Heavy metal contamination of soils in China: standards, geographic distribution, and food safety considerations. A review

This article reviews the conditions of heavy metal contamination of China’s soils. The article starts with a discussion of the official environmental standards of soils in China, in terms of heavy metal contamination, and the extent of that contamination. Then, the article discusses the geographic distribution of soil contamination, and the food safety impact. The problem in China is that the provinces with the highest rates of soil contamination are also provinces with the largest amount of food production. This results in high contamination of food, with 13.86 % of grain produced in China being affected by heavy metal contamination. Hunan Province represents the worst conditions: it is responsible for 32.1 % of China’s cadmium (Cd) emissions, 20.6 % of its arsenic (As) emissions, 58.7 % of its mercury (Hg) emissions, and 24.6 % of its lead (Pb) emissions. While Hunan Province produces about 15 % of the total rice output of the country, according to official data, 13 % ofthe total area of the province has been contaminated with waste and heavy metals from mines. In many areas, especially those closer to mines, the agricultural production exceeds the official food safety standards

Los efectos del programa “Grain for Green” de China en migración y remesas

[EN] The Grain for Green (GfG) is the largest reforestation program of the world. It involved payments to farmers to convert their marginal farmland. Many farmers decided to migrate. This paper looks at some of the household features associated with migration by GfG-participants, and the importance of remittances to those who remained behind. Fieldwork for this research was carried out in Pengshui County in Chongqing Municipality. Several variables affect migration, including education, land ownership and household size. For most households, remittances consist of over 90 percent of all household incomes, but the amount remitted tends to level off when it reaches a certain size, regardless of the number of household members who migrated.[ES] El Grain for Green (GfG) es el programa de reforestación más grande del mundo. Implicaba pagos a los agricultores para transformar sus tierras marginales en la vegetación original (generalmente forestal). Muchos agricultores decidieron emigrar. Este documento analiza algunas de las características del hogar asociadas con la migración por parte de los participantes de GfG, y la importancia de las remesas para quienes se quedaron atrás. El trabajo de campo para esta investigación se llevó a cabo en el distrito de Pengshui en el municipio de Chongqing. Varias variables afectan la migración, incluidas la educación, la propiedad de la tierra y el tamaño del hogar. Las remesas forman más del 90 por ciento de todos los ingresos familiares, pero la cantidad total remitida tiende a estabilizarse cuando alcanza un cierto tamaño, independientemente de la cantidad de miembros del hogar que emigraron.Delang, CO. (2019). The effects of China’s Grain for Green program on migration and remittance. Economía Agraria y Recursos Naturales - Agricultural and Resource Economics. 18(2):117-141. https://doi.org/10.7201/earn.2018.02.06SWORD11714118

Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (HALE), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950-2019 : a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of fertility, mortality, migration, and population for 204 countries and territories and selected subnational locations from 1950 to 2019. Methods: 8078 country-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 938 surveys, 349 censuses, and 238 other sources were identified and used to estimate age-specific fertility. Spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression (ST-GPR) was used to generate age-specific fertility rates for 5-year age groups between ages 15 and 49 years. With extensions to age groups 10–14 and 50–54 years, the total fertility rate (TFR) was then aggregated using the estimated age-specific fertility between ages 10 and 54 years. 7417 sources were used for under-5 mortality estimation and 7355 for adult mortality. ST-GPR was used to synthesise data sources after correction for known biases. Adult mortality was measured as the probability of death between ages 15 and 60 years based on vital registration, sample registration, and sibling histories, and was also estimated using ST-GPR. HIV-free life tables were then estimated using estimates of under-5 and adult mortality rates using a relational model life table system created for GBD, which closely tracks observed age-specific mortality rates from complete vital registration when available. Independent estimates of HIV-specific mortality generated by an epidemiological analysis of HIV prevalence surveys and antenatal clinic serosurveillance and other sources were incorporated into the estimates in countries with large epidemics. Annual and single-year age estimates of net migration and population for each country and territory were generated using a Bayesian hierarchical cohort component model that analysed estimated age-specific fertility and mortality rates along with 1250 censuses and 747 population registry years. We classified location-years into seven categories on the basis of the natural rate of increase in population (calculated by subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate) and the net migration rate. We computed healthy life expectancy (HALE) using years lived with disability (YLDs) per capita, life tables, and standard demographic methods. Uncertainty was propagated throughout the demographic estimation process, including fertility, mortality, and population, with 1000 draw-level estimates produced for each metric. Findings: The global TFR decreased from 2·72 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 2·66–2·79) in 2000 to 2·31 (2·17–2·46) in 2019. Global annual livebirths increased from 134·5 million (131·5–137·8) in 2000 to a peak of 139·6 million (133·0–146·9) in 2016. Global livebirths then declined to 135·3 million (127·2–144·1) in 2019. Of the 204 countries and territories included in this study, in 2019, 102 had a TFR lower than 2·1, which is considered a good approximation of replacement-level fertility. All countries in sub-Saharan Africa had TFRs above replacement level in 2019 and accounted for 27·1% (95% UI 26·4–27·8) of global livebirths. Global life expectancy at birth increased from 67·2 years (95% UI 66·8–67·6) in 2000 to 73·5 years (72·8–74·3) in 2019. The total number of deaths increased from 50·7 million (49·5–51·9) in 2000 to 56·5 million (53·7–59·2) in 2019. Under-5 deaths declined from 9·6 million (9·1–10·3) in 2000 to 5·0 million (4·3–6·0) in 2019. Global population increased by 25·7%, from 6·2 billion (6·0–6·3) in 2000 to 7·7 billion (7·5–8·0) in 2019. In 2019, 34 countries had negative natural rates of increase; in 17 of these, the population declined because immigration was not sufficient to counteract the negative rate of decline. Globally, HALE increased from 58·6 years (56·1–60·8) in 2000 to 63·5 years (60·8–66·1) in 2019. HALE increased in 202 of 204 countries and territories between 2000 and 2019

Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods: GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings: Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990–2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0–9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10–24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10–24 years were also in the top ten in the 25–49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50–74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation: As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and developm nt investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

Keeping the Spirit Alive: Rice whiskey production in Northern Lao P.D.R.

photo essa

Bamboo Paper Production and Religious Use by the Lanten Yao in Northern Lao PDR

Photo essayThis photo essay demonstrates the method of producing bamboo paper by the Lanten Yao in northern Lao PDR and discusses the roles of bamboo paper in religious ceremonies. While in the past bamboo paper is likely to have had several uses in Lanten society, the use of bamboo paper is now limited to religious activities, where it cannot be replace by any other material

Causes and distribution of soil pollution in China

China is the most populated country in the world, but has relatively little fertile land, and even less water. Maintaining the quality of its agricultural land is of paramount importance if China wants to feed its very large and growing population. Yet, China is one of the countries with the largest amount of polluted soil. This paper looks at the causes and distribution of soil pollution in China. It first looks at the amount of organic and inorganic soil pollutants and their geographic distribution. It then looks at the causes of soil pollution, making the distinction between agricultural activities, industrial activities, and urbanization. Pollution from agricultural activities stems primarily from the excessive amounts of pesticides and fertilizers used on farmland, and is mainly located in the south, where most of the food is produced. Pollution from industrial activities is due to airborne industrial pollutants that fall on to the land, and is mainly located in the west of the country, where most manufacturing activities take place. Pollution from urbanization is mainly due to the very large amount of solid, liquid and gaseous waste generated in a small area with insufficient treatment facilities, and exhaust fumes from vehicles, and is located around the largest cities, or roads. The result is that one fifth of China’s farmland is polluted, and an area the size of Taiwan is so polluted that farming should not be allowed there at all

The effects of China’s Grain for Green program on migration and remittance

The Grain for Green (GfG) is the largest reforestation program of the world. It involved payments to farmers to convert their marginal farmland. Many farmers decided to migrate. This paper looks at some of the household features associated with migration by GfG-participants, and the importance of remittances to those who remained behind. Fieldwork for this research was carried out in Pengshui County in Chongqing Municipality. Several variables affect migration, including education, land ownership and household size. For most households, remittances consist of over 90 percent of all household incomes, but the amount remitted tends to level off when it reaches a certain size, regardless of the number of household members who migrated.El Grain for Green (GfG) es el programa de reforestación más grande del mundo. Implicaba pagos a los agricultores para transformar sus tierras marginales en la vegetación original (generalmente forestal). Muchos agricultores decidieron emigrar. Este documento analiza algunas de las características del hogar asociadas con la migración por parte de los participantes de GfG, y la importancia de las remesas para quienes se quedaron atrás. El trabajo de campo para esta investigación se llevó a cabo en el distrito de Pengshui en el municipio de Chongqing. Varias variables afectan la migración, incluidas la educación, la propiedad de la tierra y el tamaño del hogar. Las remesas forman más del 90 por ciento de todos los ingresos familiares, pero la cantidad total remitida tiende a estabilizarse cuando alcanza un cierto tamaño, independientemente de la cantidad de miembros del hogar que emigraron

Local livelihoods and global process: complex causalities in Hong Kong’s Sai Kung Peninsula

This paper looks at the changes that occurred in the rural area of the Sai Kung Peninsula in Hong Kong’s New Territories from the 16th century, and uses it as a case-study to show the complex range of forces that can act on a locale. Throughout its history, land use and economic activities on the Sai Kung Peninsula have been driven to a great extent by non-local factors, including distant warfare leading to mass immigration and political decisions leading to mass emigration. However, once Hong Kong became an important outpost of Britain’s colonial empire it became integrated into a global trade network and thus became sensitive to economic and technological changes taking place thousands of miles away. In the 20th century, the Sai Kung Peninsula developed in response to Hong Kong’s growth as an international trade hub, finding its agricultural output overwhelmed by cheap foreign products, and its industry challenged by foreign technological advances

The effects of China’s Grain for Green program on migration and remittance

The Grain for Green (GfG) is the largest reforestation program of the world. It involved payments to farmers to convert their marginal farmland. Many farmers decided to migrate. This paper looks at some of the household features associated with migration by GfG-participants, and the importance of remittances to those who remained behind. Fieldwork for this research was carried out in Pengshui County in Chongqing Municipality. Several variables affect migration, including education, land ownership and household size. For most households, remittances consist of over 90 percent of all household incomes, but the amount remitted tends to level off when it reaches a certain size, regardless of the number of household members who migrated