Disputes Over Water Resources: A History of Conflict and Cooperation in Drainage Basins

This paper presents the analysis of conflict history over freshwater in several drainage basins across the planet. As will be demonstrated in this paper, unilateral water policies have proved to reduce the role and prospect of water treaties and international water sharing regimes, and led to political tensions and conflicts. The main argument of the essay is that unilateral diversions of water flows will instigate wars between riparian states because of the rising demand for freshwater in the future. Unilateral practices of water diversion create a situation of inequitable distribution of water among nation-states within a basin which is a prerequisite for a sustainable conflict. State policies have to aim to eliminate situations of inequitable distribution and increase accessibility to clean drinking water for populations across a river basin based on their needs in order to secure long-lasting peace and stability

Contractions of Filippov algebras

We introduce in this paper the contractions $\mathfrak{G}_c$ of $n$-Lie (or Filippov) algebras $\mathfrak{G}$ and show that they have a semidirect structure as their $n=2$ Lie algebra counterparts. As an example, we compute the non-trivial contractions of the simple $A_{n+1}$ Filippov algebras. By using the \.In\"on\"u-Wigner and the generalized Weimar-Woods contractions of ordinary Lie algebras, we compare (in the $\mathfrak{G}=A_{n+1}$ simple case) the Lie algebras Lie$\,\mathfrak{G}_c$ (the Lie algebra of inner endomorphisms of $\mathfrak{G}_c$) with certain contractions $(\mathrm{Lie}\,\mathfrak{G})_{IW}$ and $(\mathrm{Lie}\,\mathfrak{G})_{W-W}$ of the Lie algebra Lie$\,\mathfrak{G}$ associated with $\mathfrak{G}$.Comment: plain latex, 36 pages. A few misprints corrected. This v3 is actually v2 (v1 had been replaced by itself by error). To appear in J. Math. Phy

Exploring Institutional Complementarity and Social Thresholds of Mobility in Pastoral Social-Ecological Systems in Mongolia

Biodiversity continues to decline worldwide, affecting dryland ecosystems that are of significant importance for global biodiversity conservation. Accelerated by climate change, undergoing transformations have been pushing the entire social-ecological system across ecological and social thresholds. Particularly, the decline of pastoral mobility in Mongolia is of great concern, as flexible responses to the dynamic environment are crucial for the sustainability of drylands’ ecosystems. Responding to this concern, Mongolian policymakers design new pasture use and conservation policies. However, the policies might be ineffective in preventing systems from crossing the thresholds, unless policy implementation succeeds in systematically shaping the perceptions of a critical mass of herders and their strategic choices regarding pastoral mobility. We evaluate whether the enacted policies generate the intended consequences. First, we reconstruct the strategic choice and resulting institutions regarding pastoral mobility in the commons domain, where herders jointly use common pastures. Second, we track the process in the political economy domain, where pasture users choose to support or resist policies. Finally, we evaluate the complementarity of the strategic choices and institutions in both domains. In our field research, we employ the “process tracing” method. It relies on observations to trace recurring processes within and between herding communities and incorporates triangulation via various tools, such as expert interviews and focus group discussions. Our findings identify complementarity between the enacted policies and pastoral mobility as individual households comply with the rules and select mobile herding strategies. However, for the complementarity conditions to be held and to create an overall institutional arrangement, a critical mass of herders choosing to comply with the regulations and practice pastoral mobility to reach a social threshold will be crucial

User-Based Pasture Management in Kyrgyzstan: Achievements, Challenges, and Trends

In Kyrgyzstan, a high mountain country in Central Asia, grasslands occupy almost half of the territory. These extensive resources represent the basis for seasonally mobile animal husbandry, which is relevant for both individual households and the national economy. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Kyrgyzstan’s transition into a market economy, these formerly state-owned grasslands were parceled out and privatized. Considerable socio-economic distortions and ecological problems occurred during this process. In order to meet such unintended effects, a legal framework for user-based pasture management was established in the course of an institutional learning process. This package of measures corresponded to a decentralization of responsibilities in natural resource management through the stronger involvement of rural communities and, thus, aligns with a central paradigm of the global development discourse at the time. Positive examples can be observed in terms of increasing equal access to grazing land, the empowerment of rural communities, and reduced ecological damage. At the same time, there are local cases of pasture-related ecological problems and overstrained management institutions. In addition to the challenges posed by cross-border pastoral mobility and scrub encroachment on summer pastures, social issues came into focus in current pasture-related interventions in Kyrgyzstan. This paper traces the developments of the regulations and practices of pasture management after 1991, placing an emphasis on the analysis of current trends, achievements, and challenges

Studying the effect of fire retardant coating on the fire hazard characteristics of wood using infrared thermography

This paper represents a study concerning the effect of fire retardant treatment «FUKAM» on the fire hazard characteristics of pine, aspen and larch. The front of model ground fire was investigated to estimate its effect on the surface of wood samples. Infrared thermography was used as a diagnostic method. The surface temperature distribution was obtained for the test wood samples after exposure to a fire front that was modeled using pine needles. The probability of ignition was estimated for the chosen experimental parameters for each kind of wood. The fire hazard characteristics of wood after fire retardant treatment showed a significant reduction in the surface temperature and the resistance to fire for the chosen parameters of the experiment compared to the same untreated samples

Experimental study of the influence of ignition source position on the parameters of peat fire propagation

The penetration of smoldering combustion into the peat layer was experimentally studied taking into account a different botanical peat composition typical in the Tomsk region of Russia. The laboratory tests allowed us to obtain and analyze the temperature of the peat samples versus time, and also to estimate the velocity of the smoldering combustion in the horizontal and vertical directions. The results showed the faster penetration of smoldering combustion into the grass-sphagnum peat compared with the pine-cotton peat. The botanical composition and the flow of oxidizers in the combustion zone have a significant effect on the smoldering combustion, especially on the penetration of smoldering front into the peat layer. The chaotic distribution of the fuel particles contributes to the propagation of smoldering combustion both in the horizontal and vertical direction and influences on the spread of the smoldering front

Laboratory investigation of fire exposure on wood by thermal imagery and thermocouple approach

The impact of spot fire on wood different-shaped samples (flat and cylindered sample) is studied under laborator

Estimation of the influence of wood-fire retardants on fire behavior of some types of wood construction materials

In this paper the effect of fire front on the surface of wood samples (pine, aspen and larch) was presented to estimate the effect of different wood-fire retardants. Infrared thermography was used as a diagnostic method. Modern methods of IR-diagnostics and the use of thermal imagers eliminate the need for a large number of thermocouples, which perturb the investigated medium during measurements. At the same time, a much better resolution in space and time can be obtained using infrared diagnostics. The surface temperature distribution was obtained for the test wood samples after exposure to a fire front that was modeled using pine needles. The ignition probability was estimated for the chosen experimental parameters for each kind of wood. In the infrared region the sample surface characteristics were recorded using a thermal imager JADE J530SB with a 2.5–2.7 micron optical filter that allowed a temperature to be measured in the range of 500–850 K. In order to record a temperature in the range of 293–550 K, the recording was conducted without a filter. The fire hazard characteristics of wood after fire retardant treatment showed a significant reduction in the surface temperature and the resistance to fire for the chosen parameters of the experiment compared to the same untreated sample

Investigation of the ignition of wood structural materials (with and without fire retardant treatment) under the influence of a model fire of irregular intensity

In this paper the effect of fire front on the surface of wood samples (plywood and oriented strand board) was considered to estimate the effect of different wood-fire retardants. Infrared thermography was used as a diagnostic method. The ignition probability was estimated for the chosen experimental parameters for each kind of wood The fire hazard characteristics of wood after fire retardant treatment showed a significant reduction in the surface temperature and the resistance to fire for the chosen parameters of the experiment compared to the same untreated samples. The charring depth of the wood samples was determined depending on the type of wood, as well as on the type of the fire retardant used