Human Dimensions of Forest Disturbance by Insects: An International Synthesis

Ecological disturbances of forests by insects have a complex array of associated human dimensions presenting complications for natural resource decision making and relationships between stakeholders and managers. This article discusses the human context of forest disturbances by insects by reviewing four cases of bark beetle forest disturbance from British Columbia in Canada, Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany, the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, and the north central region of Colorado. Findings and lessons learned from these studies are outlined along with their implications for managing forest disturbances by insects in general. Conclusions focus on the need to assess the broad array of impacts and risks perceived by local residents and the capacity for local action and involvement in managing forest disturbances. Communication and interaction between resource managers and local stakeholders can facilitate the identification of management priorities and potentially reduce some of the risks associated with forest disturbances by insects.     

基于知识推理的发电企业设备风险管理应用研究

基于发电企业设备自身的特点及工作人员对风险知识认知的局限性,有必要分析发电企业设备在运行、检修中潜在的风险.分析了设备风险知识与风险管理的关系,并以发电企业各类大型设备中应用最广泛的电动机为例,解决了电动机风险知识的表达及推理问题,为实现基于知识的设备风险管理提供了一种思路,对指导发电企业的设备日常维护、巡检以及状态监测、避免不必要的损失有着积极的意义.     

Sustainable consumption in Brazil: Identification of preliminary requirements to guide product development and the definition of public policies

Sustainable product development is closely related to sustainable consumption. The understanding of consumers' purchase, use and discard behaviours may facilitate the identification of requirements to guide manufacturers in the development of sustainable goods and services. The aim of this paper is to investigate consumers' perception about factors that motivate or discourage the consumption of sustainable products to identify demands and convert them into requirements. South Brazilian green and traditional consumers were asked to complete an exploratory qualitative questionnaire. Their answers were organized and compared to identify differences and similarities between the demands of these two groups. Furthermore, demands were converted into requirements for packages, products, manufactures, stores planning and discard systems. The interpretation of factors that motivate or discourage the purchase of sustainable products given by interviewees led to the creation of a list of possible public policies or programmes, aiming to support sustainable consumption. The results demonstrate the necessity of further quantitative investigation between consumer groups, for validation purposes.     

A review of post-modern management techniques as currently applied to Turkish forestry

This paper reviews the effects of six post-modern management concepts as applied to Turkish forestry. Up to now, Turkish forestry has been constrained, both in terms of its operations and internal organization, by a highly bureaucratic system. The application of new thinking in forestry management, however, has recently resulted in new organizational and production concepts that promise to address problems specific to this Turkish industry and bring about positive changes. This paper will elucidate these specific issues and demonstrate how post-modern management thinking is influencing the administration and operational capacity of Turkish forestry within its current structure.     

城市家用天然气安全管理的研究

通过对100家广州市天然气家庭用户使用情况进行调查,主要针对天然气使用、燃气设施保护和安全意识等诸多问题,运用事故致因理论,分析其成因规律,提出从事故发生的根本原因入手,运用"预防为主、善后为辅"的积极、主动的方法,把事故消除在起始或孕育阶段。调查结果显示:造成城市燃气应用系统事故的原因主要包括:用户燃具不正确的选择、燃气设备安装不当、燃气安全知识水平不高、安全意识不强、燃具产品和服务质量良莠不齐等。并以事故预防控制理论为指导,提出广州市天然气应用预防与安全管理应采取的技术、教育、强化等3方面对策。     

Evaluating the use of Social Impact Assessment in the context of agricultural development projects in Iran

The utilisation of Social Impact Assessment (SIA) in Iran is analysed in terms of its policy context and its application in practice. Five case studies where SIA was employed in conjunction with Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for agricultural development projects are evaluated. In addition, the performance of the policy context is assessed. This research revealed that there are legal and institutional constraints to the effective functioning of SIA in Iran, and that there are deficiencies in the operating guidelines. There were serious problems associated with the way SIA was undertaken in all five case studies. Recommendations to improve the policy framework for the conduct of SIA are made. The recommendations advocate for a higher profile of SIA within legislation, for social issues to have greater emphasis in official guidelines for the conduct of EIA and SIA, and for a range of measures to increase the professionalism of SIA practice.     

风险管理在水电工程中的应用

水电工程是一个在建设过程中充满风险的、相当复杂的系统工程,其风险管理伴随着工程建设的全过程.随着我国水电工程建设体制改革的进一步深化,风险管理越来越受到工程界的重视.分析了在水电工程中存在的主要危险有害因素,提出了具体的风险管理和评价方法,并对一些主要的评价方法进行了大致的比较,同时对水电工程的风险管理工作提出了一些改进措施.     

Deforestation and the Limited Contribution of Forests to Rural Livelihoods in West Africa: Evidence from Burkina Faso and Ghana

Forest degradation in West Africa is generally thought to have negative consequences on rural livelihoods but there is little overview of its effects in the region because the importance of forests to rural livelihoods has never been adequately quantified. Based on data from 1014 rural households across Burkina Faso and Ghana this paper attempts to fill this knowledge gap. We demonstrate that agricultural lands and the non-forest environment including parklands are considerably more valuable to poor as well as more well-off rural households than forests. Furthermore, product types supplied by the non-forest environment are almost identical with those from forests. Accordingly, forest clearance/degradation is profitable for and, hence, probably performed by rural people at large. We attribute rural people's high reliance on non-forest versus forest resources to the two countries' restrictive and inequitable forest policies which must be reformed to promote effective forest conservation, e.g., to mitigate climate change.     

Point‐Nonpoint Trading – Can It Work?1

Ribaudo, Marc O. and Jessica Gottlieb, 2011. Point‐Nonpoint Trading – Can It Work? Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):5‐14. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00454.x Abstract: Water quality trading between point and nonpoint sources is of great interest as an alternative to strict command and control regulations on point sources for achieving water quality goals. The expectation is that trading will reduce the costs of water quality protection, and may speed compliance. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has issued guidance to the States on developing point‐nonpoint trading programs, and United States Department of Agriculture is encouraging farmer participation. However, existing point‐nonpoint trading programs have resulted in very few trades. Supply side and demand side impediments seem to be preventing trades from occurring in most trading programs. These include uncertainty over the number of discharge allowances different management practices can produce, high transactions costs of identifying trading partners, baseline requirements that eliminate low‐cost credits, the reluctance of point sources to trade with unfamiliar agents, and the perception of some farmers that entering contracts with regulated point sources leads to greater scrutiny and potential future regulation. Many of these problems can be addressed through research and program design.     

The Water Table: The Shifting Foundation of Life on Land

Hyperarid, arid, and semi-arid lands represent over a third of the Earth’s land surface, and are home to over 38 % of the increasing world population. Freshwater is a limiting resource on these lands, and withdrawal of groundwater substantially exceeds recharge. Withdrawals of groundwater for expanding agricultural and domestic use severely limit water availability for groundwater dependent ecosystems. We examine here, with emphasis on quantitative data, case histories of groundwater withdrawals at widely differing scales, on three continents, that range from the impact of a few wells, to the outcomes of total appropriation of flow in a major river system. The case histories provide a glimpse of the immense challenge of replacing groundwater resources once they are severely depleted, and put into sharp focus the question whether the magnitude of the current and future human, economic, and environmental consequences and costs of present practices of groundwater exploitation are adequately recognized.