A review of conservation legislation in Nepal: Past progress and future needs

Nepal is considered a leader among developing nations with regard to conservation legislation and programs; it was among the first Asian nations to develop national conservation legislation, sign CITES, and develop a national conservation strategy. We review the history of modern conservation law in Nepal from the Rana period (early 1950s) to the present. The early legislation focused mainly on strict preservation of areas and species; this phase culminated in the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973. Subsequent legislation has evolved more in the direction of an integrated, holistic approach to conservation and is beginning to incorporate the participation of local people; subsequent amendments to the 1973 act allowed greater rights to rural villagers, and the designation of conservation areas in addition to the more strictly defined protected areas (national parks, wildlife reserves, etc.). Our review of conservation legislation suggests that Nepal has had many successes to date; the country has a protected area system covering over 10% of its land area, and many target species are recovering in parks and reserves. There are also some causes of concern, including staff shortages, financial constraints within the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, and the fact that there is little legal infrastructure outside of protected areas to enforce conservation laws; further, some aspects of hunting regulations are in need of revision. Primary needs include a comprehensive review of these policies and a nationalized strategy to ameliorate the shortcomings.     

Information needs for water resources decision-making

Water and related resources planning and decision-making have developed to the state of multiple objective and/or multiple criteria analysis using complicated systems analysis. The objective of this paper is to indicate the major components of information needed to facilitate the planning process for resource utilization, and to provide desirable outputs from management schemes. The process could best be described as the proper development of Management Information Systems (MIS) or Decision Support Systems (DDS). Data and information systems are never completed and must be continually updated and modified. The exact composition of any system depends also upon the general type of decision techniques being used. A brief outline of the decision process is given with the remainder of the paper dealing with the types of information needed to support the decision system.     

Mechanism for the stabilization/solidification of arsenic-contaminated soils with Portland cement and cement kiln dust

In this study, the mechanism for the stabilization/solidification (S/S) of arsenic (As)-contaminated soils with Portland cement (PC), and cement kiln dust (CKD) using 1 N HCl extraction fluid, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy was investigated. The degree of As immobilization after stabilization was assessed using a 1 N HCl extraction on the basis of the Korean Standard Test (KST). After 1 day of curing with 30 wt% PC and 7 days of curing with 50 wt% CKD, the concentration of As leached from the amended soils was less than the Korean countermeasure standard (3 mg L^?1). The As concentrations in the leachate treated with PC and CKD were significantly decreased at pH > 3, indicating that pH had a prevailing influence on As mobility. XRPD results indicated that calcium arsenite (Ca–As–O) and sodium calcium arsenate hydrate (NaCaAsO₄·7.5H₂O) were present in the PC- and CKD-treated slurries as the key phases responsible for As(III) and As(V) immobilization, respectively. The XANES spectroscopy confirmed that the As(III) and As(V) oxidation states of the PC and CKD slurry samples were consistent with the speciated forms in the crystals identified by XRPD. EXAFS spectroscopy showed As–Ca bonding in the As(III)-PC and As(III)-CKD slurries. The main mechanism for the immobilization of As-contaminated soils with PC and CKD was strongly associated with the bonding between As(III) or As(V) and Ca.     

Research needs for improving biofuel burning cookstove technologies

The contribution of the household biofuel cooking energy system in developing countries to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases is significant and a potential exists to halve this contribution cost-effectively. A review of past programmes aimed at disseminating stoves designed to reduce fuel consumption and exposures shows these programmes to have been only partially successful. If future programmes are to achieve their intended societal objectives and satisfy consumer requirements, research on designing improved stoves with lower emissions is critical. Integrated research will also be required on other related aspects, such as measurements of emissions from various stove-biofuel combinations, and on developing improved procedures for testing, evaluation and dissemination. The multiple benefits that can accrue from these programmes makes continuing and increased investment of efforts worthwhile.     

Strategies for determining soil-loss tolerance

Excessive soil losses due to erosion or lateral displacement by machinery impair productivity. Some soil loss is tolerable, but not so much that plant productivity diminishes. Thus productivity is the dominant concern in determining soil-loss tolerance. The effects of soil loss on productivity, however, are difficult to determine. Therefore, two alternatives are discussed for determining the limits of soil loss, or soil-loss tolerance. These alternatives are the maintenance of soil organic matter and, for shallow and moderately deep soils, the maintenance of soil depth. They are not new strategies, but our rapidly increasing knowledge of the dynamics of soil organic matter and the rates of soil formation from bedrock or consolidated sediments warrants the reconsideration of these alternatives. Reductions in either soil organic matter or the depth of shallow or moderately deep soils will lead to declining productivity. Soil organic matter, considered to be a surrogate for productivity, is much easier to monitor than is productivity. Also, there are many computer models for predicting the effects of management on soil organic matter. Recently compiled data on rates of soil formation suggest that soil losses of 1 t/a (2.24 Mg/ha yr) are greater than the rate of replenishment by the weathering of lithic or paralithic material in all but very wet climates.     

Mining taxation issues for the future

During the 1970s and 1980s the main concern of mining policies was to attract investment whilst at the same time balancing the interests of governments and companies. By the turn of the century a new spectrum of challenges faces governments and companies in the mining sector. The need for fiscal regimes to adapt to price cyclicity is to some extent superseded by the requirement that they adapt to a long-term decline of metal prices. The growing importance of environmental and community affairs in the mining sector will force governments to design coherent and comprehensive tax regulations to complement the wide range of initiatives being taken in these fields. Finally, the age-old problem of tax collection continues to raise its head in transition and developing economies.     

Adaptive management for a turbulent future

The challenges that face humanity today differ from the past because as the scale of human influence has increased, our biggest challenges have become global in nature, and formerly local problems that could be addressed by shifting populations or switching resources, now aggregate (i.e., "scale up") limiting potential management options. Adaptive management is an approach to natural resource management that emphasizes learning through management based on the philosophy that knowledge is incomplete and much of what we think we know is actually wrong. Adaptive management has explicit structure, including careful elucidation of goals, identification of alternative management objectives and hypotheses of causation, and procedures for the collection of data followed by evaluation and reiteration. It is evident that adaptive management has matured, but it has also reached a crossroads. Practitioners and scientists have developed adaptive management and structured decision making techniques, and mathematicians have developed methods to reduce the uncertainties encountered in resource management, yet there continues to be misapplication of the method and misunderstanding of its purpose. Ironically, the confusion over the term "adaptive management" may stem from the flexibility inherent in the approach, which has resulted in multiple interpretations of "adaptive management" that fall along a continuum of complexity and a priori design. Adaptive management is not a panacea for the navigation of 'wicked problems' as it does not produce easy answers, and is only appropriate in a subset of natural resource management problems where both uncertainty and controllability are high. Nonetheless, the conceptual underpinnings of adaptive management are simple; there will always be inherent uncertainty and unpredictability in the dynamics and behavior of complex social-ecological systems, but management decisions must still be made, and whenever possible, we should incorporate learning into management.     

Educating future leaders for a sustainable path

The unprecedented population growth of recent years and the requisite economic activity to support that growth have heightened public awareness of the resultant environmental challenges we now face. Today it is widely acknowledged that we must change course to assure the same quality of life for future generations as has been experienced by those of the past. These changes in human behavior must occur in individuals, organizations, businesses, communities, and governments. The basis of this change will occur through education and leadership. Many initiatives have evolved to begin this movement toward sustainability, but the higher education sector, which prepares our leaders, has been slow to respond. The founders of one new initiative, BRIDGES, explore what needs to be done to drive this change, what is already being done, and how the BRIDGES program uses partnerships with these existing efforts to create a model of what higher education must offer in order to prepare effective leaders for tomorrow.     

A future for the forest of dean

Summary This article outlines the historical background of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire and the Acts of Parliament which have affected its landscape character. Problems relating to the present situation are discussed. These include rights of access, common rights, sales of public land, intrusion of industry, open cast mining and tourism. The suggestion is put forward that there should be a new Act of Parliament establishing a Dean Forest Authority which would be an autonomous estate management body with an executive committee drawn from the many interests in the district. The Forestry Commission, which is at present responsible for management, with its main concern that of commercial tree growing, is not considered to be sufficiently sympathetic to local needs. The author originally intended reading for a Forestry degree at Oxford, but eventually took a degree in Botany at that University (1957). For some time he was Biology teacher at King Edward VI's School, Norwich, and Head of Science at the Blyth School, Norwich. Since establishing the Centre for Environmental Studies for the Gloucestershire Education Authority in the Forest of Dean in 1969 he has become closely involved with a number of conservation organisations in Gloucestershire. He was for a time chairman of the Dean branch of the Council for the Protection of Rural England and the North Dean Reserves Committee of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation. Besides writing the occasional paper on field studies and local history he writes a ‘Conservation Piece’ monthly for the local papers. He has been an outspoken critic on a number of local issues on radio, television and in local inquiries.     

The future for coal in Western Europe

The past twenty years have demonstrated a striking flexibility in fuel supplies. Does this mean, now the dangers of import dependence have been demonstrated, that it will in the future be equally easy to move to a different composition of energy supplies with a larger role for indigenous coal? An examination of the factors determining interfuel substitution over the past twenty years suggests that present circumstances do not appear entirely favourable to coal revival.     

A better future for upland landscapes?

The Countryside Commission's report, “A Better Future for the Uplands”, contains recommendations that seek a better balance between conservation and farming and conservation and forestry: recommendations that concern the uplands as landscape. This paper considers the recommendations under three headings — those which seek to reduce conflict, those which seek to reinforce the voluntary approach to conflict resolution, and those which seek to extend control. The paper concludes with a consideration of the likely effectiveness of the measures proposed.     

Reuse of wastewater for industrial needs: the Pontedera case

This paper presents result from an economic and technical point of view evaluation study, which has sought to establish the potential for replacing well-water that is currently used at the Piaggio industrial plant in Pontedera with recycled wastewater. The study is based upon a pilot wastewater treatment plant, which has been used to test wastewater treatment processes and to compare with achieved quality of recycled waters with that of water drawn on-site from physical/chemical pre-treatment and end with a reverse osmosis and air stripping stage. However, after the physical/chemical pre-treatment, the first option uses oxidation with ozone followed by activated carbon filtration, whereas the second method uses ultrafiltration. The first method is more effective at reducing chemical oxygen demand (COD) whereas the second method is more effective in removing bacteria. Nonetheless, both methods deliver water for re-use of a quality comparable with or better than that of well-water. In principle, the reverse osmosis permeate from either process could be re-used in all production phases at the industrial plant. However, the method base upon oxidation with ozone followed by activated carbon filtration is preferred, because, the process is simpler and continuous. The economic analysis of this process gives an estimated cost of Euro 0.55 per m³ for treated water. This compares favorably with other treatment processes and with the cost of other forms of water supply, which are projected to increase in any case.     

Considerations of the skilled manpower needs for water supply systems

Summary This paper describes an approach to the determination of skilled manpower requirements for the water supply industry. It outlines a training programme presented in five modules: resource exploitation and distribution; meter maintenance; leak detection; electrical/mechanical equipment, and sewage systems. This training curriculum is based on a detailed analysis of what is needed in a particular country. Though the proposals are specific, in this case Turkey, the approach is general and as such will have a wide application in discussions of what types of skills are required, and what is necessary to develop the necessary capabilities of the programme.Dr Gregor Watters is a qualified engineer with a special expertise in the design and construction of water supply and sewage treatment systems. His present appointment is Regional Officer for Basic Sanitary Measures at the World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe. He has experience of projects in Nigeria, Tanzania, Iraq, Yugoslavia and Turkey.     

Permeability predictions for sand-clogged Portland cement pervious concrete pavement systems

Pervious concrete is an alternative paving surface that can be used to reduce the nonpoint source pollution effects of stormwater runoff from paved surfaces such as roadways and parking lots by allowing some of the rainfall to permeate into the ground below. This infiltration rate may be adversely affected by clogging of the system, particularly clogging or covering by sand in coastal areas. A theoretical relation was developed between the effective permeability of a sand-clogged pervious concrete block, the permeability of sand, and the porosity of the unclogged block. Permeabilities were then measured for Portland cement pervious concrete systems fully covered with extra fine sand in a flume using simulated rainfalls. The experimental results correlated well with the theoretical calculated permeability of the pervious concrete system for pervious concrete systems fully covered on the surface with sand. Two different slopes (2% and 10%) were used. Rainfall rates were simulated for the combination of direct rainfall (passive runoff) and for additional stormwater runoff from adjacent areas (active runoff). A typical pervious concrete block will allow water to pass through at flow rates greater than 0.2 cm/s and a typical extra fine sand will have a permeability of approximately 0.02 cm/s. The limit of the system with complete sand coverage resulted in an effective system permeability of approximately 0.004 cm/s which is similar to the rainfall intensity of a 30 min duration, 100-year frequency event in the southeastern United States. The results obtained are important in designing and evaluating pervious concrete as a paving surface within watershed management systems for controlling the quantity of runoff.