INCOME AND PRICE ELASTICITIES OF DEMAND FOR WATER IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES1

ABSTRACT: The income and proce elasticity of demand for domestic water is estimated for Penang Island, Malaysia. A cross-sectional analysis of a random sample of 1400 households indicated an income-elasticity of zero for low-income families (per capita income less than US$300) and an elasticity of 0.2-0.4 for higher-income families. A time-series analysis of a subsample of individuals of varying income levels suggests a short-run price elasticity of -0.1 to -0.2. The implications of these results for demand forecasting are discussed.     

The Area Production Model: a tool and concept for sustainable land-use and forest-resource management

In developing countries, planning in the forestry sector has been seen as an appropriate instrument to prepare and implement government policies and programs. Despite its potential and recent advancements in, for example, remote sensing and infrastructure, tropical forest land-use planning is often formal and non-integrated with agriculture. It rarely involves all legitimate stakeholders and neglects taking into account actual land-use. The socio-economic and environmental consequences of these shortcomings emphasise the need for alternative ways of approaching planning. This article summarises the idea, structure and current status of the Area Production Model (APM), originally developed in the 1980s, which is now gaining interest as a land-use planning tool in Africa and Asia. It describes the development over time of production and consumption in agriculture and forestry within a defined geographical area operating under different assumptions on management, land use and socio-economic and macro-economic changes. From a narrow perspective, the APM is a fairly simple computerised tool for generating scenarios. In a broad sense, it is a concept comprising the whole planning process including organisation, inventory, data analysis, consensus building and strategy. A case-study in Laos, based on verified data for a historical period of 45 years, and a review of different APM applications in the world over the last 15 years are presented as a base for conclusions about its potential and shortcomings. In some cases where the APM concept was used in training courses and planning exercises involving stakeholders, it generated a strong interest in collecting and analysing relevant information. It provides the means of addressing a number of shortcomings in current planning.     

回顾性环境影响评价的特点及发展趋势

依据回顾性环境影响评价的内涵,结合其发展过程和作用,总结了回顾性环境影响评价工作的主要特点,并探索了今后该项工作的发展趋势。     

达里诺尔湖化学特征与发展态势

通过对国家级自然保护区核心区达里诺尔湖水环境四年的研究,结果表明:有着典型代表的达里诺尔北方湖泊尔环境以含盐量高、碱度大为主要化学特征,而且随着生态环境的破坏、湖水蒸发量的逐年增加,湖泊水质有明显恶化趋势。     

黄河三角洲二元结构与多元可持续发展初探

黄河三角洲由石油资源的开发而兴起,其区位条件和油气资源条件都十分优越,但目前仍处于经济发达地区的低谷区。通过对二元结构系数的定量分析,发现该地区具有明显的复合二元结构特征,即“油地+城乡”,二元结构是制约三角洲持续发展的一个重要限制性因素。目前,石油产业的全面改组改制、优越的外部环境和自身基础条件、东营港扩建及其附属加工制造业基地的立项、综合性交通运输网络体系的形成等都是三角洲全面发展的难得机遇。要实现多元可持续发展的目标,必须转变观念,由“以油建城”到“以港兴城”、大力发展资源深加工工业和具有竞争优势的制造业;构建高效生态农业经济体系;推进城市的“内聚式”发展。     

Proactive socialization behavior in China: The mediating role of perceived insider status and the moderating role of supervisors' traditionality

This paper identified the dimensions of proactive socialization behavior among Chinese employees. We examined the mediating effects of perceived insider status on the relationships between proactive socialization behavior and socialization outcomes, and the moderating effect of supervisors' traditionality on the relationship between proactive socialization behavior and perceived insider status. Results from 280 newcomer–supervisor pairs supported the hypotheses that proactive socialization behavior was positively associated with task performance and social integration through perceived insider status. In addition, supervisors' traditionality significantly influenced the indirect relationships that proactive socialization behavior had with task performance and social integration via perceived insider status, such that the relationships became weaker as supervisors' traditionality increased. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Model to Analyze Ergonomics Working Conditions

An ergonomics and safety model to assess and evaluate the most critical industrial improvement areas in a developing nation. This study was initiated and supported by a Fortune 500 Corporation interested in improving its global operations in developing nations. This initiative was also fully supported by an emerging nation that was concerned with its ergonomics and safety problems. The model was tested and validated in the emerging nation and the results were used to further enhance the model so that it can be implemented and adapted to other similar work environments. The model provides a practical methodology that analyzes and evaluates an emerging nation’s current work environments, suggests practical solutions, and recommends effective remedies.     

湖北省森林资源发展问题刍议

湖北省具有发展森林资源的良好条件，但目前的森林覆盖率不高，林种结构不合理，森林生产力相当低。应在保护和经营好现有森林资源的基础上，以扩大森林面积和提高森林质量为中心，统筹规划，合理布局，增加投入，加速发展，科学经营，永续利用，不断提高其经济、社会、生态效益，造福于人民。     

甘肃省旅游业发展战略构想

发展战略的制订和实施是区域旅游业发展的核心和关键。作者通过对甘肃省旅游资源优势和旅游业发展现状的全面分析，提出了甘肃省旅游业发展战略的初步设想，包括完备的战略目标体系、针对性较强的战略方针、三个相对独立的战略阶段及。一个中心、两个侧翼、三条主线、四大产品和十大特色旅游区”的总体布局。     

Modeling Opportunity Costs of Conservation in Transitional Landscapes

Abstract:  Conservation scientists recognize the urgency of incorporating opportunity costs into conservation planning. Despite this, applications to date have been limited, perhaps partly because of the difficulty in determining costs in regions with limited data on land prices and ownership. We present methods for estimating opportunity costs of land preservation in landscapes or ecoregions that are a changing mix of agriculture and natural habitat. Our approach derives from the literature on estimating land values as opportunity costs of alternate land uses and takes advantage of general availability of necessary data, even in relatively data-poor regions. The methods integrate probabilities of habitat conversion with region-wide estimates of economic benefits from agricultural land uses and estimate land values with a discount rate to convert annual values into net present values. We applied our method in a landscape undergoing agricultural conversion in Paraguay. Our model of opportunity costs predicted an independent data set of land values and was consistent with implicit discount rates of 15–25%. Model-generated land values were strongly correlated with actual land values even after correcting for the effect of property size and proportion of property that was forested. We used the model to produce a map of opportunity costs and to estimate the costs of conserving forest within two proposed corridors in the landscape. This method can be applied to conservation planning in situations where natural habitat is currently being converted to market-oriented land uses. Incorporating not only biological attributes but also socioeconomic data can help in the design of efficient networks of protected areas that represent biodiversity at minimum costs.