图,并对其土地利用的数量及空间变化进行了分析。结果表明:在研究期内,从数量上看,耕地和林地变化最为显著,年变化率分别达到了8.0%和9.2%;从空间分布变化来看,主要表现为耕地向林地、草地及园地转变。     

南平市农村生态环境建设与保护的思考

对南平市农村生态环境建设与保护中存在的问题进行了剖析，提出了加强农村生态环境保护的对策和建议。     

Size-resolved effective density of submicron particles during summertime in the rural atmosphere of Beijing, China

Particle density is an important physical property of atmospheric particles.The information on high time-resolution size-resolved particle density is essential for understanding the atmospheric physical and chemical aging processes of aerosols particles.In the present study,a centrifugal particle mass analyzer(CPMA) combined with a differential mobility analyzer(DMA) was deployed to determine the size-resolved effective density of 50 to 350 nm particles at a rural site of Beijing during summer 2016.The measured particle effective densities decreased with increasing particle sizes and ranged from 1.43 to 1.55 g/cm~3,on average.The effective particle density distributions were dominated by a mode peaked at around 1.5 g/cm~3 for 50 to350 nm particles.Extra modes with peaks at 1.0,0.8,and 0.6 g/cm3 for 150,240,and 350 nm particles,which might be freshly emitted soot particles,were observed during intensive primary emissions episodes.The particle effective densities showed a diurnal variation pattern,with higher values during daytime.A case study showed that the effective density of Aitken mode particles during the new particle formation(NPF) event decreased considerably,indicating the significant contribution of organics to new particle growth.