Using participatory geographic approaches for urban flood risk in Santiago de Chile: Insights from a governance analysis

Studies based on information acquired by participative geographic approaches have sought to cope with emergency situations and disasters such as floods. However, the impact of these approaches to flood risk governance systems in order to understand these types of events as a complete risk cycle is still not clear. This paper focuses on analysing the governance possibilities of using participative geographic information like volunteered and public participatory geographic information for flood risk reduction in the case of Santiago de Chile, a city which regularly experiences urban floods during rainy seasons. Based on in-depth interviews and document analysis, our study indicates that a relevant part of the current information used for flood risk reduction efforts is provided to local and regional authorities by the affected population. Though, local actors are not recognized by central agencies as valid agents for the production of official information. Moreover, there are neither instances of communication or deliberation with the community, which reduces the capacity of local actors to discuss possible solutions. Participative geographic instruments are seen as potential mechanisms to strengthen work relations among local actors and authorities, by enhancing new logics for producing and sharing information. The impacts for the current risk governance system though can be diverse depending on the participants' level of commitment of participants and the political relations between actors and agencies. Considered as merely data acquisition and analysis mechanisms, participative instruments reproduce the existing hierarchical top-down structures. Furthermore, local-based approaches can enhance local work, support local diagnostics and increase the decision capacity of citizens.     

“The commons” as a dynamic variable in understanding strategic alliances of scale: A groundwater case study in Pajaro Valley,California

Groundwater, a critical resource in many parts of the world, is often characterized as a common pool resource (Brozovic et al., 2006). Multiple individuals utilize groundwater from a basin, and each person has the capacity to reduce the quantity or quality available to others. We turn to a case study of the Pajaro Groundwater Basin in Central California to re-envision the characterization of “commons.” While providing a useful frame from which to analyze groundwater depletion in the Pajaro, we find Common Pool Resource (CPR) theory to be imprecise in its approach to a geographic scale. The notion of the “commons” is central to CPR studies, but there is wide divergence in what the “commons” constitutes, both spatially and socially (Laerhoven and Ostrom, 2007). Rather than propose a normative definition for the “commons,” we suggest that the “commons” as a geographic category is socially constructed and dynamically active over time, akin to the analytic of scale as developed within the fields of political ecology and geography. This move from situating the “commons” as a fixed and discrete geographic area to that which is constantly changing and relational helps us to better understand the ways in which water users collaborate and communicate around shared groundwater sources.     

Uneven Environmental Management: A Canadian Perspective

Advocates of community-based approaches to environmental management argue that by respecting local circumstances, skills, and concerns we may improve the prospects of achieving environmental sustainability; yet, within nation states such as Canada, environmental conditions, management and enforcement costs and capabilities, and power differentials within and among civic and public sectors may result in a highly differentiated capacity for environmental management across different localities and regions. This article draws on insights of political ecology to 1) create a conceptual framework that identifies key elements shaping regional environmental management regimes and to 2) undertake a comparative analysis to assess how elements interact to generate uneven management outcomes. I compare experiences of two Canadian biosphere reserves designated in 2000: Clayoquot Sound, BC; and Redberry Lake, SK. Analysis reveals that differences in governance and institutional capacities in the biosphere reserves are key to explaining uneven local outcomes. Where the public and civic sectors are strong, a robust and publicly vetted form of management will emerge. Where these sectors are weak and land is held as private property, environmental nongovernmental organizations can set the type and level of management, to the exclusion of effective civic and state involvement. This result may improve environmental sustainability but hinder social sustainability of a management regime and raises questions about the efficacy of community-based management.     

农业生产转型及其环境效应的研究进展与展望

农业绿色转型已经成为乡村振兴与农业农村深化改革的关键路径,亟待探索农业生产转型与其环境效应的耦合关系与机制,从而推进农业的高质量发展。近年来,学者们基于不同的空间尺度,对农业生产转型及其环境效应的过程、格局、机理与优化调控开展了广泛探讨。为系统梳理该方面研究的相关进展,识别出相应的研究不足,本文采用文献分析与系统归纳相结合的方法,分析了农业生态环境问题的识别、测度与成因等方面的研究态势,从关键要素的视角解析了农业生产转型对生态环境影响的研究进展,并对农业经济增长与农业面源污染和农业生产转型与农业生态效率的相互关系进行了总结。研究指出：未来农业生产转型及其环境效应研究应加强从系统科学的视角解读二者的互馈关系,并关注二者互馈响应的区域异质性,深化基于土地系统科学视角的耕地利用转型的环境影响研究,通过多学科交叉融合加强对中国特色“小农”生产方式转型所引发的环境问题的微观机理探析。     

The relationship between sustainable development and resource use from a geographic perspective

Geography provides the basic building blocks for the study of resource use and sustainable development, inasmuch as it categorizes the human environment. Within the environment are resources that are needed for the survival of society. As resources are largely limited and finite, humans as agents of change must employ techniques that allow an efficient and lasting use of the available resources in their environment. This paper discusses the nexus between geography, resource exploitation, use, and sustainable development. It also discusses the characteristics, types, and classification of resources, development and sustainable development as well as the challenges and strategies for attaining sustainable development, particularly in developing countries.     

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GIS的黄土高原地区植被与气候关系研究

排序是植被与环境关系分析的重要手段。利用地理信息系统技术 (GIS)结合除趋势典范对应分析对黄土高原地区植被与气候关系进行了研究。结果清楚地反映了黄土高原地区植被与气候的地带性分布规律 ,证明GIS结合植被数量生态分析方法在黄土高原植被与环境关系的研究中是有效的     

基于公路网络的长江三角洲旅游景点可达性格局研究

论文运用GIS软件,定量分析了长江三角洲旅游景点可达性。通过分析发现:长江三角洲旅游景点资源的可达性较好,整个区域的平均可达性时间为25.89 min,景点的可达性在30 min以内的区域达到了69.79%,可达性空间分布具有明显的交通指向性,人文景点可达性好的区域相对于自然景点更加集中。并以县域为统计单元,分析了所有景点、人文景点、自然景点三种类型的空间关联情况,均呈弱集聚格局,可达性热点区域的分布都表现为以上海为核心的圈层结构,冷点区域分布在长江三角洲区域的外围地区。在上述分析的基础上,将影响景点可达性的因素归纳为4个,即:旅游景点分布、路网结构的地区差异、自然环境和人文环境。     

粮食蔬菜与土壤和大气中苯并（a）芘含量的相关性研究

对山西省运城市盐湖区不同区域内小麦、西红柿、白菜和土壤中B（a）P含量的空间一时间分布及大气、土壤与粮食、蔬菜中B（a）P含量关系进行了调查研究,结果表明,粮食和蔬菜中的B（a）P主要来自大气污染的“贡献”,土壤中的B（a）P的含量也直接影响粮食和蔬菜中B（a）P的含量。当小麦子实中B（a）P的含量达到一定水平后,并不随土壤中B（a）P含量的增加而增加。     

基于GIS的溶解态氮磷负荷模型研究

为了研究妫水河流域的氮磷非点源污染来源,在官厅水库周围进行了野外人工降雨实验,结果表明,氮磷输移率与径流量具有很好的相关性,溶解态氮、磷的平均相关系数分别是0.997 8和0.988 9,因此提出了新的溶解态氮磷负荷模型.从妫水河流域的土壤图、土地利用图中提取地理信息,以数字高程模型为依据,应用新模型研究了妫水河流域溶解态氮污染负荷的空间分布。结果表明,溶解态氮主要来自水浇平地,其次是低山和丘陵.