CDM in the Kyoto Negotiations:

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has its origins in the decade of UNFCCC negotiations. ‘Joint implementation’ and ‘activities implemented jointly pilot’ opened the door for the project-based mechanisms between developed and developing countries. The US proposal of the Joint Implementation in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations was almost identical with CDM approved in Kyoto; however, a detour around the Clean Development Fund (CDF) concept raised by Brazil in the negotiations catalyzed the mutual understanding on the win-win nature of the concept of joint implementation.CDM has been played an important role to bridge the developed and developing countries in its development process initiated as the joint implementation in the UNFCCC, and can lead to the cooperative future in the implementation stage starting from the year 2003, including the development of future commitments beyond 2013. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Remediation of cadmium-contaminated paddy soils by washing with chemicals: effect of soil washing on cadmium uptake by soybean

We conducted a pot experiment to evaluate the effect of soil washing with CaCl(2) on Cd absorption by two soybean cultivars. The results were as follows: (1) Soybean growth was not significantly different in washed and unwashed soils, but the seed Cd concentration for both cultivars decreased significantly, up to 25%, in the washed soils compared with the unwashed soils. (2) In the washed soils, the Cd concentration in the soil solution indicated an obviously lower value from sowing to the flowering stage; however, the change in Cd speciation was not evident in the CaCl(2)-washed soil solution. Consequently, the effect of soil washing using CaCl(2) on Cd-contaminated paddy soils can be expected to continue after a CaCl(2)-washed paddy field is converted to an upland field.     

Studies on feeding repellents for fishes and shellfishes

The present study on chemotaxis activity was conducted between May 1989 and March 1990. In order to establish a chemotaxis index, with special reference to a repellence index of food for black abalone Haliotis discus, a logistic curve y=g/{1+ exp [-r(j-a)]}, where g, r and a are constants, was applied to time-courses of abalone responses to fresh and spoiled algal extracts. The time-courses were respresented by the number of individuals (y _i) displaying three behaviors (entering. leaving and remaining in a test compartment with algal sample) over time (j=1 to 10, 2-min intervals). Repellence and attraction specimens were prepared from a homogenate of green laver Ulva pertusa allowed to spoil for 2, 4 and 6 d at 40°C, and from fresh homogenate, respectively. Of 32 time-courses (estimated according to a method whereby the observed number was weighted by j for each behavior, involving 30 individuals), 32 entered, 19 left and 19 remained time-courses fitted the curve at the 0.10 level, as determined by a chi-square test. A general evaluation of repellence and attraction, determined by observable behavior, agreed well with the difference in a between the dummy (control) and specimen curves, and with the ratio of a in the dummy curve to a in the specimen curve, for logistic curves fitted to the entred time-course. The difference was >0 and the ratio was >1 in the repellence index, and <0 or <1 respectively in the attraction index. The validity of the indexes was ascertained using food specimens prepared from three kinds of algae.     

Asymmetric hydrogenation using modified ion exchange resin-palladium catalysts

The Science of Nature -     

Transition of human and livestock waste management in rural Hanoi: a material flow analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus during 1980–2010

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Human and livestock waste, i.e., excreta, were intensively used in crop cultivation in Asia over the years. However, rapid economic growth induced...     

Clarifying relationships between participatory approaches,issues, processes,and results,through crosscutting case analysis in Japan’s environmental,energy, and food policy areas

Participatory public engagement approaches such as Consensus Conferences, Deliberative Polling^®, and Planning Cells have been used to try and resolve environmental disputes in Japan; however, the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches have not been analyzed adequately or comprehensively. This paper evaluates practical applications of each of the above participatory approaches and conducts a crosscutting analysis of these applications to evaluate how effectively each approach provides scientific information to participants and to consider how the quality of deliberations that occur during these processes affect their outputs. Based on existing classification of participatory processes, and methodology for public involvement in US environmental decision-making, this study compares and contrasts the processes and outcomes of 25 participatory planning case studies in Japan. After compiling a case inventory of participatory approaches, the features of one approach are documented using qualitative analysis, and the aspects of four other approaches are confirmed using crosscutting analysis. In so doing, the likely strengths and weaknesses of each approach are suggested as follows. When discussions require an understanding of scientific knowledge, the Consensus Conference tends to be more suitable than the DP approach. If the consensus of participants is expected, the Consensus Conference is also thought to be suitable. But through a DP process or Simplified Planning Cells approach, we can know the quantitative portion of each opinion through results of ballots. In sum, new participatory approach that incorporates strengths of the Consensus Conference and the Simplified Planning Cells into Local Environmental Planning is needed. Thus, the quality of consensus building could be improved.     

Effect of different soil layers on porewater to remediate acidic surface environment at a close mine site

This paper describes the chemistry of porewater when constructing different soil layers on acidic weathered rock of a closed mine to remediate the surface environment. Three cases were set on a flat surface of the site, all under different layer systems. Case 1 was only composed of weathered rocks. A top neutralization layer was constructed on the weathered rocks in case 2, whereas both an upper low-permeable and middle neutralization layers were constructed on the weathered rocks in case 3. The low-permeable layer of 30?cm thick consists of clay, and the neutralization layer of 30?cm thick consists of the mixture of the weathered rock and calcium carbonate as a neutralizer. Porewater sampling systems and soil sensors to measure temperature, water content, and electrical conductivity were set at different depths. In case 1, steadily high concentrations of heavy metals were observed regardless of the depth, and the pH ranged from 2 to 4. In cases 2 and 3, a dramatic decrease in concentrations of heavy metals was observed, even below the neutralization layer. For both cases, pH values were circumneutral. There were no significant seasonable changes in heavy metals concentrations and pH of porewater by considering the temperature and precipitation. In addition, the water content of the layers in case 3 fluctuated more mildly than that in cases 1 and 2, indicating that the low-permeable layer reduced the rate of infiltration. Therefore, a significant reduction in the load of heavy metals released from the site can be achieved by both implementing neutralization and low-permeable layers.     

Tree-ring strontium-90 and cesium-137 as potential indicators of radioactive pollution

To examine whether tree rings can be used to detect or assess local historical 90Sr or 137Cs fallout, such as that resulting from the Hiroshima atomic bomb, radial distribution of 90Sr and 137Cs in trees was examined. We studied a gymnosperm [Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria japonica (L. f.) D. Don] and an angiosperm (Japanese persimmon, Diospyros kaki Thunb.) tree species from the vicinity of the atomic bomb hypocenter, and from other locations in Japan. A significant amount of 137Cs was detected in tree rings formed before 1945, indicating lateral migration of Cs. In contrast, the specific activity of 90Sr in the Hiroshima Japanese cedar showed the highest level in 1945, due to relatively immobile characteristics of Sr compared with Cs. Strontium-90 and Sr analyses in tree rings helped identify and distinguish between residual 90Sr activity from the Hiroshima atomic bomb and the atmospheric nuclear testing. This indicates the possibility of detecting or assessing previous local 90Sr pollution through with treering analysis.     

Predicting the Risk of Extinction through Hybridization

Abstract: Natural hybridization threatens a substantial number of plant and animal species with extinction, but extinction risk has been difficult to evaluate in the absence of a quantitative assessment of risk factors. We investigated a number of ecological parameters likely to affect extinction risk, through an individual-based model simulating the life cycle of two hybridizing annual plant species. All parameters tested, ranging from population size to variance in pollen-tube growth rates, affected extinction risk. The sensitivity of each parameter varied dramatically across parameter sets, but, overall, the competitive ability, initial frequency, and selfing rate of the native taxon had the strongest effect on extinction. In addition, prezygotic reproductive barriers had a stronger influence on extinction rates than did postzygotic barriers. A stable hybrid zone was possible only when habitat differentiation was included in the model. When there was no habitat differentiation, either one of the parental species or the hybrids eventually displaced the other two taxa. The simulations demonstrated that hybridization is perhaps the most rapidly acting genetic threat to endangered species, with extinction often taking place in less than five generations. The simulation model was also applied to naturally hybridizing species pairs for which considerable genetic and ecological information is available. The predictions from these "worked examples" are in close agreement with observed outcomes and further suggest that an endemic cordgrass species is threatened by hybridization. These simulations provide guidance concerning the kinds of data required to evaluate extinction risk and possible conservation strategies.