Green Tourism in Mountain Regions - Reducing Vulnerability and Promoting People and Place Centric Development in the Himalayas

In recent years, mountain regions are attracting great attention to Indian tourists in general and foreign tourists in particular. The potential mountain resources for promoting green tourism are enormous in the form of natural and cultural heritage such as biosphere reserves, flora and fauna, lakes and rivers and traditional rural resources. In order to utilise tourism industry market, uncontrolled numbers of tourists and related haphazard infrastructural facilities in the vulnerable mountain regions pose serious environmental implications. The ecological pressures are threatening land, water and wild life resources through direct and indirect environmental impacts together with generation of solid and liquid wastes, so green tourism is emerging as an important task in order to develop new relationship between communities, government agencies and private sectors. The strategy focuses on ecological understanding, environmental protection and ecodevelopment. The major attributes of the green tourism include environmental conservation and education and distribution of income to local people based on strong partnership. Various knowledge systems go a long way for achieving the goals of the green tourism, which creates awareness about the value of environmental resources. Mountains have ecological, recreational, educational and scientific values, which need to be utilised in sustainable way. Various tourist activities andfacilities need to be diversified in order to achieve multiple benefits including scientific field excursion, recreation in natural and cultural areas, community festivals and sport tourisms. Green tourism considers tourism development as an integral part of a national and regional development. The paper discusses the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the green tourism with particular reference to village tourism development programme taking empirical evidences from the Himalaya. Such programme also minimises biophysical and human vulnerability and risks in mountain regions. The environmental consciousness campaign and introduction of code through multi- purpose Tourist Resource Centres are gaining currency in above context.     

Scarcity within opulence: Water management in the Karakoram Mountains revisited

Water management in general and in the Indus Basin in particular is concerned with the energy-efficient transportation of hydrologically exploitable resources from the upper zone to climatically favourable areas where irrigation helps to supersede arid conditions for the cultivation of crops and watering of meadows. In other words: Human intervention sets the stage for the allocation of water from a wider catchment area in a smaller habitat where this resource is deficient. Emphasis on mountain irrigation practices is counteracted with developments in the forelands where different frame conditions prevail and peculiar development problems occur. In dealing with the importance of water from the mountain regions three dimensions have to be evaluated: 1) natural factors and their validity for the environmental frame conditions and technological adaptation processes; 2) social factors and their impact on culture, economy and equitability; 3) institutional factors and their importance for sustainable growth and for the implementation of development projects. In the study of decentralized irrigation systems in high mountain regions of the Indus Basin a systems theoretical approach values the complexity of interrelationships between different systems elements. Human activities in arid mountain regions are restricted by limiting ecological factors and are characterized by certain utilization and adaptive strategies.     

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.     

Residents’ environmental conservation behaviour in the mountain tourism destinations in China: Case studies of Jiuzhaigou and Mount Qingcheng

This study aimed at gaining an understanding of the formation of residents’ Environmental Conservation Behaviour (ECB) to promote sustainable tourism development in Chinese mountain areas. In particular, a theoretical framework was constructed by merging residents’ mountain attachment and their environmental values, and awareness of environmental consequences based on the Cognition Behaviour Theory. This research sampled 642 residents with convenience sampling method in Jiuzhaigou and Mount Qingcheng, and structural equation modelling analysis was conducted to identify the relationships among the above variables. Results verified that mountain attachment affected people’s awareness of environmental consequences, which then affected their ECB. Environmental values and mountain attachment directly and positively influenced ECB. Moreover, awareness of environmental consequences played the most prominent role in predicting ECB among all the predictors in this study. In all, this study derived several significant implications which can not only contribute to environmental management policies in tourism field but also help to improve the levels of the antecedents of residents’ ECB and promote sustainable tourism development in Chinese mountain areas.     

ON REGIONAL DIFFERENTIATION OF RIVER WATER ENVIRONMENT CAPACITY AND STRATEGIES TO CONTROL WATER ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION IN CHINA

ＯＮＲＥＧＩＯＮＡＬＤＩＦＦＥＲＥＮＴＩＡＴＩＯＮＯＦＲＩＶＥＲＷＡＴＥＲＥＮＶＩＲＯＮＭＥＮＴＣＡＰＡＣＩＴＹＡＮＤＳＴＲＡＴＥＧＩＥＳＴＯＣＯＮＴＲＯＬＷＡＴＥＲＥＮＶＩＲＯＮＭＥＮＴＰＯＬＬＵＴＩＯＮＩＮＣＨＩＮＡ￥ＷａｎｇＨｕａｄｏｎｇ（王华...     

基于主成分分析的济宁市环境承载力研究

该文以济宁市环境承载力为研究对象,运用主成分分析法,从影响环境污染状况、环境治理状况、人口状况、经济发展状况、自然资源状况、物耗能耗状况等19个指标中,提取出影响环境承载力动态变化的3个主成分,对济宁市环境承载力年际变化进行了综合评价。结果表明:2006—2010年,济宁市环境承载力呈现逐年上升的趋势。该研究评价结果较好,可以为该地区的可持续开发规划提供理论参考。     

Spatial Patterns of LULC and Driving Forces in the Transnational Area of Tumen River: A Comparative Analysis of the Sub-regions of China,the DPRK,and Russia

Understanding the spatial patterns of land-use and land-cover(LULC) and their driving forces in transnational areas is important for the sustainable development of these regions. However, the spatial patterns of LULC and their driving forces across multiple scales are poorly understood in transnational areas. In this study, we analyzed the spatial patterns of LULC and driving forces in the transnational area of Tumen River(TATR) in 2016 across two scales: the entire region and the sub-regions of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK), and Russia. Results showed that the LULC was dominated by broadleaf forest and dry farmland in the TATR in 2016, which accounted for 66.86% and 13.60% of the entire region, respectively. Meanwhile, the LULC in the three sub-regions exhibited noticeable differences. In the Chinese and the DPRK's sub-regions, the area of broadleaf forest was greater than those for the other LULC types, while the Russian sub-region was dominated by broadleaf forest and grassland. The spatial patterns of LULC were mainly influenced by topography, climate, soil properties, and human activities. In addition, the driving forces of the spatial patterns of LULC in the TATR had an obvious scaling effect. Therefore, we suggest that effective policies and regulations with cooperation among China, the DPRK, and Russia are needed to plan the spatial patterns of LULC and improve the sustainable development of the TATR.     

环境资源与生态系统的关系

采用论述、图解及数学关系式的方法，较深入地分析了资源、环境与生态系统的关系。认为环境要素可分为仅产生污染型影响的环境要素；既可以产生污染型影响又可以导致资源破坏型影响的环境要素；仅产生资源破坏型影响3种类型。自然环境的优劣由组成自然环境各环境要素的环境质量状况和可作为自然环境要素的自然资源的数量多少决定。要实现环境与经济的可持续发展，应该把环境质量和资源利用同时作为衡量环境优劣的因素。     

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.     

THE CHARACTERISTICS AND MAIN PROBLEMSOF MINORITY REGIONS IN CHINA

llNTRODUCTION with a hlgherpercentage ofmlnorlty people．The aim o且the paper Is to trace out the ways ofnarrowing the gapsIn this paper，the central and western parts o且 between minority regions and eastern developed regions乙hlna mainly cover eight minority provinces and regions and of safeguarding social stability In China．（the bye autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia。Guangxi，Tibet，Xinjiang and Ningxia，and thr。e 2 CHAHA…     

ECOLOGICAL SECURITY EVALUATION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN KARST MOUNTAINOUS AREA——A Case Study of Du＇an Yao Autonomous County in Guangxi

Ecological security is the main task and applied field of present geography, resources and environment sciences and ecology. Ecological security evaluation will efficiently promote ecological security and environmental construction in regional land use. In this thesis, the authors put forward the index system of ecological security evaluation in karst mountainous area on three aspects, the pressure of resources and eco-environment, the quality of resources and eco-environment, and the ability of environmental protection and ecological improvement. Using the evaluation method with single index, based on the case study ofDu‘an Yao Autonomous County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the system ofsynthetic regionalization ofecological agricultural economy was formed, which includes three regions, south region with basic security and synthetic agricultural development, east region with critical security and agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry balanced development, mid-west and south region with ecological insecurity and compounded agriculture and forestry management. Meanwhile, for these regions, the countermeasures of sustainable agricultural development were pointed out, which provide the basis and example for ecological regulation and control of sustainable agricultural development in counties of karst mountainous area.     

Changing Concepts of City and Urban Planning Practices in Guangzhou （1949-2010）： An Approach to Sustainable Urban Development

By focusing on Guangzhou, this paper examines how different concepts of city in terms of urban-rural relationships are shaped in transforming China since 1949, and explores how they influence the way in which urban planning are practiced. In the pre-reform era, the city was defined as a productive space under the system of urban-rural segregation established for securing rapid industrialization. Urban planning was thus only concerned with the development of urban areas. In the 1980s and 1990s after the reform, institutional change and economic transformation mobilized the urban-rural linkages. The development of suburban areas was then con- sidered by urban planning, but this consideration was a passive response to urban problems such as population explosion and water re- sources protection. Since the new millennium, the agenda for sustainable development and problems of uneven urban-rural development have called for the development of urban-rural integration. In this context, the city is conceptualized as a complex of mountain, city, river, farmland and sea, reconstructing the ideology of urban-rural division in defining urban development. Urban planning has therefore sought in an active way to develop a sustainable city embracing rural and natural elements, and to balance economic growth and envi- ronmental protection. It is argued that developing the concept of city as a complex of urban and rural elements contributes to the urban planning for sustainable urban development, while this conceptualization relies on the recognition of the integrated urban-rural relationship.     

Evaluation and analysis of provincial differences in resources and environment carrying capacity in China

Resources and environment carrying capacity is central to not only regional sustainable development but also major function-oriented zoning. This paper presents an evaluation index system for resources and environment carrying capacity based on four aspects of carrying capacity(i.e., water resources, land resources, the environment, and ecosystems) by using a square deviation decision-making method, and on the basis of above effort evaluates the resources and environment carrying capacity across 31 provincial regions in China(not including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan regions of China). In addition, this paper evaluates the current state of socio-economic development, and analyzes the spatial distribution of resources and environment pressure. The results showed that distinct spatial differences in resources and environment carrying capacity and pressure across provincial regions. Resources and environment pressure is affected by both comprehensive resources and environment carrying capacity and socio-economic development. Regions subjected to lower degrees of resources and environment pressure will be restricted by resources and environmental problems through future courses of development owing to excessively low carrying capacities. By contrast, regions with higher comprehensive resources and environment carrying capacity will be subjected to excessively high levels of resources and environment pressure because of rapid socio-economic development. Both of resources and environment carrying capacity and pressure must therefore be considered in the allocation of country-binding targets to provincial regions.     

Major problems of sustainable development along the bank area of the Changjiang River

TheChangiiangRiverisrichinfreshwaterandwaterpowerresources,themeanrunoffandwaterpoweroftheriverareabout37%and52%respectivelyoftotalonesofChina.Inaddition,theChanaiiangRiverhastheimmensenavigationpotentialandvaluableshorelineresources,thenavigablelengthreaches364okmandtheallshorelinelengthisabout6OOokmfromYihinCitytotheestuary.Moreover,theChangiiangRiver,withtheadvantagesofsuitablelocationandbroadhinterland,crossesEast,MiddleandWestEco-nomicZonewithdifferenteconomiclevelsofChina,soitsuniq…     

Sustainable tourism development in mountain areas in ?umadija 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-?umadija 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 ?umadija 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 ?umadija 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.     

Wetland resource protection and rational utilization in China

Wetlands of China cover an area of 63 million ha, among which, natural wetlands 25 million ha, including mires, shallow lakes, etc., artificial wetlands 38 million ha. Besides these, there are a lot of rivers and islands, stretching 18,000 km of coastal line and coastal zone below the tidal within the water depth of 6 m. Based on the climatic regional differences, biota similarity and biodiversity abundance, China’s wetlands can be divided into 9 main regions. Wetlands not only have huge functions to regulate mankind’s living environment, but also are the important and precious natural resources. For a long period, since the contradiction between population and resources, energy, grain is getting more and more obvious, China’s wetlands are facing to serious disturbances, such as large-scale reclamation, overhunting, industrial waste water pollution and species introducing. They have brought about the wetland quantity reducing and quality falling, furthermore have effects on sustainable development. For the special national conditions of China, higher population pressure, China should carry out wetland resource protection and rational utilization, not only protection.     

Community attitudes toward ecotourism development and environmental conservation in nature reserve: a case of Fujian Wuyishan National Nature Reserve,China

Using social exchange theory, this study investigated residents’ attitudes toward the preliminary stage of tourism development in nature reserves in Wuyishan National Nature Reserve of China, and the socio-economic and negative effects of residents’ attitude toward the tourist industry. Results of the questionnaire survey indicated that local people perceived they could benefit from the economic activities related to tourism, and were supportive of the conservation of natural resources and local culture, sustainable community development, and community participation in ecotourism planning and management. This study also revealed that the variables of age, gender, education level, household income, family size, non-farm work arrangements, and the distance to tourism attractions, have significant association with respondents’ attitudes toward ecotourism development, or negative impacts of the tourist industry. Respondents who are male, or have a higher household income, are more supportive of tourism development inside the reserve. Younger and more highly educated community members are more likely to support learning more about natural and cultural resources and landscapes. Respondents who have a higher household income, or live far from the village center, are more concerned about the negative environmental impacts of tourism development.     

ECOLOGICAL SECURITY EVALUATION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN KARST MOUNTAINOUS AREA—A Case Study of Du'an Yao Autonomous County in Guangxi

Ecological security is the main task and applied ficld of present geography, resources and environment sciences and ecology. Ecological security evaluation will efficiently promote ecological security and environmental construction in regional land use. In this thesis, the authors put forward the index system of ecological security evaluation in karst mountainous area on three aspects, the pressure of resources and eco-environment, the quality of resources and eco-environment, and the ability of environmental protection and ecological improvement. Using the evaluation method with single index, based on the case study of Du'an Yao Autonomous County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the system of synthetic regionalization of ecological agricultural economy was formed, which includes three regions, south region with basic security and synthetic agricultural development, east region with critical security and agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry balanced development, mid-west and south region with eco     

Application of map and file information visualization system to comprehensive division of natural disasters

This paper generalizes the makeup and forming dynamic mechanism of natural disaster systems, principles and methods of comprehensive division of natural disasters, as well as structure, function and up-build routes of map and file information visualization system (MFIVS). Taking the Changjiang (Yangtze) Valley as an example, on the basis of revealing up the integrated mechanism on the formations of its natural disasters and its distributing law, thereafter, the paper relies on the MFIVS technique, adopts two top-down and bottom-up approaches to study a comprehensive division of natural disasters. It is relatively objective and precise that the required division results include three natural disaster sections and nine natural disaster sub-sections, which can not only provide a scientific basis for utilizing natural resources and controlling natural disaster and environmental degradation, but also be illuminated to a concise, practical and effective technique on comprehensive division. Foundation item: Under the auspices of President Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (1999). Biography: HU Bao-qing (1966 -), male, a native of Linchuan, Jiangxi Province, Ph. D. His main research interests include environmental geology, mountain study, earth system science and sustainable development.     

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF MARINE ECONOMY IN CHINA

China is a large marine country. Developing marine economy is an effective way to solve a series of problems with which man is faced, such as the want of natural resources, space limitation, the environmental deterioration, etc. This article analyzes the rich resources of marine biology, harbor, offshore oil and natural gas and coastal tourism resources in China and describes the developing features and regional differences of marine economy. To realize the sustainable development of marine economy in China, what we need to do are as follows: 1 ) to list exploiting ocean into national development strategy; 2) to realize integrated economy of sea and land; 3) to develop ocean by science and technology; 4) to perfect legal institution of marine environment; 5) to establish new idea of sea defending.