Page - 25 - in options, Volume winter 2016/2017

asia 25winter 2016/2017 + optionswww.iiasa.ac.at regional focus Parents still prefer boys, but less so In many parts of the world, couples prefer to have sons, rather than daughters. This trait is especially true in East, Central, and South Asia where patriarchal traditions prevail and sons contribute more to economic production and provide more financial support to parents in old age, especially in agricultural  societies. While South Korea was among the first countries to report an abnormally high sex ratio at birth (SRB), it was also one of the first to report a restoration of this ratio to normal (105 males per 100  females). IIASA researchers have investigated the origins of this change by analyzing data from the National Survey on Fertility, Family Health and Welfare that spans from 1991 to 2012. While the preference for sons declined to a great extent during this period it still exists. For example, parents who had two female children were more likely to choose to have a third child than those who had two sons. The study’s findings indicate that the rapid changes in the preference for sons were less due to changes in individual characteristics, such as parental education, employment, and urban residence, and more due to changes in the cultural, economic, and institutional environment. An underlying preference for sons still remains in the Korean population, although parents do not practice sex‑selective abortion any more. “Parents still want to have a son, but at least there are no more missing  girls,” says  IIASA researcher Sam Hyun Yoo. JP Further info Yoo  SH, Hayford  SR, Agadjanian  V  (2016). Old  habits die hard? Lingering son preference in an era of normalizing sex ratios at birth in South Korea. Population Research and Policy Review [pure.iiasa.ac.at/13387]. Sam Hyun Yoo yoosam@iiasa.ac.at Climate change threatens Iran’s great salt lake Lake Urmia, located in Iran near the border to Turkey, was  once the world’s second‑largest hypersaline lake, but has declined over 80% in recent decades. In a recent  study, IIASA researcher Somaya Shadkam found that the lake’s decline is linked to a combination of climate  change and water usage for irrigation. The lake is an important ecological area for Iran and the region, home to many species, and the Urmia basin supports a growing amount of agriculture. As the water level has declined, the water has become even more saline, leading to impacts on ecosystems, agriculture, health, and  tourism. Yet even in the most optimistic climate change scenario and without any further human impact, climate change is likely to worsen the situation of the Lake Urmia, according to another recent study by Shadkam published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. The study, which examined the future prospects for the lake, also finds that a proposed plan to rescue the lake will not be sufficient, given the impacts of climate  change. “This means that urgent actions are needed to save the  lake. We need both regional action to limit human water use, and global action to limit greenhouse gas concentration,” says  Shadkam. KL Further info Shadkam  S, Ludwig  F, van  Vliet  MTH, Pastor  A, Kabat  P (2016). Preserving the world second largest hypersaline lake under future irrigation and  climate change. Science of the Total Environment 559:317–325 [pure.iiasa.ac.at/12811]. § Shadkam  S, Ludwig  F, van  Oel  P, Kirmit  C, Kabat  P (2016). Impacts of climate change and water resources development plans on the declining inflow into Iran’s  Lake Urmia. Journal of Great Lakes Research [pure.iiasa.ac.at/13864]. Somayeh Shadkam shadkam@iiasa.ac.at