What is new about new forest owners? A typology of private forest ownership in Austria

With structural changes in agriculture, new types of forest owners have become increasingly important. This article develops an empirically-based typology of forest owners in Austria. Based on a representative survey and by means of cluster analysis, seven types of forest owners are identified. These types form a sequence, ranging from forest owners with a strong agricultural background to forest owners with no agricultural background at all. The latter exhibit markedly different behaviour in various respects, e.g. in their interest in forest-related information. The increasing number of ‘new’ forest owners raises important questions for forest policy, especially how policy instruments can reach these owners and how extension services can address them.     

消费者对于餐饮业食品安全的态度和感知——以北京城市居民为例

以北京部分城市居民为例,对消费者对餐饮业的食品安全问题的关注进行调查,结果表明,多数消费者关注餐饮食品安全问题,其主要关心的食品安全问题有1)不新鲜的菜品原材料;2)就餐环境的不良卫生状况;3)食品添加剂的滥用;4)菜品制作过程中的不卫生环境及操作5)操作人员的卫生健康问题。同时,消费者认为导致餐饮食品安全问题发生的主要原因是餐饮经营者注重自己的利益从而忽视了消费者的利益;消费者对食品原材料及菜品成品质量的鉴别能力不高;相关部门执法力度不够等。因此,政府和有关部加强执法力度及监督检查,媒体充分发挥监督作用,同时企业能够倡导诚信经营,加强行业自律是解决餐饮业食品安全问题的有利举措。同时,提高消费者自身对食品安全的认知能力和增强维权意识也是控制餐饮安全的一项措施。     

Attitudes of Rural Communities Toward Dispersing African Wild Dogs in South Africa

Subsistence pastoralists often view large carnivores negatively given that any loss of livestock is likely to represent a significant economic cost. Consequently, large carnivore conservation initiatives in rural landscapes should incorporate appropriate human–carnivore conflict mitigation strategies. In this study, structured interviews with local residents (n = 247) were used for determining attitudes toward African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) among rural communities neighboring two protected areas in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Contrary to expectations, the majority of respondents (58%) were generally positive toward wild dogs. This was probably due to a lack of livestock depredation by wild dogs and relatively high levels of formal education among respondents. Respondents with greater knowledge of wild dogs and conflict mitigation had more positive attitudes, and most were aware of effective husbandry techniques. The positive attitudes observed in these rural communities may benefit wild dog dispersal from natal home ranges and the future conservation of this endangered carnivore.     

Residents’ perceptions and attitudes toward waste treatment facility sites and their possible conversion: A literature review

The siting a landfill or waste treatment facility and the redevelopment of a brownfield or former landfill site are generally treated as independent issues in the research literature. Nonetheless, the two are important elements of community development and urban revitalization efforts. The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrated review of the current literature on attitudes toward waste treatment sites and their potential conversion for recreation use. We begin by examining research on residents’ perceptions of and attitudes toward proposed and existing waste treatment facility sites, including the perceived impacts and determinants of attitudes toward these sites. Next we summarize work that has explored the subsequent conversion of former landfills or brownfield sites, with a particular emphasis on repurposing these sites for green space and recreation use. We conclude by summarizing key issues and implications for future research and policy development.     

Traditional soil and land appraisal on fadama lands in northeast Nigeria

Abstract. As part of a study of recession farming on the 'fadama' lands on a segment of the Komadugu-Yobe floodplain, a survey was carried out to investigate the local farmers' perception of soil types and management practices. The farmers are clearly aware of the differences in soil type on the fadama and they possess unique skills in managing their farm lands. The farmers classify fadama soils for recession farming by assessing soil texture and soil drainage conditions by feel and observation. Integrating such local knowledge into soil surveys will lead to better practical definition of mapping units and give soil names that have more meaning for the farmers.     

Organic Food Demand: A Focus Group Study Involving Caucasian and African-American Shoppers

A focus group study using four groups of food shoppers provides insights into consumers’ knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors regarding organic foods. Two focus groups consisted of shoppers who regularly bought organic foods and two focus groups of shoppers who predominantly purchased conventional foods. Participants in one of the conventional groups were all Caucasian; in the other they were all African-American. While familiarity with organic foods was much lower in the African-American group, its members were more receptive and positive towards organic foods. Likewise, the African-American shoppers were more accepting of price premiums for organics foods. In comparing the two organic shopper groups with the two conventional shopper groups, it was found that the former were generally more knowledgeable about organic foods. They were also more likely to follow a special diet than conventional Caucasian shoppers. However, the behavior of organic shoppers varied widely. The research supports examining social justice and access as motivations for changing policies to support organic agriculture. Lydia Zepeda is a Professor of Consumer Science at University of Wisconsin and Senior Fellow of the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy. Her research focuses on agricultural technology adoption, farm household decision making, and consumer perceptions and behavior towards agricultural technology and food. Hui-Shung Chang is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Economics at the University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Her research focuses on demand analysis and agribusiness marketing. Catherine Leviten-Reid is a research assistant and graduate student in the Department of Consumer Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is interested in household behavior and sustainable community development.     

屏边大围山国家级自然保护区社区居民环境保护意识调查

为了解影响自然保护区社区居民保护态度的主要原因,对屏边大围山国家级自然保护区及其周边的6个村寨进行调查,采用非参数检验和逐步线性回归分析方法分析人口特征和社会经济的各种因子对居民保护态度的主要影响.结果表明,不同村寨对保护区态度的影响存在显著差异(N=6,X2=7.98,P=0.04);性别(N=171,X2=7.92,P=0.04)和家庭拥有旱地面积(N=171,X2=8,P=0.04)也是影响保护态度的主要原因;其他因素对保护态度影响不显著.调查社区居民对保护政策的满意度及目前的政策需求认为,落实搬迁,解决土地权属问题,寻找新的经济作物及其种植地点,发展社区经济,完善农村基础设施建设是当前获得社区居民对保护区建设与管理支持的最主要办法.另外,提高管理人员素质和护林员待遇,解决公平问题对自然保护区的管理亦至关重要.     

Removal of rock fragments and its effect on soil loss and crop yield, Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract. When the farmers of the Highlands of Tigray (northern Ethiopia) consider rock fragment cover in their fields to be excessive, they remove some of them. In addition, large amounts of rock fragments of all sizes are removed from fields for building stone bunds. Semi-structured interviews indicate that the farmers are often reluctant to take away the smaller rock fragments (i.e. < 5 cm across) from their fields, since they believe these benefit soil moisture conservation and protect topsoil from erosion. A field experiment was carried out on a Vertic Cambisol (average slope: 0.125 m m^–1), 2 km east of Hagere Selam (subhumid climate). Rock fragments were totally, partially or not removed from the 12 runoff plots (5 m × 6 m) before the beginning of the 1999 cropping season, during which a local mixture of wheat varieties ( Triticum spp.) was sown. After harvest, erosion rates were assessed by measuring deposited sediment volume in trenches at the lower side of each subplot, and grain and straw yields were assessed. We found a significant negative relationship between rock fragment cover and soil loss by water erosion. However, the resulting positive relationship between rock fragment cover and grain and straw yield was weak. This might be explained by the fact that the plot did not suffer from drought due to soil and climatic conditions. Detailed analysis showed that cover by medium and large rock fragments (> 2 cm diameter) showed an optimum percentage cover above which crop yields decrease. A recommendation resulting from this study is to rely on the farmers' experience: smaller rock fragments should never be removed from the surface of fields during soil and water conservation works; instead rock fragment rich soil can be used to top the stone bunds.     

养殖企业从业人员“动物福利”社会态度研究

1 525份有效问卷的调查表明,中国畜牧行业大多数从业人员对动物福利有基本的认知。如75.4%的从业人员听说过动物福利,76.5%的从业人员赞成就动物福利立法,强迫生产者为猪鸡提供良好的生长和生存条件等。从业人员普遍认同动物的生理福利和环境福利,但对行为福利等却认知不足。从业人员在赞同动物福利的同时,又不太愿意因推行动物福利而承担过大的成本,如59.8%的从业者只愿意承担因遵守动物福利而导致5%及以下的成本增加。