Rural household demographics, livelihoods and the environment

This paper reviews and synthesizes findings from scholarly work on linkages among rural household demographics, livelihoods and the environment. Using the livelihood approach as an organizing framework, we examine evidence on the multiple pathways linking environmental variables and the following demographic variables: fertility, migration, morbidity and mortality, and lifecycles. Although the review draws on studies from the entire developing world, we find the majority of microlevel studies have been conducted in either marginal (mountainous or arid) or frontier environments, especially Amazonia. Though the linkages are mediated by many complex and often context-specific factors, there is strong evidence that dependence on natural resources intensifies when households lose human and social capital through adult morbidity and mortality, and qualified evidence for the influence of environmental factors on household decision-making regarding fertility and migration. Two decades of research on lifecycles and land cover change at the farm level have yielded a number of insights about how households make use of different land-use and natural resource management strategies at different stages. A thread running throughout the review is the importance of managing risk through livelihood diversification, ensuring future income security, and culture-specific norms regarding appropriate and desirable activities and demographic responses. Recommendations for future research are provided.     

南海北部台西南盆地973-4岩芯碳的地球化学特征

对南海北部台西南盆地天然气水合物潜在区(973-4岩芯)碳的形态、含量和稳定同位素组成进行了分析,并探讨了成岩环境因素和细菌种群与碳地球化学行为的关系。结果显示:(1)TOC含量为0.4%~1.3%,δ~(13)CTOC为–26.7‰~–23.9‰,说明973-4岩芯主要为陆源有机质,能够满足微生物产甲烷的需要;DIC和δ~(13)CIC的垂向变异及其显著负相关,指示:973-4岩芯560~890 cm深度段有SO42–驱动的AOM反应。(2)p H、Eh、沉积物粒径等成岩环境参数与TOC、IC、δ~(13)CTOC、δ~(13)CIC等碳地化参数显著相关。(3)细菌种群与DIC、δ~(13)CIC显著相关。结论认为:(1)973-4岩芯碳的地化行为与天然气水合物成藏存在明显响应关系。(2)成岩环境参数的垂向变异与碳的地球化学特征密切相关。(3)细菌种群对碳的地化参数变异有着显著影响。     

Downstream effects of dams on livelihoods of river-dependent communities: the case of Ghana’s Kpong Dam

Construction of dams affects the livelihoods of the population living along the dammed river. There is a need for more studies to guide dam development policies and management to safeguard the livelihoods of local river users. This paper examines the effects of dams on the socio-economic livelihoods of downstream communities by drawing on the Kpong Dam in Ghana constructed from 1979 to 1982 with the goal of supplying energy and for irrigation purposes. Primary data were collected in resettled and non-resettled downstream communities using a mixed-research approach. This case study highlights how the Kpong Dam has affected the downstream river-dependent population whose livelihoods, particularly farming and fishing revolved around the seasonal flow regimes of the Volta River. Our study challenges the general perception that dams increase agricultural production by illustrating that developing ancillary facilities such as irrigation schemes as part of dam projects can enhance all-year-round agricultural production to improve food and income security of downstream households only when constraints such as lack of farm inputs are addressed. To safeguard livelihoods and limit the social impacts of dams, compensation schemes and alternative livelihood activities should be designed to include resettled and non-resettled communities along the downstream areas affected by dam projects.     

The Influence of Community Size and Location on Different Dimensions of Vulnerability: a case study of Australian coastal communities

ABSTRACT

Coastal communities are part of the Australian identity but little is known about their characteristics and their long-term prosperity prospects. Increased migration to coastal areas and increased exposure to extreme climatic events indicates a need for social and economic data to inform socio-ecological systems planning. Here, we undertake a geo-spatial analysis to develop a typology of Australian coastal communities and assess relative vulnerability to climate-driven environmental change for a range of social and economic indicators. The aim of this study is to understand how the vulnerability of Australian coastal communities varies with geographic location or community size, and in comparison to other community types. Results show that both the population size and location of a coastal community matter and that coastal communities overall are more vulnerable on some socio-economic dimensions to climate-driven environmental change than their rural equivalents. However, results also demonstrate that the smallest coastal communities are strong in some important aspects of the human, social and financial domains, putting them in a good position to deal with some changes. Scale-appropriate and context-specific social policies are needed to address identified socio-economic vulnerabilities, supported by a range of formal and informal institutional structures, such as strategies to improve education and female workforce participation, and encourage participation in volunteering to increase human and social capital.     

Exploring a New Regionalism-Based Approach to Managing Drinking Water Systems in Rural Regions

Rural regions face many challenges when managing drinking water systems. Current management approaches lack the ability to deal with the complexity that surrounds these infrastructure systems and the critical service they provide, in particular, the links between these systems and the economy and environment. This research explores the potential for an alternative approach. The proposed new regionalism-based approach recognizes and accounts for the myriad of influencing factors, using different mechanisms to support and encourage drinking water systems in fulfilling their potential role in supporting regional resilience. Using a case study approach, data collected from semistructured interviews indicate that elements of the proposed approach are already in use within the Kootenay Development Region of British Columbia, Canada. Results indicate that while the need for an alternate management approach is recognized, and elements of the proposed approach are increasingly applied, substantive barriers remain, such as the existing institutional and jurisdictional structure.     

西伯利亚水库和叶尼塞河中物质及生态系统条件的预测：生物物理方法

An avenue to integrate theoretical, experimental and field research methods to forecast water quality in water bodies for different scenarios of water management is proposed. Exploration of the laws of organization, stability and controllability of laboratory "ideal" water microbial communities (model ecosystems) is the basis to build the following biophysical research chain:to formalize with primary field information a conceptual block-diagram of a water ecosystem →to real chemical and other density-dependent and population-growth-controlling factors → to find our limiting factors for natural ecosystems → to conduct experiments with isolated chemical factors and hydrobionts to derive kinetic dependencies and quantitative parameters→ to transfer regularities of operation and kinetic dependencies to the natural ecosystem→ retrospective verification of the model on the base of available field and derived theoretical-experimental data →prognostic calculations for the scenario. Efficiency of the approach is demonstrated in microalgal "blooming" models for Krasnoyarsk and Kantat reservoirs and in prognostication of radioecological state of great Yenisei river:1) radionuclide distribution in the Yenisei''s bottom sediment is nonuniform-"spotty"; 2) it is theoretically shown, that due to biological interactions and tro-phical radioniclide migration there is "spotive" type of space radionuclide distribution. The research is to make use of the novel methods of ecological biophysics:Monitoring:spectral analysis of surface waters (algal pigments), fluorescent techniques to evaluate productivity and condition of algae; rapid bioassays for water toxicity (bioluminescence, chemotaxis techniques). Kinetic experiments:microcosms on evaluating self-purification rates; special cultivators to evaluate the rates of growth of hydrobionts and radioactive engulfing, nutrition spectra; methods of finding growth limiting factors. Models:application of Bellman Principle to optimizing the river water use; theory and peculiarities of microbiological decomposition of pollutants in the river ecosystem. The composition of Prognostication Simulation Model is the next:1) hydrodynamical unit to calculate 2-dimensional space-time rate of stream on any depth; 2) hydrophysical unit to calculate:water temperature and level of solar radiation inside the water body; 3) ecosystem unit to calculate dynamic of concentration of phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacteria, major chemical matters and pollutants in water, content pollutants inside of hydrobionfs cells and dynamic of bentos; 4) radioe-cological unit to forecast the dynamic of radionuclides in the water body and bottom, their hydro-bont''s concentration; 5) database. Reservoirs and river models are provided by monitoring and kinetic experiments data.     

洱海生物群落的历史演变分析

根据１９５７－１９９７年期间对洱海水体进行的历次综合研究结果分析,由污染引起的氮,磷等营养元素含量升高促进藻类生长繁殖,４０年来其密度和生物量上升近１０倍;近５年的变化尤为明显,一度出现以螺旋鱼腥藻为主的“水华”。     

Socio-economic vulnerability due to climate change: Deriving indicators for fishing communities in Mumbai

This paper assessed the socio-economic implications of climate change and vulnerability of fishing communities known as “Koli” living in Mumbai, India. The vulnerability indicators are derived from sustainable livelihood literature and use of multi-criteria analyses and are validated with expert opinions. A survey of two hundred fishermen from five fishing villages in Mumbai was conducted to collect data. The results demonstrate that vulnerability perpetuates due to physical and financial resource constraints among the fishing community. Fishermen from Madh and Worli villages are observed to be more vulnerable and less adaptive due to their inability to use efficient mechanized boats and advanced fishing implements, such as fish finders and GPS (Global Positioning System). The divergence in the vulnerability scores among fishing villages is attributed to the coping strategies, resource availability, knowledge and the benefit derived from the local government. Fishermen have been observing the negative impacts of climate change on their fishing livelihoods. Adaptation strategies to maximize fish catch are observed in such practices as targeting different species and fishing intensively for several days. However, these practices are leading to an imbalance in the common resource pool and biased resource sharing among different groups of fishermen.     

Neogene sequence stratigraphic architecture of the Nile Delta,Egypt: A micropaleontological perspective

The sequence stratigraphic architecture of the Neogene section from the subsurface Nile Delta is resolved based on exceptionally well-preserved microfossils from the offshore NDOB-1 borehole. The architecture is configured on bathymetry variations and statistical parameters as deduced from the relative abundance of foraminiferal associations. The statistical parameters include ratios of planktic versus benthic foraminifera, and cluster and correspondence analysis of the twelve most commonly used benthic foraminiferal genera as proxies of water depths. The combination of cluster and correspondence analysis was employed to decipher the evolution and dynamics of the basin and the mechanisms that controlled the deposition of Neogene sequences in the Nile Delta region. Four basic environmental settings were recognized: 1.) a middle to outer neritic eutrophic setting, 2.) a middle to outer neritic mesotrophic setting, 3.) an outer neritic to upper bathyal mesotrophic setting and 4.) an upper bathyal mesotrophic setting.Eight stratigraphic sequences were identified in the Neogene Nile Delta section. Three sequence in the Miocene (MSeq1, MSeq2 and MSeq3), three in the Pliocene (PSeq1, PSeq2 and PSeq3) and two in the Pleistocene (PtSeq1 and PtSeq2). These sequences are systematically measured and described in terms of time, space and water bathymetry. The sequence boundaries and flooding surfaces were dated using high-resolution microfossil biochronology and stratigraphic index markers. Individual sequences and boundaries were correlated with international and local sequence stratigraphic models. The new sequence stratigraphic model established here provides age calibrated surfaces for inter-basinal correlations and opens new avenues for hydrocarbon reservoir exploration.