title: Dynamics of land use and land cover changes in China

authors: Deng, Xiangzheng

subjects: Land Use

abstract: A key contribution of environmental economics to policy making has been to provide empirical indicators of sustainable economic development. An economy is (weakly) sustainable if it saves more than the combined depreciation of its stocks of natural capital and produced capital. Thus, these indicators allow trade-offs where, for example, natural capital might be depreciated in order to build up other forms of capital, such as in the built environment or in the form of human capital. As an application of this general idea, this thesis focuses on the trade-offs between ecosystem services, provided by natural capital, and certain land use and land cover changes (LUCC) in China. With better understanding of these trade-offs, this thesis contributes to optimum management for sustaining ecosystem services and supporting socio-economic development.
The three case study areas are Hebei, Qinghai and Shandong provinces. I study trade-offs between landscape diversity and crop production, between grassland quality and livestock production, and between net primary productivity (NPP, a measure of the energy that enters ecosystems) and urbanization. After reviewing trade-off analyses of ecosystem services for sustainable land-use management (Chapter 2), the case studies are presented, with two chapters on Hebei, one on Qinghai, and three on Shandong. These chapters have econometric models for monitoring and assessing LUCC-induced ecosystem service changes, to enable quantitative analysis of the mechanisms available for policy-oriented optimum land-use management.
The case study areas each have different policy interventions that are designed to preserve or restore natural capital. For example, Hebei has ecological restoration programs, such as the Green for Grain program, that are implemented in an attempt to conserve landscape diversity. Qinghai province has policies of enhancing ecological restoration for grassland conservation, in order to improve livestock production. Shandong province has enforced a prime cropland preservation policy in order to ensure high cropland productivity. Collectively, the case studies add to the literature on the use of sustainable land-use management strategies, while helping to illustrate some of the trade-offs that are central to environmental economics. 
The results highlight issues created by conversion of cultivated land to urban use, in both Hebei and Shandong. In Qinghai province, grassland degradation, livestock production and farmers’ income interact and affect LUCC and changes in ecosystem services. Restorative interventions, such as nature reserves, seem to have a positive effect on NPP, as a measure of ecosystem productivity. On the other hand, in Shandong province there is relatively low land productivity, as measured by the NPP, in regions covered by built-up area. While this thesis does not calculate a value for the produced capital and human capital in built-up areas, the reduction in the value of natural capital as a result of urbanization highlights the potential trade-offs and the need for careful measurement to help whether China is on a sustainable development path. In summary, the research in this thesis examines various land-use practices and management regimes for conserving ecosystem services, and contributes to the literature on how management of land use change and land cover change can influence ecosystem services in rapidly urbanizing China.

text: Dynamics of land use and land cover changes in China A key contribution of environmental economics to policy making has been to provide empirical indicators of sustainable economic development. An economy is (weakly) sustainable if it saves more than the combined depreciation of its stocks of natural capital and produced capital. Thus, these indicators allow trade-offs where, for example, natural capital might be depreciated in order to build up other forms of capital, such as in the built environment or in the form of human capital. As an application of this general idea, this thesis focuses on the trade-offs between ecosystem services, provided by natural capital, and certain land use and land cover changes (LUCC) in China. With better understanding of these trade-offs, this thesis contributes to optimum management for sustaining ecosystem services and supporting socio-economic development.
The three case study areas are Hebei, Qinghai and Shandong provinces. I study trade-offs between landscape diversity and crop production, between grassland quality and livestock production, and between net primary productivity (NPP, a measure of the energy that enters ecosystems) and urbanization. After reviewing trade-off analyses of ecosystem services for sustainable land-use management (Chapter 2), the case studies are presented, with two chapters on Hebei, one on Qinghai, and three on Shandong. These chapters have econometric models for monitoring and assessing LUCC-induced ecosystem service changes, to enable quantitative analysis of the mechanisms available for policy-oriented optimum land-use management.
The case study areas each have different policy interventions that are designed to preserve or restore natural capital. For example, Hebei has ecological restoration programs, such as the Green for Grain program, that are implemented in an attempt to conserve landscape diversity. Qinghai province has policies of enhancing ecological restoration for grassland conservation, in order to improve livestock production. Shandong province has enforced a prime cropland preservation policy in order to ensure high cropland productivity. Collectively, the case studies add to the literature on the use of sustainable land-use management strategies, while helping to illustrate some of the trade-offs that are central to environmental economics. 
The results highlight issues created by conversion of cultivated land to urban use, in both Hebei and Shandong. In Qinghai province, grassland degradation, livestock production and farmers’ income interact and affect LUCC and changes in ecosystem services. Restorative interventions, such as nature reserves, seem to have a positive effect on NPP, as a measure of ecosystem productivity. On the other hand, in Shandong province there is relatively low land productivity, as measured by the NPP, in regions covered by built-up area. While this thesis does not calculate a value for the produced capital and human capital in built-up areas, the reduction in the value of natural capital as a result of urbanization highlights the potential trade-offs and the need for careful measurement to help whether China is on a sustainable development path. In summary, the research in this thesis examines various land-use practices and management regimes for conserving ecosystem services, and contributes to the literature on how management of land use change and land cover change can influence ecosystem services in rapidly urbanizing China.

year: 2018

title: Biological Olfactory Repellents and their Potential to Deter Domestic Dogs (Canis familiaris) from Anticoagulant Rodenticides

authors: Collins, Melissa Anne

abstract: The rapid decline in New Zealand’s terrestrial biodiversity from the impacts of exotic mammalian predators has prompted the nationwide application of anticoagulant rodenticides. However, this application has increased the occurrence of accidental poisonings in non-target species, particularly the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). Odour excretions from predators can induce long-term feeding avoidance in prey species, however, predator odours and their potential as a dog repellent have not been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential for biologically-derived olfactory repellents to deter dogs from consuming toxic baits, in particular, rat poison. To complete this aim two experiments were conducted where dogs and rats were presented repellent-treated kibble and rat chow via a series of two-choice preference tests. The first experiment examined the repellent effects of African lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Pantera tigris), baboon (Papio hamadryas), domestic dog (Canis familiaris) faeces, and a commercial repellent, on dogs’ feeding behaviour (N = 21). The second experiment examined if the repellents deterred rats (N = 10), the poison’s target species. The results revealed that (1) the dogs ate significantly less when presented with lion or dog faeces; (2) baboon faeces, tiger faeces, and the commercial repellent had virtually no repellent effect on the dogs; and (3) overall food consumption by the rats did not differ between repellent types. In summary, this study demonstrates the potential use of animal faeces as a repellent, deterring dogs, but not rats, from poison.

text: Biological Olfactory Repellents and their Potential to Deter Domestic Dogs (Canis familiaris) from Anticoagulant Rodenticides The rapid decline in New Zealand’s terrestrial biodiversity from the impacts of exotic mammalian predators has prompted the nationwide application of anticoagulant rodenticides. However, this application has increased the occurrence of accidental poisonings in non-target species, particularly the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). Odour excretions from predators can induce long-term feeding avoidance in prey species, however, predator odours and their potential as a dog repellent have not been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential for biologically-derived olfactory repellents to deter dogs from consuming toxic baits, in particular, rat poison. To complete this aim two experiments were conducted where dogs and rats were presented repellent-treated kibble and rat chow via a series of two-choice preference tests. The first experiment examined the repellent effects of African lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Pantera tigris), baboon (Papio hamadryas), domestic dog (Canis familiaris) faeces, and a commercial repellent, on dogs’ feeding behaviour (N = 21). The second experiment examined if the repellents deterred rats (N = 10), the poison’s target species. The results revealed that (1) the dogs ate significantly less when presented with lion or dog faeces; (2) baboon faeces, tiger faeces, and the commercial repellent had virtually no repellent effect on the dogs; and (3) overall food consumption by the rats did not differ between repellent types. In summary, this study demonstrates the potential use of animal faeces as a repellent, deterring dogs, but not rats, from poison.

year: 2019

title: He hekenga toto, he hekenga tōtā, he hekenga roimata.

authors: Mikaere, Te Maharanui Jacob

abstract: Ariā
Ko tā te tuhinga nei he whakakite i ngā āwangawanga o te kaituhi mō te maha o te hunga taiohi kua tipu mai i raro i te ātaarangi o te Kōhanga Reo, o te Kura Kaupapa Māori, o te wharekura hoki, kua noho ko te reo Māori hei reo tuatahi, engari mō te aronui ki te reo me tōna katoa kore kore rawa atu. Kei te kōrerohia ōna hītori me tōna whakapapa. I ahu mai tō tāua reo i hea? I pēhea tō tāua reo i ngā wā o mua? I pēhea tō tāua reo i te taetanga mai o tauiwi i te takiwā o te 1800? I ahatia tō tāua reo e tauiwi i tērā rautau i kīa ake he reo koretake noa te reo Māori? Nā wai tō tāua reo i ruke ki rāhaki i ngā tau 1900? Ka mutu, nā wai tō tāua reo i whakahoki mai ki te kōpū o tēnei whakatipuranga? Nā ēnei tūmomo urupounamu au i karanga ki te ihi o tōku whare kōrero. 
Ko te ngako o ngā kōrero o roto i te tuhinga nei he whakatewhatewha, he matapaki i te kūare o te hunga taiohi ki te whakapapa, ki te hītori o te reo Māori. Koia ko ōna piki me ōna heke, ngā whakapātaritari i ngana ki te whakapoko i te ahi o te reo Māori i te tata whāngaromanga ōna. Ko te nuinga o ngā kōrero he mea rangahau mai i ngā pukapuka me te whakatakoto i ngā kitenga hei pānuitanga mā te hunga e tāpara ana ki ngā kai o roto. Me whakanui ka tika ngā pēhitanga o te hunga i takatakahi i te ara papatoiake hei whaitanga mā tātau ka tahi, ka rua me kōkuhu ēnei tūmomo mātauranga ki ngā marau whakaako tamariki me kore noa e tahuri mai te hunga taiohi ki tōna reo me tōna katoa. E ora ai te whakapapa o te reo me ōna hītori me whakakōpā e tātau  tōna whakapapa, me ōna kōrero ki ngā tamariki kōhanga mai, kura kaupapa mai, wharekura mai, ā huri atu ki ngā pia whare wānanga hoki. Mā te whakaako i te hītori ki a ngāi taiohi ākene pea ka tipu te kauanuanu ki tōna reo. Kia kekeno atu au ki tōku reanga kei te kitea he momo whakahīhī kua puea ake ai ki roto tonu i a tātau. Ko te momo o tēnei whakahīhī he mea tūkino i te hunga kore reo, he mea whakaiti i ngā tāngata kua noho rehurehu ki ngā kawenga a tāua te Māori. E whakapono ana au mā te kauanuanu o tōku reanga ki tōna reo ka tipu hoki te kauanuanu ki te hunga kāore pea i rongo i ngā hua o te reo, rātau te hunga kua noho pōhara, kua noho manene nā ngā rā pōkākā o te whakapākehātanga. Atu i te whakahīhī o te ngākau kua puea hoki tētahi momo e patu nei i te kōrerotanga o tō tātau reo, arā ake ko te ngākau māngere. I te korenga o te aronui o tōku reanga ki te reo kua tipu ake ētahi, ahakoa i pakeke mai i roto i te Kōhanga Reo mō te kōrero Māori atu kia pakeke ana rātau he aha te aha. Mā te ako i ngā hītori o tō tātau reo e titi ai ki te whatu manawa te hiranga o tō tātau reo, mā tērā e kore rawa te tangata e noho hāneanea me te pōhēhē ka pai noa te reo Māori, ka mutu kāore he tino take kia kaha kōrerotia. 
Ko te tino whāinga o tēnei tuhinga he ngana ki te whakarārangi mai ko hea te huarahi e tuwhera ai ngā kuaha o te ao Māori ki te katoa e tū rangatira ai tātau. Ahakoa pakeke mai taiohi mai rānei, ahakoa matatau ki te reo tauhou ki te reo rānei ko te mea nui kia tū whakahīhī, kia tū māia te iwi Māori ki raurangi.

text: He hekenga toto, he hekenga tōtā, he hekenga roimata. Ariā
Ko tā te tuhinga nei he whakakite i ngā āwangawanga o te kaituhi mō te maha o te hunga taiohi kua tipu mai i raro i te ātaarangi o te Kōhanga Reo, o te Kura Kaupapa Māori, o te wharekura hoki, kua noho ko te reo Māori hei reo tuatahi, engari mō te aronui ki te reo me tōna katoa kore kore rawa atu. Kei te kōrerohia ōna hītori me tōna whakapapa. I ahu mai tō tāua reo i hea? I pēhea tō tāua reo i ngā wā o mua? I pēhea tō tāua reo i te taetanga mai o tauiwi i te takiwā o te 1800? I ahatia tō tāua reo e tauiwi i tērā rautau i kīa ake he reo koretake noa te reo Māori? Nā wai tō tāua reo i ruke ki rāhaki i ngā tau 1900? Ka mutu, nā wai tō tāua reo i whakahoki mai ki te kōpū o tēnei whakatipuranga? Nā ēnei tūmomo urupounamu au i karanga ki te ihi o tōku whare kōrero. 
Ko te ngako o ngā kōrero o roto i te tuhinga nei he whakatewhatewha, he matapaki i te kūare o te hunga taiohi ki te whakapapa, ki te hītori o te reo Māori. Koia ko ōna piki me ōna heke, ngā whakapātaritari i ngana ki te whakapoko i te ahi o te reo Māori i te tata whāngaromanga ōna. Ko te nuinga o ngā kōrero he mea rangahau mai i ngā pukapuka me te whakatakoto i ngā kitenga hei pānuitanga mā te hunga e tāpara ana ki ngā kai o roto. Me whakanui ka tika ngā pēhitanga o te hunga i takatakahi i te ara papatoiake hei whaitanga mā tātau ka tahi, ka rua me kōkuhu ēnei tūmomo mātauranga ki ngā marau whakaako tamariki me kore noa e tahuri mai te hunga taiohi ki tōna reo me tōna katoa. E ora ai te whakapapa o te reo me ōna hītori me whakakōpā e tātau  tōna whakapapa, me ōna kōrero ki ngā tamariki kōhanga mai, kura kaupapa mai, wharekura mai, ā huri atu ki ngā pia whare wānanga hoki. Mā te whakaako i te hītori ki a ngāi taiohi ākene pea ka tipu te kauanuanu ki tōna reo. Kia kekeno atu au ki tōku reanga kei te kitea he momo whakahīhī kua puea ake ai ki roto tonu i a tātau. Ko te momo o tēnei whakahīhī he mea tūkino i te hunga kore reo, he mea whakaiti i ngā tāngata kua noho rehurehu ki ngā kawenga a tāua te Māori. E whakapono ana au mā te kauanuanu o tōku reanga ki tōna reo ka tipu hoki te kauanuanu ki te hunga kāore pea i rongo i ngā hua o te reo, rātau te hunga kua noho pōhara, kua noho manene nā ngā rā pōkākā o te whakapākehātanga. Atu i te whakahīhī o te ngākau kua puea hoki tētahi momo e patu nei i te kōrerotanga o tō tātau reo, arā ake ko te ngākau māngere. I te korenga o te aronui o tōku reanga ki te reo kua tipu ake ētahi, ahakoa i pakeke mai i roto i te Kōhanga Reo mō te kōrero Māori atu kia pakeke ana rātau he aha te aha. Mā te ako i ngā hītori o tō tātau reo e titi ai ki te whatu manawa te hiranga o tō tātau reo, mā tērā e kore rawa te tangata e noho hāneanea me te pōhēhē ka pai noa te reo Māori, ka mutu kāore he tino take kia kaha kōrerotia. 
Ko te tino whāinga o tēnei tuhinga he ngana ki te whakarārangi mai ko hea te huarahi e tuwhera ai ngā kuaha o te ao Māori ki te katoa e tū rangatira ai tātau. Ahakoa pakeke mai taiohi mai rānei, ahakoa matatau ki te reo tauhou ki te reo rānei ko te mea nui kia tū whakahīhī, kia tū māia te iwi Māori ki raurangi.

year: 2016