Oil industry, wild meat trade and roads: indirect effects of oil extraction activities in a protected area in north-eastern Ecuador

Starting in 1994, a wholesale wild meat market developed in north-eastern Ecuador, involving Waorani and Kichwa people in the area of influence of a road built to facilitate oil extraction within Yasuní National Park. Between 2005 and 2007, we recorded the trade of 11 717 kg of wild meat in this market, with pacas Cuniculus paca , white-lipped peccaries Tayassu pecari , collared peccaries Pecari tajacu and woolly monkeys Lagothrix poeppiggi accounting for 80% of the total biomass. Almost half of the wild meat brought to the market was transported by dealers for resale at restaurants in Tena, a medium-sized town 234 km west of the market. Prices of wild meat were 1.3–2 times higher than the price of meat of domestic animals, suggesting that it is a different commodity and not a supplementary protein source in the urban areas where it is consumed. The actual price of transportation between the local communities and the market was a significant predictor of the amount of meat sold in Pompeya. Based on this relationship the Waorani hunters sold exceptionally larger amounts of wild meat than would be expected if they would not have the transportation subsidies provided by the oil companies. Although the scale of this wild meat wholesale market is still relatively small, its dynamic reflects the complex interactions that emerge as the overriding influence of oil companies or other private industries modify the culture and subsistence patterns of marginalized indigenous groups, increasing their potential impacts on wildlife and natural ecosystems.     

Technological trends,global market,and challenges of bio-ethanol production

Ethanol use as a fuel additive or directly as a fuel source has grown in popularity due to governmental regulations and in some cases economic incentives based on environmental concerns as well as a desire to reduce oil dependency. As a consequence, several countries are interested in developing their internal market for use of this biofuel. Currently, almost all bio-ethanol is produced from grain or sugarcane. However, as this kind of feedstock is essentially food, other efficient and economically viable technologies for ethanol production have been evaluated. This article reviews some current and promising technologies for ethanol production considering aspects related to the raw materials, processes, and engineered strains development. The main producer and consumer nations and future perspectives for the ethanol market are also presented. Finally, technological trends to expand this market are discussed focusing on promising strategies like the use of microalgae and continuous systems with immobilized cells.     

Industrial Ecology and Clean Development in East Asia

Rapid industry-led growth in East Asia over the past three decades has resulted in deteriorating air and water quality, escalating energy use and attendant increases in greenhouse gas emissions, and other serious environmental concerns. Current efforts to strengthen environmental regulatory institutions are in many cases overridden by the scale effects of urban-industrial growth. We examine policy approaches that support a shift toward an alternative trajectory of economic development that is less energy, materials, and pollution intensive. Given that a large proportion of the capital stock in the developing market economies of Asia has yet to be built, we argue that influencing the energy, materials, and pollution intensity of new industrial investment is both a critical opportunity and a policy imperative. Our research indicates a need for greater integration of environmental, industrial and technology policies within the region. Such policy integration should link reductions in energy, materials and pollution intensity to efforts to upgrade the technology and industrial capability of the developing market economies of East Asia.     

新型冠状病毒肺炎对野生动物疫病立法执法与管理的启迪

进入21世纪以来, 中国爆发了SARS与新型冠状病毒肺炎两场重大传染病。研究表明这两场传染病的疫源可能是蝙蝠, 也可能还有其他中间宿主动物, 人们纷纷要求立法禁止食用野生动物。事实上, 国家已经立法禁止食用受法律保护的和非法来源的野生动物, 市场调查也未发现有蝙蝠出售。那么, SARS病毒与新型冠状病毒是如何从野生动物传到人类的? 我们应当从这两场疫病中吸取哪些教训? 除了全面禁止非法食用野生动物外, 笔者建议: (1)完善野生动物疫病立法, 填补立法空缺。修订现有法律关于野生动物疫病自然疫源地建设项目的管理条款。(2)设立常设机构, 覆盖野生动物疫病调查监测、人与野生动物接触界面检疫监管、易感人群免疫、法律与科学知识普及和疾病防治整个流行病环节, 实现野生动物疫病的早预防、早发现、早治疗, 切实保证社会公共卫生安全。(3)建立野生动物疫病的防控机制, 定期鉴别携带病原的野生动物, 加强对蝙蝠的监测, 发布野生动物疫源疫病控制红线, 加强野生动物疫病执法和预防管理。(4)完善动物生产管理、动物产品及其销售市场的检疫程序。改革人们现场宰杀动物、追求食用鲜活动物食品的习惯。     

基于消费端的自然保护地指标交易机制:生态产品的价值实现

建构基于消费端的自然保护地指标交易机制是破解生态产品价值实现难题、解决中国不同行政单元间自然保护和经济发展不均衡这一结构性矛盾的创新性思路。提出了以自然保护地面积指标的初始分配为基础的交易机制建构总体思路,并提出了生态安全性、可操作性、动态调整等3大基本原则。从市场客体、市场主体、交易方式、交易机制4方面进行了市场要素的具体设计。其中,市场客体是自然保护地可交易面积指标和由其折算的耕地、建设用地面积指标;市场主体为县级及以上的各级人民政府;交易方式为优先省内交易、鼓励省际交易;交易机制包含价格机制、审核机制和监督机制。阐述了价值规律、供需规律、竞争规律在交易机制中的具体体现。     

Immigrants and the paper market: borrowing,renting and buying identities

The focus of this paper is on how the state sets up discriminatory structures, how immigrants work out ways of managing those structures and how in this process they construct flexible and innovative identities. Two main issues are explored. The first is the relationship between state control and exclusion and immigrant resistance. The paper shows how, despite increased surveillance and digital nets mounted by European states to keep immigrants out of their territory, the British state is ambivalent towards irregular immigrants. At the same time, it is in the interstices of ambiguity that immigrants, by buying, renting and borrowing documents, have found ways through their networks and communities to resist or get around exclusionary and contradictory regulations. Second, the paper is concerned with the construction of innovative and flexible identities. The research reveals how immigrants occupy rebellious spaces and construct identities in difficult situations at the intersection of self and structure.     

Explaining racial disparities in access to employment benefits

This research examines disparities in access to pension and health insurance plans between white, blacks, Latino and Asian workers in the American labour force. Using data from the 2006 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey, the analysis reveals that Latino workers are the most disadvantaged and white workers are the most advantaged. The entire gap in likelihood of receiving benefits between whites and Asians, and a substantial portion of the gap between whites and blacks, can be accounted for by socio-demographic and employment-related variables, but only a small portion of the gap between whites and Latinos can be attributed to such variables. The findings suggest that reliance on earnings for estimation of inequality underestimates the economic gap between racial groups. Explanations for disparities in access to employment benefits are offered and the relevance of the findings to other societies is discussed.     

Culture at work: Polish migrants in the ethnic division of labour on Norwegian construction sites

Following large-scale labour migration from Poland to the Norwegian construction sector since 2004, new ethnic divisions of labour have been established between the usually native core workforces of construction firms, and Polish migrant workers hired through temporary subcontracting and staffing agencies. Survey data suggest that there is very little mobility between these segments of the labour market. The establishment and reproduction of this ethnic division of labour is analysed through qualitative interviews with Norwegian employers and Polish migrant workers. Polish migrants and their particular ‘work culture’ are perceived by Norwegian employers as well-suited for work in the firms’ temporary external workforces but unfit for permanent positions unless they assimilate to a ‘Norwegian work culture’. These stereotyped employment practices are reinforced by the migrants’ own tactical use of the cultural capital available to them when negotiating the conflicting expectations in different job segments.     

Analyzing consumers' preferences towards GM food in southern Spain

In Europe, since the 1990s, food safety crises have heightened public concerns about and distrust towards the agro-food sector, making consumers wary of genetically modified (GM) foods. The application of gene technology to agricultural production has become a highly controversial scientific, political and social issue due to the uncertainty about the potential risks and benefits from GM food consumption. In this regard, public views influence consumers' demands and hence determine the future of this technology's development. Biotechnology proponents attribute the current consumer resistance to GM foods to the lack of tangible benefits for the consumers with higher functional properties. Thus, this paper estimates consumers' preferences regarding GM foods by simulating a market for GM functional cornflakes in southern Spain using the conjoint analysis method. Additionally, market segmentation was performed using a cluster analysis and the consumers' profile differences for each segment were identified. The main results indicate that consumers prefer the GM-free food; nonetheless, the market segmentation distinguishes a potential market niche for GM foods and indicates that businesses can develop strategies to target these segments. Therefore, the marketing strategies implemented in southern Spain should be focused on the health functional claims of second generation GM food.     

Evaluation of the sustainability of contrasted pig farming systems: development of a market conformity tool for pork products based on technological quality traits

A market conformity tool, based on technological meat quality parameters, was developed within the Q-PorkChains project, to be included in a global sustainability evaluation of pig farming systems. The specific objective of the market conformity tool was to define a scoring system based on the suitability of meat to elaborate the main pork products, according to their market shares based on industry requirements, in different pig farming systems. The tool was based on carcass and meat quality parameters that are commonly used for the assessment of technological quality, which provide representative and repeatable data and are easily measurable. They were the following: cold carcass weight; lean meat percentage; minimum subcutaneous back fat depth at m. gluteus medius level, 45 postmortem and ultimate pH (measured at 24-h postmortem) in m. longissimus lumborum and semimembranosus; meat colour; drip losses and intramuscular fat content in a m. longissimus sample. Five categories of pork products produced at large scale in Europe were considered in the study: fresh meat, cooked products, dry products, specialties and other meat products. For each of the studied farming systems, the technological meat quality requirements, as well as the market shares for each product category within farming system, were obtained from the literature and personal communications from experts. The tool resulted in an overall conformity score that enabled to discriminate among systems according to the degree of matching of the achieved carcass and meat quality with the requirements of the targeted market. In order to improve feasibility, the tool was simplified by selecting ultimate pH at m. longissimus or semimembranosus, minimum fat thickness measured at the left half carcass over m. gluteus medius and intramuscular fat content in a m. longissimus sample as iceberg indicators. The overall suitability scores calculated by using both the complete and the reduced tools presented good correlation and the results obtained were similar. The tool could be considered as robust enough to discriminate among different systems, since it was tested in a wide range of them. It also can be used to detect improvement opportunities to enhance sustainability of pig farming systems. The final objective of the study was achieved, since the market suitability tool could be used in an integrated sustainability analysis of pig farming systems.