scholarly journals Dynamics of the Urban Water Footprint on the Tibetan Plateau: A Case Study of Xining, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4566
Author(s):  
Zhirong Chen ◽  
Binghua Gong ◽  
Jiayi Jiang ◽  
Zhifeng Liu ◽  
Kelong Chen
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Point Source ◽  
Nonpoint Source Pollution ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Nonpoint Source ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Point Source Pollution ◽  
Rapid Urbanization

Determining the changes in the urban water footprint (WF) of the Tibetan Plateau is important for sustainable development within this region and in downstream regions. Taking Xining, the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau, as an example, this study quantified the changes in the WF of this region in the 2005–2018 period. We found that Xining’s total WF increased by 22.6%, from 8.9 billion to 10.9 billion m3 in this period. The increase in Xining’s gray WF (WFgray) resulting from the intensification of urban point-source pollution was the primary cause of the increase in its total WF. Xining’s WFgray from point-source pollution increased by 75.3%, from 3.1 billion to 5.4 billion m3. In addition, Xining’s WF far surpassed the amount of available water resources (WA) in this region. It is possible to prevent Xining’s WF from exceeding its WA only by simultaneously controlling point- and nonpoint-source pollution in the future. Thus, it is recommended that great importance be attached to the rapid increase in the WFgray of the Tibetan Plateau resulting from rapid urbanization and that effective measures be implemented to control point- and nonpoint-source pollution, so as to safeguard sustainable development within the Tibetan Plateau and in downstream regions.

scholarly journals The Need for Ecotourism at Our Third Pole and Their Sustainable Development and Policy Responses

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-31
Author(s):  
Yi Wang ◽  
Chenhaojia Liu ◽  
Chenyu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Ecological Sustainability ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Literature Research ◽  
The Third ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Potential Problems ◽  
Culture Education

The term ecotourism was originally proposed to rethink culture, education, and tourism, and has developed into a foundational concept for international natural ecological sustainability. This paper uses a combination of desktop research and literature research to explore the necessity, feasibility, and sustainability of ecotourism in the Third Pole, specifically analyzing the current situation, strengths and weaknesses, and four potential problems of ecotourism in the Tibetan Plateau, and making recommendations, including, but not limited to, the introduction of encouraging and restrictive policies for local tourism practitioners and people from the tourism industry.

scholarly journals The sustainable development of grassland-livestock systems on the Tibetan plateau: problems, strategies and prospects

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. H. Shang ◽  
M. J. Gibb ◽  
F. Leiber ◽  
M. Ismail ◽  
L. M. Ding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Sustainable Livelihood ◽  
Market Society ◽  
Pasture Degradation ◽  
Novel Strategy ◽  
Livestock Systems

The Tibetan plateau is the source of most of the major rivers of Asia and has a huge impact on the livelihoods of the population, who have for centuries engaged in traditional herding practices. Sustainable management of the plateau is of critical importance not only for maintaining livelihoods but also because of its vital ecological function. The major problem of sustainable development in these grassland-livestock systems is the conflict between forage and livestock production. Despite considerable investment of manpower, material resources and capital over many years, attempts to resolve the problem have not been successful. The magnitude of conflict between forage and livestock is addressed by presenting 19 resolution strategies based on numerous research data. Each of these strategies is evaluated in terms of how it can be implemented, its potential benefits for livestock production, current progress and the requirement for further research. The 19 strategies have been divided into four topic categories, namely; grassland-forage, livestock, economy and market, society-culture, which cover the basic elements of sustainable development in this pastoral region. It is argued that improved planning and implementation of the proposed strategies must be based on the background investigation of natural and social status of the pastoral region. Particular attention needs to be given to genetic resources and technology in order to ensure the successful implementation of these proposals. In addition to expanding the use of 18 currently practiced strategies, the authors propose a further novel strategy of replacing the current intensive form of ecological migration with a model incorporating two semi-permanent settlements. The objective of this novel strategy is to retain the nomadic element of pastoral husbandry while increasing the temporal and spatial scale of rotational stocking to reduce pasture degradation on the Tibetan plateau. It is argued that these proposals should be urgently incorporated into two national plans for the pastoral livestock industry, and the construction of an ecologically safe shelter zone on the Tibetan plateau, while ensuring a sustainable livelihood of its pastoral residents. Ensuring a successful implementation of these strategies in resolving the conflict between grassland and livestock, and promoting sustainable development on the Tibetan plateau, requires willing support at the level of national investment and policy commitment and from the herdsmen.

The role of lakes in inflow of water and biogenic substances in the polish part of the southern Baltic Sea

2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerzy Jańczak ◽  
Elżbieta Niemirycz
Keyword(s):  
Nonpoint Source Pollution ◽  
Nonpoint Source ◽  
Phosphorus Compounds ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Point Source Pollution ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Biogenic Substances ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Baltic

AbstractPolish rivers, which make up 20% of the Baltic Sea’s catchment area, transport a load of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds into the sea. Theoretically, this load should be strongly correlated with the amount of water flowing in those rivers. However, this is not the case, especially in terms of the phosphorus compounds, since most of them come from point source pollution. The outflow load is also significantly influenced by nonpoint source pollution from farmland, which is very difficult to quantify. About 50% of nitrogen and 30% of phosphorus appear to come from nonpoint source pollution. It is important to realize that the load from nonpoint source pollution also includes the load of phosphorus and nitrogen transformed by lakes. Only recently, however, has this issue been mentioned in the specialist literature. In Polish studies on lake balance this remains a marginal issue. A limited number of observations indicate that lakes are capable of both limiting and increasing the load (mainly from the bottom sediments). This article presents some data on this issue which suggest that the roles of lakes in the transformation of the load of biogenic substances may be significant, but diverse.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document