Village Relocation Research Articles

Construction of landscape ecological network based on landscape ecological risk assessment in a large-scale opencast coal mine area

The comprehensive effect of multi-source factors changes the landscape structure and reduces the quality of landscape ecology in large-scale opencast coal mine area, resulting in an ecologically fragile environment. Landscape ecological quality directly affects the flow and transmission of ecological functions, which is an important factor in the construction of landscape ecological network. In the study, based on the Landsat remote sensing images of 1986, 1996, 2000, 2009, and 2015 in the Pingshuo opencast coal mine area of the Loess plateau in Shanxi Province of China, the landscape loss index and ecological sensitivity index were selected to establish the landscape ecological risk assessment model, and the spatial and temporal characteristics of the landscape ecological risks from 1986 to 2015 were analyzed. Considering the impact of landscape ecological quality on ecological resistance, the Minimum Cumulative Resistance model (MCR) was applied to build a landscape ecological network based on the landscape ecological risk assessment in 2015 to identify the important ecological elements, and the complex network method was used to analyze the structure of landscape ecological network. The local risk level of the study area reduced with opencast coal mining; however, the overall risk level was improved with conducting land reclamation. The high-risk area showed a trend of spreading from southwest to northeast; the risk of the peripheral areas of urban construction land and mining land was relatively high, while that of the forest and grassland area was relatively low. The risk change of the study area was mainly affected by the mining scale, urban expansion, conversion of farm land to forest and grassland, land reclamation, and village relocation. Through the complex network method, the energy flow fluency and the relationship between nodes were enhanced after the optimization of the landscape ecological network, and the ecological elements for specific land use protection were identified. The research results can provide scientific basis for the optimization of landscape pattern and the construction of ecological security pattern in Pingshuo opencast coal mine area.

Climate Change Research in the Arctic Must Include Polar Native Communities

Background: Concern about the melting of polar ice has tended to highlight wildlife, but not humans. However, research on Arctic climate change is crucial for developing effective public health policies for native communities who reside in the polar region. These include Inuit, Alaskan Natives, and Sami in Norway. Because there has been a dramatic rise in sea levels and a loss of sea ice in the Arctic, our intent is to share the needed epidemiology to address this issue. We aim encourage collaborative research from climate change among the indigenous communities of Canada, US, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Iceland, and Greenland. Methods: We examined the epidemiology literature suggesting where climate change might have the most impact on native health. We considered the research methods needed to conduct polar health studies.Findings: Arctic climate change appears to be linked with snowmobile trauma and hunting injuries, village relocation and adolescent mental health impacts, zoonotic infections, especially from sled dogs, tuberculosis and other environmental infections, housing deterioration and cold injury, skin cancer and immunocompromise, mosquito and tick-born infections, food-born botulinum outbreaks, contamination and alterations in diet, alcoholism, diabetes, and asthma. Because many workers in northern mining and oil extraction industries include native employees, we must assess whether climate modification and workplace exposures interact. Measuring the amounts of exposure to an altered environment and appropriate comparison groups are research challenges to valid health studies. Including native children in any study will require utmost sensitivity.Synthesis/conclusions: We will emphasize effective communication with native communities and northern governments leading to ethical public health studies. We hope to encourage the development of new epidemiology research and curricula for international Arctic health in order to measure impacts of climate change on indigenous residents.

Optimal application of multi-agent environmental decisionmaking model in the replication and relocation of traditional villages in areas prone to geological hazards—taking wengcao village, a traditional village in Guzhang county, western Hunan as an example

Wengcao Village, listed in the fourth batch of traditional villages in China, is a remote Miao village which built in a landslide-prone risk, and always at the risk of geological hazard-prone area. In order to solve the contradiction between the protection of traditional villages and the economic development of traditional villages, on the basis of environmental behavior, spatial behavior and complex theory, the author combined with the investigation. For the first time, a four-dimensional collaboration model of expert supervision, enterprise leadership, government guidance, and public participation was creatively proposed to ensure the replication and relocation of traditional villages. Aim to ensure the smooth progress of the replication and construction of traditional villages, the current popular neural network prediction model and reinforcement learning multi-agent model are combined to build a replication and construction decision model and its optimize to avoid possible future risks.

The role of power in community participation: Relocation as climate change adaptation in Fiji

As the impacts of climate change intensify, potential relocation is becoming more of a reality for coastal communities throughout the world. This is furthering the demand for the implementation of governance relocation frameworks. In order to stay true to the principles of environmental justice while at the same time ensuring an effective policy that meets the needs and wants of affected communities, an adaptive relocation framework requires collaboration between state and non-state actors. It is thus important to pay attention to how non-state actors are incorporated into public participatory climate change adaptation efforts. In order to affectively address previous limitations of public participation, stakeholders must pay attention to already existing power systems. Through a case study approach of a village relocation project in Fiji, I examine the role of power in a climate change adaptation plan that involved the community of Vunidogoloa, local government, and national government stakeholders. I employ Steven Lukes’s three-dimensional framework of power to the case of Vunidogoloa, a Fijian village that relocated inland due to coastal erosion and shoreline flooding, to illustrate how the political arrangement of participation reinforced existing hierarchies between the village and the government.

The inequality of educational resources and its countermeasures for rural revitalization in southwest China

Equal access to education has long been a global concern and is important for rural revitalization strategy in the new era. However, little is known about the regional differences of educational resources in China, especially southwest China, where the spatial heterogeneity of human and physical geography is extremely significant. Using a dataset of primary and secondary schools of southwest China at county level in 2015, this study builds an index system to comprehensively measure the supply of educational resources, investigates the spatial pattern of educational resources via exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), and explores its influence factors through spatial econometrics. Results indicated that the supply level of educational resources in southwest China was relatively low; the high-high clusters of the supply of educational resources were mainly located in Sichuan Basin and the east of Western Sichuan Plateau, while the concentrated poverty-stricken areas of Guizhou and the border areas of Yunnan-Sichuan-Guizhou, especially Wumeng mountain area, were characterized by the low-low clusters. Furthermore, this study suggested that altitude, population density, local government revenue and rural residents’ income were positively correlated with the supply of educational resources, while the negative influences were exerted by proportion of ethnic minority population and urbanization rate. And there were differences in the specific objects of actions of each factor. Ultimately, we proposed that village relocation and combination, as well as sustainable urbanization and regional development were practical paths to optimize the supply of educational resources in rural areas, thus promoting the modernization of agriculture and countryside.

Relocation as an Adaptation to Sea-Level Rise: Valuable Lessons from the Narikoso Village Relocation Project in Fiji

Relocation as an adaptation strategy to coastal degradation remains on the fringes of climate change discourse. Yet, as sea levels are projected to rise, relocating is an inevitable response for vulnerable coastal communities worldwide. In fact, some Fijian villages are facing such severe coastal erosion that they have already begun the process of shifting to higher ground, and many more villages throughout the islands have been slated for relocation. This case study is based on the planned relocation efforts of Narikoso village on Ono Island in Kadavu, Fiji. In Narikoso, regional NGOs, INGOs, and local and national government are working with the community to relocate the village inland. The process of moving the community began in 2012 when Prime Minister Bainimarama sent the Fiji military to Ono Island to clear land for the new village. It came to an abrupt stop due to a lack of funding and ecological degradation caused by the preparation for the new village site. Since the relocation process began, a myriad of issues have arisen ranging from concerns regarding community engagement, availability of financial resources, and resistance to moving inland.

Evaluating Poverty Alleviation by Relocation under the Link Policy: A Case Study from Tongyu County, Jilin Province, China

Land, nature, and the social environment in contiguous poor regions are harsh and difficult to change. The poor adaptive capacities of the socio-ecological systems of these regions are the main causes of deep, persistent poverty. In February 2016, the Chinese government issued a policy proposing to promote poverty alleviation by relocation (PAR) by means of the “Linking increases in urban construction land with decreases in rural construction land” policy (or simply, the “Link Policy” or LP), which intends to realize the sustainable social and economic development of local villages. Since then, many pilot projects have been carried out across the country based on local resources, environment, and economic development; however, few related studies on these cases have been conducted. After a review of poverty alleviation policies, this paper first introduces the unsustainable conditions of poor rural areas and the implications and advantages of PAR under the Link Policy; we then analyzed the complete PAR process, including formulation, implementation, and completion, by taking Tongyu County in Jilin Province as an example. The study found that the “whole village relocation” model practiced in Tongyu County was relatively successful in terms of improving the living environment, income, and public services of local villagers. On the other hand, there were three main problems: first, many follow-up industries were dominated by the village collectives and heavily dependent on government support or subsidies; second, the newly built village faced the dilemma of “re-hollowing” due to the out-migration of young people and the aging population; third, it was difficult to achieve a true requisition–compensation balance of farmland.

Christianity and Climate Change Adaption: Sea-level Rise and Ritualising Village Relocation in Fiji

Development studies are ambivalent about the relationship between climate change adaption and Pacific Christianity. Biblical belief about Noah’s covenant and the End Times are understood to undermine risk perception, while church membership is seen to threaten cross-denominational cooperation, hampering adaptive capacity. Yet the communicative reach and charismatic authority of Pacific churches remains the envy of development specialists working on climate change. This focus on belief and institutional reach, however, neglects how Christian ritual practice can orientate and stabilise faith communities. Drawing on fieldwork in rural Fiji investigating village migration due to coastal flooding from sea-level rise, this paper shows how ritual practice strengthens community resilience when responding to climate change. In Vunidogoloa, villagers employed the Old Testament myth of Exodus to (re)create ritual responses to vent the emotional/spiritual trauma of leaving their ancestral home. Whereas in the nearby village Vunisavisavi, such ritual responses have been lacking and village relocation remained problematic.

Understanding Land Use and Rural Development in the National Scheme of Village Relocation and Urbanization in China: A Case Study of Two Villages in Jiangsu Province

Large-scale village relocation and urbanization, one of the most significant social changes in China, bring villages both development opportunities and social risks. The social risks mainly stem from the government’s strong position in land expropriation and policy preference for urban development. We observe the amalgamation of Anyang and Bomu Village in China and explore the specific role of land policies in the social change and restructuring of the two villages. We find that clan gentries challenge the government’s “absolute” authority over land and landless villagers start the trend of “de-urbanization.” Our research presents targeted policy recommendations in terms of weakening the role of the government in urbanization, strengthening dialogues between the government and clans and coordinating urban and rural land use.

The effects of climate change on the geography and timing of human mobility

Human mobility over different distances and time scales has long been associated with environmental change, and the idea of climate change is now affecting movement in new ways. In this paper, we discuss three cases from the South Pacific to explain the ways anticipated climate futures are changing mobility in the present. First, we examine village relocation in response to coastal erosion and inundation in Fiji, drawing on our study of the unfolding experience of Narikoso village in Kadavu Province. In contrast to this spatially constrained process of permanent relocation, we examine the spatially extended yet temporally constrained seasonal migrant worker programme that aims to support economic development in the Pacific Islands by providing temporary work visas in Australia and New Zealand. Finally, we examine the likely effects of proposed open labour markets as a means to promote climate change adaptation, through a study of the analogous example of Niuean migration to New Zealand which has resulted in both permanent migration and a slow circulation of people between both countries. Across these examples, we highlight emerging and potentially constructive ways in which climate change is altering the spatio-temporal patterns and rhythms of mobility.

Environmental Determinants of Malaria Transmission Around the Koka Reservoir in Ethiopia.

New dam construction is known to exacerbate malaria transmission in Africa as the vectors of malaria—Anopheles mosquitoes—use bodies of water as breeding sites. Precise environmental mechanisms of how reservoirs exacerbate malaria transmission are yet to be identified. Understanding of these mechanisms should lead to a better assessment of the impacts of dam construction and to new prevention strategies. Combining extensive multiyear field surveys around the Koka Reservoir in Ethiopia and rigorous model development and simulation studies, environmental mechanisms of malaria transmission around the reservoir were examined. Most comprehensive and detailed malaria transmission model, Hydrology, Entomology, and Malaria Transmission Simulator, was applied to a village adjacent to the reservoir. Significant contributions to the dynamics of malaria transmission are shaped by wind profile, marginal pools, temperature, and shoreline locations. Wind speed and wind direction influence Anopheles populations and malaria transmission during the major and secondary mosquito seasons. During the secondary mosquito season, a noticeable influence was also attributed to marginal pools. Temperature was found to play an important role, not so much in Anopheles population dynamics, but in malaria transmission dynamics. Change in shoreline locations drives malaria transmission dynamics, with closer shoreline locations to the village making malaria transmission more likely. Identified environmental mechanisms help in predicting malaria transmission seasons and in developing village relocation strategies upon dam construction to minimize the risk of malaria.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF SWIDDEN FARMERS AND CHALLENGES FOR SUSTAINABLE LAND USE: LESSONS FROM A WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PROJECT IN NORTHERN LAOS

In Laos, located in mainland Southeast Asia, shifting cultivation has been one of the important means of livelihood, in terms of food security as well as religious and cultural anchorage, for local communities in a number of areas, especially in upland areas in the country. In Pakbeng District, Oudomxay Province, northern Laos, due to the implementation of various land and forest management policies and a village relocation and consolidation program, local communities were restricted from access to the forests and faced a shortage of agricultural lands. After facing difficulties in securing sufficient lands, the local farmers used the forests in a destructive manner. The author of this article was engaged with the Community-based Watershed Management Project, as a program director of an environmental NGO and tackled challenges to achieve a land and forest management system suitable for land use by local communities. The NGO attempted to apply an alternative approach to incorporate swidden farmers’ land use system into official land and forest management institutions.

When Climate Takes a Village: Legal Pathways toward the Relocation of Alaska Native Villages

In Alaska, indigenous rural communities face climate-related challenges to maintaining their physical and cultural continuity. Some of these communities are considering ‘co-relocation’, in which the population of an entire community relocates to a new site on nearby rural land where residents can continue to practice their subsistence lifeways. Some Alaskans have called for government-assisted co-relocation for Alaska Native Villages (anvs), whereby national and State of Alaska government agencies pay for and lead the construction of housing and infrastructure at the new site. This model of relocation has many challenges, including expense, delay, lack of support from those outside anvs, confusion as to which agency will do what, and the effect of continuing an unsustainable Western colonial pattern. The state and federal governments, in partnership with anvs, need to explore what alternatives are available to preserve these communities’ physical and cultural continuity. This article considers the legal and political framework for relocation alternatives, and suggests pathways that would not require major changes of law or the creation of new agencies. I draw on various legal sources as well as interviews with anv members, Alaska legislators, Congressional staff, federal and state agency directors, academics, planners, and others who make or influence policy that could affect co-relocation.

Dynamic Monitoring of Typical Geographic Mining Conditions of Yanzhou Coal Field Based on High-resolution Remote Sensing Images

In order to monitor geographic mining conditions timely and dynamically with high accuracy, this paper took relocation of villages with underground coal resources and farmland with seeper and subsidence as typical geographic mining conditions of Yanzhou coal field in China, extracted monitoring information and made corresponding statistical analysis based on the aerial image in 2009 and GF-2 satellite image in 2015, using object-oriented post-classification change detection method on ENVI software. The results show that from the year 2009 to 2015, Yanzhou Coal field totally moved 11 villages, with a total area of 2.53km2, and the average plaque area was 0.23 km2. The villages with deeper subsidence and perennial seeper had been reclaimed to pond and the area was approximately 0.09km2, while those with shallow subsidence had been reclaimed to farmland and the area was approximately 1.81km2. The total area of farmland with seeper and subsidence was basically unchanged and the area that hadn’t been reclaimed decreased 2.744km2. On the whole, the effects of the reclamation of Yanzhou coal field is remarkable, but there are still 0.63 km2 village and 3.47km2 farmland not yet reclaimed in Xinglongzhuang, Dongtan, Baodian coal mine. Local governments should develop appropriate reclamation plans to improve the efficiency of land use.

Fine-scale population genetic structure of the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) in a human-dominated western Terai Arc Landscape, India.

Despite massive global conservation strategies, tiger populations continued to decline until recently, mainly due to habitat loss, human-animal conflicts, and poaching. These factors are known to affect the genetic characteristics of tiger populations and decrease local effective population sizes. The Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) at the foothills of the Himalaya is one of the 42 source sites of tigers around the globe. Therefore, information on how landscape features and anthropogenic factors affect the fine-scale spatial genetic structure and variation of tigers in TAL is needed to develop proper management strategies for achieving long-term conservation goals. We document, for the first time, the genetic characteristics of this tiger population by genotyping 71 tiger samples using 13 microsatellite markers from the western region of TAL (WTAL) of 1800 km2. Specifically, we aimed to estimate the genetic variability, population structure, and gene flow. The microsatellite markers indicated that the levels of allelic diversity (MNA = 6.6) and genetic variation (Ho = 0.50, HE = 0.64) were slightly lower than those reported previously in other Bengal tiger populations. We observed moderate gene flow and significant genetic differentiation (FST= 0.060) and identified the presence of cryptic genetic structure using Bayesian and non-Bayesian approaches. There was low and significantly asymmetric migration between the two main subpopulations of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve and the Corbett Tiger Reserve in WTAL. Sibship relationships indicated that the functionality of the corridor between these subpopulations may be retained if the quality of the habitat does not deteriorate. However, we found that gene flow is not adequate in view of changing land use matrices. We discuss the need to maintain connectivity by implementing the measures that have been suggested previously to minimize the level of human disturbance, including relocation of villages and industries, prevention of encroachment, and banning sand and boulder mining in the corridors.

Local Wisdom Based Tourist Village Organization in Lombok Tourist Area

Tourist village is an area of countryside which has some special characteristics to become a tourist destination. In this area, the population still has a tradition and culture are relatively pristine. In addition, some supporting factors such as food, agricultural system and the social system became one of coloring a tourist village. The development of cultural tourism area in the hamlet of Sade tour to Lombok is arguably have not well-ordered. This cultural tourism area in terms of governance in pariwisataan support the activities particularly in the management of kampung adat Sade, typical handicraft tourism governance, governance of religious tourism sites the Customs still need more refinement continue. In the first year of the research revealed that this governance concepts strived for styled especially with regard to structuring awig-awig tourist village that is encapsulated in the form of Regulations of the village in the hamlet of Sade tour and tourist village Segenter. With data analysis method with approach of empirically packed can be generated, . Based on the objectives to be achieved in this study i.e., Increase community participation, increase the length of stay of tourists, Cultural Preservation so that found the concept of governance of the village tour Sade that is, organizing Neighborhood Village typical and custom, the Power Support infrastructure and Availability of land, Infrastructure, and human resources Management and the role of Government that can eventually be formulated strategy, a strategy that was used in an attempt to find the format layout Manage Replication: Sade tour hamlet hamlet of Sade, Sade Village Relocation, and Revitalizing the hamlet of Sade.

Adaptación autónoma a eventos hidrometeorológicos extremos. Estudio de caso sobre la convivencia de un territorio indígena con el riesgo climático en la cuenca del río Sixaola, Costa Rica

La adaptación autónoma se refiere a las medidas tomadas por una población específica, como una respuesta autogestionada a un estímulo climático adverso. La ausencia de ayudas gubernamentales o inversiones de gran magnitud determinan el carácter de escala local de las iniciativas. Este tipo de adaptación se basa frecuentemente en el conocimiento tradicional y la observación del clima. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar cómo la convivencia continua con elementos de riesgo ante eventos hidrometeorológicos extremos estimuló la adopción de medidas para la adaptación y aumento de la resiliencia en una comunidad indígena dedicada a la agricultura, en la cuenca del río Sixaola, Costa Rica. Se utilizó una metodología cualitativa etnográfica que parte de la búsqueda de registros en bases de datos y otras fuentes secundarias para desarrollar observaciones participantes, dos grupos focales de discusión y un taller. Se encontró que las mujeres productoras de cacao con las que se trabajó y sus familias tomaron medidas como la diversificación de cultivos, asociatividad, traslado de fincas a zonas de menor riesgo y organización comunitaria, medidas que fueron tomadas por las poblaciones sin apoyo gubernamental. Esta experiencia aporta insumos y lecciones aprendidas relevantes en la discusión actual sobre la necesidad de adaptar y mejorar la resiliencia de sistemas productivos en territorios rurales.

Tigers, Tribes, and Bureaucrats: the voluntariness and socioeconomic consequences of village relocations from Melghat Tiger Reserve, India

Relocations of indigenous peoples from protected areas to promote wildlife conservation have typically resulted in negative socioeconomic results for those displaced. The international indigenous peoples’ movement has begun to coalesce around the use of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) as a legal mechanism to prevent disadvantageous relocations. In 2006, India’s parliament passed the Forest Rights Act, which requires any village relocation of tribal people be conditional upon their FPIC. I used household surveys and qualitative interviews of relocated and forest (not-yet relocated) villagers from Melghat Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, to examine (a) the extent to which putatively voluntary relocations were conditional upon FPIC and (b) how such relocations affect socioeconomic metrics and overall quality of life for those relocated. I found that while consent to relocate was mostly free, consent was not fully informed across the villages examined. The socioeconomic results indicate that relocated villagers make a trade-off, leaving a familiar, healthier environment for better access to modern services and employment. Finally, I found that forest villagers in favor of relocation emphasized how the social and economic costs of remaining in the forest had become greater due to the relocation of neighboring villages. This field study suggests that strong implementation of FPIC and state responsiveness post-relocation are both necessary to safeguard forest-dwelling people from disadvantageous relocations.

Relocation and Livelihood Concerns of Sariska Tiger Project, Rajasthan: A Pride or Plight?

It is well known that Sariska Tiger Reserve is a home to the India’s national animal - the Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris). The crux of this research is to examine the role of local peoples in the conservation of Sariska Tiger project, which was declared a wildlife reserve way back in 1955 and then further raised to a status of a Tiger Reserve in 1978, and a National Park in 1982. According to the Government officials, the people around the reserve are not only responsible for degrading the reserve, it has also emerged as a safe haven for the poachers involved in illegal hunting of the tigers. One of the reasons identified to be the cause of tiger extinction is the human habitation in the core and in the peripheral areas surrounding the tiger reserves. Despite efforts being made to protect, the Sariska Tiger Reserve, located in Alwar (Rajasthan) is seriously facing the problem of tiger extinction. It is estimated that there are around 12 thousand people residing inside the tiger reserve, with 11 villages in the Core Zone-1 area and about 170 villages situated along the peripheries of the reserve. Among the prime measures undertaken are diversions of traffic, relocation of the villages located inside the forest. The Tiger Task Force (2005) has recommended relocation of three key villages surrounding the central area of the Sariska Tiger Reserve.
 However, this relocation of villages is quite contrary to the life style of the people residing within these villages. Their social and cultural attributes, needs and aspirations have not been given due consideration and the villagers are strongly resenting this move by the government. These displaced villagers have been living in perfect harmony with their environment from time immemorial and it is hard to understand how these villagers can be held responsible for degrading their natural environment, which is their lifeline. The government has failed to take into consideration the role of the neighbouring urban centres that are more responsible for the degradation of the habitat as compared to these simple villagers. In the light of these arguments, this research is an attempt to study and highlight the issues and problems related to the displacement of villages in the core area of the reserve and suggest suitable measures.

Household dependency on forest resources in the Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR), India: Implications for management

ABSTRACTSariska Tiger Reserve (STR) is a virtual ecological island influenced by both anthropogenic pressures and a significant cattle population from the villages located there. The government has initiated voluntary relocation of villages, but this action has not yielded desired results as most of the residents depend on the surrounding forest for their livelihood. This study used a logit model to identify the influential factors that predict forest dependency. The results indicate that livestock population and the agricultural land per household as the two major determinants of dependency. Alternative sources of livelihood or vocational training may help in reducing villager’s forest dependency.