This paper examines the economic and environmental impacts of the proposed Jamrani Irrigation Dam Project on the upstream and downstream areas. This study is primarily empirical, and a case study of six villages was conducted. A total of 415 households are being affected—fully and partially, due to the construction of the dam, out of which 122 heads of households were interviewed. A structured questionnaire was constructed, and the heads of households were asked about the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the proposed dam project. Furthermore, a detailed perception study of these households was conducted. Secondary data related to the size of the dam project, various land uses being affected by the dam, its socio-economic and environmental impact, and the most beneficial sectors were collected from the irrigation department, Government of Uttarakhand’s report 2020. In addition, socio-economic data from 415 households were collected from the same source. This study reveals that the dam project will have many favourable economic impacts in terms of supplying ample water for drinking and irrigation, electricity generation, development of infrastructural facilities and tourism, and the Gaula River flood control. On the other hand, the dam project will lead to land degradation, depletion of faunal and floral resources, soil erosion, and finally, the rehabilitation of the affected people. This study suggests that the proper use of technology and a suitable rehabilitation policy will make the project successful.
This original paper, within the context of grassland ecological protection subsidies and reward policies, draws on 27 empirical studies conducted between 2011 and 2024 to conduct a meta-analysis of the factors influencing Chinese herdsmen’s incomes concerning heterogeneity and its sources. The results reveal 16 variables that have a significant positive impact on herdsmen’s incomes. These include herdsmen’s gender, age, ethnicity, level of education, household size, labor force, membership in cooperatives, subsidy amount, livestock quantity, living and production expenses, fixed assets, grassland area, per capita grassland area, grassland quality, and location. Among them, the quantity of livestock shows the greatest effect. Significant heterogeneity is evident across six variables: Subsidy amount, livestock quantity, grassland area, labor force, production expenses, and per capita grassland area. The heterogeneity in subsidy amount and grassland area originates from the use of different statistical methods, while the heterogeneity in livestock quantity is attributable to differences in the type of literature; per capita, grassland area heterogeneity is caused by differences in the geographical regions under analysis.
From a multi-variate database, causal relationships regarding water scarcity for human consumption in the Chol-Chol River basin were identified. The relationships were examined using the principal component analysis (PCA) statistical technique, and digital coverage was processed with ArcGIS 10.1, allowing for the construction of different thematic maps. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with various local actors, including Mapuche community leaders or lonkos (chiefs in the Mapudungun language) and local planners. The models with the greatest statistical significance are associated with the variables that measure land use changes between 2013 and 2017, particularly native forest and agricultural crops. In areas with greater changes in land use, there is less water availability and greater drinking water distribution by tanker trucks. A group of three models with the best goodness of fit (statistically significant) were identified. The models are related to the replacement of native forests with forest plantation (monoculture) and overexploitation of groundwater for irrigation. This model also links lower native vegetation cover in the southeastern part of the basin to agricultural uses on arable land, which is of higher quality than land in the north, and to lower drinking water consumption. The historical occupation processes of the Araucanía region (Wallmapu), the public policies of land and water (water emergency zone), climate change (decreases in flow and precipitation and increases in temperatures) are some of the driving forces behind land use change and water availability observed. An important innovation of this work has been the realization and discussion of the interviewees’ perceptions, showing different perspectives on a common problem; water scarcity. The interviews reveal diverse responses to the research question: What are the main variables related to the lack of water in Mapuche territory? The perception of Mapuche lonkos is that the lack of water is mainly associated with the rapid expansion of forest plantations. Local planners in the municipalities share a similar opinion.
The analysis delves into key strategies for enhancing agricultural productivity in Southeast Asia and South Asia. It underscores the vital role of mechanization, sustainable input practices, and gender-inclusive policies. Customized interventions in these realms hold promise for significantly amplifying agricultural performance in the region. Fertilizer and machinery productivity are pivotal factors that correlate strongly with overall agricultural productivity, as revealed by regression analyses. Notably, male employment in agriculture and agricultural machinery exhibits positive and substantial impacts on agricultural productivity, while female employment and fertilizer consumption indicators show significant yet negative associations. The study highlights systemic issues such as unequal resource access and differing gender roles in agriculture that may impede the immediate productivity gains from increased female labor force participation. Mechanization and efficient fertilizer utilization emerge as critical drivers of enhanced agricultural output, with consistent coefficients across models. Male employment consistently demonstrates a positive influence on productivity, emphasizing the significance of labor force engagement in agriculture. Moreover, the study underscores the imperative of judicious fertilizer management to avert environmental degradation and diminishing returns. The findings affirm the efficacy of the random effects model, supported by the Hausman test, which indicates congruence in results between fixed and random effects models. This methodological choice ensures robust and reliable conclusions regarding the relationships between male and female employment, machinery, fertilizer consumption, and agricultural productivity in South and Southeast Asia.
Sustainable development in mountainous and hilly regions is a critical component of global sustainability efforts. These regions are facing numerous challenges, including ecological fragility, labor migration, and resource scarcity and imbalance. Addressing these issues is imperative for sustainable development; this study identifies two primary conditions necessary for sustainable development in mountainous regions: achieving human and nature’s sustainable development, which provides reliable material support and social support for achieving the same in the mountainous and hilly regions. The flower-viewing economy, derived from transforming China’s mountain agriculture, is an efficient new format for mountainous and hilly regions. To verify these primary conditions, this study constructed a flower-viewing economy from three dimensions: material support, subject relationship, and expectation, using the peach blossom festival in Tingzi Village, Taihe Town of Chongqing City, as an example. Here, we explained that a sustainable development model focused on benefiting farmers is an endogenous, farmer-centered pathway to sustainable development, highly relevant to promoting sustainable development in developing countries’ mountain villages.
The Himalayas, known as the ‘Third Pole’, are facing an escalating crisis due to landslides driven by climate change and human activity. The settlements in the Himalayas are increasingly vulnerable due to a surging prevalence of landslides. This systematic review investigates the repercussions of landslide hazards on the inhabitants of the Himalayan Arc and explores the causes and adaptive strategies focusing on the period from 2002 to 2022. Data dealing with the impact of landslides were systematically extracted from Scopus, Web of Science, Pascal & Francis, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases. The review adhered to the prescribed guidelines of reporting standards for systematic evidence systems (ROSES). The frequency and severity of landslides in the Himalayas are notably high, potentially exceeding those observed in other global regions, due to a combination of specific geological, climatic, and human-induced factors. Thematic categorization identifies that the Himalayan communities confront a multifaceted challenge involving social, natural, economic, human, and physical losses induced by landslides. However, they lack adaptive capacity. The origins of these landslides are diverse, emanating from natural forces, geological phenomena, and human activities within the Himalayas. The review contributes to the understanding of the profound impact that landslides inflict upon the Himalayan region. By consolidating data from diverse databases, the study illuminates the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to bolster resilience and mitigate the escalating threats posed by landslides in this vulnerable geographic expanse.
The dominance of positivist approaches has led to the development of center-periphery models, which establish a relatively naturalized relationship between urban core areas and residual rural areas. Recent approaches to planetary rural geographies provide an opportunity to re-situate this issue and address it within the context of the revitalization of many rural areas, not only in the global North but also in the global South. However, multiple competing realities continue to shape the dynamics of these spaces. In large areas of the global South, material challenges persist despite some promising trends, while in the global North, dynamics are largely influenced by post-industrial societies. Africa serves as a relevant example to illustrate the limitations and shortcomings of recent planetary approaches to rural geography development. As an alternative, smaller-scale approaches focusing on community participation and the living conditions of people are proposed.
Under the current multiple impacts, such as tightening resource and environmental constraints, low agricultural economic benefits and rural labor loss, improving the resilience of the planting economy has become the only way to ensure China’s food security and the stable operation of the social economy. As an important way of agricultural production factor, the transformation of cultivated land has a great influence on the development of the agricultural crop production industry. Based on the elaboration of the logical relationship and influence mechanism of the economic resilience of the agricultural crop production industry, the effect and regional differences of the economic resilience of the agricultural crop production industry are empirically tested by a double fixed regression model. It is found that the economic resilience level of the agricultural crop production industry in China is on the rise, but the regional differences are obvious; the transformation for cultivated land use can significantly promote the economic resilience level of agricultural crop production industry and the results are stable; there is regional and dimensional heterogeneity in the impact of cultivated land use transformation on the economic resilience of agricultural crop production industry. Based on this, we can promote the transformation of cultivated land use from three aspects: production, life, and ecology. Especially, attention should be paid to the orderly promotion of the transformation of farmland utilization in the main grain-producing areas and the improvement of the economic resilience of the agricultural crop production industry. Consolidate regional advantages while driving the improvement of economic resilience in the main grain sales areas’ agricultural crop production industry to achieve the goal of sustainable and stable development of China’s agricultural crop production industry.
The price and output response of food crops is a critical area in agricultural economics as this interaction refers to how the quantity of food grains supplied responds to changes in market prices. This research investigates the surplus ratios and price elasticities for rice, lentil, and gram in the Nadia district of West Bengal. Two hundred farmers were interviewed in different villages of the district and information was collected regarding socio-economics, marketed surplus and, selling price, etc. Further, elasticity and a modified version of the Raj Krishna model have been employed. The findings reveal that for rice, the ratios of gross, net marketed, and marketable surplus are 69.59%, 55.46%, and 16.27%, respectively. The gross marketed surplus ratio decreases with a reduction in farm size, while net marketed and marketable surpluses increase as farm size expands. For lentils, the gross and net marketed surplus ratios are recorded at 66.64% and 65.57%, with an average marketable surplus of 35.30%. Marginal gram farmers have a gross marketed surplus ratio of 80.33%, slightly lower than the overall average of 81.12%, whereas larger farms exceed this average, with ratios of 82.19% and 83.18%. Output elasticities for rice are positive and exceed unity for both marginal and large farms, at 1.03 and 1.45, respectively, though slightly below unity at 0.85 for small farms. The average elasticity for rice across all farm sizes is 1.12. Lentil output elasticities are also positive and greater than unity for marginal and large farms (1.00 and 1.07, respectively) but fall below unity at 0.78 for medium farms, with an overall average of 0.91. The output elasticities for gram remain consistently positive and above unity across all farm sizes, averaging 1.09.
