Land use change in rural China since the 1980s, induced by institution reforms, urbanization, industrialization and population increase, has received more attention. However, case studies on how institution reforms af...Land use change in rural China since the 1980s, induced by institution reforms, urbanization, industrialization and population increase, has received more attention. However, case studies on how institution reforms affect farmers＇ livelihood strategies and drive land use change are scarce. By means of cropland plots investigations and interviews with farmers, this study examines livelihood strategy change and land use change in Danzam Village of Jinchuan County in the upper Dadu River watershed, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China. The results show that, during the collective system period, as surplus labor forces could not be transferred to the secondary and tertiary industries, they had to choose agricultural involution as their livelihood strategy, then the farmers had to produce more grains by land reclamation, increasing multiple cropping index, improving input of labor, fertilizer, pesticide and adopting advanced agricultural techniques. During the household responsibility system period, as labors being transferred to the secondary and tertiary industries, farmers chose livelihood diversification strategy. Therefore, labor input to grain planting was greatly reduced, which drove the transformation of grain to horticulture, vegetable or wasteland and decrease of multiple cropping index. This study provides a new insight into understanding linkages among institution reforms, livelihood strategy of smallholders and land use change in rural China.展开更多
Farmer-managed irrigation systems(FMIS) in the high altitude valleys of the Karakorum,Pakistan, continue to be managed effectively despite increased pressure on the social arrangements that sustain them. Colonial era ...Farmer-managed irrigation systems(FMIS) in the high altitude valleys of the Karakorum,Pakistan, continue to be managed effectively despite increased pressure on the social arrangements that sustain them. Colonial era records shows that over a century ago government agencies undertook irrigation support projects. In the past three decades,government agencies and the non-government agency Aga Khan Rural Support Programme(AKRSP), which channels foreign funds into the region, have actively engaged in the provision of irrigation support. This article seeks to explore whether such projects support or undermine farmer-managed irrigation systems and the complex institutional arrangements that underpin them. Field research using ethnographic and participatory methods was conducted in spring 2013 in the upper Shigar valley, Skardu district, GilgitBaltistan. The findings show that irrigation development is a political activity that involves village-based actors, religious leaders, local politicians,and government and non-government agencies.Government agencies operate in a largely top-down,engineering mode, their larger projects limited to villages suffering water scarcity. The local government provides small funds for renovation work of FMIS,though allocation of funds is highly politicized. Nongovernment agencies, for a variety of reasons including donor-funding cycles, apply a one-size-fitsall ‘participatory' model in an attempt to socially engineer rules and institutions. In communities divided by factionalism the use of such external models that stress formation of committees are unlikely to yield positive results, and could instead contribute to undermining the very systems they seek to support. This research argues that irrigation interventions should take care to build upon the rich and complex social arrangements that have sustained FMIS through the centuries.展开更多
Management in water resources development of Jinghe watershed of western t：ural China is examined with Participatory Rural Appraisal method -- a rare applied method in China and questionnaire survey of stakeholders C...Management in water resources development of Jinghe watershed of western t：ural China is examined with Participatory Rural Appraisal method -- a rare applied method in China and questionnaire survey of stakeholders Combination of these two survey methods derives good restlts as it coutd avoid personal bias in identifying and ranking the issues on a concrete bas＇is in following up households＇ survey. Statistic Package for Social Sciences gSPSS） was used for data analysis. Results indicate that since the early 1980s, issues of water scarcity, river pollution, soil erosion, insufficient participation of stakeholders in water resources use and management, as well as centralized water planning and management system have created difficulties for Sustainable development of the watershed. The stakeholders and local governments are fully aware of the challenges and are committed to achieving a solution through integrated water resource management （IWRD）. The concept anti the application of IWRD for rural China are reviewed and analyzed, and a fram cessful implementatio involvement and capacity building in water sector, which heed to fully, integrate various management functions within the watershed.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40601006, 40471009)National Basic Rsearch Program of China (No. 2005CB422006)
文摘Land use change in rural China since the 1980s, induced by institution reforms, urbanization, industrialization and population increase, has received more attention. However, case studies on how institution reforms affect farmers＇ livelihood strategies and drive land use change are scarce. By means of cropland plots investigations and interviews with farmers, this study examines livelihood strategy change and land use change in Danzam Village of Jinchuan County in the upper Dadu River watershed, eastern Tibetan Plateau, China. The results show that, during the collective system period, as surplus labor forces could not be transferred to the secondary and tertiary industries, they had to choose agricultural involution as their livelihood strategy, then the farmers had to produce more grains by land reclamation, increasing multiple cropping index, improving input of labor, fertilizer, pesticide and adopting advanced agricultural techniques. During the household responsibility system period, as labors being transferred to the secondary and tertiary industries, farmers chose livelihood diversification strategy. Therefore, labor input to grain planting was greatly reduced, which drove the transformation of grain to horticulture, vegetable or wasteland and decrease of multiple cropping index. This study provides a new insight into understanding linkages among institution reforms, livelihood strategy of smallholders and land use change in rural China.
基金funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany
文摘Farmer-managed irrigation systems(FMIS) in the high altitude valleys of the Karakorum,Pakistan, continue to be managed effectively despite increased pressure on the social arrangements that sustain them. Colonial era records shows that over a century ago government agencies undertook irrigation support projects. In the past three decades,government agencies and the non-government agency Aga Khan Rural Support Programme(AKRSP), which channels foreign funds into the region, have actively engaged in the provision of irrigation support. This article seeks to explore whether such projects support or undermine farmer-managed irrigation systems and the complex institutional arrangements that underpin them. Field research using ethnographic and participatory methods was conducted in spring 2013 in the upper Shigar valley, Skardu district, GilgitBaltistan. The findings show that irrigation development is a political activity that involves village-based actors, religious leaders, local politicians,and government and non-government agencies.Government agencies operate in a largely top-down,engineering mode, their larger projects limited to villages suffering water scarcity. The local government provides small funds for renovation work of FMIS,though allocation of funds is highly politicized. Nongovernment agencies, for a variety of reasons including donor-funding cycles, apply a one-size-fitsall ‘participatory' model in an attempt to socially engineer rules and institutions. In communities divided by factionalism the use of such external models that stress formation of committees are unlikely to yield positive results, and could instead contribute to undermining the very systems they seek to support. This research argues that irrigation interventions should take care to build upon the rich and complex social arrangements that have sustained FMIS through the centuries.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant No.30670374)National Key Project for basic research in agricultural environment (grant No.2002CB111506)Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (grantNo. 06W60000SZ, 066U0401SZ).
文摘Management in water resources development of Jinghe watershed of western t：ural China is examined with Participatory Rural Appraisal method -- a rare applied method in China and questionnaire survey of stakeholders Combination of these two survey methods derives good restlts as it coutd avoid personal bias in identifying and ranking the issues on a concrete bas＇is in following up households＇ survey. Statistic Package for Social Sciences gSPSS） was used for data analysis. Results indicate that since the early 1980s, issues of water scarcity, river pollution, soil erosion, insufficient participation of stakeholders in water resources use and management, as well as centralized water planning and management system have created difficulties for Sustainable development of the watershed. The stakeholders and local governments are fully aware of the challenges and are committed to achieving a solution through integrated water resource management （IWRD）. The concept anti the application of IWRD for rural China are reviewed and analyzed, and a fram cessful implementatio involvement and capacity building in water sector, which heed to fully, integrate various management functions within the watershed.
