The interaction between seaweed farming as an alternative occupation and fisher numbers in the central Philippines

Alternative occupations are frequently promoted as a means to reduce the number of people exploiting declining fisheries. However, there is little evidence that alternative occupations reduce fisher numbers. Seaweed farming is frequently promoted as a lucrative alternative occupation for artisanal fishers in Southeast Asia. We examined how the introduction of seaweed farming has affected village-level changes in the number of fishers on Danajon Bank, central Philippines, where unsustainable fishing has led to declining fishery yields. To determine how fisher numbers had changed since seaweed farming started, we interviewed the heads of household from 300 households in 10 villages to examine their perceptions of how fisher numbers had changed in their village and the reasons they associated with these changes. We then asked key informants (people with detailed knowledge of village members) to estimate fisher numbers in these villages before seaweed farming began and at the time of the survey. We compared the results of how fisher numbers had changed in each village with the wealth, education, seaweed farm sizes, and other attributes of households in these villages, which we collected through interviews, and with village-level factors such as distance to markets. We also asked people why they either continued to engage in or ceased fishing. In four villages, respondents thought seaweed farming and low fish catches had reduced fisher numbers, at least temporarily. In one of these villages, there was a recent return to fishing due to declines in the price of seaweed and increased theft of seaweed. In another four villages, fisher numbers increased as human population increased, despite the widespread uptake of seaweed farming. Seaweed farming failed for technical reasons in two other villages. Our results suggest seaweed farming has reduced fisher numbers in some villages, a result that may be correlated with socioeconomic status, but the heterogeneity of outcomes is consistent with suggestions that alternative occupations are not a substitute for more direct forms of resource management.     

生态环境行业扶贫绩效量化评估方法初探:以承德市围场满族蒙古族自治县为例

2020年是决胜脱贫攻坚战的关键之年,近20多年来,生态环境部门主动发挥行业特色,开展了大量坚实有效的行业扶贫工作,科学客观地评价生态环境部门的扶贫绩效,对于生态环境部门进一步精准施策、融入并推动实现乡村振兴具有重要意义. 本文基于实地调研、专家咨询和统计数据,建立了包括生态资源保护、环境质量改善、促进特色产业发展、社会公共服务提升以及抵御风险等4类26项指标在内的生态环境行业扶贫绩效评估指标体系;采用熵值法确定指标权重,结合多元统计分析方法,以承德市围场满族蒙古族自治县（简称"围场县"）为例,对生态环境部门扶贫绩效进行了量化评估. 结果表明:①2006-2018年,承德市围场县扶贫绩效呈逐年上升的趋势,增长了68.3%,成效十分显著. ②生态环境行业扶贫在围场县的扶贫绩效主要体现在促进特色产业发展、生态资源保护以及环境质量改善等3个方面,占总绩效的81.1%. ③生态环境行业扶贫对促进生态环境质量改善与地方经济协同发展的促进作用较为显著. 在环境质量改善绩效指标上升47.1%的同时,促进特色产业发展和抵御风险能力绩效指标分别上升了90.5%和83.3%. 研究显示,生态环境行业定点扶贫对提升贫困地区持续"造血"能力具有显著促进作用,生态环境部门要主动作为,积极融入乡村振兴的全过程,进一步提升措施的针对性,在帮助贫困地区保住优质生态资源的同时,充分挖掘生态资源的经济优势,推动贫困地区巩固好脱贫成效,实现乡村振兴.      

Is Multilateralism the Future? Sustainable Development or Globalisation as ‘A Comprehensive Vision of the Future of Humanity’

This paper provides an overall evaluation of the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which took place in Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 September 2002, in a historical perspective, against the background of earlier major United Nations conferences and General Assembly resolutions on environment and development. It focuses on the political and institutional context of the WSSD and its preparatory process and explores its policy implications for future international cooperation on sustainable development in a globalizing world. Both the results of the formal intergovernmental negotiations and the new phenomenon of partnerships for sustainable development between governments, international organizations, the private sector and other major groups are analysed. The Johannesburg Declaration and the WSSD Plan of Implementation are shown to contain little in the way of political vision, credible new commitments and innovative approaches, likely to reinvigorate the implementation of the objectives of sustainable development as formulated in Rio. Though ostensibly designed to give a new political impetus to multilateralism, the WSSD rather revealed the inadequacy of intergovernmental political governance structures to address the social and environmental consequences of economic globalization.     

长江产业带开发区现状特点与发展前景

长江产业带开发区处于超常规发展期，以工业开发为主导，开发水平不断提高，地区之间发展不平衡。开发区总方向应坚持以工业、外贸、出口为主的方针，以浦东为龙头，发挥地区优势，加快发展外向型经济，推动长江产业带经济发展。开发区大体划分为六种类型：工业加工型、高新技术产业型、贸易型、工业港口型、综合型和度假型     

辽宁沿海循环经济带建设研究

以辽宁沿海经济带的资源与环境承载力为基础,针对如何将沿海经济带建设成为循环经济带提出了建设指标、建设框架和具体措施。最终目的是通过环境优化经济增长,实现经济建设与环境保护协调发展。     

基于光漫反射的真空皮带脱水机滤布纠偏原理

介绍了湿法脱硫系统中真空皮带脱水机滤布的一种光漫反射纠偏装置,包括其主要部件如光漫反射传感器、电动推杆驱动装置、滤布控制滚轮等,重点阐述了光漫反射纠偏装置的工作原理及纠偏过程。光漫反射纠偏装置的主要原理是通过光漫反射传感器的输出信号来判断滤布的跑偏,根据光漫反射传感器的输出信号,DCS控制系统发送指令启动可伸缩的电动推杆装置来伸长和收缩推杆,从而控制滤布滚轮围绕着旋转点进行相应的倾斜调整,使滤布回到其中心位置。     

Self-Reported Seat Belt Use in Four Countries: A Telephone Survey

A telephone survey was conducted in four countries in November 1998 to compare drivers in the United States with those in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom regarding their attitudes toward seat belts and belt use laws. More than 90 percent of the 2251 respondents said they thought seat belts are effective, but self-reported belt use was significantly lower in the United States than in the other countries. Respondents in Australia and the United Kingdom had similar views about what they thought were important reasons for using seat belts and had the highest self-reported use. Reasons given for using belts by Canadian and US respondents were quite similar to one another, yet US respondents had significantly lower self-reported use rates, a difference thought to be due to vigorous enforcement of the law in Canada. US drivers were less likely than Australian and UK drivers to say they used belts out of habit, to avoid a ticket, or because it is required by law and more likely to say they used belts for situational reasons. US drivers were least likely to be in favor of belt use laws. Canadian drivers reported the most experience being checked by police for belt use and were most likely to think that nonusers would be caught. US drivers in primary enforcement jurisdictions were more likely than those in secondary jurisdictions to think that drivers not using belts would be caught and more likely to say they always used belts. Results of this survey indicate that seat belt use in the United States could be increased by adoption of primary enforcement laws and highly visible enforcement programs of the type used in Canada, and that seat belt use could be increased in all countries by increasing the penalties for nonuse.     

Whose marginalisation? Politics around environmental injustices in India's Chilika lagoon

The article examines marginalisation in small-scale fishing communities in a large lagoon system. It explores what marginalisation looks like from the fishers' point of view, and examines the extreme discrepancy between the official government account of the lagoon's resources, and the fishers' account. We analyse two major drivers of marginalisation: (1) role of aquaculture development in the loss of resource access rights and decline of local institutions, and (2) ecological displacement and livelihood loss brought about by the opening of a new (2001) “sea mouth”. We consider evidence collected through household- and village-level surveys combined with a host of qualitative and quantitative research methods. The fishers' point of view, and the data obtained using this point of view as a guide, presents a more complex, multidimensional concept of marginalisation, not simply as a state of being but as a process over time, impacting social and economic conditions, political standing, and environmental health.     

Networks and spatial segregation in the production of urban poverty in São Paulo

This article discusses the importance of social networks as survival strategies, testing the impact of segregation on the structure and organisation of personal networks of low-income individuals. It presents preliminary results of an ongoing study on personal networks of individuals living in situations of poverty in São Paulo. We analyse the characteristics of 89 personal networks of poor individuals living in three urban locations, characterised by different social contents and different contexts of segregation. The results indicate a considerable heterogeneity of networks (in terms of size, diversity of sociability spheres, among other dimensions) and a strong localism, which is commonly found in the three different urban contexts. At the same time, the analysis suggests a low impact of segregation and a more complex relationship between networks and space than previously described by the international literature.     

Underutilization of occupant restraint systems in motor vehicle injury crashes: A quantitative analysis from Qatar

Introduction: Restraint systems (seat belts and airbags) are important tools that improve vehicle occupant safety during motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). We aimed to identify the pattern and impact of the utilization of passenger restraint systems on the outcomes of MVC victims in Qatar.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted for all admitted patients who sustained MVC-related injuries between March 2011 and March 2014 inclusive.

Results: Out of 2,730 road traffic injury cases, 1,830 (67%) sustained MVC-related injuries, of whom 88% were young males, 70% were expatriates, and 53% were drivers. The use of seat belts and airbags was documented in 26 and 2.5% of cases, respectively. Unrestrained passengers had greater injury severity scores, longer hospital stays, and higher rates of pneumonia and mortality compared to restrained passengers (P = .001 for all). There were 311 (17%) ejected cases. Seat belt use was significantly lower and the mortality rate was 3-fold higher in the ejected group compared to the nonejected group (P = .001). The overall mortality was 8.3%. On multivariate regression analysis, predictors of not using a seat belt were being a front seat passenger, driver, or Qatari national and young age. Unrestrained males had a 3-fold increase in mortality in comparison to unrestrained females. The risk of severe injury (relative risk [RR] = 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.49–2.26, P = .001) and death (RR = 4.13, 95% CI, 2.31–7.38, P = .001) was significantly greater among unrestrained passengers.

Conclusion: The nonuse of seat belts is associated with worse outcomes during MVCs in Qatar. Our study highlights the lower rate of seat belt compliance in young car occupants that results in more severe injuries, longer hospital stays, and higher mortality rates. Therefore, we recommend more effective seat belt awareness and education campaigns, the enforcement of current seat belt laws, their extension to all vehicle occupants, and the adoption of proven interventions that will assure sustained behavioral changes toward improvements in seat belt use in Qatar.