Impact of Agricultural Labor Transfer on Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution: A Case Study of Jiangxi,China

A large proportion of the rural labor force in China will continue to transfer to non-agricultural sectors in the near future, which will inevitably lead to the transformation of the agricultural production mode and the structure of the farmers’ livelihood. The Chinese government is making great efforts to govern agricultural nonpoint source pollution (ANSP), and farmers' environmental behavior is a key factor that must be considered in the formulation of agricultural environmental policies. Based on a set of micro survey data on farmers in the study area and econometric methods, this study investigates the impact of agricultural labor transfer on ANSP by considering the substitution effect of agricultural factors and the effect of agricultural economies of scale. The results show that the increase of the agricultural labor force will not be conducive to reducing ANSP, while the income increase brought by agricultural labor transfer will improve the input structure of agricultural factors and have a positive impact on ANSP reduction. Government departments should provide subsidies or incentive measures to help agricultural social service organizations to expand their coverage and increase the frequency of socialized agricultural services, in order to guide farmers in the use of environment-friendly agricultural technology to reduce the ANSP caused by agricultural factors at the source. Furthermore, it is necessary to facilitate the development of small-sized agricultural machinery suitable for small-area land cultivation.     

山区合适耕地经营规模确定的实证研究——以重庆市为例

在地形起伏、地块破碎、分布半径较远等约束下,山区多大的经营规模是合适的?这是目前必须弄清的科学问题之一。使用480份有效调查问卷,以投入农业的劳动力为测算单位,以劳均纯收入为评价指标,分作物类型和地块分布半径,构建计量经济模型,测算不同条件下合适的耕地经营,结果表明：① 在现有社会经济条件下,样本村农业土地适度规模经营面积为24~32亩,适度规模下的劳均纯收入远高于当前农村人均纯收入,且与城镇居民的差距明显缩小。② 作物类型对适度规模影响不大,但对农民纯收入产生较大作用。经济作物和粮食作物的适度规模分别为24.33亩、24.63亩,差异不显著,但种植经济作物和粮食作物在适度规模下的劳均纯收入相差3638元,巨大的差距将促使经济作物种植面积不断扩大。③ 距离对适度规模影响较大,但对劳均纯收入影响不大。0.5 km内、0.5~1 km的适度规模分别为28.62亩、31.83亩,单位劳动力的适度规模相差3亩,这表明距离是目前从事农业生产时劳动力投入时须考虑的重要因素。但是,对应的劳均纯收入相差较小,又说明伴随耕作距离的增加,更多的投入主要依靠机械来完成,从而带动适度规模的扩大。1 km外的建模未通过检验,也进一步说明未实现规模经营、没有进行机械化耕作、离家远的土地收支严重不平衡,撂荒严重,规模化经营、机械化耕作是解决距离问题的有效途径。本文得出的土地适度规模是可行的,也验证了推进土地适度规模经营的可行性和必要性。     

土地管理三维思维与土地空间资源认知

基于城市发展的三维理念轨迹及土地立体化利用趋势,采用文献检索与综合分析法,剖析土地管理重视三维思维的原因,辨析土地的空间特质,提出土地空间资源的概念内涵,初探土地空间资源管理制度和技术,以促进土地领域实践问题解决。结果显示：① 土地管理三维思维符合社会发展和土地利用趋势,是基于土地管理实践而衍生的创新需求。② 土地作为资源的本质属性之一是空间性,具备三维空间特质;土地空间资源是土地资源概念的外延,是以土地表层为基底或脱离土地表层的可利用的三维空间存在。③ 土地空间资源的提出,能引发土地管理领域在理念、制度和技术上进行三维思维化的重构与创新,具有科学意义和实践价值。     

Use of Geospatial Data and Technology for Wilderness Search and Rescue by Nonprofit Organizations

Geospatial data and tools are key in locating lost or missing persons in as short a time as possible. In this study, we used a geographic information system (GIS) to analyze four years of search and rescue (SAR) mission data from Colorado to determine the appropriate use of GIS for volunteer-based SAR organizations with limited resources and GIS expertise. GIS can provide more sophisticated analyses of geospatial data than simple mapping technologies, but our findings indicated that complex spatial analysis might not be required on all missions, because the majority of missions were completed within six to ten hours. Instead, new technologies such as tablets with mapping software and online GIS systems that provide quick and easy access to up-to-date geospatial data such as imagery offer capabilities that could improve mission planning. Here we provide a framework in which SAR missions can apply geospatial technologies to aid with missions, identify critical “hotspots,” and enhance postanalysis and training. The work here is highly applicable for nonprofit SAR groups when deciding on what GIS technologies to consider for their areas.     

The Beach Crowding Index: A Tool for Assessing Social Carrying Capacity of Vulnerable Beaches

The aim of this article is to introduce the Beach Crowding Index (BCI), a procedure to assess the social carrying capacity of vulnerable beaches. The study uses the people at one time (PAOT) approach and data gathered weekly throughout the bathing season regarding the number of beachgoers in 100 m² cells of the beach to assess how many beachgoers it can comfortably hold. The procedure is based on fieldwork, interviews with beachgoers, and geographic information system (GIS) analysis and has been tested on four beaches in protected areas on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. On a scale from 0 to 4, minimum scores throughout the bathing season are 0.7 and maximum 3.7, although results showed wide variation between the beaches, the section of the beach, and the time of day. This study suggests that determining the location of beachgoers and collecting a long-term series of data is fundamental to assessing social carrying capacity and that the BCI procedure can be used for a large number of applications.     

Reconciling Multiple Societal Objectives in Cross-Scale Marine Governance: Solomon Islands’ Engagement in the Coral Triangle Initiative

Environmental governance aims to reconcile an expanding set of societal objectives at ever-larger scales despite the challenges that remain in integrating conservation and development at smaller scales. We interrogate Solomon Islands’ engagement in the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security to contribute new insight on the scalar politics of multi-level marine governance. We show how regional objectives are re-interpreted and prioritized as they translate into national policy and practice. Our data suggest that enhanced coordination of finances and activities, integration of objectives in shared protocols and priority geographies, and a subtle shift in power relations between the state, donors, and implementation partners have resulted from processes of re-scaling. We discuss important procedural adjustments in cross-level and cross-scale governance across jurisdictional, institutional, and sectoral scales. We also reflect on the changing role of national governments in shifts toward large-scale, multi-national initiatives.     

Indigenous Land Management in Peri-Urban Landscapes: An Australian Example

This article examines roles, opportunities, and challenges for Indigenous land management in rapidly developing landscapes through a case study of Bunya Bunya Country Aboriginal Corporation, a not-for-profit organization on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. An analysis of data collected through semistructured interviews, participant observation, and analysis of secondary sources reveals that Aboriginal land managers work in a variety of roles to manage issues affecting the local environment and cultural heritage sites. These efforts are challenged by the absence of Native Title and colonial land management policies, which restrict Aboriginal involvement in land management. We conclude that there is a need for alternative pathways to engage with Aboriginal land managers who cannot, or choose not to, proceed with Native Title. Decolonized decision-making tools and sustainable enterprises are viable opportunities that partially address these challenges and could deliver tangible socio-economic and cultural benefits to local Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.     

Ecosystem Services in a Transitional Forest Landscape: Shifting Trajectories in Southeast Michigan,USA

North American forests provide multiple ecosystem services, such as carbon storage, biodiversity, and recreation. These services are often coordinated through multifunctional management, whereby various users and owners contribute to collective agendas. Forests in exurban “transition” zones are crucial components in the sustainability of broader metropolitan landscapes, but represent a particularly understudied confluence of ecosystem services and multifunctional management. In this paper, we develop a place-based approach to assess ecosystem services in transitional forests (those between rural and urban). We demonstrate how trajectories of forest composition are linked with shifting ecosystem services that both shape and are shaped by management activities. Sited in Stinchfield Woods, a forest in southeast Michigan, this study draws on a household survey, interviews, ecological data, and archival information. Given variations in priorities over time and among different users, we suggest that coordinated, adaptive management may improve provisioning of ecosystem services in ways that benefit multiple users.     

Developing Governance Principles for Public Natural Resources

Wildlife governance principles (WGPs) identify desirable governance characteristics for wildlife conservation in the United States (US). The types of institutional, ecological, and socio-cultural challenges that WGPs are designed to address also affect governance of public natural resources other than wildlife and in places other than the US. This raises the possibility that a similar set of governance principles might help natural resource professionals working in other resource contexts address the particular challenges they face. We describe the process by which we developed WGPs and offer seven practically oriented questions to help natural resource professionals ascertain whether a similar set of principles could improve governance in their context. In some contexts, minor modification of WGPs might be appropriate; in others, the process by which we developed WGPs could serve as a blueprint for formulating appropriate principles.     

Mapping the Stakeholders: Using Social Network Analysis to Increase the Legitimacy and Transparency of Participatory Scenario Planning

Participatory scenario planning (PSP) processes rely on accurate stakeholder identification to develop a key set of critical uncertainties. While many stakeholder analysis methods are able to identify stakeholders and describe their relationships, we found these efforts to have limited use in the fast-moving and in-depth approach of PSP research. We find that social network analysis (SNA) is an efficient, objective, and transparent approach to stakeholder identification in highly contested natural resource management issues. We present a case study of our research on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula to describe how SNA’s ability to contextualize the relations between actors can benefit participatory research.