Community participation in forest resource management in Nepal

Livelihood of the people in Nepal hills depends much upon forest resources in addition to farming as forest plays a critical role in the well being of the farming households where access to alternative sources, such as energy for cooking, nutrition for animals, materials for fertilizer and constructing materials for shelter, are limited. Thus, the well being of the people in the hills is directly affected by the management of these forest resources. This issue was addressed in this paper by examining the forest resource management practices and its effect on well being of rural people in two different stages in a village lying in the steep hill of Mahabharat Range in the southern hills of Kathmandu valley, Lalitpur District. The main ethnic/caste groups in the villageare Brahmin/Chhetri (high Hindu caste),Magar/Tamang (Tibeto Burmans) and Kami (occupational caste: cobbler). Currently there are four community forest users groups, with mixed ethnic membership, organized to manage the forest resources. The endowments, weak institutional settings, before 1990 helped the Bhramins, Magars and Tamangs to get access into the private forest endowment, which made them easy to get access to the forest resources, mainly fuel wood, fodder and timber in 1990 and enhanced their well beings. But the socially backward Kami could not get benefit from the institutions that existed during that time and had less chance to enhance their well beings. After the set up of different endowments during late 199os, i.e.,hand over of forest management to users groups in line with the concept of community forest,environment to use the forest resources became better for all the groups, along with the management of the forest. This enhanced the well beings of all the groups in the study village. However, the ability of Kami to use the forest resources to enhance their well beings was still lacking behind. The reason was partially due to the difference in endowments carried over from the endowments before 199o, and partly due to their occupational work and location of their settlements.     

2015-04-25尼泊尔M8.1地震震害特征

2015-04-25尼泊尔M8.1级地震造成我国西藏日喀则地区10个县的房屋设施不同程度地破坏,最大影响烈度为IX度。灾区调查发现,土木和石木等简易结构房屋普遍破坏,砖混和框架结构房屋破坏较轻。受场地条件影响,沿雅鲁藏布江破坏比其他地区较普遍。极震区滑坡、崩塌等地震地质灾害造成的人员伤亡和财产损失比地震动直接造成的损失更大。     

尼泊尔4·25地震震前冰湖制图与潜在危险性分析

由于地震灾害的影响,冰湖上游的冰滑坡、冰崩、滑坡、泥石流会进入湖泊,通过冲击波或抬高水位,造成冰川坝或冰碛坝突然垮塌导致冰湖迅速排水而形成洪水或洪水泥石流.首先基于Landsat8遥感影像通过人工目视解译的方法构建尼泊尔2015年4月25日地震震前冰湖数据,为我国和尼泊尔的抗震救灾提供重要的数据支撑.然后利用历史遥感数据解译获取研究区2015年以前的历史冰湖数据,对历史冰湖数据和2015年的冰湖数据进行地理空间分析,计算其面积变化和长度变化.最后结合尼泊尔2015年4月25日地震峰值地面加速度数据通过空间分析识别地震影响区的潜在危险冰湖.研究表明:研究区面积0.02 km~2的冰湖有1 847个,面积263.18 km~2,其中快速变化冰湖87个,位于地震影响区的潜在危险冰湖49个,应重点关注潜在危险冰湖.     

Climates of urbanization: local experiences of water security,conflict and cooperation in peri-urban South-Asia

ABSTRACT

This article explores changing water (in)securities in a context of urbanization and climate change in the peri-urban spaces of four South-Asian cities: Khulna (Bangladesh), Gurugram and Hyderabad (India), and Kathmandu (Nepal). As awareness of water challenges like intensifying use, deteriorating quality and climate change is growing, water security gets more scientific and policy attention. However, in peri-urban areas, the dynamic zones between the urban and the rural, it remains under-researched, despite the specific characteristics of these spaces: intensifying flows of goods, resources, people, and technologies; diversifying uses of, and growing pressures on land and water; and complex and often contradictory governance and jurisdictional institutions. This article analyses local experiences of water (in-)security, conflict and cooperation in relation to existing policies. It uses insights from the analysis of the case studies as a point of departure for a critical reflection on whether a ‘community resilience’ discourse contributes to better understanding these cases of water insecurity and conflict, and to better policy solutions. The authors argue that a community resilience focus risks neglecting important insights about how peri-urban water insecurity problems are experienced by peri-urban populations and produced or reproduced in specific socio-economic, political and policy contexts. Unless supported by in-depth hydro-social research, such a focus may depoliticize basically political questions of water (re) allocation, prioritization, and access for marginalized groups. Therefore, the authors plead for more critical awareness among researchers and policy-makers of the consequences of using a ‘community resilience’ discourse for making sense of peri-urban water (in-)security.

Key policy insights

• There is an urgent need for more (critical) policy and scientific attention to peri-urban water insecurity, conflict, and climate change.

• Although a changing climate will likely play a role, more attention is needed to how water insecurities and vulnerabilities in South Asia are socially produced.

• Researchers and policy-makers should avoid using depoliticized (community) resilience approaches for basically socio-political problems.

     

基于方差分量估计的2015年尼泊尔MW7.8地震同震滑动分布

基于三角位错的断层自动剖分方法,联合ALOS-2 InSAR和GPS同震位移数据反演了2015年尼泊尔M_W7.8地震的发震断层参数及滑动分布.反演中基于赫尔默特方差分量估计方法确定InSAR、GPS水平向与垂直向的3种观测位移数据的相对权比.反演结果显示,方差分量估计方法定权得到的最大滑动量5.5 m,大于验前方差定权给出的5.1 m的结果,同时前者显示同震破裂沿东南方向传播至接近M_W7.3最大余震区域,然后分别继续向北和东南传播约30 km,并形成一个滑动空区（slip gap）,而后者的结果没有表现出这种显著的滑动空区特征.方差分量估计定权得到的滑动模型能更好地解释观测到的InSAR同震形变场,其拟合残差标准差较验前方差定权的结果减小了2.5 cm,GPS的东和北分量的残差标准差分别减小了0.4 cm和0.9 cm.与两种不同的基于矩形位错的方法相比,利用方差分量估计的三角位错断层自动剖分方法的滑动误差均值和标准差相对最小,其中均值为0.037 m,标准差为0.028 m,表明该方法得到的滑动模型具有相对更好的无偏性和有效性.

     

基于尼泊尔Mw7.8地震的喜马拉雅俯冲带滑坡分布规律研究

全球多数大地震发生在俯冲带地区,然而对于俯冲带地震诱发的滑坡研究并不多见。2015年4月25日尼泊尔廓尔喀县发生了Mw78地震,为喜马拉雅俯冲带近70年来的首次强震,震源机制解表明为低角度逆冲型的俯冲带地震,触发了大量滑坡、崩塌等地震次生灾害。通过遥感解译和现场调查获取2072组地震滑坡信息,揭示滑坡多数分布在海拔1000m~3000m之间,高喜马拉雅与低喜马拉雅的过渡区域,基本沿主中央逆冲断裂断裂(MCT)展布,地势落差大。早期断裂活动频繁,由中、高级变质岩和新生代浅色花岗岩变为古生代沉积岩和少量岩浆岩组成的逆冲岩席,易于发生滑坡、崩塌等地质灾害。滑坡坡度值优势分布区间为35°~40°,与中国西部地区一致,说明地震滑坡坡度分布与大的构造背景相关性较小,可能受局部地形地貌、地层岩性等因素控制。坡向值的优势分布区间为120°~200°,与水平形变场关系紧密。以尼泊尔地震滑坡为例探讨了喜马拉雅俯冲带地震滑坡的特征：滑坡点明显呈相对较宽的矩形区域展布,受深部逆冲推覆构造低倾角的断层破裂面影响较大,滑坡全部位于上盘,由于地震运动的惯性作用,在坡向与上盘逆冲方向一致的斜坡上容易诱发地震滑坡。     

Shallow groundwater in a middle mountain catchment of Nepal: quantity and quality issues

The use of shallow groundwater in middle mountain catchments of Nepal is a recent development. It was only in early 1998 that a number of dug wells had been constructed in the Jhikhu Khola catchment. But their numbers are rapidly increasing. While it seems to be a good way of accessing additional water resources both for domestic (current) and agricultural purposes (future), it is very important that the groundwater resources are not overexploited. Current dug wells are used to abstract groundwater, which is seasonally being recharged by the abundant monsoon rainfall. The water levels responded rapidly to the rainfall and differed according to the location of the well. The water quality parameters indicated that the water of most of the wells was not suitable for drinking purposes without prior treatment. Microbiological contamination is of particular concern, in addition to the high nitrate and phosphate levels. Some wells show elevated turbidity levels, indicating that there is an interaction between the muddy surface water and the water in the well.     

2015年尼泊尔M_w7.9地震破裂过程:快速反演与初步联合反演

本文介绍了2015年4月25日尼泊尔Mw7.9(MS8.1)地震发生后的破裂过程快速反演工作,以及后续开展的地震波与少量GPS资料的初步联合反演工作.两项工作得到的反演结果尽管在最大滑动量估计方面存在一些差别,但都一致地显示此次地震是发生在低倾角俯冲断裂上的一次单侧破裂事件,破裂主要朝东南方向传播;断层滑动主要发生在震中至加德满都一带.在加德满都附近区域,其下方破裂与朝东南传播的地震波的多普勒聚焦效应可能造成较强的震感和较大的破坏.对比历史大地震发现,2015年尼泊尔Mw7.9地震的浅部破裂紧邻1934年Mw8.2地震的地表破裂,余震分布与1833年M7.6地震的宏观震中基本重合,其破裂填补了前两次地震破裂以西100km左右的空区,表明此次地震是1934年Mw8.2地震与1833年M7.6地震向西继续延伸的结果.     

尼泊尔西部代莱克(Dailekh)地区石油地质条件分析

分析尼泊尔石油地质条件对于促进尼泊尔油气的勘探开发有重要意义。本文通过全面搜集尼泊尔油气地质及相关资料,结合实地考察和部分样品分析结果,报道了尼泊尔区域地质特征、油气勘探现状、区域构造特征和地层发育特征;分析了Dailekh地区出露的油气苗特征、烃源条件、生储盖和油气圈闭条件,认为Dailekh地区发育四套烃源岩层,多个生储盖组合,具有较好的油气勘探前景;油气苗为高成熟烃源岩裂解的产物,可能来自变质岩推覆体下伏沉积岩层;断层和逆冲相关的背斜、突起构造和倾斜断块等是找油气的重要构造。