Responses of rural households to the impacts of population and land-use changes along the Eastern Escarpment of Wello,Ethiopia

The article analyses the effects of changes in land cover and land use changes together with population changes on the livelihood of rural households, and also farming households' responses to these changes, in typical rural settings of north-eastern Ethiopia. The study shows that the immediate impact of shrubland and forest increase since the late 1970s, coupled with population increase, is an exponential fall of per capita cropland and grazing land, which are the principal physical assets of livelihoods of the rural farming community in the area. Furthermore, the study reveals that the scarcity of cultivated land in the area neither brings about agricultural intensification nor leads to diversification into non-farm activities, and farmers did not respond to the scarcity of cultivated land through large out-migration. In general, the Boserupian assumption of land-use intensification through improved labour and land productivity did not happen in the region. Rather, the Malthusian thesis seems appropriate. The majority of farming households are destitute, unable to satisfy their own food demands, and live in absolute poverty. This situation has been brought about not only due to population pressure but also as a result of the policies that have been applied in all systems since the 1950s.     

西北高寒民族地区生态环境问题及农牧业发展——以甘南藏族自治州为例

甘南藏族自治州是江河上游重要水源涵养区和生态屏障。草场"三化"严重,森林遭到破坏,水资源日益紧张,生物多样性锐减,水土流失加剧。其原因主要是脆弱的自然环境基础上,人类对自然资源不合理利用的结果。生态恶化严重制约着农牧业的发展。生态建设和农牧业发展,必须贯彻可持续发展战略,树立生态经济思想,追求生态效益和经济效益有机结合,探索符合高寒生态规律的资源利用方式和地域农牧业体系。最后,从治理草场"三化"、建设牲畜集中育肥基地、建立有效的生态建设机制、依靠科技、调整农牧业地域结构、发展特色农牧业和推动产业化与城镇化进程等6个方面,提出了对策建议。     

云南传统农耕文明区旅游扶贫模式研究——以大理州巍山县为例

我国正处于全面建成小康社会的决胜阶段,旅游扶贫对于改善民生,解决农村贫困问题具有重要意义。云南传统农耕文明区是云南省贫困人口的主要集聚区,地理环境复杂,贫困问题严重,脆弱性突出,贫困具有长期性特征。本研究以云南传统农耕文明区的典型代表巍山县为例,结合当地贫困农户和县、乡、村各级扶贫工作人员的问卷调查及访谈,对巍山县扶贫及旅游扶贫工作实践及成效进行研究,总结评价“巍山经验”,在综合分析云南传统农耕文明区贫困问题特殊性的基础上,从“多元主体参与”和“产业融合”两方面来探讨云南传统农耕文明区旅游扶贫问题,总结出了“乡村生态农业模式”、“旅游+特色小镇模式”、“O-RHB模式”以及“多元主体协同参与模式”四种旅游扶贫模式,通过本研究以探索云南传统农耕文明区旅游扶贫开发实践的有效路径,推动贫困地区的旅游扶贫开发。     

Pastoralists and livelihoods: A case study from northern Afar,Ethiopia

The changing contexts in the drylands of Africa in which pastoralists operate pose potential negative effects for the livelihood sustenance of pastoralists. We examined present livelihood adaptations among Afar pastoralists in north eastern Ethiopia through a household survey. With an average per capita income of 1.20 USD a day (PPP-adjusted in 2006), all households surveyed in the study area fall below the international 2 USD a day poverty line. Most Afar pastoralists have become increasingly involved in farming and non-farming/non-pastoral activities, but do not display a total detachment from traditional mobile herding. Pastoral households are still less likely to diversify their livelihoods, while semi-pastoral and agro-pastoral households keep livestock more as an additional insurance against failure in other livelihood activities such as farming. This indicates combining livestock production and farming has improved or at least constrained declines in livelihood outcomes. Our quantitative findings are congruent with the general patterns of pastoral livelihood contraction occurring in the region even if a substantial group of pastoralists continue to engage in keeping livestock. These findings are highly relevant in a management context, suggesting more encompassing, and locally adapted policy and development strategy rather than a wholesale abandonment of support to pastoral livelihood styles.     

Impacts of – and farmers’ adaptation to – land allocation policies in the north central uplands of Vietnam

A series of policies on land tenure have been implemented in Vietnam following the doi moi restructuring. This study assesses the impacts of these policies, the extent to which they have had intended effects and coping strategies adopted by farmers. Data were collected in five upland villages in Nghe An Province, North Central Vietnam. The intended effects of the land allocation policies were poverty alleviation, intensification of agriculture, agricultural modernization and forest protection. The policies implemented to achieve these goals include changes in land allocation, purportedly to increase land tenure security. However, the policies have been implemented in a very uneven manner and the effects differ widely due to differences in the local contexts in which they have been implemented. In general, farmers perceive the impacts of policies as adverse and have attempted to cope with their impact in a variety of ways. The paper argues that land allocation policies have: (1) decreased the amount of land available, (2) not improved land tenure security and (3) had a limited impact on farming practices. The differences between the five villages are great, demonstrating the very different results produced by national policies depending on the specific implementation modality and the local context.     

基于污染足迹模型的湖州市农业污染评估

太湖流域的水环境质量呈现严重恶化趋势,农业污染物的排放是太湖流域水体环境恶化的主要原因之一。农业污染物主要来源于种植业、畜禽养殖业和水产养殖业的生产过程,不同于以往分开论述三者对水环境的影响,本文基于全国第一次污染普查数据,运用污染足迹模型定量分析了湖州市农业面源(种植业、畜禽养殖业和水产养殖业)对水环境的影响。研究结果表明:(1)农业生产产生的污染物对水环境的影响排序为:磷>氮>有机物;(2)各农业生产类型对水环境的影响排序为:水产养殖业>种植业>畜禽养殖业;(3)湖州市各区县对水环境的影响也存在着明显的空间差异。通过对湖州市农业污染足迹评估,可以明确地提出哪种污染物类型、农业生产类型和区域是湖州市农业面源污染治理的重点。研究结果可以为太湖流域农业的可持续发展和水资源的可持续利用提供一定的参考价值。     

Areas of intensive livestock agriculture as emerging alternative economic spaces?

The ideal of the intensification of agriculture has vanished in developed market economies as the outcomes of conventional production have caused growing environmental problems, in particular in areas with a high concentration of livestock. There is also a growing concern notable about animal welfare issues, accompanied by the belief that agricultural production needs to move away from an conventional agriculture towards one that is loosely defined as ‘alternative’. This paper uses the concept of multifunctionality as a lens for describing and explaining the nature of rural change in Germany. I argue that the case study example of the Oldenburger Münsterland illustrates that multifunctionality rates weakly as agricultural practice in production systems dominated by a conventional food regime and – hence – a transition towards diversity and resilience has to occur within conventional agriculture. In spite of the popularity of the idea that areas of intensive livestock farming might have been gradually transformed into emerging alternative economic spaces, the principle of coexistence between ‘productivist’ and ‘non-productivist’ practices poses major challenges. In particular the scarcity of agricultural land hinders the transition into ‘alternative’ food futures in the Oldenburger Münsterland, while the doubts about conventional agriculture and the industrialized food industry rise in an unprecedented way in German society.     

中国城市贫困的空间差异特征

本文研究了2007-2011年间中国352个地级及以上城市贫困的空间演化、分布的差异特征。结果显示：近5年来贫困人口总量略有增长,贫困人口分布整体呈现均衡化趋势;从区域看,西部地区的城市贫困人口集聚加剧,贫困加深区较多;从城市看,小城市、资源型城市和少数民族聚居型城市是构成贫困加深区的主要类型。2011年,贫困发生率自东向西逐渐升高,中小城市、资源型城市和少数民族聚居型城市相对拥有更高的贫困发生率。进一步分析,东北地区资源型城市呈现高人均GDP和高贫困发生率的“隐藏性贫困”,西南地区部分少数民族聚居型城市呈现低人均GDP和相对低贫困发生率的“特殊性低贫”。未来国家反贫困政策应该充分考虑城市的区位、资源条件、人口规模和构成特征,重点关注贫困加深地区的中小城市、资源型城市和少数民族聚居型城市,并解决经济发展和贫困之间的特殊关系。     

后2020时期农户相对贫困测度及机理分析——以重庆市长寿区为例

研究中国相对贫困问题将会为后2020时期建立解决农村相对贫困长效机制提供理论参考。因此,论文以农户为研究对象,系统分析了后2020时期相对贫困的新内涵和新特点,尝试构建相对贫困测度评价指标体系,基于多维视角划定相对贫困线,并以重庆市长寿区为例进行实证分析。研究表明:① 相对贫困指数法具有一定的科学性,基于多维贫困视角,能够全面反映或量化人口实际生活状况的需求;② 相对贫困人口在提高生活质量、提升自身能力和获得发展的机会等方面较少,主要源于产业带动作用较弱,参与合作社发展和劳动技能培训的机会较少,户主教育水平较低,且超过1/3的相对贫困户属于老人户、残疾户和重病户;③ 扶贫政策、经济基础、社会保障和个人条件是影响相对贫困的重要因素。     

OpenStreetMap and Food Security: A Case Study in the City of Philadelphia

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is an online public access database that allows for the collaborative collection of local geographic information. We employ this mapping technology to discuss a new social theory of poverty that moves away from income poverty to an economy that directly produces individuals' basic needs. Focusing on urban farming in Philadelphia as an example, we use OSM to support the argument that money, land, labor, and capital do not limit food production in the city. OSM is a type of “commons” that allows community members to depict features of interest to them that might otherwise be underrepresented in official or commercially produced maps such as Google Maps. Using the concept of facilitated volunteered geographic information (VGI) we developed an open framework for combining residents' local knowledge of food resources with expert guidance in data input. We believe this helps overcome problems with ad hoc data submission efforts to which collaborative online projects are susceptible. The program for “tagging” food resources in OSM was deployed in a public “map-a-thon” event we organized in Philadelphia, bringing together technical experts and food enthusiasts. To share the results, we present the Philly Fresh Food Map as an interactive online Web map that can be used and updated by the public.     

Traditional Tea-grass Integrated System in Shizuoka as a GIAHS Site: Values and Conservation—Background of Application and Efforts after Registration

The traditional tea-grass integrated system in Shizuoka is the first example of a Globally Important Agriculture Heritage Systems (GIAHS) site in Japan that was proposed by a local government. In this paper, we report the background and circumstances leading to the recognition of this system, its registration as a GIAHS, and its current use after registration. Although semi-natural grasslands have decreased considerably in Japan, we found unique semi-natural grasslands with no pest insects and a rich biodiversity around the tea fields. These grasslands and the farming method employed are known as “Chagusaba”, which was registered as a GIAHS in 2013. However, the registration process for GIAHS was not easy, as many local farmers do not understand the value of their traditional farming methods or the GIAHS honor. After registering Chagusaba as a GIAHS, our main agenda was branding. Traditional farming, with time and effort, produces high-quality tea. As labor saving technologies in agriculture have progressed in Japan, the price of high-quality tea has declined, and consequently, the numbers of farmers performing the inefficient traditional farming methods are decreasing. It is necessary to correctly brand the Chagusaba-grown tea and reflect the value of the traditional farming method in the price. The local government of the Shizuoka Prefecture is currently working on implementing a certification system, which includes scientific evaluation using GPS, and the introduction of biodiversity indicators.     

Neoliberalism, environmentalism, and agricultural restructuring in Morocco

Neoliberal restructuring in Morocco has been taking place for over twenty years. Beginning with a decade of structural adjustment, from the early 1980s to the early 1990s, parts of the public sector have been privatized, state services such as health care and education reduced, tariffs lowered and exports heavily promoted. In the dryland agricultural areas, a declensionist colonial environmental narrative has been appropriated to help justify and implement the neoliberal goals of land privatization and the intensification of agricultural production in the name of environmental protection. This paper contributes to areas of growing interest for geographers through an analysis of the underexplored relationship between neoliberalism and environmentalism, in the form of questionable environmental narratives, in Morocco. Land degradation in the dryland agricultural areas of Morocco is commonly blamed on overgrazing by local pastoralists despite existing documentation that suggests instead that ploughing of marginal lands and over-irrigation are the primary drivers of land degradation in the region. The deployment of this colonial environmental narrative of 'native improvidence' has facilitated an expansion of state power over collective rangelands under neoliberalism at the same time that government involvement has decreased in other sectors. The effects of neoliberalism in Morocco have been complex and thus the paper argues that current neoliberal reforms such as the Morocco–US free trade agreement need to be scrutinized carefully to prevent a further exacerbation of poverty as well as to prevent further land degradation in these areas.     

Soil degradation assessment in mixed farming systems of southern Africa: use of nutrient balance studies for participatory degradation monitoring

Soil degradation assessments for mixed farming systems of the Molopo Basin (North West Province, South Africa and Southern District, Botswana) are provided from farmer–based research, designed to quantify nutrient fluxes across the farming system and to analyze the social, economic, political and environmental factors affecting nutrient management practices. This paper discusses the practical difficulties of how to use participatory farmer–led studies to assess soil degradation extent and its causes, and of then disseminating this information to farming communities and policymakers. Nutrient balance studies show that land degradation is evident on arable fields as soil nutrient depletion (the main threat to poorer manure–reliant farmers) and soil acidification (the main threat to wealthier farmers who have become dependent on inorganic fertilizer additions). Integrated nutrient management strategies involving both compound fertilizer additions and regular manure inputs can mitigate most soil degradation even on the sandy infertile Kalahari soils, but remain infrequently practised. The need to retain nutrient flows through the livestock sector from rangeland to arable land is thus vital to environmental sustainability and offers an applicable entry point for agricultural development initiatives and support. Factors identified as threatening the flow of nutrients from rangelands to arable lands include policy settings in terms of the different support programmes offered to communal farmers, village–level extension advice, household poverty levels and labour constraints.     

乡村旅游精准扶贫的创新路径——基于社会保障理论的思考

乡村旅游发展能够给当地居民带来巨大的就业机遇,社区参与能够提高乡村居民整体的社会保障水平,这为吉登斯所倡导的“第三条道路”社会保障思想提供了现实依据,也为乡村旅游实现精准扶贫效果提供了创新路径。洛阳栾川重渡沟村的社会保障在乡村旅游的影响下经历了3个阶段,1999年前未发展乡村旅游时受国家干预主义影响较大,1999—2004年乡村旅游发展体现了经济自由主义的影响,而2004年至今的实践体现了经济自由主义与国家干预主义的融合,实现了政府与市场、公平与效率、权利与责任的相对均衡,实践中已初步实现了以就业保障为基础、以养老保障及最低生活保障等为内容的乡村社会保障的全面提高。研究表明,西方背景下形成的国家干预主义及经济自由主义在中国乡村市场经济实践中有着不同的诠释及呈现方式,乡村旅游精准扶贫的关键是社区力量的觉醒及培育,其创新路径是实现“以旅游换保障”,即实现乡村旅游经济功能向社会功能的转变。     

重庆市山区农户耕地转入特征及其影响因素

耕地流转有利于缓解耕地撂荒和闲置问题,促进土地规模化经营,但已有山区的研究侧重耕地转出,且未深入分析农户耕地转入的特征.本文运用重庆市“两翼”地区12 个典型村的1015 份农户调查问卷,从地块尺度详细分析了农户耕地转入的特征,并通过Tobit 模型,定量分析了农户转入耕地面积的影响因素.结果表明:①农户多无偿转入耕地,但仍主要转入质量好、坡度小、离家近的地块;因受地形影响,转入地块又多为旱地,且难灌溉、面积小,并存在“去粮化”和粗放化经营.②农户特征方面,转入耕地的农户多为普通农户,经营耕地规模小、效益低,且地块细碎化程度高.③影响因素方面,农业劳动力比例、农业收入、农具数量和耕作面积对农户转入耕地面积有显著正向影响,而户主年龄、地块平均面积和地区哑变量则武隆县有显著负向影响.     

Visualization and quantification of significant anthropogenic drivers influencing rangeland degradation trends using Landsat imagery and GIS spatial dependence models: A case study in Northeast Iran

Developing countries must consider the influence of anthropogenic dynamics on changes in rangeland habitats. This study explores happened degradation in 178 rangeland management plans for Northeast Iran in three main steps: (1) conducting a trend analysis of rangeland degradation and anthropogenic dynamics in 1986-2000 and 2000-2015, (2) visualizing the effects of anthropogenic drivers on rangeland degradation using bivariate local spatial autocorrelation (BiLISA), and (3) quantifying spatial dependence between anthropogenic driving forces and rangeland degradation using spatial regression approaches. The results show that 0.77% and 0.56% of rangelands are degraded annually during the first and second periods. The BiLISA results indicate that dry-farming, irrigated farming and construction areas were significant drivers in both periods and grazing intensity was a significant driver in the second period. The spatial lag (SL) model (wi=0.3943, Ei=1.4139) with two drivers of dry-farming and irrigated farming in the first period and the spatial error (SE) model (wi=0.4853, Ei=1.515) with livestock density, dry-farming and irrigated farming in the second period showed robust performance in quantifying the driving forces of rangeland degradation. To conclude, the BiLISA maps and spatial models indicate a serious intensification of the anthropogenic impacts of ongoing conditions on the rangelands of northeast Iran in the future.     

基于G-TOPSIS模型的贫困农户多目标发展评价——以云南福贡县为例

建立贫困农户多目标发展评价体系,实现不同发展目标下的相对贫困的精准识别与动态监测,成为新阶段扶贫开发的迫切需求。论文面向精准扶贫、乡村振兴和可持续发展战略,基于贫困农户的短期、中期和长期目标,构建基于G-TOPSIS综合评价方法的贫困农户多目标发展评价模型,结合障碍度模型揭示不同发展目标下贫困农户的发展水平、发展差距及其致贫因素,并基于地理探测器对不同发展水平农户减贫的影响因素进行探测。以云南省福贡县为例的研究区实证结果表明:① 研究区目前仍存在大量未脱贫农户,脱贫攻坚的压力依然较大,全面脱贫是福贡县当前最紧迫的发展目标;已脱贫人口距全国和全省农村居民平均发展水平还有较大差距,仍处于相对贫困状态,具有较高的贫困脆弱性,防止返贫、缓解相对贫困的任务艰巨。② 短期目标下,主要致贫因素为劳动力受教育年限、卫生厕所、安全住房、家庭人均纯收入、家庭健康状况;中长期目标下,与全国和本省相比,家庭人均纯收入、劳动力受教育年限、安全住房为主要发展短板。③ 不同发展水平贫困农户空间分布特征存在较大差异,贫困空间分异受基础设施、地形条件、经济区位、自然资源、交通区位等因素的综合影响,农户发展水平越低,空间异质性越强,受地理环境的影响越大。研究结果可为减贫与发展战略的实施与监测提供决策依据与可靠的技术决策支持。     

贫困山区农户兼业行为及其居民点用地形态——基于重庆市云阳县568户农户调查

贫困山区农户兼业现象普遍,对相关的土地利用活动影响深刻。采用重点与随机抽样、参与式农村评估和景观格局分析等方法,从微观尺度定量分析了云阳县568户农户兼业行为与居民点用地形态变化的相互关系,可为土地利用结构调整、居民点用地整理挖潜提供认识依据。结果表明:(1)云阳县农户兼业现象普遍,依据非农收入与农业收入差、非农劳动投入比重,将农户划分为纯农业型、农业主导型、农工兼具型、非农主导型、非农业型五种兼业类型;(2)老龄和女性人口少、且平均文化水平较高的农户兼业水平最高,人口数量多、分工多元化的农户兼业水平居中;(3)以农业生产为主要生计活动的纯农业型与农业主导型农户,居民点用地规模变化较小,约为180m2,土地利用粗放且多样化程度高,其中,纯农业户圈养与堆棚用地比重较高,农业主导型院坝用地比重较高;(4)农工兼具型农户的居民点用地规模扩大,约为190m2,土地利用集约度得到提高,且多样性下降,堆棚用地弱化,住房用地占主导;(5)逐渐退出农业生产的非农主导型与非农业型农户,居民点用地规模缩减,约为160～130m2,土地集约度较高,多样性下降,居民点中生产性用地比重下降、居住性用地比重上升。研究认为,农村居民点整理挖潜必须与农户的兼业需求相适应。     

History and necessity: the evolution of soil conservation technology in a Jamaican farming system

The soil conservation campaigns that have been a prominent feature of Jamaican agricultural policy since the 1950s are frequently presented as having failed to ameliorate the problem of soil erosion in hillside agriculture. A case study of a small farming community in the Blue Mountains explores the development of the soil conservation practices currently employed by farmers. The use of trash barriers in carrot farming is described and the origins of this technology and its subsequent adaptation are considered. The study concludes that extension interventions and government policy have influenced the development of current soil conservation practices; practices which have their roots in indigenous techniques. Other factors such as the adaptation of trash barriers to suit local conditions and their importance in soil fertility management also play a role in their widespread use in the study area. The study demonstrates that to understand the process of technical change in farming communities, it is necessary to consider a range of factors, external and internal, technical and social, that have over time influenced farmers' decision making.