From the Law of Value Debate to the One-Child Policy in China: On Accounting and Biopolitics

This article argues that the origins of the one-child policy beginning in 1980 in China, and its development into the current system of “comprehensive population management,” are to be found not in any unfolding of a statist or authoritarian logic, or within the parameters of a nominally “socialist” project, but rather in a return to a properly capitalist set of concerns and governmental techniques, the first iteration of which can be traced to the 1920s and 1930s. With regard to the broad set of economic reforms launched in the period 1979–81, it is argued that the one-child policy is absolutely continuous with other reforms across economic sectors (agricultural responsibility systems and urban enterprise reforms) and discontinuous with anything we might understand as population management in the period 1949–76. The “law of value debate” in 1979, which “resolved” a long-standing set of issues concerning national accounting, planning, and accumulation, is found to be—despite its apparently Marxist character, derivation, and vocabulary—the passage through which a capitalist developmental logic was reintroduced into Chinese governing, with significant consequences.

Distribution of the European bladdernut Staphylea pinnata (Staphyleaceae) in Poland

This paper presents the current distribution range of the protected shrub European bladdernut Staphylea pinnata in Poland. The study was based on a literature review, multidisciplinary search methods and field visits. The paper presents 211 sites considered as natural (including 48 new) and 143 sites considered as sites of anthropogenic origin (including 116 new). The data included in this paper extend the natural range of the species mainly in the Sudety Mts & Sudety Foreland, Rożnów Foothills, and the Tarnogród Plateau. It has been confirmed that the areas of Przemyśl Foothills (54 sites) and Dynów Foothills (49 sites) are the sites most abundant in bladdernut considered as natural. A few sites of anthropogenic origin have been found in the area of northern Poland, several hundred kilometres from the border of the bladdernut continual distribution range. In the case of sites of anthropogenic origin, knowledge of their distribution has increased significantly. This paper provides a basis for further research on the bladdernut in Poland and Europe and may be useful in population management of this protected species.

Spatial Distribution and Population Estimation of Dogs in Thailand: Implications for Rabies Prevention and Control

Poor management of dog populations causes many problems in different countries, including rabies. To strategically design a dog population management, certain sets of data are required, such as the population size and spatial distribution of dogs. However, these data are rarely available or incomplete. Hence, this study aimed to describe the characteristics of dog populations in Thailand, explore their spatial distribution and relevant factors, and estimate the number of dogs in the whole country. First, four districts were selected as representatives of each region. Each district was partitioned into grids with a 300-m resolution. The selected grids were then surveyed, and the number of dogs and related data were collected. Random forest models with a two-part approach were used to quantify the association between the surveyed dog population and predictor variables. The spatial distribution of dog populations was then predicted. A total of 1,750 grids were surveyed (945 grids with dog presence and 805 grids with dog absence). Among the surveyed dogs, 86.6% (12,027/13,895) were owned. Of these, 51% were classified as independent, followed by confined (25%), semi-independent (21%), and unidentified dogs (3%). Seventy-two percent (1,348/1,868) of the ownerless dogs were feral, and the rest were community dogs. The spatial pattern of the dog populations was highly distributed in big cities such as Bangkok and its suburbs. In owned dogs, it was linked to household demographics, whereas it was related to community factors in ownerless dogs. The number of estimated dogs in the entire country was 12.8 million heads including 11.2 million owned dogs (21.7 heads/km2) and 1.6 million ownerless dogs (3.2 heads/km2). The methods developed here are extrapolatable to a larger area and use much less budget and manpower compared to the present practices. Our results are helpful for canine rabies prevention and control programs, such as dog population management and control and rabies vaccine allocation.

Assessing the impact of free-roaming dog population management through systems modelling

Free-roaming dogs can present significant challenges to public health, wildlife conservation, and livestock production. Their own welfare may also be a concern, as free-roaming dogs can experience poor health and welfare. Dog population management is widely conducted to mitigate these issues. To ensure efficient use of resources, it is critical that effective, cost-efficient, and high-welfare strategies are identified. The dog population comprises distinct subpopulations characterised by their restriction status and level of ownership, but the assessment of dog population management often fails to consider the impact of the interaction between subpopulations on management success. We present a system dynamics model that incorporates an interactive and dynamic system of dog subpopulations. We identify that methods incorporating both fertility control and responsible ownership interventions (a reduction in abandonment and an increase in shelter adoptions) have the greatest potential to reduce free-roaming dog population sizes over longer periods of time, whilst being cost-effective and improving overall welfare. We suggest that future management should be applied at high levels of coverage and should target all sources of population increase, such as abandonment, births, and free-roaming owned dogs, to ensure effective and cost-efficient reduction in free-roaming dog numbers.

Population Analysis Using Gis Software Tools – Case Study of Romania

Population management is difficult and complex due to its dynamic and complexity. When we talk about demography, we talk about human population in a defined geographic area, meaning, demography is a spatial science. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a modern tool used in many fields, to manage attribute data and spatial data, including population management. The aim of this study is to present the size of population for each county and urban/rural area on two different years: 2012 and 2020, and the estimation of population growth until the year of 2050. Used for processing spatial data, ArcGIS package from ESRI, allows spatial and geostatistical analysis, mathematical calculations and the visualizations of data. Modern cartography is using GIS technologies to create maps in an easier and flexible way. GIS can use the existing analog maps after digitizing them. Using GIS, specialists can create maps at any scale, centered on any location and showing any selected information. ArcGIS tools permit to visualize, query and overlay the data bases related to the maps. Using ArcGIS applications, we determined the counties which present an increasing of population, and those presenting a decreasing of population, as well as the evolution of population in urban and rural area. In order to determine which counties are affected more by the population decline, we calculated the growth rate using the three major demographic variables: Birth, Death and Migration. In conclusion, we can say that the population in Romania has decreased in the past 8 years and is going to decrease even more in the next 30 years. This happened due to the low birth rate and high emigration rate.

Intensive moose browsing and small-scale domestic woodcutting impacts on forest successional trajectories in Gros Morne National Park, Canada

Moose (Alces alces L.) browsing in Gros Morne National Park has damaged its balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.)dominated forest. A forest estate model was used to evaluate (i) the impacts of moose browsing and woodcutting on forest succession and (ii) strategies of forest restoration through planting and moose population management. The simulation results show that under current heavy browsing pressure growing stock of balsam fir decreases by 38%, but the area of spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP and P. glauca (Moench) Voss) increases by 32% over a 100-year planning horizon, compared to that under light browsing scenario which is assumed to be similar to the forest outside the Park due to moose population management. Annual allowable cut (AAC) for the Park’s 19 400 ha domestic harvest area is estimated to be around 120 979 m3 in a light browsing scenario, 21% higher than the sustainable harvest level in a heavy browsing scenario. The model forecasts a 97% reforestation of the Park’s 7 194 ha disturbed area by planting in the heavy browsing scenario, leading to an increase in total forest growing stock by 22% and AAC by 12%. Integration of planting with moose population management could be a more efficient way of restoring forest under high browsing pressure in GMNP.

Animal rabies epidemiology in Nepal from 2005 to 2017

Background and Aim: Animal rabies is endemic in Nepal, and it occurs in two forms. Although governmental and non-governmental agencies are working toward the control of rabies by mass dog vaccination and stray dog population management, there is still massive number of rabies incidence reported to the reference veterinary laboratory, Nepal. Therefore, this study aimed to assess animal species, temporal, regional, and agro-ecological distribution patterns of animal rabies in Nepal from 2005 to 2017. Materials and Methods: The epidemiological data on animal rabies from the period of 2005 to 2017 were obtained from the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal. The laboratory-confirmed rabies cases were analyzed according to animal species, temporal, regional (developmental zones), and agro-ecological distributions. In addition, descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the distribution patterns of rabies. Results: From 2005 to 2017, a total of 2771 suspected rabies cases in animals were reported to The Central Veterinary Hospital, Kathmandu. Of which, 1302 were found laboratory-confirmed cases. The rabies cases were most commonly reported and confirmed in dogs followed by other domestic animals. The high occurrences were recorded between 2005 and 2007. However, the incidence was increased during 2016 and 2017. The highest number of rabies cases was recorded in the eastern development zone, and the least number in the central zone at regional level. Likewise, it was highest in the Terai (plain) region and lowest in mountainous areas at agro-ecological zones. The findings also revealed that the occurrences of rabies significantly differed among seasons. Conclusion: Rabies is present in Nepal throughout the year and all seasons with seasonal variation. Among the animal species, dogs are the primary animals affected with rabies followed by cattle and other domestic animals. At the regional level, eastern development zone had the highest incidence and Central development zone recorded the least. Similarly, the Terai region had the highest incidence rates, and the least overall prevalence rate was observed in mountainous regions among agro-ecological zones. Therefore, the government should implement the strict enforcement of mass dog vaccination and dog population management through one health approach to control rabies incidence in the country.