From Lightning Rod to Community Asset? The Creation of a Protected Area in Northern California and its Evolving Relationship to a Nearby Community

Researchers have described shifting relationships between communities and Protected Areas (PAs), from excluding communities to consultative relationships to participatory models. This research focuses on a PA created on formerly industrial timberland that was the focus of conflict between environmental activists and the timber industry. In a nearby formerly timber-dependent community, we assessed community use and support of the PA, and its perceived purposes and benefits, through a survey of residents and interviews with key stakeholders. Despite intense conflict surrounding its creation, we found support for the PA, and our case suggests a new possible relationship between PAs and communities, which is mitigating and helping to resolve natural resource conflict. We also found that community well-being benefits of the PA were unclear; we suggest that PA management should include cultural, economic, and historical context in objectives and interpretive materials; and should work to create economic opportunities connected to the PA.     

Promoting the Nexus Approach of Climate,Ecosystems and Livelihoods in Africa through China-Africa Cooperation

Africa is facing both challenges and opportunities in pursuing sustainability. The nexus approach of Climate, Ecosystems and Livelihoods (CEL) is a promising way to seize the “power of integration” for achieving sustainability of the African continent. Based on taking stock of the work of various organizations especially the United Nations Environment Programme International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP) in the Africa, this article explores the demands and opportunities for delivering the CEL approach in Africa and provides perspectives on how to promote it in the framework of China-Africa cooperation in future. It concludes that Africa is one of the focal regions in the delivery of the CEL nexus approach; UNEP-IEMP has launched several major initiatives that lay the foundation for delivering the nexus approach of CEL in Africa; however, more ambitious cooperation should be taken through a broad China-Africa partnership, based on existing institutions, networks and ongoing programmes in both Africa and China, to support future China-Africa cooperation on the nexus approach of CEL.     

A Systematic Review of the Socioeconomic Factors that Influence How Marine Protected Areas Impact on Ecosystems and Livelihoods

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are among the most widely accepted methods of marine management. MPAs are not, however, always placed such that they can maximize impact on conservation and livelihoods. Current MPA guidelines fall short in focusing primarily on biophysical criteria, overlooking interrelated socioeconomic factors. We identified 32 socioeconomic factors that influence whether MPA placement has an impact on biodiversity and/or livelihoods and weighted the quality of evidence using a novel “Evidence for Impact” Score. Results suggest that stakeholder engagement, poverty, population density, and strong leadership have most potential to positively impact biodiversity and/or livelihoods, but the direction of impact (i.e., positive or negative) can be context-dependent. We found a generally poor evidence base for impact evaluation of socioeconomic factors: though some factors were highly cited, few studies actually evaluate impact. Results indicate the need for a more interdisciplinary approach to MPA placement and more empirical studies that assess impact.     

The Development of Wildlife Community Conservancies in Kenya: A Preliminary Review

The significance of biodiversity conservation has transformed from a concern for conservation of endangered species and landscapes into an increasingly diverse yet comprehensive set of conservation, social and economic development goals. Community conservancy, a powerful extension of the PA system, has great potential to support biodiversity conservation, poverty eradication and conflict mitigation. Based on its policy environment and development characteristics, Kenya has implemented community conservation practices, and established over 160 conservancies across the country in the past decades. This paper reviews the development and experiences of community conservancies, discusses how they have been implemented in Kenya, and looks at the management paradigm, efficacy and challenges to help better understand the community conservancy approach. The development trajectory and lessons these conservancies have to offer can contribute to the sustainable utilization of natural resources and the enhancement of community wellbeing in Kenya and other countries alike.     

中国灾害风险与贫困互相关效应的理论分析与实证研究

在全球自然灾害频发和贫困长期且不均衡展布的背景下,灾害风险与贫困的联结成为学术界和利益相关者关注的焦点。基于自然灾害风险管理和社会-生态韧性评估的基本原理,系统论述了灾害致贫和贫困致险的作用机理与驱动路径,这种互相关效应称为灾害风险-贫困的“羁绊”;基于中国31个省（自治区、市）2010—2019年的面板数据,运用计量经济学回归分析方法,以证实减轻灾害风险和扶贫脱贫在省域尺度上存在双向加持的作用。结果表明：（1） 较高的致灾因子危险性、承灾体暴露性和脆弱性及复杂的灾害风险情景引发了人员伤亡、资产破坏和经济损失等多重负面影响,最终导致和加剧了经济、机会、能力和文化的多维度贫困;贫困群体农业生计和家庭资产的高暴露性和低韧性放大和累积了灾害风险。（2） 中国在脱贫攻坚和全面建设小康社会的进程中,减灾扶贫和脱贫降险的循环效应显著,籍此带来了乡村振兴、治理现代化等战略的属性加持。（3） 贫困致险的机制较为隐性且主要显现于广布型灾害风险情景,对其无视或轻视可能带来投资减灾失效、学科范式陷阱和不可持续发展等诸多后果。研究结果可为中国的减灾和扶贫协同发展提供理论依据和现实证据,并为贯彻落实经济、政治、文化、社会和生态文明建设“五位一体”战略,实现“双碳”目标和应对全球气候变化提供智力支撑。     

Rural and urban livelihoods,social exclusion and social protection in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This paper shows that with the decline of overall poverty, the concern for rising or persisting inequalities and the need for a transformative social protection, the capacity of countering social exclusion and promoting social justice also becomes increasingly relevant to urbanizing sub-Saharan Africa. It is argued that several parts of sub-Saharan Africa are likely to move towards pro-poor urbanization and show emerging changes in rural and urban livelihoods. Then, the practice of social protection programmes along the rural–urban continuum in sub-Saharan Africa is examined extensively in order to determine whether these practices align with emerging changes in livelihoods and tackle social exclusion in a transformative way. It is found that the livelihoods of the poor are enhanced and that social inclusion has increased. However, social protection’s adaptation to emerging changes in rural and urban livelihoods is still poor, and so is social protection’s capacity to tackle social exclusion in a transformative way. It is concluded that transformative social protection would require more structural interventions through empowering pressure on the state and innovative decentralization from the top.     

东非油气资源开发的历史透视与现状解析

东非油气资源开发始于一战前,二战后出现第一个勘探高峰期。随着冷战结束,东非油气资源开发的力度不断加大,国际能源公司纷纷入驻。在中小型能源公司的积极开拓下,于2006年以后相继取得重大勘探成果。东非油气资源已呈现出分布广、储量大的特点,并吸引一批国际大型能源公司的投资,加快了能源产业的发展,推动了能源立法的建设。随着东非在全球能源版图中地位的凸显,地区外大国在该地区的博弈也日趋激烈。东非各国则获得发展的新机遇,并将推进地区一体化进程。然而,若东非各国不能妥善处理政府能力问题、腐败问题、经济结构问题、利益分配问题、恐怖主义问题等,将有可能陷入"资源诅咒"的陷阱中。     

旅游地社会-生态系统适应性研究进展

适应性思想和方法因符合生物多样性保护要求,对实现旅游地社会-生态系统可持续发展和改善旅游地社区生计具有重要意义,业已成为学术界关注的焦点。在对旅游地社会-生态系统适应性研究文献系统分析基础上,从研究尺度、研究对象、评估方法和分析框架4个方面进行了详细的梳理与评述,研究发现:①研究尺度宏观微观相结合,以小尺度研究居多,中尺度研究需加强,研究对象需要多维度融合;②研究结合多角度框架分析,主要包括"脆弱性-适应性""恢复力-可持续性"和"恢复力-适应性"3种类型,促进多元化评估方法在旅游地社会-生态系统适应性研究中的应用;③研究思路和研究内容需综合多学科领域进一步拓展。     

中国农户可持续生计研究进展及趋向

开展农户可持续生计研究,对于解决农村贫困问题,促进农村社会经济可持续发展具有重要意义。在查阅大量相关文献的基础上,本文首先阐述了可持续生计的概念,并对国外农户可持续生计研究概况进行了简介;然后从生计资产(资本)研究、生计脆弱性分析、生计策略研究、政策、机构和过程对农户生计影响研究、农户生计与生态环境的相互关系研究等5 个方面对近年来国内农户生计的主要研究进展进行了归纳总结。最后,提出了中国农户可持续生计研究的主要趋向:跨学科综合性、系统性研究,新技术方法的综合与动态研究,农户可持续生计与贫困问题研究,城乡转型期农户可持续生计研究,重点区域的农户可持续生计研究。     

Localization and characterization of populations vulnerable to climate change: Two case studies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Future climate change potentially can have a strong impact on the African continent. Of special concern are the effects on food security and the restricted adaptive capacity of Africa's poverty stricken population. Targeted policy interventions are, therefore, of vital importance. While there is a broad consensus on selection of climate and agricultural indicators, a coherent spatial representation of the populations' vulnerability is still subject to debate, basically because important drivers at household and institutional level are captured at the coarser (sub)-national level only. This paper aims to address this shortcoming by capitalizing on available spatially explicit information on households, food security institutions and natural resources to identify and characterize vulnerable groups in climate change prone areas of East and West Africa. First, we identify and localize groups with varying degrees of vulnerability, using food security and health indicators from georeferenced household surveys. Second, we characterize these vulnerable groups using statistical techniques that report on the frequency of occurrence of household characteristics, social bonding, remittances and agro-ecological endowments. Third we localize areas where climate change conditions affect production of major staple crops even after a maximum adaptation of crop rotations. Fourth, we characterize the vulnerable groups in the climate change affected areas and compare their profiles with the overall assessment to elucidate whether generic or climate change targeted policies are required. Since climate change will impact predominantly on agricultural production, our analysis focuses on the rural areas. For West Africa, we find that vulnerable groups in areas likely to be affected by climate change do not fundamentally differ from vulnerable groups in the study area in general. However, in East Africa there are remarkable differences between these groups which leads to the conclusion that in this part of Africa, poverty reducing strategies for climate change affected areas should differ from generic ones.     

Calling for Nexus Approach: Introduction of the Flagship Programme on Climate,Ecosystems and Livelihoods

The United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) launched at the end of 2016 a decade-long (2016-2025) flagship programme on Climate, Ecosystems and Livelihoods (CEL), with the aim to assist developing countries in delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate targets while protecting their ecosystems and improving the livelihoods of their people. The CEL programme is a major initiative supported by China and other developing countries to promote long-term South-South cooperation, led by the United Nations Environment Programme International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP). This article presents the conceptual framework and implementation strategy of the CEL programme, which were proposed through consultations between UN Environment, Chinese and international experts. Within the conceptual framework, the CEL programme will 1) focus its work on the nexus of climate change, ecosystem services and sustainable livelihoods as the primary priority; 2) encourage cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder cooperation, enhance interdisciplinary research, and strive for breakthroughs that cross disciplinary boundaries; 3) provide four types of services and products—monitoring and assessment, capacity building, technology demonstration, and science for policy through mainly South-South cooperation; and 4) have far-reaching impacts on delivering SDGs and climate targets in vulnerable developing countries. The CEL programme is going to be implemented in a strategic way through a set of related projects and initiatives. More particularly, it will 1) focus on fragile ecosystems like drylands, mountains, river basins and coastal zones in Asia, Africa and other key regions along the Belt and Road, in the early stage and expand to include some other regions at a later stage; 2) take a three-phase approach, including Phase I, Kick -off (2016-2018), Phase II, Development (2019-2021), and Phase III, Scaling-up (2022-2025); and 3) draw on the globally relevant knowledge, expertise and other resources of a substantial network of partners. So far, UNEP-IEMP has developed more than twenty projects and initiatives in the regions along the Belt and Road, especially in Africa and the Greater Mekong Subregion, which lay a solid foundation for the implementation of CEL programme in its first phase.     

易地扶贫搬迁对西藏迁入村不同农牧户生计的影响（英文）

作为精准扶贫战略的重大举措——易地扶贫搬迁规划在“十三五”时期（2016–2020年）成功搬迁贫困人口近1000万人。本文基于联合国2030年可持续发展目标,利用西藏易地扶贫的迁入村白郎村的农牧户调研数据,建立了面向农牧户生计和村落可持续发展的综合评价指标体系。该指标体系从生活水平、生计资产、生计策略三个方面定量分析不同农牧户群体生计在搬迁前后发生的变化。研究结果表明：搬迁有助于提高农牧户的生活水平,使生计策略类型丰富;随着搬迁年限的增加,农牧户生活水平稳步上升,尤其在消除贫困方面（SDG1）提升接近100%。搬迁影响搬迁群体的生计策略的选择,搬迁前的纯农户在搬迁后选择了更多元的生计策略方式,并且全村的非农工作比例（SDG8）上升。从村落可持续发展的角度来看,村落可持续发展的各项指标稳定增长,同时对原住民生计影响较小。结果表明易地扶贫搬迁政策在这个地区初步实施较为成功,主要归因于迁入村自然条件较好,政府对搬迁群众进行了物资以及工作方面的扶持。本研究能为后续提高村落可持续性、提高村民生计水平提供政策优化的方向。     

非洲外商直接投资的时空变化与影响因素

基于2006—2017年非洲52个国家FDI数据以及其经济、政治、资源等数据,运用泰尔指数和面板数据固定效应模型对非洲外商直接投资的时空变化与影响因素进行研究。研究结果表明：1）非洲FDI流入量整体呈现出波动上升的趋势,其中北非呈现下降趋势,西非和中非呈现出波动上升的趋势,东非的上升趋势相对稳定且强势,南部非洲地区波动变化显著,趋势不明显;随着非洲经济发展,五大区域中北非和西非的FDI流入量最多,呈现出“两强三弱”的区域分布格局。2）非洲FDI总体差异呈现出缓慢上升趋势,年际变化呈现出“减—增—减”的波动;影响FDI总体差异的主要因素是区域内部差异,西非、南部非洲和中非区域内部的差异尤为明显,其中西非内部差异贡献最大。3）经济社会环境因素整体上对非洲FDI影响有限,但局部对西非影响较大;经济发展水平对东非、南非的外资流入起着积极作用,而对西非起着抑制作用;对外开放度对西非起着消极影响;聚集效应对西非、中非、北非的作用有限。政治制度因素整体上对非洲外资具有显著的作用,但局部对北非和东非作用有限。资源禀赋因素总体上是外企对非洲区位选择的决定性因素,但局部对北非和东非影响不大。基础设施因素总体上对非洲大陆FDI的流入量影响不大,但对南部非洲地区除外。     

Poverty and prosperity among Sama Bajo fishing communities (Southeast Sulawesi,Indonesia)

Over recent decades, sustained economic growth in Indonesia has lifted many millions of Indonesians out of poverty. But despite these developments, 28 per cent of the population still live below the official poverty line and many more remain vulnerable to falling into poverty. Coastal and fishing communities represent some of the poorer populations across Indonesia, their livelihoods increasingly threatened by deleterious environmental impacts and overfishing. This paper draws on an analysis of household surveys from two Sama Bajo fishing settlements in coastal Southeast Sulawesi. A predominantly maritime language community, Sama Bajo livelihoods are shaped by seasonal patterns of fishing and marine based harvesting and trading. Using a modified poverty survey instrument, the paper explores comparative patterns of poverty and prosperity in these two communities with a focus on livelihood dynamics, seasonality effects, and the enduring patron‐client relationships that sustain their market‐oriented way of life. Key findings highlight the vulnerability of female headed households given the highly gendered access to fishing success, and the significance of relational co‐dependencies between patron‐client networks that sustain the current patterns of fishing livelihoods. The paper highlights the need for more focussed livelihood research among vulnerable populations in Indonesia and smallholder fishing communities in particular.     

PLACING KANGWANE IN THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA*

ABSTRACT. The South African homelands were central to the apartheid ideology of racial segregation and separate development and as a result became the location for large segments of the African population. Apartheid‐era theorizations of the homelands tended to emphasize their importance to the state, with less attention directed to the divergent and unique social formations that often existed within them. Recent geographical research has been intent on evaluating the spatial imprint of these geographies for resident populations, as well as the varied class, gendered, and institutional formations that accompanied the democratic transition. Using a case study from the former KaNgwane homeland, this article examines the diverse ways in which rural households access environmental and economic resources to produce livelihoods. It is argued that a focus on community variation is needed to interrogate the differential encounters of these places with the local politics and development processes that are emerging in the new South Africa.     

Spatio-temporal trends in precipitation and their implications for water resources management in climate-sensitive Nepal

As one of the world's most water-abundant countries Nepal has plenty of water, yet resources are unevenly distributed, both spatially and temporally. Limited accessibility and poorly managed water resources continue to inhibit socioeconomic development. Poverty levels are high across the nation (57% of the population lives below the international poverty line) and population expansion, coupled with rapid environmental change, is thought to be placing substantial pressure on water resources; an irrefutable asset for sustaining livelihoods and an essential contributing factor for alleviating poverty. Precipitation is a vital water resource for much of the rural population, 80% of which are dependent on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods, and fluctuations in which can give rise to changing states of poverty. Here we provide a comprehensive spatiotemporal analysis of precipitation time-series data for Nepal and discuss the contribution of precipitation change to water resources management for this land-locked Himalayan nation. We show that precipitation totals have predominantly remained stable; precipitation extremes and variability indicate widespread decrease; and no clear variation in monsoon onset date is reported. Based on these results, we suggest that water resources management needs to focus on population and environmental pressures, rather than specifically mitigating for precipitation change.     

西非海洋渔业资源非法捕捞现状和对策

海洋渔业(尤其是小型海洋渔业)为世界各地的沿海居民提供了重要的食物来源、就业、经济收入。西非临近海域是世界上海洋渔业资源最丰富的地区之一,在西非沿海地区数百万居民以捕鱼为生,然而,西非众多捕鱼区却是最贫穷的地区。在全球化不断推进的今天,非法捕捞已严重威胁到海洋生态系统安全。西非临近海域的非法捕捞问题尤为严峻。在整合相关文献资料的基础上,分析了非法捕捞的主要影响,并对西非地区的非法捕捞现状和问题进行了讨论,认为部分欧盟国家是非洲西部海洋渔业资源主要非法捕捞者,西方学者认为中国是西非地区主要的非法捕捞者是不符合事实的。非法捕捞的根本原因是持续的鱼类需求和捕捞活动缺乏控制。基于以上分析,提出了西非非法捕捞的应对措施,以期有助于解决西非非法捕捞问题。     

Preference for Grassland Heterogeneity: Implications for Biodiversity in the Great Plains

The Great Plains of the United States is a grassland region managed primarily for homogeneity associated with production agriculture. The resulting decline of obligate fauna makes enhancing biodiversity an increasingly important ecological goal. A survey was administered to land managers and the general population in ranching regions of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Texas Panhandle. This research explores the preferred characteristics of privately owned grasslands among ranchers and the general population for vegetation structure and biodiversity. Results indicate a knowledge gap between biodiversity and the vegetation heterogeneity required to support it. Preference for grassland structure is seen as a sociocultural driver of decisions on management practices that constrain adoption of heterogeneity management. Conserving biodiversity and enhancing ecosystem services provided by heterogeneous grasslands can be accomplished by demonstrating that conservation advantages of heterogeneity and production agriculture are compatible.     

Contribution of Community Forestry in Poverty Reduction: Case Study of Multiple Community Forests of Bajhang District,Nepal

In Nepal, nearly half of the total land is covered by forest, which holds a potentially important position in promoting rural livelihoods and in alleviating rural poverty. The rural landscape that encompasses an agrarian economy, a fragile ecology, and a complex and differentiated society is changing rapidly in Nepal today. Although poverty alleviation has been one of the top priorities for national development since 1976, poverty still remains widespread, persistent and it is also an acute problem in Nepal, where people are in a state of deprivation with regard to incomes, clothing, housing, healthcare, education, sanitary facilities and human rights. Thus, Nepal is considered as one of the poorest countries in South-Asia, with 25.2% people living below the poverty line. The objective of this study was to assess changes in poverty of forest users brought on by the community forestry program, in order to analyze the level of participation in community forestry management activities. For this study, Bajhang district was chosen as the study site, which is one of the poorest and most remote districts in the country of Nepal. Different Participatory Rural Appraisal methods such as face-to face interviews, focus group discussions and key informants’ interviews including secondary data were used to gather information. The findings showed that the forest users’ participation in meetings, discussion and other activities, like community forestry management or silvicultural operation related to community forestry, was high. The assessment found that 42.3%, 32.6% and 25.1% of respondents strongly agreed, agreed and were neutral, respectively, towards the idea that poverty reduction from community forests had occurred. The results showed almost all the respondents were depended upon agriculture and/or forest resources for their livelihoods. Different ecosystem services such as ethnomedicines, aesthetic value and ecotourism, control of soil erosion/land-slides, water recharge and soil fertility have increased due to the decomposition of leaf litter. This was apparent from the formulation of community forests. Poverty in rural areas of the country is still higher than in urban areas and the incidence of poverty is the highest in the Far western Province where this research was conducted, Therefore, the government, policy makers and other stakeholders should work hand-in-hand to effectively reduce the poverty that persists in Nepal.     

International Telephone Calls: Global and Regional Patterns

This study examines patterns in international telephone communications, documenting a close relationship between international call volume aggregated by nation and indicators of global connectivity including volume of international trade, tourism and migration. In addition, the analysis documents the existence of a set of national "communities" of callers. The clear orientation of large portions of the world to former colonial powers (e.g., West Africa and North Africa to France), and the separation of the Muslim Middle East and the Chinese-speaking nations of East and Southeast Asia from other calling communities suggest the importance of continuing historic and cultural influences on information flows.