Economic impacts of closing national forests for commercial timber production in Florida and Liberty County

The paper assesses the impacts of a proposed policy, which suggests a ban on commercial timber harvest in the US national forests. Specifically, this study examines the effect of this policy on a small forest dependent county (Liberty County) in Florida and Florida State by applying a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. The results indicate that the proposed policy would decrease overall economic output by $5 million in Liberty County. The decrease in economic output at the state level in response to this policy is only $1 million. Results suggest that the welfare index in response to the proposed policy will drop by 2.9% in Liberty County while the change at the state level is negligible. At the county level, where limited alternate opportunities for labor and capital mobility, the negative effect of the proposed policy is shown to have a multiplying effect.     

The effect of site quality on economically optimal stand management

This paper proposes a discrete-time type timber harvesting model for simultaneously determining (i) the optimal quantity of seedlings to be planted, (ii) the optimal quantities of timber harvested by thinnings, and (iii) the optimal rotation age. With the help of Microsoft Excel Solver, a generalized reduced gradient algorithm, numerical examples are developed to evaluate the impact of the variations in the quality level of a forest site on the optimal harvest strategy. It is shown that the level of optimal rotation age and optimal quantity of seedlings to be planted can individually exhibit non-monotonicity to the increase in site quality.     

Analysis of individual private forestry in northern Spain according to economic factors related to management

In addition to being motivated by profit, the management decisions taken by non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners involve other considerations beyond timber, such as non-timber goods and services, as well as factors that affect the level of timber output from the land. Ensuring and improving forest profitability to make NIPF management viable is one of the main challenges faced by this type of landowner. This study empirically explores and assesses management by NIPF owners, through analysing attributes of forest economics (investment in holdings, expenditure on planting and silviculture, public subsidies, along with timber and non-timber incomes). With the aim of predicting outcomes, a multiple regression model was also constructed to investigate and quantify the relationship between socioeconomic and holding factors, and the planting activities carried out by NIPF owners. For this, 103 resident forest landowners in a forest region in northern Spain were interviewed in person, during March 2004, about their commitment to and involvement in land management during the period 1999–2003. The results mainly revealed that attractive forest returns and favourable market conditions for timber production are significant factors for investment in and development of forestry, with personal and family conditions also being important factors in explaining the type of land management carried out. In particular, the multiple linear regression model for forest planting activity correctly explained 84.5% of the variability observed in the study population, indicating that both the investments in and the incomes from forestry play an important role in the activity, as does the size of the holding. The findings may be of interest in promoting public measures related to timber markets and economic incentives for forest management, which will allow landowners to develop economically viable practices, as well as enabling fulfilment of social and environmental demands for sustainable forestry and rural development.     

Building knowledge systems for sustainable agriculture: supporting private advisors to adequately address sustainable farm management in regular service contacts

Advisory service provisioning on sustainability issues such as environmental care and food safety is considered suboptimal in privatized extension systems, which comprise a diverse set of private advisors. Apart from funding dedicated ‘public good’ projects, government also relies on these advisors to address sustainability issues in their regular service contacts with farmers. Policy measures have hence been proposed to stimulate farmer demand for such sustainable farm management (SFM) advice (pull measures) and to build capacity among advisors (push measures). This paper assesses two interventions, in nutrient management and mastitis prevention, that integrate pull measures (awareness building and economic incentives) and push measures (promoting facilitative advisory styles and optimizing knowledge system linkages) to stimulate advisory service provisioning on SFM. Results indicate that effectiveness appears to depend on an adequate mix of, and balance between, push and pull measures. Awareness building is a prerequisite to creating demand for such services and appears more important than economic incentives. However, awareness is not built by the interventions alone; indeed, a lack of awareness may not be the main problem: the broader institutional context may not be conducive to a proactive approach to addressing SFM if regulatory frameworks are unclear and inconsistent. The main conclusion is that, despite interventions having an impact, it is uncertain whether the demand for, and supply of, SFM advice will be sustained after interventions are withdrawn.     

黑龙江挠力河自然保护区生物多样性分析

挠力河自然保护区保存有较完整的原始湿地景观,几乎包含三江平原湿地生态系统的所有类型,在生物种类组成、区系特征、群落结构或生态系统水平上,均反映了三江平原原始湿地特征,是我国东北三江平原原始湿地生态系统的缩影,在全球同一生物带中,具有生物多样性和湿地生态系统保护的典型代表意义。     

Multiple objectives and perceptions of optimal management: The Danish industrial fishery in the North Sea

Fisheries management involves many stakeholders with differentopinions about how the fishery should be optimally managed.This paper presents a multi-objective bio-economic model, whichis able to incorporate the preferences of managers and otherstakeholders. The model is a weighted goal programme coveringthe Danish industrial fishery. Economic, political and biologicalconcerns are considered simultaneously and, by applying thepreference structures of different stakeholders, it shows howthe optimally managed fishery would look from the perspectiveof managers and various interest groups. Managers, in this casethe Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, areprovided with a management tool that shows the consequencesof their preferences towards the objectives, and can be comparedwith optimal solutions as perceived by other stakeholders.     

大兴安岭天然樟子松林种子植物区系研究

根据野外调查,统计出大兴安岭天然樟子松林含种子植物42科119属239种;对大兴安岭天然樟子松林的种子植物区系分析表明:该植物区系属于温带性质的,且较年轻,但有许多种的分布中心偏北,突出表现了寒温带森林的特点。     

达赉湖自然保护区湿地生物生境保护

达赉湖自然保护区保存了最完整的湿地生态系统和野生生物特有的遗传性,是我国重要的天然基因库之一;该区具有高等植物649种,隶属于71科,脊椎动物共有357种,隶属于64科,其中国家Ⅰ级保护鸟类7种,国家Ⅱ级保护鸟类42种,国家Ⅱ级保护哺乳类2种;自然条件和人为干扰导致的湿地污染以及对生物的驱逐效应的不断加剧,使该区生物面临着巨大的危险;从湿地生境安全保护的角度,提出了维持达赉湖自然保护区湿地生物多样性及其安全栖息生境的保护对策。     

内蒙古图牧吉夏季灰鹤觅食地生境初步研究

灰鹤(Grusgrus)为大型涉禽,由于栖息地丧失,数量减少,已被CITES列为附录Ⅱ和国家Ⅱ重点保护野生动物;2006-07-25～08-05,笔者在内蒙古图牧吉自然保护区对灰鹤夏季觅食地生境进行了调查;采用GPS定位技术和直接观察法对灰鹤栖息生境进行测定,共获取106个1m×1m的样方,测定其夏季觅食地植物的类型、盖度、高度、植被密度等;结果显示:夏季灰鹤觅食地主要植被有芦苇、蒲公英、狗尾草、虎尾草、旋覆花等,植被平均高度25cm,植被密度≤60棵/m2,盖度≤50%。     

洪河自然保护区丹顶鹤秋季觅食生境初步研究

2005-10-12～21对洪河自然保护区秋季丹顶鹤的觅食生境采用因子测定法,对栖息地进行了觅食生境的研究,包括植物高度、植物密度、植物盖度、水深、水流、人为干扰等。对丹顶鹤觅食生境进行样方测定。结果表明洪河自然保护区的植物盖度为49.50%,植物密度为491株/㎡。根据对野外调查数据用标准差分析以及平均值比较等数学方法处理,得出了以下结论:丹顶鹤喜好在植物高度60-120cm,植物盖度低于75%,植物密度在600棵/㎡的左右生境中觅食,距人类活动场所的距离大于500m的生境中觅食。本研究为保护丹顶鹤栖息地提供重要的依据。     

井冈山毛竹林扩边对生物多样性的影响初探

某种植物群落的扩边即以该种植物为主导的生物群落向周围扩展蔓延的过程。根据井冈山国家级自然保护区四次森林资源二类调查数据,得出毛竹林正以每年扩增1%～3%的速度向外扩边,分析了毛竹林扩边的原因和对生物多样性的影响,并提出了若干对策和措施。     

松嫩平原湖泊湿地植物群落多样性及其保护研究

松嫩平原湖泊群是我国温带亚湿润地区低平原湖泊群,湖泊面积2750km2,湖泊率6%,是我国湖泊密度最大的地区之一,湖泊类型多样,有高等植物148种,隶属于38科77属;有16种植物群落,分属于挺水植物群落、浮叶植物群落、沉水植物群落、漂浮植物群落四大类;研究了松嫩平原湖泊湿地植物群落多样性现状,提出了生物多样性的保护对策;提出了相关的嫩平原湖泊湿地植物群落多样性保护对策。     

Diversity of incentives for private forest landowners: An assessment of programs in Indiana, USA

 Many government and private programs provide incentives for non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners. Due to the complexity of this web of programs, the incentives of the programs are unclear. We focus on four specific programs that represent different rule structures—a federal cost-share program, a state tax incentive program, a nationwide private stewardship program, and a local private conservation organization. We perform institutional analysis of the formal and informal rules of the programs based on literature review, discussions with officers, and formal guidelines of the programs. We classify different types of rule structures, and explain them in relation to goals and organizational structures of the programs.     

中小型民营远洋渔业企业转型模式研究

中小型民营远洋渔业企业是远洋渔业发展中的重要力量,然而由于其资金薄弱、经营方式单一、应对风险能力不强,特别是受当前全球渔业资源衰退、国际性渔业组织的限制以及经营成本上升等因素的影响,中小型远洋渔业企业的发展面临困境。因此,中小型民营远洋渔业企业的转型成为迫切需要解决的问题。结合企业特点以及远洋渔业发展趋势,中小型民营远洋渔业可以通过内部自主式、外部带动式以及内外相结合等模式进行转型,实现企业的持续经营和发展。     

The economic valuation of natural hazards in mountain forests: An approach based on the replacement cost method

Protection from natural hazards is the most important function of mountain forests from an ecological, economic and social point of view. This assertion has been widely debated in recent years by a number of authors. In this paper we focus on the economic aspects of the protective function of forests, developing a quick and simple estimation method that can be applied on a local scale. We present the results of its application in an Italian Alpine forest. After having identified the main forest attributes directly or indirectly involved in protection, the economic value of the protective function for homogeneous zones was estimated by applying the replacement cost method. This value enables environmental concerns to be included in forest planning and political decision-making.     

Impacts of risk aversion on whole-farm management in Syria

This article reports on a study of the impact of risk on farm management practices in northern Syria, focusing particularly on how these are affected by risk aversion and farm size. The study is based on production data from an eight-year field trial and on prices from market surveys. A large linear programming model is built, representing the eight years as observations from a discrete probability distribution. Risk aversion is modelled by inclusion of a utility function with constant relative risk aversion, represented using the DEMP/UEP approach.     

我国海洋灾害应急管理体系概述

我国是一个海洋大国,也是受海洋灾害影响最大的国家之一。通过长期努力,我国已经初步建立起比较完整的海洋灾害应急管理系统,但在海洋灾害应急管理中尚存在着诸多问题。本文从海洋灾害应急管理法律及预案编制、监测及预警预报、应急管理组织、应急救援、应急管理调查及评估等五个方面对我国海洋灾害应急管理体系的现状做了简要概括,并指出了存在的主要问题及其对策建议。     

Estimating the Effect of Ethnicity on the Demand for Food

A straightforward regression equation approach is used to investigate why different consumers buy varying quantities of the same item in outlets of the same retail food chain. Eighteen items were studied. Demand for thirteen seems to be significantly related to ethnicity, demand for five is positively related to income. As the study employs census data, the technique can easily be used by marketing managers to obtain useful market information.     

The impact of integrated livestock disease management for food security in Togo

In sub-Saharan Africa, livestock is one of the key channels through which most households meet their food security needs. However, diseases such as the African Animal Trypanosomosis (AAT) constrain productivity. Using data from 445 randomly sampled small-scale cattle farmers, this paper investigates the role of integrated livestock disease control on household food security. Using a novel approach to link different food security measures to cattle productivity, the paper identifies the channels of impact at the household level. Methodologically, the paper estimated the propensity score matching algorithm to net out the effect of adoption. The results show that households who adopt RDU have record livestock productivity and higher consumption per capita expenditures. They tend to be more food secure, experience lower seasonal food supply fluctuations and experience a lower probability of falling below the food poverty line.