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The historical range of the Indus River dolphin has declined by 80% since the 19th century and has been fragmented into 17 river sections by construction of irrigation barrages. Dolphin sighting and interview surveys showed that river dolphins persist in six river sections, have been extirpated from ten, and are of unknown status in the remaining section. Logistic regression and survival modelling showed that low dry season river discharge was the primary factor responsible for the Indus dolphins range decline. Abundance of the three largest Indus dolphin subpopulations was estimated using tandem vessel-based direct counts, corrected for missed animals using conditional likelihood capture-recapture models. The entire subspecies was estimated to number between 1550-1750 in 2006. Dolphin encounter rates within the Guddu-Sukkur subpopulation (10.35/km) were the highest reported for any river dolphin and direct counts suggest that this subpopulation may have been increasing in abundance since the 1970s when hunting was banned. The dry season habitat selection of Indus dolphins was explored using Generalised Linear Models of dolphin distribution and abundance in relation to river geomorphology, and channel geometry in cross-section. Channel cross-sectional area was shown to be the most important factor determining dolphin presence. Indus dolphins avoided channels with small cross-sectional area <700m2, presumably due to the risk of entrapment and reduced foraging opportunities. The phylogenetics of Indus and Ganges River dolphins was explored using Mitochondrial control region sequences. Genetic diversity was low, and all 20 Indus River dolphin samples were identical. There were no haplotypes shared by Indus and Ganges River dolphins, phylogenetic trees demonstrated reciprocal monophyletic separation and Bayesian modelling suggested that the two dolphin populations diverged approximately 0.66 million years ago. Declining river flows threaten Indus dolphins especially at the upstream end of their range, and it is important to determine how much water is required to sustain a dolphin population through the dry season. Fisheries interactions are an increasing problem that will be best addressed through localised, community-based conservation activities.

The impact of environmental degradation on well-being is largely ignored in terms of economic costs of development. Due in large part to measurement difficulties, the environment in the daily welfare of the world's poorest remains inadequately accounted for in development policies. The aim of this work is, therefore, to advance our understanding of the relationship between the environment and human health. Anthropogenic activities in Central Asia have severely disrupted the natural environment. The poorest, most vulnerable members of society are at an increased risk of mortality and a life-time of illness associated with worsening ecological conditions in the region. The work is by nature inter-disciplinary and pulls from many social sciences in an attempt to provide new insight into the role of long term environmental degradation and the impact on social welfare. There are three main original contributions of this work. Firstly, the research demonstrates the traditional emphasis in the literature on socioeconomic factors in explaining high rates of child mortality in Central Asia is inadequate. Secondly, for the first time in an international cross-section examining the determinants of child survival, the macro-level environment is put forth as a key determinant of excess child mortality in Central Asia. An improved measure of income is used for the first time in such a study to control for important distributional effects within and between countries. The results confirm the hypothesis that traditional determinants do not account for endemically high rates of mortality in the region. Secondly, using administrative (oblast) data from Uzbekistan, Chapter 6 presents the first study of its kind to incorporate important geographic as well as socioeconomic information in explaining variation in infant mortality due likely to ecological degradation. Ultimately, the findings demonstrate the environment must be adequately considered in all policy making aimed at improving health outcomes in the region.

Chan Ying Yang Emily. / Thesis (M.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 217-234). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Some appendixes in Chinese.

<p>The main objective of this study was to examine the prospects and challenges facing ACFTA (Asean-China free trade area). It examined what ought to be done by the ASEAN member nations to match China's competitive ability having recently joined the World Trade Organization. The study also examined the compatibility of the ACFTA with the World Trade Organization rules and mode of dispute settlement under ASEAN and NAFTA as well as profound issues relating to ACFTA.</p>

Cette thèse étudie en détail un type particulier de représentation du Bouddha où il est représenté assis sur un trône prééminent, le bhadrapīṭha ou bhadrāsana, dans une posture majestueuse avec les deux jambes pendantes, c’est-à-dire assis en bhadrāsana ou dans l’attitude « de bon augure ». Cette iconographie, étroitement associée à l’imagerie du trône, se retrouve largement représentée dans l’art de l’Asie du Sud, de l’Est et du Sud-Est, et est, en règle générale, intimement liée aux modèles de la royauté, de la fertilité, et même du divin. Plusieurs implications notables ressortent de cet examen iconologique concernant les origines, la diffusion, et le développement de l’art bouddhique dans ces contrées, particulièrement au cours du premier millénaire de notre ère. / This dissertation provides a detailed study of a particular representation of the Buddha, in which he sits on a prominent throne, i.e. a bhadrapīṭha or bhadrāsana, in a majestic posture with two legs pendant, that is, in bhadrāsana or the “auspicious pose.” This pendant-legged imagery, generally associated with the throne, has been found widely depicted in South, East, and Southeast Asian art and is, as a rule, mostly associated with kingship, fertility, and even divinity. The results of this iconological examination have wide implications for understanding the origins, spread, and development of Buddhist art in those lands, particularly during the first millennium CE.

By 1942, the Japanese occupied nearly all of East and Southeast Asia and their influence even spread as far as British controlled India. This occupation, known as The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, was an ideological unity of Asia under the facade of mutual benefit and welfare of Japan and the other nations within the Sphere. However, The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere failed because of the inability of the Japanese to form this mutual benefit between the nations within the Sphere. This work evaluates the events that led to The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, life within the Sphere, and the reasons for its failure.

The aim of this thesis is to examine empirically the relationship between the exchange rate, the instruments of monetary policy and the measures of economic performance for Indonesia, Korea and Thailand during the pre- and post 1997 Asian financial crisis. The first core chapter (Chapter 2) assesses the possible linkages between the increase in domestic inflation and the exchange rate targeting policy adopted in these countries. Using the cointegration technique and a simple monetarist inflation model, Chapter 2 finds strong evidence that the exchange rate policy that generates a predominant domestic currency undervaluation has caused an increase in the domestic inflation rate for Indonesia and Korea. However, the exchange rate targeting policy that brings about a predominant baht overvaluation especially during the pre-crisis period has lowered Thailand’s inflation. Soon after the outbreak of 1997-crisis, instead of using the exchange rate as the nominal anchor, all three countries have implement their monetary policy around an inflation target following an inflation targeting framework. Owing to this significant structural break, the second core chapter (Chapter 3) uses a Markov-switching VAR framework to determine if the effects of monetary policy shocks have changed across different monetary policy regimes in these economies. Chapter 3 finds that regime switches occur in mid-1997 to 2000 for Indonesia, which coincides with the period after the onset of 1997-crisis and the economic recovery period; and in 1999 for Korea and Thailand, which coincides with the period when the inflation-targeting framework is adopted. From the regime-dependent impulse response functions, the responses of macroeconomic variables to monetary policy shocks have changed significantly across different regimes only for the case of Korea and Thailand. From the above discussions, Chapter 2 found that exchange rate targeting policy caused higher domestic inflation in Indonesia and Korea especially during the pre-crisis period; while Chapter 3 found that inflation targeting policy seemed to cause structural changes in Korea and Thailand. Therefore using a structural VAR framework, the third core chapter (Chapter 4) explores further the role of the exchange rate and inflation targeting policy on the economic performances of these economies during the pre- and post crisis periods. Chapter 4 finds that in the case of Indonesia and Korea, the foreign exchange market does create most of its own shocks during the pre-crisis period but not during the post crisis period. For Indonesia and Thailand, the soft US dollar peg policy during the pre-crisis period has caused additional distortions in the domestic economy. Moreover the role of the exchange rate as a shock absorber has increased during the post crisis period only for the case of Indonesia and Thailand. For all three economies, following the introduction of the inflation targeting policy, domestic short-term interest rates have been adjusted systematically to offset inflationary pressure following the real and nominal shocks. Moreover, in the case of Indonesia and Thailand, the unsystematic part of monetary policy plays a smaller role in explaining the variations in domestic economy during the post crisis period. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1320356 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Economics, 2008

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Government and Public Administration

The self-recruiting species (SRS) are aquatic animals that can be harvested regularly from a farmer managed system without regular stocking as described by Little (2002a, b). The potential and current role of self-recruiting species from farmer managed aquatic systems (FMAS) is often overlooked, whilst much attention has been given to stocked species (often associated in conventional culture ponds and cages) as well as the fisheries sector (often relates to large water bodies i.e. river lakes and reservoirs). Using the combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches, the current status, the important contribution of SRS and factors undermining this contribution to the livelihoods of rural households in mainland Southeast (SE) Asia were investigated. The overall analysis of this research was done based from the sustainable livelihood (SL) framework (Scoones, 1998; DFID, 1999) in order to have a broader understanding of the importance of SRS as well as the rural livelihoods in selected areas of mainland SE Asia which often benefit from this resource. The research was carried out in rural villages of southeast Cambodia (SEC), northeast Thailand (NET) and Red River Delta in northern Vietnam (RRD). The sites (region of the country) were selected based from the intensity of aquaculture practices (less established and mainly relying on natural production, aquaculture established but also relying on natural production and mainly aquaculture dependent) as well as the agriculture i.e. intensiveness of rice production. Eighteen villages (6 villages/ country) were selected to represent the two agro-ecological zones (i.e. LOW and DRY areas) of the study sites. In order to fully assess the situation and meet the objectives of the research, the study was carried out using three stages which dealt with different approaches and sets of participants/respondents; i) participatory community appraisal (PCA), ii) baseline survey and iii) longitudinal study. The different stages of the research were carried out during the period of April 2001 until September 2004. During the first stage, a series of community appraisals using participatory methods were conducted in all of the participating villages in the three study sites. The participatory appraisal was conducted in order to understand the general rural context in the villages as well as the importance of aquatic resources. Moreover, the PCA in a way helped build rapport between the researcher and the communities. The series of appraisals were conducted with different wellbeing and gender groups (better-off men, better-off women, poor men and poor women). The various shocks, trends and seasonality that influenced the status of living in the community, diversified livelihoods and the differences in preference of socioeconomic and gender groups were analysed in this stage. The important aquatic animals (AA) and the local criteria for determing their importance were the highlights of this stage of the research. The important AA identified were composed of large fish (Channa spp., Clarias spp., Hemibagrus sp, Common, Indian, Silver and Grass carps), small fish (Anabas testudineus, Rasbora spp., Mystus spp., Carassius auratus) as well as non-fish (Macrobrachium spp., Rana spp., Somanniathelpusa sp., Sinotaia spp.) which were particularly important to poorer groups in the community. The local criteria used were mainly food and nutrition related (good taste, easy to cook, versatility in preparation), abundance (availability, ease of catching) as well as economic value (good price). Significant differences were found between various interactions of sites, agro-ecological zones, gender and wellbeing groups. The second stage of the research was the baseline survey (cross-sectional survey) which was also carried out in the same communities and collected information from a total of 540 respondents (30 respondents per village or 180 per country). This stage of the study was carried out in order to generate household level information (mostly quantitative) regarding the socio-economic indicators to triangulate the information generated during the participatory appraisal and the different aquatic systems that existed in the community as well as the various management practices used (not limited to stocking hatchery seed and feeding). The different livelihood resources (human, physical, financial, natural and social capital) and the diversified strategies of rural households in SE Asia were analysed in this phase. Another highlight of this phase was the understanding of the various aquatic systems that rural farmers managed and how they related to the existence of self-recruiting species. The common aquatic resources identified during this phase included farmer managed aquatic systems (FMAS) and openwater bodies (OWB) where rural households usually obtained their aquatic products. The various types of FMAS which included ricefields, trap ponds, household ponds, culture ponds and ditches were identified as important aquatic resources which mainly provide food as well as additional income to the rural poor. All of these FMAS were being managed at various levels which directly affected the SRS population. Different types of farmers were identified based on their attitudes towards and management of SRS: i) SRS positive, farmers who allow and attract SRS into the system, ii) SRS negative, farmers who prevent or eliminate SRS and iii) SRS neutral, farmers doing nothing that would encourage or prevent SRS from entering into the system. Variations were related to the main factors (i.e sites, agroecological zones, wellbeing groups) and their interactions. The final stage of this study was the year-long household survey (longitudinal study) that investigated the seasonality of various aspects of rural livelihoods, status of the different aquatic systems and the important contribution of AA in general, and SRS in particular, to the overall livelihood strategies employed by rural farmers. This phase involved a total of 162 households (9 per village or 54 per country) selected based on the aquatic systems they managed and had access to. Other socio-economic factors (gender and wellbeing) were also considered during the selection of participants in this phase of the study. The results of the year long household survey highlighted the important contributions of SRS: i) to the total AA collections which were utilised in various ways, ii) contribution to overall food consumption in general and AA consumption in particular (which was found to be the most important contribution of SRS), iii) contribution to household nutrition (as a major source of animal protein and essential micro nutrients in rural areas), iv) contribution to income and expenditures, and v) improving the social capital of rural households (through sharing of production and mobilizing community in local resources user group management). Moreover, the social context and the dynamics of inter and intra household relationships were understood, especially the gender issues on division of labour (where women and children played an important part on the production), access and benefits (how women and children were being marginalised in terms of making decision and controlling benefits). The various results of the combined approaches that were utilised in all stages of the research were analysed and presented in this thesis. The results of the community appraisals and the baseline survey were used in setting the context (background) of each topic (e.g. livelihood activities, AA importance, etc). Meanwhile, the results of the longitudinal survey were used in illustrating the trends and highlighted the seasonality of particular issues. Overall the study contributed to knowledge by elucidating the status and roles of self-recruiting species in maintaining/ improving the overall livelihoods of rural farmers in Southeast Asia.