森林:为了充满生机的地球

森林:我们需要一个怎样的未来? 世界富有健康、充满生机的森林,与生命共脉动 很多森林是古老的、见证地球悠久历史的活纪念碑.其他的幼林在曾经退化的土地上迅速生长,阻止土地沙漠化.纯净的河流在森林中流淌.大量森林被可持续、精心地管理,为人类提供术材、食品和药品,成为当地居民的生计和休闲之地,并因其丰富的文化和精神价值而得到重视.在全世界,权属明晰、健康的森林为稳定全球气候做出了贡献.负责任经营管理的人工林,在提供纤维材料、能源和重要生态系统服务的同时,与天然林、村镇、肥沃的农场和自然保护区共同形成景观.保护森林成为国内和国际政策的基石.     

森林:为了充满生机的地球

森林生命力模型的背景千年生态系统评估结论显示,世界上60％的生态系统服务退化,要求我们采用与以往不同的发展模式和战略. 很多研究是与森林生命力模型互补的,其面临的挑战也相同,即如何实现日益增加的人口高消费需求和地球有限资源之间的平衡.21世纪的很多规划都将要寻找可接受的折中方案.以下是一些有影响力的模型和报告预测的重要结论     

HERA: a Supermicroscope for Investigating the Structure of the Proton

   HERA, a high energy particle collider at the Deutsches Elektronensychrotron DESY in Hamburg, allows investigation of the structure of the proton with a spatial resolution of 10 cm, corresponding to about 1/1000 of its diameter. This view deep into the inner properties of matter is obtained from the scattering of high-energy electrons or positrons from high-energy protons. With its 6.3 km circumference, HERA can be regarded as a gigantic electron microscope. The high energies available at HERA allow a wealth of further studies on the properties of elementary particles and their interactions. After a brief review of earlier experiments, the article describes the concept of HERA and the detectors H1 and ZEUS, with which the scattering events are analyzed, as well as some of the physics results.     

Accounting for sequestered carbon: the question of permanence

In its attempt to provide quantitative limits on greenhouse gas emissions, the Kyoto protocol accepts the principle that sequestration of carbon in the terrestrial biosphere can be used to offset emissions of carbon from fossil-fuel combustion. Whether or not the Kyoto protocol ever comes into force, it is worthwhile to understand how carbon sequestration might be treated in any mitigation plan that provides a tax or ration on carbon emissions. Emission credits, as proposed for the energy sector, are based on the idea that a prevented emission is prevented forever, and emission credits might be traded among parties. In the event that sequestered carbon is subsequently released to the atmosphere, it would be advantageous to agree what the liability is and who assumes that liability. We describe a system whereby emissions credits could be rented, rather than sold, when carbon is sequestered but permanence of sequestration is either not certain or not desired. Our proposal is similar to that offered by the government of Colombia except that it casts these temporary emissions credits into the traditional concepts of rental agreements and it clarifies the opportunities for secondary transactions. A rental contract for emissions credits would establish continuous responsibility for sequestered carbon; credit would be assigned when carbon is sequestered and debits would accrue when carbon is emitted.     

刚果盆地万物生的天堂

一抹晨曦刺透清晨的雾气,叫醒了生活在非洲大陆最深处的人们,他们集结出发,进入森林,为家人猎寻餐桌上的美食.他们世代居住在这片浓密的森林,已历经千年,他们以森林为生,失去了森林便意味着失去了吃、穿、用的来源.殊不知,还有许多其他的生命也栖息于此,深深地依赖着这片森林. 刚果盆地是世界第一大盆地,东起刚果共和国东部月亮山脚,西到几内亚湾沿岸,横贯中非赤道国家,孕育了世界第二大热带雨林,面积达100余万平方公里,占世界热带雨林总面积的四分之一.这里随处可以见到野生物种的踪迹,是大猩猩、黑猩猩、红河猪、非洲象、森林水牛、羚羊、黄金猫的栖息家园,享有"地球最大物种基因库"、"地球第二肺"和"中非宝石"等美誉.     

可持续发展:英中共同的挑战

能够在这里和大家探讨未来主要的挑战之一——可持续发展问题，我感到十分荣幸。因为在这个问题上我们需要多方面的合作。这种合作不仅仅限于政府和企业之间，还应该包括社区和个人。只有这样，才能确保人类和地球有一个美好的未来。     

生物酶技术——可持续发展的催化剂——诺维信(中国)投资有限公司的可持续发展之道

2012年,诺维信再次荣登道琼斯可持续发展指数"生物技术"行业分榜榜首,这是诺维信第十一次获此殊荣。入围道琼斯可持续发展指数排行榜并保持排名对任何公司而言都是一个挑战,了解一下道琼斯可持续发展指数的情况就可略见一斑。道琼斯可持续发展指数是由全球领先的股市、金融和经济信息提供商道琼斯,以及瑞士投资公司SAM控股集团联合推出的一个得到全球认可的可持续     

Industrial symbiosis: the case for market coordination

Despite the fact that all successful, documented cases of industrial symbiosis to this day have been self-organizing, some authors and development officials have suggested that increased public planning might deliver better results in this respect than spontaneously evolved market coordination. This paper takes an historical approach to suggest that comprehensive planning is unlikely to live up to the expectations of its proponents.The essay is structured as follows. The first section provides short case studies of industrial symbiosis in highly different economic and institutional settings, the essentially free-market regime of Victorian England and communist Hungary (1948–1989). The available evidence suggests that market coordination proved much more favorable to the emergence of industrial symbiosis, despite the elaboration of a comprehensive policy to that effect in Hungary. Insights derived from the so-called “Austrian” critique of central planning are then used to explain this paradox. The analysis presented suggests that the Hungarian planners’ failure was not so much the result of the bad implementation of sound policies, but the logical outcome of a top-down approach’s shortcomings. Policy implications for the public planning of industrial symbiosis in a mixed economy are then derived and the case for self-organization is found more compelling. The creation of more innovative institutions that will force firms to “internalize their externalities” while leaving them the necessary freedom to innovate is viewed as an urgently needed and promising path towards increased, sustainable reuse of industrial by-products.     

Ecodesign tools for designers: defining the requirements

This paper presents the findings from a research project which set out to understand the type of requirements that industrial designers have of ecodesign tools, through the use of a web based prototype. Through qualitative data collection and analysis a number of important criteria for ecodesign tools were identified. The conclusions recognise the importance of developing holistic tools for industrial designers, identifying that a combination of guidance, education and information, along with well considered content, appropriate presentation and easy access, are all critical to their success. A framework for ecodesign tools for industrial designers is presented along with the evolution of ‘Information/Inspiration’ into a fully working web-based tool.     

Increasing the rate of sustainable change: a call for a redefinition of the concept and the model for its implementation

Mankind is committed to taking sustainable pathways in search of a state of sustainability. Thirty years after the “Limits to Growth” published by the Club of Rome the world is still far from the equilibrium of sustainable development (SD). Technology is postponing the depletion of natural resources but is not solving the problem itself, either because the technology is itself not sustainable or because the application of it is being mismanaged. This article attempts to analyze the wide gap between the strategies drawn up and the effectiveness of the actions taken in implementing sustainability. The paper addresses the issue of whether or not mankind can make the right choices and has the right infrastructure of pathways to do so. In short, an answer is sought to the question, “What are the prerequisites for the fastest rate of sustainable change?” This question is tackled by the four authors. They start from critical arguments concerning the effectiveness of sustainable change, explain the terminology used in the article and identify the main factors for increasing the rate of sustainable change, which are then discussed in detail in each part of the text (EG). Then, each from a different starting point, they comment on self-organization (US), sustainable innovation and cultural regions (HK), global cooperation and regional resources (MB) and sustainable research by universities (EG). The individual contributions, when taken together, form a discussion of the crucial factors or prerequisites for sustainable change. It is concluded that only cooperation between regions and regional stakeholders can give sustainable change the driving force needed to overcome global (political) friction and ensure that it moves forward in equilibrium and at a constant rate. Specific measures are put forward to maximize awareness within and among regions.     

世界山地:21世纪脆弱的"水塔"

山地作为"天然水塔"在周围低地的生存和发展中扮演者重要的角色.对于世界上的很多干旱和半干早地区更是如此,因为那里的山区来水可以占到径流总量的50%～90%.然而在这些水资源日益紧缺(特别是农业用水紧缺)的地区,利用我们现有的山区水文方面的知识来进行可持续的水资源管理与脆弱性评价仍面临着很大的困难.IPCC报告中指出,如果大气中的CO2增加1倍,那么全球增温幅度最大的地区将会包括从北极和亚北极的低海拔地区到热带亚热带的高山区的广大区域.计划中的GCOS气候站点并未达到这样的高度,尽管这里温度变化较大,拥有许多生态系统敏感而脆弱的高峰.全球范围内,山区居民超过了7亿,其中有6.25亿是在发展中国家.而这6.25亿人中约有一半人,当食物供给没有保障时是非常脆弱的,其后果可能会是向外移民或者对山地生态系统进行过度开发.而这些生态系统的过度开发最终会对自然环境,特别是水资源,产生负面的效应.迫切需要开展一些新的研究项目,建立高山观测站点,以深入了解各种正在发生的自然过程和人文过程及其对相邻低地所产生的影响.     

Negotiating future climates for public policy: a critical assessment of the development of climate scenarios for the UK

Climate scenarios serve a number of functions in helping society manage climate change—pedagogic, motivational or practical (for example, in engineering design, spatial planning and policy development). A variety of methodologies for scenario construction have been experimented with, all of them to a greater or lesser extent depending on the use of climate models. Yet the development of climate scenarios involves much more than climate modelling. The process of scenario development is one of negotiation between relevant stakeholders—funding agencies, policy communities, scientists, social actors and decision-makers in a variety of sectors. This process of negotiation is illustrated through an analysis of four generations of UK climate scenarios—published in 1991, 1996, 1998 and 2002. Using ideas from science and technology studies and the sociology of scientific knowledge to guide our analysis, we reveal complex relationships between the interests of UK science, policy and society. Negotiating climate scenarios involves compromise between the needs of policy, science and decision-maker in relation to, for example, the selection of the development pathway(s) and emissions scenario(s), the choice of climate model(s), the assessment and communication of uncertainty and the presentational devices used. These insights have a significant bearing on the way in which climate scenarios should be viewed and used in public discourse, strategic planning and policy development.     

苏黎世:破解城市交通瓶颈的楷模

苏黎世——瑞士最大的城市，是瑞士经济、文化和金融的中心。苏黎世靠山临水，自然环境十分优美，难能可贵的是，城市的发展和进步并不是以历史遗迹的消失为代价。古朴的教堂、历史悠久的老市场、素净的碎石路面随处可见。更令世人赞叹的是，这样一个保存完整的古城，却拥有一套快捷、安全和价格合理的公共交通系统，苏黎世与巴西的库里提巴和美国的波特兰并称为全球公共交通样板城市。在我们正面临城市化带来的诸如环境污染、交通堵塞等难题时，苏黎世城市发展的实践，无疑会给我们以启发。     

Plant trees for the planet: the potential of forests for climate change mitigation and the major drivers of national forest area

Forests are one of the most cost-effective ways to sequester carbon today. Here, I estimate the world’s land share under forests required to prevent dangerous climate change. For this, I combine newest longitudinal data of FLUXNET on forests’ net ecosystem exchange of carbon (NEE) from 78 forest sites (N?=?607) with countries’ mean temperature and forest area. This straightforward approach indicates that the world’s forests sequester 8.3 GtCO₂year^?1. For the 2 °C climate target, the current forest land share has to be doubled to 60.0% to sequester an additional 7.8 GtCO₂year^?1, which demands less red meat consumption. This afforestation/reforestation (AR) challenge is achievable, as the estimated global biophysical potential of AR is 8.0 GtCO₂year^?1 safeguarding food supply for 10 billion people. Climate-responsible countries have the highest AR potential. For effective climate policies, knowledge on the major drivers of forest area is crucial. Enhancing information here, I analyze forest land share data of 98 countries from 1990 to 2015 applying causal inference (N?=?2494). The results highlight that population growth, industrialization, and increasing temperature reduce forest land share, while more protected forest and economic growth generally increase it. In all, this study confirms the potential of AR for climate change mitigation with a straightforward approach based on the direct measurement of NEE. This might provide a more valid picture given the shortcomings of indirect carbon stock-based inventories. The analysis identifies future regional hotspots for the AR potential and informs the need for fast and forceful action to prevent dangerous climate change.

     

水是西北地区生态系统重建的根本

我国以植树造林为核心的生态环境建设取得了很大成绩,到1997年全国已累计造林4627万hm²,其中“三北地区”3024万hm²。但也存在着很大问题,主要表现在平均造林成活率仅25%,保存率仅13%。经分析,西北地区少雨干旱,缺土壤水是“年年造林不见林”的主要原因。分析表明,水是西北地区生态系统重建的根本,而跨流域调水、加强水资源管理、雨水资源化、发展节水农业、普及节水意识等,是解决西北地区水资源短缺的根本途径。