加勒比海海洋保护区的娱乐性水下呼吸器潜水活动:使用者支付费用吗?

引言 建立海洋保护区的好处[1]是众所周知的,特别是对于珊瑚礁来说.通过理论上完全禁止在选定海域内进行任何形式的捕鱼活动,由此对捕鱼压力的降低一般可以保持以往目标鱼类[2～4]种群的数量和多样性,导致原来从渔场中消失的物种重新出现[5],而且大大提高大型掠食性鱼类的数量[6].     

A comparison of mussels (Perna viridis) and semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) for monitoring chlorinated trace organic contaminants in Hong Kong coastal waters

A comparison of mussels (Perna viridis) and semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) was carried out at five sites, representing a gradient of contaminant concentrations, in Hong Kong coastal waters. Mussels, originally collected from a “clean” location, were deployed along with SPMDs at each site for 30 days. Analyses for chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) indicated that SPMDs have potential as monitoring tools, and to some extent can overcome the problems associated with mussels, such as natural variability, differing age, sex, and physical condition. However, in most cases, SPMDs failed to rank the sites in the same order as mussels in terms of contaminant concentrations. Nonetheless, in localities where mussels cannot survive – as shown at Kwun Tong in the present experiment – SPMDs may be valuable in providing an indication of potentially bio-available lipophilic pollutants.     

Quantified scenarios analysis of drivers and impacts of changing flood risk in England and Wales: 2030–2100

Flood risk to the economy, society and the environment reflects the cumulative effects of environmental and socio-economic change over decades. Long-term scenarios are therefore required in order to develop robust and sustainable flood risk management policies. Quantified national-scale flood risk analysis and expert appraisal of the mechanisms causing change in flood risk have been used to assess flood risk in England and Wales over the period 2030–2100. The assessment involved the use of socio-economic and climate change scenarios. The analysis predicts increasing flood risk unless current flood management policies, practices and investment levels are changed—up to 20-fold increase in economic risk by the 2080s in the scenario with highest economic growth. The increase is attributable to a combination of climate change (in particular increasing precipitation and relative sea level rise in parts of the UK) and increasing socio-economic vulnerability, particularly in terms of household/industrial contents and infrastructure vulnerability. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

Temporal variations in turbidity in an oil sands pit lake

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - We investigated temporal variations in turbidity in Base Mine Lake, an oil sands pit lake, located in northeast Alberta, Canada. The lake has a surface area of...     

Inherent conflicts at the coast

Because choice is conflict, decision-making is necessarily about conflict resolution. Choices are necessary because the options are mutually exclusive but the nature of this inherent conflict varies. Typically, these conflicts are multidimensional. In coasal zones, the complex interactions between systems makes decision-making particularly complex; in particular, environmental interests are themselves frequently in conflict. In making a choice, it is important to determine why that choice is necessary in the first place. There are further conflicts about the objectives to be satisfied by the decision process; between the determination of the best outcome and the best decision process. Social scientists centre upon the requirement for a fair decision process rather than upon seeking an optimum outcome. Unlike physical scientists who seek more and better information, social scientists focus upon the development and maintenance of institutions.     

Evaluation of aquifer vulnerability and the protective capacity in some oil producing communities of western Niger Delta

Oil spills have become a major environmental hazard constituting serious social problems in Nigeria, especially in the oil producing communities. The spills contaminate the aquifer if the subsurface layers are not protected. Geoelectric technique of geophysical investigation has been used to evaluate the protective capacity of six oil producing communities: Oleh, Olomoro, Uzere, Afiesere, Ekakpamre and Uvwiamuge in the western Niger Delta. A total of 139 vertical electrical sounding (VES) using the Schlumberger electrode configuration were occupied in these communities. The longitudinal conductance maps delineated areas with poor (<0.1 mho), weak (0.1–0.19 mho), moderate (0.2–0.69 mho) and good protective capacity (0.7–4.9 mho). The study has shown that the protective capacity of most parts of the communities studied is poor with Uvwiamuge and Ekakpamre communities not protected hence the aquifer in these oil producing communities are vulnerable to contamination by hydrocarbon in the event of pollution. Hence proper environmental protection measures have been suggested to safeguard the aquifer from pollution by hydrocarbon in the event of spillage.     

Recreational scuba diving in Caribbean marine protected areas: do the users pay?

There are more than 200 marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Caribbean and Central America that contain coral reefs and are therefore theoretically attractive to scuba divers. One fifth of dive operators in 30 countries were surveyed for their use of MPAs: the majority are located within 20 km of at least one MPA and 46% conduct at least 80% of their diving within a MPA. An estimated 15 million dives take place outside of Florida each year, half of these occurring inside MPAs. Only 25% of MPAs containing coral reefs charge divers an entry or user fee, which is most usually USD 2-3 levied per dive or per diver. The revenue generated by these fees is estimated at USD 1-2 million annually, but the potential for generating income has not been fully realized. A significant contribution to the cost of regional conservation could be achieved if higher fees were applied more widely than at present.