Environmental governance through “Speaking Like an Indigenous State” and respatializing resources: Ethical livelihood concepts in Bolivia as versatility or verisimilitude?

This research addresses recent environmental governance in Bolivia through its relations to indigeneity and respatializations. It introduces and develops the concept of “speaking like an indigenous state” to examine the Bolivian state’s recent use of a pair of indigenous linguistic concepts, Living Well and Earth Mother, representing the identities of citizens and their rights to resources and livelihoods. State relations to indigenous social movements highlight the use of Living Well and Earth Mother concepts through accommodation, resistance, and protaganism. Six active issues of environmental governance are examined: (1) climate change and justice movement; (2) agrarian reform, agrobiodiversity, and food justice; (3) water resources; (4) indigenous territories; (5) Protected Areas; and (6) extractive industries (mining, hydrocarbons). The usages of Living Well and Earth Mother show versatility as they have been mobilized in the respatializing of the politics and social-power dynamics of environmental issues at scales of the state, global and international institutions, and community and local levels. Analysis also reveals deployment of Living Well and Earth Mother that is discursively influential and yet conceptually reduced and unevenly applied, thus suggesting a characteristic of verisimilitude. My analysis determines that respatialization at various levels, including territorial transitions of sub-national regional spaces, are associated with the heightened articulation of environmental governance through indigeneity and “speaking like an indigenous state” amid resource nationalism. Linkages and logics operating within this conjuncture differ from the prevailing interpretation of the Bolivian state’s use of Living Well and Earth Mother as solely an unwitting contradiction or instrumentalist camouflage.     

祁连山讨赖河流域1957—2012年极端气候变化

全球气候变化背景下,极端气候事件发生的频率逐年增大,由此引发的气象灾害事件也随之增加。鉴此,本文利用祁连山讨赖河流域1957—2012年的气象观测资料,对该流域23个极端气候指数的时空变化特征做了研究。结果表明：（1）极端气温升高趋势明显,夜间和白天极端低温日数显著减少,极端气温昼指数显著增大;气温日较差变化幅度很小,霜冻日数显著减少,生长季长度明显加长,冰冻日数2000年后增加;夜指数增大幅度大于昼指数,秋、冬季极端气温升高幅度大于春、夏季。（2）极端降水指数增大趋势明显,雨日降水总量、连续五日降水总量和中雨天数均展现出增大态势,反映出连续降水事件的增加;极端降水量事件增大显著,但雨日降水强度变化不大;除最多连续无降水日数外,极端降水日数指数展现出增大趋势;降水日数夏、秋季节分配趋向均匀化;降水量的增加主要是单次降水时间持续加长和中雨日数增加的贡献;高海拔区极端降水事件发生的频次较大。     

喀什地区1961—2010年最大冻土深度变化

利用1961～2010年喀什地区所属喀什市、莎车县、巴楚县、塔什库尔干县等4个代表性站50a的年最大冻土深度、冬季平均气温、极端最低气温、极端最低地温等资料,采用气候趋势系数和气候倾向率方法,对1961年以来喀什地区最大冻土深度变化进行了分析。结果表明,喀什地区平原多年平均最大冻土深度为48.1 cm,年际最大值与最小值深度差为82cm,随年际变化总体呈明显的减小趋势,其变化倾向率为-3.8cm/10a,年代际变化呈阶梯状逐渐减小,冻土深度减小主要受冬季平均气温升高的影响,气温每升高1℃,冻土深度减小7.75 cm;山区多年平均最大冻土深度为148.8cm,年际最大值与最小值深度差为88cm,随年际变化总体呈明显的减小趋势,其变化倾向率为-2.5cm/10a。     

Vulnerability and adaptation to climate variability and water stress in Uttarakhand State, India

This paper presents a participatory approach to investigate vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate variability and water stress in the Lakhwar watershed in Uttarakhand State, India. Highly water stressed microwatersheds were identified by modelling surface runoff, soil moisture development, lateral runoff, and groundwater recharge. The modelling results were shared with communities in two villages, and timeline exercises were carried out to allow them to trace past developments that have impacted their lives and livelihoods, and stimulate discussion about future changes and possible adaptation interventions.     

Considering the options: climate targets for all countries

Abstract

This paper assesses five options for targets that could be taken by all countries to meet the ultimate objective of the climate change convention: fixed, binding targets; dynamic targets; non-binding targets; sectoral targets; policies and measures. Each is evaluated according to criteria of environmental effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, contribution to economic growth and sustainable development, and equity. While fixed, binding targets continue to be viable for industrialised countries, they do not seem suitable for many developing countries in the near future. Dynamic targets could alleviate developing countries' concerns about constraining their development as well as broader concerns about possible introduction of “hot air” in a world trading regime; they could also be considered for some or all industrialised countries. Non-binding targets could be politically appealing to developing countries, alleviate fears about development and/or hot air, but might only allow conditional participation in emissions trading by developing countries. Sectoral targets could offer a pragmatic first step—although their cost-effectiveness might be questioned. Finally, targets based on commitments to implement specific policies and measures might drive mitigation action and be part of negotiated packages including financial and technological co-operation. All these options may coexist in the future.     

Climate negotiations beyond Kyoto: developing countries concerns and interests

Abstract

Five years down the road from Kyoto, the Protocol that bears that city's name still awaits enough qualifying ratifications to come into force. While attention has been understandably focussed on the ratification process, it is time to begin thinking about the next steps for the global climate regime, particularly in terms of a deeper inclusion of developing countries' concerns and interests. This paper begins doing so from the perspective of the developing countries. The principal argument is that we need to return to the basic principles outlined in the Framework Convention on Climate Change in searching for a north—south bargain on climate change. Such a bargain may be achievable if we can realign the policy architecture of the climate regime to its original stated goals of sustainable development.     

水分不足地区降水资源供需平衡模式

在自然界与人类系统水分平衡概念的基础上,提出了作降水评价的供需平衡模式。该模式对全面发挥由降水所形成的各种主要水资源成分的潜力是有用的。用此模式作了个例试验,并提出在水分不足地区缓解水分欠缺的途径。     

湖北省未来30年气温和降水量变化趋势预测

使用国家气候中心的区域气候模式对1961～1990、2001～2030年湖北省逐月气温、降水量的预估值(格点0.5°×0.5°,A2情景),以1961～1990年湖北省平均温度和平均降水量为基准,计算并分析未来30年(2001～2030年)及每10年年平均气温、降水量变化趋势。结果表明:(1)未来30年湖北省年平均气温普遍呈上升趋势,上升幅度在0.19～0.39℃之间,平均0.27℃,鄂南增温比鄂北快,其中2021～2030年增幅最大,2001～2010年增幅最小;(2)年平均降水量湖北省大部呈减少趋势,表现出南增北减、东增西减的特点,2001～2010年变化不大,2011～2020年绝大多数站点均有不同幅度增加,2021～2030年全省各地呈一致的下降趋势,湖北省南涝北旱趋势将有所加剧。     

封丘县夏蝗发生与气候条件的关系

利用1980～200l午封丘县夏蝗发生资料和同期该地区气候资料，采用合成分析法，分析了气候条件对夏蝗发生的影响，并找出了一些预测夏蝗发生的定性预报因子。     

The economic impact of extreme sea-level rise: Ice sheet vulnerability and the social cost of carbon dioxide

The possibility of extreme sea-level rise is one of the commonly cited reasons for concern about climate change. Major increases in sea level would likely be driven by the melting or collapse of major ice sheets. This possibility has implications for the social cost of carbon dioxide, which is a key policy value as well as a useful summary measure of damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions.This paper extends earlier work on the importance of low-probability, high-impact events for the social cost of carbon dioxide to incorporate the possibility of extreme sea-level rise.To estimate its impact, an integrated assessment model is used, which allows a probabilistic assessment of climate change damages based on the linkages between the economic and climate systems. In the model, the generic discontinuity damage is replaced with the possibility of large-scale damage from factors that are taken to be correlated with temperature rise and, crucially for this paper, explicit consideration of extreme sea-level rise.Estimates of the amount of increase in the social cost of carbon dioxide that can be expected from incorporating extreme sea-level rise show that the increase is significant, though not especially large in percentage terms.The paper contributes to the literature of how to represent uncertain climate impacts in integrated assessment models and the associated estimation of the social cost of carbon dioxide.