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Showing papers in "The Geographical Journal in 1995"


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the practice of small-holders is more efficient and less environmentally degrading than that of industrial agriculture which depends heavily on fossil fuel, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.
Abstract: Contrasting the prevailing theories of the evolution of agriculture, the author argues that the practice of smallholding is more efficient and less environmentally degrading than that of industrial agriculture which depends heavily on fossil fuel, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. He presents a convincing case for his argument with examples taken from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, and demonstrates that there are fundamental commonalities among smallholder cultures. \"Smallholders, Householders\" is a detailed and innovative analysis of the agricultural efficiency and conservation of resources practiced around the world by smallholders.

797 citations


Book•DOI•
TL;DR: The Water Problem: Symptoms, Causes and Consequences and the Urgency of Reform, a Practical Guide to Reform.
Abstract: Water, already a scarce resource, is treated as though it were plentiful and free. The task of supplying enough water of the required quality to growing populations is straining authorities and governments to the limit as the economic and environmental costs of new supply sources escalate and wasteful supply, delivery and consumption systems persist. Managing Water as an Economic Resource argues that the root of the crisis is the failure of suppliers and consumers to treat water as a scarce commodity with an economic value. James Winpenny evaluates policies for the improved management of existing demand, and draws on case studies from different countries as he discusses how policies could be implemented to treat water as an economic good conferring major economic, financial and environmental benefits.

279 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The politics of nitrate in the UK, Professor T.T.Bentham, University of East Anglia nitrate - future problems - future solutions?, Dr A.L.Wayne, Physical Chemistry Oxford University nitrogen cycling in agricultural soils, Dr.P.Burt, Oxford Nitrate in surface waters, Dr P.S.Croll, Anglia Water Services nitrate and the law, S.Ball, Sheffield as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Part 1 Nitrogen cycling and nitrate production in catchment ecosystems: nitrogen cycling in catchment ecosystems - an overview, Dr. A.L.Heathwaite et al nitrogen and nitrogen compounds in the atmosphere, Dr.R.P.Wayne, Physical Chemistry Oxford University nitrogen cycling in agricultural soils, Dr.K.Smith, Dr. A.Vinten, Edinburgh School of Agriculture nitrate dynamics in forest soils, Dr.H.Van Miegroet, Oak Ridge Dr.Dale Johnson, University of Nevada nitrogen cycling in surface waters and lakes, Dr.A.L.Heathwaite nitrogen cycling in wetlands, Dr.C.Howard-Williams and Dr.Malcolm Downes, Taupo, New Zealand nitrate cycling in marine waters, Dr. Nicholas Owens, Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Part 2 Spatial and temporal patterns of nitrate transfer: nitrate in groundwater, Dr.T.P.burt Oxford, Dr.S.T.Trudgill, Sheffield nitrate losses from agricultural land, Dr.A.D.Armstrong, FDEU Cambridge Dr.T.P.Burt, Oxford nitrate in surface waters, Dr. P.J.Johnes, Liverpool Dr.T.P.Burt, Oxford. Part 3 Management strategies: changes in agricultural practice, Dr.R.J.Parkinson, Polytechnic South West controlling losses of nitrate by changing land use, Dr.T.P.Burt, Oxford N.E.Haycock, Silsoe treatment processes for nitrate removal from water supplies, Dr.T.Hall, WRc Swindon Dr.B.T.Croll, Anglia Water Services nitrate and the law, S.Ball, Sheffield. Part 4 Overview: The politics of nitrate in the UK, Professor T.O'Riordan, Dr.G.Bentham, University of East Anglia nitrate - future problems - future solutions?, Dr.A.L.Heathwaite, Dr.T.Burt, Dr.S.T.Trudgill.

245 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The impact of economic decline in the 1980s as well as that of IMF structural adjustment programs on urban incomes in Africa is explored in this paper, where it appears that the rate of urban growth in some African countries has slowed considerably and there is also some evidence that new forms of ''reverse migration from urban to rural areas have occurred''.
Abstract: The impact of economic decline in the 1980s as well as that of IMF structural adjustment programs on urban incomes in Africa is explored. The author notes that in addition to devastating the real income of a large proportion of the urban population "the gap between real rural incomes and real urban incomes has often narrowed considerably. It appears that the rate of urban growth in some African countries has slowed considerably and there is also some evidence that new forms of `reverse migration from urban to rural areas have occurred. An attempt will be made to assess this evidence drawing on examples from different countries including Zambia Uganda and Tanzania." (EXCERPT)

212 citations



Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Aeolian sand, loess and palaeosols have revealed some of the most complete and detailed evidence of the environmental changes which affected continental areas during the Quaternary and earlier as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Recent studies of aeolian deposits have made it possible to test hypotheses which relate major phases of aeolian activity to changes in climate and sea-level. Dust deposits in ocean sediments, and thick sequences of aeolian sand, loess and palaeosols have revealed some of the most complete and detailed evidence of the environmental changes which affected continental areas during the Quaternary and earlier.

179 citations




Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify the extent and nature of trade-offs between conservational and developmental goals, and identify the environmental accountancy procedures that can be used to identify the trade-off.
Abstract: The principles of sustainable development are widely accepted, but, given the conflicts of interest that occur over time and space, their resolution is likely to be problematic. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of tourism. There is probably no other economic activity which cuts across so many sectors, levels and interests. The relationship between tourism development, socio-economic development and the environment is circular and cumulative. Most tourism activity places additional pressures on the environmental resources upon which it is based, compromising the present and future interests of tourist and host populations as well as of tourism organizations. Without adequate environmental protection, prospects for development will be undermined. There is an essential need to build on the positive links between the environment and tourism and to break the negative links. The latter will not be easy, however, owing to the conflicts of interest that occur. The positive links may be described as win-win situations, benefiting environment and development prospects alike. Negative links are also likely to occur however. To break these, trade-offs will have to be made between conservational and developmental goals. An identification of the extent and nature of these trade-offs will be facilitated by environmental accountancy procedures which include environmental auditing.

122 citations


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce the lower Pleistocene before the Pre-Pastonian and pre-Ipswichian events, and the Devensian cold stage and the Flandrian Temperate Stage.
Abstract: Preface. 1. Background. 2. Prelude to the Pleistocene. 3. The Lower Pleistocene before the Pre-Pastonian. 4. The Cromer Forest-bed Formation and associated deposits. 5. The Anglian Cold Stage. 6. The Hoxnian Temperate Stage. 7. Post-Hoxnian and pre-Ipswichian events. 8. The Ipswichian Temperate Stage. 9. The Devensian Cold Stage. 10. The Flandrian Temperate Stage. 11. Epilogue. References. Index.

98 citations


Journal Article•DOI•

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The Island of Borneo: General Perspectives as discussed by the authors is a collection of articles about the island from early trade to independence, focusing on the people and the people's history.
Abstract: Preface. List of Plates. List of Maps. List of Tables. 1. The Island of Borneo: General Perspectives. 2. The People. 3. Prehistory: Australoids and Mongoloids. 4. India, China and Islam. 5. Europeans and Borneo: From Early Trade to Independence. 6. Economic Systems. 7. Socio-Political Organization. 8. Worldview and Religion. 9. Material Culture. 10. Modernization and Development. References. Index.


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of the 1783 eruption of the Laki volcanic fissure in Iceland was investigated and a detailed examination of newspaper accounts and other documentary evidence revealed the dramatic effect of the eruption on the weather over much of Western Europe.
Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of the 1783 eruption of the Laki volcanic fissure in Iceland. This was the most violent, extensive and prolonged volcanic episode which has occurred in the northern hemisphere during the modern era. A detailed examination of newspaper accounts and other documentary evidence reveals the dramatic effect of the eruption on the weather over much of Western Europe. It is shown that Icelandic volcanic eruptions can cause serious environmental damage and extreme climatic disturbance in locations far from the source. Moreover, the evidence indicates a variety of human responses to the weather conditions ranging from panic to attempts to find a scientific explanation.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this article, the advantages and procedures of environmental auditing are summarized and examples given of the actual and potential application of the different types of environmental audit by tourism firms, and the extent of current use by British tourism firms reviewed.
Abstract: It is acknowledged that tourists, as consumers of environment, can damage the very resources which form the basis of the tourism industry. What can be done to make current tourism activities environmentally more compatible? The initiative rests with the tourism firms themselves. Environmental auditing provides tourism firms with a tool to assess their environmental performance, identifying any negative environmental impacts and evaluating the opportunities to change current practices in order to improve that performance. The advantages and procedures of environmental auditing are summarized and examples given of the actual and potential application of the different types of environmental audit by tourism firms. Factors influencing the adoption of environmental auditing by tourism firms are discussed and the extent of current use by British tourism firms reviewed. In conclusion, it is argued that the adoption of environmental auditing will lead to improved environmental performance of tourism firms but not necessarily to environment-sustainable tourism.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this paper, the history of the Mekong Committee in the light of the constraints imposed upon it, and progress made in spite of constraints is examined, and it is argued that these constraints, in some ways, have been a blessing for regional water development.
Abstract: One of the notable programmes in international cooperation in river basin development has been conducted in the Lower Mekong River Basin. Since its creation in 1957 the United Nations-sponsored Mekong Committee has been coordinating water resource development among the Lower Basin nations of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The region has undergone several environmental, political, and economic changes, yet the Mekong Committee has persisted and made several important contributions to regional water development. This paper examines the history of the Mekong Committee in the light of the constraints imposed upon it, and progress made in spite of constraints. It is argued that these constraints, in some ways, have been a blessing for regional water development. General principles from the Mekong of interest to geographers and others involved in river basin planning and water resources research are also discussed.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In the last 15 years erosion and flooding of properties have been associated with the growing of winter cereals on the South Downs as mentioned in this paper, and the management options were fully discussed in 1984 but the response to the threat of flooding has in general been dilatory and unimaginative.
Abstract: During the last 15 years erosion and the flooding of properties have been associated with the growing of winter cereals on the South Downs. In the relatively wet Winters of 1982-83, 1987-88 and 1990-91 flooding resulted in considerable costs which were borne largely by local authorities, individual householders and their insurance companies. The management options were fully discussed in 1984 but the response to the threat of flooding has in general been dilatory and unimaginative. The chief responses have been either the construction of dams and trenches or land-use change. These have met with limited success: some properties have continued to be flooded. In the future, land-use change in response to decreasing demand for arable produce may solve the problem but an approach targeted on specific high-risk sites is needed.



Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this article, the use of natural marshland within mining areas has led to the development of using constructed wetlands as a potential treatment option for acid mine drainage and the environment can cause gross pollution, while temporary engineered remediation can lessen the impact, complete amelioration is only possible using active and/or passive treatment systems.
Abstract: The drainage of waters from abandoned coal and metal mines is often acidic with an elevated heavy metal content. Interaction between this acid mine drainage and the environment can cause gross pollution. Whilst temporary engineered remediation can lessen the impact, complete amelioration is only possible using active and/or passive treatment systems. Active technologies are costly as they often include the controlled addition of chemicals which can produce a contaminated effluent that requires additional treatment. The study of natural marshland within mining areas has led to the development of using constructed wetlands as a potential treatment option. The chemistry of acid mine drainage often requires the use of aerobic (mine water oxidation) and anaerobic (sulphate reduction) systems and commonly utilizes some form of pretreatment system. The science of wetland treatment processes is still not fully understood and as a consequence the full potential of the technology has yet to be realized. There is evidence, however, that the use of passive treatment is a realistic and cost-effective remedial method for acid mine drainage.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The use of information technology in the information economy and the Dialectics between Centralization and Decentralization of Services are discussed in this paper. But the focus of this paper is on the use of technology in a new industrial space.
Abstract: Acknowledgements. Introduction. 1. The Informational Mode of Development and the Restructuring of Capitalism. 2. The New Industrial Space. The Locational Pattern of Information Technology Manufacturing and its effects of Spacial Dynamics. 3. The Space Flows. The Use of New Technologies in the Information Economy and the Dialectics between Centralization and Decentralization of Services. 4. Information Technology, The Restructuring of Capital--Labour Relationships, and the Rise of the Dual City. 5. High Technology and the Transition from the Urban Welfare State to the Suburban Warfare State. 6. The Internationalization of the Economy, New Technologies, and the Variable Geometry of Spatial Structure. Conclusion. Appendix to Chapter 2. Index.

Journal Article•DOI•


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this article, P. A. D. Harvey traces the revolution of production, understanding, and use of maps in England from 1485 to 1603 and explores their impact on the political and social life of England in the spheres of the military, government, towns, landed estates, buildings, and the law.
Abstract: In the England of 1500 maps were rare objects, little used or understood. By 1600 they had become a familiar part of everyday life, created and used for practical purposes, woven into tapestries, illustrating bibles, and even printed on playing cards. In \"Maps in Tudor England, \" P. D. A. Harvey traces this revolution of production, understanding, and use of maps in England from 1485 to 1603. By the mid-sixteenth century, mapmapers had begun to draw maps to a consistent scale, reproducing the results of measured survey. By the end of the century, maps drawn to scale and showing features by conventional signs were commonly used throughout England. In this survey Harvey focuses on maps of small areas, up to the size of a county, exploring their impact on the political and social life of England in the spheres of the military, government, towns, landed estates, buildings, and the law. Richly illustrated with thirty color and fifty black and white reproductions of rare maps, his account is an informative and accessible introduction to this revolutionary period in the history of cartography, as well as a unique visual history of Tudor England.


Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: For instance, the authors found that children who are without formal training and with limited access to maps are able to draw relatively sophisticated place representations and to recall their local environment in vivid terms.
Abstract: Few studies have explicitly examined the importance of cultural settings to children's environmental awareness, especially in a non-Western context. In this paper, the author reviews those studies which have drawn attention to how culture affects children's behaviour in large-scale environments and refers to an empirical study of a group of young Kenyan children which examines the relationship between environmental experience and environmental awareness. The findings are interesting for three principal reasons. First, they demonstrate that children who are without formal training and with limited access to maps are able to draw relatively sophisticated place representations and to recall their local environment in vivid terms. Secondly, these maps and place descriptions are different to those of their age-sex-counterparts from Britain, which suggests that culture influences expressive style if not cognitive ability. Thirdly, they suggest that further studies, set within other cross-cultural contexts, are needed, if the importance of culture to environmental capability is to be understood. The author argues that although geographers are well-placed to carry out this kind of investigation little geographical research on children's place relationships has been undertaken. In this sense, geographers are particularly remiss and are guilty of forgetting their 'roots'.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In the alpine catchment of Green Lakes Valley, the great variability in snow distribution is an important influence on environmental conditions as mentioned in this paper, which facilitates sediment transport across the tundra, mediates sediment and solute movement, and defines the source areas from which most sediments and solutes are derived.
Abstract: In the alpine catchment of Green Lakes Valley, the great variability in snow distribution is an important influence on environmental conditions. The snow cover has relatively little direct effect on geomorphic processes: avalanches of wet snow in Spring transport small volumes of debris to the valley floor and boulders are shifted locally in small sub-nival pavements. Indirectly, the influence of snow patterns on erosion is much greater. By changing the surface topography, it facilitates sediment transport across the tundra; through its control of hydrologic responses, its meltwater mediates sediment and solute movement; and by controlling the biota, it defines the source areas from which most sediments and solutes are derived.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: In this paper, the spatial distribution of rural services in selected regions of three states in India (Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu), based on data collected over three decades, is analyzed.
Abstract: This paper analyses the spatial distribution of rural services in selected regions of three states in India (Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu), based on data collected over three decades. In spite of economic disparities between regions, Christaller's Central Place Theory provides a framework in which to examine demographic, functional and spatial characteristics of settlements in these regions. In all regions, there has been a tremendous improvement in rural service provision, since the late 1960s, especially in smaller sized settlements. Over time, more complex services in particular, have become more widely available. In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the introduction of new agricultural technologies was largely responsible for stimulating such improvements, whereas in Maharashtra they were a consequence of urban industrial development in a metropolitan city. The government played a critical role in this process during the earlier stages of development of the regions, which facilitated greater involvement of the private sector at later stages. The changes in rural service provision are further examined in the context of decentralized service centre planning in India. The analysis suggests how the concepts and methodologies employed in this study might provide the basis for a more integrated regional approach to planning and policy formulation for rural service provision at the district level in India.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Geography in the 1990s is a dynamic and diverse discipline as discussed by the authors, and South Africa offers a particularly rich and fascinating subject for research because of its unique blend of First and Third Worlds and the challenges presented by political change.
Abstract: Geography in the 1990s is a dynamic and diverse discipline. South Africa offers a particularly rich and fascinating subject for research because of its unique blend of First and Third Worlds and the challenges presented by political change. The nineteen contributors to this volume debate geographical issues which are at the cutting edge of contemporary local, and international research on South Africa. Environmental degradation, urban and rural planning, transport, the future role of women, and popular culture are among the broad range of topics covered. A full listing of current research into these topics is provided at the end of the book to facilitate further enquiry.

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: The control exercised by synoptic airflows on hourly ground level ozone at 11 widely distributed monitoring sites in the UK during the period 1986/7-1990 is investigated in this article.
Abstract: The control exercised by synoptic airflows on hourly ground level concentrations of ozone at 11 widely distributed monitoring sites in the UK during the period 1986/7-1990 is investigated. Regional airflows are categorized using the seven primary Weather Types of the Lamb (1972) Catalogue. Because of the complexity of troposheric ozone production, transport and decay, relationships vary between sites and the Lamb Weather Types (LWTs). Results confirm the dominant role of stable anticyclonic and easterly airflows at all sites in producing peak ozone episodes via photochemical action. More unstable systems such as the vigorous Westerlies and cyclonic depressions are important in elevating mean ozone concentrations at remote sites through turbulent down-mixing. The study also contrasts the different ozone destruction mechanisms at urban and rural sites. The distribution of hourly ozone values associated with anticyclonic and cyclonic airflows at selected sites shows distinctive ozone signatures. Prospects for modelling the relationship between hourly ground-level ozone concentrations and daily weather are suggested.