Land-Use and Land-Cover Change and Farmer Vulnerability in Xishuangbanna Prefecture in Southwestern China

This study investigated land-use and land-cover change in three hamlets and two state rubber farms in the Nan-e watershed of the Xishuangbanna prefecture of Yunnan province in Southwestern China. The overall objective of the study was to understand how state policies affected land use and land cover and how changes in these variables affected farmer vulnerability to economic, social, and political events. Emphasis was placed on the cultivation of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), promoted in southern Yunnan province since the 1950s as a means to meet the demands of rapid economic development. The study combined remote sensing analysis with secondary data and in-field interviews in order to understand the coupling between land-use and land-cover change and farmer vulnerability in light of the geographic, historical, and sociopolitical situation.     

四川省泥石流风险评价

通过对1990年和2000年四川省泥石流灾害易损度的对比分析,得出了泥石流灾害风险度10年来的变化情况.攀枝花市、泸州市、眉山市、绵阳市、广元市、宜宾市、广安市、巴中市和凉山州的泥石流灾害风险度均有不同程度的增大.特别是眉山市、广安市和巴中市增幅较大.通过对泥石流灾害风险的定量计算,得出了2000年四川省泥石流灾害风险评价结果.凉山州、甘孜州、阿坝州、攀枝花市和雅安市为四川省泥石流灾害高风险区.     

中国水灾风险综合管理--平衡大都市区水灾致灾强度与脆弱性

中国大都市区主要分布在大江大河的中下游地区,由于区域土地利用格局的巨大变化,特别是较多的水域和湿地因城市化而被占据,因此,一方面大都市区面临严重的洪水危险,另一方面为了使大都市区尽可能减轻洪水灾害,而加强了防洪能力的建设.然而,近50年的减灾实践证明,洪水灾害却在波动中趋于上升,即大都市区对洪水的脆弱性在增大.在对中国大都市区洪水灾害的区域分析基础上,以广东省为例,构造了综合水灾致灾因子和承灾体为一体的风险评估模型体系,以此提出了平衡大都市区水灾致灾强度与脆弱性的基本土地利用模式,和"政府-企业(社区)-保险公司"相结合的企业风险管理模式.     

“We are free when water is available”: gendered livelihood implications of sporadic water supply in Northern Ghana

ABSTRACT

Water shortages may present different and diverse implications for gender subgroups particularly in low-income settings. Yet, little research has documented the gendered livelihood implications of water shortages in Ghana. Based on a cross-sectional mixed method research involving a survey of 250 household heads and complemented with a qualitative study of 86 participants, the paper examines the differential effects of sporadic water supply in Tatale-Sanguli District of Northern Ghana. Our findings suggest that the livelihood effects of sporadic water supply in Tatale-Sanguli area are gendered, with females being disproportionately affected as compared to males. These differential effects are often framed by both gender role differentiation and inequities in access to vital productive resources and critical assets such as bicycles, tricycles and motor bikes. These findings highlight not only the need for local government and non-governmental organisations to step up efforts in water provision, but also to recognise the gendered effects of water shortages in Tatale-Sanguli District. Key to policy is also to ensure that programmatic interventions during water shortages take account of the likely gendered effects and differentiated burdens.     

洪水风险与国内外城市防洪规划实例

基于洪水风险和脆弱性的概念，介绍了有关国家城市防洪规划的实例，强调了洪水灾害中风险和脆弱性对城市规划的影响。文章最后指出了我国防洪规划应注意的问题。     

FAE威力评价方法与目标防护分析

对燃料空气炸药（ＦＡＥ）爆炸场特性进行了分析;从冲击波超压－ 冲量毁伤准则出发,提出一种以靶板毁伤效应为评价依据的ＦＡＥ威力评价方法,并结合易损性等效原理,对不同毁伤等级下目标防护问题进行了分析     

城市突发公共安全事件人员相对脆弱性研究

设计了基于人员相对脆弱性判断和经验正交函数分解的城市突发事件人员相对脆弱性研究方法,以河南省焦作市为例,将城市划分为8个风险区,选择20项脆弱性影响因子,首先对每个脆弱性因子在8个风险区的人员脆弱性构造判断矩阵,然后以判断矩阵为基础进一步构造人员相对脆弱性矩阵,最后用经验正交函数方法研究突发事件人员相对脆弱性,分析突发事件人员脆弱性影响因子的区域差异,探讨了脆弱性因子和风险区之间的组合特征及变化规律,为城市人员脆弱性的研究提供一种新的思路,并为突发事件人员脆弱性的治理提供科学依据。     

Assessing coastal vulnerability to climate change: comparing segmentation at global and regional scales

Recent concerns about potential climate-change effects on coastal systems require the application of vulnerability assessment tools in order to define suitable adaptation strategies and improve coastal zone management effectiveness. In fact, while various research efforts were devoted to evaluate coastal vulnerability to climate change on a national to global level, fewer applications were carried out so far to develop more comprehensive and site-specific vulnerability assessments suitable to plan possible adaptation measures at the regional scale. In this respect, specific indicators are needed to address climate-change-related issues for coastal zones and to identify vulnerable areas at the regional level. Two sets of coastal vulnerability indicators were selected, one for regional and one for global studies, respectively, concerning the same features of coastal systems, including topography and slope, geomorphological characteristics, presence and distribution of wetlands and vegetation cover, density of coastal population and number of coastal inhabitants. The proposed set of indicators for the regional scale was chosen taking into account the availability of environmental and territorial data for the whole coastal area of the Veneto region and was based on site-specific datasets characterized by a spatial resolution appropriate for a regional analysis. Moreover, a GIS-based segmentation procedure was applied to divide the coastline into linear segments, homogeneous in terms of vulnerability to climate change and sea-level rise at the regional scale. This approach allowed to divide the Veneto shoreline into 140 segments with an average length of about 1 km, while the global scale approach identified four coastal segments with an average length of about 66 km. The performed comparison indicated how the more detailed approach adopted at the regional scale is essential to understand and manage the complexities of the specific study area. In fact, the 25-m DEM employed at the regional scale provided a more accurate differentiation of the coastal area's elevation and thus of coastal susceptibility to the inundation risks, compared to the 1-km DEM used at the global level. Moreover, at the regional level the use of a 1:20,000 geomorphological map allowed to differentiate the unique landform class detected at the global level (e.g., fluvial plain) in a variety of more detailed coastal typologies (e.g., open coast eroding sandy shores backed by bedrock) characterized by a different sensitivity to climate change and sea-level rise. Accordingly, the information provided by regional indicators can support decision-makers in improving the management of coastal resources by considering the potential impacts of climate change and in the definition of appropriate actions to reduce inundation risks, to avoid the potential loss of valuable wetlands and vegetation and to plan the nourishment of sandy beaches subject to erosion processes.     

Human use and conservation planning in Alpine areas of Northwestern Yunnan,China

Alpine areas in northwestern Yunnan, China possess globally significant levels of biodiversity and are important locally for livelihood activities such as livestock grazing and medicinal plant collection. Because local land use has important impacts on alpine conditions and communities have significant capacity to manage alpine resources, we emphasized local collaboration during the initial stages of conservation planning. Our collaboration with local communities investigated how livelihood strategies affect the condition of alpine resources in northwestern Yunnan and how future conservation efforts can be compatible with local livelihoods. We sampled three livestock herding sites, each within a different alpine sub-region, using open-ended interviews and maximum variation sampling. According to interviewees, livestock grazing within the alpine zone currently does not appear to be negatively impacting the availability of forage. Medicinal plant collection, however, is showing unsustainable trends. Tourism is as yet a nascent industry, but is seen as having great potential by those interviewed. It is clear that with increases in population, access to regional markets, and tourism, northwestern Yunnan’s rich alpine resources will require careful management. In addition to the data collected, we found that the methodology used may be widely applicable to organizations with limited resources that wish to engage local communities during the formative stages of regional-level conservation planning.     

中国粮食安全系统脆弱性评价及其驱动机制分析

从粮食安全系统的视角出发,运用VSD的脆弱性分析框架,从暴露性、敏感性、适应能力三个层面构建了中国粮食安全脆弱性评价指标体系,采用主成分分析方法对1991-2015年中国粮食安全脆弱性的暴露性、敏感性、适应能力进行定量分析,并探究了中国粮食安全脆弱性变化的总体趋势及其驱动因子。研究结果表明：（1）暴露性指数呈现出2阶段下降特征,年均下降0.121;敏感性指数呈现出快速上升和基本稳定的两阶段变化特征;适应能力指数则一直上升,年均提高0.117。（2）1991-2015年粮食安全系统脆弱性指数整体呈现下降趋势,表明中国粮食安水平有了明显提高;其变化过程可划分为1991-1999年、2000-2003年和2004-2015年三个阶段,第一、二阶段粮食安全水平的总体提高是基于“吃饱”水平上的提高,而第三阶段是基于“吃好”水平上的提高。（3）人均GDP、城镇化水平和城乡居民人均可支配收入四个因子共同驱动中国粮食安全脆弱性的变化,2000-2015年的第二阶段四因子对粮食安全脆弱性的驱动作用明显小于1991-1999的第一阶段,且第一驱动因子由第一阶段的农村居民人均可支配收入转变为第二阶段的人均GDP和城镇居民可支配收入。