Economic Underdevelopment And Sustainable Development In The World:Conditioning Factors,Problems And Opportunities

This paper deals with the various factors that condition underdevelopment in the world. It suggests some alternatives and points out the potential opportunities that both the developed and the underdeveloped world will have in the coming years to change the gloomy prospects that we see today. The present paper outlines the trends in historical priorities in development, changing as they pass from economic development to social development to ecological conservation – the three pillars of Sustainable Development.The paper analyses the importance of geography, a very relevant and often neglected conditioning factor. Also, it analyses the role of socio-economic conditioning factors like political immaturity, demographics, land ownership and external debt.Furthermore, the current opportunities for economic take-off are presented, from cash surpluses to low interest rates, from natural resource management to tourism or migration, from the Information Revolution to liberalisation of agricultural markets. Current obstacles are also analysed. The paper, on the basis of current facts and figures, reaches the conclusion that there is a structural need for sustained development aid for most poor countries, but it must be distributed in a more rational way.Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Long-term mate and territory fidelity in neotropical buff-breasted wrens (Thryothorus leucotis)

Among sedentary species, mate and site fidelity may be imposed by year-round territoriality and high annual survivorship, both of which theoretically lead to few opportunities to move between mates and breeding territories. We examined mate and territory fidelity in sedentary neotropical buff-breasted wrens (Thryothorus leucotis) in relation to the opportunities to divorce (vacancies on neighbouring territories), breeding experience and site of origin (within vs outside local breeding population). Overall, buff-breasted wrens showed high rates of mate and territory fidelity between years, with individuals significantly more faithful to their territories than to their partners. Mate and territory fidelity was not forced upon buff-breasted wrens, as most individuals had opportunities to switch mates and territories. However, this was not uniform among all individuals. Individuals that had bred together displayed 100% mate and territory fidelity despite the fact that males and females in almost all experienced pairs had opportunities to switch mates and territories. Local recruits (philopatric offspring that acquired territories in the local breeding population) also displayed mate and territory fidelity, but fidelity occurred because recruits rarely had the opportunity to divorce prior to initiating their first breeding attempt. By contrast, almost half of all territorial individuals that originated outside the local breeding population (immigrants) had opportunity to divorce, with approximately two thirds of them switching mates and territories. Divorces occurred within the first 5 months of pairing, suggesting that immigrants may have sampled mates and territories before forming permanent partnerships.     

Loss of mating opportunities influences refuge use in the Iberian rock lizard,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Lacerta monticola</Emphasis>

Because time spent in refuge may be costly if prey lose opportunities to forage, fight, or mate, prey allow predators to approach closer before beginning to flee when opportunity costs are high. Because the same opportunity costs may apply to refuge use as to escape, prey should make similar trade-offs between risk of emerging and cost of remaining in refuge. In the Iberian rock lizard, Lacerta monticola, we studied the effects of sex, reproductive season, speed of predator approach, and potential loss of mating opportunities on time spent in refuge following simulated predatory attacks. Lizards of both sexes adjusted refuge use to the level of risk by spending more time in refuge when approached rapidly than slowly. Females remained in refuge for equal times in the mating and postreproductive seasons, but males emerged sooner during the mating season, suggesting adjustment to a cost of lost opportunity to search for mates during the mating season. When a tethered female was nearby, males emerged from refuge earlier than if no female was present, indicating a trade-off between risk and mating opportunity. Approach speed affected emergence time when females were absent, but not when a female was present. Approach speed did not affect the probability that, after emerging, a male would return to court the female. For males that courted females intensely (bit them) before entering refuge, approach speed did not affect latency to emerge, but males that courted less intensely emerged sooner if approached slowly than rapidly. These findings show that males adjust the length of time spent in refuge to both risk of predation and reproductive cost of refuge use.Communicated by A. Mathis     

青藏铁路运营后的西藏旅游业:机遇、威胁与发展对策

近年来西藏旅游业得到较快发展，但仍存在基础设施建设不足、环境破坏日益严重、旅游成本过高等一系列问题。我国对西藏旅游业的发展给予了高度重视，青藏铁路的全线运营给西藏旅游业发展带来了前所未有的机遇和动力，同时也对西藏的社会环境、生态环境构成了潜在的威胁，作者对此作了简要剖析并提出了对策建议。     

Comparative lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and their reduction potential for typical petrochemical enterprises in China

Petrochemical enterprises have become a major source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet, due to the unavailability of basic data, there is still a lack of case studies to quantify GHG emissions and provide petrochemical enterprises with guidelines for implementing energy conservation and emission reduction strategies. Therefore, this study conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis to estimate the GHG emissions of four typical petrochemical enterprises in China, using first-hand data, to determine possible emission reduction measures. The analytical data revealed that Dushanzi Petrochemical (DSP) has the highest GHG emission intensity (1.17 tons CO₂e/ton), followed by Urumqi Petrochemical (UP) (1.08 tons CO₂e/ton), Dalian Petrochemical (DLP) (average 0.58 tons CO₂e/ton) and Karamay Petrochemical (KP) (average 0.50 tons CO₂e/ton) over the whole life cycle. At the same time, GHG emissions during fossil fuel combustion were the largest contributor to the whole life cycle, accounting for about 77.31%–94.27% of the total emissions. In the fossil-fuel combustion phase, DSP had the highest unit GHG emissions (1.20 tons CO₂e), followed by UP (0.89 tons CO₂e). In the industrial production phase, DLP had the highest unit GHG emissions (average 0.13 tons CO₂e/ton), followed by UP (0.10 tons CO₂e/ton). During the torch burning phase, torch burning under accident conditions was the main source of GHG emissions. It is worth noting that the CO₂ recovery stage has "negative value," indicating that it will bring some environmental benefits. Further scenario analysis shows that effective policies and advanced technologies can further reduce GHG emissions.     

国际金融危机背景下中国服务贸易的开放

近年来我国服务贸易保持着稳健发展,逐步跻身全球服务贸易大国行列.国际金融危机对我国服务贸易的发展既是严峻挑战,又带来了新的发展机遇.本文就在国际金融危机背景下,中国服务贸易面对机遇和挑战将如何开放提出了几点对策.     

城市生活垃圾智能分类技术研究与应用进展

城市生活垃圾清运量逐年增加,由此带来的环境问题日益严峻.不同垃圾组分有其各自适宜的处理与利用方式,因此,有效的垃圾分类技术具有重要意义.我国现有的以人工为主的垃圾分类方式存在效率低、成本高、准确性差等弊端,而垃圾智能分类技术是解决相关瓶颈的重要手段.本文简述了中国代表性城市生活垃圾分布和近年变化趋势,从密度、电、磁、声...     

“碳达峰和碳中和”的科学内涵及我国的政策措施

中国提出的"碳达峰和碳中和"目标是基于统筹国际国内两个大局的战略考量,基于科学论证的国家战略需求提出的,实现这一目标挑战和机遇并存。我国的承诺为全球高质量绿色复苏注入了强心剂和新活力,但实现该目标比发达国家面临更大挑战。它将倒逼我国社会经济结构进行重大调整,对科技创新提出了新要求,会给经济高质量发展、建设美丽中国带来机遇。建议切实贯彻我国"十四五"规划纲要提出的"碳强度控制为主,碳排放总量控制为辅的双控目标",充分考虑将碳排放总量控制目标考核和现有污染减排考核体系相结合,增强"十四五"的行动力。尽快制定碳中和目标下的科技创新规划和实施方案。统筹考虑短期经济复苏、中期结构调整、长期低碳转型,布局低碳/脱碳技术,提升未来绿色产业竞争力。     

发展低碳经济是挑战 更是机遇

在全球气候变暖的背景下,以低能耗、低污染、低排放为基础的低碳经济成为全球热点。论述了我国发展低碳经济所面临的压力和挑战,提出发展低碳经济是我国的必然选择,由高碳经济向低碳经济转变对我国经济的发展起到促进作用,同时对有色金属工业在发展低碳经济中所面临的形势和机遇进行分析,为政府、企业在发展低碳经济过程中应担当的责任和做法提出建议。     

面向双重区位发展机遇的湖南省旅游发展战略研究

湖南参与了多个区域旅游合作战略,其中泛珠三角和中部6省合作战略是影响湖南旅游经济发展的两大重要外部力量,两大区域合作给湖南旅游业带来了新的发展机遇。在分析它们给湖南旅游发展带来发展机遇的基础上,提出了建立专门的行政组织来强化区域协调管理、利用区域内旅游资源特性实现旅游资源的联动、借助区域旅游市场的互动实现客源市场丰富的地区对湖南旅游市场的支撑、增加区域旅游合作的地域便捷性等对策。