Forests provide diverse co-benefits, including livelihoods enhancement, poverty alleviation, and biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services such as climate mitigation. Consequently, Ghana has embraced several gl...Forests provide diverse co-benefits, including livelihoods enhancement, poverty alleviation, and biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services such as climate mitigation. Consequently, Ghana has embraced several global, regional, national, and local forest policy interventions to safeguard its forest resources’ sustainable management. However, the forest policy interventions have not adequately addressed the co-benefits issues of forest resources leading to several forest illegalities that drive forest resources degradation and loss. These forest policies and interventions on the ground primarily favour carbon stocks enhancement and sequestration activities for carbon mitigation purposes compared to the benefits, access and rights that forest-dependent people and communities are supposed to derive from forest resources. These perceived injustices in the access and distribution of forest resources have culminated into all forms of forest illegalities driving Ghana’s forest resources into massive degradation and loss. Currently, Ghana is experiencing a 2% rate of annual deforestation and forest degradation, which translates into approximately 135<span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">,</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">00</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">0</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ha/year of forest cover loss due to anthropogenic causes. Our review is based on relevant and critical forest documents, and scientific peer-reviewed papers on Ghana’s forest policy interventions and dynamics recently published. The information gathered enabled us to highlight the perceived injustices in the forest policy interventions and their effects on forest resources. Unjust forest resources sharing and distribution are critical drivers of forest resources degradation and loss. We thus offer lessons for remedying the unfair distribution and injustices to promote equitable forest resources rights and benefit access to local forest-dependent people. It is expected that this review will offer and assist forest policy, intervention spatial and other planners and designers to find a possible way forward to avoid nature degradation, including biodiversity loss, to resolve perceived injustices in the forestry sector, to use adequate all ecosystem services provided by forests as well as to promote local livelihood and sustainability.</span></span></span>展开更多
COVID-19 has triggered an unprecedented public health crisis and a global economic shock.As countries and cities have transitioned away from strict pandemic restrictions,the most effective reopening strategies may var...COVID-19 has triggered an unprecedented public health crisis and a global economic shock.As countries and cities have transitioned away from strict pandemic restrictions,the most effective reopening strategies may vary significantly based on their demographic characteristics and social contact patterns.In this study,we employed an extended agespecific compartment model that incorporates population mobility to investigate the interaction between population age structure and various containment interventions in New York,Los Angeles,Daegu,and Nairobi e four cities with distinct age distributions that served as local epicenters of the epidemic from January 2020 to March 2021.Our results demonstrated that individual social distancing or quarantine strategies alone cannot effectively curb the spread of infection over a one-year period.However,a combined strategy,including school closure,50%working from home,50%reduction in other mobility,10%quarantine rate,and city lockdown interventions,can effectively suppress the infection.Furthermore,our findings revealed that social-distancing policies exhibit strong age-specific effects,and age-targeted interventions can yield significant spillover benefits.Specifically,reducing contact rates among the population under 20 can prevent 14%,18%,56%,and 99%of infections across all age groups in New York,Los Angeles,Daegu,and Nairobi,respectively,surpassing the effectiveness of policies exclusively targeting adults over 60 years old.In particular,to protect the elderly,it is essential to reduce contacts between the younger population and people of all age groups,especially those over 60 years old.While an older population structure may escalate fatality risk,it might also decrease infection risk.Moreover,a higher basic reproduction number amplifies the impact of an older population structure on the fatality risk of the elderly.The considerable variations in susceptibility,severity,and mobility across age groups underscore the need for targeted interventions to effectively control the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate risks in future pandemics.展开更多
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation(REDD+) and enhancing "removals of greenhouse gas emissions by forests" in developing countries through positive incentives is regarded as an essen...Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation(REDD+) and enhancing "removals of greenhouse gas emissions by forests" in developing countries through positive incentives is regarded as an essential component of the post-2012 climate regime for stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions and an important way of engaging developing countries in global mitigation efforts. We aimed to evaluate the potential effectiveness of REDD+ by integrating it into a land use option framework. One of our goals was to develop scenarios for evaluating the impacts of land use changes on carbon and environmental processes. In addition, we aimed to quantify the potential economic benefits to society of compensated reductions and to identify hotspots for applying REDD+. Three land use change scenarios were examined:(I) business as usual(BAU),(II) economic development, and(III) REDD+. A case study in Indonesia was examined using these land use scenarios and policy interventions, evaluating their effects on carbon emissions, socioeconomics, and environmental features of a spatial system using land use models. Significant emissions and water erosion reductions were predicted to be achieved under the REDD+ scenario, due to reduced deforestation of <6% over the next decade; >0.14 Mt CO2 e reduction was predicted relative to the BAU scenario. Furthermore, the spatial land use model indicated that REDD+ payments of forest carbon credits in the compliance market would play a key role in compensating rural communities and plantation companies for their opportunity cost in ending deforestation. This study provides an example of integrating land use modeling with a scenario analysis framework to evaluate plausible future forecasts and to evaluate the potential impacts of REDD+.展开更多
Motorcycle ownership in Vietnam has increased exponentially during the last two decades.As a result,traffic congestion,emissions,and traffic safety have been on the rise.Of particular concern is the significant increa...Motorcycle ownership in Vietnam has increased exponentially during the last two decades.As a result,traffic congestion,emissions,and traffic safety have been on the rise.Of particular concern is the significant increase in the number of traffic accidents due to higher traffic volume that is stimulated by economic development and improved households’economic mobility.During this time frame,many programs,such as traffic safety awareness campaign,have been developed and implemented by transportation agencies to reduce traffic fatalities.This study seeks to understand the long-term effect of policy intervention on traffic fatalities.This is accomplished by developing a log-linear regression model which the response variable is the number of traffic fatalities between 1990 and 2019 and the independent variables include Human Development Index(HDI),motorcycle ownership,and policy interventions.The model estimation results indicate that:(1)a higher degree of economic development(HDI)corresponds to lower traffic fatalities,(2)the motorcycle helmet law has lowered the number of annual traffic fatalities since its enactment,and(3)a higher number of motorcycle trips corresponds to a higher number of traffic fatalities.Based on this study’s findings,it is recommended that transportation agencies in Vietnam develop and promote an alternative transportation mode.展开更多
Taking the Chinese city of Xiamen as an example,simulation and quantitative analysis were performed on the transmissions of the Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19)and the influence of intervention combinations to assis...Taking the Chinese city of Xiamen as an example,simulation and quantitative analysis were performed on the transmissions of the Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19)and the influence of intervention combinations to assist policymakers in the preparation of targeted response measures.A machine learning model was built to estimate the effectiveness of interventions and simulate transmission in different scenarios.The comparison was conducted between simulated and real cases in Xiamen.A web interface with adjustable parameters,including choice of intervention measures,intervention weights,vaccination,and viral variants,was designed for users to run the simulation.The total case number was set as the outcome.The cumulative number was 4,614,641 without restrictions and 78 under the strictest intervention set.Simulation with the parameters closest to the real situation of the Xiamen outbreak was performed to verify the accuracy and reliability of the model.The simulation model generated a duration of 52 days before the daily cases dropped to zero and the final cumulative case number of 200,which were 25 more days and 36 fewer cases than the real situation,respectively.Targeted interventions could benefit the prevention and control of COVID-19 outbreak while safeguarding public health and mitigating impacts on people’s livelihood.展开更多
I applaud Adekeye AP and the journal for publishing‘Smoking of Carica papaya in Nigeria:The rationale,the public health effects and policies for intervention’.It is important to draw attention to newly recognised us...I applaud Adekeye AP and the journal for publishing‘Smoking of Carica papaya in Nigeria:The rationale,the public health effects and policies for intervention’.It is important to draw attention to newly recognised uses of substances which might alter perception,mood,and/or behaviour.展开更多
This paper examines the historical evolution of crop-livestock integration in China with a specific focus on its role in mitigating non-point source pollution.Extensive examination of existing literature has unearthed...This paper examines the historical evolution of crop-livestock integration in China with a specific focus on its role in mitigating non-point source pollution.Extensive examination of existing literature has unearthed the roots of croplivestock integration dating back to the Western Zhou Dynasty(1046 to 771BCE), ultimately culminating in a multifaceted and intricately interwoven system of rural development policies seen in contemporary China. This paper identifies and characterizes four distinct stages in the historical trajectory of crop-livestock integration: the era of self-sufficient subsistence production in traditional times(1046 BCE to 1948);the period where crop-livestock integration emerged as a pivotal strategy for augmenting grain and meat production under collectivist policies(1949-1977);the phase marked by the industrialization and expansion of the livestock sector during the early years of economic reforms(1978-2011);and the present era in which crop-livestock integration is harnessed as a mechanism for pollution control and ecological preservation in contemporary China(2012 to present). This paper illuminates the diverse contributions of crop-livestock integration in different epochs of rural development within China, which contributes to a nuanced and more theoretically grounded comprehension of circular agriculture. This understanding has the potential to be leveraged to promote sustainable rural development in broader contexts.展开更多
The digitalization of industry has a significant impact on the low-carbon transformation and development in China,although the impact varies in different economic regions.Exploring the impact mechanism and path is ben...The digitalization of industry has a significant impact on the low-carbon transformation and development in China,although the impact varies in different economic regions.Exploring the impact mechanism and path is beneficial for promoting the progress of China’s low-carbon economy.Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2021,an indicator system was constructed to measure the comprehensive index of industrial digitalization and carbon emission intensity.A threshold regression model was used to explore the impact of industrial digitalization on regional carbon emission intensity from the perspectives of government intervention and regional economic development level.The results show that the digitalization of industries,which has been unequal in various regions of China,can significantly suppress the regional carbon emission intensity and promote the development of the low-carbon economy.Furthermore,the threshold model shows that the promoting effect of industrial digitalization on low-carbon economy development will be enhanced as the degree of government intervention increases;and the lower the level of regional economic development,the more obvious the promotional effect of industrial digitalization on the low-carbon economy.The findings of this study indicate that the uneven development level of digital industrialization hinders the low-carbon economy.In regions with different levels of economic development,the low-carbon effects of industrial digitalization vary significantly.Therefore,governments should strengthen the policy guidance of industry digitalization based on regional economic development status to enhance the promotional effect of industrial digitalization on the low-carbon economy.展开更多
Purpose:Focusing on the hot-debating issue of school choice in China,this article aims to present a narrative of the policy interventions,especially promulgated by the Chinese central government during the past 20 yea...Purpose:Focusing on the hot-debating issue of school choice in China,this article aims to present a narrative of the policy interventions,especially promulgated by the Chinese central government during the past 20 years,and to discuss those challenges facing the governments and the society as a whole in the new era.Design/Approach/Methods:This article conceptually approaches the topic based on policy texts analysis and literature review.Findings:This article pictures the historical dynamics of school choice phenomenon and its interaction with the corresponding policy initiatives promoted by the central government.It argues that school choice governing in China basically experienced three stages since the middle of 1990s,namely controlling“choice fees,”promoting equalization and equity as well as comprehensive governance toward greater quality and equity.The effective implementation of these policy measures is gradually cooling down the“choice fever”in urban areas and restoring order for student enrollment in compulsory education,but great challenges are still lying ahead since the problem of school choice turns to be“wicked”in nature and cannot be simply solved within the education sector.Originality/Value:This article contributes to the global discourse of school choice research with much updated information of policy initiatives and the newly emerged situations since 2014,calling for close attention and deeper research from researchers both from China and from abroad.展开更多
文摘Forests provide diverse co-benefits, including livelihoods enhancement, poverty alleviation, and biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services such as climate mitigation. Consequently, Ghana has embraced several global, regional, national, and local forest policy interventions to safeguard its forest resources’ sustainable management. However, the forest policy interventions have not adequately addressed the co-benefits issues of forest resources leading to several forest illegalities that drive forest resources degradation and loss. These forest policies and interventions on the ground primarily favour carbon stocks enhancement and sequestration activities for carbon mitigation purposes compared to the benefits, access and rights that forest-dependent people and communities are supposed to derive from forest resources. These perceived injustices in the access and distribution of forest resources have culminated into all forms of forest illegalities driving Ghana’s forest resources into massive degradation and loss. Currently, Ghana is experiencing a 2% rate of annual deforestation and forest degradation, which translates into approximately 135<span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">,</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">00</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">0</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> ha/year of forest cover loss due to anthropogenic causes. Our review is based on relevant and critical forest documents, and scientific peer-reviewed papers on Ghana’s forest policy interventions and dynamics recently published. The information gathered enabled us to highlight the perceived injustices in the forest policy interventions and their effects on forest resources. Unjust forest resources sharing and distribution are critical drivers of forest resources degradation and loss. We thus offer lessons for remedying the unfair distribution and injustices to promote equitable forest resources rights and benefit access to local forest-dependent people. It is expected that this review will offer and assist forest policy, intervention spatial and other planners and designers to find a possible way forward to avoid nature degradation, including biodiversity loss, to resolve perceived injustices in the forestry sector, to use adequate all ecosystem services provided by forests as well as to promote local livelihood and sustainability.</span></span></span>
基金funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant 71904104)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(grant 2019M650726)+1 种基金funding from Qiushi Foundation,the Resnick Sustainability Institute at California Institute of Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant 71874097 and 41921005)DMK gratefully acknowledges the support of the Zaffaroni Family Foundation,the Karsten Family Foundation,and US NSF CyberSEES Grant 1539585 and NSF InFEWS grant DGE 1633740.
文摘COVID-19 has triggered an unprecedented public health crisis and a global economic shock.As countries and cities have transitioned away from strict pandemic restrictions,the most effective reopening strategies may vary significantly based on their demographic characteristics and social contact patterns.In this study,we employed an extended agespecific compartment model that incorporates population mobility to investigate the interaction between population age structure and various containment interventions in New York,Los Angeles,Daegu,and Nairobi e four cities with distinct age distributions that served as local epicenters of the epidemic from January 2020 to March 2021.Our results demonstrated that individual social distancing or quarantine strategies alone cannot effectively curb the spread of infection over a one-year period.However,a combined strategy,including school closure,50%working from home,50%reduction in other mobility,10%quarantine rate,and city lockdown interventions,can effectively suppress the infection.Furthermore,our findings revealed that social-distancing policies exhibit strong age-specific effects,and age-targeted interventions can yield significant spillover benefits.Specifically,reducing contact rates among the population under 20 can prevent 14%,18%,56%,and 99%of infections across all age groups in New York,Los Angeles,Daegu,and Nairobi,respectively,surpassing the effectiveness of policies exclusively targeting adults over 60 years old.In particular,to protect the elderly,it is essential to reduce contacts between the younger population and people of all age groups,especially those over 60 years old.While an older population structure may escalate fatality risk,it might also decrease infection risk.Moreover,a higher basic reproduction number amplifies the impact of an older population structure on the fatality risk of the elderly.The considerable variations in susceptibility,severity,and mobility across age groups underscore the need for targeted interventions to effectively control the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate risks in future pandemics.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41371525)National Basic Research Program of China(Grant Nos.2012CB955800,2012CB955804)+1 种基金China Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded project(Grant Nos.2012M521390,2013T60696)Scientific Research Foundation for Returned Scholars(Grant Nos.2013(693),2013B065)
文摘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation(REDD+) and enhancing "removals of greenhouse gas emissions by forests" in developing countries through positive incentives is regarded as an essential component of the post-2012 climate regime for stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions and an important way of engaging developing countries in global mitigation efforts. We aimed to evaluate the potential effectiveness of REDD+ by integrating it into a land use option framework. One of our goals was to develop scenarios for evaluating the impacts of land use changes on carbon and environmental processes. In addition, we aimed to quantify the potential economic benefits to society of compensated reductions and to identify hotspots for applying REDD+. Three land use change scenarios were examined:(I) business as usual(BAU),(II) economic development, and(III) REDD+. A case study in Indonesia was examined using these land use scenarios and policy interventions, evaluating their effects on carbon emissions, socioeconomics, and environmental features of a spatial system using land use models. Significant emissions and water erosion reductions were predicted to be achieved under the REDD+ scenario, due to reduced deforestation of <6% over the next decade; >0.14 Mt CO2 e reduction was predicted relative to the BAU scenario. Furthermore, the spatial land use model indicated that REDD+ payments of forest carbon credits in the compliance market would play a key role in compensating rural communities and plantation companies for their opportunity cost in ending deforestation. This study provides an example of integrating land use modeling with a scenario analysis framework to evaluate plausible future forecasts and to evaluate the potential impacts of REDD+.
文摘Motorcycle ownership in Vietnam has increased exponentially during the last two decades.As a result,traffic congestion,emissions,and traffic safety have been on the rise.Of particular concern is the significant increase in the number of traffic accidents due to higher traffic volume that is stimulated by economic development and improved households’economic mobility.During this time frame,many programs,such as traffic safety awareness campaign,have been developed and implemented by transportation agencies to reduce traffic fatalities.This study seeks to understand the long-term effect of policy intervention on traffic fatalities.This is accomplished by developing a log-linear regression model which the response variable is the number of traffic fatalities between 1990 and 2019 and the independent variables include Human Development Index(HDI),motorcycle ownership,and policy interventions.The model estimation results indicate that:(1)a higher degree of economic development(HDI)corresponds to lower traffic fatalities,(2)the motorcycle helmet law has lowered the number of annual traffic fatalities since its enactment,and(3)a higher number of motorcycle trips corresponds to a higher number of traffic fatalities.Based on this study’s findings,it is recommended that transportation agencies in Vietnam develop and promote an alternative transportation mode.
基金funded by Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games[2021YFF0306005]China-Africa Cooperation Program on Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases Control[No.2020C400032]
文摘Taking the Chinese city of Xiamen as an example,simulation and quantitative analysis were performed on the transmissions of the Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19)and the influence of intervention combinations to assist policymakers in the preparation of targeted response measures.A machine learning model was built to estimate the effectiveness of interventions and simulate transmission in different scenarios.The comparison was conducted between simulated and real cases in Xiamen.A web interface with adjustable parameters,including choice of intervention measures,intervention weights,vaccination,and viral variants,was designed for users to run the simulation.The total case number was set as the outcome.The cumulative number was 4,614,641 without restrictions and 78 under the strictest intervention set.Simulation with the parameters closest to the real situation of the Xiamen outbreak was performed to verify the accuracy and reliability of the model.The simulation model generated a duration of 52 days before the daily cases dropped to zero and the final cumulative case number of 200,which were 25 more days and 36 fewer cases than the real situation,respectively.Targeted interventions could benefit the prevention and control of COVID-19 outbreak while safeguarding public health and mitigating impacts on people’s livelihood.
文摘I applaud Adekeye AP and the journal for publishing‘Smoking of Carica papaya in Nigeria:The rationale,the public health effects and policies for intervention’.It is important to draw attention to newly recognised uses of substances which might alter perception,mood,and/or behaviour.
基金supported by the National Social Science Foundation Youth Project “Research on the Realization Mechanism,Enriching People Effect and Path of Agricultural Carbon Reduction and Increase Value under the Background of Double Carbon Target”(22CJY030)
文摘This paper examines the historical evolution of crop-livestock integration in China with a specific focus on its role in mitigating non-point source pollution.Extensive examination of existing literature has unearthed the roots of croplivestock integration dating back to the Western Zhou Dynasty(1046 to 771BCE), ultimately culminating in a multifaceted and intricately interwoven system of rural development policies seen in contemporary China. This paper identifies and characterizes four distinct stages in the historical trajectory of crop-livestock integration: the era of self-sufficient subsistence production in traditional times(1046 BCE to 1948);the period where crop-livestock integration emerged as a pivotal strategy for augmenting grain and meat production under collectivist policies(1949-1977);the phase marked by the industrialization and expansion of the livestock sector during the early years of economic reforms(1978-2011);and the present era in which crop-livestock integration is harnessed as a mechanism for pollution control and ecological preservation in contemporary China(2012 to present). This paper illuminates the diverse contributions of crop-livestock integration in different epochs of rural development within China, which contributes to a nuanced and more theoretically grounded comprehension of circular agriculture. This understanding has the potential to be leveraged to promote sustainable rural development in broader contexts.
基金The Philosophy and Social Science Project of Shanxi Province(2023YJ087)The Philosophy and Social Sciences Key Research Base of Higher Education Institutions of Shanxi(2022J022)。
文摘The digitalization of industry has a significant impact on the low-carbon transformation and development in China,although the impact varies in different economic regions.Exploring the impact mechanism and path is beneficial for promoting the progress of China’s low-carbon economy.Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2021,an indicator system was constructed to measure the comprehensive index of industrial digitalization and carbon emission intensity.A threshold regression model was used to explore the impact of industrial digitalization on regional carbon emission intensity from the perspectives of government intervention and regional economic development level.The results show that the digitalization of industries,which has been unequal in various regions of China,can significantly suppress the regional carbon emission intensity and promote the development of the low-carbon economy.Furthermore,the threshold model shows that the promoting effect of industrial digitalization on low-carbon economy development will be enhanced as the degree of government intervention increases;and the lower the level of regional economic development,the more obvious the promotional effect of industrial digitalization on the low-carbon economy.The findings of this study indicate that the uneven development level of digital industrialization hinders the low-carbon economy.In regions with different levels of economic development,the low-carbon effects of industrial digitalization vary significantly.Therefore,governments should strengthen the policy guidance of industry digitalization based on regional economic development status to enhance the promotional effect of industrial digitalization on the low-carbon economy.
基金The author(s)disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research,authorship and/or publication of this article:Peak Discipline Construction Project of Education at East China Normal University(2017).
文摘Purpose:Focusing on the hot-debating issue of school choice in China,this article aims to present a narrative of the policy interventions,especially promulgated by the Chinese central government during the past 20 years,and to discuss those challenges facing the governments and the society as a whole in the new era.Design/Approach/Methods:This article conceptually approaches the topic based on policy texts analysis and literature review.Findings:This article pictures the historical dynamics of school choice phenomenon and its interaction with the corresponding policy initiatives promoted by the central government.It argues that school choice governing in China basically experienced three stages since the middle of 1990s,namely controlling“choice fees,”promoting equalization and equity as well as comprehensive governance toward greater quality and equity.The effective implementation of these policy measures is gradually cooling down the“choice fever”in urban areas and restoring order for student enrollment in compulsory education,but great challenges are still lying ahead since the problem of school choice turns to be“wicked”in nature and cannot be simply solved within the education sector.Originality/Value:This article contributes to the global discourse of school choice research with much updated information of policy initiatives and the newly emerged situations since 2014,calling for close attention and deeper research from researchers both from China and from abroad.
