Revisiting Sustainable Development of Dry Valleys in Hengduan Mountains Region

Dry valleys are a striking geographic landscape in Hengduan Mountains Region and are characterized by low rainfall, desert type of vegetation and fragile environment. Past efforts and resources have been concentrated mainly on rehabilitation of degraded ecosystem and fragile environment, particularly reforestation, while socio-economic development has been largely overlooked. Despite successes in pocket areas, the overall trend of unsustainability and environmental deterioration are continuing. It is important to understand that uplift of the Tibetan Plateau is the root cause of development of dry valleys, and development and formation of dry valleys is a natural process. Human intervention has played a secondary role in development of dry valleys and degradation of dry valleys though human intervention in many cases has speeded up environmental degradation of the dry valleys. It is important to understand that dry valleys are climatic enclaves and an integrated approach that combines rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and socio-economic development should be adopted if the overall goal of sustainable development of dry valleys is to be achieved. Promotion of niche-based cash crops, rural energy including hydropower, solar energy, biogas and fuelwood plantation is recommended as the priority activities.     

THE EVOLUTION OF SERVICE ECONOMIES: A GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE1

Of the several classifications of services, each emphasizes different characteristics. The International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) is used for a comparative study on the transformation into service economies of the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, France, West Germany, Italy and Japan. Service economies are defined as national economies in which employment in services surpassed that in manufacturing. The pace of the evolution of service economies has been rapid with North America leading, followed in order by Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan and West Germany. Service economies have important implications for urban growth, intercity competition, and international trade.     

GMOs and their contexts: A comparison of potential and actual performance of GM crops in a local agricultural setting

In this paper, I argue that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have inherent potential to contribute to socially and environmentally sustainable agriculture by virtue of their ‘biological embeddedness’. Their actual ‘performance’ and how this contributes to sustainability depends on the ‘mutual shaping’ of technology and context. While much attention has been given to the design context of GMOs, this paper considers the influence of the application context and of users. A case study investigating the use of insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant GM cotton in the cotton-growing region of New South Wales in Australia is presented. The study was based on focus groups with farmers and other stakeholders in a cotton-growing community. It demonstrated a range of direct and indirect effects of GM cotton use, both positive and negative for sustainability, and the ways in which these effects were influenced by the local social context. The influences of the biotechnology industry context, in limiting the contributions that gene technologies can make to sustainability, were also considered, and remedies suggested. I argue that the polarity of the GM debate is hindering progress on these issues, and that a more balanced approach to our analysis of GMOs is necessary in order to fully understand, and to influence, their role in the future of rural spaces.     

围垦的社会经济价值及其对海洋环境影响的评估

从围垦滩涂与保护湿地的关系着手,针对浙江省的滩涂围垦现状,讨论了沿海滩涂实施围垦工程所创造的社会经济价值,分析了湿地生态的环境特征及其对自然界的贡献,指出并探讨了海岸带资源开发与海岸工程建设所带来的问题,从湿地保护和经济可持续发展的角度提出了相关的建议。     

潮汐调和分析的一种算法

本文在常规潮汐调和分析方法的基础上，提出了一种由高低潮资料进行潮汐分析的算法。具体计算表明，该算法与现今通用的常规算法（即等间隔最小二乘法）相比，既可大大减少所需原始样本量，在相同记录长度内，是常规算法的三分之一还少，同时减少样本处理的前期工作量；又能保证潮位拟合的精度和预报的可信度，两者精度相当，结果一致。该算法原理简单、实用有效，对于局部样本缺损较易处理，具有实际应用价值。     

区域复合生态系统分析及其可持续发展对策

从系统物质循环角度分析了人类社会-经济-自然复合生态系统不可持续发展的原因是由于大量生产-大量消费-大量废弃的线性生产和消费模式耗用了大量资源，产生太多的废弃物，破坏了复合系统正常的物质代谢。提出系统调节，实现系统可持续发展的途径，包括控制人口增长，适度消费；调整复合系统生产链的数量结构和比例关系；建立协调的结构网络关系，构建循环型社会。     

Gender and voluntary work in late adulthood in rural communities in the Netherlands

This article discusses the involvement of older women and men in voluntary work in rural communities in the Netherlands. Gender, ageing and civil society form the core concepts in the article. Politicians and policy makers in the Netherlands are worried about the perceived decline of civil society and about the consequences of this decline for specific categories of older women in terms of well-being and social exclusion. The paper presents the results of two surveys of involvement of older women and men in civic organisations, voluntary work and local actions. The surveys indicate high levels of involvement of both women and men. No gender differences are found in activity level. However, the data demonstrate the gendered nature of civil society. Women are more engaged in informal voluntary work and informal local actions, while men are more active in formal organisations and functions. This gender segmentation is not absolute, however. Many older women and men transgress the traditional feminine–masculine boundaries. The surveys highlight the involvement of women and men in rural communities, but indicate lower activity levels in urban areas.     

资源环境与社会经济协调发展探析

文章首先回顾了资源环境与社会经济发展的理论，提出资源环境与社会经济协调发展内涵：一方面，要在资源环境承载力范围内发展社会经济，追求社会经济发展的最大化，另一方面，环境承载力是动态的，要依靠社会经济发展不断提高，这两个方面是相互作用、相互制约的。在此基础上，详细论述了资源环境与社会经济协调发展的内容,并从社会经济发展、资源环境管理等角度探讨了资源环境与社会经济协调发展的政策调控，通过建立节约型国民经济体系、深化资源环境管理，实现区域一体化，以保证资源环境与社会经济协调发展的实现。     

Science and the desertification debate

Desertification is an environmental issue that has major environmental and social dimensions, and which has been controversial in a number of respects. The recent UN Convention on Desertification and Drought places considerable emphasis on the social dimensions of the problem and the role local peoples and NGOs have to play in tackling it. When desertification first became regarded as a major issue in the 1970s, science was seen to have a major role in understanding and solving the problem, but in some circles has been regarded as failing to contribute usefully. This paper explores the nature of scientific contributions, why science may have been seen to fail to serve the needs of policy-makers, and why scientific findings may have been misinterpreted in broader circles dealing with the issue. It concludes by identifying areas where science has still a valuable role to play in an issue that is now perhaps regarded as more political and social than scientific.