Insecurity and Pastoral Development in the Sahel

In this article it is argued that conventional agro-ecological and organizational concepts used in pastoral development are strongly biased towards the formulation and enforcement of norms. This leads development experts to attempts to control pastoralists and their herds. The policies and development interventions based on these assumptions have been largely unsuccessful. As a consequence attention for dryland areas and pastoral development has declined among researchers and development agencies. An important reason for this failure is the fundamental misfit between these normative concepts and the reality of dryland ecosystems and pastoral society. In order to show this, an alternative view on rangeland ecology and pastoral society is presented, supported by a case study of Fulbe pastoral society in dryland Central Mali. The authors argue that approaches to pastoral development must be revised in the direction of the dynamics inherent in the pastoral way of life.     

统一与分裂:中国历史的启示

中国历史是一连绵不断的演进过程,国家统一、民族团结的内聚力不断增强。自春秋战国至清前期,虽曾经历了三次社会大分裂,但最终还是走向了秦汉、隋唐和元明清三次大统一。统一的时间越来越长,统一的规模越来越大,统一的制度基础越来越坚实。分裂的代价逐渐为人们所认识,统一的意义逐渐为人们所肯定。传统的古代社会,以战争方式谋求统一,几乎成为不二铁律。在当代世界,以和平方式谋求国家统一,成为人们更理性更睿智的选择,但这只是寻求国家统一方式的发展趋势,能否成为不二铁律尚待人类历史实践的检查。     

Water,Rules and Gender: Water Rights in an Indigenous Irrigation System,Marakwet, Kenya

The management of indigenous irrigation systems has received increasing attention both from social science researchers and from those development agents who seek to change them, or to find in them a model for organizing newly developed irrigation schemes. This article discusses how water is allocated within one such irrigation system, the hill furrow irrigation of the Marakwet escarpment in Kenya. It describes the ‘formal rules’ of water rights, giving particular attention to the issue of gender with respect to water rights. It then discusses the ‘working rules’ relevant to water allocation, involving various informal practices of sharing, buying and stealing. The implications of this complexity for understanding the operation of indigenous farmer-managed irrigation systems are examined.     

The Elmenteitan Obsidian Quarry (GsJj50): New Perspectives on Obsidian Access and Exchange During the Pastoral Neolithic in Southern Kenya

Early pastoralists in southern Kenya exploited obsidian sources to supply large regional exchange networks that persisted from c. 3200 to 1400 years ago. Obsidian exchange networks have been a source for speculation on the social and political nature of early pastoralism in eastern Africa. Herders who produced a discrete set of material culture called “Elmenteitan” mainly relied on a particular obsidian quarry site on the upper slopes of Ol Doinyo Opuru (Mt. Eburru), in the Central Rift Valley. These implications of the Elmenteitan pattern for herder social organization have not been systematically investigated. This paper reports on recent surveys and initial excavations at the Elmenteitan Obsidian Quarry (GsJj50) on Mt. Eburru as the central node of a prehistoric herder exchange network. Research revealed a series of stratified extraction and workshopping loci concentrated across a roughly 200-m² extent. Spatial, faunal, ceramic, and lithic datasets support communal resource access by small groups, rather than centralized control. This research has implications for interpreting the role of centralized quarries and resource nodes in the formation of mobile herder exchange and alliance. Networks were an important risk-reduction strategy in unpredictable environments and helped facilitate the spread of African pastoralism.     

Landscapes of Prehistoric Northwestern Sichuan: From Early Agriculture to Pastoralist Lifestyles

We describe a preliminary survey of a relatively unknown part of the eastern Himalayas: northwestern Sichuan. This survey revealed that three phases of occupation are represented across the landscape. Large settlements with dense remains characterize the landscape during the Neolithic (3400–2000 cal b.c.). Following a hiatus in occupation, stone-cist graves characterize the region during the Bronze Age (1450–800 cal b.c.). The lack of settlement remains from this period indicates that mobile pastoralism increased in importance. Finally, between a.d. 500 and 1500, dense scatters of ceramics over a wide altitudinal range correspond to a fragmentation in Tibetan history, when local warlords established themselves in the region. While some changes in occupation and subsistence practices are linked to climate change, others relate to changes in political power. We argue that further survey work is needed to expand our understanding of past land use and the development of pastoralist practices.     

Revisiting the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): International Histories of Agriculture,Nutrition,and Development

As far as international organizations and their written histories are concerned, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, presents quite a paradox. Though in its early years, the organization itself as well as individual staff members were determined to document and narrate FAO's history, sixty years later many aspects of FAO's history remain largely unknown. The following articles re-examine the history of FAO through a range of new perspectives that shed light on the intellectual roots of rural development ideas within the organization and illuminate the context of specific development missions, as well as the transnational flows of knowledge and expertise.     

绿色农业视角下青海特色农业发展路径及对策

绿色农业是二十一世纪农业发展的理想模式。青海独特的地域环境和资源条件形成了丰富的特色农业资源,也为发展绿色农业奠定了基础。文章通过对青海特色农业绿色化发展条件的分析,指出了特色农业的发展目标,并提出了实施路径及相关对策。     

Assessing Regional Crop Irrigation Requirements and Streamflow Availability for Irrigation Development in Saginaw Bay,Michigan

Spatial and temporal variability of soil, crop, and climate significantly affects the estimates of regional irrigation requirements. This paper incorporates soil association data and multiple-station, multiple-year climate data into four simulation models, CERES-MAIZE, SOYGRO, BEANGRO, and YIELD to account for the spatial and temporal variability of the input parameters in estimating the evapotranspiration rates and irrigation requirements of corn, drybean, soybean, and sugarbeet production in the Saginaw Bay basin, Michigan. The Thiessen method was used to delineate the spatial coverage of the weather stations in the study watershed. The results of the simulated crop irrigation requirements at the soil association level were multiplied by the weights of each soil association area to derive regional irrigation requirements. The availability of streamflow at different exceedence probabilities was evaluated to determine the maximum irrigation area the stream is able to sustain without causing water quality degradation. Through a case study of the Saginaw Bay irrigation development, this paper demonstrates that the spatial and temporal variability of soil, crop, and climate can be well represented in the simulation models to provide more realistic simulation results in support of irrigation decision making.     

Assessing Regional Crop Irrigation Requirements and Streamflow Availability for Irrigation Development in Saginaw Bay,Michigan

Spatial and temporal variability of soil, crop, and climate significantly affects the estimates of regional irrigation requirements. This paper incorporates soil association data and multiple-station, multiple-year climate data into four simulation models, CERES-MAIZE, SOYGRO, BEANGRO, and YIELD to account for the spatial and temporal variability of the input parameters in estimating the evapotranspiration rates and irrigation requirements of corn, drybean, soybean, and sugarbeet production in the Saginaw Bay basin, Michigan. The Thiessen method was used to delineate the spatial coverage of the weather stations in the study watershed. The results of the simulated crop irrigation requirements at the soil association level were multiplied by the weights of each soil association area to derive regional irrigation requirements. The availability of streamflow at different exceedence probabilities was evaluated to determine the maximum irrigation area the stream is able to sustain without causing water quality degradation. Through a case study of the Saginaw Bay irrigation development, this paper demonstrates that the spatial and temporal variability of soil, crop, and climate can be well represented in the simulation models to provide more realistic simulation results in support of irrigation decision making.     

关于发展海东地区现代特色农业的思考

加快现代特色农业的发展是农村经济发展的核心和关键。现代特色农业是海东农业和农村经济发展中最具竞争优势和发展潜力的产业。随着我国农业产业结构调整的不断深化,海东现代特色农业的发展必须立足区情,突出重点,实施农业结构战略性调整,大力培育独具特色的主导产业。     

‘Fundermediaries’ in Nairobi,Kenya: Development Partnerships in the Aid Chain

By representing the voice of communities, community-based organizations (CBOs) are increasingly joining development partnerships. This article explores the inherently contradictory relationship between ‘voice raising’ and the politics of listening. While academia has mostly focused on the inclusion of CBOs, few studies have approached this subject from the perspective of the listening practices of ‘fundermediaries’ (a portmanteau term combining ‘funder’ and ‘intermediary’). This ethnographic research on a CBO led by male sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya, illustrates that the listening ability of fundermediaries hinges on their position in the aid chain, and specifically on the dynamics of their own accountability. The analysis distinguishes between two partnership types. The first uses a pragmatic approach, which ultimately limits the channels for CBOs to be included and heard, resulting in them having to ‘make noise’ to ensure they are heard. The second creates more possibilities to listen, engages in constructive dialogues with partner CBOs, and includes the ideas and expertise of CBOs in development strategies; hence, CBOs feel heard and are positive about these partnerships. Improved listening practices facilitate opportunities to reconfigure the position of the different actors in development partnerships and can benefit both the positions of CBOs in the aid chain and the programmatic outcomes of fundermediaries.     

商代的生态环境与农业发展

从整体上看,商代的生态环境处在"中国全新世大暖期".但在长达约600年的商代历史中,以气候为主要因子的生态环境也出现有不小的波动,表现为商代早期出现有短暂的干旱,中期到后期有较长时期的温暖适宜期,商末环境又有转为干旱的迹象.商代的生态环境对农业生产有直接的影响,形成了"粟稻混作区".商代农业确定了中国古代农业发展的方向,并为商王朝的崛起和兴盛奠定了坚实的基础.