Politico-economic determinants of forestry policy in Cameroon

Factors that influence the policy choices of forest and environmental policy-makers in developing countries are yet to be completely understood. The study reported in this paper seeks to contribute to efforts addressed to promoting knowledge of these factors. It does so by analyzing the forest and environmental policy and policy field of Cameroon. The field is shown to be crowded, involving entities and individuals with disparate goals. The state emerges as the most powerful stakeholder in the field. It is argued that despite their seemingly inconsistent and contradictory nature, major provisions of Cameroon’s forestry and environmental policy have a unified purpose, viz., to serve the interests of powerful domestic and international stakeholders. It is concluded that the interests of these stakeholders, rather than the country’s national development goals, constitute the major determinant of the policy choices of its forest and environmental policy-makers.     

Towards an understanding of man-firewood relations in Freetown (Sierra Leone)

This paper examines ‘folk’ evaluation and classification of firewood as a means towards understanding man-firewood relations in Freetown. It demonstrates how access to ‘wood views’ renders comprehensible identifiable spatial and temporal patterns in firewood exploitation and utilisation. It is argued that the extension of the ethno-scientific approach beyond mere identification of wood categories to the examination of the relationship between cognition and action generates information capable of informing efforts towards short-term gains and/or long-term development policy aimed at a more efficient management and utilisation of the firewood resource. The article concludes by emphasising the need for an understanding of the view both from ‘above’ (technological forestry) and ‘below’ (folk ecology) of man-firewood relationships in the Freetown area in order that meaningful co-operative modifications based on a blend of sodo-cultural and ecological considerations, on the one hand, and economic and technological factors on the other, can be effected.     

安徽林业3S技术应用综述

信息技术的迅猛发展和广泛应用,从根本上改变了现代社会的生存和发展环境.本文简述了地理信息系统(GIS)、遥感(RS)、全球定位系统(GPS)的概念和特点,介绍3S技术在安徽林业系统的发展过程和应用现状,提出了加速安徽林业建设中3S技术应用的若干建议.作为一种崭新的现代技术管理手段,3S技术将在森林资源监测、营林规划设计、森林灾害预警、科学宏观决策等方面带来巨大的变革和深远的影响.     

Community forests and regeneration in post-industrial landscapes

Through a critique of existing regeneration literatures the paper points to the close relationship between regeneration and sustainable development. It suggests that the economic aspects of sustainable development have tended to dominate: leading to the neglect of nature in both regeneration and sustainable development, with regeneration having a principal focus on socio-economic issues in urban settings. To address these lacunae we suggest the need for a more environmentally sensitive regeneration theory. Using this approach the paper draws on recent in-depth research in three post-industrial coalfield areas where regeneration processes operate in the form of community forest projects. It provides a critical perspective on these regeneration processes, integrating theory with empirical data and highlighting how nature is drawn into broader economic and social processes of regeneration. In conclusion, using forestry initiatives as examples, we reflect on the conceptual dissonance apparent in regeneration theory and practice, and point to theoretical insights that could enable a more critical regeneration theory; more beneficial outcomes to regeneration processes; and an improved understanding of the relations between nature, capital and community in regeneration processes and sustainable development.     

中国林业可持续发展及其关键科学问题

在扼要介绍和分析中国森林资源的状况、演变和存在问题的基础上,着重探讨了中国林业可持续发展的战略和为实现林业可持续发展所必需研究解决的关键科学问题。在林业可持续发展战略部分全面论述了它的前提、目标、方针和六项对策措施。在关键科学问题部分则分别从森林的环境功能、森林的生产功能、林木遗传改良、森林保护和森林资源管理等五个方面列出所需要研究解决的关键科学问题,为制订今后的科学研究规划提供参考。     

Actors, options and the challenges of forest management in anglophone Cameroon

Natural resources, especially the forest provide a means of livelihood to rural communities in most developing countries. Unfortunately these resources are under the threat of disappearing because of high population growth rates and poverty that characterise these communities. Any attempt by development agencies at conserving these resources is tantamount to depriving these rural areas of their survival base. Yet due to its strategic socio-economic and cultural importance, the forest ecosystem needs to be sustained for future generations. This paper examines the various challenges faced by the State and other conservation agencies in natural resource management and the possible options which can be employed in an effort to ensure a sustainable exploitation of the forest in Anglophone Cameroon. It discusses the efforts of these actors, within the framework of the emerging concept of community forestry, local community strengthening and integrated rural development. While highlighting some of the achievements of international NGOs like Bird Life International and World Wide Fund for Nature in the region, the study concludes that the future of sustainable management of forest resources relies on a holistic poverty alleviation approach that takes into consideration the empowerment of these communities. This will ensure that they participate and benefit from the exploitation of the resources in the form of local development. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Migration between core and peripheral regions: a description and tentative explanation of the patterns in 22 countries

In the developed world at least, the century-long migration towards the high density core regions is over. To establish this thesis, internal migration statistics for 22 countries are examined, covering the period 1950–1979. Of these 22 countries, five categories are distinguished: (1) the countries of north-western Europe (Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and West Germany), in which there is moderate net out-migration from the core regions; (2) the countries of North America (Canada and the United States), in which net out-migration from the core regions has become quite substantial; (3) countries on the periphery of western Europe (Finland, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom), and including Japan and New Zealand, in which the modal pattern is one of increases in net migration towards the core regions between the 1950s and 1960s, followed by a sharp decline in the 1970s, though not to the point where a sustained net flow of population away from these regions has been observed; (4) the countries of eastern Europe (Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, and Poland), in which net migration towards the core regions, though quite moderate, has yet to show a systematic decline; and (5) two advanced developing countries in eastern Asia (South Korea and Taiwan), in which net migration towards the core regions is very large and showing no signs of imminent decline. The countries of the first three categories belong to the developed world, in which economies of further agglomeration in the core regions no longer exist, according to the hypothesis put forward in the second half of this paper. The distinguishing feature of the countries in the first two of these three categories is that their less urbanized, peripheral regions offer sites for urban and industrial development which are competitive with those of the core regions. In contrast, the peripheral regions of the countries of the third category do not offer competitive sites for industry and urban development, due to fundamental deficiencies in physical geography. Thus, despite the disappearance of the agglomeration advantages of the core regions, a sustained net flow of population away from these regions has yet to be observed. Finally, the countries of the fourth and fifth categories, according to our hypothesis, are those in which the economies of further agglomeration in the core regions are still present, due to a lower level of economic development. What distinguishes these last two categories of countries is the strong state policies of decentralization in the countries of eastern Europe, which seem to have avoided the very large and growing net flow of population towards the core regions observed for South Korea and Taiwan, where decentralization policies, though extant, are still subservient to national economic growth policies and are consequently much weaker.     

中国地质博物馆现状及其在地质事业中的作用评述

本文以中国地质博物馆为例,介绍我国地质博物馆的工作性质、任务、历史、现状和发展过程。在为社会服务的基础上,提出了从地质博物馆事业中直接获取经济效益的新思想。这不但对该馆今后布展工作有所帮助,而且对全国72个地质博物馆和陈列室以及正在筹建中的展厅都具有其相互学习,相互促进的作用。     

Transformation of the Nigerian forest ecosystem: A state of knowledge assessment of their socio-economic effects

The Nigerian forest ecosystem has been undergoing drastic transformation, with far-reaching consequences on the socio-economic welfare of the areas concerned, if not of the entire national economy and society. This study is attempt at an assessment of the present state of scientific knowledge of those consequences in Nigeria. And with it as a baseline, efforts are underway to undertake in-depth studies particularly of the basic issues raised in this paper regarding human adjustments to the on-going transformations of the forest ecosystem — especially their social, cultural, spatial and economic effects.     

The sustained yield forest management act and the roots of environmental conflict in Northern New Mexico

Recent research on environmental conflict in New Mexico has focused on racial and ethnic conflict between environmentalists and Hispanic loggers as a means to explain the trajectory of environmental struggle and the failure of Hispano/environmentalist coalitions opposing Forest Service management policies. This paper seeks to extend this explanation by considering the constraining role of federal legislation, institutional management and commercial resource exploitation that limited opportunities for Hispano/environmental collaborative challenges to federal resource management arrangements. I analyze the foundations of sustained yield forestry on the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico though a focus on the legal construction of sustained yield policies and the practices of implementing sustained yield on the Vallecitos Federal Sustained Yield Unit, a special timber production sub-unit of the Carson. The paper illustrates how the deployment of sustained yield forestry in New Mexico produced not only conditions of production favorable to commercial timber operators, but also established a complex and contradictory regulatory environment that effectively constrained collaborative efforts between environmentalists and small-scale loggers in their efforts to construct alternative futures for resource management in the region.     

The 1997 El Niño,Indonesian Forest Fires and the Malaysian Smoke Problem: A Deadly Combination of Natural and Man-Made Hazard

The El Niño of 1997–1998 produced the most intenseimpact on the conterminous U.S.A., generating a seriesof powerful rain and wind storms off the coast ofCalifornia in early February 1998. The 1997–1998 ElNiño also produced severe flooding and extensive mudslides along the west coast of South America andprolonged drought conditions in northeast Brazil. Onthe other (west) side of the equatorial Pacific, the El Niño produced the worst drought in 50 years overIndonesia and helped spread the ongoing forest fireson the island of Borneo to well over one millionacres. In this paper, the smoke and pollution problem overMalaysia will be analyzed in the context of ongoingIndonesian forest fires and the severity of the 1997El Niño – a deadly combination which led to the mosthazardous smoke problem over Malaysia duringAugust–September 1997. The severity of the smokepollution is documented using media reports andavailable API (air pollution index) values overselected cities in Malaysia. The role of the El Niñoand its evolution in enhancing the smoke pollutionover Malaysia is further discussed and suitably documented.Some of the mitigation measures presently beingadopted in Malaysia to combat the smoke pollution arebriefly discussed.     

Community control of resources and the challenge of improving local livelihoods: A critical examination of community forestry in Nepal

Community forestry in Nepal vests rights of access, use, exclusion, and management of national forestland to local user groups. There is strong potential for community forests to serve as the basis for improving the quality of life and the status of livelihoods in rural Nepal while conserving forest resources. Frequently, community forest user groups are dominated by local elites who choose to close access to community forestland for several years. As a result, forest conditions are improving, but the poorest households bear the cost of strict protection. In this paper I argue that community forestry is thus having rather limited success at improving rural livelihoods. Although community forestry is fairly successful at conservation, there remain huge wealth disparities between community forest member households, limited access to vital forest products, and significant power disparities within community forest user groups. Such conditions of inequity, reinforced by current community forestry policy and practice, severely challenge the development potential of community-controlled natural resources. In Nepal, overcoming these challenges may require a change in policy that mandates more inclusive local decision-making.     

Natural hazards and forest resources in the Andes of south-central Chile

From May 21–25, 1960 many of the cities of south-cenral Chile suffered extensive damage when shaken by 11 shocks of an earthquake swarm, each measuring over 6 on the Richter scale with the strongest at 8.5. Associated with this seismic activity were volcanic eruptions and thousands of debris avalanches, lands lides, and mudflows in the Andes fromc. 39° to 42° Lat. S. The events of 1960 led to the recognition of long-term effects of repeated catastrophic phenomena on the landform, soil, and vegetation patterns of south-central Chile. Many of the native tree species, including the dominant Nothofagus species, are dependent on massive disturbance for their regeneration which is of critical importance to forest management. Catastrophic geologic hazards, as well as snow avalanches, are highly significant to all aspects of native forest use including production forestry, forest recreation, and protection forestry. The importance of environmental hazards in forest resource development and conservation in Latin America has received scant attention but, as shown by the case of the Andean region of south-central Chile, should be a major consideration in resource use planning.     

Problems of the environment in a global aspect

The complex influence of man's activity on the earth has been considered.The author assumes that grave ecological problems connected with the pollution, the exhaustion of resources and the degradation of nature can be solved without restriction of population and of production.Social progress together with working out of modern technological processes can ensure the effective conservation of the environment with further economic development. Among scientific and technological means undertaken to control the destruction of nature, the study of pollutant transformation is of the greatest importance.The author emphasizes the necessity to create a general conception of the interaction between man and nature, which may be based on the principles put forward by V.I. Vernadsky.     

The ecology of knowledge: Linking the natural and social sciences

In the context of global crisis the Bacon-Descartes model of exact science, with its mechanistic world view and its doctrine of progress in man's mastery of nature, is being replaced by a more coherent philosophy of science based on ecosystem concepts. The late twentieth century, it seems, marks the end of centuries of positivism and the beginning of an age of ecoscience. This paper looks at the origins of the discredited positivist claims for an objective scientific method and proposes the ecology of knowledge as a more appropriate theory, both for the sciences and for ordinary knowledge. From this viewpoint claims for a fundamental division between the natural and social sciences on the basis of method and subject matter can no longer be sustained. Moreover, as the feminist and deep ecology movements join in condemning the tradition of patriarchal, exploitative science, a new conceptual framework is emerging in which science is being directed towards more holistic views and more democratic processes, guided by a more socially and environmentally responsible ethic.     

Science and Technology of Delimitation of Continental Shelf and Its Application in Maritime Silk Road Cooperation*

Delimitation of the continental shelf is an emerging interdisciplinary discipline in the field of international marine science and technology. It uses the scientific and technological means to expand the jurisdiction of coastal states based on the international rules of the 《United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea》. Therefore, it is related to the marine sovereignty rights and interests of a country and also a hot topic of science and technology that all countries have competed to develop. China has launched the research in this field simultaneously with the world's maritime powers, and formed its innovative advantages in such aspects as geological models, detection techniques and delimitation systems in the delimitation of continental shelf, which have become the brand new ties for China's cooperation with foreign countries in marine science and technology, and also the important field in the maritime silk road cooperation in the 21^st century. This paper introduced the basic principles and methods in the delimitation of continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (370 km), progress in the delimitation of the global continental shelf, and China's innovative science and technology as well as its application in maritime Silk Road cooperation, and provided the prospect of the future scientific and technological cooperation with foreign countries and development in this filed. And it was suggested China should develop the scientific and technological cooperation on the delimitation of the continental shelf along the Silk Road, promote the scientific and technological development of the delimitation of the continental shelf in China, and enhance China's influence and voice in international ocean affairs.     

Aquifer-yield continuum as a guide and typology for science-based groundwater management

Groundwater availability is at the core of hydrogeology as a discipline and, simultaneously, the concept is the source of ambiguity for management and policy. Aquifer yield has undergone multiple definitions resulting in a range of scientific methods to calculate and model availability reflecting the complexity of combined scientific, management, policy, and stakeholder processes. The concept of an aquifer-yield continuum provides an approach to classify groundwater yields along a spectrum, from non-use through permissive sustained, sustainable, maximum sustained, safe, permissive mining to maximum mining yields, that builds on existing literature. Additionally, the aquifer-yield continuum provides a systems view of groundwater availability to integrate physical and social aspects in assessing management options across aquifer settings. Operational yield describes the candidate solutions for operational or technical implementation of policy, often relating to a consensus yield that incorporates human dimensions through participatory or adaptive governance processes. The concepts of operational and consensus yield address both the social and the technical nature of science-based groundwater management and governance.     

Groundwater socio-ecology and governance: a review of institutions and policies in selected countries

Groundwater is crucial for the livelihoods and food security of millions of people, and yet, knowledge formation in the field of groundwater has remained asymmetrical. While, scientific knowledge in the discipline (hydrology and hydrogeology) has advanced remarkably, relatively little is known about the socio-economic impacts and institutions that govern groundwater use. This paper therefore has two objectives. The first is to provide a balanced view of the plus and the down side of groundwater use, especially in agriculture. In doing so, examples are drawn from countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Spain and Mexico—all of which make very intensive use of groundwater. Second, institutions and policies that influence groundwater use are analyzed in order to understand how groundwater is governed in these countries and whether successful models of governance could be replicated elsewhere. Finally, the authors argue that there is a need for a paradigm shift in the way groundwater is presently perceived and managed—from management to governance mode. In this attempt, a number of instruments such as direct regulation, indirect policy levers, livelihood adaptation and peoples participation will have to be deployed simultaneously in a quest for better governance.

Analytic hierarchy models for regional groundwater monitoring well allocation in Southeast Asian countries and South Korea

Groundwater has played an important role in economic development in Southeast Asian countries, but some problems caused by nature or human actions such as contamination, over pumping, and land subsidence bring the necessity of more systematic groundwater monitoring wells. The analytical hierarchy process with pairwise comparison was used to allocate and organize the regional groundwater monitoring wells in five regions, Thailand, Cambodia, East/West Malaysia, and South Korea. Five different multi criteria decision models, which were composed of three primary criteria and eight secondary criteria, were developed based on the answers of the questionnaire from 76 groundwater experts in Thailand, 100 in Cambodia, 101 in East Malaysia, 87 in West Malaysia, and 93 in South Korea. It was revealed that the weights of model criteria for each country, which also represent relative importance on groundwater monitoring, were different according to the diverse groundwater situation. The most important factor to determine the number of monitoring well was ‘number of households using only groundwater as a water source’ for Thailand and South Korea, ‘number of contamination sources’ for Cambodia, ‘amount of groundwater use for drinking-water supply’ for East Malaysia, and ‘number of wells with contaminated water’ for West Malaysia.     

The Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle: Sub-regional economic cooperation and integration

Regional economic cooperation is being re-considered in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Brunei. The political leadership in each of the member countries appearsto have recognised that regional integration of their economies hold out better prospects for economic competitiveness and sustained growth. The diversity among the ASEAN states however, explains the mixed reaction to development schemes that have been premised on regional cooperation and economic integration. It is the paradox that while difference among the ASEAN countries account for some of the toughest competition faced by the region's newly industrialising economies, these differences have also been the reason behind integration and cooperation. This paper examines the growth triangle arrangement initiated by the government of Singapore and involving the Riau Islands in Indonesia and the state of Johor in the neighbouring country of Malaysia. The spatial and economic impact of Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle, as it is now officially called, is discussed. In spite of the addition of more growth triangles which have been identified following on this pioneering effort in the region, the discussion will highlight the limits to such cooperation at least, among the newly industrializing economies in the region.