Enhancing transboundary natural tourism resources governance:unveiling the spatial pattern and its influencing factors

Tourism resources that span provincial boundaries in China play a pivotal role in regional development,yet effective governance poses persistent challenges.This study addresses this issue by constructing a comprehensive database of transboundary natural tourism resources(TNTR)through amalgamation of diverse data sources.Utilizing the Getis-Ord Gi^(*),kernel density estimation,and geographical detectors,we scrutinize the spatial patterns of TNTR,focusing on both named and unnamed entities,while exploring the influencing factors.Our findings reveal 7883 identified TNTR in China,with mountain tourism resources emerging as the predominant type.Among provinces,Hunan boasts the highest count,while Shanghai exhibits the lowest.Southern China demonstrates a pronounced clustering trend in TNTR distribution,with the spatial arrangement of biological landscapes appearing more random compared to geological and water landscapes.Western China,characterized by intricate terrain,exhibits fewer TNTR,concurrently unveiling a significant presence of unnamed natural tourism resources.Crucially,administrative segmentation influences TNTR development,generating disparities in regional goals,developmental stages and intensities,and management approaches.In response to these variations,we advocate for strengthening the naming of the unnamed transboundary tourism resources,constructing a geographic database of TNTR for government and establishing a collaborative management mechanism based on TNTR database.Our research contributes to elucidating the intricate landscape of TNTR,offering insights for tailored governance strategies in the realm of cross-provincial tourism resource management.

Quantifying and Simplifying the 1997 UNWC’s Guidelines to Mitigate Hegemony in Transboundary Watercourse Negotiations

The 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UNWC) contains a negotiation framework for transboundary water rights. However, it is a subjective document open to a wide range of possibilities and interpretations. Water Rights Allocations (WRAs) as described by Dinar and Nigatu (2013) and Dinar and Tsur (2017) provide a limited number of quantifiable allocation possibilities based on the UNWC. It is suggested that this methodology streamlines the negotiation process and reduces the effects of hydro hegemony. These methodologies are explored and applied through a case study on the Orontes River Basin.

Evaluation of Transboundary Water Resource Development in Mekong River Basin: The Application of Analytic Hierarchy Process in the Context of Water Cooperation

Mekong River is one of the major international freshwater sources in the world. The Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) comprised of four downstream countries, including Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The utilization of the basin’s water brings not only substantial benefits to the region ranging from hydropower to navigation, but also negative impacts caused by the unbalanced water using. The essential role of Mekong River requires all member nations to cooperate effectively for the sustainable development of the region. One of the most popular methods in the field of water resource management is a trustable tool called the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). AHP is much appropriate for water resource policymaking. The literature, however, points out that there is no study to both structure the water using hierarchy and employ quantitative (objective) criteria to the AHP model in LMB case. With regard to water resource management, there are no previous studies applying AHP models to evaluating sustainable development of transboundary water resource in LMB case. This paper explores the evolution of water cooperation among Mekong countries and subsequently evaluates the water development scenarios in the LMB based on the water cooperation preferences of four LMB countries This study proposes a novel approach to analyzing, assessing water resource development scenarios characterized by sustainability indicators and to assisting in developing a suitable water policy in LMB according to the best cooperation scenario.

Influence of transboundary air pollution on air quality in southwestern China

Air pollution is a grand challenge of our time due to its multitude of adverse impacts on environment and society,with the scale of impacts more severe in developing countries,including China.Thus,China has initiated and implemented strict air pollution control measures over last several years to reduce impacts of air pollution.Monitoring data from Jan 2015 to Dec 2019 on six criteria air pollutants(SO_(2),NO_(2),CO,O_(3),PM_(2.5),and PM_(10))at eight sites in southwestern China were investigated to understand the situation and analyze the impacts of transboundary air pollutants in this region.In terms of seasonal variation,the maximum concentrations of air pollutants at these sites were observed in winter or spring season depending on individual site.For diurnal variation,surface ozone peaked in the afternoon while the other pollutants had a bimodal pattern with peaks in the morning and late afternoon.There was limited transport of domestic emissions of air pollutants in China to these sites.Local emissions enhanced the concentrations of air pollutants during some pollution events.Mostly,the transboundary transport of air pollution from South Asia and Southeast Asia was associated with high concentrations of most air pollutants observed in southwestern China.Since air pollutants can be transported to southwestern China over long distances from the source regions,it is necessary to conduct more research to properly attribute and quantify transboundary transport of air pollutants,which will provide more solid scientific guidance for air pollution management in southwestern China.

Research Agenda for Understanding Transboundary Ecosystem Changes and Eco-security in Southwestern China

The longitudinal range-gorge region (LRGR) in Southwestern China, characterized by longitudinal mountain ranges and deep valleys, includes the basins of four major international rivers: the Yuanjiang-Red, Lancang Mekong, Nujiang Salween and Irrawaddy. This region is classified as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, and provides an important ecological and economic corridor linking China and Southeast Asian countries. Over the past half century, it has served as a resource base for timber and minerals needed to fuel economic development, which resulted in rapid and drastic changes in ecosystem and species diversity. Proposed and ongoing development programs, such as China’s Great Western Development campaign, Greater Mekong Subregional Economic Cooperation (GMS) and China-ASEAN free trade zone development (“10+1”), threaten to bring unprecedented disturbance to the region’s ecosystems. Present and emerging threats to eco-security have caught tremendous attention worldwide. Therefore, studies on such problems are critical for enhancing ecosystem health and transboundary eco-security. This paper indicates several multi-disciplinary and cross-sector studies on transboundary resources in this region that will meet three major national needs: 1) identifying core scientific issues of ecological development and infrastructure construction in highplateau and mountainous areas for the Western Development campaign; 2) developing maintenance mechanisms and control methodologies for transboundary eco-security and resource base development; 3) providing scientific grounds for multi-lateral diplomacy, trade and economic cooperation, and conflict resolution as part of China’s opening-up to south Asia. The key subjects to be solved include dynamics and major drive forces of this area, ecological effects caused by major projects construction, and transboundary eco-security and its controlling. The research projects proposed in this article will develop theories on ecosystem change and transboundary eco-security, and provide a scientific basis for national and international development strategies.

The Interannual Variation of Transboundary Contributions from Chinese Emissions of PM_(2.5)to South Korea

In recent years,several studies pointed out that anthropogenic emission sources in China which significantly contribute to the PM_(2.5)mass burden was an important cause of particulate pollution in South Korea.However,most studies generally focused upon a single pollution event.It is rare to see comprehensive research that captures those features prone to interannual variations concerning the transboundary pollutant contribution in South Korea using a unified method.In this paper,we establish the emission inventories covering East Asia in 2010,2015,and 2017,and then conduct the source apportionment by applying a coupled regional air quality model called the Integrated Source Apportionment Module(ISAM).Comparison of simulated and observed PM_(2.5)mass concentration at 165 CNEMC(China National Environmental Monitoring Center)sites suggests that the PM_(2.5)concentrations are well represented by the modeling system.The model is used to quantitatively investigate the contribution from emission sources in China to PM_(2.5)concentrations over South Korea and those features found to be prone to interannual variations are then discussed.The results show that the average annual contribution of PM_(2.5)has dropped significantly from 28.0%in 2010 to 15.7%in 2017,which strongly suggests that China has achieved remarkable results in the treatment of atmospheric particulates.

Transboundary inflow of solid waste:Governance and improvement path in China

In order to promote the sound development of circular economy,strengthen the construction of ecological environment,and deal with the negative environmental externalities caused by the transboundary inflow of solid waste(TISW),China has been gradually tightened up the supervision of TISW.In recent years,although TISW in China has slowed down,the‘hidden’inflow is still relatively prominent by our comparison of the data between the major outflow countries/regions and that of China.Based on China’s institutional environment and evolution path,this study has identified the government as the main body of the TISW governance in China,and the classified supervision of TISW as its basis,with relevant government departments being empowered and coordinated by the law to constantly optimize the governance procedures by promoting the pre-entry checking,port supervising and the self-disciplined compliance of stakeholders.Based on the gravity model and the unbalanced short panel data of 41 kinds of TISW with 6-digit HS coding from 12 major outflow countries/regions in the period of 2012-2017,this empirical analysis by the two-way fixed effect static panel data model and the GMM dynamic panel data model respectively shows that the governance from the Chinese government has a significant impact on the reduction of the volume of TISW.Besides,the significant positive coefficient of GDP also shows that China’s economic growth results in a certain demand for recyclable solid waste,but the variables of TISW catalogue adjustment and international cooperation are not significant.Therefore,in order to further enhance the efficiency of TISW governance,it is suggested that:①The classified supervision of TISW should be up-graded and the identification standards and procedures of TISW should also be scientifically optimized by the cooperation of relevant functional departments.②The TISW governance system at China Customs should be continuously improved by focusing on the pre-and post-entry checking and credit management of stakeholders.③Multi-channel international cooperation and information exchange should be promoted to achieve timely risk prevention and more effective post-entry supervision.

The Baikal Basin as a Transboundary Ecological and Economic System

This article considers a necessity to assign the Baikal basin as an integrated transboundary ecological-economic system where an incongruity of global ecological and local economic interests is observed. The existing problems and limitations of further development of the Baikal ecological-economic system are singled out.

Impact of the Transboundary Transport of Air Pollutants on Air Quality in Spain

Although compliance with the European limit values for air pollutants has been achieved over large parts in Spain, some challenges remain for O3 on the maximum daily 8-hour mean and information limit values, for particulate matter on the PM10 annual and daily limit values and for NO2 on annual and hourly limit values. Transboundary transport of air pollutants has started to be recognized as a mechanism affecting air quality. Nevertheless, as a consequence of the complexity of atmospheric chemistry it is not easy to determine the importance of this effect. Photochemical models constitute an adequate tool to address this challenge, allowing the identification of pollutant pathways and the quantifi- cation of the influence of long-range transport of air pollutants. In this paper we evaluate the influence of out-of-Spain emissions on this non-compliance picture by using the CHIMERE photochemical model. For this purpose the model was run at a 0.2?-horizontal resolution for a European domain. Although at this resolution not all the local effects can be captured, transboundary transport of air pollutants can be examined. Several simulations were performed considering different emission scenarios. To see all out-of-Spain emissions influence, all the emissions were set to zero, excepting those in Spain. This includes examining European and ships effects on air quality in Spain. A second simulation was performed setting to zero just European-countries emissions, to see the effect of Europe. The third and fourth simulations were carried out by setting to zero France and Portugal emissions respectively. Ozone has been found to be the pollutant more affected by this transboundary transport, in particular in the summer period. The model indicates that the incoming air masses contributed in 2009 to the non-compliance with the European normative regulating the maximum daily 8-hour mean.

A Risk-Based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Approach to Evaluating Transboundary Water Development—The Case of Lower Mekong River Basin

The Lower Mekong River basin (LMB) covers the lower part of the Mekong river basin, including Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Due to numerous pressures from high population growth and intensive hydropower development, the LMB has been facing significant challenges concerning its biodiversity and ecosystem. In 2017, Mekong River Commission (MRC), an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1995 among LMB countries, established the Council Study, which analysed the impacts of water development scenarios concerning the environmental, socioeconomic aspects of the LMB. This paper explores the nature of risks to the LMB water development and subsequently evaluates LMB’s water development scenarios described in the Council Study by using a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method. MCDA method has been widely applied in the field of water resource management in order to assist the decision-making process by systematically evaluating a certain number of alternatives against well-selected criteria through a preference rating scheme. By implementing a risk-based comprehensive assessment of the LMB transboundary water, this study provides insights into the impacts of the increasing risks to the ecosystem and human beings on the water development of the basin over time, which assists to change the awareness and the perspective toward humans’ risks and transboundary river ecosystem of decision-makers. This paper provides valuable recommendations for MRC to improve their policy concerning benefit-sharing scheme, water planning and risk mitigation strategies.

A multi-scale modelling framework to guide management of plant invasions in a transboundary context

Background：Attention has recently been drawn to the issue of transboundary invasions,where species introduced and naturalized in one country cross international borders and become problematic in neighbouring countries.Robust modelling frameworks,able to identify the environmental drivers of invasion and forecast the current and future potential distribution of invasive species,are needed to study and manage invasions.Limitations due to the lack of species distribution and environmental data,or assumptions of modelling tools,often constrain the reliability of model predictions.Methods：We present a multiscale spatial modelling framework for transboundary invasions,incorporating robust modelling frameworks（Multimodel Inference and Ensemble Modelling） to overcome some of the limitations.The framework is illustrated using Hakea sericea Schrad.（Proteaceae）,a shrub or small tree native to Australia and invasive in several regions of the world,including the Iberian Peninsula.Two study scales were considered：regional scale（western Iberia,including mainland Portugal and Galicia） and local scale（northwest Portugal）.At the regional scale,the relative importance of environmental predictors sets was evaluated and ranked to determine the main general drivers for the species distribution,while the importance of each environmental predictor was assessed at the local scale.The potential distribution of H.sericea was spatially projected for both scale areas.Results：Model projections for western Iberia suggest that a large area is environmentally suitable in both Portugal and Spain.Climate and landscape composition sets were the most important determinants of this regional distribution of the species.Conversely,a geological predictor（schist lithology） was more important in explaining its local-scale distribution.Conclusions：After being introduced to Portugal,H.sericea has become a transboundary invader by expanding in parts of Galicia（Spain）.The fact that a larger area is predicted as environmentally suitable in Spain raises concerns regarding its potential continued expansion.This highlights the importance of transboundary cooperation in the early management of invasions.By reliably identifying drivers and providing spatial projections of invasion at multiple scales,this framework provides insights for the study and management of biological invasions,including the assessment of transboundary invasion risk.

Bacterial signal C10-HSL stimulates spore germination of Galactomyces geotrichum by transboundary interaction

The coevolution and coexistence of bacterial–fungal consortium have been widely reported in various natural ecosystems. The transboundary communication mediated by bacterial acyl–homoserine lactone signals probably is the driving force of fungal spore germination. This study aimed to report a functional bacterial signal molecule, C10-acyl homoserine lactone, which could be sensed by Galactomyces geotrichum. The spore germination rates of G. geotrichum increased by 22%. Meanwhile, carbohydrate production improved by 1.0-to 2.5-fold. G. geotrichum signaled to C10-HSL through receptor gene Rho1and made a response in cell wall assembly and carbohydrate biosynthesis by the upregulated expression(above 1-fold) of functional genes, such as Smi1, Utr2, and Chs2. It contributed to spore germination and morphology transformation together. This study provides a novel perspective for understating the transboundary cooperation between fungi and bacteria by cell-to-cell communication.

Severe Global Environmental Issues Caused by Canada’s Record-Breaking Wildfires in 2023

Due to the record-breaking wildfires that occurred in Canada in 2023,unprecedented quantities of air pollutants and greenhouse gases were released into the atmosphere.The wildfires had emitted more than 1.3 Pg CO_(2)and 0.14 Pg CO_(2)equivalent of other greenhouse gases(GHG)including CH4 and N_(2)O as of 31 August.The wildfire-related GHG emissions constituted more than doubled Canada’s planned cumulative anthropogenic emissions reductions in 10 years,which represents a significant challenge to climate mitigation efforts.The model simulations showed that the Canadian wildfires impacted not only the local air quality but also that of most areas in the northern hemisphere due to long-range transport,causing severe PM_(2.5)pollution in the northeastern United States and increasing daily mean PM_(2.5)concentration in northwestern China by up to 2μg m-3.The observed maximum daily mean PM_(2.5)concentration in New York City reached 148.3μg m-3,which was their worst air quality in more than 50 years,nearly 10 times that of the air quality guideline(i.e.,15μg m-3)issued by the World Health Organization(WHO).Aside from the direct emissions from forest fires,the peat fires beneath the surface might smolder for several months or even longer and release substantial amounts of CO_(2).The substantial amounts of greenhouse gases from forest and peat fires might contribute to the positive feedback to the climate,potentially accelerating global warming.To better understand the comprehensive environmental effects of wildfires and their interactions with the climate system,more detailed research based on advanced observations and Earth System Models is essential.

The key indicators of transboundary water appor- tionment based on international laws and cases

Transboundary water, more competitive utilization and uncertain availability under the globalization trend, the issue of its apportionment which directly impacts national benefits of each riparian state is becoming one of the important topics in the world. Water is scarce in China, the most important upstream state in Asia, and this task has to be thought over in the coming future. Based on ＂International Freshwater Treaties Database＂ （1820-2007） by Oregon State University, and publications and reports on transboundary water utilization and management since 1999, 28 indicators of water apportionment adopted in 49 international treaties and cases in 1864-2002 are divided into 6 types, the spatial and temporal characteristics of the adopted indicators are analyzed in order to find the key indicator（s） of transboundary water apportionment. The major results include： the major adopted indicators, have significant differences among 5 regions/continents, the indicators at rank first and second place in the developed region （North America and Europe） according to the adopted times are ＂keeping minimum water flow＂ and ＂mean annual runoff＂, but in the developing region （Asia, Africa and South America）, the ranking order of the above two indicators is reversed; the major adopted indicators in the watersheds with insufficient water are ＂mean annual runoff＂ and ＂keeping minimum water flow＂, the ones in the watersheds with sufficient water are ＂keeping minimum water flow＂ and ＂maximum water intake＂; the international treaties signed from the first phase to the fourth phase, the developing process shows a progress of ＂fewer-increasing a lot-decreasing rapidly-equation basically＂, the regional distribution of the treaties shifts mainly from the developed region to the developing one, especially to Asia and Africa; the major adopted indicators shifts from ＂keeping minimum water flow＂ and ＂mean annual runoff＂ in 1864-1945, to ＂keeping minimum water flow＂ and ＂maximum water intake＂ in 1946-1971, then to ＂hydraulic facility operation＂ and ＂mean annual runoff＂ in 1972-1991, and finally to ＂keeping minimum water flow＂ and ＂mean annual runoff＂ in 1992-2002, the process shows similar a loop. Finally, the key indicator on transboundary water apportionment can be determined as ＂keeping minimum water flow＂.

Incentive equilibrium strategies of transboundary industrial pollution control under emission permit trading

In this paper,we investigate the incentive equilibrium strategies of two neighboring regions facing transboundary industrial pollution under abatement investment and emission permits trading in a differential game setting.Our paper can be viewed as an extension of the work of Yeung[2007.Dynamically consistent cooperative solution in a differential game of transboundary industrial pollution.Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications,134,143-160]in the context of the transboundary industrial pollution.Compared with the work of Yeung[2007.Dynamically consistent cooperative solution in a differential game of transboundary industrial pollution.Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications,134,143-160],our research significant features(i)introduce the emission permits trading into the transboundary industrial pollution control;(ii)take into account the pollution abatement investment;(iii)examine the incentive equilibrium strategies of transboundary industrial pollution control;and(iv)design an allocation mechanism for regions’cooperative profits.Furthermore,we illustrate the results of the paper with a numerical example.The utility of this paper is how to make incentive equilibrium strategies in a situation where the neighboring regions facing transboundary industrial pollution under abatement investment and emission permits trading in a differential game setting.

Distributional Considerations for Transboundary Risk Governance of Environmental Threats

Most policy analyses of both short-term and long-term disasters focus on aggregate impacts of their costs and the benefits of policy remedies. Distributional considerations relating to the costs of these disasters and the benefits of their risk management, however, are very important in many cases. This article examines two broad categories of cases in terms of distributional considerations. The first category is where transboundary considerations strongly affect risk governance, as in the case of climate change. The second relates to ordinary, short-term disasters, which include fewer, but still important, transboundary issues. Climate change policy requires information regarding the distribution of impacts and policy responses across countries because it is a global problem.Conventional disasters involve transboundary considerations much less frequently, so the attention typically shifts to the distribution of benefits and costs within a jurisdiction. In both cases distributional information is needed to evaluate the equity of policies and to provide information for public participation in the policy process. This article offers modeling and policy approaches to address these issues.

Center for International Transboundary Water and Eco-Security Opens

An inauguration ceremony was held to mark the opening of the Center for International Transboundary Water and Eco-Security, Tsinghua University （CITWES） on December 10, 2006. Zhai Haohui, Vice Minister of MWR, Tsinghua Vice President Hu Heping and guests and representatives from some research institutions and universities in China participated in the event.

Mongolia Contributed More than 42%of the Dust Concentrations in Northern China in March and April 2023

Dust storms are one of the most frequent meteorological disasters in China,endangering agricultural production,transportation,air quality,and the safety of people’s lives and property.Against the backdrop of climate change,Mongolia’s contribution to China’s dust cannot be ignored in recent years.In this study,we used the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry(WRF-Chem),along with dynamic dust sources and the HYSPLIT model,to analyze the contributions of different dust sources to dust concentrations in northern China in March and April 2023.The results show that the frequency of dust storms in 2023 was the highest observed in the past decade.Mongolia and the Taklimakan Desert were identified as two main dust sources contributing to northern China.Specifically,Mongolia contributed more than 42%of dust,while the Taklimakan Desert accounted for 26%.A cold high-pressure center,a cold front,and a Mongolian cyclone resulted in the transport of dust aerosols from Mongolia and the Taklimakan Desert to northern China,where they affected most parts of the region.Moreover,two machine learning methods[the XGBoost algorithm and the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique(SMOTE)]were used to forecast the dust storms in March 2023,based on ground observations and WRF-Chem simulations over East Asia.XGBoost-SMOTE performed well in predicting hourly PM10 concentrations in China in March 2023,with a mean absolute error of 33.8μg m−3 and RMSE of 54.2μg m−3.

On the Need for Including Groundwater Allocation in Future Negotiations on the Orontes

A series of treaties between Lebanon and Syria on the use of the Orontes (‘Assi) River’s flows emerged in the mid-1990s, being reformed twice to result in a finalized 2002 agreement allocating Lebanon 96 million cubic meters (MCM) out of 403 MCM as measured at the Hermel Bridge gauge. Focusing on the area south of Ar-Rastan, Syria, this article seeks to explore these treaties’ treatment of groundwater, ultimately demonstrating that it is not sufficiently accounted for. This allows for intensive groundwater abstractions—which may be beyond the aquifer’s recharge rate—to be undertaken in Syria. The paper concludes with recommendations to better manage the basin’s groundwater resources, which include improving groundwater data, using these data to calibrate improved hydrologic models, and a renegotiation of the treaty to better account for groundwater use.

Plant diversity of the Kangchenjunga Landscape, Eastern Himalayas

The Kangchenjunga Landscape (KL) in the Eastern Himalayas is a transboundary complex shared by Bhutan, India, and Nepal. It forms a part of the ‘Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot’ and is one of the biologically richest landscapes in the Eastern Himalayas. In this paper, we use secondary information to review and consolidate the knowledge on the flora of the KL. We reviewed 215 journal articles, analysed the history of publications on the flora of the KL, their publication pattern in terms of temporal and spatial distribution and key research areas. Our review shows that the landscape has a long history of botanical research that dates back to the 1840s and progressed remarkably after the 1980s. Most of the studies have been carried out in India, followed by Nepal and Bhutan. The majority of these have been vegetation surveys, followed by research on ethnobotanical aspects and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs). This paper describes the forest types and characteristic species of the KL and details the species richness, diversity and dominant families of seed plants. A total of 5198 species of seed plants belonging to 1548 genera and 216 families have been recorded from the landscape, including 3860 dicots, 1315 monocots and 23 gymnosperms. Among families, Orchidaceae is the most diversely represented family in terms of species richness. This paper also draws attention to the threatened and endemic flora of the KL, including 44 species that are threatened at national and global level and 182 species that are endemic. Finally, the paper reviews the major challenges facing the KL, the conservation efforts and practices that are currently in place and recommends systematic and comprehensive floral surveys, particularly long-term data collection and monitoring and transboundary collaboration, to address the existing knowledge gaps on floral diversity of the KL.