A Framework for Selecting Indicators to Assess the Sustainable Development of the Natural Heritage Site

Sustainable world heritage management represents an approach for managing the resources of a property by integrating environmental, economic, and social issues. It aims to provide sustainable benefits for future generations, while protect the property and minimize the possible adverse social, economic and environmental impacts. Indicators of sustainable development, which summarize information for decision-making, are invaluable to learn the efficiency and effectiveness of property management. Scientists in many fields devised several conceptual models of environmental statistics and indicators, of which, DPSIR (Driving forces – Pressure – State – Impact – Response) is thought to be the best available one in identifying and developing indicators of sustainable development. Based on the DPSIR conceptual model and indicator selection criteria, the present paper proposed a methodology framework for selecting indicators to assess the sustainable development of a natural heritage site. The proposed framework included a multi-level hierarchical structure for various indicators and indexes, a modified DPSIR frame to identify key issues in property management and a set of indicators for evaluating the sustainability in Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries.     

Sustainable tourism development in mountain areas in Sumadija and Western Serbia

Sustainable tourism,as an integral part of sustainable development,emerged as a logical outcome of preventing the uncontrolled and excessive use of tourism resources and attractions.This study analyzes whether mountain tourism development in Serbia can be sustainable and feasible in the long term.Given the heterogeneity of mountains in Serbia in terms of tourism development,the subject of this research is the achieved level of sustainable tourism development in mountains in the most developed and most visited region in Serbia-sumadija and Western Serbia:Zlatibor,Kopaonik,Tara,Zlatar,Mokra Gora and Go?.The sustainable tourism development level was analyzed by using five groups of the EU’s comparative indicators:economic,social,cultural,environmental and tourist satisfaction indicators.The results showed that the development of tourism in the examined mountains is not fully aligned with sustainable development.The tourist satisfaction indicator has the most acceptable values,which is a good basis for further harmonization of tourism development on the principles of sustainability.Economic indicators,especially the ratio of overnight stays and accommodation capacities,show the most unacceptable values,which indicate the need for implementing changes in the process of tourism development in the coming period.The analysis of sustainable tourism in mountain areas in sumadija and the Western Serbia undoubtfully points out that it is necessary to significantly change the current tourism product portfolio,which implies harmonizing mountain tourism development with global trends.Certainly,a comparative analysis that looks at the degree of sustainability of mountain tourism in some countries of the Alpine region,such as Switzerland,Austria and Slovenia,contributes to this.The more intensive development of tourism throughout the year would significantly improve indicators of sustainable tourism in all analyzed mountain areas of Sumadija and Western Serbia.This would improve the value of economic indicators,which are marked as the most unsustainable.The development of tourism in the summer season,especially recreational and adventure tourism,would improve the social and cultural component of sustainable tourism.Environmental dimension of sustainable tourism would be enhanced by the development of ecotourism.By connecting spatially close mountains(Zlatibor,Zlatar,Tara and Mokra Gora)into a unique and integrated tourism destination,synergistic effects would be achieved resulting in international recognition and making the region of?umadija and Western Serbia competitive on the European market.     

SUSTAINABLE USE OF LAND RESOURCE AND ITS EVALUATION IN COUNTY AREA－A Case of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,China

Sutainable use of natural resources is different from sustainable development.As the most important natural resource,sustainable use of land resource is the essential guarantee of sustainable development.The nature of sustainable use of land resource is to retain the quantity and productivity of land resource from generation to generation.The evaluaton of sustainable use of land resource is an important method to ensure land-use to get onto the sustainable track.Furthermore,building index system is the key of the evaluation.In view of tendency of the evaluation indexes chosen so widely,the evaluation indexes should include only three kinds in the researches on the evaluation of sustainable use of land resourece.The first is the stock and structure index of land resource,viz,Areas quantity structure of land resources.In China,it is especially paid attention to the per person index of landquantity and rate between cultivated land farmland.The second is the productive index of land,which includes the productivity,potentiality,stability and renewal situation of land.The third is the sustained index of land environment .On the evaluation research of areal level,we should lay particular emphasis on statistic indexes.With a case of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in China,the evaluation index system of sustainable land-use in county area has been built in this thesis,Using the weighted average method to calculate the means of sustainable land-use in each county,according to the land-using situation,all counties in the autonomous region have been divided into three types.(1)Sustainable Pattern contains 18 counties,which have higher land resource productivity,stronger sustained abilities of land environment.The economic benefits of land-using in these conties are obviously higher.These counties have gotten highly intensive farming,and tyey are all in the good circumstance.(2)Basically Sutained Pattern contains 48 counties,which productivity of land resource is of middle level.In part of counties are obviously higher.These counties can rapidly enter in a good circumstance.(3)Critically Sustained Pattern contains 14 counties,which are mostlyin the karst mountain areas.They have less stock of land resource,lower productivity and more extensive culitivation.The productivity of land renewing has been hindered.so it urgently need to be renovated.At last,the writers have explored the basic ways of sustainable use of land resource in Guangxi,China-(1)Retain the stock of land resource and strictly manage farmland uses.(2)Strengthen the value accounting of land resource,and control the farmland occupation of non-agricultural controction.(3)Depend on technology advanced,optimize the land-using structure,and promote the productive level.(4)Carry out land management all-round,and improve the ecological environment of land resource.(5)Enhance evaluation researche and land monitoring ,and promote the sustainable utilization level of land resource.     

Assessing tourism sustainability in hill towns: Case study of Shimla,India

Hill towns form a popular niche in tourism destinations. They are renowned for their natural beauty and distinctive cultural traditions. Unplanned development can lead to a loss in opportunity to access the potential of these resources or cause their damage. Development decisions need to adopt a sustainable approach that balances tourism growth with the preservation of the natural and cultural assets. The present research details a comprehensive assessment tool to study the sustainability of tourism in hill towns with a focus on Shimla, a popular hill destination in India. The tool specifies seven dimensions of sustainable tourism; 1) Tourism Assets;2) Tourism Activity; 3) Tourism Related Linkages; 4)Tourism Related Leakages; 5) Environmental and Social Sustainability; 6) Infrastructure; and 7)Attractiveness. Primary data were collected through questionnaire surveys of local households and arriving tourists. Visual survey is conducted to map built-environment and land-use. Secondary data were gathered from government reports and scholarly articles. A framework of indicators and sub-indicators was developed to analyze the data at two levels – city and ward. While the appraisal of the city provides an overall view of the performance of the tourism industry, at the ward level a comparative analysis was carried out to reveal sector related potentials and issues. The study reveals the imbalanced tourismconcentration in the core of the city as compared to other wards and the gap between tourist potential and infrastructure development. These are addressed through planning recommendations for more balanced development with a focus on eco-tourism.The research helps develop a framework which paves way to sustainable tourism development in Indian hill towns.     

Impact of climatic factors on vegetation dynamics in the upper Yangtze River basin in China

It is necessary to understand vegetation dynamics and their climatic controls for sustainable ecosystem management.This study examines the vegetation dynamics and the effect of climate change on vegetation growth in the pristine conditions of 58 woodland National Nature Reserves(NNRs)located in the upper Yangtze River basin(UYRB)in China which are little influenced by human activities.Changes in the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI),precipitation,and temperature in the selected NNRs were observed and analyzed for the period between 1999 and 2015.The relationship between time-lag effect of climate and changes in the NDVI were assessed using Pearson correlations.The results showed three major trends.1)The NDVI increased during the study period;this indicates an increase in the amount of green vegetation,especially due to the warmer climate during the growing season.The NDVIs in March and September were significantly affected by the temperature of the previous months.Spring temperatures increased significantly(P<0.05)and there was a delay between climatic factors and their effect on vegetation,which depended on the previous season.In particular,the spring temperature had a delayed effect on the NDVI in summer.2)The way in which vegetation responds to climatic factors varied significantly across the seasons.Temperature had a greater effect on the NDVI in spring and summer and the effect was greater at higher altitudes.A similar trend was observed for precipitation,except for altitudes of 1000–2000 m.3)Temperature had a greater effect on the NDVI in spring and autumn at higher altitudes.The same trend was observed for precipitation in summer.These findings suggest that the vegetation found in NNRs in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River was in good condition between 1999 and 2015 and that the growth and development of vegetation in the region has not been adversely affected by climate change.This demonstrates the effectiveness of nature reserves in protecting regional ecology and minimizing anthropogenic effects.     

Assessment of Sustainable Development System in Suihua City, China

Sustainable development is a complex and systemic issue. It is essential to study it by the component analysis method from the view of system science. The urban developmental sustainability is one of focuses that people has paid more attention to, however, little common understanding how to measure and evaluate the sustainability has been gotten. In this paper, a framework is designed to evaluate the developmental sustainability of Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province in China from the aspects of economy, society, population, resources and environment. We adopt the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to decrease dimensions and simplify the original indexes into 12 indexes. Also, the hierarchy and comprehensive multiple-criterion evaluative methods are employed to assess the sustainable development system in Suihua City. Then, the weights of indexes are attained by Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Furthermore, urban comprehensive development level, developmental sustainability, coordinate degree are calculated and analyzed. By analyzing, we know the fluctuation of development level of subsystem, especially resources and environment subsystem, is acute. The comprehensive development level of sustainable development system in Suihua has been on the rise since 1999. That results from the effect of traditional economic development mode with high energy-consumed being decreased in the city after 1999. At the same time, it is obvious that there was an instability of development level in Suihua City during 1990-2002, with a turn in 1998, and the development could be sustainable, the status trend was more harmonious in 1999-2002.     

Measuring Network Configuration of the Yangtze River Middle Reaches Urban Agglomeration: Based on Modified Radiation Model

The objective of this study is to develop a framework for re-examining and re-defining the classical concepts of spatial interaction and reorganization in the urban system. We introduce a modified radiation model for spatial interactions, coupled with migration big data, transport accessibility algorithm, and city competitiveness assessment for efficient distribution of the inter-city flow through the network. The Yangtze River Middle Reaches(YRMR) urban agglomeration(UA) is chosen as the case study region to systematically identify and measure its spatial configuration and to gain insights for other UAs‘ sustainable development in China. The results are also compared with those computed by the classical gravity model to systematically discuss the applicability of spatial interaction laws and models, and related practical policies for regional sustainable development are discussed based on the findings as well. The conclusions are highlighted below: 1) Combining with the ?city network paradigm‘ and ?central place theory‘ can better express the spatial configurations of city systems in the context of ?space of flows‘; 2) The results validate the potentialities of a multi-analysis framework to assess the spatial configurations of city network based on the improved radiation model and network analysis tools; 3) The applications of spatial interaction models should be considered according to the specific geographical entity and its spatial scale.     

Research on natural resources and environmental geology for urban sustainable development: a case study of Kunming

There exists synchronous growth in resources consumption and environment pollution in Kunming urbanization in recent years, which has led to the increasing pressure of urban sustainable development. Considering the environmental and social benefits in Kunming’s water resources sustainable development, the authors provided a research finding the optimal urban population scale in different stages for urban water supply based on the sustainable development groundwater evaluating theoretical model. Through the research on the availability of construction site as well as the risk in underground space exploitation with the extenics theory method, we get a suitable partition map of land for urban construction and a risky partition map of underground space development. The results show that the appropriate population scale of Kunming will be less than 2.96×106 by 2020, and will reach (4.34--2.96)×106 optimized population scale after 2020 under the condition of economic-socially and environmentally sustainable development. It is significant to optimize urban construction land and use underground space under the condition of land resources sustainability in Kunming.     

Sustainable Intensification of Cultivated Land Use and Its Influencing Factors at the Farming Household Scale: A Case Study of Shandong Province,China

Promoting the sustainable intensification of cultivated land use(SICL) has become crucial for ensuring a sufficient supply of grain and important agricultural products, as well as for the sustainable use of resources. Taking widely used areas of Shandong Province in China as examples, an analytical scale and level framework for SICL is constructed in this study. It measures the level of SICL through material flow analysis, constructs Tobit models to analyze the influencing factors of SICL at the farming household scale,and analyzes the transition mechanisms of SICL. The results show that the overall level of SICL in Shandong Province is low, and the spatial distribution is uneven. There are relatively more farmers participating in unsustainable intensification than in medium or low levels of SICL, with farmers working at a high level of SICL making up the smallest proportion. The factors that determine the level of SICL at which farmers work vary significantly. More male farmers operate at a low SICL level than female farmers, while females outnumber males at a high SICL level. This is mainly related to the regional distribution of age and population. Meanwhile, with larger cultivated land areas, there is a lower degree of land fragmentation, with a higher level of SICL corresponding to a smaller distance to the nearest town closer within 1–5 km from the town center. We can see the level of SICL and its processes themselves are closely related to time and space scales. Based on the above analysis, it is necessary to clarify the standard processes of SICL to adapt them to local conditions. This includes instructing managers on how to improve resource utilization, increase the sustainable development of cultivated land and establish a comprehensively efficient and functional SICL mechanism. The sustainable intensification of cultivated land use and its specific application in the new era are conducive to enriching the frontier theories and methodology of sustainable development, and are of great significance to the advancement of green agriculture and the decision-making of rural high-quality development.     

AN ASSESSMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPING CAPABILITY OF INTEGRATED AGRICULTURAL REGIONALIZATION IN CHINA

Based on the provincial units evaluation,this paper makes an assessment for sustainable developing capability of the integrated agricultural regionalization in China.At first ,an index system of agricultural sustainable development in China is built up,which includes 5 supporting subsystems of agricultural resources,agricultural develop-ment ,environment and ecosystem,rural society,sciences-esucation and management.We selected 95 factors on provin-cial level as basic indexes.Second,a relative assets/debt assessing method is used to gain relative net assets values (relative superiority) of every provincial unit,which are as supporting data for assessment.We also overlaid the Administra-tive Divisions Map of China and the Map of Integrated Agricultural Regionalization of China by Geography Information Sys-tem(GIS) to gain the area units of assessment.Third,according to the relative coherence principle of regionalization,we transform administration units to natural units through homogenizing all provincial relative net assets values in every agricultural assessing unit.After making order and grade,we complete the sustainable developing capability assessment to integrated agricultural regionalization in China.The assessing outcome shows that the total sustainable agricultural devdelop-ing capability of China is not high.Only about 1/3 in number or in area has reached the level of agricultural sustainable development.The relative net assets values exists a reducing trend from East China to West China.It needs a long period and great efforts to realize sustainable agricultural development over all China.Finally,there is a discussion to the study method.     

Overall-effective Measures for Sustainable Water Resources Management in the Coastal Areas of Shandong Province, China ——Case Study： the Huangshuihe River Catchment of Longkou City

In the coastal catchments of Shandong Province the water scarcity is aggravated due to saltwater intrusion, reducing the usability of water resources available. Such a situation calls for sustainable integrated water resources management （IWRM）. The idea for the objectives and implementation of the IWRM are explained in this paper. The general objective of the planned project disscussed in the present study is to bring together German traditional expertise in water resources management and newer developments in the context of the European Water Framework Directive; the research efforts aim to relieve the desperate water scarcity situation in the costal area of Shandong Province.     

Guide to authors

<正>Aims and scope(Editorial Policy)The Journal of Mountain Science(JMS)is devoted to mountains and their surrounding lowlands-ecoregions of particular global importance,with a particular emphasis on the important highlands/mountains in the world,such as the Tibetan Plateau,the Himalayas,the Alps,the Andes,the Rockies and many other mountain ranges of our planet.JMS mainly publishes academic and technical papers concerning environmental changes and sustainable development in mountain areas     

Guide to authors

<正>Aims and scope(Editorial Policy)The Journal of Mountain Science(JMS)is devoted to mountains and their surrounding lowlands-ecoregions of particular global importance,with a particular emphasis on the important highlands/mountains in the world,such as the Tibetan Plateau.the Himalayas,the Alps,the Andes,the Rockies and many other mountain ranges of our planet.JMS mainly publishes academic and technical papers concerning environmental changes and sustainable development in mountain areas under natural conditions or/and with the influence of human activities.     

Policy review and outlook on China’s sustainable development since 1992

The Road to Rio+20 is the journey of countries in the world pursuing the sustainable development.As the first country to release the national Agenda 21,China’s experience and lessons are of great significance for both China itself and other countries.The paper reviews the progress made and problems remained in pursuing the sustainable development in China with regard to policy formulation,institutional arrangements,planning and management.In the past five years,the mandatory targets-driven approach,which focused on energy efficiency and key pollutants reduction,played a very important role and made China comprehensive outcomes for sustainability.In order to achieve the targets,China adopted an integrated policy package including legal,administrative,economic and technology instruments.During the 12th Five-Year Plan period(2011-2015),China will continue and strengthen the approach above and mainstream the transformation of economic development pattern through realizing the idea of green and low-carbon development.By summarizing policy trends in the world,the paper points out two directions,i.e.,integration approach and taking prioritized and concrete actions for a sustainable future beyond 2012.The paper also presents policy approaches and recommendations for sustainable development in the next 10 years in China.     

Maximum Sustainable Yield Estimates of Ladypees,Sillago sihama(Forsskl),Fishery in Pakistan Using the ASPIC and CEDA Packages

Using surplus production model packages of ASPIC(a stock-production model incorporating covariates) and CEDA(Catch effort data analysis),we analyzed the catch and effort data of Sillago sihama fishery in Pakistan.ASPIC estimates the pa-rameters of MSY(maximum sustainable yield),Fmsy(fishing mortality),q(catchability coefficient),K(carrying capacity or unexploited biomass) and B1/K(maximum sustainable yield over initial biomass).The estimated non-bootstrapped value of MSY based on logistic was 598 t and that based on the Fox model was 415 t,which showed that the Fox model estimation was more conservative than that with the logistic model.The R2 with the logistic model(0.702) is larger than that with the Fox model(0.541),which indicates a better fit.The coefficient of variation(cv) of the estimated MSY was about 0.3,except for a larger value 88.87 and a smaller value of 0.173.In contrast to the ASPIC results,the R2 with the Fox model(0.651-0.692) was larger than that with the Schaefer model(0.435-0.567),indicating a better fit.The key parameters of CEDA are:MSY,K,q,and r(intrinsic growth),and the three error assumptions in using the models are normal,log normal and gamma.Parameter estimates from the Schaefer and Pella-Tomlinson models were similar.The MSY estimations from the above two models were 398 t,549 t and 398 t for normal,log-normal and gamma error distributions,re-spectively.The MSY estimates from the Fox model were 381 t,366 t and 366 t for the above three error assumptions,respectively.The Fox model estimates were smaller than those for the Schaefer and the Pella-Tomlinson models.In the light of the MSY estimations of 415 t from ASPIC for the Fox model and 381 t from CEDA for the Fox model,MSY for S.sihama is about 400 t.As the catch in 2003 was 401 t,we would suggest the fishery should be kept at the current level.Production models used here depend on the assumption that CPUE(catch per unit effort) data used in the study can reliably quantify temporal variability in population abundance,hence the mod-eling results would be wrong if such an assumption is not met.Because the reliability of this CPUE data in indexing fish population abundance is unknown,we should be cautious with the interpretation and use of the derived population and management parameters.     

Spatial patterns and storage composition of woody debris in a natural secondary forest dominated by Pinus tabulaeformis on Loess Plateau,China

Woody debris(WD) is an important par of natural Pinus tabulaeformis mixed stands, and i affects the forest ecosystem stability and developmen The WD spatial patterns are especially importan structural characteristics that can provide insights into forest dynamics. In this paper, the WD storage WD spatial patterns and WD associations among the main species were examined in the natural secondary forest on Loess Plateau in northwest China. Data were collected in a 1 ha(100 m × 100 m) permanent plot and all the trees with a diameter at breast height o more than 3 cm were measured and stem-mapped Ripley's K functions from the spatial-point-pattern analysis method were used to analyze the spatia distribution and associations. The results showed tha(1) The total storage of WD was 10.73 t/ha, fallen wood was the main source of WD, and the majority diameters were greater than 20 cm, and in intermediate levels of decay;(2) The overall spatia pattern was closely related to the spatial scale, which exhibited an aggregated pattern on a small scale, and a random pattern on a large scale. The spatia patterns of coarse woody debris also gradually transitioned from an aggregated pattern in fine scales to a random pattern in broader spatial scales, which matched the overall spatial pattern. The spatial intensity was gradually decreased with the increasing diameters, and increased with the decomposition classes;(3) The WD of Pinus tabulaeformis species was negatively associated with Betula platyphylla and Populus davidiana on a small scale but positively associated with these species on a large scale. The spatial pattern and interspecies relations were the results of long-term interactions between the natural secondary forest community and the surrounding natural environment. These findings would provide a scientific basis for the sustainable management and protection of natural secondary forest ecosystems on Loess Plateau.     

Ecological Footprint dynamics of Yunnan, China

A fundamental element of sustainable development is that humans live within nature＇s biological capacity. Quantifying this, however, remains a significant challenge for which there are many emerging tools. The concept of the Ecological Footprint is one such accounting tool for comprehensive assessment of the status of sustainable development, based on integration of resource consumption and land capacity, reflecting the human impact on the environment. A region＇s development is defined as unsustainable when the Ecological Footprint surpasses the biological capacity. In this paper, the Ecological Footprint concept Was applied in assessing the development of Yunnan Province, China in a period between 1988 and 2006. The results showed that the Ecological Footprint per capita in Yunnan rose from 0.854 gha in 1988 to 2.11 gha in 2006. Ecological deficit, defined as when the human demand on the land surpasses the regions biological productive capacity, emerged in 1991 and quickly increased from 0.02 gha in 1991 to 1.05 gha in 2006. The increase in the ecological deficit is primarily a result of the rapid increase in population and consumption level. To achieve sustainable development in Yunnan, production and consumption rates need to be modified.     

Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Urbanization in China Using DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data from 1992–2013

Understanding the dynamics of urbanization is essential to the sustainable development of cities. Meanwhile the analysis of urban development can also provide scientifically and effective information for decision-making. With the long-term Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System(DMSP/OLS) nighttime light images, a pixel level assessment of urbanization of China from 1992 to 2013 was conducted in this study, and the spatio-temporal dynamics and future trends of urban development were fully detected. The results showed that the urbanization and urban dynamics of China experienced drastic fluctuations from 1992 to 2013, especially for those in the coastal and metropolitan areas. From a regional perspective, it was found that the urban dynamics and increasing trends in North Coast China, East Coast China and South Coast China were much more stable and significant than that in other regions. Moreover, with the sustainability estimating of nighttime light dynamics, the regional agglomeration trends of urban regions were also detected. The light intensity in nearly 50% of lighted pixels may continuously decrease in the future, indicating a severe situation of urbanization within these regions. In this study, The results revealed in this study can provided a new insight in long time urbanization detecting and is thus beneficial to the better understanding of trends and dynamics of urban development.     

Evaluation of water resources conserved by forests in the Hani rice terraces system of Honghe County,Yunnan, China: an application of the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model

The Hani Rice Terraces System, based on gravity-flow irrigation, is one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS) pilot sites selected by FAO in 2010. The water resource plays an important role in the sustainable development of this system. The value of water conserved by the forest is influenced by natural, economic and social factors. In this paper, the water quality, per capita water resources, per capita GDP and population density are chosen as indices to construct an index system for a comprehensive evaluation of water resources value. The weights of these indices are 0.443, 0.31, 0.141 and 0.106 respectively, which are determined by the analytic hierarchy process(AHP) method. The water resources value has been assessed by the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model. The results show that the water resources value in the Hani Rice Terraces System is 4.25 RMB/m~3. Evaluating the value of water resources in the Hani Rice Terraces System can provide a reference for ecological compensation, for raising public awareness of the importance of protecting the system, and ultimately achieving its sustainable development.