Defining Cities by Water: Addressing Capital Misallocation in a Race to Conserve Resources

As part of its efforts to promote a sustainable and high-quality development,China has pledged to reduce water consumption and create a water-efficient society.On the basis of identifying the institutional root causes of excessive capital allocation and excessive water consumption in China’s water-intensive industrial sectors,this study elaborates how the national water-efficient cities assessment contributes to optimized capital allocation.Our research shows that national water-efficient cities assessment has motivated local governments to compete for water efficiency.To conserve water,local governments regulated the entry and exit of water-intensive enterprises,discouraged excessive investments in water-intensive sectors,and phased out obsolete water-intensive capacities within their jurisdictions.This approach has resulted in mutually beneficial outcomes,including improved allocation of capital,enhanced water efficiency,and reduced emissions.This paper offers policy recommendations for establishing a water-efficient society throughout the 14^(th) Five-Year Plan(2021-2025)period by presenting empirical evidence on the policy effects of resource efficiency evaluation.

Growth and yield of Solanum khasianum in Pinus roxburghii forest based silvi-medicinal system in mid hills of Indian Himalaya

Background：In mid hills of Western Himalayas,Himachal Pradesh India,growth,yield and economics of Solanum khasianum as a potential medicinal herb under Pinus roxburghii（Chir pine） plantation has been studied for two consecutive years to assess the performance of Solanum khasianum in undercanopy of Pinus roxburghii for developing Solanum khasianum and Pinus roxburghii based innovative silvi-medicinal system.Methods：Growth parameters such as plant height,number of branches per plant and leaf area index followed by yield were estimated after Solanum khasianum was grown on three topographical aspects as;Northern,North- western and Western at a spacing of 45 cm x 45 cm,followed by three tillage depths as;minimum（0 cm）,medium（up to 10 cm）and deep tillage（up to 15 cm）,in open and below canopy conditions treatment.The study was conducted to explore the possibility of using Solanum khasianum based silvi-medicinal system to utilize the below canopy of Chir pine forest for enhancing the productivity of forests besides the conservation of the medicinal herb.Results：The growth parameters such as plant height,number of branches per plant and leaf area index were nonsignificantly affected by topographical aspects and tillage practices,both below canopy and open conditions except fresh weight and dry weight of berries during harvesting stage.The maximum yield（0.61 t·ha^（-1）） was observed on Western aspect in open conditions as compared to below canopy of Chir pine.The highest gross returns were observed for the crop cultivated on Western aspect under deep tillage in open conditions than other aspect and tillage combinations.However the positive net returns from the crops raised in below canopy of Chir pine indicates its possible economic viability under agroforestry system as the gross returns was higher than the cost of cultivation.Conclusion：Solanum khasianum when grown in below canopy of Pinus roxburghii,its growth and yield indicated positive net returns.Solanum khasianum and Pinus roxburghii based silvi-medicinal system has the potential to enhance the overall productivity of Chir pine forest.This silvi-medicinal system gives scope for utilizing floor Chir pine forests for growth and production of Solanum khasianum beside conservation of the medicinal herb.

A new approach to assessing the science and technology competitiveness of China's provincial academies of sciences

Purpose： This study aims to establish a new framework for evaluating science and technology （S＆T） competitiveness that is appropriate to meet the needs of provincial academies of sciences （PASs） in China.Design/methodology/approaches： An evaluation index, including such assessing indicators as research strength, research impact, research development and trends, and regional contributions, is developed for China＇s PASs. Taking the Jiangxi Academy of Sciences （JXAS） as an example, we first explain how to apply this framework to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of PASs in China. Then, we compare the results of all 17 PASs in order to get a comprehensive understanding of their competitiveness.Findings： Our results show the development path, current status, innovation advantages, and weaknesses of JXAS very clearly. Based on our comparative analysis, we ranked the 17 PASs from the perspective of different dimensions, by which their competitiveness strengths and weaknesses can be highlighted for improvement.Research limitations： In this analysis, we did not take S＆T policies, S＆T systems, or historical factors into consideration. Thus, we may have ignored the influence of the soft individual differences of different PASs in China..Practical implications： The evaluation index developed in this paper provides a useful insight into an analytical method that can be used by PASs or other provincial research institutions （PRIs） to assess their competitiveness.Originality/value： Compared with existing evaluation frameworks, our method has two main characteristics： First, we added three new dimensions, including the PASs＇ applicable research outputs, regional contributions, and comparative advantages; second, we conducted a comparative analysis of local research institutes in their different advantaged industrial areas, which makes our analytical method more comprehensive for local research institutions.