Incorporating Māori values into land management decision tools

ABSTRACT

Environmental sustainability and the long-term wellbeing of Māori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) are interdependent and degradation of landscapes risks the progressive degradation of Māori wellbeing. The present study developed an analysis framework based on Ki Uta Ki Tai (holistic-mountains to the sea- management philosophy advocated by Ngāi Tahu) for exploring relationships between landcover and Māori values to enable predictions of cultural values through space and time. We used this framework to predict how two Māori values (Overall Health and Cultural Land Use) have been altered as a result of landcover change between 2001–2012 in three Canterbury catchments. The area of native vegetation declined while exotic pasture increased between 2001–2012, and there were corresponding declines in both cultural health scores. These results suggest that the change in landcover has reduced the ability of the landscape to support Māori values. This framework for assessing changes in Māori values with respect to changing environmental conditions may identify opportunities for Māori to better engage in land use management decisions.     

Rethinking Precolonial Plant Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America

The indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America are widely believed to have been true “hunter‐fisher‐gatherers,” lacking plant cultivation of any kind. This depiction of the region's indigenous inhabitants emerged within early colonial accounts and was perpetuated within the literatures of geography, anthropology, and archaeology. Still, there is ample evidence of plant cultivation available from archival, archaeological, and ethnographic sources. In particular, the peoples of coastal British Columbia created large gardens of edible estuarine plants, using sophisticated indigenous technologies. The oversight of these practices in written representations of the region reveals consistent patterns of bias, emanating from the agendas of colonial agents and early academics alike. In turn, this bias has undermined aboriginal traditions of cultivation and indigenous land claims.     

Promoting social justice and conserving montane forest environments: a case study of Nepal's community forestry programme

This paper analyses participatory forest policy and the ways it has influenced the relationships between people as it relates to the forest resource management. This case study was conducted in the middle hills of Nepal, and information was collected through direct observation, individual interviews, group discussion and secondary information analysis. It substantiates a few examples of how the community forestry programme can be used as a means to promote the participation of the women, the poor and dalit (untouchables) in forest resource management, as well as enhancing social justice and improving the forest resources in their locality. However, it also demonstrates that though the community forestry programme has a positive impact, it faces several constraints and challenges. The local Forest User Group is controlled by a few élites making the poor and disadvantaged vulnerable to further marginalization. The results of the case study strongly indicate that community forestry processes must address the political, economic and social needs of the forest users, and also provide a neutral platform on which the poor can present their cases.     

Amelioration of soil fertility by woody perennials in cropping fields: evaluation of three tree species in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria

Soil was sampled from cropping fields in radial patterns from beneathAcacia albida, Parkia bigloboza(Jacq.) Benth. andEucalyptus camaldulensisDehnh. near Zaria, Nigeria. Results of analysis show a significant coarsening of soil texture and a decrease in organic matter and cation exchange capacity with increasing distance from all three tree species at a depth of 0–15 cm. Concentrations of nitrogen and some exchangeable cations decreased significantly with increasing distance from beneath acacia and parkia, and soil pH decreased with increasing distance from eucalyptus. The implication of the results for land management are discussed in relation to increasing productivity and soil use sustainability.     

《地图学》多元教学方法改革与实践

针对测绘工程专业传统的《地图学》课程教学中存在的只注重理论教学、教材内容陈旧、缺乏贴近学生实际和当前测绘科技发展的问题,该文提出《地图学》的多元教学方法,即将教书育人理念融入课堂教学、现代教学手段融入传统课堂及书本理论教学融入实践体验的教学方法。     

中国户外运动网站信息流对人流生成的导引机制分析--以乐游户外运动俱乐部网站为例

本文以乐游户外运动俱乐部网站为案例,探讨中小型“自我依托”户外运动俱乐部网站信息流对人流生成的导引作用问题,认为这种作用经过网站访问者的信息获取、知识转化、认知与决定的过程而发生,经过网站交流媒介的信息、集聚、交流和组织四种平台而完成。本文也初步确定与信息流对人流生成的导引作用相关的决策影响要素,认为计划、资金、会员以及赞助商和媒体4种要素对俱乐部网站的良好运行能起到决定性作用。通过将网站使用者作为出发点来研究虚拟一现实组织特征,也能发现许多信息社会人文地理学发展的问题。     

An Examination of Behavior and Hazards Faced by Physically Disabled People During the Loma Prieta Earthquake

There is a need to study hazards faced by physically disabled people during earthquakes. A literature review showed the importance of occupant behavior as a factor that contributes to casualty during earthquakes. A survey questionnaire was used to study the behavioral responses of 33 disabled residents, none of whom sustained injury, during the Loma Prieta earthquake of 17 October 1989. An occupant risk analysis methodology was developed to study the sequence of activities of the disabled people. Severe restrictions in the physical capabilities of the respondents did not appear to increase their exposure to hazards. Overall, the physically disabled occupants did not think of themselves as vulnerable, and those who felt vulnerable initiated self-protective action in response to the hazards present in their immediate surroundings.     

防震减灾兴政安民——谈城市经济建设与防震减灾的关系

通过对经济建设与公益事业发展、应急救灾与全民防御、依法行政与主观决策、眼前利益与长治久安等关系的论述,认为,城市经济建设与防震减灾密切相关。论述了防震减灾与兴政安民之间的联系。结合太原市地震局近一年的改革实践,得出只要防震减灾与经济建设工作并肩发展,就能起到了“兴政安民”的作用。     

少数民族地区资源开发中的利益共享机制研究——以云南兰坪矿产资源为例

矿产资源的开发是一个涉及多个利益主体的经济行为,利益分配是矿产资源开发相关利益主体关注的焦点问题,如何实现利益的共享成为少数民族地区可持续发展的关键。从云南兰坪矿产资源开发中存在的问题出发,通过对矿产资源开发利益主体的重新认识,提出建立共享机制的措施,从而建立适合少数民族地区的资源开发共享机制,最终促进少数民族地区经济可持续发展。