Environmental and socioeconomic dynamics of the Indian Ocean tsunami in Penang,Malaysia

This paper addresses some of the environmental and socioeconomic dimensions of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on Penang, Malaysia. We aim to offer wide access to unique and perishable data, while at the same time providing insight to ongoing debates about hazards, vulnerability and social capital. Our social survey examines some of the dynamics that shaped the tsunami impact, response and recovery process. While in terms of lives lost Penang may not conform to arguments surrounding vulnerable environments, the recovery process is more marked by social disparities in terms of the ability to access resources. Our physical survey records local topography, flow depth and flow direction, and charts the differential impact of the tsunami. Yet measuring hazards is not a straightforward process, and relies on reflexive methodologies and eyewitness accounts.     

The Distribution of Riparian Corridor Plants and the Relations to River Water Salinity along Perai River, Penang, Malaysia

Ecological surveys were carried out to investigate the distribution and characterization of riparian corridor plants along the Perai River,Penang,Malaysia from July 2007 to March 2008.Surveys were design to represent horizon-tal sections of the river starting from the river mouth towards the upper reaches for 20 km.A total of 84 species of plants from 30 families were recorded.They consisted of 28 species of standing plants(plants with height of more than 1 m)and 56 species of weedy plants(plants with heigh...     

Enclaves and ethnic ties: The local impacts of Singaporean cross‐border tourism in Malaysia and Indonesia

Cross‐border tourism is often proposed by governments as an incentive for economic growth, but critics have suggested that its impacts are, in fact, overplayed. This paper presents research in the Indonesia‐Malaysia‐Singapore Growth Triangle (IMS‐GT). It examines the broad economic impacts of Singaporean cross‐border tourism on local host communities in two locations: Kukup, a traditional Malaysian fishing village in Johor, southern Peninsular Malaysia, and Bintan in Riau Islands Province in western Indonesia. The study found that cross‐border tourism generated income, employment and some local economic linkages. In Kukup clear economic benefits with increased income and employment were unevenly distributed between ethnic groups. The Bintan enclave development had some linkages to the island economy but was reliant on immigrant labour. Cross‐border ethnic ties, particularly Chinese, also played an important role in the growth of tourism in the IMS‐GT. The paper shows that cross‐border tourism can be a useful addition to more conventional forms of international tourism within national tourism planning and could lead to significant economic benefits for local communities.     

Seismic and volcanic hazards in Peru: changing attitudes to disaster mitigation

Over the last 15 years there have been dramatic shifts in the consensus over how best to cope with natural hazards in economically developing regions such as South America. One very positive outcome of the United Nations sponsored International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR 1990–2000) has been that there is now greater interchange between the work of earth scientists examining the processes and mechanics of hazard occurrence and impact, and social scientists exploring the causes of human vulnerability to hazard – and thereby disaster. This paper traces the development of this new understanding with reference to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in Peru, one of the most hazardous countries in South America. Particular focus is placed on the excellent progress currently being made by scientists in better understanding the physical dimensions of natural hazard exposure, and the ground-breaking work by social scientists in promoting new approaches to understanding and mitigating human vulnerability to disaster. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need to build on this research to produce more inclusive, incultured and unified strategies of disaster mitigation at the local, national and international levels.     

Government Intervention in the Muda Irrigation Scheme, Malaysia: 'actors', expectations and outcomes

At the dawn of the third millennium the problems associated with large-scale irrigation lie largely unresolved. The outcomes of government policies rarely correspond with expectations, leading to conflict and misunderstanding between federal governments, local agencies and farmers. This paper examines the mis-match of expectations between policy implementors and policy recipients in the implementation of one government policy (tertlary intervention) in the Muda irrigation scheme, Malaysia. The findings illustrate that this policy is not achieving the productivity increase or water saving expectations for which it was designed. Instead, tertiary intervention has increased the capacity of the farmers to unofficially control the distribution and supply of the water resource and to engage in off-farm productive and non-productive activities. This results in: a significant over-supply of water; the inefficient use of this supply; and a reduction in yields without a reduction in incomes. Importantly, tertiary intervention has enabled the farmers to diversify their livelihood strategies whilst retaining access to the rice-farming culture. The findings presented in this paper serve to illustrate the significance of 'actor'expectations on policy outcomes and agrarian change.     

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.     

旅游地环境风险对中国旅游突发事件的影响及其区域分布研究

环境风险是影响旅游者和旅游活动安全的重要因素。本文以2006-2010年间我国的旅游突发事件案例作为数据基础,综合使用列联表卡方检验、Fisher精确检验、最优尺度回归等方法,对环境风险因素与我国旅游突发事件发生特征的关系及其区域分布进行统计检定。研究表明:游览环境风险、大气环境风险和道路环境风险是环境风险中引致旅游突发事件的主要结构因素,所引致的旅游突发事件主要包括事故灾难、自然灾害和公共卫生事件,其中事故灾难的发生水平最高。环境风险因素与旅游突发事件的发生类型、严重程度间具有显著的相关性,它对旅游突发事件的伤亡规模具有显著的影响力。我国不同区域的旅游环境风险具有分布上的差异性,各地应根据自己的环境风险特征采取风险管控措施。     

Sun,sea, sand and tsunami: examining disaster vulnerability in the tourism community of Khao Lak,Thailand

The impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on coastal tourism communities highlights the vulnerability of tourism destinations to external shocks. Based on fieldwork conducted in Thailand in the wake of this disaster, this paper addresses one fundamental question: what sociopolitical and environmental conditions contributed to the vulnerability of the affected tourism community of Khao Lak in the southern Phang Nga Province. We argue that an understanding of the root causes of destination vulnerability is vital not only for the successful implementation of regional recovery plans, but also for building long‐term resilience against future shocks. In the absence of an appropriate tourism vulnerability framework, this paper analyzes Khao Lak's vulnerability through an innovative theoretical framework comprised of the sustainability vulnerability framework, relational scale and place. The findings reveal that Khao Lak's vulnerability is shaped by 13 interlinked factors. These are the complex outcomes of social norms and developmental and dynamic governance processes driven by the competing agendas and scaled actions of key government and industry stakeholders. The identification and understanding of the drivers of Khao Lak's vulnerability and a strong vulnerability framework have significant implications for the wider tourism community. First, the empirical findings provide tourism communities with a blueprint for understanding the foundations of their vulnerability to external shocks. Second, the tourism vulnerability framework presented here provides destination communities and government stakeholders with an analytical tool through which to analyze their unique sociopolitical conditions. Together, these empirical and theoretical contributions bring us closer to securing sustainable livelihood futures for tourism dependent communities.     

Land scarcity and land access in a hazard-prone island: Sagar,Indian Sundarbans

The analytical inseparability of natural environment and society is reiterated by the findings of this study which contributes to a genre of studies that centre-stages the socio-ecological system. This study seeks to understand the interplay of state-related and other modes of securing property rights in the context of pervasive coastal hazards through a case study from the Indian Sundarbans region (Sagar Island in West Bengal). This paper also contributes to research pertaining to slow-onset disasters and attempts to examine emerging dimensions of land scarcity as well as diverse modes of access to land in the context of progressive ecological vulnerability. The analysis highlights the varying shades of declining land access and investigates how existing land policies and disaster management mechanisms remain far from extending security to communities experiencing environmental crisis. The paper thereby examines how community and state agencies adopting means to allocate property may in fact refute legality and perpetuate informality.     

Spatial analysis of water quality and its suitability in farming giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) in Negeri Sembilan region,Peninsular Malaysia

Finding potential sites for resilient prawn production in the tropical environment that also prevents wastage of natural resources is not an easy task. The purpose of this study is to evaluate water quality suitability for prawn farming in Negeri Sembilan of Peninsular Malaysia based on Geographic Information System (GIS). To achieve this goal, numerous criteria including sources of water, water temperature, water pH, sources of pollution, salinity, soil texture and availability of phytoplankton criteria were considered for the modelling process. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique was performed to standardize the criteria and the weighting process. The weighted overlay of indicators and results were accomplished by applying the Multi‐Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method in GIS. It was indicated that the Negeri Sembilan area has potential for prawn farming. The results showed that about 25 per cent (163 056.93 ha) of the area was most suitable for prawn farming, about 58 per cent (384 656.88 ha) was considered moderately suitable, while 18 per cent (117 633.49 ha) was regarded as least suitable. The study concluded that the multi‐criteria decision analysis of water quality for prawn farming is vital for regional economic planning in the Negeri Sembilan area and also significant when establishing a model for aquaculture development.     

The Cenozoic and Late Cretaceous evolution of the Indian Ocean Basin: uncertainties in the reconstructed positions of the Indian, African and Antarctic plates

Abstract Reconstructions of the relative positions of the Indian, African, and Antarctic plates and their uncertainties are given for the times of selected magnetic anomalies that could be identified on adjacent pairs of these plates. Among the most certain reconstructions are those for the Antarctic and African plates, which can be determined directly from recently published magnetic anomalies from both sides of the Southwest Indian Ridge. As Patriat and his colleagues reported, there was an important change in direction and a decrease in rate of separation between Africa and Antarctica between the times of anomalies 33 and 20. India moved rapidly away from both Africa and Antarctica in the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary periods, but slowed markedly near the time of anomaly 20 (≅ 45 Myr). The positions of the Indian plate with respect to the others are poorly constrained between the times of anomaly 5 (≅ 10 Myr) and anomaly 23 (≅ 54 Myr), but using the reconstructions of the African and Antarctic plates, the uncertainties can be reduced. Despite the relatively large uncertainties, the positions of anomalies 5, 6, and 13 on the Antarctic and Indian plates apparently cannot be described by the same parameters that describe the history of separation of Australia and Antarctica. Therefore, Stein and Okal's contention that Australia and India lie on separate plates appears to be valid not only for the present, but for the last 35 Myr.     

秦巴山区乡村交通环境脆弱性及影响因素——以陕西省洛南县为例

山区乡村长期处于地形地貌制约、自然灾害频发的风险胁迫之下,乡村交通系统网络化水平低、抗灾能力弱,交通环境脆弱性问题突出。以秦巴山区洛南县为例,基于人地关系脆弱性的暴露、敏感、应对能力3个维度构建了涵盖风险事件、地理特征、关键出行路径、路网结构、交通工具、家庭资本等要素的乡村交通环境脆弱性基本构成框架,并针对性建立了评估指标体系。依托ArcGIS和GeoDa软件解析了洛南县交通环境脆弱性的空间结构和空间自相关特征,运用地理加权回归模型探寻了自然、人口、社会、经济因素对交通风险应对能力的影响及空间差异。结果显示：交通环境脆弱性以县城及城郊为中心向外递增形成圈层结构,且垂直差异显著;暴露度、敏感性均与应对能力呈现显著的空间负相关性,脆弱性局部“热点”区域广泛分布于北部中山地带,且陷入了高暴露、高敏感、低应对能力的窘境。“冷点”区域多为城郊或邻近镇区的村庄,敏感性低,应对能力高;地形条件、产业分布、人口结构与受教育程度、家庭规模对交通风险应对能力有显著影响,影响性质及强度存在空间差异。     

游客特征及偏好与区域旅游发展的响应 ——以广东省肇庆星湖风景名胜区为例

以广东省肇庆星湖风景名胜区游客群体为研究对象,通过文献梳理与实地调研相结合进行研究。结果发现:(1)星湖风景名胜区的旅游市场是高度近域化的市场,其游客主要是学生、企业职员、工人与农民等;(2)从游客总体看,星湖风景名胜区游客的选择偏好由高到低依次为自然风景、区位因素、门票价格、地域文化和其他因素,但不同特征的游客群体表现了各自相应的选择偏好;(3)游客个性特征与产品选择之间具有一定的关系,不同来源与职业的游客群体表现了不同的消费水平。     

经济发达地区旅游发展动力系统初步研究:概念、结构、要素

在认识旅游发展动力系统研究重要性的基础上,依据已有的对旅游系统的研究,以及对地区经济背景与旅游发展之间的联系的认识,主要从旅游供给角度考虑,针对经济发达地区构建区域旅游动力系统,并阐述此系统的概念以及系统内各要素的概念和作用。此系统包括吸引系统、支持系统和中介系统三个子系统,各子系统内又包括各种影响旅游发展的动力要素。由于此系统针对经济发达地区而构建,因此对区域经济要素的推动作用尤为关注。     

古村落社区旅游参与度及影响因素——西递、宏村、南屏比较研究

以社区家庭为视角,建立基于利益导向的社区旅游参与水平测度指标,以皖南古村落西递、宏村、南屏为实证研究对象,揭示了古村落社区旅游参与度异同及其影响机理。研究结果表明:① 古村落内部、古村落之间的旅游参与度均有不同程度的差异,归因为家庭微观因子与社区中观因子交互作用所致。② 通过家庭微观因子对家庭人均旅游收入影响的通径系数分析,得出三个景区相应的直接通径系数和间接通径系数,发现古村落家庭微观因子的影响方向趋同而影响程度分异,与问卷调查结果分析的一致性也显示了该方法的较强解释力和潜在应用价值。③ 提高古村落社区旅游参与整体水平、缓解参与度空间差异的根本途径在于"让利于民",增强社区分利能力,政府在其中扮演着重要的引导角色。     

新疆塔河流域洪水量级、频率及峰现时间变化特征、成因及影响

采用塔里木河流域（塔河流域）8个水文站及相应气象站数据,全面分析了洪水发生量级、频率和峰现时间等特征,研究洪水发生成因及其影响。结果表明：1980s中后期塔河流域气温与降水持续增加,整个塔河流域年及季节洪峰流量普遍呈上升趋势,大部分在1980s中后期发生突变。1980s中期以后塔河流域年及季节洪峰流量呈持续增加或者显著增加趋势,量级位于整个观测时期均值之上,处于洪水“丰富”期。“丰富”期暴雨型和升温型洪水发生次数及造成的灾害损失均呈显著增加趋势,引起严重洪灾损失的洪水也集中在这一时期,且多由暴雨型洪水引发。大量级洪水（最大三场洪水及重现期大于10年的洪水）多集中发生在1990年之后,并且易引发多个水文站点同时出现。     

Gender,Work, and Household Survival in South Indian Fishing Communities: A Preliminary Analysis

This article examines the interplay of gender, caste‐religion, and household survival strategy formation among Christian and Muslim fisher folk in the south Indian state of Kerala. The methodology consisted of surveys of forty‐one households in two villages in which data pertaining to male and female work patterns and other household level data were collected in the summer of 1999. My analysis demonstrates how particular ideologies of gender and work associated with different caste‐religion communities influence the strategies individual households adopt. I discuss intersections between gender and caste‐religion with other socioeconomic factors and illustrate the manner in which gender then gets reworked in particular ways in the course of economic transformation.     

Factors controlling the survival of coastal dunes during multiple hurricane impacts in 2004 and 2005: Santa Rosa barrier island, Florida

Santa Rosa Island is an 85 km-long, wave-dominated low-lying barrier island situated along the northwestern Florida coast, facing the Gulf of Mexico. The entire island was severely impacted by Ivan, a strong category 3 hurricane that made landfall about 45 km to the west in September of 2004. Ten months later in July of 2005, Dennis, another category 3 hurricane, made landfall about 30 km east of the western tip of the island. Santa Rosa Island is characterized by well-developed but relatively low dunefields, described in this paper as incipient and established dunes, based on the presence of grassy and woody types of vegetation, respectively. The dunes were severely eroded by the two hurricanes. This paper investigates the factors controlling the regional-scale destruction and survival of the dunefields.Dune survival is controlled by: 1) hurricane characteristics, including intensity, duration, and frequency, and 2) morphological parameters including width of the barrier island, height and width of the dunefields, vegetation type, distance of the dunes to the ocean, and continuity of the dunefields. Three processes of dune destruction are described including, from most to least severe, inundation, overwash, and scarping. The interaction of all the above factors determines the different dune responses to the storm impacts. In general, the extensive and densely woody vegetated dunefields near the bay-side shoreline survived the storms, while the discontinuous dunes with grassy vegetation near the Gulf shoreline were almost completely destroyed.     

节能减排约束下中国省域旅游生态效率评估及空间格局研究

旅游生态效率评估及空间格局研究是揭示中国省域旅游业发展质量与态势的重要基础.论文以"自下而上"法核算中国省域旅游能源消耗与碳排放为基础,综合运用考虑非期望产出的Super-SBM模型、Malmquist指数及探索性空间数据分析等方法,探究节能减排约束下2000-2017年中国省域旅游生态效率及其空间分异、收敛和关联格局...