People and biodiversity in the 21st century: This article belongs to Ambio’s 50th Anniversary Collection. Theme: Biodiversity conservation

Fifty years have elapsed since the first publication of Ambio. Throughout this period, fundamental changes have occurred in societal attitudes to biodiversity conservation. Ambio has published numerous papers that have aligned with these new approaches. High citations numbers suggest that Ambio papers have had a significant impact on conservation strategies. We review these publications and find that they align well with changed societal perspectives on biodiversity. Ambio papers have called for greater contributions of local and indigenous peoples and for conservation in multi-functional landscapes. The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity built on these principles. Negotiations are now underway for a post-2020 framework for biodiversity. Ambio papers have argued for a stronger scientific basis for conservation and for the need to adapt to changing conditions and to the rich diversity of societal preferences for conservation. International processes favor simple, generalizable approaches to conservation but we call for recognition of the diversity of ecological and human conditions in which conservation occurs. There is a need to build capacity to support a diversity of conservation approaches that are adapted to changing local conditions and to the priorities of diverse human societies.     

The Tasman Spirit oil spill: implications for regulatory change in Pakistan

An oil spill in July 2003 from the tanker Tasman Spirit attracted considerable public and media attention in Pakistan. This paper focuses on the experience of a developing country such as Pakistan in dealing with a major oil spill and its impact on bringing about change in the national regulatory framework. A major outcome has been the ratification of the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1992, which came into force in March 2006 in Pakistan. The convention provides a compensation mechanism for victims incurring oil pollution damages from maritime casualties involving oil laden ships. Several additional changes are still required to improve the country's ability to cope with marine oil spills. These include the development of a comprehensive domestic regulatory framework, implementation of an effective contingency plan, and capacity building of all relevant agencies.     

省域安全生产应急救援指挥平台框架体系研究

分析省级安全生产应急救援指挥的业务特点,认为它是一个平时模拟演练和事故现场应急指挥并重、平战结合的一体化过程,是一个广域多部门实时动态的联动过程;笔者提出安全生产应急救援的框架体系,并以网络为基础,以信息技术为手段,以智能设备为前端而构建一个实时直观的应急指挥有机体,包括基础支持系统、综合应用系统、数据库系统、移动指挥平台、前端展示系统,以及法律法规等体系、安全保障体系等,同时重点分析其中的网络结构、综合应用系统,以及与其他单位系统的接口。该框架体系通过广东省安全生产监督管理部门的验证,在实践中是可行的。     

Development of a Methodology for Strategic Environmental Assessment: Application to the Assessment of Golf Course Installation Policy in Taiwan

Some countries, including Taiwan, have adopted strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to assess and modify proposed policies, plans, and programs (PPPs) in the planning phase for pursuing sustainable development. However, there were only some sketchy steps focusing on policy assessment in the system of Taiwan. This study aims to develop a methodology for SEA in Taiwan to enhance the effectiveness associated with PPPs. The proposed methodology comprises an SEA procedure involving PPP management and assessment in various phases, a sustainable assessment framework, and an SEA management system. The SEA procedure is devised based on the theoretical considerations by systems thinking and the regulative requirements in Taiwan. The positive and negative impacts on ecology, society, and economy are simultaneously considered in the planning (including policy generation and evaluation), implementation, and control phases of the procedure. This study used the analytic hierarchy process, Delphi technique, and systems analysis to develop a sustainable assessment framework. An SEA management system was built based on geographic information system software to process spatial, attribute, and satellite image data during the assessment procedure. The proposed methodology was applied in the SEA of golf course installation policy in 2001 as a case study, which was the first SEA in Taiwan. Most of the 82 existing golf courses in 2001 were installed on slope lands and caused a serious ecological impact. Assessment results indicated that 15 future golf courses installed on marginal lands (including buffer zones, remedied lands, and wastelands) were acceptable because the comprehensive environmental (ecological, social, and economic) assessment value was better based on environmental characteristics and management regulations of Taiwan. The SEA procedure in the planning phase for this policy was completed but the implementation phase of this policy was not begun because the related legislation procedure could not be arranged due to a few senators’ resistance. A self-review of the control phase was carried out in 2006 using this methodology. Installation permits for 12 courses on slope lands were terminated after 2001 and then 27 future courses could be installed on marginal lands. The assessment value of this policy using the data on ecological, social, and economic conditions from 2006 was higher than that using the data from 2001. The analytical results illustrate that the proposed methodology can be used to effectively and efficiently assist the related authorities for SEA.     

化工园区综合风险评价中的公众参与研究

为确保公众与化工园区之间的和谐相处,分析化工园区综合风险评价中公众参与的现状,提出公众参与实施中所应遵循的原则、方法和形式,采用社会问卷调查的形式,验证了这一工作的必要性。阐述化工园区综合风险评价中公众参与应分为三个阶段,即早期公众参与、中期公众参与及持续公众参与,针对不同时期的具体情况,指出基本的工作程序。在公众参与调查中建立评价因素集的体系框架,并采用熵权法分析评价各因素的权重,结合公众＂幅值＂评分,综合得出公众对于化工园区建设、规划、准入项目及正常生产时带来影响的意见和建议的倾向性。首次提出在化工园区综合风险评价中增加公众参与这一内容,有利于增加政府机构办事的透明度,同时也确保公众的利益得到足够的重视。     

基于空间信息技术的城市环境时空调控范式研究

城市环境－生态系统是高度复杂的时空复合动力学系统。通过对城市环境问题的空间动力学机制分析后，提出城市环境可持续发展时空调控的层次途径，并构造了融合遥感、地理信息系统等空间信息技术、环境建模技术、决策支持系统、人工智能等技术的城市生态－环境系统时空调控的体系框架，为城市环境管理及环境空间决策提供新的理论范。     

Coupling hydrologic and economic modeling for wetland management multi-optimization in Tram Chim National Park,Vietnam

We developed a comprehensive coupling framework with a multi-objective optimization that bridges a water balance model (WBM) and a wetland service model (WSM) to supporting wetland management. The framework was tested for management in Tram Chim National Park (with four wetland zones) where hydro-economic optimization was needed. The framework used (1) a model coupling process bridging WBM and WSM to create a modular hydro-economic model (MHEM), (2) a multi-objective optimization, and (3) an anneal scheduling for scenario optimization. The framework demonstrated its competency in identifying cause–effect/interaction flows (bridges) between WBM and WSM to design MHEM to simulate optimized scenarios; for the case study, the multi-objective optimization was met for all wetland zones. Results suggested a flexible consideration of management scales for optimization, i.e. hydrologic optimization at a zone level and net benefit optimization at a Park level. Our framework is applicable to supporting complex wetland decisions considering multiple objectives.     

中国能源安全的路径选择与战略框架

能源是国民经济可持续发展的基础,可持续能源战略对保障国家能源安全具有重要意义,能源安全与能源战略日益成为当前国际社会和国家安全战略中备受关注的重大问题.本文从中国的现实状况出发,阐述了制定国家能源安全战略的重要性,提出了能源安全的选择路径,构建了全面性能源安全战略框架,为制定我国长期能源安全战略提供参考.论文认为:国家能源安全战略是能源可持续供给、社会经济健康发展、突发事件合理应对、生态环境安全的重要保障；中国能源安全的路径应从能源供给安全、能源生产和使用安全、能源运输安全、能源环境安全及能源安全预警机制等方面进行选择；健全能源管理体制、能源政策、能源市场、能源技术、能源战略储备、提高输送能力、能源环境与节能是能源安全战略框架的重要内容.并提出以下建议:建立国家能源安全综合协调机构；运用市场机制提高能源效率,促进能源利用多元化；加快替代能源和新能源的技术研发；加强能源资源的战略储备.     

Relating characteristics of global biodiversity targets to reported progress

To inform governmental discussions on the nature of a revised Strategic Plan for Biodiversity of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), we reviewed the relevant literature and assessed the framing of the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets in the current strategic plan. We asked international experts from nongovernmental organizations, academia, government agencies, international organizations, research institutes, and the CBD to score the Aichi Targets and their constituent elements against a set of specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic, unambiguous, scalable, and comprehensive criteria (SMART based, excluding time bound because all targets are bound to 2015 or 2020). We then investigated the relationship between these expert scores and reported progress toward the target elements by using the findings from 2 global progress assessments (Global Biodiversity Outlook and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services). We analyzed the data with ordinal logistic regressions. We found significant positive relationships (p < 0.05) between progress and the extent to which the target elements were perceived to be measurable, realistic, unambiguous, and scalable. There was some evidence of a relationship between progress and specificity of the target elements, but no relationship between progress and ambition. We are the first to show associations between progress and the extent to which the Aichi Targets meet certain SMART criteria. As negotiations around the post-2020 biodiversity framework proceed, decision makers should strive to ensure that new or revised targets are effectively structured and clearly worded to allow the translation of targets into actionable policies that can be successfully implemented nationally, regionally, and globally.     

金属有机骨架MIL-68(Al)对水中典型荧光增白剂VBL的吸附去除

以金属有机骨架材料MIL-68(Al)为吸附剂,探究其对水中典型荧光增白剂VBL分子的吸附行为.采用粉末X射线衍射仪(XRD)、傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、场发射扫描电镜(SEM)及N_2吸附脱附对MIL-68(Al)的结构性质进行表征.探讨了p H值、离子强度、污染物初始浓度、反应温度及吸附时间对MIL-68(Al)吸附去除水中VBL的影响,并对吸附等温线、动力学、热力学及吸附机制进行了分析.实验结果表明,MIL-68(Al)对VBL的吸附能适应较宽的p H范围,吸附等温线符合Langmuir模型,最大吸附容量达到400.02 mg·g~(-1);吸附速率在前20 min很快,并且能在180 min达到吸附平衡,吸附动力学符合准二级动力学模型;吸附过程是吸热反应,吸附自发进行并且主要由熵驱动;静电作用和氢键作用对吸附均有贡献,静电作用是吸附发生的主要机制.由以上结果可知,MIL-68(Al)是一种潜在的高效吸附剂,在去除水中的VBL分子方面极具潜力.