Evolving patterns of agricultural frontier expansion in Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert: a political ecology approach

ABSTRACT

This study sought to understand why and how the area of irrigated agriculture in Janos County, in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, has tripled since 1987. Expansion of agricultural frontiers has often been attributed to state policies and programs or von Thünian land-rent dynamics. Here, a political ecology approach relying on qualitative interviews with landowners was used to understand the drivers and patterns of conversion from native rangeland to crops. Results show that socioeconomic patterns of agricultural frontier expansion evolved over time, with different drivers at different phases. State policies, especially the land reform, were initially important for settling the agriculture frontier in small farms. Subsequently, economic differentiation, intensification, and growth of existing farms drove expansion. Since 2010, expansion has been driven by investment-oriented land purchases by absentee owners and larger-than-family farms. The Janos case details what may be common but underappreciated temporal dynamics at agricultural frontiers.     

我国部分商品粮基地粮食重金属污染的差异分析与综合评价

本文根据1988年全国农业环境质量状况调查资料,选取我国部分商品粮基地县粮食重金属污染数据,通过多元统计分析,揭示了各商品粮基地粮食重金属污染的差异与分类。最后采用模糊综合评判方法,对各商品粮基地粮食重金属污染程度进行了综合评价,得到了相对污染程度的排序。     

灌溉管理改革的进展、特征及决定因素:黄河流域灌区的实证研究

论文采用两年的面板数据实证研究了我国黄河流域灌区灌溉管理改革的进展、特征及决定因素。研究结果表明,自20世纪90年代开始,黄河流域灌区灌溉管理改革取得了很大的进展,传统的集体管理已经逐步被承包管理和用水协会管理所取代,不同管理制度下农民参与的程度与管理的透明度都有所区别,政府的政策干预在促进灌溉管理改革上发挥了十分重要的作用,改革具有明显的政策导向性。在未来的灌溉管理改革中,政府部门应进一步出台相关鼓励改革政策,积极引导广大农民参与到改革的事业中,促进改革在更加广阔的农村地区的有效推进和良性发展。     

新中国70年生态环境建设发展的艰难历程与辉煌成就

中国的生态环境建设,经历了新中国建立之初生产力低下的农耕文明、改革开放后的工业文明、迈向生态文明的三大阶段,每个阶段都有自身的特质、挑战、应对和成效。从1949年到改革开放前,中国整体上表现为农耕文明特征,自然灾害频发、粮食生产短缺、城市化水平低下。为了跳出"马尔萨斯陷阱",新中国的缔造者带领人民治理水患,兴修水利,拓荒垦殖,问题得到缓解但没有得到解决,贫困落后依然,没能彻底摆脱"马尔萨斯魔咒"。改革开放后,工业化快速推进,城市化加速发展,使农民得以从土地中解放出来,极大地提升了劳动生产力;同时也使土地得以从农民手中部分释放出来,不仅大幅提升了土地资源价值,也使土地得以休养生息自我生态修复。虽然快速的工业化、城市化进程大幅提升了生产力、积累了巨量的物质财富,但是进入21世纪以来,中国的发展逼近工业文明的生态红线、环境底线和资源上线,可持续发展挑战不断凸显。2010年后,中国全面启动生态保护、污染控制和资源节约的转型发展进程,高质量、大力度建设生态文明,推进人与自然的和谐 发展。     

林地面积增加提高了农户营林积极性吗?——基于9省1 504个农户数据的倾向值匹配分析

论文利用9省1 504个农户调研数据,实证检验了新一轮集体林改后林地面积增加对农户营林积极性的因果效应。考虑到农户对林地经营面积决策的内生性问题,采用倾向值匹配方法对选择性偏差进行控制。匹配后,处理组和控制组在多个标准上均通过了平衡性检验。结果显示,林地面积增加确实促进了农户营林积极性的提高,但这是一个缓慢的动态调整过程。其中,资本投入强度在2010年以后才逐步表现为显著增加,增长率约为25%~27%,2013年进一步强化为28%~34%。资本投入强度的增加主要是由化肥和农药投入增加引起的,对种苗的投入强度并没有显著改善。这种差异说明,新一轮林改提高了农户的森林经营和管护积极性,但对造林行为的影响有限。同时农户并没有因为林地面积增加而显著提高劳动力的投入强度。这种资本对劳动的替代与农户的非农就业行为密切相关。     

Thanks but no thanks: A new policy to reduce land conflict

Land conflicts in developing countries are costly both directly and through increased land degradation. An important policy goal is to create respect for borders. This often involves mandatory, expensive interventions. We propose a new policy design, which in theory promotes neighborly relations at low cost. A salient feature is the option to by-pass regulation through consensus. The key idea combines the insight that social preferences transform social dilemmas into coordination problems with the logic of forward induction. As a first, low-cost pass at empirical evaluation, we conduct an experiment among farmers in the Ethiopian highlands, a region exhibiting features typical of countries where borders are often disputed.     

宜兴市清源污水处理厂升级改造工艺设计

宜兴市清源污水处理厂升级改造工程设计规模5×104m3/d,采用强化生物脱氮、机械微过滤(盘片过滤)工艺,利用现有池容进行内部改造,同时增加深度处理设施,提高出水标准,改造后出水ρ(COD)、ρ(BOD5)、ρ(SS)、ρ(NH3-N)、ρ(TN)和ρ(TP)平均值分别为34,6,5,1.3,10.3和0.36mg/L,各项水质指标均达GB18918-2002《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》一级A标准。     

高职GIS应用类课程项目化教学改革与实践——以《环境规划与评价GIS技术》为例

基于工作过程的项目化教学是高职院校课程改革的方向,以《环境规划与评价GIS技术》课程为例,探讨了高职GIS应用类课程项目化教学的改革与实践,主要内容包括课程设计思路、教学目标、课程内容选取、项目化教学实施与课程考核等。实践证明项目化教学改革取得了良好的教学效果。     

The win-win pathway of economic growth and CO2 emission reduction: a case study for China

ABSTRACT

Continuously reducing the CO₂ intensity of GDP is the core strategy for developing countries to realize the dual targets of economic growth and CO₂ emissions reduction. The measures are twofold: one is to strengthen energy saving and decrease energy intensity of GDP and the other is to promote energy structural decarbonization and reduce CO₂ intensity of energy consumption. In order to control global temperature rise no more than 2°C, the decrease in CO₂ intensity of GDP needs surpass 4% before 2030, but it could be merely about 2% based on the current trend. Therefore, all countries ought to speed up the low-carbon transition in energy and economy. As for China, keeping a continuous decline in CO₂ intensity of GDP of 4%–5% will ensure the realization of the NDC objectives, and also promotes the early peaking of CO₂ emissions before 2030. China will play a positive leading role in realizing a win-win low-carbon development coordinating sustainable development and climate change mitigation.     

Game analysis of Chinese stakeholders in collective forest rights system reform

In the current stage of Chinese forest ownership reform, the central and local governments as well as the forest farmers play different roles with variations in their expected returns. Managing these respective relationships between the forestry stakeholders to maximize their benefits while actively engaging each stakeholder in the collective forest ownership reform process has become an important issue. This study uses the game theory methodology to analyze the relationship between the different reform stakeholders and then builds on the forest farmers’ participation in the reform model process at the reform movement micro-level. This model calculates the forest products equilibrium marketing sales and the government subsidies provided to the forest farmers, when the forest farmers willingly participate in the reform process. It will provide a reliable basis for formulation of government policies which positively impacts Chinese forestry reform.