Review symposium: our common future: the world commission on environment and development

In 1983 the General Assembly of the United Nations called for the setting up of a World Commission on Environment and Development. The Commission's ambitious tasks were described by its Chairman, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Prime Minister of Norway, as: (1) to propose long‐term environmental strategies for achieving sustainable developments by the year 2000 and beyond; (2) to recommend ways concern for the environment could be translated into greater cooperation among developing countries and between countries at different stages of economic and social development; (3) to consider ways and means by which the international community could deal more effectively with environmental concerns; and (4) to help define shared perceptions of long‐term environmental issues and the appropriate efforts needed to deal successfully with problems of protecting and enhancing the environment. The Commission's Report, Our common future,was published in 1987.     

Monitoring socio-environmental change for sustainable development: Developing a Multidimensional Livelihoods Index (MLI)

To enable more effective monitoring of sustainable development for meeting targets of the post-2015 agenda, assessment is required at the sub-national level to better understand the spatial variation in factors which contribute to sustaining livelihoods. In this research we take Nepal as a case study; a nation consistently ranked as one of the poorest in the world. To understand how sustainable development can effectively promote livelihood diversification, we advocate that a multidimensional spatial approach is essential for monitoring social and environmental change to aid decision-making processes. To achieve this, a multidimensional index was created to spatially explore the landscape of livelihoods across rural Nepal. A methodology was developed to quantify the livelihoods asset pentagon (human-physical-social-financial-natural) of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. 23 socio-environmental indicators were selected to map the multidimensionality of livelihoods at the eco-development area unit level and produce the Multidimensional Livelihoods Index (MLI). Results indicate considerable spatial variability in the factors affecting people's livelihoods across Nepal. In general, the MLI decreases as you move north and east, reflecting changes in the topographic landscape and distance from the Kathmandu Valley Outcomes suggest an effective method for monitoring change at a sub-national level; highlighting potential locations and/or livelihood strategies for improving the targeting of resources (e.g. investment of foreign aid) to facilitate more sustainable development for the future.     

The sustainable development of innovative cities in China: Comprehensive assessment and future configuration

Innovative cities not only constitute an important basis for innovation activities, but also play a strategically critical role in constructing an innovative country, producing new forms of urban development, and fostering urban sustainable development. Currently, China is marching toward the goal of establishing an innovative country by 2020, but in the start-up phase of this process of innovative city construction, the fundamental transition from factor-driven development to innovation-driven development is not being realized. As a result,a wide gap currently exists between China＇s innovative cities and the advanced innovative cities in developed countries. This paper argues that this necessary transition is being constrained by a series of bottlenecks in investment, income, techniques, contributions, and talents. The article takes 287 prefecture-level cities as its object of comprehensive assessment, developing a comprehensive assessment system for innovative cities and devising innovative monitoring system software in order to evaluate the current situation in China＇s innovative city construction. The analysis addresses four key aspects – namely,independent innovation, industrial innovation, living environmental innovation, and institutional innovation – as well as the spatial heterogeneity of the innovative city construction process. The results demonstrate that the level of innovation in Chinese cities is low, and the paper warns that building an innovation-oriented country will, as a consequence,be difficult. Some 87.8% of the cities studied maintained comprehensive levels of innovation that were lower than the national average. The level of comprehensive innovation in a city was found to have close and positive correlation with economic development. The level of the eastern region of China was, in particular, found to be significantly higher than that of the central and western regions. The levels of urban independent innovation, industrial innovation,environmental innovation, and institutional in     

Revisiting sustainable development: Russian cultural and scientific traditions and the concept of sustainable development

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (26 August–4 September 2002), held in Johannesburg on the tenth anniversary of the first Earth Summit, provides the opportunity to reflect on the meaning of the sustainable development concept. This paper uses the case study of the Russian Federation to explore the relationship between official interpretations of sustainable development and alternative understandings concerned with the betterment of humankind, which draw on Russia's cultural and scientific heritage. It is suggested that there is much to be gained from reopening the sustainable development debate to incorporate such cultural particularities, both at the national and international levels.     

半城镇化农民可持续生计与农村可持续发展——理论框架、研究进展及未来展望

可持续生计理论方法不仅可以应用于城市务工的半城镇化农民,服务于有序推进中国的城镇化,而且可广泛应用于中国西部农村地区和农户尺度的研究,服务于农村可持续发展。本文首先梳理了当前可持续生计的概念及分析框架,并基于半城镇化农民可持续生计与农村可持续发展,从地理学的综合视角提出了一个适应于中国实证研究的理论分析框架。然后依托国家自然科学基金青年科学基金项目“半城镇化农民生计状态评估及市民化阻滞因素与政策调控”,梳理了可持续生计的国际国内研究进展以及半城镇化农民市民化与农村地区可持续发展的中国实证研究成果。最后提出了未来的研究展望,包括半城镇化农民市民化与农村地区可持续发展的联动研究,半城镇化农民市民化转变的主观意愿与客观阻滞因素综合研究,半城镇化农民与农村发展作用机理及其市民化效应,可持续生计与农村可持续发展的集成研究。     

Report on the compilation of the Population,Environment and Sustainable Development Atlas of China (PESDAC)

PopulationEnvironmentandSustainableDevelopmentareglobalissuesofcrucialimportance.Asisknowntoall,sincethebeginningofthe20thcentury,withtheprogressinscienceandtechnologyaswellasthesharpincreaseinsocialproductivity,humanbeingshavecreatedunprecedentedmaterialwealththatinreturnhasacceleratedtheadvancementofhumancivilization.Atthesametime,problemssuchastheexplosionofpopulation.extravagantconsumptionofenergyandresources,environmentalpollution.andthedestructionoftheecologicalbalance,haveseriouslyimpe…     

城市和城市群可持续发展指数研究进展

21世纪是城市的世纪,城市的高质量发展对区域和全球可持续发展至关重要。中国城市化发展迅速,城市化率从1978年的17.9%增加到2019年的60.6%,2030年将达到70%,大部分人口居住在城市。城市是中国经济发展的引擎,以全国近7%的土地面积生产了70%的国内生产总值(GDP),而城市群更是集聚了全国大部分城镇人口和GDP。因此,城市和城市群的健康与可持续性将决定中国未来发展的质量与进程。识别城市和城市群发展的程度、存在的问题以及国内外差距,亟需进行城市可持续发展的评价。本研究系统综述了城市可持续发展评价的思想与指标体系的发展历程,重点基于联合国可持续发展目标(SDG)框架考察了开展城市可持续发展评价的方法,提出了构建城市和城市群可持续发展指数的途径,并从平台构建、大数据基础、跟踪发布等方面提出了推进城市可持续发展指数评价建立城市发展“仪表盘”的思路。基于联合国SDG框架的城市和城市群可持续发展指数可为目标城市对标其他城市、开展不同区域城市的对比、找准发展目标与识别存在问题等方面提供重要支撑。     

Magnetic history of a dyke on Mount Etna (Sicily)

During the 1989 eruption of Mount Etna, two fracture systems, trending c. N45°E and N150°E, opened at the foot of its 3000 m high SE Crater and propagated quickly downslope to distances of ≈3 and 7 km, respectively. The northeastern fracture fed a flank eruption, whereas the southeastern fracture remained dry and offered contrasting volcanological and geophysical evidence of the presence of magma at a shallow depth. During the opening of this non-eruptive fracture system, a differential magnetic network was set up on a short profile across its distant extremity. Initially, the magnetic field did not display any change along the profile between frequent surveys. However, repeated measurements at intervals of about 3 months for two years revealed the slow build-up of a 130 nT anomaly. The anomaly vanishes laterally within 0.2 km of the surface expression of the fracture system. This exceptional set of observations constrains the location and time of cooling of a shallow dyke. The increase in magnetization of the dyke inferred by the rate of growth of the anomaly leads to the interpretation that the dyke was emplaced near the end of the eruption.     

Prospects of multifunctional agriculture as a facilitator of sustainable rural development: Swedish experience of Pillar 2 of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

Agriculture remains one of the dominant activities in rural areas across the European Union (EU), not least in respect of land use and its impact on landscapes. The Agenda 2000 reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) introduced rural development as an integrated part of agricultural policy. The present study focuses on the second pillar of CAP. Multifunctional farming, more than any other rural activity, has a role to play in integrating the natural environment with the cultural landscape and socio-economic development. The question of how multifunctional agriculture can facilitate sustainable rural development is addressed in terms of mechanisms and inherent possibilities. Results from a case study in Östergötland in Sweden are discussed in relation to five other European case studies. Some main findings are that Pillar 2 has made it possible for rural inhabitants to continue living in rural areas and that the policies are effective in identifying and supporting new opportunities for farm diversification. The traditional agricultural landscape can be seen as a key component in various diversification activities in rural areas, contributing to economic as well as social and environmental sustainability.     

面向可持续发展的水—能源—粮食纽带关系系统解析及其研究框架

水资源、能源、粮食安全是实现可持续发展的重要支撑,与可持续发展各目标存在紧密联系。论文基于水—能源—粮食纽带关系(WEF nexus)系统相关的理论、方法与应用等最新研究成果,根据研究对象的时空尺度,考虑系统物质、能量、信息交换,重新解析了WEF nexus系统的定义与组成、内部相互作用过程、输入与输出、影响因素;阐明了气候变化对水、能源、粮食3个子系统及其纽带关系,以及不同类别人类活动对WEF nexus系统的正面和负面影响。进一步分析了水、能源、粮食与可持续发展目标的关联性,以“研究主题—学科理论—技术方法—实践应用”为主线,提出了面向可持续发展的WEF nexus系统研究框架及其3个核心研究内容：WEF nexus系统内部纽带关系和总体状态评估、系统变化的驱动因素识别和系统的外部性影响分析。最后,针对WEF nexus系统跨学科分析的需求,基于纽带关系的理论研究与应用不足的现状、系统时空边界的多样性特点,剖析了多学科交叉与融合研究的具体思路;提出了基于纽带关系的综合性分析指标与计算方法的研究设想;指出了多尺度研究成果耦合应用的必要性和方式。研究可为WEF nexus系统的基础理论...     

Curbing enthusiasm for Brazilian agribusiness: The use of actor-specific assessments to transform sustainable development on the ground

Current enthusiasm for the potential of sustainable agricultural development must be based on a realistic assessment of the dynamics used by specific farming sectors. This study highlights the structural limitations that impede agricultural progress and explains why it is necessary to overcome these impediments in a case study of Brazil, one of the world's main agricultural exporters. In Brazil, the commodity-exporter large-farmers production chain is largely controlled by multinational corporations, with the investment of national capital a mere 12.4% in the technology-intensive sectors of the soy business (composed of seed production, fertilizers, pesticides, machinery, trading companies). The agricultural sector's future depends on increasing the share of national capital into domestic businesses and confronting the current and simplistic strategy of expansion into new agricultural frontiers, which often have high social and environmental costs. The future of family farmers depends on comprehensive development alternatives and challenging the current policies, since current development has been restricted to the 17.9% of family farmers who have access to rural credit, whom are mostly based in the Southern region of Brazil.     

资源型城市的生态环境问题与综合整治--以济宁市为例

在对资源型城市可持续发展中面临的普遍性生态环境问题进行分析的基础上,结合济宁市的实例,对济宁市生态环境现状进行评估,并采用库茨涅茨曲线拟合分析,进而对济宁市生态环境进行预测。根据预测结果,提出了生态环境综合整治的重点。结果认为,济宁市生态环境问题比较严重,体现在煤烟型空气污染突出、水污染严重、采煤塌陷地日趋扩大、整体生态环境脆弱等,这些问题将直接影响其经济发展的可持续性。济宁市应以采煤塌陷地的综合整治为突破口,加大生态环境治理力度,科学划分生态功能区,因区进行生态保护与管制,做好资源型城市生态环境建设的试验与示范,构建生态型产业体系,使其自然生态系统更有效地支撑经济、社会的可持续发展。     

湿地环境质量监测评价体系构建研究

以可持续发展理论、环境生态学、景观生态学等科学理论为指导,应用"3S"技术和地面观测技术相结合的方法,结合对我国湿地环境质量监测研究的历史与现状,以国内主要湿地类型区的监测信息为平台,共筛选出了湿地景观状况、湿地生物状况、湿地非生物状况、湿地规模等4大类,共计19个监测评价指标,应用层次分析法(AHP),在咨询专家意见的基础上,利用T.L.Saaty的标度法,建立了符合我国国情的湿地环境质量监测的评价指标体系,研究成果可评价全国范围内的湿地环境质量变化规律和发展趋势,为我国的湿地评价、保护和管理工作提供依据。     

基于能值分析的城市可持续发展水平与经济增长关系研究——以泉州市为例

城市作为一定区域的中心,在区域经济社会发展中起着举足轻重的作用,如何实现城市的可持续发展,也一直是地理学人地关系研究的热点问题。针对当前城市可持续发展研究中忽视其动态机制的现状,以泉州市为例,在运用能值分析法对可持续发展水平进行定量测度的基础上,通过构建可持续发展库兹涅茨曲线模型(SDKC)对泉州市的城市可持续发展水平与经济增长之间的动态关系进行分析,并运用改进的灰色斜率关联度模型对曲线成因进行了讨论。研究结果表明:泉州城市可持续发展水平与经济增长间存在先降后升的U型SDKC关系;城市可持续发展水平与经济规模,第二、三产业比重,出口依存度和政府影响力呈负相关,与第一产业比重、广义技术减排、外商投资呈正相关,并据此提出一些政策建议。     

Eco-economic evolution, emergy evaluation and policy options for the sustainable development of Tibet

l introductionTibet-the name alone conjures up visions of mystery and fantasy, visions of spirituality, exotic andmysticism. On the face of it this cloud of mystery was not surprising. Because of its geographicalisolation and lack of roads and modem communication netWorks for so many years, just line manymountain areas of China, Tibet escaped, for most part, the development opportUnities in the world duringthe 18th and 19th centUries, and almost half of the 20th centUry. In 1950 Tibet was a…     

Review article: Silt and the future development of China's Yellow River

Silt loading is a critical problem in the use of the Yellow River for irrigation, domestic, and industrial water supplies. Nearly all of the silt comes in runoff from the immense and highly erodible Loess Plateau. Salinity has a secondary but widespread effect on irrigation development and groundwater quality. Engineering structures and expanded irrigation have reduced the silt load in the lower reach of the river by half over the last 50 years. Still, the level of the river bed continues to rise higher above the surrounding North China Plain. Millions of rural and urban lives are threatened by the possibility that an embankment will break and unleash a horrendous flood, as had happened numerous times prior to 1949. Earthquakes could cause similar castrophes. Increased populations in cities, expansion of irrigated land, and rapid industrialization have brought about locally severe water shortages. This, in turn, has led to surface and groundwater pollution by salt and heavy metals, lowering of groundwater levels, land subsidence, and salt water intrusion from the Bo Sea. Interbasin water transfers from the Yangtze River in the south to relieve water shortages in the north have been proposed for decades but remain controversial. The high cost of dams, canals, tunnels, pumping, and water control systems needed for the transfer has been a major objection. Other factors have been the adverse environmental impact in both the Yellow and Yangtze river watersheds of transfers and, importantly, the questionable need of the transfers if water conservation practices were used widely and effectively.