Utilisation and Management Changes in South Kyrgyzstan＇s Mountain Forests

Using political ecology as its conceptual framework, this paper focuses on the changes in forest utilisation and management of South Kyrgyzstan＇s walnut-fruit forests over the last century The aim of this study on human-environment interactions is to investigate the relationship between actors on the one side, their interests and demands, and the forests and forested lands on the other. Forest resource utilisation and management - and even the recognition of different forest products as resources - are connected with political and socioeconomic conditions that change with time. The walnut-fruit forests of South Kyrgyzstan are unique, characterised by high biodiversity and a multiplicity of usable products; and they have been utilised for a long time. Centralised and formal management of the forests started with the Russian occupation and was strengthened under Soviet rule, when the region became a part of the USSR. During this era, a state forest administration that was structured from Moscow all the way down to the local level drew up detailed plans and developed procedures for utilising the different forest products. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the socio-political and economic frame conditions have changed significantly, which has brought not only the sweeping changes in the managing institutions, but also the access rights and interests in the forest resources. At present, the region is suffering from a high unemployment rate, which has resulted in the forests＇ gaining considerable importance in the livelihood strategies of the local population. Political and economic liberalization, increased communication and transregional exchange relations have opened the door for international companies and agents interested in the valuable forest products. Today, walnut wood and burls, walnuts, wild apples and mushrooms are all exported to various countries in the world. Scientists and members of various international organisations stress the ecological value of the forests and are trying to establish nature conservation areas. Nevertheless, it is to fear that a multiplicity of interrelated factors - the present transformation and globalization processes, the appearance of new actors, the local population＇s insecure economic situation and the erosion of managing institutions - are all leading to an intensified and unregulated exploitation of the forests, resulting in their degradation.     

Framing in geographical analysis of environmental conflicts: Theory, methodology and three case studies

When applied to environmental concerns, framing offers a rigorous conceptual and analytic approach with potentially practical significance for dealing with complex issues relevant to geography. The purpose of this article is to introduce framing concepts, typology and modes of analysis to address issues which geographers commonly treat: disputes over land ownership and uses, competition for water resources, cultural clashes over control of territory and resources and the impact of spatial patterns and structures when siting noxious sites. Framing analysis is applied to three cases of environmental conflict in Israel and, more generally, for understanding conflicts revolving around the management of human habitats in relation to the physical environment.     

Neoliberalism and natural resource management: Agri-environmental standards and the governing of farming practices

Private standards and certification schemes are widely acknowledged as playing an increasingly important role in agri-environmental governance. While much of the existing research concludes that these mechanisms consolidate the global extension of neoliberalism – enhancing the power of corporate actors to the detriment of smaller producers – we argue that this overlooks the complex ways in which standards are used by governments and farmers in the governing of farming practices. Focusing specifically on a process standard – Environmental Management Systems (EMS) – promoted by the Australian government as a way of verifying the ‘clean and green’ status of agricultural exports, we examine how one regional group of producers has sought to use EMS standards in practice. Our analysis of a case study in the state of Victoria appears to confirm that EMS was a successful instrument for the extension of neoliberal governance, reinforcing the production of neoliberal subjectivities and practices amongst farmer participants and enabling the government to compensate for gaps in environmental provision. However, it would be a mistake to interpret the development of this EMS scheme as an example of naïve farmers manipulated by the state. In practice, farmers used the opportunities provided by government funding to undertake actions which expressed their own agri-environmental values and practices. Establishment of an EMS and associated eco-label enabled producers to demonstrate and extend their capacity to act as good environmental stewards. Our research highlights how the local application of environmental standards negotiates and shapes, rather than simply contributes to, neoliberal rule.     

Pervasive wetland flooding in the glacial drift prairie of North Dakota (USA)

This article describes a unique flood hazard, produced by the dramatic expansion of wetlands in Nelson County, located within the North American Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, USA. There has been an unprecedented increase in the number, average size, and permanence of prairie wetlands, and a significant increase in the size of a closed lake (Stump Lake) due to a decade-long wet spell that began in 1993 following a prolonged drying trend. Base-line land cover information from the 1992 USGS National Land Cover Characterization dataset, and a Landsat TM scene acquired 9 July 2001 are used to assess the growth of the closed lake and wetland pond surface areas, and to analyze the type and area of various land cover classes inundated between 1992 and 2001. The open water profile in Nelson County changed from one marked by relatively comparable coverage of closed lake and wetland pond areas in 1992, to one in which wetland open water accounted for the vast majority of total open water in 2001. The bulk of the wetland pond area expansion occurred by displacing existing wetland vegetation and agricultural cropland. Producers responded to the flood hazard by filing Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) claims and enrolling cropland in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a federal land retirement program. Land taken out of agricultural production has had an enormous impact upon the agricultural sector that forms the economic base of the rural economy. In 2001 the land taken out of production due to CRP enrollment and preventive planting claims represented nearly 42% of Nelson County’s 205.2 K ha base agricultural land. The patterns obtained from this detailed study of Nelson County are likely to be the representative of the more publicized flood disaster occurring within the Devils Lake Basin of North Dakota.     

地面沉降在闸涵工程运行中引起的经济损失的探讨

通过对天津市内主要河流上的4座具有代表性的闸涵进行详细的计算分析,得出闸涵水利工程维护费用中约19%属于地面沉降引起的损失,并将此比重推广到全市的闸涵工程,最后计算得出地面沉降造成的损失约为3.45亿元。     

PVC-U塑料管在浅层地热能地下水资源开发工程中应用与研究

PVC-U塑料管具有耐腐蚀、不结垢、质量轻、使用寿命长等特点。将其应用于浅层地热能开发和供水管井工程中,不但可以解决金属井管腐蚀破裂、结垢和水源热泵回灌难等问题,而且还减少了水井维修费用、延长其使用寿命。结合河南郑州实施的437、400 m两眼浅层地热能开发和供水管井示范工程实践,详细论述了PVC-U塑料管成井工艺、存在问题及解决方法的研究成果。     

中太平洋铁锰结壳铅同位素研究

已有研究表明大洋中溶解的铅(Pb)来源于陆源物质，但是，对Pb进入大洋的途径争议很大。为此分析了取自中太平洋两块铁锰结壳样品的Pb同位素组成，获得了整个新生代的中太平洋Pb同位素演化历史。结果表明这两块结壳的Pb同位素随时间的演化曲线与中北太平洋沉积物岩心LL44-GPC3中风成碎屑的Pb同位素演化曲线相似。证实该区深水中的天然溶解铅主要来自风成粉尘，并且50Ma之前中太平洋中溶解Pb同位素组成主要取决于源自美洲的风成粉尘的输入，40Ma之后主要取决于源自亚洲的风成粉尘的输入。     

牙鲆种群动态及其资源管理

本文根据1980—1986年间鱼类生物学参数测定,结合体长分布资料的模拟分析,研究黄、渤海区牙鲆种群年龄结构、死亡动态以及在不同年龄和死亡率条件下世代资源生物量变化的规律。模型分析结果表明,当F=1.0和t_c=6.0a时,单位补充量最大群体产量为1492g。由此认为,现阶段牙鲆资源利用的最佳策略是通过增殖放流,增加资源补充;同时应适当控制捕捞压力,减少渔具对幼鱼资源的破坏并增设繁殖保护区,以追求最大持续产量。     

应用INSAR进行黄河三角洲地面沉降监测研究

在分析黄河三角洲的地面沉降状况及其对国民经济造成的影响的基础上,说明了对黄河三角洲进行地面沉降研究的必要性。综述了合成孔径雷达干涉测量的基本原理,针对近年来国内外干涉合成孔径雷达(INSAR)技术在地面沉降方面的研究和应用成果,分析了合成孔径雷达干涉测量技术应用于黄河三角洲地面沉降研究的可行性。