Economic Liberalisation and Environmental Concerns: A South Asian Perspective

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Environmentalizing economic development: a South Asian perspective

South Asia's pursuit of economic development has entailed considerable damage to and exposed the fragility of the physical environment of the region. This paper provides an analytical overview of the of the environmental problem that manifest themselves in South Asia in a comparative perspective with East and Southeast Asian countries as well as selected developed market economics. To date, South Asian development process has been environment-intensive and environment-depleting. It is argued that environmental problems are likely to set serious constraints to sustain growth in production to support a growing population. By exploring the relationship between indices of human welfare and bio-diversity conservation. the paper exposes the dichotomy of the development process. Finally, the study underscores the need for a range of policy options that rely both based and non-market based instruments in an integrated setting to enviromnentalize South Asian economic development. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

On the tracks of the earliest dinosaurs: implications for the hypothesis of dinosaurian monophyly

From the record of dinosaurian skeletal remains it has been inferred that the origin and initial diversification of dinosaurs were rapid events, occupying an interval of about 5 million years in the Late Triassic. By contrast numerous reports of dinosauroid tracks imply that the emergence of dinosaurs was a more protracted affair extending through much of the Early and Middle Triassic. This study finds no convincing evidence of dinosaur tracks before the late Ladinian. Each of the three dinosaurian clades - Theropoda, Sauropodomorpha, Ornithischia - produced a unique track morphotype that appears to be an independent modification of the chirotherioid pattern attributed to stem-group archosaurs (thecodontian reptiles). The existence of three divergent track morphotypes is consistent with the concept of dinosaurian polyphyly but can be reconciled with the hypothesis of dinosaurian monophyly only by invoking many and rapid reversals in the locomotor anatomy of early dinosaurs. The origin of dinosaurs was not the correlate or consequence of any single event or process, be it global change, competitive replacement, or opportunism in the wake of mass extinction. Instead the origin of dinosaurs is envisaged as a series of three cladogenetic events over an interval of at least 10 million years and possibly as much as 25 million years. This scenario of dinosaurian polyphyly is as well-supported by fossil evidence as is the currently favoured view of dinosaurian monophyly.

HBV core sequence: definition of genotype-specific variability and correlation with geographical origin

There are eight genotypes and nine subtypes of HBV. Small differences in geographical origin are associated with sequence changes in the surface gene. Here, we compared core gene sequences from different genotypes and geographical regions. Specific combinations of 24 amino acid substitutions at nine residues allowed allocation of a sequence to a subtype. Six of these nine residues were located in different T cell epitopes depending on HBV geographical area and/or genotype. Thirty-seven nucleotide changes were associated uniquely with specific genotypes and subtypes. Unique amino acid and nucleotide variants were found in a majority of sequences from specific countries as well as within subtype ayw2 and adr. Specific nucleotide motifs were defined for Korean, Indian, Chinese, Italian and Pacific region isolates. Finally, we observed amino acid motifs that were common to either South-east Asian or Western populations, irrespective of subtype. We believe that HBV strains spread within constrained ethnic groups, result in selection pressures that define sequence variability within each subtype. It suggests that particular T cell epitopes are specific for geographical regions, and thus ethnic groups; this may affect the design of immunomodulatory therapies.

The fraction of ischaemic heart disease and stroke attributable to smoking in the WHO Pacific and South-East Asian regions

Background: Tobacco will soon be the biggest cause of death worldwide, with the greatest burden being borne by low and middle-income countries where 8/10 smokers now live. Objective: This study aimed to quantify the direct burden of smoking for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) by calculating the population attributable fractions (PAF) for fatal ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke (haemorrhagic and ischaemic) for all 38 countries in the World Health Organization Western Pacific and South East Asian regions. Design and subjects: Sex-specific prevalence of smoking was obtained from existing data. Estimates of the hazard ratio (HR) for IHD and stroke with smoking as an independent risk factor were obtained from the,600 000 adult subjects in the Asia Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration (APCSC). HR estimates and prevalence were then used to calculate sex-specific PAF for IHD and stroke by country. Results: The prevalence of smoking in the 33 countries, for which relevant data could be obtained, ranged from 28-82% in males and from 1-65% in females. The fraction of IHD attributable to smoking ranged from 13-33% in males and from < 1-28% in females. The percentage of haemorrhagic stroke attributable to smoking ranged from 4-12% in males and from < 1-9% in females. Corresponding figures for ischaemic stroke were 11-27% in males and < 1-22% in females. Conclusions: Up to 30% of some cardiovascular fatalities can be attributed to smoking. This is likely an underestimate of the current burden of smoking on CVD, given that the smoking epidemic has developed further since many of the studies were conducted.

Forest logging and institutional thresholds in developing south-east Asian economies: A conceptual model

Many developing south-east Asian governments are not capturing full rent from domestic forest logging operations. Such rent losses are commonly related to institutional failures, where informal institutions tend to dominate the control of forestry activity in spite of weakly enforced regulations. Our model is an attempt to add a new dimension to thinking about deforestation. We present a simple conceptual model, based on individual decisions rather than social or forest planning, which includes the human dynamics of participation in informal activity and the relatively slower ecological dynamics of changes in forest resources. We demonstrate how incumbent informal logging operations can be persistent, and that any spending aimed at replacing the informal institutions can only be successful if it pushes institutional settings past some threshold. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A rare earth element study of complex zircons from early Archaean Amitsoq gneisses, Godthåbsfjord, south-west Greenland

We present high spatial resolution ion-microprobe rare earth element (REE) data for discrete growth phases of complex polyphase zircons from early Archaean Amitsoq gneisses, outer Godthabsfjord, SW Greenland. In Matsuda diagrams, the two major growth phases, >3.8 Ga cores and ca. 3.65 Ga rims, have steep positive slopes from La to Lu, prominent positive Ce anomalies and negative Eu anomalies that are consistent with growth in a melt. Exceptions to this are non-cathodolurnmescent zircon developed between the cores and rims, sometimes truncating zoning in the cores, and late Archaean prismatic tip overgrowths, both of which exhibit flatter light REE (LREE) patterns and have small or no Eu anomaly, which we interpret as the result of metamorphism and/or small-degree, isolated partial melting. Our data support previous interpretations that the ca. 3.65 Ga zircon phase was generated in a melt, with the >3.8 Ga phase representing either original protolith zircons in a large degree partial melt or inherited zircons in an introduced magma. Regardless which of these two interpretations is correct for these, and similar, rocks in the outer GodthAbsfjord, the 3.65 Ga event will have profoundly affected isotopic systems and obscured beyond recognition any earlier igneous features such as cross-cutting relationships, which may only be assigned a minimum 3.65 Ga age. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Late Quaternary uplift and subsidence of the west coast of Tanna, south Vanuatu, southwest Pacific: U-Th ages of raised coral reefs in the Median Sedimentary Basin

Twelve Late Quaternary TIMS U-Th ages are reported here from 10 coral samples collected in situ from five transgressive coral/algal raised reefs (height: max. 113 m, min. 8 m) and two raised lagoonal deposits (height: max. 18 m, min. 8 m) along and near the west coast of Tanna, which lies in the Median Sedimentary Basin of South Vanuatu, southwest Pacific. These reefs and raised lagoonal deposits represent several age groups: (i) 215 ka (marine oxygen-isotope stage 7) penultimate interglacial (highest elevation and oldest); (ii) one lagoonal deposit of ca 127 ka (marine oxygen-isotope stage 5e); (iii) three last interglacial reefs with ages 102, 89 and 81 ka (representing marine oxygen-isotope stages 5c, 5b and 5a, respectively, of the latter part of the last interglacial); (iv) a lagoonal deposit with a 92 ka age (5b); and (v) a Holocene reef (age >5.7-5.0 ka) (lowest elevation and youngest). A ca 4.9 ka regressive reef (at elevation of 1.5 m above sea-level) is consistent with an island-wide 6.5 m uplift (probably largely coseismic), and a probable further island-wide uplift occurred in the late Holocene. The U-series ages taken together with the heights of transgressive reefs show that uplift since 215 ka was, on average, at similar to0.52 mm/y; although since 5 ka the uplift rate was, on average, similar to1.6 mm/y (the assumption being that a 1.5 m above sea-level reef has a coseismic origin). Elevation of transgressive reefs 5a, 5b and 5c and their ages indicates an island-wide subsidence during the period ?124-89 ka (i.e. Late Quaternary uplift/subsidence was jerky). Late Quaternary uplift/subsidence on the northwest coast of Tanna is considered to be due to irregular thicknesses of crust being subducted beneath Tanna.

Levels and probable origin of predatory scarring on humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in east Australian waters

To investigate the incidence of non-lethal predation in Southern Hemisphere whales, more than 3400 fluke-identification photographs from resight histories of 1436 east Australian humpback whales were examined for evidence of predatory markings. Photographs were obtained from 1984 to 1996 at various locations along the east coast of Australia, from northern Queensland to southern New South Wales. Photographs were classified in terms of the level and type of scarring. The possible predator and whether the markings appeared fresh were also noted. In all, 17% of identified east Australian humpbacks possessed some form of predatory scarring, 57% of which was minor and 43% major. Almost all predatory scarring was consistent with that inflicted by killer whales. Only three whales demonstrated an increase in the level of predatory scarring after their first sightings. Two incidents of fresh scarring were recorded, and one fatal killer whale attack on a humpback whale calf was directly observed. The overall level of predatory scarring found in this study is comparable to those found in studies for Northern Hemisphere humpback whales. The low incidence of adult whales showing their first sign of predatory scarring after their initial sighting, and the small number possessing recent scarring, support the idea that east Australian humpback whales experience most predatory attacks early in life.

Mid-late Holocene monsoon climate retrieved from seasonal Sr/Ca and delta O-18 records of Porites lutea corals at Leizhou Peninsula, northern coast of South China Sea

South China Sea (SCS) is a major moisture source region, providing summer monsoon rainfall throughout Mainland China, which accounts for more than 80% total precipitation in the region. We report seasonal to monthly resolution Sr/Ca and delta(18)O data for five Holocene and one modem Porites corals, each covering a growth history of 9-13 years. The results reveal a general decreasing trend in sea surface temperature (SST) in the SCS from similar to 6800 to 1500 years ago, despite shorter climatic cycles. Compared with the mean Sr/Ca-SST in the 1990s (24.8 degrees C), 10-year mean Sr/Ca-SSTs were 0.9-0.5 degrees C higher between 6.8 and 5.0 thousand years before present (ky BP), dropped to the present level by similar to 2.5 ky BP, and reached a low of 22.6 degrees C (2.2 degrees C lower) by similar to 1.5 ky BP. The summer Sr/Ca-SST maxima, which are more reliable due to faster summer-time growth rates and higher sampling resolution, follow the same trend, i.e. being 1-2 degrees C higher between 6.8 and 5.0 ky BP, dropping to the present level by -2.5 ky BP, and reaching a low of 28.7 degrees C (0.7 degrees C lower) by similar to 1.5 ky BP. Such a decline in SST is accompanied by a similar decrease in the amount of monsoon moisture transported out of South China Sea, resulting in a general decrease in the seawater delta(18)O values, reflected by offsets of mean 6 180 relative to that in the 1990s. This observation is consistent with general weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon since early Holocene, in response to a continuous decline in solar radiation, which was also found in pollen, lake-level and loess/paleosol records throughout Mainland China. The climatic conditions similar to 2.5 and similar to 1.5 ky ago were also recorded in Chinese history. In contrast with the general cooling trend of the monsoon climate in East Asia, SST increased dramatically in recent time, with that in the 1990s being 2.2 degrees C warmer than that similar to 1.5 ky ago. This clearly indicates that the increase in the concentration of anthropogenic greenhouse gases played a dominant role in recent global warming, which reversed the natural climatic trend in East Asian monsoon regime. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Niveo-eolian Sediment Deposits in Coastal South Victoria Land, Antarctica: Indicators of Regional Variability in Weather and Climate

A 35 year chronology from 1965 to 2000 of the deposition of wind-blown sediment is constructed from snowpits for coastal southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Analysis of local meteorology, contemporary eolian sedimentation, and mineralogy confirm a Victoria Valley provenance, while the presence of volcanic tephra is ascribed to an Erebus volcanic province source. Winter foelm winds associated with anticyclonic circulation are considered responsible for transporting fine-grained sediment from the snow- and ice-free Victoria Valley east toward the coast, while cyclonic storms transport tephra north along the Scott Coast. No trend could be identified in the occurrence of either tephra or wind-blown sediments sourced from the Victoria Valley and retrieved from the snowpits; excavated on the Victoria Lower and Wilson Piedmont Glaciers. We infer this to indicate that the region has not undergone a significant change in weather patterns for at least the last 35 years. Our results also confirm the McMurdo Dry Valleys as a regionally significant source of wind-blown sediment.