The Status and Achievements of Green Mines and Mining Ethics in China

The mining industry has made outstanding contributions to China’s economic and social development, but a series of environmental problems remain. As Green Mines and ecological civilization concepts are put forward, the relationship between people and nature is receiving more attention, and especially mining ethics. Present construction standards encompass legal mining, management standardization, comprehensive utilization, technological advancement, energy saving and waste reduction, environmental protection, land reclamation, harmonious community and enterprise culture. As at 2014 the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources had published 661 Green Mines. Here, we analyze the present situation and prospects of Green Mines in China by the distribution from regional and mine type perspectives. Green Mines are nearly spread over every province and mine type, but Eastern China participated earlier than other areas. We discuss constructing Chinese mining ethics on the basis of traditional ethics and Western ecological ethics as theoretical foundations and practices. We consider that the significance of building Chinese mining ethics in Green Mine construction includes promoting social responsibility, improving environmental protection awareness and accelerating society development. Under the guidance of Chinese mining ethics we propose mining enterprise development models for the future, such as comprehensive utilization, circular economy and community harmony.     

Media Constructions of Aboriginality: implications for engagement with coal seam gas development in Australia

Recent neo-liberal policy frameworks in Australia advocate economic development opportunities for Aboriginal Australians as a viable strategy to redress the marginalisation and social disadvantage that appear to characterise many Aboriginal communities. In New South Wales (NSW), Aboriginal peoples are currently negotiating with industry for the chance to participate in coal seam gas (CSG) development opportunities. Based upon research focusing on CSG development in the Northern NSW region, this paper argues that certain constructions of Aboriginality inhibit successful Aboriginal engagement with the economic opportunities provided by CSG. This paper illuminates the role of the media in facilitating dominant discourse about Aboriginality and the implications of those constructions for Aboriginal engagement with the mainstream economy. Findings demonstrate that the media are complicit in constructing Aboriginal peoples in a way that could prejudice their attempts to engage in economic opportunities that do not align with the dominant constructions of Aboriginality.     

The construction of ‘local’ interest in New South Wales environmental planning processes

Deliberative democracy in the form of community participation is considered a ‘key priority’ in New South Wales (NSW) environmental planning. Community participation plays an increasingly central role in state significant developments, which are often sites of contestation. Community participation processes draw upon particular factors of place-based identity, which engage with notions of procedural legitimacy in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. This paper uses a legal geography analysis to explore this link between place-based identity and the experience of procedural legitimacy. We highlight a case study in which a contested coal mining development near Lithgow, NSW was approved by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission (PAC). This analysis examines how ‘local’ justice was constructed and mobilised in specific ways by proponents and opponents alike. Spatial factors of identity manifested in distinct ways in participation processes, particularly with respect to (i) claims to legitimacy and (ii) the lived experiences of engagement in a public forum. This case study demonstrates the way in which dualistic spatial terms such as ‘outsider’ opposition and ‘local’ support can render multiple interests of both human and non-human communities invisible. In so doing we are engaging with current work on environmental justice that examines the intersection of scale, efficacy and equity in processes of environmental governance.     

Killing Carp (Cyprinus carpio) as a Volunteer Practice: implications for community involvement in invasive species management and policy

Community engagement is understood to be one of the keys to successful environmental programs—‘the social pillar’ of management. In this paper we examine community engagement where volunteers participate by killing invasive animals. Most research to date focuses on the biological or management implications of volunteer efforts for the invasive species, with little attention to the people involved or the social acceptability of killing animals in this context. Here, we report on a survey and participant observations of community fishing events in south-eastern Australia, where volunteers fish for and kill carp (Cyprinus carpio). We examine who takes part in these events, their motivations for being involved and the implications for ongoing community engagement. Survey respondents were predominantly well-educated Australian-born men, motivated to fish by a desire to spend time in nature. However, we also noted a strong response from overseas-born men with different motivations. Our survey elicited complex responses regarding killing, illustrating contradictory, sometimes conflicted experiences, which jar with personal motivations. The implications are that questions of ethics must extend to the human volunteers, and that more direct communication of program outcomes and the proposed benefits for volunteers be more rigorously assessed. We argue that invasive species management must contend with the experiences of volunteers, otherwise meaningful dialogue and program objectives risk being undermined.     

Community Forest Owners Evaluate a Decade of Payments for Ecosystem Services in the Mexican Cloud Forest: The Importance of Attention to Indigenous Sovereignty in Conservation

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs have taken a variety of forms that depend on many mediating factors, such as national and local politics, land tenure, regional collective action, the capacity of intermediaries, and socio-ecological context. This diversity has produced unsurprisingly mixed experiences, with many falling short of achieving the twin goals of environmental and social benefits and some causing adverse consequences. This study examines one rare PES case that has contributed both to forest conservation and to community livelihoods. In this study, community forest owners from four indigenous communities in the Mexican cloud forest evaluate their participation in ten years of a public PES program to support watershed stewardship. We argue that attention to indigenous sovereignty and self-determination in program implementation contributed to widely appreciated socio-environmental benefits. Though many PES programs are implemented in indigenous communities, scholarly debates have rarely dealt directly with these issues.     

Social impact assessment and resource development: issues from the Australian experience

Several approaches to Social Impact Assessment have been applied to resource development projects in Australia since the early 1970s. Debate amongst researchers and other participants has raised crucial issues for the practice of social scientists generally, and economic geographers in particular. Differences have emerged between those who see SIA as a formal inquiry process in a specific legislative framework, and those who see SIA as a means of empowering communities affected by resource development, particularly Aboriginal communities. This paper reviews the debate, focusing on the work of the Berger Inquiry in Canada and the Ranger Inquiry, and projects to monitor the social impact of mining in the Northern Territory and East Kimberley region. It outlines a relational framework which situates SIA conceptually in its dynamic political context.     

社区关系、效益感知与亲旅游行为研究：一个有调节的中介作用模型

目的地居民作为旅游活动的重要参与主体,对旅游业的行为态度不仅影响着游客的感知和体验,也对目的地旅游业的可持续发展起着重要作用。在旅游支持态度与亲环境行为等相关研究的基础上,提出亲旅游行为的概念,表达居民促进旅游业在当地更好发展的行为意向。以社会表征理论研究框架为基础,构建“社区关系—效益感知—行为态度”模型,实证考察了社区关系对亲旅游行为的影响,探讨了旅游效益感知的中介作用和旅游事件依恋的调节作用。结果表明：社区关系对目的地居民经济效益、社会效益、环境效益感知均具有显著的正向影响,积极的旅游影响感知又对亲旅游行为产生显著的正向影响作用。居民对经济、社会、环境效益的感知在社区关系与亲旅游行为之间存在多重链式中介作用,传统的中介模型低估了旅游效益感知的影响作用。旅游事件依恋正向调节了社区关系与旅游社会效益感知、环境效益感知的关系。研究结论为揭示旅游介入情境下社区关系、效益感知与亲旅游行为之间的影响机制提供了一定的理论依据,对于目的地社区旅游开发与管理具有一定的实践参考价值。     

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.     

Community cooperation with natural flood management: a case study in the Scottish Borders

The cooperation of communities and landowners in the upper catchment is vital for the successful implementation of natural flood management (NFM) projects as few incentives are in place to reward them to host such projects. The aim of this paper is to initiate an exploration of the issues that affect a community's decision to cooperate. The results of a case study in Scotland show that willingness to cooperate is affected by concern about alternative flood management techniques, a sense of responsibility to help connected communities at risk of flooding and the expectation of beneficial impacts from the project. Indeed, these issues appeared to over-ride the hostility generated towards the project as a result of poor communication and engagement with the community from organisations associated with the proposed project. The results of the research suggest that if NFM projects are to proliferate, close attention must be paid to community attitudes towards flood management and related communities at risk, and that NFM projects must be developed and implemented according to well-established principles of public participation.     

Community Recovery Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Toward a Theory of Cultural Resilience

Culture plays an important role in communities’ abilities to adapt to environmental change and crises. The emerging field of resilience thinking has made several efforts to better integrate social and cultural factors into the systems-level approach to understanding social–ecological resilience. However, attempts to integrate culture into structural models often fail to account for the agentic processes that influence recovery at the individual and community levels, overshadowing the potential for agency and variation in community response. Using empirical data on the 2010 BP oil spill’s impact on a small, natural-resource-dependent community, we propose an alternative approach emphasizing culture’s ability to operate as a resource that contributes to social, or community, resilience. We refer to this more explicit articulation of culture’s role in resilience as cultural resilience. Our findings reveal that not all cultural resources that define resilience in reference to certain disasters provided successful mitigation, adaptation, or recovery from the BP spill.     

基于社会交换理论的社区旅游支持度模型及应用——以黄山风景区门户社区为例

门户社区毗邻风景区且处于其出入口位置,在旅游发展中面临特殊的机遇和难题.依据社会交换理论,选择“社区参与度”、“居住区条件”、“对旅游机构信任度”、“旅游利益感知”、“旅游成本感知”、“社区满意度”和“旅游支持度”7 个结构变量构建社区旅游支持度测度模型,以黄山风景区的4 个门户社区为研究案例,对该模型进行检验,通过结构方程模型分析和因子分析,探讨模型内各变量对社区旅游支持度发挥作用的路径及造成同一风景区不同门户社区支持度差异的影响因素.研究结果表明:① 总体而言,旅游利益感知和社区满意度对旅游支持度有正向影响;居住区条件、对旅游机构信任度和社区满意度对旅游利益感知有正向影响;社区参与度、居住区条件和对旅游机构信任度对社区满意度有正向影响.社区参与度对旅游利益感知正向影响不显著,旅游成本感知这一变量与其他变量之间关系不大.②各地居民感知和旅游支持度存在差异,南门汤口各维度总体得分最高,北门甘棠-耿城次之,东门谭家桥第三,西门焦村得分最低.③ 门户社区与黄山风景区的空间关系、区位条件与交通格局、旅游经济发展水平等因素造成了各门户社区旅游支持度的差异.     

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.     

千岛湖旅游地聚居空间特征及其社会效应

作为新兴的重要发展力量,旅游正在不可逆转地改变着聚居空间演变进程。旅游地聚居空间特征及其社会效应是透视旅游地社会转型的重要维度之一,旅游地聚居现象已构成旅游地理学研究的重要命题。以千岛湖为案例,立足社区尺度,应用实地观察法、访谈法、问卷调查方法、GIS空间技术、统计分析法,探究千岛湖旅游地聚居空间发展过程;识别和划分居住社区类型,测算居住社区空间分异度,揭示旅游影响下典型聚居区分布格局;从居住满意度、社会交往和社会融合三个方面,构建聚居空间社会效应指标体系。研究发现：① 伴随着社会经济转型、旅游产业发展与城市更新的不断推进,千岛湖镇聚居空间发展经历了5个发展阶段。② 识别了76个基本空间单元,将76个居住小区划分为乡村社区、商住混合社区、老旧住房社区、一般商品房社区、高档商品房社区、高档别墅区、旅游度假社区7种类型。③ 城市居住空间分异现象存在于旅游地聚居空间。社会阶层越低的社区居住分异度越大,社会阶层较高的社区居住分异度越小。千岛湖镇聚居空间呈现圈层结构分布模式,从湖岸到中心城区,居住等级逐渐降低,乡村社区呈扇型镶嵌于主城区居住空间结构上,老旧住房社区和旅游度假社区分布于千岛湖镇外围。④ 旅游发展导致了聚居空间社会分异,引致旅游地传统社会关系的裂变分化,进一步影响聚居满意度、社会交往和社会融合。千岛湖镇旅游地社区居住总体处于较满意状态,且千岛湖镇社区居住满意度存在明显的空间差异,不同社区个体交友意愿存在差异,大部分居民能较好地适应本地生活。     

Shaping and Sharing Responsibility: Social Memory and Social Learning in the Australian Rural Bushfire Landscape

Responding to increased frequency and severity of bushfires, Australian governments called for “shared responsibility” for bushfire preparation and mitigation. This requires engagement between all sectors of community—government agencies, businesses, not-for-profit, and residents. Fire management agencies remain concerned about whether all communities in fire-prone landscapes are equally equipped to participate in sharing responsibility. A related question is how experience of bushfire influences subsequent community fire management practices. This paper addresses social learning and social memory in a landscape that has experienced repeat bushfires between 2006 and 2013. It examines the relationships between memory, learning and practice among a farming community in western Victoria and government agencies with bushfire management responsibility. Findings suggest that social learning and social memory interact and new practices emerge as the participants embrace “shared responsibility.” However, ambiguities remain about “what” is being shared and what being “responsible” means at different points in preparation and response.     

The Influence of Community Size and Location on Different Dimensions of Vulnerability: a case study of Australian coastal communities

ABSTRACT

Coastal communities are part of the Australian identity but little is known about their characteristics and their long-term prosperity prospects. Increased migration to coastal areas and increased exposure to extreme climatic events indicates a need for social and economic data to inform socio-ecological systems planning. Here, we undertake a geo-spatial analysis to develop a typology of Australian coastal communities and assess relative vulnerability to climate-driven environmental change for a range of social and economic indicators. The aim of this study is to understand how the vulnerability of Australian coastal communities varies with geographic location or community size, and in comparison to other community types. Results show that both the population size and location of a coastal community matter and that coastal communities overall are more vulnerable on some socio-economic dimensions to climate-driven environmental change than their rural equivalents. However, results also demonstrate that the smallest coastal communities are strong in some important aspects of the human, social and financial domains, putting them in a good position to deal with some changes. Scale-appropriate and context-specific social policies are needed to address identified socio-economic vulnerabilities, supported by a range of formal and informal institutional structures, such as strategies to improve education and female workforce participation, and encourage participation in volunteering to increase human and social capital.     

Assessing the application and value of participatory mapping for community bushfire preparation

The increased ease for individuals to create, share and map geographic information combined with the need for timely, relevant and diverse information has resulted in a new disaster management context. Volunteered geographic information (VGI), or geographic information voluntarily created by private citizens enabled through technologies like social media and web-based mapping, has changed the ways people create and use information for crisis events. Research has focussed on disaster response while largely ignoring prevention and preparedness. Preparing for disasters can reduce negative impacts on life and property, but despite strategies to educate communities, preparation remains low. This study assesses the application and value of VGI in bushfire risk reduction through a participatory mapping approach. It examines VGI as a social practice and not simply a data source by considering the user experience of contributing VGI and the potential for these activities to increase community connectedness for building disaster resilience. Participatory mapping workshops were held in bushfire-risk communities in Tasmania. Workshop activities included a paper-mapping exercise and web-based digital mapping. Survey results from 31 participants at three workshops indicated the process of mapping and contributing local information for bushfire preparation with other community members can contribute to increased social connectedness, understanding of local bushfire risk, and engagement in risk reduction. Local knowledge exchange was seen as valuable, but the social dimension appeared even more engaging than the specific information shared. Participants reported collaborative maps as effective for collating and sharing community bushfire information with a preference for digital mapping. Some limitations of online sharing of information were also reported by participants, however, including potential issues of privacy, data quality and source trustworthiness. Further work is needed to extrapolate findings from the study sample to the broader population.     

村落遗产地社区居民旅游发展态度的影响因素

构建了社区依恋、社区关注、社区参与、旅游影响感知和社区居民旅游发展态度的结构关系模型,并以村落遗产地——福建土楼为例,采用结构方程模型（SEM） 验证社区居民旅游发展态度的影响因素,并引入个人获益作为调节变量,剖析在获益居民和没有获益的居民中,各种旅游感知对旅游发展态度的影响是否存在显著差异。研究结果表明：① 经济获益感知、社会文化获益感知和环境获益感知均对态度具有显著正向影响,而经济成本感知对态度具有显著负向影响;② 社区依恋通过社会文化获益感知和环境获益感知对态度产生间接影响;③ 社区关注通过经济获益感知和环境获益感知间接影响态度,并通过经济成本感知间接影响态度;④ 社区参与通过经济获益感知、社会文化获益感知和环境获益感知对态度产生间接正向影响,并通过经济成本感知对态度产生间接负向影响;⑤ 经济获益感知、社会文化获益感知和环境获益感知对态度的影响对获益居民比没有获益的居民要大,而经济成本感知、社会文化成本感知与环境成本感知对态度的影响对没有获益的居民比获益居民要大。     

新疆天山遗产地居民对生态移民的感知及满意度研究

在遗产地生态移民能否实现生态保护、改善民生、旅游可持续发展的多赢是遗产研究者、决策者和居民共同关注的问题。通过问卷调查和深入访谈法对新疆天山的4个移民社区进行调研,从居民感知和满意度的角度评估移民效果。结果表明：（1）居民对经济、心理正面影响反对率高,社会影响感知存在分歧,环境正面影响赞成率高。生态环境保护成效明显,但居民收入、生活质量改善不大,社区归属感弱。（2） 居民满意度偏低。（3） 不同人口学特征、旅游依存度的居民感知及满意度存在显著差异。从事旅游业的居民收入和满意度最高,旅游富民作用和不足兼有。（4） 与定居民族比,游牧民族在移民后生产生活方式变化更大。最后,提出改善居民经济条件,加强其知识、技能培训,社区赋权,完善生态补偿机制建议。     

天堂寨景区农村社区居民旅游影响感知的差异分析

居民旅游影响感知研究中对处于发展初期的成长型旅游的研究偏少。以安徽六安市天堂寨景区农村社区为例在问卷与深度访谈的基础上运用因素分析、多变量方差分析、平均数差异检验研究了居民旅游影响感知的差异。根据研究结果提出了社区居民旅游宣传教育与自然保护政策相关建议。     

Local government perspectives on rural retirement migration and social sustainability

Within the policy and academic literature, the impact of rural retirement migration (RRM) on community sustainability has been questioned. This qualitative study investigated the perceived impact of retirement migration on rural social sustainability from a local government perspective. Focus groups were conducted with local government senior managers and community services staff (n = 39) across six rural local government areas in one Australian state. Data were analysed against the three components of rural social sustainability (equity, community and rurality) proposed by Jones and Tonts [1995. “Rural Restructuring and Social Sustainability: Some Reflections on the Western Australian Wheatbelt.” Australian Geographer 26: 133–140]. While RRM is perceived to benefit rural community capacity to facilitate or maintain equity, community and rurality, it also presents challenges for local government. Participants suggested that capacity to facilitate equity, community and rurality in contexts of RRM was impacted by uncertainty around future impacts of RRM on population ageing, increasing advocacy and expectations of older in-migrants, and the impact of RRM on rural heterogeneity. These issues required local governments to think critically about how to accommodate and manage the needs and expectations of older in-migrants, while mediating potential impacts associated with RRM.