农户尺度的黄土高原乡村干旱脆弱性及适应机理

干旱脆弱性及人类对干旱的适应机理分析是干旱及半干旱地区人地关系研究的重要内容,也是西北地区乡村人地系统可持续性研究的新视角。本文运用Turner脆弱性分析框架,将其改进应用到黄土高原乡村农户的干旱脆弱性及其适应领域,选取榆中县和长武县气象数据和农户调查数据,应用主成分分析、综合指数法、差异性分析和鲁棒性分析等方法分别对指标权重、农户干旱脆弱性指数及其差异性与脆弱性指数的不确定性进行分析与检验,并从适应能力、适应策略和适应模式三个层面揭示适应机理。主要结论为：①中连川乡农户干旱脆弱性指数大于洪家镇,且不同村落间农户干旱脆弱性指数差异显著;②农户干旱适应机理为暴露—敏感性影响农户收入,农户生计系统是适应干旱暴露扰动的决定因子,农户类型、生计方式、土地利用、灌溉设施和政策扶持的差异性产生不同的适应模式和适应效果;③农户干旱脆弱性指数排名出现频率较高且排名变化范围较小,具有较强的鲁棒性,表明农户干旱脆弱性计算结果具有稳健性。     

Foreword to the special issue: climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability in the Arctic

The Arctic climate is changing, carrying wide-ranging implications for indigenous and non-indigenous inhabitants, businesses, industry and government across the circumpolar region. The latest scientific assessments indicate that change is happening faster than previously thought, and that the Arctic will continue to experience dramatic climate change in the future. This special edition of Polar Research brings together nine papers on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability in the Arctic, providing important insights on the nature of the risks and opportunities posed by climate change in the circumpolar region, highlighting opportunities for policy response and providing insights on how to conduct effective climate change research with Arctic communities.     

祁连山冰川变化及其脆弱性

Glaciers are a reliable freshwater resource in arid regions of West China and the vulnerability of its changes is closely related to regional ecosystem services and economic sustainable development. Here, we took the Qilian Mountains as an example and analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of glacier changes from 1998 to 2018, based on remote sensing images and the Second Chinese Glacier Inventory. We estimated the basic organizational framework and evaluation index system of glacier change vulnerability from exposure, sensitivity and adaptability, which covered the factors of physical geography, population status and socio-economic level. We analyzed the spatial and temporal evolutions of glacier change vulnerability by using the vulnerability evaluation model. Our results suggested that:(1) Glacier area and volume decreased by 71.12±98.98 km² and 5.59±4.41 km³, respectively, over the recent two decades, which mainly occurred at the altitude below 4800 m, with an area shrinking rate of 2.5%. In addition, glaciers in the northern aspect(northwest, north and northeast) had the largest area reduction. Different counties exhibited remarkable discrepancies in glacier area reduction, Tianjuan and Minle presented the maximum and minimum decrease, respectively.(2) Glacier change vulnerability level showed a decreasing trend in space from the central to the northwestern and southeastern regions with remarkable differences. Vulnerability level had increased significantly over time and was mainly concentrated in moderate, high and extreme levels with typical characteristics of phases and regional complexity. Our study can not only help to understand and master the impacts of recent glacier changes on natural and social aspects but also be conducive to evaluate the influences of glacier retreat on socio-economic developments in the future, thus providing references for formulating relevant countermeasures to achieve regional sustainable development.     

Assessing vulnerability to climate change and socioeconomic stressors in the Reef Islands group,Solomon Islands

This article assesses the vulnerability to climatic and socioeconomic stresses in the Reef Islands, Solomon Islands, an atoll island group in the Southwest Pacific. Climate change and the associated sea-level rise are often seen as the most pressing challenges to atoll communities, yet this study aims at critically re-assessing this view by placing climate in the context of a range of other internal and external stressors affecting local livelihoods, including population growth, inadequate land use practices, and lack of economic potential, as well as external factors such as poorly developed infrastructure, economic marginalization and weak governance of Solomon Islands. Findings suggest that some of these non-climatic stresses are currently – and in the short term – more important determinants of local vulnerability than climate change and sea-level rise. Certainly, these stresses are likely to be exacerbated by different elements of climate change in the short, medium and long term, but generally speaking climate change does not appear to be a major driver of the current changes in the islands. On the basis of these observations, the possible adaptation options, relevant to different time scales, are discussed.     

弹性、脆弱性和适应——IHDP三个核心概念综述

弹性、脆弱性和适应是全球环境变化人文因素计划( IHDP) 中三个非常重要的核心概念。 由于各自学科研究传统的差异, 不同学科在使用这些概念时其含义有很大差异, 有的甚至是不可 比的。本文主要根据《Global Environmental Change》2006 年第3 期发表的IHDP 学术委员会专题 研讨会成果, 结合UNU 关于脆弱性的研究成果, 重点介绍了这三个核心概念的演变以及相互联 系等方面的最新研究进展。     

A record of vegetation dynamics and lake level changes from Lake Emakat,northern Tanzania,during the last c. 1200 years

Analyses of down-core variations in pollen and charcoal in two short cores of lake sediment and wood samples taken from the in situ remains of Nuxia congesta from Lake Emakat, a hydrologically-closed volcanic crater lake occupying the Empakaai Crater in northern Tanzania, have generated evidence of past vegetation change and lake level fluctuations. Eight AMS radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dates on bulk samples of lake sediment provide a chronological framework for the two cores and indicate that the sediment record analysed incorporates the last c. 1200 years. The in situ remains of a Nuxia congesta tree, now standing in deep water, were dated with three additional AMS ¹⁴C dates, suggesting tree growth within the interval ∼1500–1670 AD. Down-core variations in pollen from terrestrial taxa, particularly the montane forest trees Hagenia abyssinica and Nuxia congesta, indicate a broad period of generally more arid conditions in the catchment to c. 1200 AD and at a prolonged period between c. 1420 and 1680 AD. Variations in pollen from plants in lake margin vegetation indicate low lake levels, presumably as a result of reduced effective precipitation, contemporary with indications of relatively dry conditions mentioned above, but also during the late 18th and the late 19th centuries. The presence of charcoal throughout both cores indicates the frequent occurrence of vegetation fires. An increase in burning, evident in the charcoal data and dated to the early to mid second millennium AD, could relate to an expansion of human population levels and agricultural activity in the region.     

中国县域乡村脆弱性空间特征与形成机制及对策

基于乡村脆弱性本质内涵,构建了中国县域乡村脆弱性综合测度的指标体系,对中国县域乡村脆弱性水平进行综合测度;通过遴选具有典型代表性的5条样带,深化分析中国乡村脆弱性的区域差异特征及其形成机制,并提出具有针对性的应对策略.结果 表明:①中国县域乡村脆弱性整体上处于较低脆弱度和中脆弱度阈值区间,并具明显的空间差异性,沿"博台...     

Characterization of drought in the Kerio Valley Basin,Kenya using the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index: 1960−2016

The Kerio Valley basin in Kenya has undergone several periods of drought, yet drought patterns in the region are not well understood due to limited climatic data. Drought events in the region have resulted in crop failure and livestock deaths, exacerbating food shortages. In this study, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), a multi‐scalar drought index was used to examine the onset, duration, severity, intensity, and frequency of agricultural and hydrological drought in the region. The gridded 0.5° × 0.5° climatic datasets from Climatic Research Unit for the period 1960?2016 was used for analysis. Temporal evolutions of SPEI at 6‐ and 12‐month lags were subsequently used to evaluate agricultural and hydrological drought, respectively. Additionally, the Mann‐Kendall trend test was used to test for trends in the time series. Results from the analysis show that: 1) droughts are becoming more frequent in the region, 2) drought intensities in the arid and semi‐arid lands have weakened, 3) regions west of the Kerio River have recently recorded a wetting trend, and 4) the southern and central regions of the basin are drought‐prone. Understanding the spatial and temporal patterns of drought in the basin can assist in drought preparation and mitigation planning.     

高寒生态脆弱区农户的气候变化适应策略——以甘南高原为例

气候变化对生态脆弱区以自然资源为生计基础的农户产生了严重影响,急需寻求有效的适应策略。以地处青藏高原东缘的甘南高原为研究区,基于1963-2013年气象数据分析甘南高原气候变化趋势,采用入户调查数据分析了气候变化对农户生计的影响及农户采取的适应策略,并利用多元线性回归模型和多项logistic回归模型分析了影响农户适应策略选择的因素。结果显示：① 近50年甘南高原气温呈增加趋势,倾向率为0.23 ℃/10 a,降水呈减少趋势,倾向率为-5.21 mm/10a,63.45%的农户认为气候变化对其生计带来了严重影响;② 甘南高原农户的适应策略多样化指数为2.65,农户的人力资本、自然资本、金融资本及其对气候变化的严重性感知、适应效能感知及自我效能感知与适应策略多样化程度呈显著正相关;③ 甘南高原65.30%的农户采取各种组合型策略应对气候变化,尤以采取扩张+调整型组合策略的农户为多,农户的人力资本是影响其适应策略选择的最显著因素,社会资本与气候变化风险感知的影响次之,金融资本及气候变化适应效能感知的影响最弱。最后,提出提高农户适应气候变化能力的对策建议。     

Assessment of coastal vulnerability to environmental change in Jiangsu coastal plain

Assessment of coastal vulnerability to future environmental change has been emphasized in coastal nations or regions. The Jiangsu coastal plain, located to the north of the Yangtze River Delta in China, is most vulnerable to sea level rise and exacerbating coastal hazards. This paper develops the method of delimiting vulnerable scope and assessing coastal vulnerability through field observations and sampling and by applying remote sensing and GIS, which are suitable for great river delta and coastal plains with large area, relative complex micro-geomorphology and the protection of seawall. Applying this method, the coastal vulnerability of the Jiangsu coastal plain to relative sea level rise (approximately 50 cm up to the year 2050) and exacerbating storm surges have been assessed. The results show that, up to the year 2050, the Jiangsu coastal plain will probably lose 12.8 % of tidal flats (about 5.8×104 hm2) and 7.9 % of cultivated land (about 7.2×104 hm2). Meanwhile, 2.0 % of population, 3.8 % of original value of fixed assets, 3.2% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), 40.3 % of salt industry and 5.8 % of aquiculture respectively will be affected due to coastal environmental change.     

Assessment of coastal vulnerability to environmental change in Jiangsu coastal plain

1 IntroductionCoastal areas, with dense population and high urbanization, are highly sensitive to global environmental change. The impacts of coastal environmental changes, such as sea level rise and related disasters exacerbation on socio-economic development of coastal areas, have become a matter of public concern. To study the vulnerable scope and degree of impacts of sea level rise and related exacerbating coastal hazards can provide a scientific basis for lessening the potential losses th…     

Imaging vulnerability: the iconography of climate change

This paper explores the iconography of climate change in contemporary climate action campaigns in the UK. I aim to show how sample images are simultaneously scientific denotations of global warming and cultural connotations of danger and vulnerability. I further demonstrate that while similar images are associated with different agendas and geographical visions, they attach to a shared discourse of vulnerability that has Western (colonial) roots. The paper concludes with an overview of possible ways for climate action campaigns to effectively convey their political messages without recycling colonial visions of the world.     

Town dwellers in their networks: urban-rural mobility and household strategies in Cameroon

Abstract

Urban-rural interactions are important features of spatial dynamics in Africa that have been affected by recent economic, social and cultural transformations. The attention of academics and policy-makers has concentrated on the impact of such mobility on rural actors and economies. Our objective is to consider the point of view of urban households and to analyse how they manage to develop and use their “rural connections”. The paper is based on in-depth qualitative fieldwork conducted in Cameroon, in Douala and Bafoussam. It presents an analysis of the configurations of urban resident mobility to rural regions. By mapping mobility we show the role of linkages with rural areas in urban household strategies. We also illustrate how a major city and a fast-growing secondary one differ in their connections with rural areas. The paper addresses what is one of the recurrent questions in the literature: will urban-rural linkages change in the long-term as the trend towards urbanization intensifies. Urban-rural mobility remains crucial, contributes to creating complex and dynamic networks. Collective connections are reaffirming the importance of the village and the region of origin. Mobility is a key element for many urban households in developing their urban position and strategies.     

Changing water regime and adaptation strategies in Upper Mustang Valley of Upper Kaligandaki Basin in Nepal

Recent climate change has brought changes to the water regime that has affected the traditional agro-pastoral production systems and livelihoods in the Upper Kaligandaki Basin of the Nepal Himalayas. Based on fieldwork and available meteorological and hydrological data, this paper examines the changing water regime and various adaptation strategies that local farmers have adopted in this cold arid region. Increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall and snowfall have resulted in a negative water balance. In this scenario, farmers have implemented six major adaptive strategies in the trans-Himalayan Upper Mustang Valley.     

The influence of climate change on maize production in the semi-humid–semi-arid areas of Kenya

The effect of climate change on maize production in the semi-humid and semi-arid, agro-climatic zones III-IV of Kenya was evaluated using two General Circulation Models (GCMs): the Canadian Climate Center Model (CCCM) and the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), as well as the CERES-Maize model. Long-term climate data was obtained from three meteorological stations situated in eastern, central and western regions of Kenya, while maize data was obtained from six sites within the regions. The climate scenarios were projected to the year 2030. Temperature increases of 2·29 and 2·89°C are predicted by the CCCM and GFDL, respectively. Rainfall levels are predicted to remain unchanged, but there are thought to be shifts in distribution. It is predicted that the short-rains season (October–January) will experience some increased rainfall, while the long-rains season (April–July) will show a decrease. Maize yields are predicted to decrease in zone III areas, while an increase is predicted in zone IV areas. However, the predicted changes in yields are low since they all fall below 500 kg ha⁻¹, except the Homa Bay site. Thus, to counter the adverse effects of climate change on maize production, it may be necessary to use early maturing cultivars, practice early planting, and in eastern Kenya, shift to growing maize during the short-rains season.     

中国城市高温特征及社会脆弱性评价

极端高温对人类健康与城市社会发展影响显著,如何衡量城市高温特征及其社会后果是地理学人地关系研究的新命题。将社会脆弱性分析工具应用到该命题研究中,以中国296个城市为研究对象,采集各城市日最高气温数据、社会经济统计数据和人口普查数据,建立了高温日数、高温强度、热浪频次、热浪持续时间和热浪强度等表征城市高温特征的量化指标,对1960—2016年中国主要城市高温特征进行了系统分析;基于城市高温社会脆弱性分析框架,从暴露度、敏感性和适应能力3个维度构建中国城市高温社会脆弱性评价指标体系,并开展社会脆弱性评价,划分社会脆弱性等级,分析城市社会脆弱性致脆原因。结果表明：① 中国极端高温和热浪事件的分布主要集中在南方城市,尤其是在华东和华中地区,尽管北方城市高温热浪事件较少,但高温强度较为突出。② 中国城市高温暴露度指数具有明显的空间集聚特征,而各城市的敏感性指数和适应能力指数分布较为分散。③ 中国高社会脆弱性指数城市主要集中在华东和华中大部分地区,以及西南和华北少部分地区;高、中、低社会脆弱性指数城市比例分别为25.3%、46.3%和28.4%。④ 社会敏感致脆型城市数量最多（46.9%）,其次为高温暴露致脆型（44.3%）,适应能力不足致脆型城市数量最少（8.8%）,在高社会脆弱性城市中,暴露度指数贡献度最大,中、低社会脆弱性城市中敏感性指数贡献度最大,适应能力指数对城市高温社会脆弱性的贡献度较小。本研究可在灾害-社会关系研究、城市高温特征的量化表达与高温社会脆弱性评价等方面提供借鉴和启示。     

中国南方调整水稻种植格局——一种水稻生产预先适应气候变化的选择(英文)

Rice planted in southern China accounts for 94% of the total in sown acreage and 88% of the total in production, which matters a lot to Chinese food security. However, due to the prolonged conflict between water availability and rice growth in spatial/temporal distribu-tion, rice production suffers from seasonal drought at acreage of 16%-22%, which compro-mises food production capacity and food security. Focusing on the spatial distribution of seasonal drought with rice and the practices to adapt to it, and based on an analysis of bal-anced water supply for and demand by rice at a growing season scale during 1981-2030, this paper assesses the changing seasonal drought in the process of rice production under the changing climate in the future, and identifies general rice re-cultivation options for climate change adaptation. Some conclusions can be drawn as follows. (1) Rice suggests a decline in seasonal drought, with early season rice (early rice hereafter) by 12,500 km2, middle season rice (middle rice) by 80,000 km2, and in particular late season rice (late rice) by 25,000 km2, which accounts for almost 20% of its cultivated acreage. It is indicated that due to climate change, seasonal drought in major rice producing areas tends to alleviate in general, late season rice in particular. (2) Future climate change brings about a significant impact on the spatial/temporal distribution of water resources in rice producing areas in China. Based on ’pre-designed’ adaptation actions for rice-re-cultivation, the rice cultivation pattern undergoes a significant alteration between 1981-2000 and 2001-2030. In eastern Guizhou and western Hunan, the pattern of single early plus single dry farming is changed into double cropping. In eastern Hunan, the pattern of dry cropping is changed into single early plus single dry farming. In northern Anhui, the pattern of dry farming cropping is changed into middle rice. All this is aimed at a potential adequate availability of water for rice production in the future. (3) Rice re-cultivation patterns developed in this paper help re-balance water demand and supply for rice growth using the spatial analysis tool to adapt rice growth to the changing water avail-ability from spatial perspective, and come up with rice producer-friendly re-cultivation options in response to climate change.     

A Rising Tide in Bangladesh: livelihood adaptation to climate stress

ABSTRACT

Bangladesh is at the forefront of countries experiencing and debating climate change, despite having contributed little to global emissions, and has the greatest vulnerability to climate change due to inadequate institutional support for the dense population dispersed in low-lying terrain. A micro-level study of livelihoods in the Panpatti Union, a district of the coastal zone exposed to climate stress and an array of other social, economic and political stresses, demonstrated that adaptation strategies to a range of shocks were both reactive and proactive. The persistent nature of shocks, and the limited margins in which to respond, meant that achieving sustainable long-term livelihoods was unusually difficult. Despite cases of dynamism and flexibility, where livelihoods had been effectively diversified, rural people largely failed to reduce their exposure to vulnerability. That was especially true of extremely poor, landless and female-headed households. In such challenging circumstances external interventions were required to ensure sustainable development, but were unlikely because of the isolation of Panpatti and the number of villages and people in similar circumstances. This emphasised the need to develop a more robust livelihoods framework to support the most vulnerable communities in severe economic and environmental contexts where climate change is likely to exacerbate all existing problems.     

The Development of Wildlife Community Conservancies in Kenya: A Preliminary Review

The significance of biodiversity conservation has transformed from a concern for conservation of endangered species and landscapes into an increasingly diverse yet comprehensive set of conservation, social and economic development goals. Community conservancy, a powerful extension of the PA system, has great potential to support biodiversity conservation, poverty eradication and conflict mitigation. Based on its policy environment and development characteristics, Kenya has implemented community conservation practices, and established over 160 conservancies across the country in the past decades. This paper reviews the development and experiences of community conservancies, discusses how they have been implemented in Kenya, and looks at the management paradigm, efficacy and challenges to help better understand the community conservancy approach. The development trajectory and lessons these conservancies have to offer can contribute to the sustainable utilization of natural resources and the enhancement of community wellbeing in Kenya and other countries alike.     

Tactics and strategies in political ecology research

Geographers working within political-cultural ecology and biogeography have often used a framework, or the general concept, of adaptation. The use of this blanket term, however, was and remains especially problematic for cultural-political ecology research, which tends to focus on a different scale of time–space analysis, while placing greater emphasis on the fine and coarse influences of political economy. To refine our understanding of daily activities that may lead towards adaptation, the concepts of 'tactics' and 'strategy' can bridge shorter-term phenomena that do not require the leap of scale implied by the loose use and implementation of the term adaptation.