Considering science needs to deliver actionable science

Conservation practitioners, natural resource managers, and environmental stewards often seek out scientific contributions to inform decision-making. This body of science only becomes actionable when motivated by decision makers considering alternative courses of action. Many in the science community equate addressing stakeholder science needs with delivering actionable science. However, not all efforts to address science needs deliver actionable science, suggesting that the synonymous use of these two constructs (delivering actionable science and addressing science needs) is not trivial. This can be the case when such needs are conveyed by people who neglect decision makers responsible for articulating a priority management concern and for specifying how the anticipated scientific information will aid the decision-making process. We argue that the actors responsible for articulating these science needs and the process used to identify them are decisive factors in the ability to deliver actionable science, stressing the importance of examining the provenance and the determination of science needs. Guided by a desire to enhance communication and cross-literacy between scientists and decision makers, we identified categories of actors who may inappropriately declare science needs (e.g., applied scientists with and without regulatory affiliation, external influencers, reluctant decision makers, agents in place of decision makers, and boundary organization representatives). We also emphasize the importance of, and general approach to, undertaking needs assessments or gap analyses as a means to identify priority science needs. We conclude that basic stipulations to legitimize actionable science, such as the declaration of decisions of interest that motivate science needs and using a robust process to identify priority information gaps, are not always satisfied and require verification. To alleviate these shortcomings, we formulated practical suggestions for consideration by applied scientists, decision makers, research funding entities, and boundary organizations to help foster conditions that lead to science output being truly actionable.     

Monitoring,imperfect detection,and risk optimization of a Tasmanian devil insurance population

Most species are imperfectly detected during biological surveys, which creates uncertainty around their abundance or presence at a given location. Decision makers managing threatened or pest species are regularly faced with this uncertainty. Wildlife diseases can drive species to extinction; thus, managing species with disease is an important part of conservation. Devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) is one such disease that led to the listing of the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) as endangered. Managers aim to maintain devils in the wild by establishing disease‐free insurance populations at isolated sites. Often a resident DFTD‐affected population must first be removed. In a successful collaboration between decision scientists and wildlife managers, we used an accessible population model to inform monitoring decisions and facilitate the establishment of an insurance population of devils on Forestier Peninsula. We used a Bayesian catch‐effort model to estimate population size of a diseased population from removal and camera trap data. We also analyzed the costs and benefits of declaring the area disease‐free prior to reintroduction and establishment of a healthy insurance population. After the monitoring session in May–June 2015, the probability that all devils had been successfully removed was close to 1, even when we accounted for a possible introduction of a devil to the site. Given this high probability and the baseline cost of declaring population absence prematurely, we found it was not cost‐effective to carry out any additional monitoring before introducing the insurance population. Considering these results within the broader context of Tasmanian devil management, managers ultimately decided to implement an additional monitoring session before the introduction. This was a conservative decision that accounted for uncertainty in model estimates and for the broader nonmonetary costs of mistakenly declaring the area disease‐free.     

红松阔叶混交林林隙极端地面温度的地统计学分析

以小兴安岭原始红松阔叶混交林林隙为研究对象,采用网格法布点,通过对生长季内林隙各样点极端地面温度的连续观测,利用经典统计学和地统计学的方法分析并揭示了林隙极端地面温度的时空分布格局。研究结果表明:林隙极端地面温度不同空间样点之间存在异质性,而且异质性的强度、 尺度和空间结构组成随时间而改变,各月平均极端地面温度斑块形状复杂,最高地面温度大小顺序均为6月>7月>8月>9月,最低地面温度大小顺序为7月>8月>6月>9月,月平均地温的最大值和最小值分布位置不固定,同一月份地面最高温度的大小顺序是空旷地>林隙>郁闭林分,地面最低温度大小顺序是郁闭林分>林隙>空旷地。研究旨在为红松阔叶混交林的可持续经营提供基础数据和理论参考。     

湖北省自然保护区建设现状及空缺分析

建立自然保护区是保护生物多样性以及重要自然与文化遗产的主要措施,是保护生态环境和自然资源的基本方式,具有重大的经济、生态、文化、科学以及美学和娱乐价值。根据实地调查和资料汇总,截至2007年12月,湖北省共建立自然保护区58个,总面积108.01万hm2,占湖北省国土面积的5.79%。文章在分析已建自然保护区基础上,研究了自然保护区类型、物种多样性、区域体系布局等方面存在的空缺,提出了调整现有自然保护区(主要方式为合并、升级、扩区)和新建自然保护区(小区、点)的建议,包括合并堵河源和十八里长峡自然保护区、麋鹿自然保护区的扩区,新建三峡库区湿地自然保护区、火烧坪草地生态系统自然保护区等一批自然保护区的规划建议,为湖北省自然保护区管理和规划提供依据。     

矿业权集聚、经济增长与区域贫困减缓

本文基于泰尔指数法,计算并测度了中国资源富集区的城乡收入差距与行业(矿业)收入差距,然后结合矿业权集聚度的测度结果和中国资源税改革的变动特征,建立面板数据回归模型,考察了2004—2014年中国资源富集区矿业权集聚与经济增长、贫困减缓的长期关系。本文的主要结论是:资源税对矿业权集聚水平和矿业经济增长具有正向刺激作用,但矿业经济增长并不利于地区经济的整体改进,也不利于区域贫困减缓。资源税低水平征收对"资源诅咒"和"区域贫困"具有传导效应,进而对资源富集区的贫困减缓形成阻滞作用。另外,矿业权集聚对地区贫困的影响存在异质性,异质性揭示了区域资源性收益分配存在的差异。短期来看,矿业权集聚使中央企业惠及更多,是引致"富饶中的贫困"怪圈的重要原因;但长期来看,随着矿业权集聚度的提升,地方政府获得的累积性资源性收益不断上升,渐次增强了地方政府通过社会保障支出实施收入调节的能力,总体上有利于区域贫困的减缓。因此,为实现资源富集区的精准扶贫,资源主管部门在制定减贫措施前,应根据不同区域特点区别对待,短期内应着力于调整资源性收益分配机制,赋予地方更多资源性收益,并加大对社会的保障性支出;长期来看,应探索建立合理有效的资源税体制,促进经济增长方式的多样化,并鼓励科技创新,进一步提高社会群体的受教育程度,从根本上改变区域贫困产生的内生性环境和外生性环境。     

Influence of social capital on farmer household income gap: total effect and structural effect

Based on the survey data of typical villages in Shaanxi Province, China, the effect of social capital on the income gap of farmers’ households was analyzed using the Shapley value of the total amount of social capital and the social capital structure. The results show the following: first, social capital can expand the household income gap, and the effect of this index on the household income gap is 7.54%. Second, the indexes of the social capital dimension can expand the household income gap, and the structural effects of the household income gap on social networks, social trust, and social participation are 3.17%, 3.64%, and 0.65%, respectively. Third, no dimension of the path is the same as the effect on the household income gap.     

On how much biodiversity is covered in Europe by national protected areas and by the Natura 2000 network: insights from terrestrial vertebrates

The European Union has made extensive biodiversity conservation efforts with the Habitats and Birds Directives and with the establishment of the Natura 2000 network of protected areas, one of the largest networks of conservation areas worldwide. We performed a gap analysis of the entire Natura 2000 system plus national protected areas and all terrestrial vertebrates (freshwater fish excluded). We also evaluated the level of connectivity of both systems, providing therefore a first estimate of the functionality of the Natura 2000 system as an effective network of protected areas. Together national protected areas and the Natura 2000 network covered more than one‐third of the European Union. National protected areas did not offer protection to 13 total gap species (i.e., species not covered by any protected area) or to almost 300 partial gap species (i.e., species whose representation target is not met). Together the Natura 2000 network and national protected areas left 1 total gap species and 121 partial gap species unprotected. The terrestrial vertebrates listed in the Habitats and Birds Directives were relatively well covered (especially birds), and overall connectivity was improved considerably by Natura 2000 sites that act as stepping stones between national protected areas. Overall, we found that the Natura 2000 network represents at continental level an important network of protected areas that acts as a good complement to existing national protected areas. However, a number of problems remain that are mainly linked to the criteria used to list the species in the Habitats and Birds Directives. The European Commission initiated in 2014 a process aimed at assessing the importance of the Birds and Habitats Directives for biodiversity conservation. Our results contribute to this assessment and suggest the system is largely effective for terrestrial vertebrates but would benefit from further updating of the species lists and field management.     

政府主导、人口流动与城乡收入差距

中国经济增长具有典型的政府主导特征,通过构造一个包含城镇和农村经济产出的社会福利函数来分析政府主导型经济增长对城乡收入差距的影响关系,并基于中国城镇化发展实际分析了人口流动对城乡收入差距的影响,在此基础上提出研究假说,统计中国1997—2014年省际面板数据,采用泰尔指数测度城乡收入差距并分别进行静态和动态回归分析与检验。静态研究发现政府主导和人口流动显著地拉大了城乡收入差距,但是二者的交互项对城乡收入差距的确具有收敛效应,即随着人口流动的增加,政府主导对城乡收入差距的边际贡献会降低,同样随着政府主导的提升也会降低人口流动对城乡收入差距的边际贡献,这种影响关系在分区域的回归中依然成立,并通过了稳健性检验;动态研究发现全国和分区域中城乡收入差距的变动存在显著的正向路径依赖特征,全国层面政府主导显著地拉大了城乡收入差距,而人口流动及其与政府主导的交互项则显著地缩小了城乡收入差距,但分区域来看政府主导和人口流动对城乡收入差距的影响存在显著的区域异质性,并通过了稳健性检验。因此缩小城乡收入差距不应设置单一的政策目标,需要建立多方面的政策配套体系,逐步矫正政府主导型经济中造成的政府职能异化,精准识别地方财政收支量的规模和结构条件,扩大涉农业务投资的规模,激活农村经济发展活力;在城乡户籍制度改革中进一步打破城乡分割藩篱,大力发展非农产业,增加农民的非农就业机会,促进农民的非农化就业和城镇化迁移,提升城镇化发展质量;最终通过一系列的配套性制度安排,旨在加强支持农业发展和农村建设,促进农民收入增长的制度供给,实现城乡共享发展。     

Are national biodiversity strategies and action plans appropriate for building responsibilities for mainstreaming biodiversity across policy sectors? The case of Finland

The Convention on Biological Diversity's national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs) are major mechanisms for mainstreaming biodiversity into national policies. This article examines whether and how the NBSAPs contribute to mainstreaming biodiversity across policy sectors in Finland in order to halt biodiversity loss. We have developed an innovative analytical framework where the concept of responsibility addresses how motivations for mainstreaming can be built, and the concept of social learning outcomes addresses the extent of institutional changes for biodiversity. The Finnish NBSAP processes have been able to build diverse forms of responsibility (liability, accountability, responsiveness and care) in different policy sectors by providing new knowledge, careful process design and developing institutional linkages. Despite pro-biodiversity outcomes in the targeted policy sectors, the responsibilities do not diffuse from the environmental administration to other policy sectors to a sufficient extent. Closing this ‘responsibility gap’ is a key challenge for building effective environmental policies.     

佛山市创建生态市差距分析与策略研究

生态市建设是探索区域生态文明的准备阶段,亦是区域可持续发展道路的重要阶段。成功的生态市创建策略是在充分认识本区域发展现状及创建差距的基础上,抓住重点任务作出科学、合理、可操作的政策措施。佛山市提出了在2015年建成国家生态市的奋斗目标,时间紧任务重,必须尽快制定行之有效的策略。本文重点分析佛山市目前经济、生态环境与社会进步等方面与生态市考核指标要求之间的差异,在此基础上识别佛山市创建生态市的重点任务,进一步研究相应的配套政策需求。