Resources,environment and economic development in Nigeria

It is argued that Nigeria must focus on effective environmentally protective intensive farming, resource management methods, and strong family planning programs. Other contributory factors are recognized as the lack of democracy and the "ill-advised" internal policies of the government. The emphasis is on man-made decisions about migration, natality, and land use practices that have ecological consequences that significantly affect the economy. Land degradation in Nigeria is attributed to improper agricultural and husbandry practices. Land degradation has severe ecological, economic, and human costs. Awareness of environmental problems in Nigeria is growing. Natural disasters such as the droughts of 1984-85, continued soil depletion, accumulations of soil wastes, increased flooding in urban areas, and land erosion in Anambra state are evidence of the growing environmental problems. Agricultural development should involve changing rural land use practices, using technology that is "appropriate" to the climate, crops, and culture of the people, and introducing agroforestry. Population growth in Nigeria puts pressure on the fragile ecosystem. Actual carrying capacity is a rough calculation. Nigeria's population growth patterns follow a pattern that suggests population pressure on carrying capacity. The acceleration of population growth has strained the traditional system of agriculture. Land is overused, and cultivation continues on unsuitable land. Domestic policies during the oil boom encouraged rapid industrialization at the expense of the environment. Migration increased to urban centers, but cities did not provide suitable housing, waste disposal, safe water supplies, and other basic facilities.     

Interaction dynamics: The case of the water sector skills plan in South Africa

Despite extensive and continuous efforts to strengthen the capacity of people, organizations and institutions, there is evidence of an increasing gap between the existing and required capacities within the water sector. Consensus seems to be emerging regarding the need for national strategies to improve water sector capacity development. This paper analyses the dynamics of actors’ interactions and their characteristics (motivation, cognition and power) during the formulation and implementation of a specific capacity development strategy, namely the Water Sector Skills Plan (SSP) in South Africa. Based on the Contextual Interactive Theory and empirical findings, our analysis indicates slow progression and challenges with implementing the SSP, mainly due to the lack of consultation with key stakeholders during the formulation stage, a lack of data sharing among the target group (the Sector Education Training Authorities), and a lack of capacities within the key implementing organizations. These policy dynamics need to be taken into account when advocating for national capacity development strategies as a solution for challenges with water sector capacity development. The paper proposes the recommendations that are of relevance for the SSP as well as similar initiatives in other countries.     

An Effective,Feasible, And Cost-Efficient Water Strategy For 2013 To Meet The Projected Water Need Of China In Future

Water resources carrying capacity is a foundational topic in water resources security strategic study and the foundational measurement of water resources security. Water resources constrain the scale and quality of social and economic development in many water shortage cities and regions. Thus, the management via dynamic water resources prediction is a key for the overall city strategic planning. In this study, an integrated dynamic model of water consumption was developed using system dynamics (SD) and based on water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) theory.     

Carrying Capacity and the Death of a Culture: A Tale of Two Autopsies*

Issues associated with the phrase “sustainable development” are clarified by careful analysis of the meaning of carrying capacity. In their impressions of carrying capacity's effects, two explanations for the death of a memorable culture (Easter Island) differed fundamentally. One explanation was captive to a premature notion of a carrying capacity ceiling no population growth could ever penetrate. For the other, population was seen as having grown until it did exceed the maximum sustainable load, thus having inflicted environmental damage that reduced carrying capacity. The former view had to imagine a geological catastrophe to account for the culture's death. In the latter view, it was a case of excessive success proving fatal. A proponent of the latter view regarded Easter Island as a “preview in microcosm” of what may be happening globally. As such, the Easter Island experience would have important implications for industrial societies. Comparison of the two autopsies has implications for the social sciences.     

破解土地资源瓶颈 积极推进经济发展方式转变——“上海转变城市发展方式思路与重点”研讨会综述

在上海未来发展中,能源、土地、水资源等自然资源的供给约束已经成为影响上海经济社会发展的关键因素。特别是有限的土地供给成为上海＂十二五＂时期发展的重要瓶颈。清醒地认识土地资源约束的影响,通过优化土地空间配置和促进土地循环利用来破解土地资源困境,是促进经济社会发展转型和提升城市发展质量的前提,对上海＂十二五＂规划编制和上海2020年中长期发展战略至关重要。     

The problems of project implementation:: a post-mortem study of Thika Dam project, Kenya

This paper analyses the problems of project implementation programmes. Taking a case study of Thika Dam Component of the Third Nairobi Water Supply Project, the analysis reveals that delays in land acquisition among other factors had a serious impact on the overall performance of development project. The impact of delays in acquisition resulted into cost overruns due to price variations and time overruns. In this paper, the main focus is on the impact that the delays in land acquisition had on the successful completion of a development project. It further discusses the contribution of land availability to the realisation of project planning objectives. The macro-economic instability that Kenya faced during the project implementation is also highlighted. It is hoped that the findings of this study will provide useful insights into policy matters concerning land acquisition in project implementation.     

Large urban developments as the new driver for land development in Jeddah

Land development in most Saudi cities including Jeddah is generated by formal land subdivision and informal land development usually referred to as unplanned settlements. Both types of developments contributed to urban sprawl and other urban challenges. Jeddah Municipality attempted to improve land development by encouraging large urban developments. Recently, Jeddah Municipality approved four large urban developments which appear to manifest encouraging implications for urban growth and land development that this paper aims to explore. The paper examines the policy and market contexts that govern land development in general and large urban developments in particular, in order to pave the way to uncover their implications for city growth and land development. The data gathered for this purpose is drawn from published and unpublished reports from relevant authorities. It is found that large urban developments as new mechanisms of land development appear incapable of overcoming key challenges that face city growth and existing land development.     

Urban heritage endangerment at the interface of future cities and past heritage: A spatial vulnerability assessment

Uncontrolled urban growth has been an increasing concern in many regions throughout the world. Generated by a natural tendency of population growth in relation to unsustainable land use, city sprawl has led to complex spatial developments that are creating both benefits to, and challenges for decision makers. A major problem inherent in the uncontrolled growth of cities is the threat to the fragile cultural and ecological heritage, which may escalate to permanent and irreversible damage as a result of factors such as environmental depletion and landscape decay. Using modern geosciences and spatial information technologies as predictive tools to analyse and forecast urban growth, a regional spatial decision system may be useful in order to provide seemly and timely information on the risk of overburdening the carrying capacity regarding the historico-cultural heritage at local and regional levels.The present paper develops a predictive toolkit for urban heritage in relation to urban cultural endangerment. This common problem is shared through many regions of the world and is increasingly jeopardizing fragile archaeological landscape due to urban pressure. In this sense, and to forecast an example of this common pressure, the Algarve is exemplified as a laboratory for testing this novel methodology, relying on a combined analysis of urban growth potential and threats to the abundant presence of archaeological heritage in the area. Our appro ach supports the paradigm of city growth in the context of a common agenda emerging from the Valetta Treaty, in which preserving the archaeological heritage is recognized as a key element for sustainable development. The study provides novel empirical results from the above mentioned modelling approach, with important lessons for the developing world. This paper proposes as such, an integrative spatial analysis methodology on the issue of historico-cultural endangerment, which is a new approach to comparative spatial analysis for decision making on urban heritage endangerment at the regional scale. Later, the discussion extends to a more conceptual level of urban planning by considering the questions: Is urban sprawl influencing the way we perceive cities? If so, are there positive advantages in the paradigm of urban growth and urban sprawl which might help us to protect past heritage while ensuring sustainable and modern cities?     

Colonial legacies, land policies and the millennium development goals: Lessons from Cameroon and Sierra Leone

This paper undertakes a comparative analysis of the land policies of Cameroon and Sierra Leone and arrives at the following conclusions: 1] the land policies of the two countries embody the politico-administrative philosophies of their erstwhile colonial master nations; 2] despite their marked differences, the policies share some features in common; and 3] land policies are critical in efforts to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs). The analysis further shows that: 1] the land policy of Sierra appears better positioned than Cameroon’s to guarantee access to land for all as well as ensure environmental sustainability; and 2] Cameroon’s land policy appears to outperform Sierra Leone’s with respect to fulfilling the preconditions for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by ensuring land tenure security, maintaining uniform land laws, and facilitating land markets.     

Urban ecosystems and sustainable urban development—analysing and assessing interacting systems in the Stockholm region

In order to build competence for sustainability analysis and assessment of urban systems, it is seen as essential to build on models representing urban form, landuse and transportation, urban metabolism, as well as ecological processes. This type of analysis of interacting sub-systems requires an advanced model integration platform, yet open for learning and for further development. Moreover, since the aim is to increase urban experience with ecosystem management in the wide sense, the platform needs to be open and easily available, with high visualisation capacity. For this purpose, the LEAM model was applied to the Stockholm Region and two potential future scenarios were developed, resulting from alternative policies. The scenarios differed widely and the dense urban development of Scenario Compact could be visualised, destroying much of the Greenstructure of Stockholm, while Scenario Urban Nature steered the development more to outer suburbs and some sprawl. For demonstration of the need for further development of biodiversity assessment models, a network model tied to a prioritised ecological profile was applied and altered by the scenarios. It could be shown that the Greenstructure did not support this profile very well. Thus, there is a need for dynamic models for negotiations, finding alternative solutions and interacting with other models. The LEAM Stockholm case study is planned to be further developed, to interact with more advanced transport and land use models, as well as analysing energy systems and urban water issues. This will enable integrated sustainability analysis and assessment of complex urban systems, for integration in the planning process in Stockholm as well as for comparative sustainability studies between different cities, with the goal to build more sustainable urban systems and to increase urban experiences in ecosystem management.     

The Institutional Capacity for Forest Devolution: The Case of Forest Land Allocation in Vietnam

The article assesses the institutional capacity of a devolution policy, namely forest land allocation (FLA) in Vietnam. We applied the governance capacity framework, which is based on the policy arrangement approach, to examine the extent to which the policy enables actors to work together in order to solve collective problems. The findings reveal that, overall, the institutional capacity of FLA in Vietnam is rather low, although it varies from region to region. This result is determined by the restricted and ambiguous codification of property rights, the limited resource availability, the symbolic venues for deliberation and the lack of openness of actors towards others’ views in the policy process. External factors, particularly agricultural development, also had a major impact on institutional capacity.     

Indigenous land rights and dynamics of the land market in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This paper raises a number of important issues relating to legal and economic development concepts. It concentrates on the supply constraints affecting land development decisions of both private and public landowners in releasing land for development purposes. With reference to the indigenous land rights in Kuala Lumpur, this paper focuses on the restrictions in interest, which may limit the land from being transferred in the open market. With a limited market, the indigenous land achieves a lower value in the market place because transactions are limited within a particular group of people only. As a result, the market forces are restricted and the land development process for urban regeneration often comes to a halt. In examining the role of the indigenous land market in the redevelopment process of Kuala Lumpur, the study uses an institutional analysis to show the way in which these restrictions in interest affect landowners’ decisions and, thus, restrict the supply of land to real estate redevelopment. In conclusion, the paper shows various causes for land supply constraints and ways to improve these with the aim to undertake urban redevelopment initiatives considering pressure for more land in the market.     

Land development and transmigrant farmers in Southern Sumatra,Indonesia

"This paper discusses...the impact of land ownership on the transmigrant farmer's participation in new land development for irrigated paddy fields, taking Lampung Province (the pioneer settlement of the transmigration programme) as the specific area of reference. Special attention is focused on the case of the Way Rarem Irrigation Project in the northern part of Lampung, Southern Sumatra.... There is no evidence in this analysis to support the hypothesis that the income level of the farmer contributes to the progress of land development. The ethnicity or province of origin is also insignificant in its effect on land development. Similarly, transmigration status does not show any significant relation to land development." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

深入推进上海工业用地二次开发对策研究

上海土地资源增量空间有限,其中用于产业结构调整、产业发展的用地更为有限。工业用地是上海发展先进制造业、现代服务业和战略新兴产业的主要载体,进行土地二次开发,盘活存量土地,是破解土地资源瓶颈、促进转型发展的必然选择。在广泛收集以往上海工业用地二次开发成效、措施与案例的基础上,梳理出三种主要实施路径：优化定位、产能提升和增资技改,从政府、企业和园区管理者三种角度对二次开发难点进行剖析。最后从加强研究、创新政策和完善机制角度提出一系列对策建议,包括编制专项规划、更新规划理念、完善收储和供应制度、健全管制制度、建立管理机构、利用经济手段促进盘活等。     

Environmental consequences of exurban expansion in an agricultural area: the case of the Argentinian Pampas ecoregion

Exurban land use growth has been documented for at least thirty years in various regions around the world. Land use planners and land use/land cover change researchers have been concerned about the low-density residential developments scattered on a natural or agricultural matrix, due to their ecological and environmental impacts. In this paper, exurban sprawl in the Pampas ecoregion (Buenos Aires province, Argentina), is characterized and assessments are taken of the magnitude of two important consequences: agricultural land conversion, and excess CO₂ emission resulting from commute. The exurban developments concentrate between 50 and 70 km from Buenos Aires city, mainly at walking distances from compact towns, from 1 to 6 km of main roads, and no further than 25 km from them. Most of the exurban developments are located on the higher elevations in the study area (25 to 30 m above sea level). Even though exurban land use covers a very small proportion of land, the results show a tendency for conversion of land in the highest soil productivity capacity classes. While the best agricultural lands accounted for 29% of the land in the study area, it accounted for 54% of the exurban development. Preference of exurban land use conversion for good quality agricultural soils is observed even in those counties with a scarcity of good soils. However, there are great differences among counties in the relative proportion of land converted to exurban land use in each soil productivity capacity class. At the county level, from 0 to 100% of the highest production capacity lands have been converted to exurban uses, regardless of the proportion of land in each soil productivity capacity class for individual counties. Excess CO₂ equivalents emission was calculated for both the actual and the potencial number of households in the exurban developments. According to the automobile marque, range and fuel type, the actual emission ranges from 81,065 to 190,446 tons/year, and the potential from 296,643 to 696,908 tons/year. The excess emission per household is higher than that produced by domestic energy consumption within the Buenos Aires city during the same time period. The amount of CO₂ emitted in a year by personal vehicle transportation, in the study area, is equivalent to that captured by 16,000 ha of temperate forests or 27,600 ha of temperate grasslands during the same time period.

Designing agroforestry innovations to increase their adoptability: a case study from Paraguay

The development of adoptable natural resource systems, to address the needs of rural populations, is a priority for many governments in less developed countries. This paper looks at agroforestry as an innovation, and at the factors which influence its adoptability. This is accomplished through an analysis of a case study on the development and diffusion of an agroforestry innovation in the Guayaybi region of Eastern Paraguay. In this case study a forestry extension team, working directly with the farmers, was successful in designing an adoptable agroforestry innovation. The innovation was ecologically adapted to the region and appeared to have good potential for economic return. It was readily adopted by the farmers who perceived it to have a relative economic advantage over their traditional land use systems. The agroforestry system was compatible with their agricultural practices and helped to meet their needs for wood products and fodder. The new system was simple to understand and easy to try on a limited basis which minimized risk. Also the tree species used were fast-growing, which impressed the farmers and made the plantations highly visible to others. This ‘observability’ of functioning agroforestry systems plus the belief in the potential for economic gain were the key factors in the rapid adoption of agroforestry as a new land use system.     

上海商业地产市场容量及合理规模研究

当前,随着社会经济的持续发展,商业地产拥有无限商机。结合上海商业地产的发展及上海经济发展水平,通过定量和定性分析相结合的方法,研究上海商业地产发展现状,特别是上海商业地产整体规模现状;以上海经济人口承载力为基础,运用预测模型测算上海商业地产的市场容量,以推算最佳规模,结合商业地产市场规模发展现状分析判断其规模的合理性,为上海商业地产持续有序发展提供客观科学的决策依据。     

Home gardening practice in Pune (India), the role of communities,urban environment and the contribution to urban sustainability

Urban Ecosystems - Urban agriculture (UA) is regarded as an emerging tool and strategy for sustainable urban development as it addresses a wide array of environmental, economic and social...     

Rural - Urban relationships in Indonesia

Indonesia is also experiencing a rapid urbanization process. Social and economic factors are at work for the Javanese especially, and the Sundanese, who are migrating to the cities in large numbers. Apparently a major force underlying their movement is that the population density has exceeded the carrying capacity of the rural areas. This factor is also the cause of the large scale destruction of forests.It is warned that development projects in rural areas actually increase the population density of farmers per cultivated area and worsen the urbanization process and destruction of forecasts, if they do not provide jobs to the local populace.     

Changes in chemical and physical propertiesof stream water across an urban-rural gradient in western Georgia

The Middle Chattahoochee River Watershed in western Georgia is undergoing rapid urban development. Consequently, Georgia’s water quality is threatened by extensive development as well as other land uses such as grazing. Maintenance of stream water quality, as land development occurs, is critical for the protection of drinking water, biotic integrity, and stream morphology. A two-phase, watershed-scale study was established to develop relationships among land use and water quality within western Georgia. During phase 1 (year one), physio-chemical, biological and morphological measurements were taken within 16 sub-watersheds, ranging in size from 500–2500 ha. Nutrient and fecal coliform concentrations within watersheds with impervious surface > 5% often exceeded those in other watersheds during both baseflow and storm flow. Also, fecal coliform bacteria in more urbanized areas often exceeded the US EPA’s standard for recreational waters. During the second phase of the study, models will be tested and calibrated based on newly chosen watersheds.