Transfrontier conservation areas: Integrating biodiversity and poverty alleviation in Southern Africa

Sub‐Saharan Africa continues to face the daunting challenge of alleviating poverty due to slow economic growth. In southern Africa, most countries are adopting policies that promote the integration of biodiversity conservation and rural development to contribute to rural poverty alleviation. Numerous approaches have been undertaken in this endeavour, including Transfrontier Parks (TFPs) and Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs). This paper discusses some of the limitations of the TFPs. In conclusion I posit that unlike TFPs, which are state controlled and managed, TFCAs, which promote multi‐land use and multi‐stakeholder participation are attainable and have a higher probability of sustaining biodiversity conservation and contributing to the alleviation of rural poverty, if: (i) areas of high biodiversity conservation within communal areas can be identified, zoned and leveraged to biodiversity conservation and managed in partnership between the communities and the private sector; (ii) local communities can secure legal rights to their customary land being devoted to biodiversity conservation and use such pieces of land as collateral in negotiating partnerships with the private sector in developing conservation‐based enterprises; (iii) functional community natural resource governance institutions can be established and empowered to represent their constituencies in securing fair equity from profits made from sustainable use of the conserved biodiversity assets and tourism businesses; (iv) concerted effort can be invested in developing and implementing family planning and fertility reduction strategies that would slow down human population growth to levels that can be sustained by the available natural resources; and (v) if sustainable financing mechanisms can be developed, and the governance of protected areas occurring in the TFCAs can be broadened to include other stakeholders.     

Implementing SDG 15: Can large‐scale public programs help deliver biodiversity conservation,restoration and management,while assisting human development?

Among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the proposed SDG 15 promotes activities that, inter alia, “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems”. An important potential contribution in achieving SDG 15 is through public programmes designed to jointly promote human development through poverty alleviation and improvement of human livelihoods and biodiversity conservation/management/restoration. An analysis of twenty public programmes with such joint objectives yielded twelve lessons learned. In addition to financial commitments, government and intergovernmental agency input for such public programmes includes ensuring political will and appropriate legal frameworks. Local communities and civil society provide input through traditional and indigenous ecological knowledge and stewardship. Appropriate shared inputs in development and the implementation of such public programmes, with communication between local community, broader civil society, the scientific community and governments will result in: better use and management of biodiversity; alleviation of poverty; security of livelihoods and better governance systems. The Ecosystem Approach of the Convention on Biological Diversity provides an ideal framework when planning and implementing new programmes. Application of the lessons learned to new public programmes will ensure that the answer to the question posed in the title is an emphatic “Yes”, and assist with the achievement of SDG 15.     

Impact of payments for environmental services and protected areas on local livelihoods and forest conservation in northern Cambodia

The potential impacts of payments for environmental services (PES) and protected areas (PAs) on environmental outcomes and local livelihoods in developing countries are contentious and have been widely debated. The available evidence is sparse, with few rigorous evaluations of the environmental and social impacts of PAs and particularly of PES. We measured the impacts on forests and human well‐being of three different PES programs instituted within two PAs in northern Cambodia, using a panel of intervention villages and matched controls. Both PES and PAs delivered additional environmental outcomes relative to the counterfactual: reducing deforestation rates significantly relative to controls. PAs increased security of access to land and forest resources for local households, benefiting forest resource users but restricting households’ ability to expand and diversify their agriculture. The impacts of PES on household well‐being were related to the magnitude of the payments provided. The two higher paying market‐linked PES programs had significant positive impacts, whereas a lower paying program that targeted biodiversity protection had no detectable effect on livelihoods, despite its positive environmental outcomes. Households that signed up for the higher paying PES programs, however, typically needed more capital assets; hence, they were less poor and more food secure than other villagers. Therefore, whereas the impacts of PAs on household well‐being were limited overall and varied between livelihood strategies, the PES programs had significant positive impacts on livelihoods for those that could afford to participate. Our results are consistent with theories that PES, when designed appropriately, can be a powerful new tool for delivering conservation goals whilst benefiting local people.     

Sustainability and Local People’s Participation in Coastal Aquaculture: Regional Differences and Historical Experiences in Sri Lanka and the Philippines

This article discusses environmental sustainability in aquaculture and its contribution to poverty alleviation, based on field studies in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. The aquaculture practices studied are the monoculture of the black tiger prawn (Penneaus monodon) and milkfish (Chanos chanos) and the polyculture of the two species together with the mud crab (Scylla serrata). Factors affecting economic viability, social equity and environmental impacts in aquaculture are discussed and used to illuminate local and regional differences between aquaculture in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Findings indicate that the most significant difference is the level of participation by local people (i.e., people originating ≤10 km away from the farm location). In the Philippines, 84 % of the people involved in aquaculture are locals, whereas in Sri Lanka, 55% are outsiders. Whether differences between the two areas can be explained by analyzing regional conditions, which might have resulted in different aquaculture practices, is discussed. In Sri Lanka, semi-intensive shrimp monoculture is currently the most common practice, whereas in the Philippines, extensive shrimp/fish polyculture is more common. Previous studies, as well as fieldwork, indicate that extensive culture practices reduce environmental impacts and benefit local people more. Sustainability in aquaculture is, however, also dependent on the extent of mangrove conversion into ponds. As such, extensive and locally owned farms do not necessarily result in an all but sustainable situation. Keeping this in mind, it is discussed if extensive polyculture practices might result in a more sustainable aquaculture, both environmentally and socioeconomically.     

Towards Rio + 10 – Trend of Environmentalism and Implications for Sustainable Livelihoods in the 21st Century, The Context of Southern African Region

Since the Rio conference, many countries and organisations, including the environmental movement, bilateral and multilateral institutions have endeavoured to carry out activities related to the implementation of Agenda 21. These have mostly been done with or without other outcomes of the conference. Several environmental management and sustainable development agenda have been pursued to halt the continually degrading environment. Other programmes have concentrated on outburst of economic development at the expense of the environment and the worsening poverty especially in the South. This paper therefore seeks to examine a paradigmatic shift in environmentalism, emphasising the link between agenda 21 and sustainable livelihoods. It seems though the history of the environmental movement has been forgotten after the Rio conference by the whole world. This might probably be due to complacency with the results of the UNCED conference. However, it is now obvious that clear objectives to implement the results of UNCED are almost lacking with little or no proper supervision, and further threatening the existence of mankind. The environmental movement and associated milestones have had significant impacts on the current status of the global commons. Regionally in most of southern Africa, livelihood issues are in the forefront of efforts to sustain environmental resources, and minimising proximate causes of global environmental change.     

社会资本对农村贫困代际传递影响机制研究

社会资本在反贫困领域的重要作用已被理论和实践所证实。在新时代脱贫攻坚的决胜阶段,有效发挥社会资本的周急济贫功能,缓解乃至阻断贫困代际传递,已成为当前反贫困战略推进中亟待探讨的问题。研究整合了四期中国家庭追踪调查(CFPS 2010、2012、2014、2016)个体家庭和村庄的嵌套数据,建立了“认知型”和“结构型”两种类型以及“个体家庭”和“村庄”两个层级的社会资本框架,并基于探索性因子分析构建了社会网络、社会信任、社会声望、社会参与、集体参与以及公共服务6个社会资本变量。研究利用HLM软件构建了多层广义线性模型(HGLM),通过四阶段的空模型、截距模型、随机效应模型以及完整模型分析了绝对贫困背景下社会资本对农村贫困代际传递的影响机制。研究结果表明:①个体社会资本总量与贫困代际传递呈显著负相关。②在个体家庭层面,社会网络、社会声望、社会参与对贫困代际传递有显著负向影响,但社会信任和地方信任对贫困代际传递的影响并不显著。③在村庄层面,公共服务对贫困代际传递具有显著负向影响,集体参与对贫困代际传递具有显著正向影响,且公共服务水平对社会网络和贫困代际传递具有正向调节作用。研究提出要大力培植贫困群体和乡村两个层级的社会资本以缓解农村贫困代际传递趋势:①要通过协调“乡政”与“村治”以形成良性的乡村治理格局。②要促进精准扶贫与乡村振兴战略紧密衔接,在保障个体脱贫的同时完善农村公共服务及基础设施建设,推进城乡基本公共服务均等化;③须提振贫困群体脱贫信心,增强村级自治与集体参与的水平和能力。     

铜胁迫对黄芪幼苗的生理学毒性与凹凸棒黏土的缓解作用

为探究黄芪幼苗对铜离子（Cu²⁺）胁迫的耐性机理以及凹凸棒黏土对Cu²⁺污染的缓解作用,研究了不同浓度CuSO₄（2~20mmol/L）胁迫对黄芪幼苗的生理学毒性与凹凸棒黏土的缓解作用.结果表明,2mmol/L CuSO₄胁迫使得根系Cu²⁺含量、H₂O₂（过氧化氢）含量、MDA（丙二醛）含量分别较对照显著上升1.82倍、1.04倍、2.14倍.CuSO₄胁迫浓度达8mmol/L时,根系SOD（超氧化物歧化酶）活性、根尖膜损伤程度和叶片Cu²⁺含量分别较对照显著上升1.13倍、1.12倍和2.62倍;同时,叶片PS Ⅱ（光系统II）实际光化学效率[Y（II）]、光化学淬灭系数（qP）、PSⅡ电子传递速率（ETR）和叶绿素含量较对照分别显著降低22.88%、24.44%、21.49%和28.31%,而NPQ和qN（非光化学荧光猝灭系数）则较对照分别显著上升2.35倍和1.58倍.根系POD（过氧化物酶）和CAT（过氧化氢酶）活性、可溶性糖和可溶性蛋白含量在8mmol/L CuSO₄处理下达到最高值后呈下降趋势.CuSO₄浓度为15~20mmol/L时,根系APX活性和叶片光适应下PS II潜在最大光化学效率（F_v'/F_m'）,以及幼苗全株鲜重、全株干重、地下部鲜重、地下部干重较对照显著下降.在非CuSO₄胁迫条件下,基质中凹凸棒黏土的存在使得幼苗根系MDA含量较对照显著降低15.93%,但未对其它所测生理学指标产生显著影响;在20mmol/L CuSO₄胁迫条件下,基质中凹凸棒黏土的存在使得幼苗根系和叶片中Cu²⁺含量分别显著下降30.78%和23.12%;同时显著缓解了20mmol/L CuSO₄胁迫对根系活性氧水平、抗氧化酶活性、膜脂质过氧化程度、根尖膜损伤程度、可溶性蛋白和可溶性糖含量,叶片PS II光化学活性和叶绿素含量的不良影响,以及对幼苗生长的抑制作用.研究结果表明,培养基质中凹凸棒黏土的存在能够显著降低幼苗组织中Cu²⁺的生物有效性,继而缓解CuSO₄胁迫对黄芪幼苗的生理学毒性作用.     

Introduction: Natural Capital, Poverty and Development

Can development occur without running down natural resources in an unsustainable way? The concept of natural capital offers a way for those with divergent views (ecologists and economists for example) to discuss this difficult question. Four aspects are examined in detail. First, the role of institutions in facilitating sustainable development is discussed, with examples from forestry. Then examples from (eco)tourism illustrate the potential – and limits – of applicability of the concept. Measurement issues for natural capital are then considered in detail. Finally, the concept is applied to agricultural strategy in fragile lands, where the tradeoff between the environment and development is likely to be most severe. Some implications for future research and policy are developed.     

努鲁儿虎贫困山区生态环境综合治理方略探讨

努鲁儿虎贫困山区虽经多年治理,生态环境仍恶化,严重地制约当地经济的发展。为改善生态环境,必须正视本区缺粮食、缺资本、缺人才的区情,绿化工程建设必须紧紧围绕解决当地人民脱贫致富这一中心才有生命力,才有持久的后劲;必须营造适合当地具有生态经济效益的树(草)种;必须坚持谁种谁有,谁经营谁得利的政策;必须改变以往造林中“输血”型投资,为“造血”型投资等一系列方略。     

生态旅游:西南喀斯特山区摆脱"贫困陷阱"之路

西南喀斯特山区“贫困陷阱”的根本对策在于扭转人口生存领先掠夺土地的状况,生态旅游提供了这们的途径。西南喀斯特地区特有的自然风光和民俗风情等旅游资源优势,通过生态旅游开发,顺理成章地可转换成产品优势,“穷山恶水”就成为“青山绿水”,“穷乡僻壤”就成为“自然生态”和“特色民俗”。这不仅满足现代社会的需求,也使当地的资源潜力得到发挥。而且把资源利用的方式从掠夺、耗竭型转换为可持续型。另一方面,要真正和持续地实现这些资源的价值。必须保护原生态、原文化,这就引入了保护的经济机制．保护与开发的两难悖论可由此突破。本文还以贵州省绥阳县为例,阐述了西南喀斯特山区旅游资源特色和开发生态旅游的目标．为摆脱“贫困陷阱”提供一个示范。