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Byline: Hualou Long (a)(b), Guoping Tang (c), Xiubin Li (a), Gerhard K. Heilig (b) Keywords: Land-use change; Driving forces; Urbanization; Land management measures; The Yangtze River Delta; China Abstract: This paper analyzes characteristics, major driving forces and alternative management measures of land-use change in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, China. The study used remote sensing (RS) maps and socio-economic data. Based on RS-derived maps, two change matrices were constructed for detecting land-use change between 1987 and 1994, and between 1994 and 2000 through pixel-to-pixel comparisons. The outcomes indicated that paddy fields, dryland, and forested land moderately decreased by 8.2%, 29% and 2.6% from 1987 to 1994, and by 4.1%, 7.6% and 8% from 1994 to 2000, respectively. In contrast, the following increased greatly from 1987 to 1994: artificial ponds by 48%, urban settlements by 87.6%, rural settlements by 41.1%, and construction land by 511.8%. From 1994 to 2000, these land covers increased by 3.6%, 28.1%, 23.4% and 47.1%, respectively. For the whole area, fragmentation of land cover was very significant. In addition, socio-economic data were used to analyze major driving forces triggering land-use change through bivariate analysis. The results indicated that industrialization, urbanization, population growth, and China's economic reform measures are four major driving forces contributing to land-use change in Kunshan. Finally, we introduced some possible management measures such as urban growth boundary (UGB) and incentive-based policies. We pointed out that, given the rapidity of the observed changes, it is critical that additional studies be undertaken to evaluate these suggested policies, focusing on what their effects might be in this region, and how these might be implemented. Author Affiliation: (a) Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Anwai, Beijing 100101, PR China (b) International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria (c) Department of Geography, University of Oregon, OR 97403, USA Article History: Received 9 May 2005; Revised 3 April 2006; Accepted 7 April 2006

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Focuses on methane, one of the trace gases in the atmosphere considered to play a major role in the `greenhouse effect.' Evidence for an increase in atmospheric methane concentration; Sources of methane emission; Problems of estimating global emission; Emission projections; Contribution of population growth; Options, constraints and risks for reduction.

This paper is a provocative collection of arguments that came to theauthor's mind when reading through some of the literature on sustainable development. Similar to rather general sociological theories, these sustainability concepts -- which are rooted in biological observations and theories of the non-human biosphere -- describe elements ofa universal development philosophy. But they fail to take into account some of the most basic characteristics of how human societies and economics function and develop. For instance, they largely ignore therole of conflict, the fundamental diversity of interests and lifestyles, power imbalance in and between human societies and the specific dynamics of pioneer development. Most importantly, they define life-support systems almost exclusively in bio-geophysical terms -- ignoring the fact that human development primarily depends on the accumulated scientific and technological knowledge and on the cultural heritageof institutions and arrangements which represent successful solutions of social, economic and political problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]