Reconciling Multiple Societal Objectives in Cross-Scale Marine Governance: Solomon Islands’ Engagement in the Coral Triangle Initiative

Environmental governance aims to reconcile an expanding set of societal objectives at ever-larger scales despite the challenges that remain in integrating conservation and development at smaller scales. We interrogate Solomon Islands’ engagement in the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security to contribute new insight on the scalar politics of multi-level marine governance. We show how regional objectives are re-interpreted and prioritized as they translate into national policy and practice. Our data suggest that enhanced coordination of finances and activities, integration of objectives in shared protocols and priority geographies, and a subtle shift in power relations between the state, donors, and implementation partners have resulted from processes of re-scaling. We discuss important procedural adjustments in cross-level and cross-scale governance across jurisdictional, institutional, and sectoral scales. We also reflect on the changing role of national governments in shifts toward large-scale, multi-national initiatives.     

Human–environment dynamics during the Iron Age in the Lofoten Islands,Norway

Integrated archaeological and paleoenvironmental investigations provide long-term perspectives on human–environment interactions. In the North Atlantic region, early human settlements were established in marginal agricultural environments and were susceptible to various environmental stressors. The Lofoten Islands have had an important role in the history of this region, particularly during the Iron Age, when Lofoten developed from pioneering agricultural settlements to a prominent node of power and trade under Viking chieftains. Iron Age developments in Lofoten were concurrent with significant natural environmental changes, including variations in climate and sea level. However, there has not been a comprehensive investigation of their influence on early settlements. The purpose of the study is to review Iron Age cultural developments in Lofoten using published archaeological data and paleoenvironmental records of past climate and sea-level change, and to present specific examples of the intersection of early human development and natural environmental changes. The findings show that climate changes probably influenced agricultural phases and that relative sea-level variations had important impacts on maritime developments. In conclusion, the findings demonstrate that human–environment interactions were significant factors in Lofoten’s history and the authors suggest specific areas for future research.     

Stone runs in the Falkland Islands: Periglacial or tropical?

“Stone runs” is the Falklands vernacular term for openwork boulder accumulations, which include extensive blockstreams like the famous Darwin “stone-river” and associated features such as stone stripes. Since the early 20th century, they have been interpreted as the product of a suite of periglacial processes, including frost-wedging, gelifluction, frost heave, frost-sorting and snowmelt runoff. Following a literature review, the results of recent field investigations of the valley-floor blockstreams of East Falkland are presented. Access to the internal structure of these forms provides evidence for the existence of a three-fold profile, with clear vertical size gradation presenting striking similarities with an inverted weathering profile. Micromorphological analyses, SEM, XRD, thin sections and grain-size analyses lead to the hypothesis of an alternative model of stone run formation. It is suggested that the material forming the stone run profile lato sensu (including the superficial pavement) is not of periglacial origin, but derives directly from the stripping and accumulation downslope of a regolith, possibly Tertiary in age and formed under subtropical or temperate conditions. The valley-floor stone runs should, therefore, be considered as complex polygenetic landforms that may have formed according to a six-stage scenario, including in situ chemical weathering, regolith stripping by mass movements, soil formation, further regolith stripping, downslope accumulation and matrix washing-out (all phases possibly achieved by the Early Quaternary). Periglacial reworking of the stone run material would have operated at a “final” stage, i.e. during Quaternary cold stages, with boulder bioweathering and limonite-staining operating during the temperate intervals including the present one. The suggested antiquity of the Falklands blockstreams is in accordance with Caine's pioneer interpretation of Tasmania blockfields and with recent analyses and cosmogenic datings of blockfields from Scandinavia and North America.     

Regional differences in the health status of Chinese residents: 2003–2013

Health inequality is an increasing concern worldwide. Using the coefficient of variation, Theil index, exploratory spatial data analysis, and spatial panel econometric model, we examined the regional inequality, spatio-temporal dynamic patterns, and key factors in the health status of Chinese residents from 2003 to 2013. We found that China’s residential health index (RHI) decreased from 0.404 to 0.295 in 2003–2013 at an annual rate of 2.698%. Spatially, resident health status, based on the RHI, has improved faster in the western region than in the eastern and central regions. Inequality in resident health status continued to increase between 2003 and 2013; inequality between regions decreased, but health status inequality expanded within regions. Furthermore, disparities in health status grew faster in western regions than in the eastern and central regions. The spatial distribution of resident health status formed a “T-shaped” pattern across China, decreasing from east to center then to the west with a symmetric decrease north and south. Using the change in Moran’s I from 2003 to 2008 and 2013, we found that the distribution of resident health status across China has narrowed. All the hot spots and cold spots have decreased, but they are also stable. Resident health status formed a stable cold spot in the western regions, while the east coastal area formed a stable hot spot. Selected explanatory variables have significant direct impacts on resident health status in China: increasing per capita GDP, per capita spending on health, and urbanization, and improving environmental quality all lead to better resident health status. Finally, we highlight the need for additional research on regional inequality of resident health status across multiple time, spatial, and factor domains.     

Patterns and trends in grain self-sufficiency on the Tibetan Plateau during 1985–2016

Capacity for grain self-sufficiency on the Tibetan Plateau(TP) is an important basis for ensuring social stability and regional sustainability. Thus, based on county-level statistical data for population, grain production and consumption, we analyzed patterns and trends in grain supply and demand at regional, provincial, and county levels on the TP between 1985 and 2016. We applied two indices to evaluate capacity for grain self-sufficiency and found that the regional average self-sufficiency rate increased quickly by 1.97%/a since 1989, reaching 173.03% on the plateau over the period between 2010 and 2016. This indicates that grain supply in this region is able to fully meet demand. In addition, all provinces apart from Xinjiang exhibited similar increasing trends, attaining grain self-sufficiency during 2010–2016. Furthermore, 59% of counties attained grain self-sufficiency over this period, mainly distributed in southern Tibet, in the Sichuan-Tibet junction area, and in eastern Qinghai Province. A number of gaps in grain supply and demand occurred within the headwater regions of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers as well as on the Qiangtang Plateau. Grain self-sufficiency significantly increased over the study period in 36% of counties, mainly distributed in the agricultural areas of southeastern Tibet and in eastern Qinghai. Across the whole plateau, capacity for grain self-sufficiency substantially increased between 1985 and 2016, although serious spatial imbalances remain.     

Household Water Insecurity in the Global North: A Study of Rural and Periurban Settlements on the Texas–Mexico Border

This article examines household-level characteristics that predict water insecurity in low-income rural and periurban communities on the Texas–Mexico border. We employ two logistic regression models (binary and ordered) to identify household characteristics that are more likely to result in water insecurity. Our analyses yielded unexpected findings: Whereas socioeconomic factors are weak predictors, immigration status of household members is a significant variable that contributes to household water insecurity. Policymakers need to pay more attention to marginalized communities as “universal” water access still leaves populations without adequate, reliable, and affordable water in the Global North.     

Paleomagnetism of Early Tertiary volcanics in the South Shetland Islands and its tectonic implications

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Religion on the Fringe: the representation of space and minority religious facilities in the rural–urban fringe of metropolitan Sydney,Australia

This article examines land-use development applications for minority religious facilities in two local government areas on the rural–urban fringe of metropolitan Sydney, Australia. Using critical discourse analysis and underpinned by Lefebvre's (1991) conceptual triad of space, the work interrogates the way in which place identity is generated and codified both by land-use planners and local residents through spatial representation. This representation is revealed in discourses around the compatibility of minority religious facilities for particular zones, lack of a sufficient minority population and social disruption. These discourses reveal a construction of peri-urban space that is aligned with particular elite Anglo-Australian activities (horse riding and gentleman farms) and land uses (rural residential, small-scale agriculture and the ‘bush-church’). These case studies illustrate the potential for the creation of exclusionary, abstract space by urban planners but also the ways in which local residents use discoursive strategies to ensure the stability of their position as elites in rapidly changing spatial situations.     

Quaternary basin evolution and present tectonic regime in the area of the 1997–1998 Umbria–Marche seismic sequence (central Italy)

Geological and geomorphological surveys have been performed in the area affected by the 1997–1998 Umbria–Marche seismic sequence (M_max=6.0) aimed at defining the Quaternary tectonic history and the characteristics of the present tectonic regime. Data have been collected from: (1) the analysis of the remnant landsurfaces by means of aerial photos and field surveys; (2) geological surveys in the Cesi–San Martino basin and in the easternmost sector of the Colfiorito basin in order to identify deformative features affecting the Quaternary deposits; (3) the analysis of boreholes and geo-electrical data (derived from previous surveys performed in the 1960s) in order to reconstruct the top of the pre-Quaternary substratum in the Colfiorito basin. Two different successions of remnant landsurfaces have been identified along the faults bounding the basins to the east, in the hangingwall and the footwall, respectively. The difference accounts for a fault-controlled evolution of the landscape at least during the Upper Pliocene–Early Pleistocene. The deformation affecting the Quaternary deposits and landforms in the investigated basins indicates a decreasing tectonic activity along the master faults since the Middle Pleistocene. Surface deformation due to tectonics is faint and displayed by gentle warping of the landforms during the late Quaternary. As for the basin geometry, subsurface data show that two minor depressions formed in the Colfiorito Basin during the Quaternary, the oldest one close to the fault bounding the basin, while the youngest (and deepest) formed in the inner portion of the basin. Therefore, the present geometry is different from that of other fault-bounded Quaternary depressions of the central Apennines (typically half-graben basins), showing the maximum depth of the substratum in the area close to the master fault. Tectonic history may be summarised as follows: (1) origin of the Quaternary fault-bounded Colfiorito and Cesi–San Martino basins; (2) evolution of the basins with a half-graben style; (3) significant reduction of tectonic activity since the Middle Pleistocene. During the third phase, the evolution of the basins is no longer related to a half-graben style. In the case of the Colfiorito basin, a new depression is superimposed to on the previous half-graben whose evolution is related to the lowering of the inner portion of the basin through warping. Moreover, present activity does not result in fault-related surficial displacements but only in “continuous” deformation spread over the basins. These conclusions have fundamental implications for the seismotectonic framework of the 1997–1998 earthquake sequence. This deformation style is, indeed, in agreement with the coseismic deformation modelled by means of the SAR interferometry analyses carried out by other institutions during the seismic sequence, and with the lack of evident surface faulting related to the mentioned events in the investigated area. This evidence indicates that the evolution of the investigated area since the Middle Pleistocene resulted from the summation of deformative episodes similar to that which occurred during the recent seismic sequence. As a consequence, no earthquakes with magnitude larger than 6 are expected in the area.     

1998’s floods in the Changjiang River and the land use/land cover change in the upper and middle-lower reaches in the past 50 years

IntroductionFlood disasters have been serious since the ancient bines. AJthough we have Strengthened the harnessingofbig rivers since the founding of new Chin4 the threat still edeStS (see FigUre l). The Yellow myer hasbeen well known for its flood disasters since long time %o in China. There more than 1500 river burstShappened to the Yellow hiver in the paSt 2000 or 3000 years. Whereas floods of the Changjiang caverwere comparatively not serious in history, but its flood disasters have …     

Exploring the future of rural–urban connections in sub-Saharan Africa: modelling urban expansion and its impact on food production in the Addis Ababa region

Abstract

The built-up area of Addis Ababa and its surrounding towns is expanding into the peri-urban region leading to high losses of farmland, directly influencing the food production for the urban population. This paper investigates the patterns of settlement growth in the region surrounding Addis Ababa and their impact on peri-urban agriculture using an urban spatial scenario design model. The effects of two population density scenarios are explored within the framework of a proposed master plan. The model output was used to estimate areas of different suitability levels that would be lost to the modelled settlement expansion. The settlement area in 2038 would represent 29% of the case study’s total area in the low-density scenario but only 19% in the high-density scenario. Compared to the low-density scenario, the high-density scenario would only require a third of the agricultural land transformed into settlement areas. Settlement development would contribute to higher losses of land suitable for cultivating important export products, high nutritional value and import-substituting products. The scenario approach can support sustainable regional planning for settlement expansion that conserves valuable farmland in the peri-urban area and contributes to building capacity for strategic planning of the city regions of sub-Saharan Africa.     

Beyond the Edge and in Between: (Re)conceptualizing the Rural–Urban Interface as Meaning–Model–Metaphor

As examinations of the rural–urban interface move beyond a focus on the rural or urban fringe as a location and move toward examining the patterns and processes that both divide and link rural and urban places, a broader (re)conceptualization of the rural–urban interface becomes increasingly important. Thus far the question of boundaries and interfaces between so-called urban and rural locales has mostly revolved around where and when such boundaries occur (including significant coverage of the differences and conflicts between urban vs. rural people), rather than asking what physical or social functions are being served by the rural–urban interface itself. In response, I (re)frame the rural–urban interface not only as a boundary between two distinct spaces but also as a conduit, a place of exchange, and a flux point between them. Using a particular case of contested ecologies in the exurban Sierra Nevada foothills of California, I (re)conceptualize the rural–urban interface as meaning, model, and metaphor (MMM), situating contrasting people and places in an ongoing negotiation of place and environmental meaning along the (ex)urbanizing edge. Although the differences between rural and urban are increasingly unclear, the division continues to be compelling from environmental and sociopolitical standpoints. I argue that (perceived) boundaries are instrumental in understanding physical–material change and for mitigating social conflicts occurring across them. As such, attention to the patterns, processes, and flows that connect or separate rural and urban areas is critical to forging effective and long-lasting solutions to contemporary social, economic, and environmental problems.     

Fourier transform–infrared studies on the effects of salt and drought stress on the chemical composition and protein conformation changes in Arabidopsis leaves

We examined the changes of chemical composition and protein conformation in Arabidopsis leaves by Fourier transform–infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry Arabidopsis under 50 mmol/L NaCl salt and ?0.5 mPa polyethylene glycols 8000 (PEG 8000) drought stress during the early stages of growth. We primarily analyzed the absorption band areas in the 1,745 cm^-1 (ester), 1,600–1,700 cm^-1 (amide I), and 1,100 cm^-1 (carbohydrate) changes under salt stress and drought stress within 24 hours. The results showed that ester content declined at the beginning and then increased steadily during 24 hours of drought stress. But under salt stress, it declined steadily, and it was about 40 percent of the control after 24 hours. The protein synthesis increased by 25 percent after one hour of salt stress and then reached about 85 percent of the control after 24 hours. Under drought stress, the protein synthesis decreased and reached a minimal level at the 4-hr time point; it then recovered to the control level at the 24-hr point. The patterns of the accumulation of carbohydrates in the 1,100 cm^-1 band areas resembled that of amide I band changes under drought stress and salt stress. Analyzing the ratio A_1,627cm-1/A_1,658cm-1 under drought stress revealed that the leaves’ entire protein structure maintained a higher-level ordered form than did those under salt stress. Thus our results indicate the existence of different strategies of the Arabidopsis adaptation to salt stress and drought stress.     

Patterns of Racial Diversity and Segregation in the United States: 1990–2010

The growing ethnic and racial diversity of the United States is evident at all spatial scales. One of the striking features of this new mixture of peoples, however, is that this new diversity often occurs in tandem with racial concentration. This article surveys these new geographies from four points of view: the nation as a whole, states, large metropolitan areas, and neighborhoods. The analysis at each scale relies on a new taxonomy of racial composition that simultaneously appraises both diversity and the lack thereof (Holloway, Wright, and Ellis 2012). Urban analysis often posits neighborhood racial segregation and diversity as either endpoints on a continuum of racial dominance or mirror images of one another. We disturb that perspective and stress that segregation and diversity must be jointly understood—they are necessarily related, although not as inevitable binary opposites. Using census data from 1990, 2000, and 2010, the research points to how patterns of racial diversity and dominance interact across varying spatial scales. This investigation helps answer some basic questions about the changing geographies of racialized groups, setting the stage for the following articles that explore the relationship between geography and the participation of underrepresented groups in higher education.     

The desert and the sown: Nomad–farmer interactions in the Wadi Faynan,southern Jordan

The paper discusses the changing relationship between pastoral nomads and farmers, one of the recurring themes in the history of the arid Near East. In many parts of this region that history has often been characterized in terms of changing cycles of sedentary farming and pastoralism, linked respectively to notions of cultural florescence and collapse. The paper reviews the complex history of cultivation, herding, and industrial activity (copper mining and processing) that has been established for the Wadi Faynan in southern Jordan, a desertic region used today largely by Bedouin herding groups, from the Early Bronze Age to the present day. As recent studies indicate for the Negev region as a whole, it concludes that notions of simplistic cycles in nomad–sedentary relations are unhelpful: historical contingency played a far more important role than the physical landscape and the changes effected to it by climatic shifts over the past 6000 years.     

Mechanism and effects of the increase in winter temperatures in the Arctic region on cold winters in Heilongjiang Province,Northeast China for the period 1961–2018

With the advent of climate change,winter temperatures have been steadily in-creasing in the middle-to-high latitudes of the world.However,we have not found a corre-sponding decrease in the number of extremely cold winters.This paper,based on Climatic Research Unit (CRU) re-analysis data,and methods of trend analysis,mutation analysis,correlation analysis,reports on the effects of Arctic warming on winter temperatures in Hei-longjiang Province,Northeast China.The results show that:(1) during the period 1961-2018,winter temperatures in the Arctic increased considerably,that is,3.5 times those of the Equator,which has led to an increasing temperature gradient between the Arctic and the Equator.An abrupt change in winter temperatures in the Arctic was observed in 2000.(2) Due to the global warming,an extremely significant warming occurred in Heilongjiang in winter,in particular,after the Arctic mutation in 2000,although there were two warm winters,more cold winters were observed and the interannual variability of winter temperature also increased.(3)Affected by the warming trend in the Arctic,the Siberian High has intensified,and both the Arctic Vortex and the Eurasian Zonal Circulation Index has weakened.This explains the de-crease in winter temperatures in Heilongjiang,and why cold winters still dominate.Moreover,the increase in temperature difference between the Arctic and the Equator is another reason for the decrease in winter temperatures in Heilongjiang.     

Crop cover reconstruction and its effects on sediment retention in the Tibetan Plateau for 1900–2000

Geographically explicit historical land use and land cover datasets are increasingly required in studies of climatic and ecological effects of human activities. In this study, using historical population data as a proxy, the provincial cropland areas of Qinghai province and the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) for 1900, 1930, and 1950 were estimated. The cropland areas of Qinghai and the TAR for 1980 and 2000 were obtained from published statistical data with revisions. Using a land suitability for cultivation model, the provincial cropland areas for the 20th century were converted into crop cover datasets with a resolution of 1 × 1 km. Finally, changes of sediment retention due to crop cover change were assessed using the sediment delivery ratio module of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (In- VEST) model (version 3.3.1). There were two main results. (1) For 1950–1980 the fractional cropland area increased from 0.32% to 0.48% and land use clearly intensified in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), especially in the Yellow River–Huangshui River Valley (YHRV) and the midstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River and its two tributaries valley (YRTT). For other periods of the 20th century, stability was the main trend. (2) For 1950–1980, sediment export increased rapidly in the Minhe autonomous county of the YHRV, and in the Nianchu River and Lhasa River basins of the YRTT, which means that sediment retention clearly decreased in these regions over this period. The results of this assessment provide scientific support for conservation planning, development planning, or restoration activities.     

Modeling the spatio-temporal changes in land uses and its impacts on ecosystem services in Northeast China over 2000–2050

Land use and its dynamics have attracted considerable scientific attention for their significant ecological and socioeconomic implications. Many studies have investigated the past changes in land use, but efforts exploring the potential changes in land use and implications under future scenarios are still lacking. Here we simulate the future land use changes and their impacts on ecosystem services in Northeast China (NEC) over the period of 2000–2050 using the CLUE–S (Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small regional extent) model under the scenarios of ecological security (ESS), food security (FSS) and comprehensive development (CDS). The model was validated against remote sensing data in 2005. Overall, the accuracy of the CLUE–S model was evaluated at 82.5%. Obtained results show that future cropland changes mainly occur in the Songnen Plain and the Liaohe Plain, forest and grassland changes are concentrated in the southern Lesser Khingan Mountains and the western Changbai Mountains, while the Sanjiang Plain will witness major changes of the wetlands. Our results also show that even though CDS is defined based on the goals of the regional development plan, the ecological service value (ESV) under CDS is RMB 2656.18 billion in 2050. The ESV of CDS is lower compared with the other scenarios. Thus, CDS is not an optimum scenario for eco-environmental protection, especially for the wetlands, which should be given higher priority for future development. The issue of coordination is also critical in future development. The results can help to assist structural adjustments for agriculture and to guide policy interventions in NEC.