Water policy implementation in the state of São Paulo,Brazil: Key challenges and opportunities

Challenges in implementing water planning and management are common, and the effective implementation of integrated water policies is yet to occur. In Brazil, the state of São Paulo enacted a Water Act in 1991 to ensure water availability for current and future generations based on the principles of decentralization, participation and integration. This research addresses water policy implementation issues by conducting an exploratory case study in the state of São Paulo. Factors affecting the water policy implementation process were analyzed, together with some water resources management practices. The findings indicate four dimensions of key challenges: institutional and governance, political, financial and technical. The stakeholders believe the political and the institutional and governance challenges are more important than the technical and financial ones. Additionally, the results show different levels of involvement in the areas of water policy strategy, the planning and decision-making process, and implementation by the different stakeholders groups. Stakeholders external to the water sector and from local government were considered to be less involved in water-related issues, when compared with stakeholders from the water sector. The study recommends a change in current institutional and governance arrangements in order to influence decisions and investments in different levels and sectors.     

Managing international collaboration for the development and application of environmental technologies: opportunities for China & other Asia Pacific countries

Increased international cooperation in the field of contaminated site management has resulted in the formation of numerous networks and fora. The key benefits of increased co-operation are perceived to be in the reduction of duplication in efforts, particularly related to industry, in the co-ordination of contaminated site research, policy development and information dissemination. The paper introduces and briefly discusses key networks and collaborative projects currently in operation throughout the world relating to contaminated site management. The experience shared within these groups should prove useful to the application of such environmental problems in China and the Asia-Pacific region.     

Small holder’s carbon forestry project in Haryana India: issues and challenges

The small scale forestry carbon project in Haryana, India has been registered as a Clean Development Project (CDM) activity and is the first such projects from India. Developed under the Kyoto Protocol of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the projects aims at restoring heavily degraded sandune affected private lands and contribute to climate change mitigation. The project is expected to sequester 234,584 tons of carbon dioxide (tCO²) in 20 years project cycle with an average annual sequestration of 11,729 (tCO²) per year. The project is expected to have a total carbon stock of 385,253.1 ton Carbon (tC) in the project life span of 20 years as against 7,920.6 (tC) in the baseline scenario. The carbon credits earned from the project is supposed to provide additional incentives to the smallholders who have formed a cooperative society for this purpose. This paper addresses the issues and challenges in developing the project activity and also discusses the lessons learned in the process. The project is supposed to help in poverty alleviation and has become a success story for rehabilitating degraded lands in semi arid regions of India through plantation forestry.     

Research on ozone formation sensitivity based on observational methods: Development history,methodology, and application and prospects in China

Observation-based method for O₃formation sensitivity research is an important tool to analyze the causes of ground-level O₃pollution,which has broad application potentials in determining the O₃pollution formation mechanism and developing prevention and control strategies.This paper outlined the development history of research on O₃formation sensitivity based on observational methods,described the principle and applicability of the methodology,summarize...     

Development and application of a GIS database for the Miyun Reservoir water quality protection

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Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus (REDD+) in the Philippines: will it make a difference in financing forest development?

There is a high level of interest in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus (REDD+) carbon (C) financing as a way to accelerate forest conservation and development. However, there is very limited information on the potential costs and benefits of REDD+ in developing countries like the Philippines. In this paper, we estimated the range of likely financial benefits of REDD+ implementation in the country under various forest degradation and mitigation scenarios. Our findings show that reducing the rate of forest degradation by a modest 5 to 15 % annually while increasing the doubling the rate of reforestation to 1.5 % annually could reduce C emissions by up to about 60 million t C by 2030. These are equivalent to US$ 97 to 417 million of mean C credits annually at US$ 5 per ton C. These figures are much higher than the total budget of the government and official development assistance for forestry activities in the country which amounted to US$ 46 million in 2005 and US$ 12 million in 2006, respectively. We conclude that REDD+ C credits could be a significant source of financing for forestry projects in developing countries like the Philippines.     

Study on the mechanism and reaction characteristics of metal-supported phosphogypsum as oxygen carrier in a chemical looping gasification application

This study aimed to explore the chemical looping gasification (CLG) reaction characteristics of the metal-supported composite phosphogypsum (PG) oxygen carriers (OCs) and the thermodynamic mechanism.The FactSage 7.1 thermodynamic simulation was used to explore the oxygen release and H₂S removal mechanisms.The experimental results showed that the syngas yield of CLG with PG-CuFe₂O₄was more than that with PG–Fe₂O₃20/CuO40or PG–Fe₂O<...     

Thiolsulfonate functionalized polystyrene resin： Preparation and application in the isolation and identification of electrophilic mutagens

A new approach for isolation and identification of elecrtophilic mutagens from complex matrix was developed.Thiosulfonic anion was immobilized onto polystyrene beads and used as separation media.Potassium polystyryl-thiosulfonate,prepared from polystyryl- sulfonyl chloride and KHS,was observed to selectively react with model electrophilic mutagens such as alkyl halides,α-chloroketones andα-chloroesters to produce polystyryl-thiosulfonic esters.After separation from other nonreactive organic compounds,the beads then reacted with ethanethiol to produce unsymmetrical ethyl disulfides which are easily detected by GC/MS.For one mutagenic compound,only one unsymmetrical disulfide was found to contain its structure part.Thus,the structure of the parent mutagens could be deduced from that of the unsymmetrical disulfides.The degree of functionaiization of the potassium polystyryl-thiosulfonate resin was 1.11 mmol/g.Its reactivity was discussed and its recycling method was reported here.     

Effect of two biogas residues’ application on copper and zinc fractionation and release in different soils

Biogas residue (BR) is widely used as a new green fertilizer in agriculture in China. However, it often contains a high concentration of heavy metals so its application should cause our concern. An incubation experiment was conducted to study the risk of pig biogas residue (PBR) and chicken biogas residue (CBR) application on Liuminying soil (LS) and Yixing soil (YS). The soils were incubated for one, three and six months with 0, 2%, 4% and 6% addition of BRs. According to BCR extraction results, the PBR and CBR applications induced an increase in the concentration of exchangeable fraction of Zn. As for the concentration of exchangeable fraction of Cu, an increase was only observed in the treatments with PBR application. The heavy metal binding intensity also showed a similar trend. With the PBR application, for the LS and YS, the highest concentrations of exchangeable Zn increased 3.6 and 9.5 times, respectively, while the exchangeable Cu was increased by 52.6% and 187.1%. Dissolved organic carbon was the limiting factor for the exchangeable Cu while the exchangeable Zn was controlled by soil pH. PBR presented more agricultural risk than CBR when used as fertilizer. Meanwhile, BRs were more adaptable to LS than YS according to the heavy metal release results.     

Beyond opportunity costs: who bears the implementation costs of reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation?

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) in developing countries is based on the premise that conserving tropical forests is a cost-effective way to reduce carbon emissions and therefore can be fully funded by international actors with obligations or interests in reducing emissions. However, concerns have repeatedly been raised about whether stakeholders in REDD+ host countries will actually end up bearing the costs of REDD+. Most prior analyses of the costs of REDD+ have focused on the opportunity costs of foregone alternative uses of forest land. We draw on a pan-tropical study of 22 subnational REDD+ initiatives in five countries to explore patterns in implementation costs, including which types of organizations are involved and which are sharing the costs of implementing REDD+. We find that many organizations involved in the implementation of REDD+, particularly at the subnational level and in the public sector, are bearing implementation costs not covered by the budgets of the REDD+ initiatives. To sustain this level of cost-sharing, REDD+ must be designed to deliver local as well as global forest benefits.     

Anatomy of a buzzword: The emergence of ‘the water-energy-food nexus’ in UK natural resource debates

The existence of a water-energy-food ‘nexus’ has been gaining significant attention in international natural resource policy debates in recent years. We argue the term ‘nexus’ can be currently seen as a buzzword: a term whose power derives from a combination of ambiguous meaning and strong normative resonance. We explore the ways in which the nexus terminology is emerging and being mobilised by different stakeholders in natural resource debates in the UK context. We suggest that in the UK the mobilisation of the nexus terminology can best be understood as symptomatic of broader global science-policy trends, including an increasing emphasis on integration as an ideal; an emphasis on technical solutions to environmental problems; achievement of efficiency gains and ‘win-wins’; and a preference for technocratic forms of environmental managerialism. We identify and critique an ‘integrative imaginary’ underpinning much of the UK discourse around the concept of the nexus, and argue that attending to questions of power is a crucial but often underplayed aspect of proposed integration. We argue that while current efforts to institutionalise the language of the nexus as a conceptual framework for research in the UK may provide a welcome opportunity for new forms of transdisciplinary, they may risk turning nexus into a ‘matter of fact’ where it should remain a ‘matter of concern’. In this vein, we indicate the importance of critique to the development of nexus research.     

Torpor and activity in a free-ranging tropical bat: implications for the distribution and conservation of mammals?

Bats are most diverse in the tropics, but there are no quantitative data on torpor use for energy conservation by any tropical bat in the wild. We examined the thermal biology, activity patterns and torpor use of two tree-roosting long-eared bats (Nyctophilus geoffroyi, 7.8?g) in tropical northern Australia in winter using temperature telemetry. Bats commenced activity about 20?min after sunset, ended activity about 2.5?h before sunrise and entered torpor everyday in the early morning even when minimum ambient temperatures (T _a) were as high as 23°C. On average, bats remained torpid for almost 5?h, mean minimum skin temperature (T _skin) measured was 22.8?±?0.1°C and daily T _skin minima were correlated with T _a. Our study shows that even in the tropics, torpor is frequently employed by bats, suggesting that worldwide most bat species are heterothermic and use torpor for energy conservation. We propose that the ability of employing torpor and the resulting highly plastic energy requirements may partially explain why these small insectivorous bats can inhabit almost the entire Australian continent despite vastly different climatic and likely trophic conditions. Reduced energy requirements also may permit survival in degraded or modified habitats, reduce the need for foraging and reduce exposure to predators. Thus, the ability to employ torpor may be one important reason for why most Australian bats and other heterothermic mammals have not gone extinct whereas many obligatory homeothermic mammals that cannot employ torpor and have high energy and foraging requirements have suffered high rates of extinctions.     

‘Polishing the Kaswentha’: a Haudenosaunee view of environmental cooperation

Increasingly, Native American and non-Native governments, institutions and individuals are searching for cooperative ways to address environmental problems. While such approaches can offer substantial benefits over top-down or unilateral efforts, there are also potential pitfalls, especially when considering the needs and interests of the Native parties. Among these are threats to their status as sovereign nations, and to their political, economic and cultural autonomy. Given such concerns, many Indian Nations are seeking models for collaboration which protect their unique status based on indigenous and treaty rights, while respecting their cultural identity, values, and indigenous knowledge. In this paper we explore how one Native group in particular, a coalition of Haudenosaunee Nations in the US and Canada, has dealt with these complex issues. We show how positive relationships with outside agencies and researchers have been made possible through the use of mechanisms and processes based on traditional Haudenosaunee concepts and values. Finally, we explore how one item in particular, a 17th century treaty belt called the Kaswentha, offers a powerful symbol for forming relationships which respect Haudenosaunee autonomy while allowing collaborative partnerships to address critical environmental concerns.     

Using the ‘sense of self-in-place’ construct in the context of environmental policy-making and landscape planning

Although it is common practice for resource managers to focus on processes by which human activity in the environment may be adapted to ensure the sustainability of natural ecosystems, we often forget that our perceptions of who we are given where we live greatly influence the political context for regional ecosystem management. These shared ‘senses of selves-in-place’ serve as potent mediators in the process of attending to or embracing conservation-oriented practices. The authors argue that citizens’ senses of selves-in-place form the major link between how people appraise communication appeals and how they behave in the environment. Discussion focuses on the significance of the association between a sense of place, how the self gets related to the environment, and sense making related to conservation-oriented advocacy. Past and contemporary empirical studies reveal various elements of the sense of self-in-place construct. In turn, the analysis focuses on the tension that often develops given the desires of local stakeholders in competition with land-use advocates from afar (e.g. industrialists, nongovernmental organizations) by exploring three case studies of regional natural resource conflicts. Conclusions address how a sense of self-in-place analysis could be incorporated into and add value to ongoing natural resource management efforts.     

Assessing the socioeconomic effects of multiple-use MPAs in a European setting: A national stakeholders’ perspective

The designation of marine protected areas (MPAs) may have intense social and economic effects on human communities. Driven by overarching global and European policies and national legislations, current systematic conservation planning in the UK and France requires an ecosystem approach that takes into account not only nature but also the human activities that take place in an area. Here, we identified a set of 64 socioeconomic variables potentially relevant for marine and coastal stakeholders in a European context and a comprehensive set of 20 marine and coastal stakeholder categories. Ninety national organisations in the UK and France belonging to those categories and potentially affected by/interested in the designation of multiple-use MPAs were identified and surveyed. Results show that environmental NGOs, research centres, local councils, managing agencies and statutory nature conservation bodies perceived that they are positively affected by these MPAs, whereas fishers’ organisations, shipping and aggregate industrial organisations and recreational organisations perceived to be chiefly negatively affected by MPAs. On average, the ecological effects of multiple-use MPAs are perceived as ‘largely positive’, though 30% of respondents did not perceive any positive ecological effects from these MPAs. The social, economic and cultural effects of such MPAs are perceived as ‘moderately positive’. Most respondents perceived broad range (>10 km) and permanent ecological, social, economic and cultural effects from multiple-use MPA designation suggesting high societal expectations towards these areas. However, only five variables were perceived to vary in intensity after the designation of multiple-use MPAs: ‘research’, ‘environmental performance by citizens, businesses and towns’, ‘number of green businesses’, ‘tourism’ and ‘economic activities’. The most important ‘social’ variables for stakeholder organisations referred to local populations’ engagement with the MPA, tourism and research. The most important ‘economic’ variables were linked to fishing, shipping and aquaculture activities. These variables highlight relevant topics to be considered in MPA planning, designation and management processes, especially in the UK and France. There were statistically significant differences in the ratings of socioeconomic variables between many organisations belonging to the same intuitive stakeholder categories, suggesting the importance of including as wide a range of stakeholder organisations as feasible in MPA socioeconomic-related processes. Our methods and findings can help to inform and streamline ongoing and future participatory MPA planning, management and monitoring processes in Europe and in other regions with similar socioeconomic characteristics.     

Knowledge users’ perspectives and advice on how to improve knowledge exchange and mobilization in the case of a co-managed fishery

Environmental scientists have long been frustrated by the difficulties involved in transferring their research findings into policy-making, management, and public spheres. Despite increases in scientific knowledge about social-ecological systems, research has consistently shown that regulators and stakeholders draw on tacit, informal, and experiential knowledge far more than scientific knowledge in their decision-making. Social science research in the fields of knowledge exchange (KE) and knowledge mobilization (KMb) suggest that one of the major barriers to moving knowledge into practice is that scientists fail to align their communication strategies with the information-seeking behaviours and preferences of potential knowledge users. This article presents findings from in-depth qualitative research with government employees and stakeholders involved in co-managing Pacific salmon fisheries in Canada’s Fraser River. We investigate how members of these groups access, view, and use scientific information, finding both similarities and differences. Members of both groups express a strong interest in academic science, and self-report using scientific information regularly in their work and advocacy. However, the two groups engage in different information-seeking behaviours, and provide notably different advice to academic scientists about how to make research and communication more relevant to potential users. For example, government employees focus on the immediate applications of research to known problems, while stakeholders express greater concern for the political context and implications of scientific findings. We argue that scientists need to “go where the users are” in the behavioural and intellectual sense, and tailor their communications and engagement activities to match the habits, preferences, and expectations of multiple potential user groups. We conclude with recommendations on how this may be done.     

Gold mining in Siberia and the Far East as a source of mercury contamination of the environment

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RNA interference: from an ancient mechanism to a state of the art therapeutic application?

Now that the sequencing of many genomes has been completed, the basic challenges are finding the genes and predicting their functions. Up until now, a large information gap has existed between the knowledge of genome sequence and our knowledge of protein function. The assessment of gene function may be performed using the tools of reverse genetics, including knock-out mice, antisense oligomers, aptamers, and ribozymes. These approaches have been superseded by RNA interference (RNAi), which exhibits much more potency for the investigation of protein function than the techniques listed above. As already known some years ago, RNAi is based on an ancient anti-viral defense mechanism in lower eukaryotes. It is induced by double-stranded RNA and its processing to 21–23 nt small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which cause the degradation of homologous endogenous mRNA. The way RNAi works has still to be determined, but it already serves as a first-choice approach to generate loss-of-function phenotypes among a broad variety of eukaryotic species, such as nematodes, flies, plants, fungi and mammals. RNAi also represents an extremely powerful tool, becoming a therapeutic approach to curing infectious diseases originated by viral or parasitic invasion. In this review we present the current view of how RNAi works in different eukaryotic species and its high potential for functional genomics and in rational drug design.