Multiple realities of the Growth Triangle: Mapping knowledge and the politics of mapping

Abstract: The Singapore‐Indonesia‐Malaysia Growth Triangle has been applauded by the governments of the three nation states, economists and transnational corporations as an economic success. However, other stark realities are evident at the local level as well. The Growth Triangle is supplanting older cultural and economic geographies. This has given rise to struggles over rights to territories and resources. Of the three points in the triangle, it is the landscape of Riau‐Indonesia that has been transformed most dramatically. A comparative study of the cadastral maps of the administrators of the Growth Triangle versus the community maps of the indigenous peoples shows the differences in their perceived spatial ideas of Riau. It also highlights the different systems of knowledge as upheld by the administrators in contrast to that of the indigenous inhabitants. This comparative study brings to attention the issues of knowledge construction, mapping knowledge and the politics of mapping.     

Influencing the global through understanding the local: Harold Brookfield's contribution to international organisations' biodiversity policy

Abstract: This article focuses on a significant paradigm shift in the approaches to biodiversity conservation in the developing countries that has affected important international organisations, including the Global Environment Facility (GEF). This paradigm shift marks a movement beyond protected areas to production landscapes. It is argued that one particular project, People, Land Management and Environmental Change (PLEC), developed under the leadership of Harold Brookfield has contributed significantly to the shift. The project was instrumental in introducing the term ‘agrodiversity’ that encompasses biological diversity as well as the management diversity found in smallholder agricultural systems at all levels. The article describes the evolution of PLEC into a major international collaborative project funded through the GEF. It highlights the project's main achievements and its influence on the policy‐making in the GEF relying on the findings of independent evaluations.     

论中国古代对森林保持水土作用的认识与实践

 中国早在先秦时期就产生了对森林保持水土作用认识的萌芽,汉晋时期对此有了初步的认识,唐宋时期有了明确的认识,明清时期产生了普遍的认识。古代人通过对森林实行“以时禁发”、注重森林防火、严禁砍伐和毁坏森林、划定森林“保护禁区”等措施,实现对森林资源的保护,提倡营造护堤林、边防林、行道树、风水林等植树造林的实践活动,发挥森林保持水土的作用。     

Comparisons of Mayan forest management, restoration, and conservation

Numerous communities associated with at least five distinct ethnic Mayan groups in southern Mexico and Central America continue to rely upon forested areas as integral components of their agricultural systems. They carefully manage these areas so that forests provide food, raw materials, and animals. Management practices include removing and planting of woody and herbaceous species, apiculture, and seed harvest. Mayan agroforestry systems in geographically and ecologically distinct areas of Mesoamerica were evaluated to better understand traditional agroforestry system components and how indigenous Mayan agroforestry could be a part of regional forest conservation and restoration. Systems were within Mexican land grant areas (ejidos) or on contested land. Although these systems rely upon different woody species and management techniques, common among them are: (1) the use of multi-stage and successional pathways with forest as a part of the larger system, (2) species that are believed by traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) to accelerate forest regeneration - more than 30 tree species are recognized and managed as potential facilitators of forest regeneration and (3) direct human consumption of forest products at all stages of regeneration.     

A Suitable Site for in situ (On-farm) Management of Plant Diversity in Traditional Agroecosystems of Western Himalaya in Uttaranchal State: A Case Study

There is a growing realisation world over that the introduction of modern agriculture has to be supplemented with measures to conserve biodiversity in situ if yield gains are to be stabilized. Hence, there is a growing interest from agricultural development specialists and conservation biologists for understanding the socioeconomic factors determining the conservation of biodiversity in situ. The present study was conducted with the objective of understanding the in situ (on-farm) conservation of agrobiodiversity in traditional agroecosystems taking the Urgam valley in north-western Himalaya of India, as a case study. An inventory was made of traditional crops and wild economic species for subsistence, and the structure of forest resource base, traditional knowledge related to resource management and use. Institutional and scientific challenges for in situ (on-farm) management of crop diversity were studied and are discussed in this paper. Complementarity of in situ (on-farm) conservation with ex situ conservation together with crop improvement in such marginal areas are suggested.     

Crossing the thresholds: human ecology and historical patterns of landscape degradation

In discussions of landscape sensitivity, human activities have generally been regarded as external forces contributing to landscape change, with a focus on the impacts of cultivation methods, fertiliser practices, grazing pressures and atmospheric pollution. However, there has been comparatively little study undertaken that integrates physical and social systems in a historic context to explain the basis of human activity in sensitive landscapes. Where such attempts have been made, the manner of common land management has figured prominently, with ‘tragedy of the commons’ concepts used to explain land degradation and to provide a foundation for policy response. This has also been the case in Southern Iceland and in this paper we assess the extent to which common land domestic grazing pressures were the primary external force causing soil erosion and land degradation during the period of occupation from ca. 874 AD. We first provide field observation of soil erosion, temporally defined by tephrochronology, to highlight the extent of land degradation during this period. The ‘tragedy of the commons’ explanation of degradation is then assessed by evaluating historic documentary sources, and by environmental reconstruction and modeling of historic grazing pressures. These analyses indicate that regulatory mechanisms were in place to prevent overgrazing from at least the 1200s AD and suggest that there was sufficient biomass to support the numbers of domestic livestock indicated from historic sources. We suggest that failure to remove domestic livestock before the end of the growing season and an absence of shepherding were more likely to contribute to land degradation than absolute numbers. Lack of appropriate regulation of domestic livestock on common grazing areas can be attributed to limited cultural knowledge of changing and rapidly fluctuating environmental conditions.     

农村中学图书馆路在何方?

本文从农村文化素质来看乡镇中学图书馆建设的重要性，探索乡镇中学图书馆的发展之路，并提出了乡镇中学图书馆建设几点建议。     

双效种衣剂对水稻旱育秧苗的影响

本试验用不同剂量的双效种衣剂包衣，研究其对水稻秧苗的影响。结果表明，不同剂量种衣剂对水稻芽势、芽率无影响；种衣剂１∶４０，１５∶４０处理对水稻秧苗素质及生理效应的影响效果较好，对水稻立枯病防治效果较好。     

试论面向知识经济的高校内部审计

知识经济意味着一个双向的社会运动:知识的经济化和经济的知识化。知识经济时代的来临，提高了高校在社会中的地位。知识经济更需要审计监督。知识经济的信息化、数字化、虚拟化和网络化要求使得高校审计工作的目标、方式和内容产生重大变化。高校内部审计需要创新。