Biodiversity conservation through faith and tradition in India: some case studies

SUMMARY

In India, since ancient times, several members of the flora and fauna have been identified with particular personalities of the Hindu pantheon and are worshipped. Many wild animals, such as tigers, lions and elephants, and birds such as the peacock, owl and swan have been revered as the vehicles of Gods and Goddesses and worshipped. Several trees, such as mango, coconut, khejri, emblica, tamarind, ashoka, madhuca and wood apple, and herbs such as basil are considered highly sacred and worshipped. This belief and these practices continue in one form or another even today in certain sections of Indian society, particularly the rural folk and the aboriginal tribes living in the forest. Nature worship is a form of tribal belief and the faith of these laymen has helped to conserve many natural ecosystems in India. They have preserved many pristine forests—called ‘sacred groves’ in their original forms. Sacred groves are rich in biodiversity. They are the last refuge of the rare flora and fauna which have otherwise disappeared from the modern world. Sacred groves have become part of the ‘biosphere reserves’ of India.     

Impact on Mountainous Agricultural Development in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area forced by Migrants of the Three Gorges Project

The Three Gorges Project attracts worldwide attention because of the Three Gorges migrants, and the agriculture of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area is a foundation for the development of the Three Gorges migrants. The Three Gorges Reservoir Area is situated at the mountainous area with bad agricultural development conditions and relatively low levels of development. As a result, the large-scale migration fias special influence on its agricultural development, which has attracted much attention. The paper analyzes influence that the migrants have forced on its agricultural development based on the scientific data, and makes some explorations on the models that are suitable for the development of mountainous agriculture in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area.     

Farming dynamics and social capital: A case study in the urban fringe of Mexico City

Urban development has important implications for farmland preservation and natural resource management in local peri-urban communities. Social science research on recent changes in rural landscape of mega-cities tends to be limited to case studies in Latin-American nations. This study analyses the socioecomic dynamics of farming land use and the interactions between multiple cultural variables and the environment. Fieldwork was carried out during the 2002–2003 period in rural livelihoods of the five high mountain towns of south Mexico City. Data obtained from participatory survey and ethnographic techniques were integrated to assess changes in rural landscape and resource management and how urbanization, deforestation and market oriented agricultural production result in different livelihoods within a similar urban fringe context. The dynamic of mixture of urban and rural landscapes is based on farm productivity and social capital factors. The study concludes that policy support for regional agricultural production systems through enhancing ecosystems services, environmental protection and economic development is needed for sustainable development of local communities. Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue     

Rural vulnerability to environmental change in the irrigated lowlands of Central Asia and options for policy-makers: A review

Climate change, land degradation and drought affect millions of people living in drylands worldwide. With its food security depending almost entirely on irrigated agriculture, Central Asia is one of the arid regions highly vulnerable to water scarcity. Previous research of land and water use in the region has focused on improving water-use efficiency, soil management and identifying technical, institutional and agricultural innovations. However, vulnerability to climate change has rarely been considered, in spite of the imminent risks due to a higher-than-average warming perspective and the predicted melting of glaciers, which will greatly affect the availability of irrigation water. Using the Khorezm region in the irrigated lowlands of northwest Uzbekistan as an example, we identify the local patterns of vulnerability to climate variability and extremes. We look at on-going environmental degradation, water-use inefficiency, and barriers to climate change adaptation and mitigation, and based on an extensive review of research evidence from the region, we present concrete examples of initiatives for building resilience and improving climate risk management. These include improving water use efficiency and changing the cropping patterns that have a high potential to decrease the exposure and sensitivity of rural communities to climate risks. In addition, changes in land use such as the afforestation of degraded croplands, and introducing resource-smart cultivation practices such as conservation agriculture, may strengthen the capacity of farmers and institutions to respond to climate challenges. As these can be out-scaled to similar environments, i.e. the irrigated cotton and wheat growing lowland regions in Central Asia and the Caucasus, these findings may be relevant for regions beyond the immediate geographic area from which it draws its examples.     

长江上游生态环境退化与农地利用

本文在指出长江上游生态环境退化及危害的基础上，分析几种不合理的土地利用与生态环境退化的关系，并在分析这些原因的基础上提出合理利用土地，走农地综合利用的几点建议。     

渍害田地下排水技术与江汉平原农业综合开发

江汉平原是全国重点开发区域之一。本文由分析江汉平原的资源优势及其主要后备资源渍害中低产田入手,以科学试验资料为依据,从理论与实践的结合上,阐述了地下排水技术是改造渍害中低产田的治本措施,进而说明了该项技术的推广应用是江汉平原农业综合开发的主体和关键。     

Use of Stress‐Hormone Levels and Habitat Selection to Assess Functional Connectivity of a Landscape for an Amphibian

Abstract: The influence of landscape matrix on functional connectivity has been clearly established. Now methods to assess the effects of different land uses on species’ movements are needed because current methods are often biased. The use of physiological parameters as indicators of the level of resistance to animal movement associated with different land uses (i.e., matrix resistance) could provide estimates of energetic costs and risks to animals migrating through the matrix. To assess whether corticosterone levels indicate matrix resistance, we conducted experiments on substrate choice and measured levels of corticosterone before and after exposure of toads (Bufo bufo) to 3 common substrates (ploughed soil, meadow, and forest litter). We expected matrix resistance and hormone levels to increase from forest litter (habitat of the toad) to meadows to ploughed soil. Adult toads had higher corticosterone levels on ploughed soil than on forest litter or meadow substrates. Hormone levels did not differ between forest litter and meadow. Toads avoided moving onto ploughed soil. Corticosterone levels in juvenile toads were not related to substrate type; however, hormone levels decreased as humidity increased. Juveniles, unlike adults, did not avoid moving over ploughed soil. The difference in responses between adult and juvenile toads may have been due to differences in experimental design (for juveniles, entire body used to measure corticosterone concentration; for adults, saliva alone); differences in the scale of sensory perception of the substrate (juveniles are much smaller than adults); or differences in cognitive processes between adult and juvenile toads. Adults probably had experience with different substrate types, whereas juveniles first emerging from the water probably did not. As a consequence, arable lands could act as ecological traps for juvenile toads.     

大渡河干热河谷农业环境资源的开发模式

大渡河干热河谷光、热资源充裕,雨、热同期,主、支流(沟)纵横交错,为农业灌溉提供了水源;经济林木资源优势相对突出,农业环境资源立体层次丰富。因此,本文提出了开发大渡河干热河谷农业环境资源的4种模式。     

Embarking on the Second Green Revolution for Sustainable Agriculture in India: A Judicious Mix of Traditional Wisdom and Modern Knowledge in Ecological Farming

The Green Revolution in India which was heralded in the 1960‘s was a mixed blessing. Ambitious use of agro-chemicals boosted food production but also destroyed the agricultural ecosystem. Of late Indian farmers and agricultural scientists have realized this and are anxious to find alternatives – perhaps a non-chemical agriculture – and have even revived their age-old traditional techniques of natural farming. Scientists are working to find economically cheaper and ecologically safer alternatives to agro-chemicals. Blue-Green Algae Biofertilizers, Earthworm Vermicomposts (Vermiculture), biological control of pests and herbal biopesticides are showing promise. Saline agriculture and sewage farming are also being promoted in India to augment food production in the face of water scarcity. There is a move to search for alternative foods, which are more nutritious, cheaper and have shorter harvest cycles. Farm and food policy in India has to change its outlook before there can be a second green revolution. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

NONPOINT SOURCE DISCHARGES OF NUTRIENTS FROM PIEDMONT WATERSHEDS OF CHESAPEAKE BAY1

ABSTRACT: We measured annual discharges of water, sediments, and nutrients from 10 watersheds with differing proportions of agricultural lands in the Piedmont physiographic province of the Chesapeake Bay drainage. Flow-weighted mean concentrations of total N, nitrate, and dissolved silicate in watershed discharges were correlated with the proportion of cropland in the watershed. In contrast, concentrations of P species did not correlate with cropland. Organic P and C correlated with the concentration of suspended particles, which differed among watersheds. Thus, the ratio of N:P:Si in discharges differed greatly among watersheds, potentially affecting N, P or Si limitation of phytoplankton growth in the receiving waters. Simple regression models of N discharge versus the percentage of cropland suggest that croplands discharge 29–42 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1 and other lands discharge 1.2–5.8 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1. We estimated net anthropogenic input of N to croplands and other lands using county level data on agriculture and N deposition from the atmosphere. For most of the study watersheds, N discharge amounted to less than half of the net anthropogenic N.