Retreating to nature: rethinking 'therapeutic landscapes'

There is a long history of removing oneself from 'society' in order to recuperate or repair. This paper considers a yoga and massage retreat in Southern Spain, and what opportunities this retreat experience might offer for recuperation and the creation of healthy bodies. The paper positions 'nature' as an active participant, and as 'enrolled' in the experiences of the retreat as a 'therapeutic landscape', and questions how and what particular aspects of yoga practice (in intimate relation with place) give rise to therapeutic experiences.     

The nature of post-neoliberalism: Building bio-socialism in the Ecuadorian Amazon

This paper explores the ideology and materiality of ‘bio-socialism’, through which the Ecuadorian government is attempting to catalyse a ‘post-neoliberal’ transition from the ‘finite resources’ of Amazonian oil reserves to the ‘infinite resources’ of biodiversity and scientific knowledge. This experiment is embodied in Ikiam, a public university under construction in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Drawing on extensive field research, we argue that, despite its radical intentions, bio-socialism is functioning as a strategy for the real subsumption of nature to capital, which is being operationalized in Ikiam in ways that reproduce the neoliberal knowledge economy. However, the contradictions of this process imply that, in practice, Ikiam is only intensifying established patterns of the formal subsumption of nature, by commodifying the genetic wealth and indigenous knowledge of the Amazon, and legitimating the expansion of the oil and mineral frontiers. The case of bio-socialism demonstrates the paradoxical nature of actually-existing post-neoliberalism, and illustrates the tendency for utopian ideologies to reproduce the material conditions they are seeking to escape.     

Assessment of effectiveness of nature reserves on the Tibetan Plateau based on net primary production and the large sample comparison method

Twenty-one typical coupled large samples were chosen from areas within and surrounding nature reserves on the Tibetan Plateau using the large sample comparison method (LSCM). To evaluate the effectiveness of the nature reserves in protecting the ecological environment, the alpine grassland net primary production (NPP) of these coupled samples were compared and the differences between them before and after their establishment as protected areas were analyzed. The results showed that: (1) With respect to the alpine grassland NPP, the ecological and environmental conditions of most nature reserves were more fragile than those of the surrounding areas and also lower than the average values for the Tibetan Plateau. (2) Of the 11 typical nature reserves selected, the positive trend in the NPP for Manzetang was the most significant, whereas there was no obvious trend in Taxkorgan. With the exception of Selincuo, the annual NPP growth rate in the nature reserves covered by alpine meadow and wetland was higher than that in nature reserves consisting of alpine steppe and alpine desert. (3) There were notable findings in 21 typical coupled samples: (a) After the establishment of the nature reserves, the annual rate of increase in the NPP in 76% of samples inside nature reserves and 82% of samples inside national nature reserves was higher than that of the corresponding samples outside nature reserves. (b) The effectiveness of ecological protection of the Mid-Kunlun, Changshagongma, Zoige and Selincuo (Selin Co) nature reserves was significant; the effectiveness of protection was relatively significant in most parts of the Sanjiangyuan and Qiangtang nature reserves, whereas in south-east Manzetang and north Taxkorgan the protection effectiveness was not obvious. (c) The ecological protection effectiveness was significant in nature reserves consisting of alpine meadow, but was weak in nature reserves covered by alpine steppe. This study also shows that the advantage of large sample comparison method in evaluating regional ecology change. Careful design of the samples used, to ensure comparability between the samples, is crucial to the success of this LSCM.     

湖北省百岁人口分布与长寿区自然环境背景

基于人口普查数据,运用ArcGIS 空间分析以及SPSS 数理统计方法,对湖北省百岁人口分布与相对长寿区的自然环境背景进行研究,结果表明：过去50 a 来,湖北省百岁人口数量不断增加,百岁人口比率不断提高,但其百岁人口总数在全国的占比一直低于人口总数的占比,百岁人口比率与全国平均水平的差距越来越大;县域百岁人口比率空间差异明显,鄂北岗地稳居前茅,鄂西南山地、江汉平原、鄂东南丘陵百岁人口比率增长相对迅速;百岁人口重心向东南迁移并向省域几何中心和总人口重心靠近。湖北省的相对长寿区包括29 个县域,主要分布在鄂北岗地和江汉平原外缘的平原丘陵交错带,其自然环境背景是：气候温和、夏无酷暑、冬无严寒、雨量适中、阳光充足、空气流动性好、海拔较低、地形平缓,土壤中富含钼、锰、锌等微量元素。     

Unfolding relations between land cover and farm management: high nature value assessment in complex silvo-pastoral systems

The high nature value (HNV) concept, proposed by the European Environment Agency, recognizes that specific farming systems support high biodiversity levels, mainly as a result of extensive management practices. The Portuguese montado is one of the most significant HNV systems in southern Europe. However, considering the great complexity characterizing these systems both in land management and in landscape structure, a specific context-oriented methodology to assess which montado areas are likely to be classified as HNV farmland is needed. In this sense, the aim of this study is to explore a methodological approach which makes it possible to assess land management pressures through land cover information on these complex silvo-pastoral systems. The proposed methodology was tested through a local case study in a montado area in southern Portugal, assessing the relation between management practices and a vegetation cover index. Results show that in similar montado areas different land management strategies varying in stocking density, but also in type of grazing animals and shrub control practices, configure different vegetation cycles. These results indicate there is a way to develop a straightforward methodology to assess the HNV value of Mediterranean silvo-pastoral systems based on land cover indicators. These would make it possible to assess the HNV of montado areas with direct and objective information and independent of farmer’s surveys or other farm-based data.     

鄱阳湖自然保护区湿地植被群落与水文情势关系

以鄱阳湖自然保护区为研究对象,通过构建植被群落-水文参数直方图和计算敏感性指数,分析植被群落对水文条件变化的耐受性和敏感性,研究湿地植被群落与水文情势的关系。结果表明,在鄱阳湖自然保护区内,不同的植被群落对水文情势变化的耐受性和敏感性不同,苔草群落、假俭草群落对水文条件变化敏感性较低;苔草-廖子草群落、苔草-虉草群落和虉草-苔草群落对水文条件变化的敏感性较高,喜欢相对湿润的环境;南荻群落所能承受的水文条件变化范围较窄,喜欢相对干旱的环境。     

Energy use, climate change and folk psychology: Does sustainability have a chance? Results from a qualitative study in five European countries

Citizens’ support for policies that aim to curb carbon emissions and energy use is often seen as informed by their values, attitudes and perceptions of the environmental problem in question. We argue that we also need to understand how people conceptualise policies and the governance approaches underpinning them to be able to judge the likely acceptance of policy change.In this study, we draw on qualitative interviews (n = 202) from five European countries to explore citizens’ views on governance approaches to stimulate behavioural change in the field of resource use, including regulations, price changes, collective action, technological change and education.We found that many of our interviewees referred to generalised characteristics of humankind and contemporary society to back up their arguments for or against specific governance approaches. In particular, many interviewees concurred that people in general were so self-centred, driven by habit and money- and consumption-oriented that only strict regulations, drastic price changes and technological innovation could possibly achieve widespread behavioural change. As a consequence, such ‘folk psychologies’ can have substantial impact not only on public acceptance, but also on the success of policy measures that aim to reduce citizens’ resource use.     

九寨沟自然保护区景观变化与保护

立足于景观尺度,基于RS和GIS技术及景观生态学原理,使用巢式分析法研究了1975-2007年九寨沟自然保护区景观变化,包括景观格局、景观过程,讨论了景观变化的驱动因素.结果表明:1.最近30多年来,九寨沟自然保护区及外围圈层各类景观都发生了不同程度的变化:自保护区建立以来,林地、水域分别净增899.56 hm2、7.06 hm2,疏林/灌丛、草地分别减少440.52 hm2、970.60 hm2,耕地已全部实现退耕;而同期外围2个圈层的林地却分别减少9 012.23 hm2、25 975.28 hm2,水域减少16.89 hm2、0.83 hm2,建设用地增加376.58 hm2、1 340.35 hm2.草地增加4 883.18 hm2、56 462.11 hm2.在景观水平上,保护区破碎化程度最低,而多样性程度最高,但在类型水平上,保护区2007年的林地却仍然比1975年破碎.2.各种宏观政策,包括保护政策、旅游发展及其所引发的人类活动是九寨沟自然保护区及其外围2个圈层林地、建设用地、耕地景观变化的驱动因素,而自然地理过程是九寨沟自然保护区及其外围2个圈层冰雪/裸岩、水域景观变化的驱动因素.针对景观变化和未来面临的挑战提出了保护建议.