A climate-change vulnerability and adaptation assessment for Brazil's protected areas

Brazil hosts the largest expanse of tropical ecosystems within protected areas (PAs), which shelter biodiversity and support traditional human populations. We assessed the vulnerability to climate change of 993 terrestrial and coastal-marine Brazilian PAs by combining indicators of climatic-change hazard with indicators of PA resilience (size, native vegetation cover, and probability of climate-driven vegetation transition). This combination of indicators allows the identification of broad climate-change adaptation pathways. Seventeen PAs (20,611 km²) were highly vulnerable and located mainly in the Atlantic Forest (7 PAs), Cerrado (6), and the Amazon (4). Two hundred fifty-eight PAs (756,569 km²), located primarily in Amazonia, had a medium vulnerability. In the Amazon and western Cerrado, the projected severe climatic change and probability of climate-driven vegetation transition drove vulnerability up, despite the generally good conservation status of PAs. Over 80% of PAs of high or moderate vulnerability are managed by indigenous populations. Hence, besides the potential risks to biodiversity, the traditional knowledge and livelihoods of the people inhabiting these PAs may be threatened. In at least 870 PAs, primarily in the Atlantic Forest and Amazon, adaptation could happen with little or no intervention due to low climate-change hazard, high resilience status, or both. At least 20 PAs in the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Amazonia should be targeted for stronger interventions (e.g., improvement of ecological connectivity), given their low resilience status. Despite being a first attempt to link vulnerability and adaptation in Brazilian PAs, we suggest that some of the PAs identified as highly or moderately vulnerable should be prioritized for testing potential adaptation strategies in the near future.     

Potential of microalgae as biopesticides to contribute to sustainable agriculture and environmental development

The loss of yields from agricultural production due to the presence of pests has been treated over the years with synthetic pesticides, but the use of these substances negatively affects the environment and presents health risks for consumers and animals. The development of agroecological systems using biopesticides represents a safe alternative that contributes to the reduction of agrochemical use and sustainable agriculture. Microalgae are able to biosynthesize a number of metabolites with potential biopesticidal action and can be considered potential biological agents for the control of harmful organisms to soils and plants. The present work aims to provide a critical perspective on the consequences of using synthetic pesticides, offering as an alternative the biopesticides obtained from microalgal biomass, which can be used together with the implementation of environmentally friendly agricultural systems.     

Fast,cheap, and imperfect? US public opinion about solar geoengineering

ABSTRACT

Solar geoengineering, which seeks to cool the planet by reflecting a small fraction of sunlight back into space, has drawn the attention of scientists and policymakers as climate change remains unabated. Unlike mitigation, solar geoengineering could quickly and cheaply lower global temperatures. It is also imperfect. Its environmental impacts remain unpredictable, and its low cost and immediate effects may result in ‘moral hazard,’ potentially crowding out costly mitigation efforts. There is little understanding about how the public will respond to such tradeoffs. To address this, a 1000-subject nationally representative poll focused on solar geoengineering was conducted as part of the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) of the US electorate in October–November 2016. The importance that individuals place on solar geoengineering’s speed and cost predicts their support for it, but there is little to no relationship between their concerns about its shortcomings and support for its research and use. Acquiescence bias appears to be an important factor for attitudes around solar geoengineering and moral hazard.     

Difference in the net value of ecological services between natural and artificial forests in China

Land degradation is a global problem that seriously threatens human society. However, in China and elsewhere, ecological restoration still largely relies on a traditional approach that focuses only on ecological factors and ignores socioeconomic factors. To improve the effectiveness of ecological restoration and maximize its economic and ecological benefits, a more efficient approach is needed that provides support for policy development and land management and thereby promotes environmental conservation. We devised a framework for assessing the value of ecosystem services that remain after subtracting costs, such as the opportunity costs, costs of forest protection, and costs for the people who are affected by the program; that is, the net value of ecosystem services (NVES). To understand the difference between the value of a resource and the net value of the ecosystem service it provides, we used data on VES, timber sales, and afforestation costs from China's massive national afforestation programs to calculate the net value of forest ecosystem services in China. Accounting for the abovementioned costs revealed an NVES of ¥6.1 × 10¹² for forests in 2014, which was 35.9% less than the value calculated without accounting for costs. As a result, the NVES associated with afforestation was 55.9% less than the NVES of natural forests. In some regions, NVES was negative because of the huge costs of human-made plantations, high evapotranspiration rates (thus, high water opportunity costs), and low forest survival rates. To maximize the ecological benefits of conservation, it is necessary to account for as many costs as possible so that management decisions can be based on NVES, thereby helping managers choose projects that maximize both economic and ecological benefits.     

情感诉求对交通安全广告效果的影响

为检验交通公益广告中情感诉求变化对广告效果的影响,采用试验法操作广告情感诉求类型,使用眼动技术和Go/no-go联想测验(GNAT),通过比较不同效价和唤醒度的情感诉求广告对受众的注意力和内隐态度的影响,评估交通安全广告情感诉求类型的说服效果。研究发现:被试对低唤醒广告文字区的眼动注视时间和注视点个数显著长于/多于对高唤醒广告文字区的注视时间和注视点个数;被试观看高唤醒消极的广告后,正确驾驶行为的积极态度显著下降,而低唤醒消极/高唤醒积极/低唤醒积极的公益广告对于被试的内隐态度的改变没有显著差异。结果表明,高唤醒度积极广告能够提升受众的注意力,而高唤醒度消极广告则会损害受众对正确驾驶行为的内隐态度。     

ARSENIC CONSUMPTION AND HEALTH RISK PERCEPTIONS IN A RURAL WESTERN U.S. AREA1

ABSTRACT: Churchill County, Nevada, has approximately 23,000 residents, among whom an estimated 13,500 relied on private wells for water supply in 2002. This study examined exposure to arsenic in water supplies among residents with private domestic wells and factors related to householder choice to consume tap water. It compared opinions and concerns about water quality with consumption habits and observed concentrations from tap water samples. The results from 351 households indicated that a majority (75 percent) of respondents consumed tap water and that a minority (38 percent) applied treatment. Approximately 66 percent of those who consumed tap water were exposed to concentrations of arsenic that exceeded 10 ppb. Water consumption was related to application of treatment. Among 98 respondents who were not at all concerned about the health effects of aqueous arsenic, 59 (60 percent) reported consuming tap water with concentrations of arsenic exceeding 10 ppb. Conversely, among 86 respondents who were highly concerned about arsenic, 33 (37 percent) consumed tap water with concentrations of arsenic exceeding 10 ppb. Results from a national sampling effort showed that 620 of 5,304 private wells sampled (11.7 percent) had arsenic concentrations above 10 ppb. The paradox of awareness of arsenic in water supplies coupled with consumption of aqueous arsenic in concentrations greater than 10 ppb may be common in other parts of the nation. Enhanced educational efforts, especially related to tap water sampling and explanations of efficacy of available treatment, may be useful means of reducing exposure through private water supplies.     

企业社会责任:推动可持续发展的第三种力量

可持续发展是企业社会责任的重要领域。企业社会责任在推动可持续发展方面发挥着独特的作用。一定程度上弥补了政府干预和市场调节的缺陷。我国企业承担可持续发展责任需要企业和社会的互动。     

信息化建设:开发区产业升级与可持续发展之路

面对当前我国经济开发区发展所面临的主要挑战，无论从自身经济增长规律出发．还是应对外部竞争压力，在新形势下，信息化是实现开发区产业升级与可持续发展的必由之路。如何针对开发区实际状况，系统、科学地进行信息化建设，包括大力发展信息产业并使其成为支柱产业，开创新经济增长点；以信息技术改造传统产业，促进产业升级与结构调整；以电子政务提高政府管理水平与服务效率、以电子商务提高企业的经营绩效与创新能力；以信息化推动城市化进程，提高人口素质与生活水平等。针对上述议题，特提出以“数字城市”建设、完善信息产业链为核心的开发区信息化发展战略。     

地下开采对地表的破坏与防治

介绍了由于地下开采而引起的沉陷对环境的破坏，包括连续下沉的移动盆地、非连续下沉的塌陷坑等。同时还介绍了对留设保护矿柱、充填采空区等预防措施。对塌陷区和裂缝的治理、复地造田等方法进行了探讨。     

生态系统服务功能及其价值核算

生态系统服务功能是指生态系统服务与生态系统功能的综合，指生态系统与生态过程所形成及所维持的人类赖以生存的自然环境条件与效用，生态系统服务功能对于人类生存发展具有重要的价值，应该在社会经济体系中得以体现，本文探讨了生态系统服务功能的类型，价值核算方法与理论及其应用研究在完善国民经济核算体系、促进可持续发展等方面的重要意义，并对今后发展进行了展望。