‘Committing to Place’ at the Local Scale: the potential of youth education programs for promoting community participation in regional natural resource management

Emerging approaches to environmental governance require a greater level of community participation than did previous approaches in which these responsibilities largely rested with government agencies. There is consequently a need for increased engagement with NRM among a broad community sector. This paper examines initiatives by two prominent government agencies, the Murray–Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) and the National Museum of Australia (NMA), to engage school children from regional communities using education programs that focus on place and environmental health. We focus on the MDBC's International Riverhealth Conference held in Mildura in 2003 and the associated Murray–Darling Basin TalkBack Classroom sponsored by the NMA and the Parliamentary Education Office (PEO). We explore how key themes of local scale, place-based identities, youth voice and critical engagement are developed in these programs and consider how they relate to the environmental agency of children. We then reflect on the potential for the kinds of environmental agency promoted through these programs to help build the capacity of local communities to progress larger goals of environmental restoration and sustainability in the Murray–Darling Basin. The evaluation research reported here forms part of the Committing to Place research project, an Australian Research Council Linkage grant involving the University of Tasmania, the National Museum of Australia and the Murray–Darling Basin Commission.     

Land tenure type as an underrated legal constraint on the conservation management of coastal dunes: examples from Ireland

Legal factors play an underrated but significant role as constraints on conservation management. In this paper, based on observations in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, mode of land tenure is assessed to determine its influence on the conservation management of coastal dunes. The tenure types considered are: private ownership, corporate private ownership, tenancy, secured tenancy, leasing, common (joint) ownership, uncertain ownership, public ownership and its subset military ownership. It is suggested that multiple private ownership is least likely to favour effective conservation management. Public ownership by a statutory conservation authority and corporate private ownership by a conservation-orientated NGO are regarded as the optimum tenure types for conservation management of coastal dunes.     

Hydro-geomorphic hazards and impact of man-made structures during the catastrophic flood of June 2000 in the Upper Guil catchment (Queyras, Southern French Alps)

The Guil River Valley (Queyras, Southern French Alps) is prone to catastrophic floods, as the long historical archives and Holocene sedimentary records demonstrate. In June 2000, the upper part of this valley was affected by a “30-year” recurrence interval (R.I.) flood. Although of lower magnitude and somewhat different nature from that of 1957 (>100-year R.I. flood), the 2000 event induced serious damage to infrastructure and buildings on the valley floor. Use of methods including high-resolution aerial photography, multi-date mapping, hydraulic calculations and field observations made possible the characterisation of the geomorphic impacts on the Guil River and its tributaries. The total rainfall (260 mm in four days) and maximum hourly intensity (17.3 mm h⁻¹), aggravated by pre-existing saturated soils, explain the immediate response of the fluvial system and the subsequent destabilisation of slopes. Abundant water and sediment supply (landsliding, bank erosion), particularly from small catchment basins cut into slaty, schist bedrock, resulted in destructive pulses of debris flow and hyperconcentrated flows. The specific stream power of the Guil and its tributaries was greater than the critical stream power, thus explaining the abundant sediment transport. The Guil discharge was estimated as 180 m³ s⁻¹ at Aiguilles, compared to the annual mean discharge of 6 m³ s⁻¹ and a June mean discharge of 18 m³ s⁻¹. The impacts on the Guil valley floor (flooding, aggradation, generalised bank erosion and changes in the river pattern) were widespread and locally influenced by variations in the floodplain slope and/or channel geometry. The stream partially reoccupied former channels abandoned or modified in their geometry by various structures built during the last four decades, as exemplified by the Aiguilles case study, where the worst damage took place. A comparative study of the geomorphic consequences of both the 1957 and 2000 floods shows that, despite their poor maintenance, the flood control structures built after the 1957 event were relatively efficient, in contrast to unprotected places. The comparison also demonstrates the role of land-use changes (conversion from traditional agro-pastoral life to a ski/hiking-based economy, construction of various structures) in reducing the Guil channel capacity and, more generally, in increasing the vulnerability of the human installations. The efficiency of the measures taken after the 2000 flood (narrowing and digging out of the channel) is also assessed. Final evaluation suggests that, in such high mountainous environments, there is a need to keep most of the 1957 flooded zone clear of buildings and other structures (aside from the existing villages and structures of particular economic interest), in order to enable the river to migrate freely and to adjust to exceptional hydro-geomorphic conditions without causing major damage.     

Determination of groundwater availability in shallow arid region aquifers utilizing GIS technology: a case study in Hada Al-Sham, Western Saudi Arabia

A simple, physically based method is developed in this paper to assist in the allocation of areas with high groundwater potential and for the determination of maximum allowed pumping rate to ensure proper groundwater management. This method utilizes the aquifer physical properties as well as GIS technology to accomplish this purpose. The design of this method was considered to be applicable in areas with little data, such as in most arid regions. This technique was applied to a catchment in an arid environment where qualitative as well as quantitative analyses of the results were undertaken. Locations of available groundwater and rates of maximum allowable pumping were compared with observations and experiments in the field and a good agreement was found. It was concluded that the best groundwater location was in the alluvial area, which represents only 16% of the total aquifer, which is a typical case in arid region catchments. The rate of maximum pumping was estimated to be 65 m³/h. However, to benefit 55% of the area, the maximum pumping rate should only be 40 m³/h with an average rate throughout the area (55%) of about 24 m³/h.This revised version was published online in December 2004 with corrections to the category.     

Impact of human activity on the estuary of the Qiantang River and the reclamation of tidal flats and river regulation

The swing of the main channel of the Qiantang River is controlled by the high-water and low-water changes in the river, as well as the impact of large-scale reclamation of tidal flats. Its evolution in modern times is the result of the combined functions of natural and man-made factors. This paper analyzes the cause of the formation of the South Channel and Xisan Tidal Furrow and proposes the regulation principle of “To regulate the river and reclaim tidal flats by taking the advantage of local topography”. It is suggested to cut off the South Channel and Xisan Tidal Furrow completely to restrict the swing of the main channel and to increase the reclamation area of the tidal flat at the same time.     

AutoCAD技术在道路工程施工测量中的应用

在道路建设中,通常分为几个标段同时施工,每个标段里一般包括路基及各种构造物,因此,施工测量任务十分繁重,由于全站仪在工程测量中的普遍应用,其极坐标放样功能使测量工作中出现错误主要为坐标计算错误,特别是具有记忆功能的全站仪,可以事先输入坐标,复核后再到现场放样。所以测量的主要工作就是根据施工图纸计算其各个部位的坐标,而如何快速、准确地计算坐标是关键所在。应用AutoCAD技术进行坐标定位计算,则可以做到事半功倍,并能取得良好的施工效果。     

形变数字化观测曲线畸变与处理——兼论资料预处理中遇到的一些问题

数字化形变台站日常下载、处理直至管理数据,都应用《数字化通讯控制软件》、《形变前兆台站(网)数据处理系统》及《形变前兆数据库服务软件(台站版)》等三个软件交互进行,在实际使用过程中会遇到一些棘手的问题。本文结合我台的观测工作的实践,总结经验,以供台站同行共享。     

Development of an integrated conceptual model for the rational management of the transboundary Nestos River, Greece

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the geologic, hydrologic and hydrogeologic characteristics of Nestos River basin, which is formed within the Greek mountainous part of the river. The quantitative analysis was mainly based on the data of the river flow in different gauging points across the rivercourse as well as on the data of groundwater discharge from karst springs of the mountainous area while important conclusions were made regarding the hydraulic connection between the surface waters of the river and the groundwater of the karst aquifers of the basin. The qualitative analysis has shown that the quality of both surface waters and groundwaters of the investigated basin is high, whereas, no sources of contamination were indicated during this research. The possible effects of the two large dams of Platanovrisi and Thesavros are also analysed as they strongly affect the quantitative and qualitative regime of the river delta.     

数字社区数据标准研究

当前数字社区建设缺乏统一的智能化综合管理平台以及相应的各项数据标准，使得数字社区难以真正实现统一的数字化管理。该文参考国内外相应数据标准，研究数字社区的标准体系结构。针对现有标准体系缺乏相关数据标准的现状，提出数字社区系列数据标准，包括数据接口层标准、数据分类编码标准、数据模型、数据字典和元数据标准。阐述系列标准中各标准间的相互关系以及各标准所包含的具体内容。     

贵州喀斯特山区墓地利用管理与耕地保护

通过对贵州亮岩峰丛山地的墓地进行随机抽样调查和统计分析,显示出墓地在一定坡度上的特定地段有集中趋势;在对墓地选址与土层厚度进行显著性检验后表明:喀斯特地区土层厚度著性影响墓地分布。以至于绝大多数墓地集中分布在日照较好、排水畅通、土层较厚的阳坡山麓地带,以占用土层较厚的优质耕地为主。在现实的墓地利用管理实践中,实施统一规划、集中管理,建立有偿使用制度、严格用地指标,加强墓地绿化,实行墓地园林化建设等措施,以期综合性多元化开发利用墓地,有效保护耕地资源。