Is irrigated agriculture in the Murray Darling Basin well prepared to deal with reductions in water availability?

The “Big Dry”, a prolonged dry period in Australia from 1997 to 2009, dried out much of the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) and resulted in large agricultural losses and degraded river ecosystems. Climate projections are that dry conditions in the MDB are likely to be more regular and severe than ever before, and recent policy initiatives are likely to reduce consumptive water use and redirect water to ecosystem management. This paper aims to develop an understanding of the interactions between water policy and irrigation practices by deriving lessons from drought management in irrigated agriculture of the MDB during the Big Dry, and furthermore, to draw out lessons to enhance the preparedness of irrigated agriculture for a future drier climate and reduced water availability. Reviews of irrigation farmers’ practices, attitudes and capacity to manage during prolonged droughts in the MDB, and the evolution of agricultural water policy in Australia since 1990 were made. It is clear that farmers could be better prepared to deal with a drier climate if their water management practices, e.g. irrigation methods and soil moisture measuring tools are improved, if the impediments to the uncertainty of water allocation and low water availability could be overcome, and if well-targeted research and extension could assist farmers to use water more wisely. It is also clear that Australian water policy could be better prepared in terms of assisting irrigated agriculture to deal with a drier climate. Key areas are reduction of barriers and distortions to water trading, optimizing the environmental water allocation, and seeking mutual benefits between environmental water allocation and irrigated agriculture, improvement of the cost-effectiveness of investments in water supply infrastructure, facilitating carryover and capacity sharing at larger scales, and provision of accurate, accessible and useful water information at different scales. An approach to irrigation practice and water policy is proposed based on past experience and potential opportunities. The approach is a set of linked strategies for more robust agricultural production and a more sustainable environment under a drier climate and reduced water availability.     

创意产业及其地方性

本文致力研究创意产业集群与城市政策和效益之间的互动。研究的创意产业行业包括软件、多媒体、电子游戏、时装设计、出版、研究与开发。经验调查研究以多个城市的情况作为基础,这些城市包括美国的波士顿、旧金山、圣迭亚戈、西雅图、奥斯丁、华盛顿特区、爱尔兰的都柏林、东京和印度的班加罗尔。本文关键的研究问题是:什么类型的城市是富有创意的?什么区位因素是必不可少的?创意城市共同采取的政策措施有哪些?文章首先总结了影响地方特定创意产业集群的因素和政策措施;接着深入剖析两个成功的创意城市——波士顿和圣迭亚戈的案例,随后讨论城市各自的某些特征是否使得它们更适合发展某一特定的创意产业。     

Policy invention and entrepreneurship: Bankrolling the burying of carbon in the EU

This article presents the case of a policy invention where various kinds of entrepreneurship and a window of opportunity played important roles. In 2008 the EU adopted a new Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) policy with an inventive funding instrument at its core: the NER 300 fund, based on revenues from the auctioning of emissions trading allowances. Thus far, the literature on policy entrepreneurs has focused more on success factors that enable particular persons to be especially influential than on the defining characteristics of entrepreneurship. We contribute to the literature on entrepreneurship and windows of opportunity by distinguishing two entrepreneurial techniques – framing and procedural engineering – and two categories of commitment – ‘tortoise’ and carpe diem. We conclude that ‘tortoises’ who contributed to creating the broad and general climate policy window paved the way for issue-specific carpe diemers who promoted the more specific NER 300 policy invention. Furthermore, we distinguish and discuss four different entrepreneurship mechanisms that may influence policy invention processes.     

职住分离的空间差异性及其影响因素研究

制度转型与空间重构背景下,中国大城市的居住与就业空间关系发生明显变化,职住分离 现象逐渐凸显。尽管城市地理学者逐步关注转型期城市居住与就业空间关系的变化对居民通 勤行为的影响,然而深入探讨微观个体所承受的职住分离程度的差异性及其影响因素的实证研 究仍然缺乏。基于对北京城市520 户家庭、806 个通勤样本的问卷调查数据,本文借助多元回归 模型验证了居住区类型、家庭及住房状况、以及其他社会经济属性等居民职住分离程度差异性 的影响,从而折射城市转型过程中宏观制度性及结构性因素(如土地市场化改革、住房政策、单 位制度改革、城市空间扩展等) 对个体日常生活经历差异性的影响。     

安徽省旅游政策变迁及其空间 n.响应研究

借助于经济学供给需求分析视角,构建旅游政策变迁及其空间响应的理论框架,根据新制度经济学路径依赖理论和利益集团理论,探寻旅游政策变迁的路径和动因,揭示旅游政策变迁和旅游空间结构发展演化的内在联系。并以安徽省为例,根据改革开放之后安徽省旅游业发展的不同阶段,将旅游政策变迁划分为形成期、密集期和协调融合期3个时期,其空间响应状态分别为点状格局、单一板块格局和多板块空间格局。分析得出,在中国经济体制转轨的背景下,旅游发展由政府主导型向市场主导型转变,旅游政策在不同时期通过其作用机制引导、激励利益主体投资建设旅游节点、交通设施等行为,推动旅游空间格局由点状格局向板块格局发展演化,旅游政策的空间响应强度取决于政府对信息的掌握程度和政策对利益主体的激励程度。     

我国化工地质工作的回顾与展望

50年来我国化工地质找矿及相关的研究工作都取得了显著的成绩,虽然我国化工矿产种类较齐全,但人均占有资源量偏低,保证程度与需求相比尚有不同程度的差距。化工地质工作今后应统筹规划,突出重点;发挥优势,确保化工;面向市场,拓宽领域,狠抓基础,强化竟争;严格质量,规范管理;科技创新,加强装备;突出效益,转变机制;争取政策,多元投入。在化工地质队伍推行“三新、两高、两精”的运行机制。为确保“十五”期间工作部署能顺利实施,需要国家在宏观层面上给子相应的政策支持。     

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IN RUSSIA AND ESTONIA*

ABSTRACT. The use of e-mail by a grassroots activist group that straddles the Estonian-Russian border transcends political boundaries and provides ready connections to people in distant places. Activists create a perceived space of resistance in a supportive network that is stretched across space. This network of concern, defined by the physical space in which these activists work and by the strong communicative connections among them, was created to overcome continued environmental mismanagement and remove cultural barriers to cooperation. E-mail communication has enabled an ongoing influence on environmental policy in Estonia and Russia. This circumstance of a collaborative e-mail network created by grassroots activists to aid political work is a testament to how communication technology has expanded for the purpose of strengthening previously silenced voices in a regional and political context.     

Populating digital earth: improving access to Chinese remote sensing data for terrestrial applications

Global change has a significant impact on the lives of humankind. Earth observation can help to better understand our earth and cope with global change. With the availability of more reliable environmental data sets, digital earth is becoming a popular way to monitor the Earth and provide information to researchers and decision makers on environment protection, disaster mitigation, and social benefits. Therefore, accessing data with lowering costs is essential for digital earth. Nevertheless, there are big challenges in ensuring the feasibility of access to Chinese remote sensing data. This paper outlines some of the main challenges in realizing data sharing, provides an analysis of the core reasons leading to these challenges, and proposes recommendations to overcome the challenges. Amongst the main challenges are differences in data policy to gain access to satellite data, diverse data formats, and delivery mechanisms. The major challenge for the decision makers is to define a more open policy and for the scientist the challenge is to implement these polices for the benefit of all. This paper proposes that governments should adopt policies encouraging more open distribution and access to their data, in order to generate an improved digital earth with increased benefits to human society.     

结构地震反应性态的物理随机最优控制

本研究发展了结构地震反应性态的随机最优控制理论和方法。这一研究建立在物理随机系统思想的新理论框架下,突破了以I^to随机微分方程描述动力系统的经典随机最优控制的藩篱。提出了基于系统二阶统计量评价、单目标超越概率和多目标能量均衡的控制器参数设计准则,以及基于概率可控指标的控制器位置设计准则,并将它们统一为物理随机最优控制的广义最优控制律。数值算例分析表明,本文发展的物理随机最优控制方法能够实现结构地震反应性态的精细化控制。     

在1996年南方油气勘探工作会议上的讲话(主要部分) 努力实现南方海相油气勘探重大突破

南方地质条件有四方面的特点:碳酸盐岩区与特提斯域有关,具有良好的含油气前景;叠置在碳酸盐岩区上的南、北两大前陆盆地带,对古生界原型盆地烃源岩的演化、油气藏形成和保存起到重要作用;南方海相地层具有丰富的烃源岩;后期多旋回构造运动,使南方海相油气系统变得十分复杂。南方油气选区评价的关键是保存条件,在含油气系统中“保存单元”是优选勘探目标的重要依据。“九五”期间,一要主攻中、下扬子区,获重大突破;二要积极做好滇黔桂地区三个盆地(南盘江盆地、楚雄盆地、十万大山盆地)的预探;三要进一步搞好区域评价。