Response of phytoplankton communities to environmental changes in the Bohai Sea in late summer (2011−2020)

Understanding the dynamics of phytoplankton communities in coastal zones is crucial for the management and conservation of coastal ecosystems.Previous research indicated that the phytoplankton community structure and dominant taxa in the Bohai Sea(BHS)have exhibited significant shifts from the 1990s to the early 2010s in response to environmental changes,especially the change in nutrient structure.This study comprehensively investigated the variations in net-collected phytoplankton(>76μm)community structure,diversity,and environmental factors in the BHS during the late summers of 2011-2020,aiming to understand the recent trend in phytoplankton community structure and to explore the interactions between the communities and the environment.During the study period,the nutrient status in the BHS was characterized by a decrease in dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN)concentration,an increase in dissolved inorganic phosphorus(DIP)concentration,and a return of the nitrogen-to-phosphorus(N/P)molar ratio(hereinafter referred to as N/P ratio)to the Redfield ratio since 2016.The eutrophication index(EI)in the BHS remained stable and was generally at a low level(<1).The Dia/Dino index fluctuated but did not show an obvious trend.Overall,the eutrophication,the imbalance in nutrient ratio,and the shift in phytoplankton community structure did not continue during the study period.The increased abundance of phytoplankton was strongly associated with elevated concentrations of DIN,as well as higher N/P and nitrogen-to-silicon(N/Si)ratios,whereas the greater diversity was strongly linked to higher concentrations of DIP.Diatoms and dinoflagellates showed significant differences in their interactions with the environment,and their relative dominance was related to water column depth and stratification intensity;their impacts on the phytoplankton community diversity were also significantly different.The variations of certain dominant species,i.e.,Skeletonema costatum,Paralia sulcata,and Tripos longipes,exhibited strong links to the changes in nutrient structure in the BHS.The findings of this study contribute to understanding the regional environmental changes and provide insights into the adaptive strategies of coastal ecosystems in response to environmental shifts and fluctuations.

The Impacts of Flood and Local Communities’ Coping Strategies along the River Gambia

Flood disasters as Climate change hazards are common in developing countries, particularly in communities along the river Gambia. Local communities, for instance, had their local coping strategies that enabled them to stay in their communities even amid these ordeals, and climate change disaster threats. This work strives to understand flood impacts and the local peoples’ adaptation or coping strategies along the River Gambia basin. A community-based cross-sectional research study of 422 research participants of which 294 are males (69.7%) and females 128 (30.3%), and a focus group discussion of 10 groups which comprised 5 female groups and 5 male groups respectively found that 98.6% of the households experienced floods in their community, and 70.6% experienced flood in their houses, 2.1% have impending flood information and 88.4% do not know evacuation centres. The majority of the households had some local coping strategies, but they acknowledged their insufficient effectiveness. The result also shows that the impact of floods on farmlands, roads, buildings, and livestock was greatly felt. Coping strategies such as sandbags, raised elevations, contour bonds, dikes, and buildings on highlands were all found to be common mechanisms the local people used. The study opines that floods affect communities, but the effects vary depending on individual assets.

Research on the Harmonious Development of New Rural Communities under the Perspective of Balancing Urban and Rural Areas

On the basis of offering a definition of New Rural Communities (NRCs), the paper analyzes the values of New Rural Communities and argues that the construction of NRCs is able to contribute to the enhancement of the comprehensive agricultural production capability as well as the development of social productivity. Meanwhile the incomes of the rural residents can be boosted, which denotes the realization of a harmonious society where the achievements of China's reform and development are shared by each citizen. Moreover, the construction of NRCs facilitates the economization of land use and thus improves the overall living standard of the residents, while helping to cut the administrative cost and promote democracy at the primary level. This paper also points out various problems arising during the construction of NRCS in China: blindly following suit in accordance with the modes of the urban communities; lack of funds, which leads to the absence of the supporting mechanisms of NRCs; vague positioning and the ensuing shortage of impetus for continued development. Finally, the paper raises the corresponding measures and suggestions: first, based on reality, make overall planning and scientific arrangement; second, the government should play the dominant role while respecting the principal position of the rural residents and introducing the market mechanism; third, increase science and technology input and attach equal importance to economic and social benefits; fourth, broaden fund-raising channels while completing the supervision mechanism.

Responses of breeding waterbird communities to environmental changes in subsidence wetlands in the North China Plain

In the context of global degradation and loss of natural wetlands,waterbirds have been increasingly using artificial wetlands as alternative habitats.However,waterbirds are facing various threats in these artificial wetlands,due to dramatic environmental changes induced by anthropogenic activities.Exploring the effects of these changes on the temporal dynamics of the waterbird communities can help understand how waterbirds adapt to environmental changes and thus formulate effective management and conservation plans.In this study,we carried out field surveys on waterbirds and environmental factors across 20 subsidence wetlands created by underground coal mining in the Huainan coal mining area in the breeding seasons of 2016 and 2021.We predicted that the waterbird assemblages(i.e.,number of individuals,species richness,Shannon-Wiener diversity,Pielou evenness and species composition) differed between the two years,and that these differences were correlated with the temporal changes in environmental factors.Across the surveyed wetlands,we recorded 26 waterbird species in 2016 and 23 in 2021.For individual wetlands,the number of waterbird individuals and species richness increased by 71.6% and 20.1%,respectively,over the five years,with no changes in Shannon-Wiener diversity and Pielou evenness.The overall increase in the number of bird individuals was mainly caused by an increase in vegetation gleaners and gulls that adapt well to anthropogenic activities.The species composition was significantly different between the two years,which was mainly caused by changes in the number of individuals of dominant species under influence of changes in human activities.For most wetlands,the temporal pairwiseβ-diversities could be explained by species turnover rather than nestedness,probably due to high mobility of waterbird species and dramatic changes in local environments.Our study suggests that waterbird communities could respond to environmental changes in subsidence wetlands,providing important implications for waterbird conservation in human-dominated artificial wetlands.

Water Supply Dilemma in Nigerian Rural Communities: Looking Towards the Sky for an Answer

Access to safe water supply has great influence on the health, economic productivity and quality of life of the people. But meeting this need is one of the major challenges facing the rural communities of Nigeria today. The purpose of this review paper is to determine whether water supply have contributed effectively to health, social, and cultural development of Nigerian rural communities. Over 70% of households in rural communities do not have access to improved water supply. They rely solely on self-water supply (free source) such as rivers, perennial streams, water ponds and unprotected wells which is susceptible to water borne diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, malaria parasites etc. These rural populations are engaged in farming activities with low income level living in small scattered settlements thus, making provision of piped water supply very difficult. Governments’ interventions towards rural water supply have been through the provision of hand-operated boreholes and wells. These sources yield little or no water during the dry season and are prone to frequent breakdown;leading water crisis and shortages. This situation forces households especially the women and children to spend more time walking longer distances during the dry season to trot water for domestic purposes. Given the fact that the publicly operated water supply have not been able to cope with increasing demand, there is a need for a paradigm shift from the public monopoly of water supply to an innovative approach. Rainwater harvesting technology appears to be one of such alternative approaches.

<i>Prosopis</i>L. Invasion in the South-Western Region of Botswana: The Perceptions of Rural Communities and Management Options

This study was aimed to determine the extent to which Prosopis species had invaded four settlements (Bokspits, Rappelspan, Vaalhoek and Struizendam) located in the Kgalagadi Desert south west of Botswana, investigate the perceptions of the communities about the existence of the species in their environment and assess possible control options for the spread of Prosopis plants in the area. Prosopis plants were sampled in 42 quadrats of 625 m2 along a 70 km Prosopis invasion gradient from Struizendam to Rappelspan. Using the Global Positioning System (GPS), the locations of all quadrats were established. The distribution map of Prosopis plants was produced using ArcGIS 9.2 (ESRI Inc.). Questionnaire survey and focused group discussions were used to collect data on the perceptions of rural communities about the species. A total of 342 respondents comprising 139 males and 203 females were interviewed, and four focussed group discussions were conducted. The results indicated that the invasion of Prosopis species was prominent in and around settlements suggesting that anthropogenic activities had a significant role in the spread of Prosopis plants in the area. The perceptions of rural communities about Prosopis plants appeared to be moulded by the impacts of the plants on their livelihoods as well as their micro-economic status. The respondents (71.30%) expressed the view that the invasion of Prosopis species negatively affected the livelihoods of the communities in the study area. They identified eradication as the preferred method of controlling the spread of Prosopis plants. On the contrary, this study recommended the integrated environmental management paradigm as the best options for the control of the spread of Prosopis plants in the area.

Prediction of the joint impacts of sea level rise and land development on distribution patterns of mangrove communities

Mangrove distribution along shorelines shows distinct zonation patterns;thus,different communities may face various influences from sea level rise(SLR)and land use.However,long-term change predictions are usually based only on the total extent of mangroves.Few studies have revealed how SLR and land development such as agriculture,aquaculture,and urbanization jointly affect different intertidal mangrove communities.This study proposed a novel framework combining SLAMM(Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model)and the CLUE-S(Conversion of Land Use and its Effect at Small regional extent)model to assess the potential impacts on upper and lower intertidal mangrove communities.Maoweihai in Guangxi,China,was selected as the study area and the potential impacts from the squeeze effect and mangrove expansion potential were evaluated.We established three scenarios combining SLR and land use patterns to predict mangrove coverage projections by 2070.The results showed that,under a single SLR driver,the upper intertidal mangroves would be more adaptive to rapid SLR than the lower intertidal mangroves.However,under the combined influence of the two drivers,the upper intertidal mangroves would experience larger squeeze effects than the lower intertidal mangroves,with up to 80.5%of suitable habitat lost.Moreover,the expansion potential of upper intertidal mangroves would be considerably more limited than that of lower intertidal mangroves.The length of the expandable habitat patch boundary of upper intertidal mangroves only reached 1.4–1.8 km,while that of the lower intertidal mangroves reached up to99.2–111.2 km.Further,we found that aquaculture ponds and cropland are the top two land development types that could occupy suitable habitat and restrict the mangrove expansion potential.Our results highlight that timely improvement of land use policies to create available landward accommodation space for mangrove migration is essential to maintain the coverage and diversity of mangrove communities under SLR.The proposed method can be a helpful tool for adaptive mangrove conservation and management under climate change.

Bird communities’responses to human-modified landscapes in the southern Anhui Mountainous Area

Conversion of natural environments to human-modified landscapes is continuing at an unprecedented rate,exerting fundamental influences on global biodiversity.Understanding how wildlife communities respond to landscape modifications is critical to improve biodiversity conservation in human-dominated landscapes.In this study,we surveyed bird communities in three common habitats(i.e.,farmland,village,and forest)in the southern Anhui Mountainous Area during summer(August 2019)and winter(December 2020).The diversity metrics and species compositions of the avian communities were compared among the habitats,and the effects of land use composition in these habitats were tested.During the field surveys,we recorded 7599 birds of 120 species along 45 line transects of 1km in length.The land use compositions differed among habitats,and land use diversity was the highest in villages and lowest in forests.The species richness and bird abundance in the two human-dominated habitats(i.e.,farmland and village)were higher than those in forest in both seasons.Bird species composition also differed across habitat types in both seasons.Bird species feeding on vertebrates,fish and carrion,and species feeding on plants and seeds were mainly found in habitats with less construction lands and lower land use diversity,while omnivorous species and species feeding on fruits and nectar or on invertebrates were less affected by these two variables.The indicator species analysis showed that most species associated with forest feed on invertebrates,while species feeding on plants and seeds were more correlated with farmland and village.The results indicated that the conversion of natural habitats to human-dominated landscapes has pronounced impacts on bird communities in the study area.Human-dominated habitats harboured more avian species that deserve conservation attention.Meanwhile,bird conservations should not be relaxed in forests because there were more than 20 species that had a high specificity for forests.

Diurnal changes in bacterial communities in oxic surface and hypoxic middle seawater layers of the Changjiang River Estuary

The Changjiang River Estuary(CRE)in the East China Sea suffers from seasonal hypoxia in summer.The vertical distributions and seasonal changes of microbial communities in the CRE were well documented.However,little is known about the diurnal changes of bacterial communities in the hypoxic zone of the CRE.Here,16 S rRNA gene analysis was used to explore the changes of bacterial communities in the oxic surface and hypoxic middle seawater layers during 24 h in the CRE.Significant differences between the hypoxic and oxic layers were observed:the phyla Cyanobacteria,Bacteroidetes and Acidimicrobiia were enriched in the oxic layer,whereas the phylum SAR406 and the class Deltaproteobacteria were more abundant in the hypoxic layer.In addition,some subtle diurnal variations of the bacterial relative abundance were found in both two layers.The relative abundance of Synechococcus increased at night,and this change was more obvious in the hypoxic layer.The similar trend was also found in some phototrophic and several heterotrophic bacteria,such as Rhodobacteraceae,OM60 and Flavobacteriaceae.Their relative abundances peaked at 16:00 in the oxic layer,while the relative abundances peaked at around 7:00 and decreased until 13:00 in the hypoxic layer.Together,the results of the present study suggest that some photosynthetic bacteria and several heterotrophic bacteria have similar diurnal variations implying the light and physicochemical heterogeneity in the course of a day are important for bacterial diurnal changes in the CRE.

Empirical Study on the Reform of Water Resources Management in Xinjiang Rural Communities

With the case study of two rural communities of Hetian County and Shawan County in Xinjiang, the foundation, operation and development of the water management organizations in the two communities and their reform achievements were studied and compared. It was concluded that the reform of water resources management should be in accordance with the practical conditions of rural communities. Only with the same objectives of community people and by benefiting the farmers could the reform of water resources management be effectively implemented and achieve good results.

The Upper Jordan River Algal Communities are Evidence of Long-Term Climatic and Anthropogenic Impacts

Spatial and temporal algal diversity changes were studied in the major drinking water source of Israel - the Upper Jordan River. During 2006-2009, we found 232 species and infraspecies of algae and cyanobacteria: 85 of which were new for the Upper Jordan River Basin including three new for Israel. During many years of study of the Upper Jordan River, we collected information for the database of algal diversity. Historical analysis from 1883 to 2009 shows fluctuation of the whole algal diversity. Environmental indicator species show peaks in 1951, 1965, 1978, and 2009. Salinity impact was found in 1938 and 2000;acidification was detected in 1938, 1996, and 2000, and organic pollution, in 1996. Therefore, we can conclude that 1938, 1996, and 2000 were critical periods for the Upper Jordan River ecosystem. Indication of the trophic status shows stress of organic pollution since the 1970s, which was marked by dramatic increases in eutraphentic and hypereutraphentic species. The present analysis shows three peaks in the fluctuation in diversity throughout the river canal, which correlated with the organic pollution impact from the Masade village effluence in the middle reaches and near Lake Kinneret. Pollution was significant in rainy winters and stimulated species diversity development. The different approaches in comparing diversity in each river of the Upper Jordan Basin revealed that hydrology is a major regulating factor in species composition of the algal communities, which were formed under the influence of regional climatic factors. Therefore, the river can be highlighted as a natural system with high buffering and a self-purification capacity at the present time.

Response of Photosynthetic Plankton Communities to Late-Holocene Climate Change on the Tibetan Plateau

Sediment records from Tibetan lakes record dramatic climatic variability of the Tibetan Plateau in NW China during the Holocene.Here we investigated ancient communities of photosynthetic microbial communities in

Situational Analysis Climate Change Impacts on the Livelihood and Adaptive Solutions of the Coastal Communities:A Case of Phu Tan District,Ca Mau Province

The Mekong River Delta has 7 coastal provinces including Tien Giang,Ben Tre,Tra Vinh,Soc Trang,Bac Lieu,Ca Mau and Kien Giang.Typically,Ca Mau province which exposes to both the East and West sea with a coastline of 254 m(6 coastal districts:Dam Doi,Nam Can,Ngoc Hien,Phu Tan,Tran Van Thoi,U Minh)in the recent years,has been severely influenced by climate change.The Ca Mau province has lost nearly 10,000 ha of land and coastal forests;infrastructure and properties of local people along rivers have been eroded and seriously damaged;production activities are vulnerable to sea level rise and other hydro-meteorological hazards.The life of coastal people mainly depends on agricultural production.The main income is agricultural production,forestry,aquaculture and fishing.This paper aims to provide a situational analysis on how climate change and natural disasters affect the livelihoods of coastal communities in Ca Mau Province.A case study is conducted for Phu Tan District that addresses problems and proposes urgent measures for climate change adaptation in the near-and long-term planning.

Participatory Evaluation of the Relative Livestock Populations and the Assessment of the Status and Impacts of Newcastle Disease in Rural Communities of Two Northeastern States, Nigeria

Livestock is an important component of food security in many developing nations. However, animal diseases continue to undermine animal production and public health efforts thus widening poverty gap. Unfortunately, the conventional and what seems to be inefficient “top to bottom” disease surveillance and control policies are heavily relied upon such that negative impacts of diseases are underestimated. Participatory disease surveillance (PDS) techniques using semi-structured questioning assisted by key informants targeting focus groups were employed in 60 randomly selected villages of two Nigerian States during the years 2012 to 2014. Haemagglutination and ELISA tests to detect antibodies to Newcastle disease (ND) were conducted on 950 poultry sera. The status and economic burden of Newcastle disease and the relative livestock populations and some ethno-veterinary practices of these livestock farming communities were brought to the fore. Poultry, goats, cattle, sheep and pigs in descending order were the major livestock species kept in the study areas to which Kendalls Coefficient of Concordance (W = 0.9) agreed strongly. Accordingly, ND, lousiness, fowl pox and coccidiosis with percentage scores of ND-52%, Fowl Pox-31%, lousiness-17% and Salmonellosis-10% were important causes of poultry morbidity and mortality. ND sero-prevalence was 39%, relative morbidity;mortality and case fatality rates of 95%, 78% and 82% respectively were appraised. Again ND, coccidiosis, ectoparasitism and fowl pox were reported as seasonal poultry diseases (W = 0.6). Solanum nodiflorum and Momordica balsalmina were used to treat ND. Major livestock kept, and the ND status and effects in poultry in these livestock farming communities are here reported. Institutionalization of PDS would better inform strategic livestock policy reforms, and improve national food security and diseases surveillance and reporting system in Nigeria.

Perception of Post-Secondary Students on Environmental Practices in Selected Communities in the Philippines: Implications to Climate Change Action

Climate change contributes to disasters in the Philippines. Most human activities have had negative consequences on the environment, exacerbating global warming. Humans contribute to climate change and global warming by burning fossil fuels, cutting down trees, engaging in improper waste disposal, using electricity, and driving a car. This study assessed the environmental practices of communities in Nueva Ecija, Philippines, and their implications for climate change. Respondents were selected using convenient sampling. A questionnaire delivered online was used to elicit their responses then analyzed the data using SPSS. This study revealed that most post-secondary students do not litter but sometimes burn their trash in an open dump. Most of them used LPG as their primary source of fuel for cooking. Rice production is always the same as producing food waste in food production. Garden waste was sometimes produced. Plastic containers are commonly produced as recyclable wastes. They often dispose of wastes in controlled and regulated open dumpsites by their municipality or city. Due to the pandemic, special wastes like face masks and face shields are disposed of daily. Generally, despite no littering behavior, the respondents never burned their trash or threw it on any body of water. They perceived to disagree that these daily community activities contribute to climate change. Lastly, less than half of them affirmed that there are initiative programs at the barangay level to lessen and eliminate community activities that cause climate change.

The microbial community,nutrient supply and crop yields differ along a potassium fertilizer gradient under wheat-maize double-cropping systems

Soil microorganisms play critical roles in ecosystem function.However,the relative impact of the potassium(K)fertilizer gradient on the microbial community in wheat-maize double-cropping systems remains unclear.In this long-term field experiment(2008-2019),we researched bacterial and fungal diversity,composition,and community assemblage in the soil along a K fertilizer gradient in the wheat season(K0,no K fertilizer;K1,45 kg ha^(-1) K_(2)O;K_(2),90 kg ha^(-1)K_(2)O;K3,135 kg ha^(-1)K_(2)O)and in the maize season(K0,no K fertilizer;K_(1),150 kg ha^(-1) K_(2)O;K_(2),300 kg ha^(-1)K_(2)O;K_(3),450 kg ha^(-1)K_(2)O)using bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal internally transcribed spacer(ITS)data.We observed that environmental variables,such as mean annual soil temperature(MAT)and precipitation,available K,ammonium,nitrate,and organic matter,impacted the soil bacterial and fungal communities,and their impacts varied with fertilizer treatments and crop species.Furthermore,the relative abundance of bacteria involved in soil nutrient transformation(phylum Actinobacteria and class Alphaproteobacteria)in the wheat season was significantly increased compared to the maize season,and the optimal K fertilizer dosage(K2 treatment)boosted the relative bacterial abundance of soil nutrient transformation(genus Lactobacillus)and soil denitrification(phylum Proteobacteria)bacteria in the wheat season.The abundance of the soil bacterial community promoting root growth and nutrient absorption(genus Herbaspirillum)in the maize season was improved compared to the wheat season,and the K2 treatment enhanced the bacterial abundance of soil nutrient transformation(genus MND1)and soil nitrogen cycling(genus Nitrospira)genera in the maize season.The results indicated that the bacterial and fungal communities in the double-cropping system exhibited variable sensitivities and assembly mechanisms along a K fertilizer gradient,and microhabitats explained the largest amount of the variation in crop yields,and improved wheat?maize yields by 11.2-22.6 and 9.2-23.8%with K addition,respectively.These modes are shaped contemporaneously by the different meteorological factors and soil nutrient changes in the K fertilizer gradients.

Decoding rural connections:A comparative insight into social network analysis in rural communities of China and beyond

Social Network Theory and methods have emerged as pivotal tools for dissecting intricate interdisciplinary issues in rural communities.This study aims to systematically delineate the application characteristics and trends of Social Network Analysis(SNA)in rural community research.Using a twofold approach,we integrate a traditional literature review and CiteSpace bibliometric analysis to assess the application status and evolutionary trends of SNA methods in this context.The key findings include the following:①Chinese research trends:scholars predominantly concentrate on the“three rural”issues(related to agriculture,rural areas,and small-scale farmers)and social support mechanisms for vulnerable rural populations.With policy shifts,rural revitalization,tourism,governance,social trust,and multi-dimensional poverty are poised to emerge as hot topics for the future.For further refinement,we suggest that the application of SNA in rural community research could benefit from content expansion,long-term studies,and innovative modelling techniques.②Research by international scholars has been primarily directed toward the physical and mental health of rural residents,as well as socioeconomic issues.Despite these studies covering a range of typical cases across various nations,a conspicuous lack of thorough,systematic,and prolonged efforts focused on rural community development in specific regions remains.Additionally,health issues affecting rural residents are expected to sustain long-standing and focused international academic attention.This study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the current applications and potential future directions of SNA in rural community studies,both in China and internationally.

The Burden of Undiagnosed Hypertension and Associated Risk Factors among Adults in a Rural Community in Imo Sate, South-East Nigeria

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally and hypertension is a major contributor to this burden. Many people with hypertension have poorly controlled blood pressure and up to half of the adults with hypertension are unaware of their hypertensive status due to factors that bother on poor management and poor screening approaches. The implication is that people who have poor access to healthcare especially those in the rural communities are at increased risk of cardiovascular complications and all-cause mortality. Unfortunately, not much has been done to ascertain the burden of undiagnosed hypertension and associated risk factors in rural communities in Nigeria. Methods: We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study in a rural community in Imo State, Nigeria, on burden of undiagnosed hypertension with participants recruited via a multi-stage sampling method. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used, and standardized instruments were applied to obtain, process and analyze the data. Tests of association between the independent variables and outcome were conducted using logistic regression. P-value of Results: A total of 380 adults participated in the study. The mean age was 44.2 years. The prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension was 35.8%. Logistic regression revealed that age, with the respondents in the age groups 26 - 35 years (OR = 10.647, 1.910 - 59.345, p-value = 0.007), 36 - 45 (OR = 3.680, 1.263 - 10.723, p-value = 0.017), 46 - 55 years (OR = 2.737, 1.114 - 6.727, p-value = 0.039), 56 - 65 years old (OR = 3.384, 1.610 - 7.115, p-value = 0.001);and being married (OR = 3.846, 1.118 - 13.233, p-value = 0.033), were independent risk factors for undiagnosed hypertension. Conclusion: The prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension in the rural population of South-East Nigeria is high. Younger age (26 - 35 years) had the highest odds of risk for occurrence of hypertension. Also being married was identified as a risk factor for undiagnosed hypertension.

Habitable Land Will Soon Become the World’s Scarcest Resource: Why Appalachia Should Choose Climate Change Havens over Millionaire Estates and Golf Courses

This research advocates for the construction of Climate Change Haven Communities across the Appalachian Region. The proposed development plan can be extended to the northern tier states across the US and also to the northern and mountainous regions of Europe and Asia. We present an analogy to the earlier climate change period of the Last Glacial Maximum/“Ice Age” in which these same northern regions of the planet were covered in ice sheets making them uninhabitable for most humans and many plant and animal species. In some significant ways, the Ice Age scenario can be a reverse-model for our current climate crisis. We also advocate strongly for the prevention of upscale real estate development projects in these same regions of the globe, as these will foreclose the possibility of safely sheltering the millions of persons who will be displaced by climate change over the next 5 to 10 years.

Social and Economic Considerations for Creating Sustainable Climate Change Haven Communities

As Climate Change Haven Communities are constructed across the Northern Hemisphere, it will be necessary to attract two types of migrants to populate them. The first group consists of professionals and companies in eco-sustainable businesses, such as law firms, insurance companies, investment firms, banking, technological innovation, mass media, medical research and pharmaceutical research. The second group will consist of persons engaged in organic/eco-sustainable agriculture whose crops and animal husbandry practices can be transferred successfully to Climate Change Haven regions. The present research focuses on the social and economic variables that must be taken into account to insure that each new Climate Change Haven Community becomes successfully integrated with the local population and forms a cohesive, harmonious social structure. Examples are given from the United States, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.