Europe–Middle East–North Africa cooperation for sustainable electricity and water

This report summarizes the results of two studies of electricity supply for Europe (EU), the Middle East (ME) and North Africa (NA) up to the year 2050. It shows that a transition to competitive, secure and sustainable supply of electricity and water is possible using renewable energy sources, efficiency gains and fossil fuel backup for balancing power. A strong cooperation between the EU and MENA for the market introduction of renewable energy and the interconnection of the electricity grids by high-voltage direct-current transmission are keys to the success and survival of the whole region. However, the necessary measures will take at least two decades to become effective. Therefore, adequate policy and economic frameworks for their realization must be introduced immediately. The importance of sustainable energy for the security of freshwater supplies in MENA is also described.

Managing Protected Areas Under Climate Change: Challenges and Priorities

The implementation of adaptation actions in local conservation management is a new and complex task with multiple facets, influenced by factors differing from site to site. A transdisciplinary perspective is therefore required to identify and implement effective solutions. To address this, the International Conference on Managing Protected Areas under Climate Change brought together international scientists, conservation managers, and decision-makers to discuss current experiences with local adaptation of conservation management. This paper summarizes the main issues for implementing adaptation that emerged from the conference. These include a series of conclusions and recommendations on monitoring, sensitivity assessment, current and future management practices, and legal and policy aspects. A range of spatial and temporal scales must be considered in the implementation of climate-adapted management. The adaptation process must be area-specific and consider the ecosystem and the social and economic conditions within and beyond protected area boundaries. However, a strategic overview is also needed: management at each site should be informed by conservation priorities and likely impacts of climate change at regional or even wider scales. Acting across these levels will be a long and continuous process, requiring coordination with actors outside the “traditional” conservation sector. To achieve this, a range of research, communication, and policy/legal actions is required. We identify a series of important actions that need to be taken at different scales to enable managers of protected sites to adapt successfully to a changing climate.     

Acute exposure to chemicals during ‘do-it-yourself’ activities: survey of enquiries to the Swedish Poisons Information Centre in 1996

In 1996 the Swedish Poisons Information Centre performed a follow-up study concerning poisonings related to ‘do-it-yourself’ activities. The study was supported by the National Institute of Public Health in Sweden. The objectives were to investigate and define monthly variations, route of exposure, type of products and, in particular, exposures to corrosives, age and sex groups, place of treatment, severity of symptoms, place of the accident, special risk products and risk situations. The Poisons Information Centre was contacted concerning 1609 cases, with a peak during the summer months. There was no or uncertain connection between exposure and symptoms in 117 cases. This means that 1492 cases were left to study. Inhalation and eye exposure were the predominant routes, followed by skin exposure and ingestion. Cleaning agents were the most common type of products involved. Of the 1492 cases included in the study 1033 were possible to follow up. Among these, 20–29 year olds and 30–39 year olds predominated, and there was a dominance for men. In total, 28% of those exposed were subject to medical attention, either in hospital or in outpatient clinics. According to the Poisoning Severity Score 78% had mild (grade 1) and 7% moderate (grade 2) symptoms. There were no severe intoxications and no deaths. Severity grade 2 occurred 3.6 times more often among those with exposures involving risk of corrosive damage than among others in the study population. Most accidents occurred in the home. Special risk products and risk situations were exposure to corrosive products, release of chlorine when mixing hypochlorite and acid, ‘fire-eating’, siphoning gasoline and diesel fuel, welding, and inhalation of carbon monoxide from exhaust gases. The Swedish Poisons Information Centre registered 1609 cases of poisoning accidents during ‘do-it-yourself’ activities, which means an average of four to five cases per day. Although this type of accidents is not uncommon, significant poisoning seems to be rare. Some special risk situations were identified.     

非洲第一种有社会标志和有机标志的咖啡

1999年7月，喀麦隆的一个小农合作社Macefcoop成功地将其头两集装箱有机咖啡装运到欧洲.这是从非洲进入“公平交易”市场的第一种有机咖啡. 　　在坦桑尼亚，卡格拉(Kagera)区两个村庄的农民(卡格拉合作联盟的成员)最后决定转向有认证的有机生产. 　　也在坦桑尼亚的乞力马扎罗土著合作联盟正在从事一个试验项目工作，以在他们的一个农场上引种有机咖啡，旨在向农民们示范何谓有机以及怎样才能实施有机生产. 　　这三个合作社全都是Max Havelaar基金会的注册伙伴.......     

The use of volcanic soil as mineral landfill liner--I. Physicochemical characterization and comparison with zeolites.

The main physicochemical characteristics of the volcanic soil of Southern Chile, with allophane as the main pedogenic mineral phase were analysed and compared with common zeolites (clinoptilolite) of the European market. The ultimate goal of this study was to test volcanic soil for the use as mineral landfill liner. The main results indicated that the clay and silt fractions together of the volcanic soil were between 38 and 54%. The buffering capacity of the volcanic soil was higher compared with the studied zeolites, whereas the cationic exchange capacity of the volcanic soil (between 5.2 and 6.5 cmol + kg(-1)) is of the same order of magnitude of the studied zeolites (between 9.7 and 11.4 cmol + kg(-1)). Moreover, the anionic exchange capacity of the volcanic soil was higher compared to the zeolites analysed. The hydraulic conductivity of the volcanic soil, measured in the laboratory at maximum proctor density, ranges between 5.16 x 10(-9) and 6.48 x 10(-9) m s(-1), a range that is comparable to the value of 4.51 x 10(-9) m s(-1) of the studied zeolite. The Proctor densities of the volcanic soil are in a lower range (between 1.11 and 1.15 g ml(-1)) compared with zeolites (between 1.19 and 1.34 g ml(-1)). The volcanic soil physicochemical characteristics are comparable to all the requirements established in the Austrian landfill directive (DVO, 2000). Therefore, the use as mineral landfill basal sealing of the analysed volcanic soil appears reasonable, having a pollutant adsorption capacity comparable to zeolites. It is of special interest for Southern Chile, because there are no alternative mineral raw materials for basal liners of landfills.     

A mathematical model for the distribution and abundance of benthic algae in a Norwegian fjord

A mathematical model has been developed to study the distribution and abundance of benthic algae species in a Norwegian fjord. The main forcing functions are the physical factors which have well defined gradients in this area, but biotic interactions are also accounted for in the model.The distribution of algae along vertical transects in the intermediate fjord area has been simulated, and the observed distribution is reproduced fairly well. This indicates that the major factors determining the equilibrium elevation between intertidal and subtidal vegetations in this area are adequately represented in the model.Based on observations in a fjord branch with a high level of freshwater influx and polluted by heavy metals, assumptions are made of the combined influence of these contaminants on growth characteristics of the species considered. The resulting effects on community development and community patterns are simulated. For a certain level of contamination, the decrease in abundance, community development rate and species separation have been determined. It is also shown that the fluctuations in biomass during a year are more pronounced than under unaffected conditions.The relative importance of external growth regulating factors and self-shading is demonstrated for different degrees of community development, and we have indicated that this may be an important factor in the assessment of transient and long-term responses to “natural” and man-made influences on the shore-line vegetation.One of the main problems during model development was the formulation of the interaction function for factors influencing growth parameters. Several alternatives were examined.The differences between the most frequently used forms were small with respect to abundance and not very large with respect to possible changes in distribution. It was noted that even by including only the most limiting factor at each instant, (Liebig's form) a high percentage of the potentially limiting factors did actually limit growth during periods of the year.The model is intended as a working tool for the studies of changes in the shore-line vegetation caused by man-made interferences like heavy metal and oil pollution, and we believe that the results presented demonstrate that it can successfully be used for this purpose.