China''''s CDM Policies and Their Development Implications:Major Concerns for CDM Implementation

Most CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) opportunities exist in some large industrializing developing countries. For instance, China is estimated to take 48% of the world potential for CDM project activities. In reality, however, the share by China over the CDM projects registered and CDM projects in the pipeline is less than 10% as of Auguest 2005. This paper will examine the reasons behind, as reflected in China's CDM policies. Further investigation will be made into the use of these policies to boost the country's sustainable development, the sustainable development implications and effects of these policies. In addition, it is noted that incompatibility of some other Chinese laws and policies can be responsible for the low level and slow pace of CDM implementation in China and some suggestions are offered for promoting CDM project activities in China. There also exist barriers at the international level that impedes implementation of CDM project activities. A conclusion is drawn that CDM policies in a developing country like China aim mainly at promotion of sustainable development and to a lesser extent the generation of CERs.     

Water Resource Management in Botswana: Balancing Sustainability and Economic Development*

Botswana is a rapidly developing country in southern Africa. Over the last three decades, diamond mining and tourism have provided double-digit rates of economic growth. Yet most of Botswana’s land is in the Kalahari desert where the climate is subject to sustained periods of severe drought. In this environment, water resources are the most crucial of all environmental resources. Water use directly affects economic development because water utilization impacts all the major national economic sectors. A sustainable water use resource management plan must stretch several decades into the future to assure the availability of adequate supplies of water to future generations while not compromising the ability of the current generation to reasonable rates of economic development. Yet thinking about sustainability is present in Botswana water policy mostly only in rhetoric. A series of cultural traditions and political constraints, coupled with bureaucratic managerial weaknesses, serve to maintain a system of water allocation that is unsustainable in the long run and inefficient in the short-term. Unless sustainable water use patterns are adopted, the results for the short-term, as well as the long-term, will be devastating. Drawing on data obtained through a series of interviews with government officials, leaders of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and water resource researchers, this paper explores water policy in Botswana within the larger context of sustainable natural resource management practice and the pressures of economic development. This research was partially funded under U.S. Department of State, College and University Affiliations Grant # ASCS-1095.     

Cytogenetic analysis of trophoblasts by comparative genomic hybridization in embryo-fetal development anomalies

Cytogenetic studies of spontaneous abortions or intrauterine fetal death depend on conventional tissue culturing and karyotyping. This technique has limitations such as culture failure and selective growth of maternal cells. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) using specific probes permits diagnosis of aneuploidies but is limited to one or a few chromosomal regions. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) provides an overview of chromosomal gains and losses in a single hybridization directly from DNA samples. In a prospective study, we analyzed by CGH trophoblast cells from 21 fetuses in cases of spontaneous abortions, intrauterine fetal death or polymalformed syndrome. Six numerical chromosomal abnormalities including one trisomy 7, one trisomy 10, three trisomies 18, one trisomy 21 and one monosomy X have been correctly identified by CGH. One structural abnormality of the long arm of chromosome 1 has been characterized by CGH. One triploidy and two balanced pericentromeric inversions of chromosome 9 have not been identified by CGH. Sexual chromosomal constitutions were concordant by both classical cytogenetic technique and CGH. Contribution of trophoblast analysis by CGH in embryo-fetal development anomalies is discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

长江三角洲城市旅游与城市发展协调性及影响因素

城市旅游业作为城市服务业的重要部门,是推动城市发展的后续动力。运用信息熵赋权法和TOPSIS法相结合,从经济水平、社会发展、公共交通、城市绿化、环境保护、旅游发展6个方面对长江三角洲2003年和2008年的城市旅游与城市发展的协调性进行分析,借助ArcGIS软件的空间聚类法分析了城市旅游与城市发展协调水平的空间格局及演变,最后探讨影响因素。结果表明:长江三角洲16城市的城市旅游协调水平在研究期间相对稳定,具体可被划分为4个等级,第一、二等级城市数量较少,得分显著高于第三、四等级城市。城市旅游协调水平空间上存在较大差异,北部城市得分高于南部城市,基本格局保持稳定,呈现以上海、南京、杭州三个城市为核心向外围边缘城市的空间衰减。产业发展、城市旅游发展模式、城市旅游重大项目投资、区位条件是长江三角洲城市旅游协调水平产生空间分化的主要影响因素,可制定以城市旅游发展为手段的方式推动城市发展,促进区域均衡发展。     

长治市社会经济发展与环境质量变化相关趋势分析

系统阐述了长治市的社会经济发展及主要环境污染指标的变化趋势,利用库兹涅茨曲线对二者相互关系进行了相关性分析。     

生态文明与可持续发展关系探讨

本文从生态文明内涵和可持续发展本质出发,对生态文明和可持续发展之关系进行了初步探讨,这对于坚持科学发展观、走可持续发展道路,提高生态文明和尊重自然的认识,建设和谐社会,促进生态文明建设具有重要意义。     

Sustainable cities: do political factors determine the quality of life?

The implementation of urban sustainability practices is affected by political obstacles, and diverse political ideologies may defend different city models. Sustainable policy design could also be affected by several factors that cause the deflection of resources initially allocated to other groups that are contrary to the concerns pursued and have the power to veto sustainable plans by exerting pressure on the party in power.In this sense, the aim of this paper is to show the impact that political factors have on cities’ sustainability, and the effect of both on cities’ economic development. To do so, we used the 78 Spanish cities with a population over 100,000 studied by MERCO (Spanish Corporate Reputation Monitor) as regards their levels of sustainability for the fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Both relationships have been tested empirically through two dependence models using linear regression techniques.The results obtained show that political competition improves cities’ sustainability, while a leftist ideology has an inverse impact. On the other hand, a significant direct relationship has been observed between urban sustainability and municipal economic activity.     

新时代中国乡村振兴：探索与思考——乡村地理青年学者笔谈

乡村振兴是新时期国家重大战略,是一项系统工程。中国地域广阔,资源禀赋和经济发展区域差异显著,乡村振兴路径需要体现乡村发展的综合性、复杂性和区域性。来自乡村地理学领域的16位青年学者,以笔谈方式,对中国乡村振兴的科学路径开展了深入讨论。核心观点如下：（1）乡村振兴需要遵循时空分异规律,重点关注乡村发展的时空传承与现实需求之间的衔接,建立彰显地域特色和具有可操行性的理论和技术体系,分类、有序地推进乡村的人居环境、产业体系、生态环境和治理模式等转型。（2）力求城乡融合和联动,构建城乡复合多中心网络体系,创新采用“乡村群”空间组织模式,以乡村内生力、城镇辐射力与规划约束力共同驱动乡村振兴。（3）在中国“大国小农”的基本国情下,农业承载着食品安全、社会稳定和生态产品等多重功能,需要构建农业“全价值链”的发展路径,促进一二三产业深度融合,助力乡村产业兴旺。（4）在能源富集区,在保障国家能源安全需求前提下,需从根本上解决农村发展不平衡不充分问题;在西南地区,依托山区特色生态、人文资源打造山区现代农业产业体系、重塑乡村旅游新品牌、构筑山水田园乡村家园;在东北地区,乡村振兴应与“东北振兴”战略协同推进,有序分类推进;在长三角地区,应在全面认知乡村工业化到乡村城镇化,再到乡村特色化,到乡村的社会、文化和生态建设的阶段演化特征基础上,寻求差异化的乡村振兴路径;在西北地区,应在生态保护的前提下有效提升乡村“自主脱贫”的能力,实现从“输血”扶贫向“造血”扶贫转变;在京津冀地区,需以城乡基本公共服务均等化为目标,推动城乡融合与乡村振兴;在资源型地区,乡村振兴核心将以一二三产业融合的高效农业体系替代以资源开采为核心的产业体系;在传统农区,优化耕地利用转型同农村劳动力结构变化的耦合格局是实现乡村振兴的关键;在经济发达地区,具有“混杂性”特征的乡村,需激活农村土地资源的资产和资本属性,推进空间有序整合与活化,寻求多主体共同参与和缔造的现代乡村治理模式。     

基于空间决策的区域城镇发展与农业生产协调布局优化——以江西省临川区为例

科学地进行城镇发展空间与农业生产空间的划分,是解决城市无序发展问题和粮食安全问题的重要途径。本文以江西省临川区为例,借助ArcGIS、GeoDa等软件,对临川区耕地综合质量及其自相关关系进行评价,以此确定永久基本农田初步划定成果,采用多准则判断CA模型对城市扩张进行模拟,通过两方面结果的对比与调整,结合城市发展方向、发展模式和耕地国家利用等别,进行永久基本农田和城市开发边界的划定。结果表明：永久基本农田划定面积为593.46 km²,初步划定结果主要分布于上顿渡镇、崇岗镇、河埠乡和荣山镇等耕地综合质量较高,且多为高—高聚集的区域。经过城市扩张模拟结果可知,临川区城市建设用地面积较为显著增加,主要增加面积分布于展坪乡、上顿渡镇以及钟岭街道。城市发展方向和城市扩张模型分析结果显示,临川区城市建设用地主要向西北、东南、西南方向扩张,扩张类型主要为蔓延式扩展。根据耕地国家利用等别将初步划定永久基本农田区分为可调入区与可调出区,从而进行永久基本农田区与城市开发边界的优化与协调,形成永久基本农田区与城市开发边界的最终成果。研究结果可为保护耕地资源、避免城市的无序扩张提供参考,也可为今后的划定工作提供借鉴。     

中国土地市场对城乡融合发展的影响

城乡融合发展是实现乡村振兴与推进新型城镇化建设的关键举措,土地市场则是实现城乡要素流通的重要渠道,也是连接城乡发展的关键纽带。本文阐释了城乡融合发展的科学内涵与本质特征,探究了土地市场对城乡融合发展的作用机理,在此基础上,量化分析了中国273个地级及以上行政单元土地市场与城乡融合发展的演进规律,并运用面板数据模型对土地市场与城乡融合关系进行了实证检验,以期从土地市场视角为城乡融合发展提供一条可实现路径。结论如下：（1）城乡融合发展是城乡价值重塑的过程,旨在消除阻碍城乡发展的因素,推动城乡要素自由流动与平等交换,实现城乡发展要素回报趋同,本质是通过城乡互动互补实现城乡地域功能的整体优化。（2）土地市场对城乡融合的作用是利弊双轨的权衡,作用方向取决于土地市场是否是良性市场。城乡二元分配体制与社会融入受阻背景下,扭曲土地市场掣肘城乡融合发展。（3）2005-2013年中国土地市场稳步发展,城乡融合发展水平略低,土地市场规模、土地市场价格与土地市场化程度分别提升113.66%、274.09%与37.07%,59.34%城市的城乡融合发展水平下滑,二者反差明显,且均具时空分异特征。（4）现阶段,土地市场对城乡融合发展更多体现为滞碍作用,但土地市场对城乡融合存在“低水平陷阱”,突破88.64%的抑制拐点,即可发挥土地市场对城乡融合的促进作用。重塑土地市场发展价值取向,加快推进土地市场化改革,探索人口—土地挂钩机制是后续工作的重要方向。