Spatial practices and imaginaries: Experiences of colonial officers and development professionals

This paper explores the spatiality of colonial and postcolonial power and discourse as produced, performed and imagined by former British colonial service officers and contemporary UK international development professionals. It focuses on two key aspects of spatial practices. The first addresses the spaces inhabited by these colonial officers and development professionals overseas and how their locatedness, embedded or enclavic, shapes relationships to others. The second explores this distinctive social and spatial distancing through their relationship to, and imagined geographies of, home and away and how these are embodied in their institutional and cultural capital. The paper examines the regularities and consistencies that stand out from numerous individual practices through which both former colonial officers and development professionals negotiate the situations in which they live and work. It also specifies how authoritative management, privilege and distance informs their spatial practices despite changing global contexts and a more diverse composition of those who articulate contemporary relationships between 'first' and 'third' worlds. Finally, the paper suggests that the cultures which travelled over colonial space through being performed by colonial officers have been reworked throughout the postcolonial period, belying epochal historical periodizations that conjure up a clear disjuncture between colonial and development eras.     

A furrow runs through it: An example of sustainable traditional irrigation in Western Cape Province,South Africa

Water and water related matters are important issues in water scarce countries like the Republic of South Africa. This is especially true for the agricultural sector that relies heavily on the availability of water for irrigation to ensure a secure food supply. In South Africa, present day irrigation projects rely on government subsidies and are usually large undertakings beyond the reach of individuals or small communities. The sustainability of such large irrigation projects is still a matter of debate. A 100 years ago a different set of rules applied. Irrigation could only be achieved by hand-dug furrows that supplied water in relatively small quantities to small farming communities. This paper investigated such a small community, the Leeukloof farming community in the Western Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa. For the past 93 years this community has maintained a furrow that supplies water not only to farms bordering the Perdeberg River, which supplies the furrow with water, but also to farms not bordering the river. The authors try to reconstruct the changes in agricultural practices brought about by the furrow, methods of water extraction during each phase, as well as the development and role of the furrow system. The perception by the community of the necessity of this method of water extraction from the river system is also investigated. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

南方NGS200应用实践中的若干问题

对南方NGS200在工程控制测量领域应用实践中的一些问题作了阐述，提出了一些见解和措施。     

Assessing uncertainty in best management practice effectiveness under future climate scenarios

Uncertainty of best management practice (BMP) performance in future climates is an important consideration for water resources managers. The objective of this study was to quantify the level of uncertainty in performance of seven agricultural BMPs due to climate change in reducing sediment, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus loads. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool coupled with mid‐21^st century climate data from the Community Climate System Model were used to develop climate change scenarios for the Tuttle Creek Lake Watershed of Kansas and Nebraska. Uncertainty level of each BMP was determined using Latin Hypercube Sampling, a constrained Monte Carlo sampling technique. Samples were taken from distributions of several variables (monthly precipitation, temperature, CO₂, and BMP implementation parameters). Cumulative distribution functions were constructed for each BMP, pollutant, and climate scenario combination. Results demonstrated that BMP performance uncertainty is amplified in the extreme climate scenario. Among BMPs, native grass replacement generally had higher uncertainty level but also had the greatest reductions. This study highlights the importance of incorporating uncertainty analysis into mitigation strategies aiming to reduce negative impacts of climate change on water resources. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating suspended sediment and turbidity reduction projects in a glacially conditioned catchment through dynamic regression and fluvial process-based modelling

Elevated turbidity (T_n) and suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) during and following flood events can degrade water supply quality and aquatic ecosystem integrity. Streams draining glacially conditioned mountainous terrain, such as those in the Catskill Mountains of New York State, are particularly susceptible to high levels of T_n and SSC sourced from erosional contact with glacial-related sediment. This study forwards a novel approach to evaluate the effectiveness of stream restoration best management practices (BMPs) meant to reduce stream T_n and SSC, and demonstrates the approach within the Stony Clove sub-basin of the Catskills, a water supply source for New York City. The proposed approach is designed to isolate BMP effects from natural trends in T_n and SSC caused by trends in discharge and shifts in average T_n or SSC per unit discharge (Q) following large flood events. We develop Dynamic Linear Models (DLMs) to quantify how T_n-Q and SSC-Q relationships change over time at monitoring stations upstream and downstream of BMPs within the Stony Clove and in three other sub-basins without BMPs, providing observational evidence of BMP effectiveness. A process-based model, the River Erosion Model, is then developed to simulate natural, hydrology-driven SSC-Q dynamics in the Stony Clove sub-basin (absent of BMP effects). We use DLMs to compare the modelled and observed SSC-Q dynamics and isolate the influence of the BMPs. Results suggest that observed reductions in SSC and T_n in the Stony Clove sub-basin have been driven by a combination of declining streamflow and the installed BMPs, confirming the utility of the BMPs for the monitored hydrologic conditions.     

Life-cycle cost analysis of design practices for RC framed structures

The objective of this study is to perform life-cycle cost analysis on three design practices namely weak ground storey, short and floating columns and their combinations. Life-cycle cost analysis is recognized as the only suitable tool for assessing the structural performance when the structure is expected to be functional for a long period of time. Life-cycle cost analysis is considered in this study assessing the behaviour of the three design practices against earthquake hazard. Although, a number of checks are performed in order to reduce the influence of these design practices on the seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) framed structures, it was found that the total life-cycle cost of partially infilled RC designs is significantly increased compared to that of the fully infilled one. Through the test example examined in the framework of this study general conclusions are obtained regarding the behaviour of the three design practices.     

1949—2019年中国自然地理学与生存环境应用研究进展

自然地理学是一门以基础研究见长的自然科学,其研究对象是与人类生存和发展密切相关的自然环境。中国的自然环境复杂多样,自然地理学家根据国家需求和区域发展在应用基础和应用研究方面同样取得显著成效,为国家重大经济建设、社会发展的规划,宏观生态系统与资源环境保护及区域可持续发展做出了重要贡献。本文总结了1949—2019年中国自然地理学在自然环境区域差异与自然区划、土地利用与覆被变化、自然灾害致灾因子和风险防控、荒漠化过程与防治、黄淮海中低产田改造、冻土区工程建设、地球化学元素异常和地方病防治、自然地理要素定位观测、地理空间分异性识别和地理探测器等方面的实践与应用,指出了未来自然地理学的应用研究方向。     

IMPLEMENTATION OF CLEANER PRODUCTION STRATEGIES TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE CITY

Rapid urbanization and growing size of cities will have an increasing impact on the global environment in the 21st century. As an engine of urban development to drive economic growth and technological innovations, industry has moved its focus from controlling environmental hazards to stimulating sustainable industrial development throughout the entire product lifecycle. These process- and technology-driven innovations for industrial production are prerequisites for enhancement of urban environment and sustainable development of cities. In this review, problems of environment and resources scarcity associated with rapid urbanization are demonstrated. And, on the basis of expatiations on the concepts and policies of the cleaner production (CP) and other similar initiatives with the goal of preventing pollution at the source and of managing the raw material more efficiently, two different ways to link the practice of cleaner production in industrial sector with performance of urban environment are discussed in detail. Then, the introduction, practice and legislation of CP strategies in China are outlined, and possibility for China to develop CPC (Cleaner Practices for Cities) approaches in the demonstration cities is discussed. Finally, some suggestions on implementation of CPC strategies are put forward.     

Fighting Fire with Fire: Does a Policy of Broad-Scale Prescribed Burning Improve Community Safety?

Wildfires cause enormous damage worldwide, particularly in Victoria, Australia, with growing populations in fire-prone ecosystems. Broad-scale prescribed burning is an established, yet controversial, wildfire management policy in Victoria and Australia. But does broad-scale prescribed burning reduce fire damage? The answer depends on how damage is measured. We propose that different perceptions about the efficacy of broad-scale prescribed burning derive from different disciplinary measures of damage (e.g., biodiversity, area burned, or fatalities). Although broad-scale prescribed burning reduces subsequent wildfire size, there is little evidence that it saves human lives and homes. Evidence suggests that small-scale fuel reduction may be more effective at saving lives. The prescribed burning debate might be better focused on what damage we wish to limit, and which measures are most effective at limiting this damage. In this context, the current policy focus on broad-scale prescribed burning targets may distract efforts from more effective lifesaving strategies.     

临沂市耕地保护工作调查与思考

临沂市属于传统农业大市,耕地资源丰富,农用地占土地总面积的比例较大。近年来,该市始终把保护耕地放在经济发展的第一位,努力做到节约集约用地,用尽可能少的土地产出尽可能多的效益。但也存在一些值得重视的问题,需深入思考与不断探索。该文对临沂市土地资源利用现状进行分析,查找耕地减少的原因及保护过程中存在的问题,并提出解决办法。