The effectiveness of decentralisation reforms in the Philippines’s forestry sector

Decentralisation reforms and political conditions in the Philippines present an ideal environment for forest management by recognising the land entitlements of upland and indigenous communities and promoting the involvement of local government units. By assessing whether current conditions – policies, institutions, and programmes – are conducive to effective decentralisation, this study examines the present state of decentralisation in the forestry sector of the Philippines. By analysing case studies conducted in Nueva Vizcaya Province, it also attempts to answer a broader question: when is decentralisation a success and when is it a failure? A number of uncertainties are revealed, along with various issues that hamper decentralisation, and that are interrelated and reinforce one another in much the same way as they have done over the past decade. The study highlights the need for caution when increasing the involvement of government at different levels, as it affects the pace of decentralisation reforms. It also shows that a mix of site-specific interventions and community endeavours that focus on securing local livelihoods has led to some success. This is a strategy that helps decentralisation reforms.     

Mesoscale eddy effects on temporal variability of surface chlorophyll a in the Kuroshio Extension

We investigated the relationship between chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentrations estimated from satellite observations and the activity of eddies in the Kuroshio Extension region. High (low) area-averaged Chl-a concentrations were frequently observed in the core of cyclonic (anticyclonic) eddies. Such relationships between Chl-a concentrations and eddy cores were not frequently observed in the southern part of the recirculation gyre, and advection of background meridional gradient of Chl-a by eddy-edge currents accounted for Chl-a spatial variability. Decadal-scale changes of Chl-a concentrations around the Kuroshio Extension were strongly affected by eddy activity and transport but not by large-scale near-surface isopycnal heaving. We also found that decadal changes of nutrient concentrations near the main stream could affect Chl-a concentrations in the southern part of the recirculation gyre via southward transport of eddies and mean flow.     

National vulnerability to extreme climatic events: the cases of electricity disruption in China and Japan

Extreme climatic events are likely to adversely affect many countries throughout the world, but the degrees among countries may be different. China and Japan are the countries with high incidences of extreme weather/disaster, both facing with the urgent task of addressing climate change. This study seeks to quantitatively compare the impacts of extreme climatic events on socioeconomic systems (defined as vulnerability) of the two countries by simulating the consequences of hypothetical same degree of electricity disruption along with extreme events. To do that, two computable general equilibrium models are constructed, by using which three-stage scenarios are simulated for China and Japan, respectively. The results reveal that China and Japan have unequal socioeconomic vulnerabilities to extreme events. (1) Negative impact of the same degree of power outages is bigger on China’s socioeconomic system than on that of Japan, and this difference is more obvious in the very short-run scenario. (2) The decline of China’s GDP, total output, and employment levels is 2–3 times higher than that of Japan, while the difference of the resident welfare levels is sharper, which of China drops 3–5 times of Japan. (3) Structural factors are the main reason for vulnerability differences between China and Japan, including the differences of expenditure structure, factor input structure for production of life requirement sectors, material and energy dependence for the production of industrial sectors, and usage structure of services outputs. Based on these findings, some policy implications and recommendations for fairness issues on climate change adaptation are proposed.     

A new high-stress undrained ring-shear apparatus and its application to the 1792 Unzen–Mayuyama megaslide in Japan

Sassa and others in the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, developed a series of undrained ring-shear apparatus to physically simulate landslide initiation and motion, from DPRI-3 (Sassa 1992) to DPRI-7 (Sassa et al., Landslides 1(1):7–19, 2004). The maximum undrained capacities in the DPRI series ranged from 300 to 650 kPa. Sassa and others in the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) have developed a new series of undrained ring-shear apparatus (ICL-1and ICL-2) for two projects of the International Programme on Landslides (IPL-161 and IPL-175). Both projects are supported by the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development Program (SATREPS) of Japan. ICL-1 was developed to create a compact and transportable apparatus for practical use in Croatia; one set was donated to Croatia in 2012. ICL-2 was developed in 2012–2013 to simulate the initiation and motion of megaslides of more than 100 m in thickness. The successful undrained capacity of ICL-2 is 3 MPa. This apparatus was applied to simulate possible conditions for the initiation and motion of the 1792 Unzen–Mayuyama megaslide (volume, 3.4?×?10⁸ m³; maximum depth, 400 m) triggered by an earthquake. The megaslide and resulting tsunami killed about 15,000 people. The Unzen Restoration Office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) of Japan systematically collected various papers and reports and published two summary leaflets: one in English in 2002 and an extended version in Japanese in 2003. Samples were taken from the source area (for initiation) and the moving area (for motion). The hazard area was estimated by the integrated landslide simulation model LS-RAPID, using parameters obtained with the ICL-2 undrained ring-shear apparatus. The estimated hazard area agrees reasonably with the landslide moving area reported in the Ministry leaflets.     

Soil column experiments for iodate and iodide using K-edge XANES and HPLC–ICP-MS

Radioactive iodine is one of the most problematic radionuclides because of its long half life and high mobility. Mobility of iodine depends on the chemical form to a great extent. This paper reports the results of soil column experiments we conducted to evaluate the mobilities of IO₃⁻ and I⁻. In order to determine the mechanisms of adsorption of IO₃⁻ and I⁻ on soil, adsorption isotherms were obtained by batch experiments. Both adsorption isotherms of IO₃⁻ and I⁻ are well explained by Langmuir model. The adsorption maximum of IO₃⁻ is about five times larger than that of I⁻. In the column experiments, iodine distributions between soil and pore water in the soil column were determined at various depths. Chemical forms of iodine in soil and pore water were determined by X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), and high performance liquid chromatography connected to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC–ICP-MS), respectively. Vertical profiles of iodine in pore water were simulated using Visual MODFLOW. Our results showed, upon I⁻ infiltration through the column, that a small amount of I⁻ adsorbed on soil, and its mobility is mainly controlled by advection and dispersion. The profile of iodine concentration in pore water was well simulated by assuming equilibrium-controlled Langmuir type adsorption without considering any chemical transformations. For the IO₃⁻ addition system into the column, however, IO₃⁻ adsorbed to soil to a larger degree, which causes a much larger retardation effect than I⁻. In addition, reduction of IO₃⁻ to I⁻ was also confirmed in both soil and pore water by XANES and HPLC–ICP-MS, respectively. The fraction of I⁻ increased toward the deeper end in both phases because of its lower affinity for soil than IO₃⁻, where the reduced I⁻ was released to the pore water and transported by the water flow. In this study, such reduction effect was clearly demonstrated by the speciation analyses of iodine in both soil and water phases, which confirmed that the mobility of I⁻ is a dominant factor that controls the fate of iodine in the surface environment.     

Relationship between surface morphology and chemical composition of spheroidal carbonaceous particles within sediment core samples recovered from Osaka Bay,Japan

Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) are produced by the high-temperature combustion of fossil fuels and are emitted to the atmosphere. Previous studies are divided regarding whether SCPs derived from the combustion of various fossil fuels can be identified based on their surface morphologies and chemical compositions. In this study, we examined the surface morphology and chemical composition of SCPs in sediment core samples collected from Osaka Bay, Japan, with the aim of evaluating the usefulness of SCPs morphology in identifying their origin. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations reveal three distinct surface morphologies: (1) smooth, (2) rough and irregular, and (3) convoluted and layered. According to a morphological classification scheme proposed previously, the former two morphologies correspond to coal-derived carbon particles, whereas the latter corresponds to oil-derived carbon particles. In terms of the chemical compositions of the particles with different morphologies, as analyzed by energy-dispersive spectroscopy, linear discriminant analysis reveals that the two fuel types can be distinguished. An overall success rate of >90% of reference of morphologically classified material correctly assigned to two groups that are chemically different each other, indicating a relationship between surface morphology and chemical composition. This result suggests that morphological characterization based on conventional SEM observations is useful in identifying the source fuel of SCPs.     

The spatial and temporal distributions of spheroidal carbonaceous particles from sediment core samples from industrial cities in Japan and China

Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) are produced by the high-temperature combustion of fossil fuels and emitted in to the atmosphere. The distribution and concentration of SCPs in sediments have been used as a proxy for the distribution of pollutants emitted to the atmosphere. However, the effect on the distribution of SCPs due to industrial activity at nearby industrial cities is yet to be quantified. To clarify the origin of SCPs of ~20 μm in size that are preserved in sediments, we evaluated the abundance, surface morphology, and chemical composition of SCPs in sediment core samples recovered from industrial cities in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagasaki) and China (Beijing), with the cities being located at least ~500 km away from each other. Vertical profiles of SCP concentration in sediment cores from the Japanese cities and Beijing are different, reflecting the contrasting industrial histories of the two countries. The SCPs from different cities show contrasting morphological and chemical characteristics, suggesting that ~20 μm SCPs in sediments from the industrial cities could represent the local combustion history in detail, as the influx of local SCPs is dominant at such sites.     

Strain localization in soft rock—a typical rate‐dependent solid: experimental and numerical studies

Strain localization developing inside soft rock specimens is examined through experimental observation and numerical simulation. In the experimental study, soft rock specimens are sheared at different strain rates under plane strain conditions and deformation and strain localization characteristics are analysed. Transition of localization mode from highly localized mode for higher strain rate to distributed and diffused mode of strain localization for lower strain rates was observed. In the numerical study, simulations of plane strain compression tests are carried out at different strain rates by using an overstressed‐type elasto‐viscoplastic model in finite element computations. The role of strain rates on setting gradients of strain fields across shear band is clarified. The probable mechanism for transition of localization mode is discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.