Farmland abandonment is considered as an important phenomenon for changing eco-environmental and sociocultural landscapes of mountainous rural landscape. Many studies have analyzed farmland abandonment, its driving factors, geophysical processes and consequences at landscape: however, very few have focused on mountainous developing countries such as in Nepal, which is a rapidly urbanizing country suffering from serious farmland abandonment.

Drought and vegetation dynamics in the northern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China (NXC), the centre of Asia with arid climate, were assessed using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Analyses were performed through the use of Sen’s method and Spearman’s correlation to investigate variations in the NDVI and the impacts of drought on vegetation from 1998 to 2015.

Reducing the demands placed on ecosystems can maximize the benefits they provide. Therefore, this study examines public complaints about the environment to analyze the pressure placed on the ecosystem spatially and temporally. Environment-related public complaints filed in the city of Namyangju were examined. The city sources its water from the Han River and is poised to implement a payment system for ecosystem services. Many complaints were filed regarding noise and oscillation, dust scattering, wildlife, air quality management, and water quality management.