Policy and practice in Myanmar's protected area system

Myanmar's protected area (PA) system began nearly 150 years ago under royal patronage. Park policies and practices, embodied in 19 pieces of legislation developed sporadically during and after the colonial period. As a result of the FAO-UNDP's Nature Conservation and National Parks Project (1981-1985) the government established the Nature & Wildlife Conservation Division and placed it within the Forest Department as the agency responsible for PA management. As a consequence the number of parks increased from 14 to 33. Myanmar's median park size is less than 50 km(2), but only five parks (15%) are larger than 1000 km(2). Most parks conserve terrestrial habitats; parks encompassing inland wetlands, mangrove, and marine habitats are limited in number and size. Existing PAs unequally represent Myanmar's ecosystems; the Malay Transition, Burmese coast, Burmese Transition and Cardamom Mountains bio-units are under-represented within the system. The effective total PA size (i.e., area of all parks less the area of 13 paper parks) is currently about 2.1%. Budgetary support for parks increased 11% since 1996, but is insufficient to address park needs, particularly in remote parks that are understaffed. Limited education and training of PA staff is a major factor limiting effective park management. Fifty-eight percent of park wardens are educated as foresters, and 42% have university degrees. The average posting in a park is 4 years, which is less than ideal for management continuity. Recommended actions to secure Myanmar's PAs include evaluation and reformulation of policies, increasing representation of Myanmar's habitats within the PA system, management planning, and standardizing protocols for anti-poaching patrols and other forms of law enforcement. Improved leadership training for wardens and range forest officers can also improve park management. Funding for community relations and more integrated management of parks and people can reduce conflicts, while environmental education and outreach activities can provide some needed services. Finally, new ways and means are needed to support these activities. Myanmar's PAs need creative and sustainable means of support, including partnerships with non-government organizations to supplement traditional means of support.     

Sorption and bioreduction of hexavalent uranium at a military facility by the Chesapeake Bay

Directly adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay lies the Aberdeen Proving Ground, a U.S. Army facility where testing of armor-piercing ammunitions has resulted in the deposition of >70,000 kg of depleted uranium (DU) to local soils and sediments. Results of previous environmental monitoring suggested limited mobilization in the impact area and no transport of DU into the nation's largest estuary. To determine if physical and biological reactions constitute mechanisms involved in limiting contaminant transport, the sorption and biotransformation behavior of the radionuclide was studied using geochemical modeling and laboratory microcosms (500 ppb U(VI) initially). An immediate decline in dissolved U(VI) concentrations was observed under both sterile and non-sterile conditions due to rapid association of U(VI) with natural organic matter in the sediment. Reduction of U(VI) to U(IV) occurred only in non-sterile microcosms. In the non-sterile samples, intrinsic bioreduction of uranium involved bacteria of the order Clostridiales and was only moderately enhanced by the addition of acetate (41% vs. 56% in 121 days). Overall, this study demonstrates that the migration of depleted uranium from the APG site into the Chesapeake Bay may be limited by a combination of processes that include rapid sorption of U(VI) species to natural organic matter, followed by slow, intrinsic bioreduction to U(IV).     

Chronic toxicity of sediment-associated linear alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS) to freshwater benthic organisms

The toxicity of linear alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS), to freshwater benthic organisms was assessed during exposure to spiked sediment. Lethal and sub-lethal end-points were monitored for two organisms (oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus and nematode Caenorhabditis elegans). Results demonstrated relatively low toxicity (LOECs>100 mg/kg dry weight). No observed effect concentrations (NOECs) of 81 mg/kg dw (Lumbriculus) and 100 mg/kg dw (Caenorhabditis) were determined. For the oligochaete, no specific endpoint was particularly sensitive to LAS. For the nematode, egg production was the most sensitive endpoint. Significant degradation was measured over the 28-day duration of the Lumbriculus study, equating to a half-life of 20 days in sediment.     

Determining gaseous emission factors and driver's particle exposures during traffic congestion by vehicle-following measurement techniques

Vehicle gaseous emissions (NO, CO, CO2, and hydrocarbon [HC]) and driver's particle exposures (particulate matter < 1 microm [PM1], < 2.5 microm [PM2.5], and < 10 microm [PM10]) were measured using a mobile laboratory to follow a wide variety of vehicles during very heavy traffic congestion in Macao, Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China, an urban area having one of the highest population densities in the world. The measurements were taken with high time resolution so that fluctuations in the emissions can be seen readily during vehicle acceleration, cruising, deceleration, and idling. The tests were conducted in close proximity to the vehicles, with the inlet of a five-gas analyzer mounted on the front bumper of the mobile laboratory, and the distance between the vehicles was usually within several meters. To measure the driver's particle exposures, the inlets of the particle analyzers were mounted at the height of the driver's breathing position in the mobile laboratory, with the driver's window open. A total of 178 and 113 vehicles were followed individually to determine the gaseous emission factor and the driver's particle exposures, respectively, for motorcycle, passenger car, taxi, truck, and bus. The gaseous emission factors were used to model the roadside air quality, and good correlations between the modeled and monitored CO, NO2, and nitrogen oxide (NO(x)) verified the reliability of the experiments. Compared with petrol passenger cars and petrol trucks, diesel taxies and diesel trucks emitted less CO but more NO(x). The impact of urban canyons is shown to cause a significant increase in the PM1 peak. The background concentrations contributed a significant amount of the driver's particle exposures.     

Testing VOC emission measurement techniques in wood-coating industrial processes and developing a cost-effective measurement methodology

Availability of reliable emission measurements of concentrated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) bear great significance in facilitating the selection of a feasible emission abatement technique. There are numerous methods, which can be used to measure VOC emissions, however, there is no single method that would allow sampling of the whole range of volatile organics. In addition, research efforts are usually directed to the development of measuring VOCs in diluted concentrations. Therefore, there is a need for a novel measurement method, which can give reliable results while entailing simple operations and low costs. This paper represents a development effort of finding a reliable measurement procedure. A methodology is proposed and used to measure solvent emissions from coating processes.     

Kinetic assessment of persistent halogenated xenobiotics in cell culture models: comparison of mono- and poly-halogenated compounds

We evaluated the suitability of single and multiple cell type cultures as model systems to characterise cellular kinetics of highly lipophilic compounds with potential ecotoxicological impact. Confluent mono-layers of human skin fibroblasts, rat astrocytoma C6 cells, non-differentiated and differentiated mouse 3T3 cells were kept in culture medium supplemented with 10% foetal calf serum. For competitive uptake experiments up to four different cell types, grown on glass sectors, were exposed for 3 h to ¹⁴C-labelled model compounds, dissolved either in organic solvents or incorporated into unilamellar lecithin liposomes. Bromo-, or chloro-benzenes, decabromodiphenylether (DBP), and dichlorodiphenyl ethylene (DDE) were tested in rather high concentration of 20 μM. Cellular toxicity was low. Compound levels were related to protein, DNA, and triglyceride contents. Cellular uptake was fast and dependent on physico-chemical properties of the compounds (lipophilicity, molecular size), formulation, and cell type. Mono-halogenated benzenes showed low and similar uptake levels (= low accumulation compounds). DBP and DDE showed much higher cellular accumulations (= high accumulation compounds) except for DBP in 3T3 cells. Uptake from liposomal formulations was mostly higher than if compounds were dissolved in organic solvents. The extent of uptake correlated with the cellular content of triglycerides, except for DBP. Uptake competition between different cell types was studied in a sectorial multi-cell culture model. For low accumulation compounds negligible differences were found among C6 cells and fibroblasts. Uptake of DDE was slightly and that of DBP highly increased in fibroblasts. Well-defined cell culture systems, especially the sectorial model, are appropriate to screen for bioaccumulation and cytotoxicity of (unknown) chemical entities in vitro.     

IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL NONPOINT POLLUTION SOURCE AREAS USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND WATER QUALITY MODELING1

n integrated approach coupling water quality computer simulation modeling with a geographic information system (GIS) was used to delineate critical areas of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution at the watershed level. Two simplified pollutant export models were integrated with the Virginia Geographic Information System (VirGIS) to estimate soil erosion, sediment yield, and phosphorus (P) loading from the Nomini Creek watershed located in Westmoreland County, Virginia. On the basis of selected criteria for soil erosion rate, sediment yield, and P loading, model outputs were used to identily watershed areas which exhibit three categories (low, medium, high) of non-point source pollution potentials. The percentage of the watershed area in each category, and the land area with critical pollution problems were also identified. For the 1505-ha Nomini Creek watershed, about 15, 16, and 21 percent of the watershed area were delineated as sources of critical soil erosion, sediment, and phosphorus pollution problems, respectively. In general, the study demonstrated the usefulness of integrating GIS with simulation modeling for nonpoint source pollution control and planning. Such techniques can facilitate making priorities and targeting nonpoint source pollution control programs.     

Determination of the aerobic biodegradability of polymeric material in a laboratory controlled composting test

A laboratory method is presented for investigating the biodegradation of an organic test material in an aerobic composting system based on the evolution of carbon dioxide. In addition to carbon conversion, biodegradation can also be monitored through weight loss and physical disintegration. The test method is different from other biodegradation tests, especially aquatic tests, because of the elevated temperature representative for real composting conditions and also because of enhanced fungal degradation activities. A ring test was run using paper and poly-β-hydroxybutyrate/valerate as test materials and cellulose powder as a reference material. The test results and the experience gained by the participants showed that the method is suitable and practicable. Experience with real technical-scale composting facilities confirms that the method provides test results of high predictive value. The test is designed to become a European Standard in connection with determining the compostability of packagings and packaging materials.     

Destruction of halogenated hydrocarbons with solvated electrons in the presence of water

Model halogenated aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons and halogenated phenols were dehalogenated in seconds by solvated electrons generated from sodium in both anhydrous liquid ammonia and ammonia/water solutions. The minimum sodium required to completely dehalogenate these model compounds was determined by increasing the Na/substrate ratio until halogen loss was complete. Minimum sodium consumptions were determined in both anhydrous liquid ammonia and with a (5, 20, 50-fold molar excess of water per mole of halide). While more Na was consumed in the presence of water, these dehalogenations were still efficient when a 50-fold water excess was present. Dehalogenation is faster than competiting reactions with water. CCl4 and CH3CCl3 in the presence of a stoichiometric deficiency of sodium produced only CH4 and CH3CH3 and recovered CCl4 or CH3CCl3, respectively. No partially dechlorinated products were detected, indicating dechlorination was diffusion controlled. Na consumption per chlorine removed (as NaCl) was lower than that of Li, K or Ca and this advantage increased in the presence of water. Na consumption was lower using Na chunks instead of a thin Na mirror. Chloroaromatic compounds gave the parent aromatic hydrocarbon and aminated products in anhydrous ammonia but aminated products did not form when water was present.     

INTERFACE BETWEEN TWO DISSIMILAR FLUIDS BENEATH A SHEETPILE COFFERDAM1

ABSTRACT: A closed form solution is presented for determining the shape and location of the interface between two dissimilar fluids (having different densities) when steady flow takes place through a homogeneous and isotropic porous medium, into a sheetpile cofferdam; the interface is assumed to be sharp and the lower fluid stationary. The solution is obtained using the inverse hodograph. Numerical results are presented in nondimensional form for various parametric conditions in the physical plane; the interface pattern, as also the seepage discharge and exit gradient distribution are shown. The critical conditions of the interface are studied.