区域可持续发展的指标、标准和限制

世界各国包括俄罗斯在内已经出版了大量关于可持续发展的理论研究方面的书籍。但总体而言,在不同结构层次(全球、国家、区域和地方)的可持续发展模型中,区域水平上的模型可能是最复杂和最基础的层次。本文在构建可持续发展模型的框架下,给出了一个区域经济、社会和生态发展的指标体系、标准和限制,并建立了一套评价区域自然资源潜力及其动态变化的方法。首先,对区域层次上达到可持续发展的条件和内容进行分析。其次,给出一个区域经济、社会和生态发展的框架。其中区域发展的经济质量是指其自身资源状况所带来的区域发展能力;区域发展的社会质量是指由区域的人口潜力和社会结构所带来的在一个长时期内稳定的区域人口以及由此提供的高标准生活质量的能力;区域发展的生态质量是指在一个长时期内区域保持其自然资源潜力和高质量环境的能力。区域可持续发展是在一个长时期内(10年)区域高质量的发展,在区域发展质量水平上进行可持续性和平衡性的评价是必要的,为此建立三者之间适当的比例关系。第三,为反映区域间发展的差异,对区域内的经济、社会等进行自然-经济区划以及对每个分区进行相应的指标的计算。这些绝对和相对的可持续发展比率反映了一定时期内实际的状态距离标准值的程度,刻画了区域发展的质量特征。如果这种比率发生变化,或者相对标准值发生动态改变,那么这些比率就可以评估发展的稳定性,以及同时反映了区域发展在质量上的提高或者降低。第四,区域自然资源潜力及其动态变化的评价。第一步是进行局部自然资源分区和把国土自然资源系统作为最复杂的评价对象进行整体考虑。然后对每一个自然资源系统进行动态平衡的计算(这种平衡反映了自然资源的动态和状态)。自然资源潜在的变化可以用实际的或者预测的数据进行计算。     

The Mittagong Maltings: history,cultural significance and conservation

The Maltings at Mittagong in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales is a disused industrial site offering a challenging opportunity for adaptive re‐use. The complex operated between 1899 and 1980. Over the last decade there have been proposals to rehabilitate the buildings for new uses, but economic circumstances have intervened. This paper has several sets of objectives. The first is to provide an outline history of The Maltings, establish its place in the context of the general history of brewing and malting in NSW, and document the physical evolution of the site. The second, taking the discussion into the applied realm, is to explore the environmental heritage value of the complex, distilled in a concise statement of significance. The third objective is to illustrate how the process of historical research and heritage assessment can help identify general conservation principles which should be observed in any future development of the site. The paper provides a case study of the application of historical‐geographical research to broader objectives of heritage assessment and conservation planning.     

Inversion of multiple thermal indicators: Quantitative methods of determining paleoheat flux and geological parameters IV. Case histories using thermal indicator tomography

A quantitative tomographic method to determine simultaneously several geological, geochemical, and geothermal parameters associated with reconstruction of the geohistory and thermal history of sediments in a well is presented. Using vitrinite reflectance data from the well Inigok-1, National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska, the numerical algorithm was tested and found to be effective in delineating the variation of heat flux with time. In addition, the size and timing of a major unconformity also were bracketed. Application of tomography using apatite fission track distributions with depth as a thermal indicator enabled not only the thermal history of two wells in the NW Canning Basin of Australia to be determined, but also the chemical parameters associated with fission track annealing to be constrained. Results of both the Alaska study and the Australian study were consistent with the qualitative behavior inferred from current geological models.     

新疆塔里木盆地环境变迁与人类文明兴衰初探——以克里雅河地区为例

本文以新疆克里雅河为重点研究,分析了塔里木盆地的环境变迁及其与人类文明兴衰的相关关系,并展示了未来的环境变化。盆地和沙漠的形成与青藏高原的隆起息息相关,第四纪的三次冰期和间冰期的发生,决定了高原和盆地环境变化的序列。其中,中更新世的高原隆升对现代地貌和环境有决定性意义,使沙漠和黄土形成,气候环境总体向旱化方向发展;全新世以来的环境变化或划分出早、中,晚三个不同的干湿期变化。历史时期,人类活动所引起的环境变化与塔里木盆地古丝绸南路文明兴衰紧密相连;近代人类正面临沙漠化扩展,气候变暖的严重挑战。     

Impacts of environmental degradation on rivers,with some examples from the Hawkesbury‐Nepean system

Environmental degradation is a widespread contemporary problem. It will be exacerbated by Greenhouse. The alteration of the land surface by humans is examined in terms of on-site impacts as well as off-site effects in other storages, notably rivers. Examples of bank erosion in the Hawkesbury-Nepean system are related to regime shifts, dams and dredging. Examples of environmental pollution by different forms of sewage disposal are given for Wollondilly Shire. It is suggested that much more relevant information is required to effect total catchment management.     

Hydro-morphological characteristics and hydrogeological functioning of a wetland system: a case study in southern Spain

The analysis and interpretation of physical and limnological parameters combined with hydrochemical (major ions and stable isotopes) analyses enabled us to evaluate the hydrogeological functioning and the hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in two adjacent lakes related to a karstic aquifer (Archidona, southern Spain). Lake water, groundwater and the outflow from a spring, were monitored periodically from 1998 to 1999 and sporadically from 2000 to 2006. The evolution of groundwater chemistry from recharge (dolines) to discharge areas (spring) showed an increment of 20% in magnesium and 15% in sulphate, and such higher increments were recorded for the water from the lakes, suggesting the existence of different hydrogeological paths. A simple water budget model, together with morphological interpretation, suggests that groundwater discharge into the lakes is of relative importance to the input into these systems. Finally, we believe that the development of a new typology for hydro-morphological elements, by means of several hydrological factors and the assessment of pressures and impacts will be useful for the correct management of these lakes and other semi-arid aquatic ecosystems.     

Introducing the concept of tactile space: Creating lasting social and environmental commitments

This paper introduces into the literature the concept of tactile space. In tactile space, forms of representational and non-representational knowledge are exchanged, resulting in the decentering of the subject/objective dichotomy as well as the senses. In doing this, tactile space helps to instill within individuals a greater sense of relationality with others and the environment, which leads to long lasting attitudinal and behavioral changes (versus the superficial changes provided by, say, financial dis/incentives). To help clarify the concept, two different cases are examined. The first example looks briefly at the Sunnyside Environmental School, located in Portland, Oregon (US). The purpose of this first case is to provide some real world flesh to the concept of tactile space. A more detailed conceptual discussion of tactile space takes place in the following section. Here, attention focuses on an in depth study of two cases of community supported agriculture in Iowa (US). The paper concludes by reflecting upon the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as we further develop our understanding of tactile space and the relations, sensations, and non-representational knowledges it helps to bring forth.     

Contaminated identities: Mercury and marginalization in Ghana’s artisanal mining sector

This article provides a counter-narrative to the dominant discourse of marginalization and criminalization of Ghana’s illegal gold miners (galamsey) by focusing on the contested mercury debate. We first examine the complex and multifaceted policy problem that underlies the current conflictual aspects in the small-scale mining sector, arguing that mercury use and contamination are key elements in the antigalamsey rhetoric. Second, we describe an interdisciplinary pilot study on human and environmental health that involved health personnel and illegal miners from two sites. Through participatory ranking and mapping activities, we explored participants’ understanding of mercury and other life hazards as well as causes and consequences of mercury contamination. We used chemical indicator strips to sample contaminated areas in collaboration with the miners. By drawing upon novel concepts from the environmental justice and ecohealth literature, we propose a political ecology of human and environmental health that advocates recognition of galamsey operators and their participation in learning opportunities as a first step out of the current impasse in the Ghanaian small-scale mining sector.     

A Conceptual Framework for Enhancing the Utility of Rainfall Hazard Forecasts for Agriculture in Marginal Environments

Semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas (especially in the tropics) are characterized by high inter-annual and intra-seasonal rainfall variability. Agriculture, which employs the bulk of the rapidly increasing populations, is largely rain-fed, low-input based and highly resource dependent. Recent spates of drought have, therefore, exacerbated the now-too-familiar specter of famine and starvation in these areas with glaring examples being the recurring episodes in sub-Saharan Africa since the great Sahel drought of 1969–1973. A great need for accurate and timely hazard forecast products in aid of agriculture thus exists.Several schemes are currently employed by various agencies around the globe in this direction. There does remain, however, a gap between product provision and user expectations. This paper examines this gap suggesting a five-point framework within which it can be addressed as an action agenda for the climate science community. The paper posits that changes are possible to existing methodologies (related to three of these points), which, within the context of current science, can greatly enhance the utility of forecast products for agriculture in marginal areas. The remaining two points have, however, been identified as requiring additional applied research and necessary pointers for addressing these issues are provided. First is the need for appropriate impact-related indicators for intra-seasonal and interannual rainfall variability that are easy to compute, amenable to forecasting and follow closely the experiences of farmers in marginal areas. The second is a consideration of appropriate forecast information formatting and communication medium that guarantee effective feedback between forecast producers and users. Specific examples of the status quo and of work currently underway are cited from southern Africa – a region currently attracting international attention as a result of recent droughts and the threat of famine.     

Community forests and regeneration in post-industrial landscapes

Through a critique of existing regeneration literatures the paper points to the close relationship between regeneration and sustainable development. It suggests that the economic aspects of sustainable development have tended to dominate: leading to the neglect of nature in both regeneration and sustainable development, with regeneration having a principal focus on socio-economic issues in urban settings. To address these lacunae we suggest the need for a more environmentally sensitive regeneration theory. Using this approach the paper draws on recent in-depth research in three post-industrial coalfield areas where regeneration processes operate in the form of community forest projects. It provides a critical perspective on these regeneration processes, integrating theory with empirical data and highlighting how nature is drawn into broader economic and social processes of regeneration. In conclusion, using forestry initiatives as examples, we reflect on the conceptual dissonance apparent in regeneration theory and practice, and point to theoretical insights that could enable a more critical regeneration theory; more beneficial outcomes to regeneration processes; and an improved understanding of the relations between nature, capital and community in regeneration processes and sustainable development.