Spontaneous resettlement after drought: An Ethiopian example*

Based upon two recent periods of fieldwork among a spontaneously resettled population of cattle herders in southwestern Ethiopia, this paper is an attempt to illustrate, by a particular case, the general proposition that external aid, if it is not to be counter-productive, must meet people's needs as they themselves define them. The people in question, the Mursi, have experienced, since 1970, their worst period of drought and hunger in living memory. They have responded to this experience with resilience and inventiveness and largely without external assistance. The paper concentrates on a recent, drought induced, migration of Mursi to higher land, outside their traditional territory, and shows how the migrants are adapting to a new way of life which brings them into direct conflict with some of their most cherished cultural traditions.     

南京仙林地区安置小区木本植物组成与多样性分析

对南京仙林地区12个安置小区的木本植物随机分层抽样调查,利用频度、多度及物种多样性指数对调查结果作分析研究。结果表明:12个安置小区乔木层和灌木层的物种组成简单,以常见的园林栽培植物为主,香樟、桂花、海桐和冬青卫矛有较大的优势,整体物种相似性水平为0. 41,物种多样性偏低。改善小区物种组成、提升物种多样性、加强绿化景观维护与建设是管理者后期应重点关注的问题。     

Drought-induced resettlement: a case study from Burkina Faso

As a result of the '16-year drought' that Burkina Faso experienced from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, there has been significant movement of people from the north of the country to the south. The large numbers of people that were displaced as a result of this natural disaster put pressure on the production systems of the south and caused concern amongst development organisations that environmental degradation would follow. Through a 2-year research period, using participatory approaches, it was found that despite a doubling of the population and the introduction of foreign production systems, the process of communal land control has significantly limited environmental degradation. This paper explains how customary law has controlled the settlement of immigrants (the Mossi and Fulani) and how it has overseen land allocation in three villages. The conclusions of the study indicate that, firstly, the customary law mechanisms in the three villages are effective in addressing communal resource use and, secondly, there is an evolution in customary law systems as they respond to local change. Received: 24 February 1999 · Accepted: 15 May 1999     

谈水库移民城镇的环境功能恢复

以四川省二滩水电站淹没影响的盐边县城迁建前后环境状况变化为例 ,提出水库移民安置中应重视淹没实物环境功能的恢复。     

Local Responses to Inundation and De-Farming in the Reservoir Region of the Three Gorges Project (China)

Large-scale infrastructural developments in rural areas often impose significant direct and indirect impacts on environment and people. The Three Gorges Project to dam the Yangtze River in China will create a huge reservoir, inundate farmlands and villages, and incur large-scale resettlement. The concurrent de-farming program to reforest marginal farmlands on steep slopes imposes additional stresses on local people. This study evaluates the ecological and economic adjustments in rural areas affected by both projects, and explores villagers’ knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and expectations vis-à-vis the drastic changes. Eleven villages in Yunyang County in Sichuan Province, stratified into three zones based on topography and agriculture, were assessed by field studies, questionnaire surveys, maps, satellite imagery, and census and government reports. Multiple regressions identified predictors for 17 dependent variables. Spatial variations in the difficult terrain imposed zone-differentiated agricultural constraints, ecological impacts, and human responses. The dominant farming population—mainly young adults working as migrant laborers in cities—has adopted some nonagricultural work to supplement incomes. Expected per-capita standardized farmland (SF) exceeded threshold SF, which surpasses existing SF. Motivations to reclaim more farmlands, de-farm marginal lands, and become migrant laborers were explained by different multiple-regression predictors. Reduction in farmland stock by inundation and de-farming, aggravated by unwillingness towards nonlocal resettlement, would impose ecological pressures and stimulate demands for nonfarming incomes. Common anticipation of better future income and occupation has been subdued by unfavorable feedbacks from early relocatees. Future environmental and landscape changes are hinged upon changing human responses. Government policies could be informed by research findings to match economic, ecological, and social realities.