The Forest Products Industry,A Specialized Activity of the Sos'va Valley Section of the Ob' Basin

The construction of the Ivdel'—Ob' railroad has opened up the rich timber resources of the Sos'va section of the Ob' River basin. Fifteen logging centers are in operation along the rail line, shipping 3.5 million cubic meters of timber, mainly as roundwood. Selective logging practices used at the present time tend to deplete timber reserves more rapidly than planned. To preserve the Sos'va region as a long-term supplier of timber for the industrial regions of the USSR, sound forest management is recommended, including multipurpose utilization of felled timber and reforestation. The forest products industry will be more economical if about 70 percent of the felled timber is converted into marketable wood products in major mill complexes planned for the region, leaving 30 percent for shipment as roundwood (pitprops, pulpwood, shipbuilding timber). The proposed Lower Ob' hydroelectric power project, even with the lower normal headwater surface now under consideration, would prevent economic development of the region by flooding valuable resource lands.     

Use of the Mathematical Method in the Solution of a Location Problem

Cost minimization criteria are applied to a study of the optimal location of plants for the manufacture of service-industry machines, including street-cleaning equipment, laundry, and dry-cleaning machines. Future national and regional demand for such machines is estimated. The matrix technique is used to identify the economic region for which the aggregate cost of production and transportation of service-industry machines would be minimized. That region is found to be the Volga-Vyatka region, where the estimated cost of producing 315 million rubles worth of service-industry machines is put at 19.5 million rubles. The author does not necessarily exclude the location of manufacturing plants in other regions, if the purpose is to provide employment, as in areas of depleted mineral deposits of the Urals and the Donets Basin or in the agricultural districts of the Southwest and Central Asia.     

Regional Peculiarities in the Formation of Industrial Nodes in the Middle Ob' Region

Limiting environmental conditions in the construction of industrial nodes in the new oil district of the Middle Ob' are the rigorous climate, extensive swamp cover and absence of ground transportation. These adverse factors are compensated to some extent by the shallow depth of oil deposits, favorable geology and the availability of groundwater that can be injected to maintain oil-reservoir pressures. The basic problems in the development of the oil district are the shortage of housing, services and local foodproducts and consumer goods as well as the high cost of construction of transport routes. Greater investment in services is urged to help reduce the high turnover of labor as migrants are reluctant to settle permanently in the region.     

Medical-Geography Aspects of the Design of the Ust'-Ilimsk Industrial Node

The medical geography of the natural environment of the Ust'-Ilimsk hydroelectric station is examined and recommendations are made to lessen environmental impact on public health. The recommendations call for careful clearing of the bed of the reservoir before it is filled, separation of the residential areas of the new city from the proposed large timber-processing complex, provision of recreational zones on the shores of the future reservoir, and the provision of iodized salt and fluoridation of water to counteract iodine and fluorine deficiencies in the environment. Judging from the experience of Bratsk, to the south of Ust'-Ilimsk, annual losses due to sickness among workers may range around 73,000 rubles per 100 workers, including 8,000 rubles' sick pay, 5,000 rubles for treatment, and 60,000 rubles' shortfall in production.     

Local sustainable development: a knowledge base for adaptation planning

Towards the end of the century, Serbia will face a dramatic increase in annual temperature between 2°C and 6°C and decrease in annual accumulated precipitation up to 12%. Recent 2014 floods in Serbia, with more than 30 victims, and more than 30,000 displaced people, with overall damage close to €1.5 billion, reflected those trends and the likely risks that region will face due the changing climate. Those risks may influence the development process at the local level. This paper assesses the existing priority measures in local sustainable development strategies and re-interprets their characteristics using a methodological framework for the definition of adaptation measures. It offers a new understanding of the ongoing local sustainable development approach in the potentially most vulnerable municipalities in Serbia. The study focused on following properties of developmental measures: cost-effectiveness, structural characteristics, target realm, spatial determination, time frame, climate responsiveness, and sector and budget allocation of development measures at the local level. The results of the analysis suggest that the initiation of adaptation planning should consider the improvement of the methodological framework – the introduction of inter-sectoral and cross-sectoral planning practice, cost–benefit analysis, the involvement of individual actors in planning and dynamic planning approaches.     

西安大唐芙蓉园国内游憩利用价值评估

近年来,旅游资源的游憩价值评估受到越来越多的关注,对旅游资源进行评估是对其合理开发利用的前提。西安大唐芙蓉园是以唐文化著称的主题公园,本文选用基于分区的多目的地旅行费用法(MZTC)对其国内游憩利用价值进行了评估,由评估结果可知,大唐芙蓉园的旅游资源具有相当大的游憩开发潜力,为国内TCM今后的研究提供案例和借鉴。另外,基于分区的多目的地旅行费用法(MZTC)在此处应用相对合理,对于与大唐芙蓉园所处区位类似的历史文化主题公园或旅游地也可应用此方法进行评估。     

我国殡葬的木材消耗及其对策管见

本文认为我国殡葬的木材消耗可以划分为萌芽期、发展期、旺盛期、稳定期四 大阶段,并论证了殡葬的木材消耗度同国家统一、疆域盈缩、民族融合、人口繁衍的同步消长关 系,进而推断出从夏朝开国到解放初期,我国用于殡葬的木材大约 １８．９３亿 ｍ３,约等于 ９４８． ９６ 万公顷森林蓄积量。最后,就殡葬改革提出商榷建议。     

CARE FOR QINGHAI-TIBET RAILWAY BUILDERS

The Golmud-Lhasa section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, extending 1,118 km and lying at an average elevation of some 3,000 meters above sea level, includes a 965 km section at 4,000 meters and a 140 km part at 5,000 meters. The highest railway bed, found in the Tanggula Mountain Pass, is 5,072 meters above sea level. The oxygen content in the air is 38-46 percent less than in the plains. Scarcity of oxygen and low atmospheric pressure affects human health and working ability, causing low wor…     

The Sustainable Development of Kuwaiti Sabkhas

“Sabkha” is an Arabic term commonly used in foreign languages to denote a salt flat, a shallow depression. Sabkhas normally occur near sea level or at the underground water level. They usually are encrusted with a salt crust layer, the thickness of which depends on the location of the sabkhas and the evaporation rate. Sabkhas are one of the prominent surface topographical features in the Kuwaiti coastal zone, occupying an area of about 769.4 km², equivalent to 4.3 percent of the nation's total area. Due to their presence in the most important locations near the coastline, they are a most suitable setting for exploitative human activities. Sabkhas have attracted development proponents, particularly after the increased economic growth, and urgent need for homes and housing facilities. The most significant developments in the sabkha lands are urban development, agricultural forestation, and nature reserves. This study has revealed that there are environmental hazards related to the use of sabkha lands, including salt weathering, soil salinization, tree damage and depletion of natural reserves, the deterioration of nebakha (formation and growth around plants in the desert where groundwater is available for vegetation; the usual dune forms that occur in such instances are isolated mounds around individual plants) fields, and semikarstic (an area of irregular limestone in which erosion has produced fissures, sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns) solution holes. Therefore, use of such lands should take into account scientific investigation and selection among the different development fields. Such a fragile environment obliges us to consider nature conservation, a non‐disruption or depletion of sabkhas' limited natural resources, and their environmental components. The concept of the sustainable development should prevail in the use of such sabkhas.     

Exploring the Source of the Yarlung Zangbo River

The hydro energy reserves of the Yarlung Zangbo River stand at 113.47 million square meters, ranking second in China and next only to the Yangtze River. The Yarlung Zangbo River Valley is the richest region of Tibet, with its upper, middle and lower reaches running through the entire Tibetan region. Over 20 rivers converge along the upper reaches. The birthplace of the Yarlung Zangbo River is the Gyima Yangzoin Glacier within Zongba County of the Shigatse region. The source arises fro…     

Specific Peculiarities of the West Siberian Economic Complex

The development of the newly discovered oil and gas resources and expansion of timber production in Western Siberia are hampered by a harsh physical environment and climate, the absence of transport routes, the lack of local building materials, and the need for attracting manpower from the outside. Despite these handicaps, however, the concentration of vast oil and gas reserves near the fuel-deficit regions of the Urals and Western Siberia is expected to make the development of these resources as well as of West Siberian timber economical.     

Education for All: How Much Will It Cost?

In 1990, a target of universal access to basic education by the year 2000 was set by two global conferences. Ten years later, however, it was clear that the target had not been met. Too many countries had made insufficient progress, and although many of the reasons for this inadequate progress were country‐specific, one factor stood out in virtually all countries: inadequate public finance for primary education. In 2000, the Millennium Summit set a new target date for achieving ‘education for all’ of 2015. This article updates the global and regional cost estimates for reaching that target. The estimates are based on the most recent country‐by‐country data on budgetary expenditure, population and enrolment trends, and unit cost. The annual additional cost of achieving ‘education for all’ in developing countries by 2015 is estimated at US$ 9.1 billion. Although this is affordable at the global level, individual countries will need considerably more resources than are currently available. However, official development assistance (ODA) has been declining, and the share of ODA allocated to basic education has changed little over the past decade. Therefore, although affordable, the target of universal basic education by 2015 is likely to be missed, just as it was in 2000, without a major change both in ODA and national budgets.     

The Effect of Public Infrastructure on the Private Productive Sector of Spanish Regions

In this paper we analyze the effect of infrastructure on the cost and productivity performance of the private productive sector of Spanish regions over the period 1980–1993. We use a dual approach based on cost functions that allows us to recover the usual parameters estimated with production functions. In addition, we obtain rates of return and cost elasticities of production factors at the regional level. Our framework explicitly considers that some factors are quasi-fixed and their volume can differ from their optimal endowment levels. Our results indicate that the public sector has contributed significantly to enhance productivity and reduce costs in the private sector of almost every Spanish region. Nevertheless, there is still scope for the government to continue its investment efforts, given that there remains an appreciable gap between observed and optimal public capital, and we find that in the long run, public capital promotes private investment.     

区域发展环境对农户投资行为的影响探究——巩义市100家农户的实例分析

通过对巩义市100家农户投资行为的调研分析发现:①区域发展环境对农户投资行为影响程度与路径不尽一致,经济环境对农户投资的影响比社会环境更直接;②随着经济社会发展水平提高,农户投资愿望更趋强烈、投资结构多元化,经济环境对农户投资影响逐步降低,社会环境的影响增强,且文化制度条件比收入水平对农户投资的促进作用更大;③不同区域发展环境下农户投资行为差异较大,积极开放的文化、制度环境促进农户投资;④农户投资受外部性影响相对较弱,区域特征明显。基于对农户投资行为的分析,提出加强农户投资能力建设与农区发展相关建议。     

Nupela Masta? Local and Expatriate Labour in a Chinese-Run Nickel Mine in Papua New Guinea 1

Abstract

Studies of mining projects in Papua New Guinea, since the development of the Panguna copper mine in Bougainville during the 1960s, have contributed to our understanding of the politics of interactions between resource companies, host governments and landowners. The Ramu Nickel mine, situated in northern Papua New Guinea, is China’s largest investment in the Pacific to date at US$1.4 billion. The project is managed by a state-owned enterprise, China Metallurgical Corporation, and financed by China ExIm Bank. This venture presents an opportunity to understand Chinese resource investment in a comparative perspective. While many issues, such as conflict over land, internal migration, and the limited involvement of the Papua New Guinean state, are constant, one aspect specific to Chinese resource investment is the use (or non-use) of host country labour, and the high proportion of Chinese labour employed at the mine sites. This practice differs from the relatively limited, short-term use of expatriate labour common to Western mining projects in developing countries. The attitudes and experiences of local and Chinese workers and managers will be examined to determine what is new in this approach to resource extraction.     

Comparing Regional Biodiversity Benefits of Investment Strategies for Land‐Use Change

The need for public investment to address loss of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes is well recognised, yet there is little analysis of the likely benefits of land‐use change for regional biodiversity or the cost effectiveness of different investment options. We estimated benefits for biodiversity and cost effectiveness of different investment scenarios over 50 years for a farming area in south‐eastern Australia. Declines in biodiversity were predicted under status quo land use. Implementing actions in the investment scenarios improved biodiversity status only slightly, compared with status quo land use. Future biodiversity status differed little between biodiversity‐focused investment and salinity‐focused investment. Biodiversity status equalled or exceeded current status only for investment scenarios with much more extensive revegetation than in catchment targets. Cost effectiveness of biodiversity improvement varied greatly between investment strategies. Biodiversity improvement was more cost effective when investment to meet catchment targets was focused on revegetation for salinity management rather than on high conservation value areas, because of lower opportunity costs for salinity management. With enhanced investment, the cost effectiveness of biodiversity improvement was greater when actions were in high conservation areas. Although improvements in biodiversity were small under the changed farming system scenarios, their cost effectiveness was higher than the other investment scenarios. Regional scale improvements in biodiversity in farming areas will require increased stewardship payments or other economic incentives for landholders.     

Geographical Problems in the Development of Machine-Building in the Ob'-Irtysh Complex

The machinery manufacturing industry in the Ob'-Irtysh complex, as in other economic regions of the USSR, works mainly for the national market. Only a fraction of most machinery needs of the Ob'-Irtysh are being met by local production, concentrated at Tomsk, Omsk, and Tyumen'. In view of the current oil and gas development program in the region, it is suggested that plants for the manufacturing and, especially, the overhauling of oil and gas equipment and drilling rigs be constructed at Tyumen' as well as at Tobol'sk, which is closer to the oil and gas fields. At the present time more than 90 percent of the oil equipment and drilling rigs are supplied from outside the region. A number of regional centers are found suitable for expansion of machinery manufacturing. In the future the region's machine-building industry is expected to perform the dual function of supplying the eastern zone of the Soviet Union and of satisfying local machinery requirements to a greater extent, particularly the needs of the oil and gas industries.     

Russia's Oil Industry: Risk Aversion in a Risk-Prone Environment

A Russian economist and a Norwegian political scientist, both long-term observers of the Russian energy industries, discuss the outlook for the Russian oil industry. The focus is on the relationship between reserves and industry strategies, and is presented from the perspective of an oil-producing enterprise. The authors analyze trends in reserve exploration and development and compare them with oil-industry investment patterns. They discuss differences and similarities among companies, as well as implications for future output. Also examined in the paper are factors inhibiting long-term private investment in the oil industry (including factors specific to particular companies) as well as the relevant policies of the government. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: D21, H25, L71, Q48. 8 figures, 1 table, 40 references.     

Determinants of the Uneven Regional Participation of Firms in European Technology Programmes. The 'Low R&D Trap'

Technology is of key importance to the growth of regional firms and economies. Research has shown the association between low technology development or take-up and regional disparities. Hence technology policy is moving closer to the heart of regional policies. European innovation programmes are intended to involve firms, large and small, in international technology research and development networks. The paper focuses on the involvement of Spanish firms in such programmes. Participation tends to be low if business R&D, presence of large firms, and the development of regional innovation systems are also low. Creation of R&D infrastructure through the Structural Funds has now to be prioritized at EU level and also define a new scheme of sectoral priorities in order to support R&D innovation activities in fields diverse from high-tech, if regions are to escape the 'low R&D trap'.     

China's oil diplomacy in Africa

Within the next five years, Chinese trade with Africa is predicted to reach $100 billion per year. Much of this springs from China's growing expansion into Africa's oil markets. It is argued that Chinese oil diplomacy in Africa has two main goals: in the short-term to secure oil supplies to help feed growing domestic demand back in China; and in the long-term, to position China as a global player in the international oil market. Yet at the same time, this oil safari is being accompanied by an explicit stance that emphasizes state sovereignty and 'non-interference' in domestic affairs and is wholly disinterested in transparency or human rights. Consequently, Beijing has increasingly been accused of turning a blind eye to autocracy and corruption. China is also threatening to undercut efforts by the African Union and its western partners to make government and business more accountable. While China is providing investment where little was previously forthcoming, concerns about Beijing's engagement with Africa's oil industries need to be resolved, not least by African leaders themselves.