Unethical use of wildlife in tourism: what's the problem,who is responsible,and what can be done?

Wildlife tourism is a huge global market, the revenue from which can promote local livelihoods and tourist education, enact conservation, and improve animal welfare. Such benefits arise if wildlife tourist attractions (WTAs) prioritise ethical deliverables above financial profit, but recent work has shown that the majority of WTAs have substantial negative animal welfare and conservation impacts. In the absence of global regulatory authorities, tourist revenue has become the ultimate arbiter of what constitutes acceptable use of animals in WTAs. Tourists, however, are not adequate assessors of WTAs’ animal welfare and conservation impacts: they lack the specialist knowledge required and are subject to a number of psychological biases that obscure the ethical dimensions of decisions to attend particular WTAs. This inadequacy is evidenced, and compounded, by overwhelmingly positive reviews on TripAdvisor (the industry-leading review site), even for WTAs with objectively poor ethical standards. Our suggested solution is to empower tourists by presenting unequivocal assessments of WTAs' animal welfare and conservation impacts, hosted in the fora that tourists already use to make their travel decisions. We would thereby promote a subjective norm that tourists should consider and limit their individual negative impacts when choosing which WTAs to visit.     

Energy benchmarking in support of low carbon hotels: Developments,challenges, and approaches in China

Achieving effective and objective energy benchmarking for hotels is integral in fostering the sustainable development of the lodging sector. In this work, we reveal the major and minor streams of hotel energy benchmarking and ascertain that the most popular approach in benchmarking is normalized energy use intensity (EUI) based on floor level. Previous efforts to establish EUI indicators using subsystem average, data envelopment analysis (DEA), and regression technique are also studied. We propose that hotel energy benchmarking based on floor area is useful from the top-down management perspective. However, on a practical perspective, energy benchmarking based on facilities should be the first priority for hotel management or owners. Compared with the general energy benchmarking in the building sector, we find that the hotel sector lags behind in the adoption of computer modeling for benchmarking.     

Reducing visitor car use in a protected area: a market segmentation approach to achieving behaviour change

This research uses a market segmentation approach to reducing transport-related environmental burdens from visitors, while maintaining economic benefit. The approach was tested in the Lake District National Park (UK). It aimed first to explore visitor transport behaviour using a social psychological framework, to understand what might best predict desired behaviour change (i.e. reduced visitor car use). Second, it developed and tested different types of marketing messages to reduce car use, based on persuasive communication theory, establishing marketing propositions appropriate to different visitor types and market segments. Third, it identified market segments with both a high propensity towards positive behavioural change and the highest economic contribution to the destination. The work is based on Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour and on persuasive communication. Three hundred and ninety completed questionnaires were obtained. The paper emphasises the importance of context in successful communication to influence behaviour and shows that a market segmentation approach to behavioural change can be successful. Complex patterns of visitor mobility and modal choice emerge. For example “New Explorers” and “Familiar Families” are most likely to reduce their car use (45% and 48% respectively) and less likely to perceive this as difficult.     

集体林区生态公益林建设对劳动力转移的影响——以浙江省为例

生态公益林作为我国政府强化生态文明建设的重要举措,在保障生态安全方面发挥着重要作用.本文使用浙江省的农户调查数据,使用Heckit模型实证检验了农户生态公益林面积和生态公益林损失性补偿对农户家庭劳动力转移的影响.结果表明:尽管生态公益林面积的增加促进了农户劳动力转移,但是生态公益林补贴与劳动力转移呈现出倒U形关系,即随...     

矿产资源有偿使用及其实现方式研究--不能用资源税完全替代权利金

矿产资源所固有的天然价值是其有偿使用的理论依据,矿产资源作为矿业最基本的生产要素,是矿产品价值的重要组成。矿产资源的有偿使用,反映的是财产权的交换,通过权利金制度实现这种交换,既能公平公正地维护供求双方的利益,又能形成节约集约使用矿产资源的有效机制。权利金突出了矿产资源有偿使用的财产属性,对矿产资源绝对收益的收取突出了实际消耗的矿产资源量,对矿产资源级差收益的收取突出了与超利润的挂钩。不能用资源税完全取代权利金。     

Intensity and spatial pattern of urban land changes in the megacities of Southeast Asia

Knowledge about intensity and spatial pattern of urban land changes (ULCs), i.e., changes from non-built-up to built-up lands, is important to a wide range of issues, from understanding of human–environment interactions and provision of urban ecosystem services, to land use policy development for landscape and urban planning toward sustainable urbanization. In this context, this paper aims to provide better understanding of the geospatial dimensions of the urbanization and landscape changes in two megacities of Southeast Asia. Specifically, we examine and compare the intensities and spatial patterns of ULCs in Metro Manila, Philippines and Bangkok Metropolitan Region (Bangkok MR), Thailand, during the 1990–2000 and 2000–2010 periods, using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and techniques. In the measurement of ULC intensity, an intensity scale is proposed to determine whether the rate of ULC during a particular time interval, i.e., 1990–2000 or 2000–2010, relative to the uniform intensity that is based on the whole time extent, i.e., 1990–2010, is very slow, slow, medium slow/fast, fast and very fast. To characterize the spatial patterns of ULCs, the concepts of the diffusion-coalescence urban growth theory were applied. The results revealed that for Metro Manila, its ULC was more intense during the 1990s (fast) than in the 2000s (slow). For Bangkok MR, it was more intense during the 2000s (medium fast) than during the 1990s (medium slow). The results also revealed that Metro Manila has been in the process of coalescence, while Bangkok MR is still largely in the process of diffusion and expansion. In this paper, we also discuss some of the possible factors influencing ULC intensity trends and spatial patterns, the advantages of the methods used for ULC analysis and some land use policy-related development plans for the two megacities.     

基于权的最小平方法的土地利用现状评价——以阜新市为例

研究目的：采用权的最小平方法对阜新市的土地利用现状进行评价。研究方法：文献资料法和实证分析法。研究结果：阜新市土地利用总体水平居辽宁省中等水平,评价结果与其他方法评价结果基本相符。研究结论：权的最小平方法在土地利用现状评价中应用是切实可行的。     

土地利用总体规划修编指标利益冲突问题研究

研究目的：分析规划修编中,中央和地方、地方和地方之间在确定规划指标时利益冲突的成因和表现形式。研究方法：文献资料法,博弈分析法。研究结果：中央政府和地方政府土地利用追求目标上的差异是导致规划指标分解过程中产生冲突的主要原因。政府之间信息不对称是造成指标分解冲突的重要原因。研究结论：整合中央和地方的利益、实行参与式规划,做好规划修编过程中的上下结合,减少冲突,使得各项指标的确定能够有利于协调区域发展,并得到各地区的认同。     

国内城乡结合部土地利用研究综述

研究目的：综述国内有关城乡结合部土地利用研究文献。研究方法：文献法。研究结果：国内学者在有关城乡结合部土地利用的特点、土地利用存在的问题及城乡结合部的土地产权、土地市场、土地规划、土地利用的模式和预警等方面研究已取得不少成果,但还存在研究深度不够、部分问题认识不清的缺陷。研究结论：城乡结合部为土地问题研究提供了极好的素材,对城乡结合部土地问题的调查和研究则是认识和解决该区域土地利用问题的不二路径。     

基于CA模型的城市边缘区土地利用演变模拟——以广州市花都区为例

研究目的：探索土地利用的多地类CA模拟方法,并掌握城市边缘区土地利用变化规律。研究方法：选取典型城市边缘区 —— 广州市花都区为研究区域,利用C#语言结合ArcEngine GIS平台编程进行花都区土地利用演变CA模拟研究。以不同时间研究区土地利用图为基础数据,比较研究期内各地类的变化数量与方向以确定地类转换之间的优先级,并确定各地类的转换概率阈值。然后利用蒙特卡罗方法结合控制因素进行判断,最终确定元胞的转化状态。研究结果：模拟结果表明,2000 — 2005年间,新增建设用地分布在除北部山区以外的所有区域,但主要集中在城市中心区域,农用地主要分布在西南部和东北部,而且破碎化程度越来越高。在流向上,仍然有不少数量的农用地（主要为耕地和林地）转向建设用地。与实际情况相比,模拟的数量精度为84.8%,位置精度为71.3%。研究结论：研究结果表明此方法便于理解与操作,同时模拟精度较高。