Revisión de las pesquerías de medusas en el mundo

Food consumption patterns

Households in Hulun Buir had the greatest consumption of the FT3 pattern of foods, similar to that found by Liu et al. (2012) who found that IMAR had 124.6% higher meat consumption than the Chinese average and 79.8% of China‘s average vegetable consumption. Consumer preferences in this location were still meat-based to satisfy daily protein and energy consumption requirements. Hulun Buir retained high meat consumption patterns due to the higher land ownership in the meadow steppe and higher livestock ownership, both of which greatly exceed the average levels in IMAR (Table 2.1). Feng and Shi (2006) reported that the meat consumption per household in pastoral areas of IMAR was 2.3 times higher than that in the arable farming areas. Ordos exhibited over 50% of the FT2 pattern, due to the inhabitants in Ordos consuming higher amounts of agri-crop products than the residents of the other two areas. In Ordos vegetable and fruit consumption of 328kg capita–1 year–1 exceeded the Chinese national standard of 320kg capita–1 year–1 (Feng and Shi 2006). In Ordos, due to the desert and semi-desert grassland conditions, improved transportation and the implementing of policy measures to prohibit grazing and movement (returning the farmland to forest and grassland, and fenced grazing areas), most herdsmen and farmers no longer rely on the land for their food consumption. Their consumption depends more on purchased food. In the markets, vegetables and fruits are cheaper than meat, resulting in the higher consumption following the FT2 pattern.

The FT1 pattern was high in Ordos because of the high daily consumption of vegetables and fruit, and low consumption of staple foods. In addition, less mutton and beef were consumed, and the consumption of other meats (e.g. fish, pork and chicken) was high. From a nutritional perspective, fish, pork and chicken have less protein than beef and mutton. Beef contains 19.9g of protein 100g–1 whereas pork contains 14.5g of protein 100g` (Wang 2010). Although the amount of meat consumption is higher than average, the protein intake is similar. In households with the FT1 consumption pattern, the average annual income (RMB 70 150 or UD$1110) was higher than the average of all surveyed households (RMB 62 359 or US$980) (Table 2.3). Research has shown that the amounts and categories of food consumption tend to increase as the income level increases (e.g. Mennell et al. 1992; Babatunde and Qaim 2010). Of those exhibiting the FT4consumption pattern, 57.5% were in Xilin Gol, and these consumed more staple foods, especially flour. This is likely a result of the low income of those with the FT4 consumption pattern and a lack of funds to purchase more diverse meats, vegetables and fruit. Compared to other foods, staple foods were inexpensive and high in carbohydrates that satisfy daily energy requirements. From a nutritional perspective, IMAR does not have undernourishment, even for those with the FT4 consumption pattern. The amounts of food consumed

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under all the food consumption patterns met the energy and protein requirements as recommended by the Chinese Nutrition Society (Chinese Nutrition Society 2010) (Table 2.3).

The increase in the FT2 pattern and decrease in the FT3 pattern indicates that meat products were replaced with agri-crop foods. The socio-economic statistics for rural areas in IMAR also indicated that meat consumption in 2010 decreased by 21% and vegetable consumption increased by 45% compared to the levels of 1995 (Inner Mongolia Statistics Bureau 1996, 2011). This is likely because of the large reductions in livestock rearing due to the degradation of the local rangelands and implementation of restoration policies. Feng and Shi (2006) showed that the initial preference for human food consumption is home-produced food from family owned land or local ecosystems (i.e. self-sufficiency). When changing conditions result in insufficient home-produced food, the populace begins to alter the ways food is acquired, including purchasing. For instance in Xilin Gol, the number of livestock is controlled by the carrying capacity of local grasslands (1 sheep unit per 1.67 ha grassland). To confront this livestock-rearing control policy measure, the herders/farmers increase cattle rearing to compensate for the loss of goat/sheep grazing due to the control policy, and for having to change from nomadic grazing to stall-rearing. First, cattle can produce milk products, which produce a higher income from selling such products than from goat/sheep rearing. Second, the local government assisted in the introduction of cattle breeds, which improved the profitability of cattle rearing, which encouraged cattle breeding. This change in pattern requires herders and farmers to buy food from markets, and they tend to buy vegetables and fruit, as these are less expensive than mutton and beef.

The internal supply of food affects food consumption patterns according to the results of our survey. When the food accessibility was increased by improvements in transport, the amount of staple foods, fruit and certain vegetables increased significantly. Consequently, the present food consumption patterns rely less on the local ecosystems and are more affected by market trading. Although IMAR was mainly a self-sufficiency region, the herder/farmers now buy food (staple foods, vegetable and fruit) from outside IMAR because (1) the numbers of livestock managed by herders has decreased due to the policy restrictions; (2) the market price of meat is becoming more expensive, and the herders prefer to sell their livestock to get money to increase their expenditure on children‘s education, housing and medical treatment; (3) a more diverse food consumption pattern has become more popular due to economic development, establishment of a trading market, and transformation of consumption consciousness. Over 85% of investigated households indicated that they purchase agri-crops in the markets of towns every 1 or 2 weeks.

A moderate increase in the pattern of FT1 consumption and a decrease in the pattern of FT4 consumption from 1995 to 2010 may be due to the higher annual income levels found in 2010 (US$1982) as compared to those in 1995 (US$1670). Food consumption tended to increase both in amount and variety, as the income level increased. This was confirmed through comparisons between the three sites. From the perspective of consumption, Gerbens-Leenes and Nonhebel (2002) indicated that the economic situation can affect food consumption, and growth of income causes a shift with greater meat consumption than agri-crop consumption. This research showed the opposite trend with meat consumption decreasing greatly, and the consumption of agri-crops increasing when the original income structure of the area of livestock rearing was seriously affected by the grassland restoration policy, such as in Xilin Gol

37 (decreased in meat consumption by 15.1kg capita–1 year–1). However, the results of this research also indicated that the food consumption types moved towards diversification when the income increased to a certain level and people started to care about their health to reduce the amount of meat consumption, such as in Ordos.

Fuel consumption patterns

In Hulun Buir, the pattern of fuel consumption was dominated by pattern FP1 and dried dung from livestock was an important and widely used bio-fuel. The high consumption of dried dung can be attributed to the higher numbers of cattle. In Xilin Gol, the use of bio-fuels decreased from 3673kg capita–1 year–1 in 1995 to 1265kg capita–1 _year–1 _{in 2010 resulting in a decrease in the FP3 pattern. The decrease in the}

use of bio-fuels in Xilin Gol can be attributed to the large reductions in number of livestock and intensive crop cultivation. As a result, the dry dung could not satisfy the demands of households. Many households switched to the use of straw for heating (953kg capita–1 year–1).

Ordos‘s households used the lowest amount of bio-fuels; most respondents reported that they collected only dying or dead wood due to regulations that prohibit the cutting of live trees. Ordos is under the grazing prohibition and user moving policy measures. The livelihoods fundamentally changed from livestock rearing to becoming employees in retail or freight businesses, which caused a great increase in the FP2 pattern with expanding use of gas and electricity consumption. This result is similar to the results of Sun et al. (2014) who reported that the pattern of household energy use has been influenced greatly by income growth and urbanization.

Usage of coal, gas and electricity by farmers and herdsmen increased in all three area compared to fuel usage in 1995. This may be the result of rapid economic development and government initiatives. The decreasing numbers of livestock and higher energy needs (especially for the fuel consumption for heating; from the reports of respondents, over 60% households extending the heating period from ‗Nov. to next Mar.‘ to ‗Oct. to next Apr.‘) are also reasons that less dung was used for basic household consumption. From a health perspective, the smoke (CO, CO2, NO and

suspended particles) from burning dung may be causes of respiratory and ocular diseases. Although more costly, people preferred to use gas and electricity, as these are more convenient, clean and efficient. IMAR is a demonstration area for wind energy application, and 53% of electricity is produced by wind in IMAR based on the statistics in the yearbook of 2010 for IMAR (Inner Mongolia Statistics Bureau 2011). The loss of the FP4 consumption pattern in the Hulun Buir area may have resulted from house construction that occurred after the herdsmen had adopted a less nomadic lifestyle and began using more electricity and coal. These dramatic changes were caused by decreases in the numbers of livestock to protect locally degraded grassland ecosystems, which forced people to abandon farming and move to urban areas.

Domestic water consumption patterns

The decrease in water consumption may be caused by drought. Drought for most of the local populace was more serious in 2010 than in 1995 (Dai et al. 2009; Hu et al. 2012). The relatively dry weather in 2010 and prior years may have caused a decrease in water consumption at all three sites. In 1995, the herders did not experience problems with domestic water consumption from groundwater sources but, by 2010, some households reported that they needed to store water in dry periods or extreme weather (such as spring and winter). Moreover, land-use changes could have been the

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other trigger for droughts. From the statistics of IMAR in 2008, the region‘s total water resources amount to 412.1 billion m3, which was a decrease of 5% compared to the average over many years. The region‘s total water consumption was 175.8 billionm3 m3, with water use for agriculture irrigation accounting for 70.2% (123.4 billion m3) of total water consumption. All water consumed came from groundwater, so higher water consumption is likely to have resulted in a lowering of the groundwater table due to land-use changes. For instance, research of Zhao et al. (1999) has indicated that the intensive crop cultivation and grazing may be the drivers that resulted in a lowering of the groundwater table by 0.5–1.3m from the 1980s to the 1990s.

The surveyed households in Hulun Buir consumed more water than those in Xilin Gol and Ordos, which may also indicate that the local water resources were relatively more plentiful in Hulun Buir. In Xilin Gol, households obtained their water from privately owned wells, which had a lower consumption rate than those on the tap water supply. However, the reverse trend was shown at the Ordos site. This discrepancy may have been caused by water costs, as the water from privately owned wells was free at all three sites, but some charges existed for tap water. In Xilin Gol, the households using tap water were required only to pay RMB 5 per month with no limits on the amount of water used, whereas inhabitants at the Ordos site were required to pay for water consumption based on the actual quantity of water used (RMB 2.6m–3). This led to a reduction in the use of water and suggests that the market price of water can reduce water consumption.