Key actor perspectives on stakeholder engagement in Omani Environmental Impact Assessment: an application of Q-Methodology

Stakeholder engagement (SE), particularly with representatives of locally affected communities, is integral to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes, so critical evaluation of SE is necessary across a range of different socio-political contexts. EIA SE practice in the Sultanate of Oman is examined using Q-Methodology, a qualitative-quantitative discourse analysis technique, in order to evaluate key-actor perspectives and policy directions. Four discourses emerge, pertaining to (1) the institutionalisation of SE; (2) business as usual; (3) rights-centred engagement; and (4) decentralisation of EIA institutions. Consensus emerges that shows support for transparency and formalisation of SE; greater citizen-centred decision-making power; transparency in government guidelines; and the elimination of developer-led consultation processes. Policy options for reforming EIA policy are discussed, including a code of participation practice and a toolkit of suitable engagement methods.     

The changing face of public concern about pollution in the United States: A case study of New Jersey

National surveys and a survey conducted by the authors in March and April 2004 revealed that the public’s concerns about air, water and land pollution have declined during the last four years in the United States and more specifically in the State of New Jersey. In New Jersey pollution remains a major concern of most residents, even during a period of a war, anxiety about terrorism and the economy. Those most anxious about pollution do not believe that government is doing enough to protect the environment, want to maintain current environmental laws, and are worried about the future. Disproportionately they are African and White Americans, middle income, and college graduates, in other words, part of the American mainstream. Direct attempts to weaken environmental protection are likely to be resisted by this core of the population, which does not trust current federal, state and local governments to protect the environment. We expect concerns for the environment to continue and yet change as production processes in the United States continue a trend toward pollution prevention, and we wait for the public’s mental models to catch up with this evolving reality.     

环境规划在我国规划体系中的定位及转型

结合对我国的规划体系及其发展方向的分析,指出了目前环境规划忽视对国土空间进行谋划的问题,并对其转型方向提出了建议。主要结论：环境规划应当在继续履行好争取财政资金等社会资源功能的同时,增强对资源环境承载能力这一重要自然资源的配置功能,转变为横跨国民经济和社会发展、国土空间开发管制两大领域的综合性规划;要加强环境保护空间管制的基础性研究,建立一套约束性环境规划指标体系,增强其权威性和可操作性,充分发挥规划的作用。     

长江(江苏段)沿江开发水质监控预警系统建设

长江（江苏段）水质监控预警体系是以信息技术为基础,综合运用地理信息系统（GIS）、遥感（NS）、网络、多媒体等现代高新科技手段,在沿江开发现状分析和评价的基础上,建立长江（江苏段）水质基础信息平台、不同功能的水质模型及其相应的管理系统,为区域的环境风险管理提供数据支持。     

毕节地区各土类水土保持树种的Fuzzy评价

根据毕节地区16个主要造林树种的生态生物学特性,结合本区气候和土壤生态条件,运用 Fuzzy 二级评价模型,对各土类水土保持树种的适宜程度进行了综合评价。     

新西兰罗托鲁阿污水处理厂的处理工艺

本文介绍了新西兰罗托鲁阿污水处理厂处理工艺的流程、原理和特点。     

2008年污水治理技术新进展

文章评述了我N2008年污水治理技术的新进展,重点介绍了高难废水治理、炼油污水特色治理、石化废水治理、油田污水处理以及污水零排放和回用等技术。     

Dissolved Organic Carbon and Estrogen Transport in Surface Runoff From Agricultural Land Receiving Poultry Litter1

Dutta, Sudarshan, Shreeram Inamdar, Jerry Tso, Diana S. Aga, and J. Tom Sims, 2012. Dissolved Organic Carbon and Estrogen Transport in Surface Runoff from Agricultural Land Receiving Poultry Litter. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(3): 558-569. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00634.x Abstract: Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) provides a reactive substrate for the transport of organic contaminants with runoff. Very few studies have investigated the export of DOC from agricultural land, especially those receiving manure applications. We investigated exports of DOC in surface runoff from agricultural fields receiving various treatments of poultry litter (raw vs. pelletized). In addition, we also investigated how estrogens in runoff were associated with DOC. Different forms of estrogens studied were: estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol, and their conjugates. Experimental agricultural plots were 12 m × 5 m long and had reduced tillage and no-till management practices. The aromatic content of DOC was characterized using specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA). Flow-weighted concentrations of DOC and SUVA in surface runoff from plots with poultry litter were significantly (p ≤ 0.10) greater than the control (no litter) plots. Compared to pelletized poultry litter, reduced-tillage plots with raw litter yielded higher DOC concentrations and SUVA values. No significant differences (p ≥ 0.10) in DOC and SUVA were observed between litter treatments for plots with no-till. Total estrogen concentrations (including all forms) were positively and significantly (p ≤ 0.10) correlated with DOC. These results can help select and guide agricultural management practices that can reduce the exports of DOC and associated contaminant from agricultural land receiving manure applications.     

传统平原农区乡村多元分化与新型城乡形态建设路径研究

构建新型城乡形态是推进城乡融合的重要着力点。基于产业结构专门化水平和乡村性指数的定量测度,对苏北地区县域乡村类型及差异化城乡形态建设路径进行了探索。结果表明:苏北地区农业主导型、工业主导型、商旅服务型和均衡发展型县域分别占12%、16%、12%和60%;弱乡村性县域呈分散组团分布,中等乡村性县域沿淮河生态经济走廊呈东西轴向延伸,强乡村性县域边缘性特征明显。据此,从现代农业发展、新型工业支撑、生态绿色创新、三产融合互动等方面提出新型城乡形态建设路径。     

Minimum Wet‐Season Flows and Levels in Southwest Florida Rivers1

Abstract: Regulation of river flows can result in decreased stage fluctuations and alteration of inundation patterns of floodplain wetlands. However, floodplain inundation has historically not been addressed in most minimum flow determinations. Florida law requires the water management districts of the state to establish minimum flows and levels to protect water bodies from significant harm associated with water withdrawals. The Southwest Florida Water Management District utilizes a 15% reduction in habitat criterion as a threshold for defining significant harm to freshwater segments of rivers. Utilizing a multi‐parameter approach and different habitat measures for seasonal flow periods, the District has recommended minimum flow compliance standards for the Alafia, Myakka and middle Peace rivers. For the high‐flow period, the District utilized a 15% reduction in the number of days of floodplain inundation (a temporal loss) as a significant harm threshold. This approach yielded allowable flow reductions of 8% for the Alafia and Peace rivers during the high‐flow season and a 7% allowable reduction of natural flows on the Myakka River. Comparison of changes in flows associated with temporal and spatial loss thresholds indicated that flow reductions required to effect a 15% spatial loss of habitat on the Alafia, Myakka and middle Peace rivers are higher than those that would yield a 15% temporal loss. This indicates that with respect to natural flow protection, the District’s consideration of temporal reductions in habitat for establishing minimum river flows for seasonal high‐flow periods is more conservative than the use of a spatial loss criterion.     

Sources and Delivery of Nutrients to the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico from Streams in the South‐Central United States1

Rebich, Richard A., Natalie A. Houston, Scott V. Mize, Daniel K. Pearson, Patricia B. Ging, and C. Evan Hornig, 2011. Sources and Delivery of Nutrients to the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico From Streams in the South‐Central United States. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(5):1061‐1086. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00583.x Abstract: SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were developed to estimate nutrient inputs [total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP)] to the northwestern part of the Gulf of Mexico from streams in the South‐Central United States (U.S.). This area included drainages of the Lower Mississippi, Arkansas‐White‐Red, and Texas‐Gulf hydrologic regions. The models were standardized to reflect nutrient sources and stream conditions during 2002. Model predictions of nutrient loads (mass per time) and yields (mass per area per time) generally were greatest in streams in the eastern part of the region and along reaches near the Texas and Louisiana shoreline. The Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River watersheds, which drain nearly two‐thirds of the conterminous U.S., delivered the largest nutrient loads to the Gulf of Mexico, as expected. However, the three largest delivered TN yields were from the Trinity River/Galveston Bay, Calcasieu River, and Aransas River watersheds, while the three largest delivered TP yields were from the Calcasieu River, Mermentau River, and Trinity River/Galveston Bay watersheds. Model output indicated that the three largest sources of nitrogen from the region were atmospheric deposition (42%), commercial fertilizer (20%), and livestock manure (unconfined, 17%). The three largest sources of phosphorus were commercial fertilizer (28%), urban runoff (23%), and livestock manure (confined and unconfined, 23%).     

Changes in interacting species with disturbance

Human-influenced changes in the diversity and abundance of native wildlife in a southern boreal forest area, which became a national park in 1975, are used to develop working hypotheses for predicting and subsequently measuring the effects of disturbance or restoration programs on groups of interacting species. Changes from presettlement conditions began with early 1900 hunting, which eliminated woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus) and elk (Cervus elaphus), and reduced moose (Alces alces) to the low numbers which still persist. Increases in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), as these other cervid species became less abundant or absent, provided enough alternative food to sustain the system's carnivores until plant succession on previously burned or logged areas also caused deer to decline. With increased competition for reduced food, carnivore species also became less abundant or absent and overexploited some prey populations. The abilities of interacting species to maintain dynamically stable populations or persist varied with their different capacities to compensate for increased exploitation or competition. These relationships suggested a possible solution to the problem of predicting the stability of populations in disturbed systems. For the 1976–1985 period, a hypothesis that the increased protection of wildlife from exploitation in a national park would restore a more diverse, abundant, and productive fauna had to be rejected.     

Riverbanks and the law: The arbitrary nature of river boundaries in New South Wales,Australia

Key aspects of environmental management exist within a legislative framework. The Rivers and Foreshores Improvement Act 1948 (NSW) and several Regional Environmental Plans created under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) make reference to ‘the top of the bank’ for defining areas of protected land adjacent to rivers, within which development consent may be required. It is an arbitrary term and its use within the Rivers and Foreshores Improvement Act 1948 (NSW) leads to confusion. This paper examines the range of definitions of ‘the top of the bank’ in respect of natural watercourses and aims to provide a more lucid and effective definition that will clarify existing ambiguities in legal interpretation. The paper examines the historical origins of the phrase ‘top of the bank’, finding that stereotyped Eurocentric views of what a river ‘should look like’ have impaired the legal definition for Australian rivers, thereby influencing common law and the development of statutory definitions. Judicial applications of the phrase ‘top of the bank’ are examined from a geomorphological perspective, demonstrating the misconceptions of the term in a legal context. The paper identifies the existence of widespread support for the need to protect land adjacent to rivers in the interests of environmental, economic and social sustainability. It concludes by calling for legislative reform that is both tailored to the individual site and consistent with overarching goals at the catchment scale.