Worlding aspirations and resilient futures: Framings of risk and contemporary city‐making in Metro Cebu,the Philippines

In the Philippines, calls for creating ‘global’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘resilient’ cities are placing urban poor communities in increasingly precarious positions. These communities have long been the targets of urban development and ‘modernisation’ efforts; more recently the erasure of informal settlements from Philippine cities is being bolstered at the behest of climate change adaptation and disaster risk management (DRM) agendas. In Metro Cebu, flood management has been at the heart of DRM and broader urban development discussions, and is serving as justification for the demolition and displacement of informal settler communities in areas classed as ‘danger zones’. Using Kusno's (2010) interpretation of the ‘exemplary centre’ as a point of departure, this paper interrogates the relationship between DRM, worlding aspirations (Roy and Ong, 2011) and market‐oriented urbanisation in Cebu, and considers the socio‐spatial implications of these intersecting processes for urban poor communities. Through analysing the contradictions inherent in framings of certain bodies and spaces as being ‘of risk’ or ‘at risk’ over others, I argue that the epistemologies of modernity, disaster risk and resilience endorsed and propagated by the state are facilitating processes of displacement and dispossession that serve elite commercial interests under the auspices of disaster resilience and pro‐poor development.     

农户生计资本研究现状及展望

自20世纪90年代以来,贫困人口的生计问题备受国内外学者关注;研究农户生计资本结构对解决和缓解贫困问题,帮助农户抵御各类风险具有重要的作用和意义。通过回顾并梳理国内外有关农户生计资本的研究重点及领域,总结了各研究阶段常用的方法,对研究方向进行了展望。     

基于SRP模型的南雄丹霞梧桐自然保护区生态脆弱性评价

通过建立生态敏感性-生态恢复力-生态压力度（SRP）模型，利用主成分分析法确定指标权重，对南雄丹霞梧桐自然保护区进行生态脆弱性评价。结果表明:1）从生态敏感性角度，研究区高度脆弱和极度脆弱面积分别为756.50 hm²和773.58 hm²，占比之和>50%，主要集中分布于北部和中部，而主要影响要素为土壤侵蚀强度，其次为距水源距离；2）从生态恢复力角度，研究区不脆弱和轻度脆弱面积分别为777.71 hm²和676.73 hm²，占比之和>50%，主要集中分布于西部和西南部，主要影响要素为生物多样性，其次为植被覆盖度；3）从生态压力度角度，研究区不脆弱和轻度脆弱面积分别为551.33 hm²和1 205.12 hm²，占比之和>60%，主要集中分布于西部及东部，而主要影响要素为GDP密度和人口密度；4）研究区整体生态脆弱性较高，中度及以上脆弱性面积之和达到67.72%，主要集中于研究区的中部和北部，其中生态敏感性对生态脆弱性的影响最大，说明研究区整体生态脆弱性较强，应做好生态保护工作。     

Reproductive resilience: a paradigm shift in understanding spawner‐recruit systems in exploited marine fish

A close relationship between adult abundance and stock productivity may not exist for many marine fish stocks, resulting in concern that the management goal of maximum sustainable yield is either inefficient or risky. Although reproductive success is tightly coupled with adult abundance and fecundity in many terrestrial animals, in exploited marine fish where and when fish spawn and consequent dispersal dynamics may have a greater impact. Here, we propose an eco‐evolutionary perspective, reproductive resilience, to understand connectivity and productivity in marine fish. Reproductive resilience is the capacity of a population to maintain the reproductive success needed to result in long‐term population stability despite disturbances. A stock's reproductive resilience is driven by the underlying traits in its spawner‐recruit system, selected for over evolutionary timescales, and the ecological context within which it is operating. Spawner‐recruit systems are species specific, have both density‐dependent and fitness feedback loops and are made up of fixed, behavioural and ecologically variable traits. They operate over multiple temporal, spatial and biological scales, with trait diversity affecting reproductive resilience at both the population and individual (i.e. portfolio) scales. Models of spawner‐recruit systems fall within three categories: (i) two‐dimensional models (i.e. spawner and recruit); (ii) process‐based biophysical dispersal models which integrate physical and environmental processes into understanding recruitment; and (iii) complex spatially explicit integrated life cycle models. We review these models and their underlying assumptions about reproductive success vs. our emerging mechanistic understanding. We conclude with practical guidelines for integrating reproductive resilience into assessments of population connectivity and stock productivity.     

Positionality and protocol in field research: Undertaking community‐based investigations in Samoa

This article considers the experiences of a Samoan female geographer undertaking community‐based field research in her home country, and identifies some lessons for researchers working in similar circumstances. The paper suggests that ethical behaviour in research is ‘place‐specific’, and there is therefore a need to employ culturally sensitive and ‘location‐specific’ methodologies when undertaking community‐based research fieldwork. For the lead researcher, growing up in Samoa played a significant role in gaining an understanding of a set of robust and effective procedures to evaluate citizens' resilience to climatic and other environmental challenges. Fluency in everyday and more formal local languages, and awareness of local differences, each with multi‐layered connections to local communities, understanding cultural nuances and practising respect for va tapuia [sacred space or relationships] protocols, together facilitated the process of knowledge acquisition and helped to confirm the validity of the conclusions derived from the study.     

Mental health in the veterinary profession: an individual or organisational focus?

The veterinary profession is experiencing a shortage of veterinarians, with attrition recognised as a substantial contributor. Research has also indicated increased levels of mental ill health and alarming suicide rates in practitioners. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the impact of eleven modifiable workplace factors on mental health outcomes, job appreciation and intention to leave the veterinary profession. The second aim was to ascertain whether workplace factors influence mental health outcomes after controlling for individual resilience. An online survey was completed by 73 practising Australian veterinarians. Unfavourable workplace factors correlated with adverse outcomes including depression, stress, reduced job appreciation and increased likelihood of leaving both the role and the profession. Workplace factors remained linked with the outcomes of job appreciation, depression and stress whilst controlling for practitioner resilience. Job appreciation was a significant predictor of intention to leave both the current role and the profession. Via multiple linear regression, two categories were identified as associated with improved psychological outcomes and job appreciation. These were workplace factors that represent breaks from workload and control or decision latitude in the workplace. Whilst resilience represents a key area for intervention, workplace factors potentially represent an easier-to-modify area for intervention.     

Carbon Depletion by Plowing and its Restoration by No‐Till Cropping Systems in Oxisols of Subtropical and Tropical Agro‐Ecoregions in Brazil

The continuous use of plowing for grain production has been the principal cause of soil degradation. This project was formulated on the hypothesis that the intensification of cropping systems by increasing biomass‐C input and its biodiversity under no‐till (NT) drives soil restoration of degraded agro‐ecosystem. The present study conducted at subtropical [Ponta Grossa (PG) site] and tropical regions [Lucas do Rio Verde, MT (LRV) site] in Brazil aimed to (i) assess the impact of the continuous plow‐based conventional tillage (CT) on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock vis‐à‐vis native vegetation (NV) as baseline; (ii) compare SOC balance among CT, NT cropping systems, and NV; and (iii) evaluate the redistribution of SOC stock in soil profile in relation to soil resilience. The continuous CT decreased the SOC stock by 0·58 and 0·67 Mg C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ in the 0‐ to 20‐cm depth at the PG and LRV sites, respectively, and the rate of SOC sequestration was 0·59 for the PG site and ranged from 0·48 to 1·30 Mg C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ for the LRV site. The fraction of C input by crop residues converted into SOC stock was ~14·2% at the PG site and ~20·5% at the LRV site. The SOC resilience index ranged from 0·29 to 0·79, and it increased with the increase in the C input among the NT systems and the SOC sequestration rates at the LRV site. These data support the hypothesis that NT cropping systems with high C input have a large potential to reverse the process of soil degradation and SOC decline. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

区域农业水资源恢复力可变模糊评价模型

区域农业水资源系统是与自然及人类活动紧密联系的复杂适应系统,不断与周围环境发生物质、能量和信息因素方面的交换和作用。以黑龙江省农垦红兴隆管理局12个农场为研究基点,运用主成分-相关分析法筛选评价指标,构建农业水资源恢复力评价指标体系,采用CRITIC法确定指标权重,结合可变模糊模型评价方法对其农业水资源系统恢复力进行评价,并利用ArcGIS技术对其进行分区,结果表明:双鸭山、八五三、北兴和八五二农场的农业水资源恢复力为Ⅱ级,饶河、二九一、五九七、红旗岭、友谊、江川、宝山和曙光的农业水资源恢复力为Ⅲ级。研究成果揭示了当地农业水资源系统力恢复情况,为农业水资源系统恢复力研究提供了一种新的研究模式。     

Rescue of the Seychelles warbler on Cousin Island, Seychelles: the role of habitat restoration

Management policies to save threatened species are not always successful, often due to the lack of a scientific basis and evaluation of the species response. We describe the ecological studies and the conservation actions taken between 1985 and 1992 on Cousin Island (29 ha, Seychelles) to safeguard the future of the highly threatened Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis), which until 1988 only occurred on this island. A detailed field study was designed to (1) identify the key processes influencing warbler demography, (2) identify appropriate management techniques to increase the warbler population, and (3), assess the influence of the resulting habitat management. Since 1980 the island has been saturated with c. 115 territories and c. 320 birds. The warbler is purely insectivorous. Morinda (Morinda citrifolia), the most insect rich tree, is preferred for foraging. The higher the insect abundance (and Morinda cover) in territories the higher the reproductive success and survival of warblers. Insect numbers were highest in the central part of Cousin and decreased towards the coast. Coastal territories protected by a salt tolerant hedge of Scaevola (Scaevola taccada) had more insects and higher reproductive success than unprotected territories. Between 1990 and 1992 Morinda trees were planted on the island and Scaevola along the coast. Although these habitat restoration measures have not resulted in higher numbers of adult warblers and territories due to habitat saturation, they have been successful in terms of improving the quality of existing breeding territories and with that the reproductive success of breeding birds (including the number of territories producing recruits), and the exchange of individuals (genetic material) between territories. We provide evidence that the high reproductive potential of this species is likely to improve the resilience of the species to catastrophic events.     

New indices for quantifying the resistance and resilience of soil biota to exogenous disturbances

The stability (resistance and resilience to disturbance) of a soil system is a key factor influencing ecosystem properties and processes. To compare the stability of different systems, it is necessary to have indices that provide a relative quantitative measure of both the resistance and resilience of a response variable in all possible scenarios. However, the indices currently in use are frequently unable to do this, or are difficult to interpret. Here, we present new indices that avoid these problems. We compare our indices with previously published indices of stability, and also test their performance by using a real data set. We show that our indices accurately represent the response of soil properties (e.g. soil microbial biomass) to a disturbance, and that they are capable of determining differences in stability between contrasting soils.