Assessing forest cover changes and fragmentation in the Himalayan temperate region: implications for forest conservation and management

This study comprehensively assessed long-term vegetation changes and forest fragmentation dynamics in the Himalayan temperate region of Pakistan from 1989 to 2019.Four satellite images,including Landsat-5 TM and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager(OLI),were chosen for subsequent assessments in October 1989,2001,2011 and 2019.The classified maps of 1989,2001,2011 and 2019 were created using the maximum likelihood classifier.Post-classification comparison showed an overall accuracy of 82.5%and a Kappa coefficient of 0.79 for the 2019 map.Results revealed a drastic decrease in closed-canopy and open-canopy forests by 117.4 and 271.6 km^(2),respectively,and an increase in agriculture/farm cultivation by 1512.8 km^(2).The two-way ANOVA test showed statistically significant differences in the area of various cover classes.Forest fragmentation was evaluated using the Landscape Fragmentation Tool(LFT v2.0)between 1989 and 2019.The large forest core(>2.00 km^(2))decreased from 149.4 to 296.7 km^(2),and a similar pattern was observed in medium forest core(1.00-2.00 km^(2))forests.On the contrary,the small core(<1.00 km^(2))forest increased from 124.8 to 145.3 km^(2) in 2019.The perforation area increased by 296.9 km^(2),and the edge effect decreased from 458.9 to 431.7 km^(2).The frequency of patches also increased by 119.1 km^(2).The closed and open canopy classes showed a decreasing trend with an annual rate of 0.58%and 1.35%,respectively.The broad implications of these findings can be seen in the studied region as well as other global ecological areas.They serve as an imperative baseline for afforestation and reforestation operations,highlighting the urgent need for efficient management,conservation,and restoration efforts.Based on these findings,sustainable land-use policies may be put into place that support local livelihoods,protect ecosystem services,and conserve biodiversity.

From People as Foundation(Minbon)to Concept of a Republic(Minkuk):Tracing Neo-Confucianism in Korean History

This article is the memoirs of the author’s long-time research on the Neo-Confucian history of the Chosun dynasty Korea.The author recalled his academic achievement of the several stages of the historical changes of Korean society with the Neo-Confucianism.The time range covered from the late 14th century to the nineteenth century.The research position was adhered to the view of the positive function of Confucianism which aimed to overcome the negative understanding highly influenced by the Japanese colonialism.He examined the socio-economic development accompanied with the Neo-Confucianism at the first stage.In the part of the sixteenth century the formation of Sarim group was interpreted as critical forces and the prevailed factionalism as the principle of politics rather than the chronic political strife.The author introduced his unique achievement that the ideology of the Neo-Confucianism had been strongly intensified with the response to the long term natural catastrophes of the Little Ice Age(c.1490-1760).The republican concept of 18th-century impartial rulers,the most important achievement of Korean Neo-Confucianism,was viewed as the result of effort to overcome the natural disasters.This topic was connected to the concept of republic which shows in a diagram of the Korean national flag.

The Culture of Resilience： Providing Solutions for Urban Space Vulnerability to Recurrent Unfavourable Climatic Phenomena

Urban spaces vulnerable to recurrent adverse climatic phenomena present specific, consecutive problems, requiring a reflective view of their socio-spatial reality. This article presents a case study about the towns of Amadora, Greater Lisbon, and Petr6polis, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, which, originally, bore a common Portuguese urbanistic praxis. Their urban contexts are characterized by the occurrence of extreme risks of flooding and landslides caused by intense rainfall. Both places feature aggravation of the risks due to accelerated urban growth and disorderly land occupation. From the phenomenological perspective, what happens to the human being leads to fruitful and/or dramatic experiences. The important point is that there occurs learning for favourable action, with solutions for each individual and for ＂the other＂. Thus, it is proposed to qualitatively analyse, with a posture that values the community experience and urban practices of the towns that contribute to the development of the culture of resilience which promotes practices of prevention, precaution and vigilance founded on the experience of communities that have been exposed. Besides this, it is intended to verify challenges in the implementation of public policies aimed at sustainable urban development, those that contemplate, among others： risk management action to deal with natural disasters.