Impacts of hunting on tropical forests in Southeast Asia

Although deforestation and forest degradation have long been considered the most significant threats to tropical biodiversity, across Southeast Asia (Northeast India, Indochina, Sundaland, Philippines) substantial areas of natural habitat have few wild animals (>1 kg), bar a few hunting‐tolerant species. To document hunting impacts on vertebrate populations regionally, we conducted an extensive literature review, including papers in local journals and reports of governmental and nongovernmental agencies. Evidence from multiple sites indicated animal populations declined precipitously across the region since approximately 1980, and many species are now extirpated from substantial portions of their former ranges. Hunting is by far the greatest immediate threat to the survival of most of the region's endangered vertebrates. Causes of recent overhunting include improved access to forests and markets, improved hunting technology, and escalating demand for wild meat, wildlife‐derived medicinal products, and wild animals as pets. Although hunters often take common species, such as pigs or rats, for their own consumption, they take rarer species opportunistically and sell surplus meat and commercially valuable products. There is also widespread targeted hunting of high‐value species. Consequently, as currently practiced, hunting cannot be considered sustainable anywhere in the region, and in most places enforcement of protected‐area and protected‐species legislation is weak. The international community's focus on cross‐border trade fails to address overexploitation of wildlife because hunting and the sale of wild meat is largely a local issue and most of the harvest is consumed in villages, rural towns, and nearby cities. In addition to improved enforcement, efforts to engage hunters and manage wildlife populations through sustainable hunting practices are urgently needed. Unless there is a step change in efforts to reduce wildlife exploitation to sustainable levels, the region will likely lose most of its iconic species, and many others besides, within the next few years.     

Political transition and emergent forest‐conservation issues in Myanmar

Political and economic transitions have had substantial impacts on forest conservation. Where transitions are underway or anticipated, historical precedent and methods for systematically assessing future trends should be used to anticipate likely threats to forest conservation and design appropriate and prescient policy measures to counteract them. Myanmar is transitioning from an authoritarian, centralized state with a highly regulated economy to a more decentralized and economically liberal democracy and is working to end a long‐running civil war. With these transitions in mind, we used a horizon‐scanning approach to assess the 40 emerging issues most affecting Myanmar's forests, including internal conflict, land‐tenure insecurity, large‐scale agricultural development, demise of state timber enterprises, shortfalls in government revenue and capacity, and opening of new deforestation frontiers with new roads, mines, and hydroelectric dams. Averting these threats will require, for example, overhauling governance models, building capacity, improving infrastructure‐ and energy‐project planning, and reforming land‐tenure and environmental‐protection laws. Although challenges to conservation in Myanmar are daunting, the political transition offers an opportunity for conservationists and researchers to help shape a future that enhances Myanmar's social, economic, and environmental potential while learning and applying lessons from other countries. Our approach and results are relevant to other countries undergoing similar transitions.     

美丽城市内涵与美丽杭州建设战略研究

城市是环境、经济、社会的复合体与基本单元,美丽城市建设是美丽中国的重要基础和途径。本文在城市系统、城市形象、城市美学和生态文明建设理论的基础上,研究提出美丽城市建设的自然、环境、人居、经济、人文、生活等六大系统框架,提出评价指标体系构建思路原则。结合美丽杭州建设战略研究,提出了三大战略重点、四大战略途径和六大战略任务的总体框架。提出美丽城市建设需要重视格局、结构、质量的内在约束引导机制、区域分类指导机制以及差异化的评价指标体系建设的建议．为姜丽城市建设提供券者．     

云南潞西上芒岗红色粘土型金矿地质特征

潞西上芒岗红色粘土型金矿赋存于下二叠统岩溶面之上的第三、第四系红色粘土层中 ,矿体形态受地形控制明显 ,呈似层状。品位较高 ,规模中等 ,适合于露天开采。矿体的红土化作用不彻底 ,去硅富铁铝能力低 ,常见高岭石与伊利石共生。矿石中石英、褐铁矿、粘土矿物为主要载金矿物。成矿物质来自燕山中晚期形成的中侏罗勐嘎组中段与二叠系的沙子坡组的断层接触破碎带内的卡林型金矿。在湿热条件下 ,金发生活化、迁移、富集 ,在潜水面附近成矿。     

对中国排污收费制度改革的思考

排污收费制度是中国环境政策中一个核心的管理手段。它是我国为强化环境管理，运用经济手段，促进工业企业污染防治的一个独特的制度。在新的市场经济体制下和环境目标下，这项制度已不能适应社会主义市场经济发展的需要，因而在必要进行改革以适应新形势下环境保护工作的需要。在分析现行排污收费制度基础上，对我国现行的收费制度、政策和标准等的改革提出见解。