Protecting the national parks and the world heritage sites in China: challenge and strategy

About 70% of its land area as mountains and plateaus, China is the largest mountain country in the world. Thanks to its vast territory (9.6 million km²), outstanding relief and varied climates, China boasts extremely plenty of ecosystems and landscapes. From south to north, it traverses almost all the temporal zones from tropical rainforest in the southernmost to frigid-temperate needle-leaved forest in the northernmost; from east to west, it sees a gradual transition fro humid forest landscape to extremely arid desert landscape; vertical change of landscapes is most striking owing to the existence of many high mountains (above 6000–7000 m, e.g., the Himalayas, the Kunlun, the Tianshan, the Hengduan, etc.) and plateaus, especially the immense Tibetan Plateau (averagely 4500 m above sea level). All of this give rise to the richness and diversity of ecosystems and landscape in China. Some of the ecosystems are endemic to China, e.g., alpine desert and alpine steppe in the Tibetan Plateau. As a result, China bears a great responsibility in the protection of global ecosystems and landscape.     

中国国家公园与世界遗产地保护——挑战与战略

About 70% of its land area as mountains and plateaus,China is the largest mountain countryin the world.Thanks to its vast territory (9.6 million km2),outstanding relief and varied climates,China boasts extremely plenty of ecosystems and landscapes.From south to north,it traverses almostall the temporal zones from tropical rainforest in the southernmost to frigid-temperate needle-leavedforest in the northernmost; from east to west,it sees a gradual transition fro humid forest landscape toextremely arid desert landscape; vertical change of landscapes is most striking owing to the existenceof many high mountains (above 6000-7000 m,e.g.,the Himalayas,the Kunlun,the Tianshan,theHengduan,etc.) and plateaus,especially the immense Tibetan Plateau (averagely 4500 m above sealevel).All of this give rise to the richness and diversity of ecosystems and landscape in China.Some ofthe ecosystems are endemic to China,e.g.,alpine desert and alpine steppe in the Tibetan Plateau.As aresult,China bears a great responsibility in the protection of global ecosystems and landscape.     

Protecting the national parks and the world heritage sites in China: challenge and strategy

To protect the richness, diversity and uniqueness of China's ecosystems and landscapes, more than 150 national parks (named "National scenic and historic interest areas" in China), 85 national geoparks and 230 national nature reserves have been delimited nationwide. In addition, a total of 30 world heritage sites (4 mixed, 4 natural, 22 cultural), 24 biosphere reserves and 8 world geoparks have been ratified for China in a short time by the UNESCO. Unfortunately, most of these national and…     

城市园林游憩活动评价及"期望差异-体验水平"管理模式——以无锡为例

游憩活动设计和管理对城市园林实践具有重要意义。评价是设计决策和管理实践的依据,基于"工具设计－测量评价－管理战略决策"这一评价流程,从游憩活动使用者角度出发,通过文献分析构建游憩活动评价指标体系,并以无锡园林作为研究对象,选择其中四个典型城市园林进行游客抽样调查,通过对调查所得数据的统计分析,综合评价无锡市园林游憩活动的现状,并提炼影响游客游憩体验的重要因素。还尝试性地提出了园林游憩活动的"期望差异—体验水平"管理模式,基于调查数据来计算9类游憩活动的期望差异等级表和体验水平等级表,以确定其在"期望差异—体验水平"横向评价矩阵("ED-EL"矩阵)中所处位置,在此基础上对无锡市四个园林的游憩活动发展提出建议。     

Thinking of England and taking care: family building strategies and infant mortality in England and Wales, 1891-1911

"Debates concerning the origins and development of the late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century declines in marital fertility and infant mortality in England and Wales have been centred largely on the material provided by answers to the ?special' questions in the 1911 census. In their published form these figures have restricted researchers to an examination of large scale geographic and social class differences in the levels and rates of decline of the two phenomena. This paper outlines research conducted on a sample of individual census returns from the 1911 census. From this data it becomes clear that for Victorian and Edwardian England ?where one lived' was rather more important than ?who one was' in determining both family building strategies and the survival of those children born."     

The pattern and structure of one-person households in England and Wales and France

"This paper examines the increase of one-person households during the 1980s in England and Wales and France set within the broader context of household change in Europe as a whole....One-person households vary geographically by age, with younger one-person households found especially in larger urban areas; older one-person households have a more varied distribution, although rural and traditional retirement areas have particular concentrations. Increases in numbers are a result of both compositional changes in the population (increasing numbers of divorced and never-marrieds as well as increasing numbers of elderly) and also an increasing propensity to live alone, especially among younger age groups."     

A rationale for beach selection by the public on the coast of Wales, UK

Questionnaires were completed by 2306 beach users at 19 Welsh beaches with respect to beach selection parameters. The modal group of respondents was female aged 30–39. Beach choice was primarily determined by clean litter-free sand and seawater, followed by safety. Refreshment facilities and beach awards were deemed minor considerations by the public when choosing a beach to visit. Approximately 58 per cent of respondents were aware of beach award and rating schemes. Of coastal visitors interviewed for this paper, 67 per cent rated a beach as 'important' or 'very important' to their holiday, with just 2 per cent replying that they were unimportant.     

Coastal defence and the Habitats Directive: predictions of habitat change in England and Wales

Future coastal defence policies and 'natural' processes will have an impact on habitats within Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA) and Ramsar sites. An overview of the potential nature and extent of these changes (losses or gains over the next 50 years) around the coast of England and Wales was carried out to inform policy decisions on the legal and funding aspects of coastal defence options and possible habitat replacement. It is predicted that there could be a net loss of freshwater and brackish habitat of around 4000 hectares, together with a net gain of intertidal (saltmarsh and mudflat/sandflat) habitats of around 770 hectares, with the gains associated with managed retreat ( c .12 500 ha) balancing the expected losses due to coastal squeeze and erosion on the unprotected coast. The likely costs of freshwater and brackish habitat replacement, on a hectare-for-hectare basis, is estimated to be in the order of £50–60 million, including site purchase, set-up and on-going management costs.     

A GIS-based exploration of the relationships between human health,social deprivation and ecosystem services: The case of Wales,UK

Being able to analyse the relationships between people and nature has always been of key interest to ecosystems conservation, planning decisions and in a number of disciplines of natural and social sciences. In this framework, it is of paramount importance to evaluate possible correlations between factors such as ecosystem services, human health, and social deprivation. The present study aims at exploring relationships between ecosystem services, human health, and social deprivation for the region of Wales in the United Kingdom. Wales is of special interest because as a region it offers many ‘green’ ecosystems which have already been found to have a positive influence on humans' well-being as well as on socio-economic status. First, a recreational layer showing the size and location of all potential recreational areas in each Welsh local authority was created. Subsequently, correlation/regression analysis and weighted raster analysis were performed which allowed determining quantitatively the degree of correlation between the observed socio-economic factors and recreational areas.The findings of this exploratory study suggested that the relative size of potential recreational area varies widely within the local authorities comprising Wales. Not all the socio-economic factors which were examined herein found to be correlated with recreational areas. Some variables, such as income and employment deprivation showed high correlations with poor recreation options. Very poor correlation was also reported between recreation options and variables such as life expectancy and long-term illness. Our results, in agreement to previous studies conducted elsewhere, suggested that human health is determined by a complex interplay of more than one of the observed determinants, including for example biology and genetics or living and working conditions. As to our knowledge there are no prior research studies on the topic for our study region, this work provides a key contribution concerning the determination of a “social” value of ecosystems in the context of human health and other socio-economic factors. However, as these are only initial results, further work is required to verify those.     

From artificiality to authenticity? The development of dry ski-slopes in England and Wales

Summary Many sports landscapes are said to have become increasingly 'artificial' over time. Landscapes of dry skiing have not exhibited this trend, but instead have become more 'realistic' or 'authentic'. ¹ This paper discusses the results of a new study of dry ski centres in England and Wales.     

Red-light districts and Toleration Zones: geographies of female street prostitution in England and Wales

Summary Although female street prostitution is widely acknowledged to occur in specific spaces, characteristically referred to as 'red-light' districts, geographers have been remarkably reticent in examining the nature and location of these spaces. Against a backdrop of mounting debate surrounding the legal status of prostitution in England and Wales, this paper considers the importance of such areas in the regulation and containment of street prostitution, and speculates as to how changing social and legal attitudes might result in very different geographies of prostitution.     

Land Use and Lake Sedimentation on the New England Tablelands of New South Wales,Australia

Lead-210 methods have been used to establish a chronology of sedimentation extending back almost 80 years in Black Mountain Lagoon near Guyra on the New England Tablelands of north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Estimates of the direct atmospheric fallout of unsupported ²¹⁰Pb and historical records of the pattern of phosphorus input to the lake provide support for the ²¹⁰Pb chronology. The sediments in the lake record an episode of disturbance which took place prior to c .1916, but after c .1790-1860. Since then, however, the site-specific rate of minerogenic sedimentation has been maintained at a relatively low and constant level of 0.93 kg m^-2 a^-1. [Note: the following symbols are used in this paper: a = year (annum), and d min^-1 g^-1 = radioactivity (spontaneous nuclear disintegrations per minute per gram of material).] This is despite major shifts in land use and intensification of agriculture, despite the occurrence of significant floods and droughts, and in the absence until recent times of the application of soil conservation practices. These rates may be contrasted with rates of 0.023 kg m^-2 a^-1 from the period 12.3-5.6 ka. These are at least an order of magnitude lower than those of the twentieth century. The lake sediments preserve evidence of the use of agricultural chemicals on the catchment during the twentieth century. These include phosphorus, zinc, arsenic and lead. Soils and sediments may act as long-term toxic stores for such chemicals, a problem often overlooked in rural areas.     

Recreational use of Jotunheimen national park: some implications for management and planning

Recreational use of Jotunheimen park was surveyed during the summer of 1992 to provide data input to management planning for the park. Jotunheimen is one of the most popular and heavily utilized mountain recreation areas in Norway with a long history of recreational use. As a national park, the area is an important social institution and a socio-cultural arena for outdoor recreational experiences and benefits. Through two field surveys, socio-demographic characteristics of users, recreational use patterns and attitudes towards a set of management actions were examined. The results show that recreationists comprise an international population with diverse socio-demographic backgrounds. Approximately one-half of the users were Norwegians, while the other half came from other European countries. The majority of use takes place along a set of main corridors in the park. The users are generally satisfied with the present management of the park, but express a wide range of attitudes towards proposed management actions. Implications for management planning in the national park are discussed.