Policy narratives, landholder engagement, and oil palm expansion on the Malaysian and Indonesian frontiers

Over recent decades a structural transformation has affected agriculture in the frontier areas of Malaysian Borneo and Outer Island Indonesia with the rapid conversion of agricultural lands, fallows, and formerly forested areas into oil palm. These frontiers have similar positions in the international political economy of oil palm and have complementary resource endowments. In both cases, state planners face the common challenges of finding a disciplined labour force, delivering land for estate development, maintaining local legitimacy, and dealing with local contestation. Yet there are significant differences in systems of governance and policy frameworks regarding land, shifting capacity of state actors to facilitate the transformation of these agrarian frontiers, and changing degrees of local, national and international contestation. Considering the generic and the specific elements at play in each case, this paper argues that analogous policy narratives have shaped the ways in which landholders have been engaged in the process of oil palm expansion in Malaysia and Indonesia. In both cases, with the shift from state-led to neoliberal governance approaches to agricultural development, the 'frontier' has been created and transformed through policy narratives that facilitate the conversion of whole landscapes into oil palm. This has been achieved by obscuring indigenous forms of agriculture and land tenure, while creating reserves of available 'state' or 'idle' customary land, and counterpoising smallholder 'marginality' and 'backwardness' to the modernity of contemporary estate agriculture.     

Assessment of coastal vulnerability to environmental change in Jiangsu coastal plain

Assessment of coastal vulnerability to future environmental change has been emphasized in coastal nations or regions. The Jiangsu coastal plain, located to the north of the Yangtze River Delta in China, is most vulnerable to sea level rise and exacerbating coastal hazards. This paper develops the method of delimiting vulnerable scope and assessing coastal vulnerability through field observations and sampling and by applying remote sensing and GIS, which are suitable for great river delta and coastal plains with large area, relative complex micro-geomorphology and the protection of seawall. Applying this method, the coastal vulnerability of the Jiangsu coastal plain to relative sea level rise (approximately 50 cm up to the year 2050) and exacerbating storm surges have been assessed. The results show that, up to the year 2050, the Jiangsu coastal plain will probably lose 12.8 % of tidal flats (about 5.8×104 hm2) and 7.9 % of cultivated land (about 7.2×104 hm2). Meanwhile, 2.0 % of population, 3.8 % of original value of fixed assets, 3.2% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), 40.3 % of salt industry and 5.8 % of aquiculture respectively will be affected due to coastal environmental change.     

Assessment of coastal vulnerability to environmental change in Jiangsu coastal plain

1 IntroductionCoastal areas, with dense population and high urbanization, are highly sensitive to global environmental change. The impacts of coastal environmental changes, such as sea level rise and related disasters exacerbation on socio-economic development of coastal areas, have become a matter of public concern. To study the vulnerable scope and degree of impacts of sea level rise and related exacerbating coastal hazards can provide a scientific basis for lessening the potential losses th…     

Investigating the Waterfront: The Entangled Sociomaterial Transformations of Coastal Space in Karnataka,India

Triggered by urbanization and changing land use, coastal transformation is a rapidly increasing phenomenon in the global south, driving dramatic livelihoods impacts. However, the existing literature on small-scale fisheries (SSF) has paid little attention to the way coastal transformations shape conditions for SSF livelihoods communities. This study proposes a new orientation in SSF studies by exploring the assemblage of entangled sociomaterial processes that account for coastal transformations by investigating waterfront transformation in a fishing community in Karnataka, India. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, we conclude that an entanglement of sociomaterial processes produces unequal outcomes among stakeholders that subsequently reinforce the political and economic marginalization of certain groups of waterfront users. Moreover, the investigated context-specific waterfront assemblage intimately connects to the broader context of national fishery policy, urbanization, and tourism, directing the way coastal space can and should be transformed. Such an analysis contributes to the understanding of changing livelihoods in SSF communities.     

The state and its agencies in coastal resources management: The political ecology of fisheries management in Pattani, southern Thailand

Various stakeholders contribute to the current state of resource management in the inshore fisheries of Pattani, southern Thailand. Taking the state, empowered by national legislation, as the main agent of enforcement, this paper uses an actor-oriented approach derived from political ecology to evaluate how key agents in state agencies at provincial and district levels translate Thai political and legal systems at the local level; more specifically, how cross-scalar institutional linkages and translations affect coastal resources management and the access of village-based, small-scale fishermen to coastal resources. The paper shows that trans-scalar interpretations have created a space of contestation and negotiation in resource governance at the local level that reveals intrastate tensions. Based on extensive fieldwork, the paper demonstrates that access to environmental resources at the local level is highly influenced or regulated by the unequal power relations between different actors at various levels.     

The management challenge posed by marine dispersal of terrestrial plants in coastal dune systems

Abstract:    Marine dispersal provides a mechanism for introduced plants to invade coastal systems. Regular surveillance is essential for management of marine dispersed weeds. This paper outlines the biological, physical and management dimensions of this coastal issue in New Zealand.     

区位和管理政策对海岸带土地利用变化的影响--以昌黎黄金海岸地区为例

本文在RS和GIS支持下研究了河北昌黎黄金海岸地区1985年至2000年的土地利用变化格局及其影响因子。该区域的海岸区位对海岸带土地利用变化具有重要影响作用,近岸带变化较剧烈,远岸带变化较小,且具有不同的变化特点。海岸带管理政策对土地利用变化的程度和特征存在重要影响,开发区土地利用变化较剧烈,其变化类型受开发方式及其目标影响;保护区主要是大片沙丘转变为林地和草地。     

Multi-decadal coastal change in New Zealand: Evidence, mechanisms and implications

Abstract:   Coastal research and monitoring on New Zealand beaches have typically examined seasonal and event-driven (storms) changes in the coast. However, historical records are now of sufficient length to indicate that change occurs at longer timescales. This paper presents examples of multi-decadal change at three case-study locations around New Zealand. Results show that morphological adjustment of the coast occurs at multi-decadal scales and is much larger than short-term dynamics. Physical mechanisms driving changes are ill defined but may be associated with El Niños and La Niña episodes which modulate waves and sea level, as well as changes in sediment supply.     

海岸横向沙脊的移动与形态变化——以河北昌黎黄金海岸横向沙脊为例

采用RTKGPS测量技术与方法,2006～2008年连续三年共9次对我国海岸沙丘主要分布区域之一的河北昌黎黄金海岸翡翠岛的一个典型海岸横向沙脊进行了三个横剖面的高精度观测。海岸横向沙脊高程、断面及其典型位置的观测结果表明,观测期间海岸横向沙脊脊顶和背风坡坡脚夏秋季东移、冬春季节西移,脊顶总体向西移动,年均最大移距1．8...     

海岸沙丘系统脆弱性评价研究进展与展望

海岸沙丘系统脆弱性评价揭示海岸沙丘系统脆弱性的基本特征,为海岸沙丘保护与利用提供重要依据,是海岸沙丘研究近期备受关注的一个重要方面。论文基于国内外海岸沙丘系统脆弱性评价研究相关概念、发展历程、评价指标及技术方法等的回顾,概括了其在概念内涵深化、指标体系完善、脆弱性因子辨识、技术方法发展以及评价结果应用等方面的主要进展;并针对当前概念定义难以共识、指标体系争议较大、评价方法存在局限性和理论基础略显薄弱等研究不足,提出明晰相关概念、完善指标体系、改进评价方法、强化机理研究及增强趋势研判等海岸沙丘系统脆弱性近期研究的主要方向。     

印度尼西亚华人对该国社会经济进步的贡献

本文简要剖析了在荷兰殖民统治、经济民族化以及后民族化等各时时期印度尼西亚（以下简称印尼）华人经济的发展;论述了华人族群为当地社会进步及经济繁荣所作重大贡献。论文阐明华人自成为印尼公民,就已认同当地;强调华人经济是当地民族经济不可替代的组成部分;指出赋予印尼华人族群少数民族资格及民族平等权益,尊重和保护印尼华人合法地位对当地社会稳定和经济发展的重要性。     

The Implementation and Sustainability of Village Conservation Agreements Around Kerinci Seblat National Park,Indonesia

We investigated the implementation and sustainability of village conservation agreements and village conservation grants facilitated by an integrated conservation and development project (ICDP) around the Kerinci Seblat National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia, 5 years after the project closed. Forty-three percent of agreement actions (n = 180) and 30% of grant activities (n = 74) were sustained. Informants identified numerous factors influencing success, but statistical tests failed to detect simple explanations. Conservation-livelihood agreements have a greater chance of success when preexisting factors are understood and the purpose of the agreement itself is clearly defined.     

中国沿海地区快速城市化过程中的农村发展

The sustainability of regional rural development depends on the integrated status and the coordination between rural resources-environment conditions and rural socioeconomic development. In this paper a diagnostic indicator system is proposed to appraise four representative rural development models such as Mentougou model, Taicang model, Yueqing model and Qionghai model in the eastern coastal region of China from the integrated perspective of population, resources, environment, and development. In conclusion, the formation and evolution of these diverse rural development models are the direct response to the very different characteristics in the environment, market demand, and regional culture. These models are common in that their sustainability depends on the scientific guidance of the regional development functional positioning, strong intra-regional interactions, and self-adaptability to the external conditions.     

Appraisal of typical rural development models during rapid urbanization in the eastern coastal region of China

The sustainability of regional rural development depends on the integrated status and the coordination between rural resources-environment conditions and rural socioeconomic development. In this paper a diagnostic indicator system is proposed to appraise four representative rural development models such as Mentougou model, Taicang model, Yueqing model and Qionghai model in the eastern coastal region of China from the integrated perspective of population, resources, environment, and development. In conclusion, the formation and evolution of these diverse rural development models are the direct response to the very different characteristics in the environment, market demand, and regional culture. These models are common in that their sustainability depends on the scientific guidance of the regional development functional positioning, strong intra-regional interactions, and self-adaptability to the external conditions.     

气候变化背景下中国沿海地区灾害风险研究与应对思考

沿海地区是城市化水平较高的区域,在全球气候变化背景下,该地区极端天气气候事件频发,灾害风险日益加大,已严重制约了该地区社会经济的可持续发展.论文立足气候变化背景,探讨沿海地区灾害风险变化的新特点,认为:当前极端天气气候灾害的发生仍具较大的不确实性,气候与灾害在时空尺度上呈现多样性变化特征,各气象灾害风险存在较大差异性,...     

江苏海岸侵蚀过程及其趋势

江苏省侵蚀海岸的总长度为 30 1 7km ,分为 4段 :废黄河三角洲海岸、港海岸、吕四海岸以及海州湾的沙质海岸。各段海岸侵蚀原因不同。废黄河三角洲海岸是因黄河改道失去泥沙来源 ;吕四与港海岸则因辐射沙洲调整过程中滨岸水道的向岸移动造成的 ;而北部沙岸则是因人类活动 (上游建设水库及开挖海滩沙 )的干扰。江苏海岸是一个沉积物准封闭系统 ,全球性海平面上升将加剧这一侵蚀过程 ,预计未来侵蚀海岸的长度将增加 ,辐射沙洲区的外围沙洲将因侵蚀而向中心区退缩。一些目前是隐型侵蚀的岸段将向显性侵蚀的阶段发展。由于连云港到长江口北支的岸段是软性海岸 ,缺乏硬质节点 ,在没有建造大型人工设施的前提下 ,估计江苏海岸动态及制定开发规划时必须考虑平直化的大趋势。     

Transnational Migration and the Gender Politics of Scale: Indonesian Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia

Recent research has begun to explore the dynamics of transnational migration from a feminist perspective, and studies of migrant domestic workers have played a prominent role in pushing forward this work. Emerging simultaneously, but largely separately, are explicit debates within geography about the politics of scale, the social construction of scale, and the gender dimensions of scale. This article develops an analysis of the gender politics of the production of scale, specifically, the ‘transnationalisation’ of Indonesian activist approaches to overseas migrant domestic workers' issues. Based on fieldwork in an Indonesian community in West Java that has recently become a sending area for migrants to Saudi Arabia and interviews with activists representing Indonesian migrant women, the article examines the various gender‐specific ways in which migrant women's rights activists construct and deploy the scales of the body, the nation and the transnational. It argues that activist approaches to migrant domestic workers' rights and the ways in which activists mobilise migrant women's narratives represent sophisticated feminist theoretical approaches to scale. By identifying and exploring the scale theory embedded in activist strategies, the analysis highlights the imbrication of feminist theory with practice, and underscores activists' agency in producing the meanings of specific scales. In so doing, the article is aimed more broadly at elaborating the ambivalent relationship between feminist activism/theory and transnationalism.     

四川海螺沟旅游对当地农村经济和环境效应研究

旅游是合理开发并保护资源、发展农村经济的重要途径。海螺沟冰川森林公园是我国西南地区山区具有代表性的旅游开发景点之一。以问卷调查为主要数据来源，参考政府部门相关资料，以自然资源的可持续利用以及农民生活的可持续性为研究内容，探讨了在旅游开发过程中带来的一些正面以及负面影响，并对资源的优化管理模式和地方的可持续发展提出了建议。结论表明，旅游开发在对地方基础建设、经济发展起到重要带动作用的同时，对于当地农民没有带来明显的经济增收；当地农民受旅游开发的影响较小，就业机会与增收渠道有限；旅游开发带来的一些负面影响和农民薄弱的环境意识，仍然是当地生态环境巨大的潜在威胁；自然资源的合理开发与保护，农民生活水平的可持续发展，还有待于进一步改善资源管理和利益分配模式；旅游开发的可持续性需要加强管理部门与当地农民之间的信息交流。     

中国沿海地区农户对新农村建设响应的区域差异(英文)

To tackle the issues concerning agriculture,farmers,and rural areas,the central government of China initiated a new strategy called ’new countryside construction’ in 2005.For better understanding its actual effect,this paper analyzes the regional diversity of peasant household response to this new countryside construction strategy based on Kruskal-Wallis H test and sampling survey data from 586 households in the Bohai Rim Region (BRR),Yangtze River Delta Region (YDR),and Pan Pearl River Delta Region (PPR).The result indicates that regional diversity in eastern coastal China (ECC) does exist in the form of recognized priority sequence,policy requirements,expected policy effects,and behavior response.As a result of the deviation between local policy practice and households’ inherent demand,peasants fulfill their de facto demand via individual effort instead of government aid,and therefore the new countryside construction fails to carry out the expected target.It thus needs to shift the current policy priority,ensure the peasants’ mainstay role,and formulate scientific ’Rules for new countryside construction’.     

辽宁沿海经济带产业分工研究

为反映区域产业分工现状,利用变异系数与空间洛伦茨曲线、空间基尼系数相结合,在产品层次上,对辽宁沿海经济带产业分工现状进行定量研究并提出相应的协调发展建议。结果表明：辽宁沿海经济带农业和采掘业依据自身比较优势发展相应产业,产业分工较为明确;制造业在行业层次存在同构现象,但在产品层次上,各地差异化发展明显,区域产业分工逐步显现;第三产业内部结构亟待调整,其中基础服务业与个人消费服务业发展较为完善,但生产和市场服务业中的金融、物流和专业技术服务业与公共服务业中的公共管理服务业发展相对滞后,影响工业化进程的推进与产业结构的升级。在此基础上,针对各产业分工结果,提出相应的协调发展建议。