Tourism policy,biodiversity conservation and management: a case of the Kruger National Park,South Africa

Management of Kruger National Park (KNP) has recently made considerable progress in developing new policies to address biodiversity conservation and management challenges. These include tourism, water provision and elephant management policies. This study examines the integration of these three policies with regard to biodiversity conservation and management. Findings indicate that in their current fragmented form, the three policies actually undermine opportunities for effective biodiversity conservation and management in the KNP. This can be reversed by adopting a new management approach based on an environmental matrix organizational framework. Such a framework provides a mechanism for integrated policymaking and implementation and for improving biodiversity conservation and management in the KNP. The study concludes that an integrated approach is necessary due to the interlinkages between policies that affect biodiversity conservation at the KNP.     

珠江三角洲区域一体化的水利政策法规体系研究

建立珠江三角洲区域一体化的水利政策法规体系是珠江三角洲国民经济社会发展和水利现代化建设的需要。从珠江三角洲地区现行水利政策法规存在的问题入手,开展珠江三角洲区域一体化的政策法规体系研究。结果表明：珠江三角洲地区现行水利政策法规体系仍很不完善,许多立、改、废工作亟待进行,2008年水政执法有效率总体较高,但很少在珠江三角洲层面开展区域一体化的联合执法,珠江三角洲水利政策法规体系建设应重点加强与水利现代化建设、水资源一体化配置、保护及管理相关的政策法规,进而建立统一协调、快速高效的区域一体化的联合执法体系。     

Integrated river basin management in rapidly urbanizing areas: a case of Shenzhen, China

The rapid urbanization of China is causing a burden on their water resources and hindering their sustainable development. This paper analyzes effective methods to integrated river basin management (IRBM) using Longgang River basin of Shenzhen as an example, which is the city with the fastest rate of urbanization in China and even the whole world. Over the past 20 years, China has undergone a population boom due to the increase of immigrant workers and rapid development of laborintensive industries, which led to the sharp increase of water consumption and sewage discharge. However, the construction of the water infrastructure is still lagging far behind the environmental and social development, with only 32.7% of sewage in the district being treated. Currently, every water quality indicator of the Longgang River basin was unable to meet the required corresponding environmental standards, which further aggravated the water shortages of the region. Thus, an analytical framework is proposed to address the IRBM of the study area. The problems with the current management system include the lack of decentralization in decision-making, lack of enforcement with redundant plans, weak management capacity, financial inadequacy, and a poor system of stakeholder participation. In light of the principles of IRBM and the situation of the region, corresponding measures are put forward, including an increase of power given to sub-district offices, fewer but more feasible plans, capacity building among stakeholders, a combination of planning and marketing for overcoming financial inadequacy, and profound reform in the public participation system. The framework and institutional suggestions could inform similar processes in other representative river basins.     

Integrated water resource management at the industrial park level: A case of the Tianjin Economic Development Area

Water reuse and wastewater minimization are becoming increasingly important strategies for industrial parks. However, integrated industrial water management systems at an industrial park level have not yet been adequately investigated to determine synergies. This paper employs a case study of the Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA) to examine the importance of developing an integrated water resources management framework at the industrial park level. The paper presents a framework for effective and efficient management of water resources within an industrial park by taking a systems approach to conventional water management practices, designed to minimize industrial water use and maximize wastewater reuse among different tenants of an industrial park. The framework is composed of four elements: a management information system, policies and regulations, economic instruments and capacity building. The paper then considers how to implement such an integrated approach.     

Municipal solid waste management in Dalian: practices and challenges

The fast growing of urban areas in developing countries has brought serious problems on municipal solid waste (MSW) management. It will be rational to adopt an integrated approach to deal with such a challenge so that the overall eco-efficiency of MSW management could be improved. To better examine how attributes of integrated MSW management are being interpreted and put into practice, and to explore what changes should be made to improve the application of integrated MSW management, we employ a case study method so that lessons learned could be used to inform initiatives in other cities and the potential solution may offer feasible strategies. The case study city is Dalian, a typical seaport city with fast growing rate in economy. The outcomes of this case study show us that fragmented management structure, ineffective and inefficient enforcement of relevant regulations, backward technologies, limited financial resources and lack of public participation are main barriers for the implementation of integrated MSW management. Consequently, in order to overcome these barriers, we propose an integrated management framework on MSW management, aiming to maximize the overall eco-efficiency of MSW management.     

Post-evaluation of a water pollution control plan: methodology and case study

China has developed more than 20 water pollution control plans for river basins (RBWPs) since 1996. However, the implementation has generally lagged. This paper proposes a three-step, post-evaluation methodology to analyze the implementation result of a RBWP and its influential factors. First, a multi-attribute evaluation method based on an index system is established to score the enforcement results of a RBWP. Indicators measure how well a RBWP has achieved its objectives, which include water quality compliance, pollution load control, project construction, financial inputs, and related management requirements. Second, an interpretive structural model is used to detect the significant factors that affect RBWP implementation. This model can effectively analyze the cause-effect chain and hierarchical relationship among variables. Five groups of factors were identified, namely, plan preparation, water resource endowment, policy, institution, and management. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed in the third step to evaluate the extent to which these factors have influenced the execution result of a RBWP, including pre-post contrast, scenario analysis, and correlation analysis. This research then post-evaluated the implementation of the Huai River Basin water pollution control plans (H-RBWPs) over a period of 10 years as a case study. Results showed that the implementation of the H-RBWPs was unsatisfactory during 2001–2005, although it improved during 2006–2010. The poor execution of these plans was partially caused by the underestimation of regional economic development in combination with ineffective industrial structure adjustment policies. Therefore, this case study demonstrates the feasibility and flexibility of the proposed post-evaluation methodology.     

The progress and challenges in sustainable forestry development in China

Forestry development in China has undergone a series of reforms over the past six decades. This article examines temporal changes in forest resources and policies, the current status of forestry, and future challenges toward sustainable forest management in China. Excessive logging in the 1950s to 1980s badly damaged the nation’s forests, but the adoption of enlightened forest policies in the late 1990s has led to increases in China’s total forest area and growing stock. Forest degradation was ecologically and economically costly, and rehabilitation processes have become increasingly more expensive. The low quality and young age of forest resources, loss of natural forests, and more difficulties in afforestation and reforestation pose severe challenges for China’s sustainable forestry. It is critically important for China to enhance forest productivity through intensive management, strengthen enforcement, and educational programs for protecting and restoring natural forests, narrow the gap between domestic timber supply and rapidly expanding consumption, improve coordinating networks for management, finance, and technology transfer, and accelerate efforts to clarify and stabilize tenure arrangements for non-state forests. China’s experience and lessons in forestry may be helpful for other developing countries that are seeking to achieve the goal of sustainable forest management.     

新疆尉犁县西尼尔区生态环境建设初步研究

以新疆南部孔雀河流域中游地区的尉犁县西尼尔区为例 ,在分析了该区的主要生态环境问题、水资源现状和可用水量的基础上 ,对该区的生态环境建设做出规划。     

Water environment security indicator system for urban water management

Water environment security (WES) is defined in terms of three aspects: first, that it meets basic demands due to industrial and domestic usage; second, that it protects public health from acute and chronic threats; and third, that measures are adopted to ensure sustainable ecological functioning of freshwater resources. Limitations associated with current water environment security indicators in China ?? including inefficiency in terms of environmental monitoring, inappropriate indicators and parameters that do not take sufficient account of local water characteristics, and a lack of management targets ??leads to a failure of effective water management. To achieve better water environment management, a systematic approach, encompassing several steps including establish ideal indicator system and narrow down the scope, screen priority pollutants, identify local characteristics and organize discussion workshop, should be followed to establish a comprehensive water environment indicator system. A case study in Suzhou is included to demonstrate the detailed operational procedures used to assess the risks associated with poor management practices relating to water environment security as well as design an appropriate water environment security indicator system.     

Analysis of the current situation of environmental policy of China and establishment of distributed environmental policy framework

In this study, China’s current macro-environmental policies as well as their implementation and management tools are analyzed. By using the basic economic methodology, detailed studies are conducted focusing on the implementation effect of contemporary China’s typical environmental policy of the total pollutant discharge quantity control type, and also the two types of environmental management tools are compared from the perspective of implementation costs and policy uncertainty. By introduction of distributed management tools into the implementation of environmental policies, market-oriented means and the methods of economic analysis are introduced into environmental policy decision-making mechanisms, which could afford a new method for changing the current relatively low efficiency of environmental policy, solving the problem of “government failure” in environmental policy implementation, and providing a new way to make environmental policy system more flexible and more efficient. It is of great practical significance to solve China's current structural, complex and accumulative environmental problems.     

水文因素影响稻田氮磷流失的研究进展

水文因素为农田氮磷元素的迁移提供了动力和载体,对稻田氮磷元素的流失具有重要影响。利用新型的稻田水分管理模式以代替传统的水分管理模式,对于有效控制面源污染具有重要意义。在综合调研国内外已有研究成果和最新进展的基础上,阐述了稻田氮磷流失特征、传统水分管理模式的弊端,并从新型稻田水分管理模式的种类、削减氮磷流失的效果与机理、与水平衡模型、营养负荷模型等结合应用等几个方面综述了国内外水文因素影响稻田氮磷流失的研究现状。进行稻田土壤吸附氮磷容量及人工调节机制的研究,在部分地区开展流域化水分管理系统研究,以及适用于我国稻田的水平衡模型和营养负荷模型的建立和深入研究应为今后我国关于水文因素影响稻田氮磷流失方面研究的一些方向。     

国家实施污染预防的政策建议

文章对我国污染预防现状进行了评估,并对如何进一步实施污染预提出初步建议,形成污染预防框架行动计划,试图人们从行为和观念转向污染预防提供方向。框架行计划着重从政策和法律,组织和人力资源,研究和开发,污染预防活动和实践到评估、推广等方面进行了建议。     

A Blueprint for the Oceans: Implications of Two National Commission Reports for Conservation Practitioners

Abstract:  In the first comprehensive reviews since 1969, two high-level reports on the status of U.S. marine ecosystems and resources have been released: that of the nongovernmental Pew Oceans Commission in 2003 and that of the congressionally mandated U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy in 2004 . Although the two commissions differed in the breadth and depth of their mandates, their findings on the state of our oceans and need for new management approaches are similar, and their major recommendations for science, governance, management and conservation, and education echo and reinforce each other. The history behind the two commissions and the structure and objectives of each remind us of the crucial roles conservation practitioners and scientists must play in the implementation of report recommendations. The reports suggest priorities for conservation practitioners to improve science, management, conservation, governance, and education to better manage and protect ocean resources and ecosystems. To redirect activities affecting the state of global marine resources, integrated research; education and outreach by terrestrial, aquatic, and marine conservation practitioners; and a clear definition of their roles in the implementation of recommendations is essential. Marine ecosystems provide a test case of society's ability to manage complexity in human and natural systems in an integrated manner, with extensive opportunities for participation by conservation practitioners from all disciplines.     

Advancing objectives-based,integrated ocean management through marine spatial planning: current and future directions on the Scotian Shelf off Nova Scotia,Canada

The national legislative and policy context for integrated ocean management in Canada is provided by the Oceans Act (1996) and the supporting policy statement, Canada’s Oceans Strategy. Under the Oceans Act, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is the lead federal authority for ocean affairs and is charged with leading and facilitating the development and implementation of integrated management plans for all marine waters. Integrated management efforts in Canada are being undertaken through an area-based approach that enables marine planning, management and decision making to occur at appropriate spatial scales, from regional to site-specific. This article focuses on the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management (ESSIM) process, an offshore-focused effort to develop an integrated ocean management plan for a large portion of the Scotian Shelf, off Nova Scotia. The resulting Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Ocean Management Plan (the ESSIM plan) has been developed through a collaborative process involving all interested and affected government departments and ocean stakeholders, and provides an objectives-based approach to ocean management. The ESSIM plan contains a set of long-term, overarching goals for collaborative governance and integrated management, sustainable human use, and healthy ecosystems. These goals are supported by more specific objectives that express desired outcomes and conditions for the marine region. The objectives-based approach seeks to ensure that interrelationships among ecosystem and human use objectives are recognized and reflected in the identification of management strategies and supporting actions. This article considers the role of marine spatial planning within the context of the integrated ocean management process underway for the Scotian Shelf. The policy and management context for integrated ocean management in Canada is briefly described and a summary of the ESSIM plan is provided. The current and potential role for marine spatial planning in implementing the objectives and strategies of the ESSIM plan is highlighted using examples related to multiple ocean use and marine conservation and protected area planning. The article concludes by drawing out key lessons learned to date through the ESSIM process for marine spatial planning and looks to the future in terms of the development of tools and approaches for this integral aspect of integrated ocean management.     

The Brazilian Amazon coastal zone management: implementation and development obstacles

The Amazon region represents approximately 35% of the Brazilian coastline and includes the states of Amapá, Pará, and Maranh?o. After several years, the Amazon coastal zone has not made clear progress and has failed to show important results in terms of management plans based on the weak societal and local community support, the absence of a strong institutional coordination, and the scarcity of resources. This study aims to present and discuss the existence of others important factors that have obstructed the development of these plans, specifically, describing and analyzing the uncertainties regarding the redefinition of coastal zone boundaries, integrated management concepts, stake-holders responsibility, and governmental disinterest associated with the area by the government and society. Finally, it is considered the possibility of the emergence of new driving forces for the implementation and development of the State Coastal Zone Management Plan in the Amazon region among which the following stand out: the territorial fragmentation of the states in the Amazon coastal zone, the increased exploitation pressure for coastal zone resources, and the role of global climatic change on coastal areas.     

Increasing pressure, declining water and climate change in north-eastern Morocco

The coastal stretch of north-eastern Mediterranean Morocco holds vitally important ecological, social, and economic functions. The implementation of large-scale luxury tourism resorts shall push socio-economic development and facilitate the shift from a mainly agrarian to a service economy. Sufficient water availability and intact beaches are among the key requirements for the successful realization of regional development plans. The water situation is already critical, additional water-intense sectors could overstrain the capacity of water resources. Further, coastal erosion caused by sea-level rise is projected. Regional climate change is observable, and must be included in regional water management. Long-term climate trends are assessed for the larger region (Moulouya basin) and for the near-coastal zone at Saidia. The amount of additional water demand is assessed for the large-dimensioned Saidia resort; including the monthly, seasonal and annual tourist per capita water need under inclusion of irrigated golf courses and garden areas. A shift of climate patterns is observed, a lengthening of the dry summer season, and as well a significant decline of annual precipitation. Thus, current water scarcity is mainly human-induced; however, climate change will aggravate the situation. As a consequence, severe environmental damage due to water scarcity is likely and could impinge on the quality of local tourism. The re-adjustment of current management routines is therefore essential. Possible adjustments are discussed and the analysis concludes with management recommendations for innovative regional water management of tourism facilities.     

System engineering for water pollution control at the watershed level in China

The present water pollution situation at watershed level in China has been systematically analyzed. The causes of water pollution are attributed to the extensive economic developmental pattern, poor wastewater treatment, and a lack of nonpoint pollution control. The problems of water pollution control at watershed level include a lack of thought and approach, developmental delay in the environmental standard system, an inadequate monitoring ability, and an inefficient implementation of laws and regulations. From 2006 to 2020, water pollution control and governance will be a national key specific project of science and technology in China. The strategies of this project include establishing a water pollution control system at watershed level, orienting a healthy aquatic ecosystem, conducting risk management, and using comprehensive methods. The goal is to establish and complete a technological system of pollution control and management in three five-year phases. The main tasks are to develop common technologies, management systems, and mechanisms for lake eutrophication control, river pollution control, urban water environmental pollution control, potable water safety, and water environmental management. The bottlenecks of water pollution control and management in China could be systematically removed, and the demonstration of the system engineering approach will be conducted at selected key watersheds.     

高产淡水鱼生产区农户生态系统综合功能效益评价

本文采用综合评价法,对高产淡水鱼生产区——浙江省湖州市菱湖镇郊15个农户的综合功能效益作了调查研究。结果表明,仅有少数农户综合功能效益水平较高,具有生产资料较完备,充分利用系统内部资源及各业之间密切配合,生产技术和经营水平较高,注意闲季户外收入等特点;大多数农户的综合功能效益水平则较低,尚有较大的潜力。池塘水体富营养化、水体污染及市场影响是所有农户的共同问题,急需采取有效措施加以解决。     

绿色用水及其实现路径探析

在水形势现状分析的基础上,提出了绿色用水的新理念;应用系统学方法,从绿色用水系统的功效分析出发,构建了以绿色水供给、绿色水消费和绿色水管理为基础的绿色用水系统结构,并与传统用水系统进行比较分析;进而从绿色用水的目的性出发,针对目前用水现状,从提供绿色用水科学范式、深化水资源综合规划改革、制定绿色用水导则和评价标准4个方面,提出了绿色用水实施路径。     

Some for all,forever — sustainable development and management of water resources

SUMMARY

The notion of sustainable development in the context of water resources is discussed. Facing the increasing pressures — population growth with consequences for settlements and production of food and fibre, and human aspirations to better living standards — the business-as-usual approach to water development and management cannot he globally sustainable. The need for curbing water demands and for ‘doing more with less’ are gaining growing recognition in our increasingly thirsty planet. An integrated approach to freshwater resources is needed, based on the perception of water as a natural resource, part of the ecosystem, and an economic and social good. It is discussed how hydrological extremes jeopardize sustainable development. Sustainability-related properties of drought and flood preparedness and mitigation measures are reviewed. Even if the term ‘sustainable development’ has been typically used in a qualitative sense, in order to compare how different options (e.g. flood protection alternatives) fare with regard to sustainable development, one needs at least rough quantitative measures. A sample of relevant indices is reviewed. It is advocated that hydrological observations should be recognized as an essential component of sustainable development and management of water resources.