Symbols, not data: rare trees and vegetation history in Mali

Historical analysis of botanical literature concerning the trees Gilletiodendron glandulosum and Guibourtia copallifera in Mali's Manding Plateau reveals that the dominant representation of these plants has helped to perpetuate colonial-era theories of vegetation history, African land management, and natural resource politics in West Africa. The French botanist Aubréville described these plants as proof of the theory of vegetation history that blamed poor land management by rural Africans for a steady and continuing destruction of vegetation from its presumed original forest climax. Although Aubréville's representation of these trees was justified within the 1930s scientific context he worked, subsequent researchers uncritically maintained his conclusions even though the changed scientific context in which they worked did not justify such representation. Subsequent ecological research also failed to substantiate Aubréville's representation of these trees, yet several influential modern botanical works have uncritically accepted colonial-era botanical literature founded on his ideas. Thus, modern botanical works have perpetuated a simplistic and inaccurate narrative of resource use under an appearance of objectivity. As a result, policy recommendations based on the modern botanical sources remain almost identical to colonial-era policies. Based on the similarity of colonial-era and modern portrayals of these trees, this paper argues that a regional discursive formation recently described by other authors may be expanded to include southern Mali, which carries negative implications for decentralization reform in Mali.     

Farmer–herder conflicts, pastoral marginalisation and corruption: a case study from the inland Niger delta of Mali

This study aims to explain a farmer–herder conflict in the inland Niger delta of Mali. We focus on the interests and motivations of the actors involved in the conflict and the rent seeking of the local administration in handling the conflict. Since independence, the customary pastoral leaders (the jowros ) have gradually lost power and wealth to the benefit of previously underprivileged farmers (the rimaybé ). We argue that this process is mainly the result of national policies and laws giving priority to agricultural development at the expense of pastoralism. The result has been large-scale conversions of dry season pastures to rice fields. This pastoral marginalisation also results in increased land use conflicts between herders and farmers. In addition, rent seeking by local officials is perpetuating land use conflicts in the area. Hence, officials are benefiting from conflicts, while especially pastoralists, but also farmers, are losing out. The droughts of the 1970s and 1980s, leading to a more rapid encroachment of rice fields on pastures, as well as the power vacuum that emerged in the early days of the decentralisation process, further aggravated land disputes. Finally, we use this case study to call for an inclusion of issues of rent seeking and corruption more centrally in political ecology.     

Global cotton and local environmental management: the political ecology of rich and poor small-hold farmers in southern Mali

This study examines the hypothesis that poor households engage in less sustainable soil management practices than rich households in a similar socioeconomic environment. This broad objective is explored in Mali's southern cotton belt through three specific research questions. First, is there empirical evidence to support the claim that poor households engage in less sustainable soil management practices than rich households? Second, what local and extra-local factors influence household agricultural management approaches in southern Mali? Third, what broader scale political and economic processes are linked to the factors that influence local-level agricultural management approaches? The author reports that soil quality measures on the farms of rich and poor households are not significantly different, refuting the conventional wisdom that the wealthy are better managers of the environment. A variety of environmentally deleterious practices are associated with export-oriented cotton production, an activity more vigorously pursued by wealthy than poor farmers. Finally, the focus on poverty in international environment and development discourse has allowed the government of Mali to avoid a serious debate on the sustainability of cotton production. The study's findings are based on household interviews describing agricultural management practices, an analysis of farm field soil measures, and discussions with donors and national policymakers.     

中国城市土地扩张与人口增长协调性研究

基于城市建成区面积和城区人口数据,构建城市土地扩张与人口增长关系模型,对2000年和2010年中国657个城市的土地扩张与人口增长之间的协调性进行了评价。结果表明:①中国城市用地扩张和人口增长之间的协调性较弱,土地显著扩张是中国城市发展的主要类型,数量占城市总量的1/3;其次是人口显著增长类型,占城市数量的1/4,两极分化明显。②在空间分布上,土地显著扩张的城市主要集中在东部沿海、沿江、沿线等经济相对发达地区;人口显著增长的城市分布重心则相对西移,主要处于胡焕庸线以东的中西部地区。③从不同规模城市用地扩张与人口增长的协调性来看,特大城市、大城市发展以土地快速扩张为主,且土地显著扩张所占比例最大;中、小城市发展以人口快速增长为主,并以人口显著增长占优。④由城市规模变动来看,小城市规模晋升多以人口快速增长实现,大、中城市规模晋升则更多通过土地快速扩张推进,特别是以房地产、新城建设等带动的用地驱动型城市化来完成。     

Land tenure and deforestation patterns in the Ecuadorian Amazon: Conflicts in land conservation in frontier settings

The Cuyabeno Wildlife Production Reserve (Cuyabeno Reserve), located in the northeastern Ecuadorian Amazon, is a special protected area. Using a satellite image time-series, landscape ecology and evolving boundary definitions, shifts in landscape composition are described that focus on the spatial and temporal dynamics of land use and cover change (LUCC) within the vicinity of the Cuyabeno Reserve. Changes in local land tenancy and the implementation of protection buffers have accelerated the process of fragmentation and exacerbated the conflict between development and protection. Further, variations in management strategies and ownership histories confound LUCC patterns, rates, and trajectories.     

Towards decentralization: Spatial changes of employment and population in Tehran Metropolitan Region,Iran

Employment and population spatial structure of metropolitan regions have evolved in the era of post-industrialization. Empirical and theoretical debates have consensus that monocentric model is no longer explaining the phenomenon of population and employment distribution. One argument regards polycentricity as a permanent spatial structure beyond monocentricity; another idea believes that dispersion can explain spatial variation of employment and population too. This study investigated the level of monocentricity and primacy of principal city in Tehran Metropolitan Region (TMR), in addition to sub-centering and level of polycentrism. Dispersion of employment and population in TMR was also analyzed. The results revealed that standard monocentric model is not able to explain evolution of Tehran although it is dominant core of the region. The polycentric models illustrated that although the changes from 2006 to 2011 were not considerable, employment was more concentrated than population; they also showed that there is no distinction between polycentric and dispersion and regions may have some levels of polycentricity and dispersion.     

Scenarios of land system change in the Lao PDR: Transitions in response to alternative demands on goods and services provided by the land

Sudden and gradual land use changes can result in different socio-ecological systems, sometimes referred to as regime shifts. The Lao PDR (Laos) has been reported to show early signs of such regime shifts in land systems with potentially major socio-ecological implications. However, given the complex mosaic of different land systems, including shifting cultivation, such changes are not easily assessed using traditional land cover data. Moreover, regime shifts in land systems are difficult to simulate with traditional land cover modelling approaches. A novel simulation approach was employed that focused on simulating changes in land systems rather than focusing on land cover. With the CLUmondo model we simulated three scenarios of potential developments between the years 2010 and 2030 assuming different degrees of international market integration and sustainable growth objectives. Although all scenarios show a decline of shifting cultivation systems, the respective orientation of markets and land governance resulted in strongly different land change trajectories. The land system changes are strongly location dependent and different trajectories are found in different parts of the country. Some scenarios show clear elements of land sparing with intensification of land management in the valleys and re-growth of forest on sloping land. Other scenarios show elements of enhanced multi-functionality. The approach addressed methodological challenges in simulating land system regime shifts and complex mosaic landscapes while accounting for societal demands for different types of goods and services from land systems. The land systems approach allows a nuanced representation of different types of forests and agricultural systems such as shifting cultivation and commercial agricultural plantations. Simulation results contribute to a debate about desired future land use on the national scale including its environmental and socio-economic implications.     

Unplanned urban growth: land use/land cover change in the Guwahati Metropolitan Area,India

Unplanned urban growth, particularly in developing countries has led to changes in land use/land cover (LULC). Numerous Indian cities face problems of unplanned LULC change due to nominal or non-existent planning efforts compounded by rapid urban population growth. The Guwahati Metropolitan Area (GMA) is one such urban centre. The present study assesses the trajectories of LULC change using Landsat imageries acquired in 1976, 1989, 2002 and 2015. Natural and semi natural vegetated area and artificial and natural water bodies decreased while built-up areas, cultivated and managed areas, and natural and semi natural non-vegetated areas increased. The built-up area increased from 23.9 in 1976 to 115.1 km² in 2015 becoming the dominant land cover class accounting for 41.8% of the total geographical area. During this period, natural and semi natural vegetated land were reduced by 88.9 km² at an annual rate of 2.2 km². Over the years there was an increasing trend of built-up land and cultivated and managed areas in the peripheral areas of the city while natural and semi natural vegetated land diminished. Consequently, as in many other developing countries, there is an urgent need for the governmental authorities and other stakeholders to implement effective urban planning policies.     

Interpreting the Civil Rights Movement: Place,Memory, and Conflict

Produced over the past decade, monuments and museums dedicated to the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s have desegregated America's memorial landscape. Tracing a broad arc across the US South, the material elements of this landscape — historic markers, monuments, parks, registered buildings, and museums — present a distinct challenge to representations of an elite, white American past. This challenge, however, is offered in a distinctly gendered manner, inasmuch as the role of women in organizing and leading the movement is obscured. Further, the historical narratives concretized at these sites are mediated by conventions associated with civil rights historiography and the tourism development industry. The result is a complex, sometimes ironic landscape. Via the narratives they embed and the crowds they attract, these landscapes are co-constitutive with contemporary politics of representing the past in the United States. This paper offers an overview of current memorial practices and representations of the Civil Rights movement found at the country's major memorial landscapes.     

Interpreting the Civil Rights Movement: Place,Memory, and Conflict

Produced over the past decade, monuments and museums dedicated to the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s have desegregated America's memorial landscape. Tracing a broad arc across the US South, the material elements of this landscape — historic markers, monuments, parks, registered buildings, and museums — present a distinct challenge to representations of an elite, white American past. This challenge, however, is offered in a distinctly gendered manner, inasmuch as the role of women in organizing and leading the movement is obscured. Further, the historical narratives concretized at these sites are mediated by conventions associated with civil rights historiography and the tourism development industry. The result is a complex, sometimes ironic landscape. Via the narratives they embed and the crowds they attract, these landscapes are co‐constitutive with contemporary politics of representing the past in the United States. This paper offers an overview of current memorial practices and representations of the Civil Rights movement found at the country's major memorial landscapes.     

Finding common ground: relational concepts of land tenure and economy in the oil palm frontier of Papua New Guinea

In the oil palm frontier regions of West New Britain and Oro provinces, Papua New Guinea, customary land tenure arrangements are changing in response to the growing demand for land for agricultural development. This paper examines one aspect of these changes, namely the gifting and selling of customary land for oil palm development to people who have no customary birthrights to the land. By analysing how access rights are maintained over the relatively long cultivation cycle of oil palm (approximately 25 years), and in the context of the rapidly changing socio-economic and demographic environments of the oil palm frontiers, the paper demonstrates that while land transactions seemingly entail the commodification of land, land rights and security of land tenure remain embedded in social relationships. For customary landowners, the moral basis of land rights is contingent on 'outsiders' maintaining particular kinds of social and economic relationships with their customary landowning 'hosts'. In exploring how these social relationships are constituted through the performance of particular kinds of exchange relationships, the paper provides insights into relational concepts of land rights and how these are able to persist in Papua New Guinea's oil palm frontier regions where resource struggles are often intense and where large migrant populations are seeking land for agricultural development.     

长三角城市土地扩张与人口增长耦合态势及其驱动机制

长三角是中国城市土地快速变动和人口快速集聚的热点地区,厘清并协调城市土地扩张与人口增长间的关系,对统筹区域土地资源合理配置,调控人口流动及实现新型城镇化意义重大。以长三角16个城市为研究对象,采用重心耦合模型和基于人均约束性构建的协调性系数,对1994-2012年城市土地扩张与人口增长的总体耦合态势及演变、空间耦合特征及格局进行分析,并探讨影响城市土地扩张与人口增长耦合的驱动机制。结果表明：① 长三角城市土地扩张速度整体快于人口增长速度,二者增长具有明显的阶段特征和显著的空间差异特征。② 长三角城市土地扩张与人口增长耦合关系处于不断变化过程中,人地耦合关系整体上呈现出增强—减弱—增强的态势,土地重心与人口重心间的距离不断缩小,土地扩张与人口增长间协调性逐步增强;城市土地扩张与人口增长空间耦合类型中,人口过快增长型和人地基本协调型数量有所减少,但其在空间分布上呈现集中的趋势;土地快速扩张型的数量有所增加,在空间上呈现扩散的趋势,各城市人地配置协调程度不高。③ 经济发展、产业结构升级调整、交通发展与区位条件变化、政策因素等是影响长三角城市土地扩张与人口增长及其耦合变化的重要驱动因素。     

Population growth and land use in Nepal: "the great turnabout"

Historically, Nepal has demonstrated a "great turnabout" trend, in which initial immigration from the lowland areas to the mountains has been replaced by accelerating migration from the hills to the plains. The reason for this reversal has been a rapid growth in population within the confines of limited availability of potentially cultivable land. Given Nepal's slow economic development, the overwhelming majority of increases in population have to be accommodated within the agricultural sector, on which 83% of Nepal's households are dependent. Fundamental land use issues in Nepal include rapid achievement of the final limit of land suitability for cultivation and the speed at which land can be brought into cultivation. The Government of Nepal has developed the objectives of increased food production to provide a satisfactory diet for the population, increased per capita income, improved regional balance in income and development, conservation of natural resources such as land and forests, and overall development of the economy through income generation, export earnings, and release of agricultural labor to other sectors. 3 perspective studies have identified a number of policies and programs that could bring Nepal closer to these goals. These studies analyzed potential land use development, agricultural production, and food availability by the year 2005. Most essential is the need to intensify land use not only in crop agriculture, but also grasslands and forest use. Land must be allocated to uses that represent the most productive use of that land without being degrading. Technologies are available for land use in each of the main types of uses--crop agriculture, livestock, and forests--that can provide protection against land degradation. Finally, irrigation is a key element in raising agricultural output. Close cooperation between the government and the people is crucial for the success of the task of finding a balance between population growth and its demand for services of the land.     

Population dynamics, socioeconomic change and land colonization in northern Jordan, with special reference to the Badia Research and Development Project area

The paper reports on preliminary observations from northern Jordan aimed at testing the view that people migrate from areas of relatively high potential for cultivation to the marginal semi-arid/arid frontier because of social differentiation, political factors or environmental constraints. Cultivated areas have been mapped from multi-date remotely sensed imagery, a typology of fields in the area has been constructed, and their dynamics between 1972 and 1992 analysed. In addition, semi-structured interviews with farmers attempted to understand the reasoning behind village growth, changing farming systems and cultivation practices. The findings are discussed in the context of the area's demography and national and regional shifts in economic policy.     

长江流域人口-土地-经济城镇化的时空耦合协调性与驱动因子分析

运用熵值法对长江流域2008年、2013年及2018年3个时期105个地级市的人口、土地、经济城镇化水平进行多维评测;依托ArcGIS平台分析城镇化的时空演变特征及耦合协调性的时空集聚模式;采用多元线性回归模型,挖掘城镇化耦合协调性的驱动因子。结果表明：长江上中下游地区城镇化耦合协调度显著差异,呈现出：下游地区＞＞中游地区＞上游地区的格局。城镇化耦合协调度中等协调及以上水平的地级市主要位于长江三角洲、合肥与皖江沿线、武汉城市圈、长沙城市圈、成渝城市群、南昌、贵阳、昆明等地。耦合协调度处于失调水平的地级市主要位于长江源头地区、藏东—川西—滇北横断山区、甘肃陇南、乌蒙山区、武陵山区、南岭地区等地。城镇化耦合协调度的空间集聚模式可划分为热点聚集型、中部发展型、冷点聚集型、边缘游离型4种类型。在此基础上,构建出4种空间集聚类型的拟合模型,决定系数R²均大于0.800。立足于新型城镇化建设,对长江流域人口、土地、经济城镇化的发展提出了针对性的政策建议。     

Agricultural land use dynamics in the Brazilian Amazon based on remote sensing and census data

The potential impact of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon on greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere calls for policies that take account of changes in forest cover. Although much research has focused on the location and effects of deforestation, little is known about the distribution and reasons for the agricultural uses that replace forest cover. We used Landsat TM-based deforestation and agricultural census data to generate maps of the distribution and proportion of four major agricultural land uses throughout the Brazilian Amazon in 1997 and 2007. We built linear and spatial regression models to assess the determinant factors of deforestation and those major agricultural land uses - pasture, temporary agriculture and permanent agriculture - for the states of Pará, Rondônia, and Mato Grosso. The data include 30 determinant factors that were grouped into two years (1996 and 2006) and in four categories: accessibility to markets, public policies, agrarian structure, and environment. We found an overall expansion of the total agricultural area between 1997 and 2007, and notable differences between the states of Pará, Rondônia, and Mato Grosso in land use changes during this period. Regression models for deforestation and pasture indicated that determinant factors such as distance to roads were more influential in 1997 than in 2007. The number of settled families played an important role in the deforestation and pasture, the effect was stronger in 2007 than 1997. Indigenous lands were significant in preventing deforestation in high-pressure areas in 2007. For temporary and permanent agricultures, our results show that in 1997 the effect of small farms was stronger than in 2007. The mapped land use time series and the models explain empirically the effects of land use changes across the region over one decade.     

“Die man is die hoof en vat voor”: Women's attitudes to land and farming in the communal areas of Namaqualand

In the former coloured rural reserves of Namaqualand, land is held under an evolving form of communal tenure. This study, using in-depth interviews with both women farmers and non-farmers in Namaqualand, explores women's attitudes towards land and their experience of agriculture. It finds that women gain access to land for residential and production purposes mainly through dependent relationships with husbands, fathers and sons, and that unmarried women find it virtually impossible to obtain land rights in their own name. In the event of divorce or widowhood, women are vulnerable to loss of land rights and other resources. Women were found to engage in a range of agricultural activities, both on land allocated for their own use and on land controlled by male relatives, while a few better-off women engage in independent livestock farming. While the South African government's land reform programme has extended the area of communal land and attempted to secure the rights of existing land holders, this has largely benefited existing male farmers and appears to offer little to women farmers. Women's attitudes to the patriarchal system of land holding were found to be largely conservative. Few are willing to challenge the highly gendered nature of land rights within families, and women generally feel excluded from public processes around land. Nonetheless, women in the study expressed a demand for more secure access to land and an interest in agriculture as part of wider livelihood strategies.     

Four decades of urban sprawl and population growth in Teresina,Brazil

The expansion of medium-sized cities in Brazil has increased significantly since the 80–90's decades. In that period, most of the urbanization process was represented by the agglomeration of the population in the major metropolitan areas such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Nowadays, the rural-urban movement in Brazil is predominantly affecting cities with less than 1 million inhabitants, located particularly in the Center-West and in the Semiarid Northeast regions. The city of Teresina, the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Piauí, is one example that has shown an accelerated process of urban development. In this context, this paper seeks to discuss the urban sprawl of Teresina over the last four decades (1974–2014), associating its trends of urban expansion and population growth with their social and environmental implications. The results of our work indicate that urban sprawl in Teresina has been continuous over the years and getting faster in the 2010–2014 period. High demographic density areas are located mostly in peripheral zones, where the low-income population dominates. The population density varies across the city, and it is far from the standard proposed by the urban legislation. Thus, urbanization in Teresina is characterized by the sprawl of its municipal boundaries, intra-urban densification and verticalization, and an increase in population, especially in areas of low-income neighborhoods.     

Consultas and Socially Responsible Investing in Guatemala: A Case Study Examining Maya Perspectives on the Indigenous Right to Free,Prior, and Informed Consent

Since 2005, more than 78 Maya communities representing approximately one million Guatemalans have held referendums called consultas comunitarias, which ask the community whether they are in agreement with mineral, hydroelectric, and/or other megaprojects in their traditional territory. Participation in the consultas is a form of resistance to the granting of mineral rights to corporate interests. In Canada, where much of the Guatemalan mining investment is based, “socially responsible investment firms” (SRIs) promote corporate respect for Indigenous rights. Based on interviews and participant observation, we highlight the perspectives of Maya consulta organizers in three communities that have undertaken consultas to resist the mining licenses of the Canadian mining company Goldcorp, Inc. We argue that a strict policy of corporate respect for the right to free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities is a minimum requirement for Maya acceptance of SRI legitimacy.     

基于人口、产业和用地结构的城镇化水平评估与解释——以长三角地区为例

城镇化水平评估是关于区域城镇化问题的基础性研究。本文从城镇化进程中城乡结构变动的核心要素出发,从人口、产业、用地结构三个方面设计考察指标,并强调三个维度进程间的协调关系和适宜性的评价尺度。对长三角地区的实证研究发现,区域城镇化水平的空间格局以“中心-外围”为突出特征,这种结构以嵌套方式存在于多种空间尺度之下,随时间推进...