南非重要金属矿产开发现状及投资前景分析

南非矿产资源非常丰富,储量巨大,是全球不包括能源在内的矿产资源范围价值最富有的国家。经研究,世界上最大的锰矿区、铬矿区,最大的黄金矿脉均位于南非,与我国形成了很强的经济互补性,因此对南非重要金属矿产进行开发投资具有重要的意义。结合本文整理的南非重要金属矿产锰、铂族、铬、金四大矿种资源禀赋、分布、产量、矿业公司及投资环境等,对南非进一步的投资方向和投资目标提出建议：对重点研究的锰、铂族、铬、金四大矿种提出了相关开发投资区域建议,而对于南非社会目前的不稳定性,建议中资企业可以参股形式参与当地的矿业投资,避免投资风险。     

Sustainable urban environments: The case of Alexandra

The long-term benefits of reconstruction and development in South Africa can succeed only if the environmental considerations are integrated into policy decisions. The proper management of the country's valuable renewable and non-renewable resources is essential for future prosperity. The environments of urban renewal projects need to be effectively managed. A case study of urban upgrading in Alexandra, Johannesburg illustrates the vital importance of integrating environmental components into reconstruction and development programmes in South Africa.     

How “Water for All!” policy became hegemonic: The power of the World Bank and its transnational policy networks

As recently as 1990, few people in the global South received their water from US or European water firms. But just 10 years later, more than 400 million people did, with that number predicted to increase to 1.2 billion people by 2015, transforming water in Africa, Asia, and Latin America into capitalized markets as precious, and war-provoking, as oil. This article explains how this new global water policy became constituted so quickly, dispersed so widely, with such profound institutional effects. It highlights the prominent role of transnational policy networks in linking environment and development NGOs and the so-called global water policy experts with Northern high-end service sectors, and the ways in which the World Bank facilitates their growth, authority, and efficacy. This phenomenon reflects the World Bank’s latest and perhaps most vulnerable development regime, which I call “green neoliberalism.”     

Climate change and journalistic norms: A case-study of US mass-media coverage

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – comprised of top climate scientists from around the globe – has reached consensus that human activities have contributed significantly to global climate change. However, over time, the United States has refused to join concerted international efforts – such as the Kyoto Protocol – to curb human activities contributing to climate change. US newspaper and television media constitute key influences among a set of complex dynamics shaping information dissemination in this politicized environment. Mass-media coverage of climate change is not simply a random amalgam of newspaper articles and television segments; rather, it is a social relationship between scientists, policy actors and the public that is mediated by such news packages. This paper demonstrates that consistent adherence to interacting journalistic norms has contributed to impediments in the coverage of anthropogenic climate change science. Through analysis of US newspaper and television coverage of human contributions to climate change from 1988 through 2004, this paper finds that adherence to first-order journalistic norms – personalization, dramatization, and novelty – significantly influence the employment of second-order norms – authority-order and balance – and that this has led to informationally deficient mass-media coverage of this crucial issue. By critically scrutinizing US print and television media as a ‘public arena,’ we improve understanding of how journalistic activities have shaped interactions at the interface with climate science, policy and the public.     

Geographic characteristics of a network interdiction problem

The protection of critical infrastructure from natural and intentional events is a key component of any national security agenda. Protection schemes need to be readily identifiable and adaptable to complex changing environments. In this paper, we identify strategic geographic characteristics that impact the location of detection resources (e.g. sensors) towards the defense of regional critical infrastructure. Specifically, we seek to estimate the relationship between the results of a variation of the traditional shortest path network interdiction problem and geographical characteristics of the transportation infrastructure and the urban environment. Experiments conducted on three distinct transportation networks of different shapes and granularities (New York City—grid, Houston—radial, Boston—hybrid) underline the importance of geographic characteristics such as the proximity to resource location, attacker entry points as well as network coverage. Insights gained from this work are relevant to policy and decision makers to facilitate the development of analytical and decision-support tools capable of identifying resource allocation strategies. We discuss a heuristic-based framework that prioritizes the selection of detection resources, reflecting the importance of geographic characteristics. The findings underline the importance of geographical characteristics for the allocation of resources in a regional setting.     

An abundance model resource appraisal for some Canadian commodities

An abundance model resource appraisal has been undertaken for 10 mineral commodities in Canada: nickel, copper, zinc, lead, molybdenum, uranium, silver, gold, chromium, and tin. The purpose of the appraisal was to investigate the applicability of the model to the Canadian situation. Resource appraisals for the first 6 of the commodities studied have been published following deposit modeling studies. For many other commodities studied have been published following deposit modeling appraisals. The demonstration of the relevance of the abundance model to Canada would allow its application in such cases. The data presented in this paper indicate that the approximate relation, resource (short tons)=abundance (%)×10¹⁰. holds true for all commodities studied except chromium and tin. As the resources versus abundances relationship observed on a global scale is observable in Canada, it is concluded that Canada is a sufficiently large fraction (∼7%) of the earth's continental crust to represent a valid sample of that crust. Canada appears to be relatively well endowed with resources of copper, molybdenum, lead, and zinc, and poorly endowed with chromium and tin. It is proposed that the intersection of national boundaries with the boundaries of the world's metallogenic provinces is of greater importance than the intensity of past search, a feature that has been suggested in other studies. If these areas overlap, a nation may be self sufficient in a commodity: if they do not, the nation must import, or find a nationally available substitute. The sources of information used in the appraisal are outlined together with an analysis of the problems encounterea and the time requirements. This paper was presented at the International Geological Correlation Program (IGCP) Project 98: “Standards for Computer Applications in Resource Studies” held at Taita Hills Kenya, November 8–15, 1977.     

当代世界的矿产资源

论述了最近５０年来世界矿产资源供求关系的变化和现状,着重讨论了独联体国家、北美地区西欧国家、中欧和东欧国家、日本、澳大利亚和南非共和国、欧佩克国家的矿产资源情况。俄罗斯仍是矿产资源大国,但矿山开采工业每况愈下,许多矿种没有清楚的探明储量。独联体一些国家某些矿种储量大,但没有维持经济正常发展的其它矿种。美国的某些矿种储量大,但其它矿种不足,例如石油、天然气、煤、铝、铜、铅、锌、锡、镍、钴、钨等需求量     

Deservedness, development, and the state: Geographic categorization in the US Agency for International Development’s Foreign Assistance Framework

The institutions, practices, and discourses of US development policy and foreign assistance are undergoing profound changes. Central to these has been the creation of a new framework for foreign aid, built around a complex taxonomy of developing states and governance issue areas, with geographic and governance categories predicated on notions of state stability and fragility, strategic geopolitical position, and development progress. Given its long-standing position as the primary federal agency responsible for development and foreign aid, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has played an important role in these policy changes, even as its political status and standing have suffered in recent years. The new framework is beset by contradictions, stemming both from the problematic relationship between development, security, and liberalization in agency rhetoric and strategies, and from intensive restructuring processes affecting USAID’s internal character and external relations. This paper investigates the new framework for foreign aid, linking internal restructuring at USAID to broader trends in state development strategies. I argue that shifts in US development and aid policy - toward emphases on “transformational development” abroad and centralization over strategic decision making domestically, crystallized in the new framework - are based in contradictory understandings of aid deservedness that stem from the tensions between economic and geopolitical aims within the current security-focused US state project of neoliberalization. These contradictions and tensions are displaced onto USAID via the Foreign Assistance Framework.     

国外水资源开发利用的经验教训

合理开发和利用水资源是西部大开发成功的关键。通过对美国水资源管理政策的演化及前苏联的“咸海生态灾难”的研究，总结其正反二方面的经验教训，以进一步提高水资源开发决策的科学性。     

Institutional instruments for water pollution control

This paper focuses on the articulation of policies in the interface between economic production and water quality. One problem is the introduction, at this production-ecologic interface, of unwanted water-borne residuals by firms and municipalities. The policy objective is to absorb the social cost of environmental degradation into the production function within the two constraints of efficiency in the allocation of resources and the protection of property rights. The efficient allocation of environmental resources (in such a way as to maximize human welfare) has long been recognized as a basic objective in resource management. Equally important is the consideration of environmental rights and responsibilities in a society where property power and the institution of property is a dominant characteristic. Since the manner in which the property owner acts may affect the environment of his neighbours, it is important that policy instruments inform the holder of the property rights of the ill-effects of his actions upon others and induce him to take action to remedy the situation. The question of water quality management options requires urgent consideration for two reasons. Firstly, the cost of water pollution control is already considerable and is likely to increase even more sharply as the growing number of urban centres put greater pressure on the water resource for waste dilution and assimilation and other competing uses such as municipal demands, heat dissipation, recreation and wildlife protection. Secondly, the institutional mechanisms for dealing with this problem seem to be inadequate and ineffective. It is true that subsidies and grants have encouraged the building of more municipal waste treatment plants while regulation and court action have reduced some of the worst abuses. Subsidies and grants may be inefficient policy choices because they encourage hardware solutions even when other less expensive solutions are possible. In addition, they fail to inform the polluters of the ill-effects of their action; and the general public has to shoulder the burden in the form of increased taxation. Regulation and court action are cumbersome, sporadic and time-consuming. Effluent standards could be made flexible as a policy instrument if they afforded the polluter the opportunity to choose either to install in-plant controls or to pay the “fine” or to combine both these choices in any way that minimized his costs. This would combine the policy instrument of the effluent standard with the policy instrument of an effluent (or user) charge. The charges could be set either to reflect marginal pollution damages or the marginal cost of maintaining a given ambient standard. In other words the inferred marginal damage of pollution is equal to the marginal cost of treatment up to some desired level thus ensuring that the desired amount of waste load be reduced at least cost. Pricing and transferable effluent permits serve the same purpose.     

The (ir)relevance of geography for school choice: Evidence from a Swedish choice experiment

The increased opportunity to choose one’s school of preference has been raised as a key factor in many countries to promote equal opportunities and a higher quality of education. This has been endorsed by policymakers who assume that students make well-informed rational choices and that students stress only academic quality when deciding which school to attend. If this is true, it will benefit schools of high academic quality, rendering improved school quality overall. To date, little research has examined the validity of these assumptions despite the profound effects they have had for changing the school systems in many countries. This article describes an experiment to investigate the relative importance of factors in school choice. The aim is to test the validity of the theoretical assumptions that guided the school choice reforms in Sweden. Specifically, we draw on experimental data from prospective upper secondary school students in Sweden to contrast the principal school quality attributes behind the policy change (knowledge reputation and program feasibility), with the presence of friends and geographical attributes such as distance, location and accessibility, while controlling for individual characteristics. The results have important policy implications as they show that geographical factors are highly relevant for school choice preferences. In contrast to the reforms’ intentions, geography appears to have become more important than ever before. The findings thus reveal significant flaws in the assumptions that motivated the school choice policy reform.     

全球成矿域和成矿区带

作者在编制1:2 500万世界大型超大型矿床成矿图的基础上,根据全球地质构造背景与成矿特征,划分出劳亚、冈瓦纳、特提斯、环太平洋4大成矿域和北美、格陵兰、欧洲、乌拉尔-蒙古、西伯利亚、中朝、南美、非洲-阿拉伯、印度、澳大利亚、加勒比、地中海、西亚、喜马拉雅、中南半岛、北科迪勒拉、安第斯、楚科奇-鄂霍茨克、东亚、伊里安-新丙兰、南极等21个巨型成矿区带,简要论述了各成矿域和成矿区带的成矿特征,首次构建了全球成矿体系.     

United States international policies and military strategies in the era of defunct aggressor

In the post-Soviet era, the United States (US) is expected to contribute its military forces and defense resources in the event of need for Regional Conflicts and Operations Other Than War (OOTW). Such contributions may not be forthcoming. The principal reasons for the possible absence to the US contributions to maintain the New World Order is the paucity in the articulation of the US foreign and defense policies. The US public's well known preference for domestic policies, rather than foreign military and related operations, has been reinforced by the absence of the comprehensive explanation by the US political leaders of the US foreign and defense policies to the American people. The US military are preparing military doctrine for the possible engagements in the Regional Conflicts and OOTW, but these efforts are affected by the US well established past military doctrine to fight wars to a clear victory on the battlefield as well as by the absence of clear national military policy. American particulation in the future military operations — Regional Conflicts or OOTW — remains very much in doubt.     

Towards sustainable agriculture in post-apartheid South Africa

This paper assesses the possibility of sustainable agriculture in South Africa in the context of recent policy initiatives. The new environmental strategy for agriculture represents a significant break with policy initiatives developed during apartheid. The likelihood of sustainable farming practices being adopted in South Africa will, however, face at least three obstacles. These are the integrated structure of industrial farming, the concern over yields, and current political and economic changes in South African agriculture. It is argued that sustainable techniques are unlikely to develop in the large scale farming sector in the near future. If the considerable research and extension resources of the state are reoriented quickly enough, sustainable farming methods can be embraced by an emerging class of black commercial farmers.     

The illegal alien question in South Africa: scope,issues and policy

Of the many problems facing South Africa, perhaps one of the most important is that of the illegal alien. The scope, issues and policy implications of the illegal alien problem are examined. Different geographical streams of alien immigration are identified are profiled. Official policy responses are reviewed. The pressures for action to be taken against the rising numbers of illegal aliens in South Africa are discussed. In particular, the cost implications of illegal aliens capturing scarce resources and employment opportunities are set against other pressing demands encapsulated in the Reconstruction and Development Programme.     

美国全球变化研究的法律基础

自1990年以来，美国全球变化研究计划（USGCRP）已经实施了10多年，并取得了丰硕的成果，这在很大程度上归因于相对完善的法律体系。一方面，《1990年全球变化研究法案》全面协调该计划在国内和国际的实施，使计划在实施的10年里获得了大量的基础科学数据和丰富的研究成果；另一方面，美国《信息自由法》、《版权法》及相关数据政策促进了全球变化研究数据和信息的共享，避免了在获取科学数据方面的重复建设，提高了数据的使用效率。在全球变化研究法案的强制要求下，美国的全球变化研究计划稳定发展、不断完善。     

Neoliberalism and privatisation in South Africa

Perhaps the defining characteristic of development as a global discourse is its neoliberal character. Even recently liberated nations such as South Africa have not escaped its reach. In South Africa, there has been a movement from a development policy with a socialist resonance – the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) – to one decidedly neoliberal in form and substance – the Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) policy. The articulation of neoliberalism through development policy is being facilitated through a series of measures among which are fiscal austerity, export oriented production and the privatisation of public sector services. While the GEAR policy, as a macroeconomic framework, is being contested by labour unions it is privatisation which is facing widespread opposition among communities. My intention is twofold, firstly, to investigate how neoliberalism as a global hegemonic discourse has succeeded in capturing, colonising and repackaging the development imaginary of the African National Congress (ANC). Secondly, I wish to examine how privatisation as a sub-discourse of neoliberalism is being articulated in the historically black township of Chatsworth, in Durban. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Water Security and the Countermeasures in South Asia Based on the “Belt and Road” Initiative

South Asia is the subregion of Asia with the most neighbors of China. Although the high mountains in the Great Himalayas spatially separate South Asia from East Asia along the border of China’s autonomous region of Tibet, the geographical items such as mountains and rivers link the countries in South Asia with China, resulting in a special and complex geopolitical environment and relationship. In this geopolitical relationship, the transboundary rivers are becoming a key issue of this region in an era of increasing water stress. Depleted and degraded transboundary water supplies have the potential to cause social unrest and spark conflict within and between countries in South Asia, and complicate the geopolitical relationship among them. In addition, the increasing impacts from climate change and human activities will definitely bring many transboundary eco-environmental issues in this region, projecting a big challenge to regional stability and development. The key issues related to the water resources supplement and exploration require the transboundary rivers to be a positive role in regional water resources utility and exploration, and the result will definitely affect regional relationship and water security. How to handle these issues and challenges will be a question for the countries in this region with a long time. Currently, the “Belt and Road” Initiative represents an opportunity to build a shared vision for common prosperity through regional cooperation and is a way to inject new positive energy into world peace and development. In the light of this, the countries with transboundary rivers in South Asia must come together to construct a cooperative mechanism of water security, and adopt a win-win cooperation for the use of transboundary rivers under the principles of “equal”, “equitable” and “reasonable”.     

Population Growth, Climate Change and Water Scarcity in the Southwestern United States

PROBLEM STATEMENT: In a simple economic model, water scarcity arises as a result of an imbalance between the supply of and demand for water sources. Distribution in this setting is the source of numerous conflicts globally. APPROACH: Already, the Southwestern United States (US) suffers from annual drought and long-standing feud over natural water resources. RESULTS: Population growth in the Southwestern United States along with the continued effects of climate change (natural and anthropogenic) predicts a perpetual decline in natural water sources, such as smaller snowpacks, in the coming years. As the increasing number of communities across multiple US states that subsist off of natural water supplies face water shortages with increasing severity, further water conflict will emerge. Such conflicts become especially protracted when the diversion of water from a source of benefit to one community negatively impacts nearby communities of humans and economically vital ecosystems (e.g., marshlands or tributaries). CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATIONS: The ensuing politics and health effects of these diversions can be complicated and future water policies both domestically and internationally are lacking. To draw attention to and stimulate discussion around the lacking policy discussion domestically, herein we document existing and emerging consequences of watery scarcity in the Southwestern United States and briefly outline past and potential future policy responses.     

Suitability assessment of shallow and deep groundwaters for drinking and irrigation use in the El Khairat aquifer (Enfidha, Tunisian Sahel)

The El Khairat aquifer is an important groundwater aquiferous system, which is considered a major source for drinking and irrigation water in Enfidha in Tunisian Sahel. The analysis of groundwater chemical characteristics provides much important information useful in water resources management. Assessing the water quality status for special use is the main objective of any water monitoring studies. An attempt has been made for the first time in this region to appreciate the quality and/or the suitability of shallow and deep groundwater for drinking and irrigation. In order to attend this objective, a total of 35 representative water samples were collected during February 2007 from both boreholes (17) and wells (18); and analyzed for the major cations (sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium) and anions (chloride, sulphate, bicarbonate, and nitrate) along with various physical and chemical parameters (temperature, pH, total dissolved salts, and electrical conductivity). Based on the physico-chemical analyses, irrigation quality parameters like sodium absorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), percentage of sodium (Na%), and permeability index (PI) were calculated. In addition to this, iso-concentration maps were constructed using the geographic information system to delineate spatial variation of qualitative parameters of groundwater samples. The correlation of the analytical data has been attempted by plotting different graphical representations such as Piper, Wilcox, and US Salinity Laboratory for the classification of water. The suitability of the water from the groundwater sources for drinking and irrigation purposes was evaluated by comparing the values of different water quality parameters with World Health Organization guideline values for drinking water. A preliminary hydrochemical characterization shows that most of the groundwater samples fall in the field of calcium–magnesium–chloride–sulphate type of water. Majority of the samples are not suitable for drinking purposes and far from drinking water standards. The high EC value and the percentage of Na in most of the groundwater render it unsuitable for irrigation. Wilcox classification suggested that around 50% of both deep and shallow groundwater samples are unsuitable for irrigation. According to the US Salinity Classification, most of the groundwater is unsuitable for irrigation unless special measures are adopted.