Integrating economic costs into the analysis of flexible conservation management strategies.

Flexible conservation management, where measures (e.g., mowing of meadows, removing invasive species) are selected in each decision period depending on the current state of the ecological system, is generally perceived as superior to fixed management, where the same measure is applied in each decision period independent of the current state of the system. In past comparisons of fixed and flexible conservation strategies the additional costs that arise only in flexible strategies have usually been ignored. In this paper, we present a framework to integrate costs of flexible management into the evaluation of flexible conservation strategies. Using the example of an endangered butterfly species we demonstrate that the costs of flexible management may reverse the rank order of flexible and fixed conservation strategies, such that fixed strategies may lead to better ecological results than flexible ones for the same financial budget.     

An assessment of endocrine disrupting activity changes during wastewater treatment through the use of bioassays and chemical measurements.

The objective of this study was to assess the removal efficiencies of secondary wastewater treatment processes for compounds causing endocrine disrupting activity. The study used bioassays and chemical measurements, such as gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and enzyme immunosorbent assays. A total of seven full-scale water reclamation facilities using different unit operations and two pilot-scale membrane bioreactors were examined. Findings of this study imply that estrogenic disrupting activity in primary effluent is mainly caused by two steroidal hormones (17beta-estradiol and estriol) and, to a lesser extent, by synthetic chemicals, such as bisphenol A, 4-nonylphenol, and 4-tert-octylphenol. During secondary treatment, steroidal hormones were removed to a higher degree than nonylphenol and bisphenol A. The total estrogenic activity was removed by an average of 96%. The remaining concentrations of targeted steroids in secondary effluents, except for estriol, still had the potential to elicit a positive response in the human breast cell cancer assay. For the majority of facilities, the remaining activity was likely attributed to residual concentrations of two steroidal hormones (17beta-estradiol and estriol).     

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 field intercomparison and fundamental characterization of various dust samplers with a reference sampler

The European Economic Community Council Directive 80/779/EEC describes air quality limit values and guide values for sulfur dioxide and suspended particulates. However, article 10, paragraph 1 does not define well enough the reference method required, amongst others, for the gravimetric measurement of suspended particulates. It is explicity stated in article 10, paragraph 5 of the directive, that "the commission shall, in selected locations in the member states and in cooperation with the latter, carry out studies on the sampling...of suspended particulates. These studies shall be designed in particular to promote the harmonization of methods of sampling and analysis of these pollutants." Therefore, in a joint research program the Umweltbundesamt (grant #104 02263), the commission of European Communities (grant #84-B-6642-11-017-11-N) and the U.S. EPA (grant #2-432U-3580) funded the development of a reference dust sampler by the Fraunhofer-Institute of Toxicology and Aerosol Research (FhlTA, in Hannover, Federal Republic of Germany) in order: to study the particle size distribution of ambient air aerosol at a number of selected sites; to compare the results obtained with the reference dust sampler with those of particle samplers operated in Europe and the United States; to verify the applicability of wind tunnel results to sampling behaviour in the free atmosphere.     

Environmental modelling of use of treated organic waste on agricultural land: a comparison of existing models for life cycle assessment of waste systems.

Modelling of environmental impacts from the application of treated organic municipal solid waste (MSW) in agriculture differs widely between different models for environmental assessment of waste systems. In this comparative study five models were examined concerning quantification and impact assessment of environmental effects from land application of treated organic MSW: DST (Decision Support Tool, USA), IWM (Integrated Waste Management, U.K.), THE IFEU PROJECT (Germany), ORWARE (ORganic WAste REsearch, Sweden) and EASEWASTE (Environmental Assessment of Solid Waste Systems and Technologies, Denmark). DST and IWM are life cycle inventory (LCI) models, thus not performing actual impact assessment. The DST model includes only one water emission (biological oxygen demand) from compost leaching in the results and IWM considers only air emissions from avoided production of commercial fertilizers. THE IFEU PROJECT, ORWARE and EASEWASTE are life cycle assessment (LCA) models containing more detailed land application modules. A case study estimating the environmental impacts from land application of 1 ton of composted source sorted organic household waste was performed to compare the results from the different models and investigate the origin of any difference in type or magnitude of the results. The contributions from the LCI models were limited and did not depend on waste composition or local agricultural conditions. The three LCA models use the same overall approach for quantifying the impacts of the system. However, due to slightly different assumptions, quantification methods and environmental impact assessment, the obtained results varied clearly between the models. Furthermore, local conditions (e.g. soil type, farm type, climate and legal regulation) and waste composition strongly influenced the results of the environmental assessment.     

The Orthodoxy And Sustainable Development A Potential For Broader Involvement Of The Orthodox Churches In Ethiopia And Russia

In recent years, churches across the world have become involved in dialogue on the theory and practice of sustainable development. A number of Western churches have expressed their concern about climate change and destructive living patterns, stressing the need for human beings to exercise the care for all creation based on a life of sharing and sacrifice. Some Orthodox churches, however, quite recently included the environmental issues in their agendas. While the Bases of Social Concept, a major doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted in 2000, for the first time emphasises the Churchs position in overcoming environmental crisis and presents a solid basis on which to build the future environmental strategy of the Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has not yet drawn up a programme document that might serve as a framework for the Churchs current extensive activities in the field of biodiversity conservation and sustainable forestry practices. Hence, despite certain closeness of both institutions, there is the potential for strengthening their roles in promoting sustainable development, based on the Biblical concept that the Earth belongs to the Lord and humans are responsible stewards assigned the duty to work for creation and care for it. This paper seeks to demonstrate by means of comparable analysis between the two Churches, Orthodox in nature but different in rites and religious practices, that traditional, highly conservative faiths may serve as powerful instruments of spreading out the ideas of sustainable development as the basis of spiritual revival in the situation of the two concurrent and interrelated crises – spiritual and ecological.Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Resource Potentials and Limitations of A Nicaraguan Agricultural Region

Food production has to be increased in a sustainable way to meet the future global demand. A key position is attributed to developing countries. A deepened understanding of their agricultural regions with specific resource endowments and constraints is therefore crucial. In this study we propose a methodology based on material flux analysis (MFA) to assess the resource potentials and limitations of a Nicaraguan agricultural region. We focus on current regional and farm resource management and explore them under two scenarios. Indicators are nitrogen and the degrees of self-sufficiency (DSS) for energy, and the staples maize and beans. As data is scarce, most information is based on interviews with farmers of four categories and key persons, and on literature. The results show that nitrogen management does not differ considerably among categories. Nitrogen is mined mostly from staple plots. Self-sufficiency for beans is given in an average year. Yet, landless and small farmers neither produce enough maize for autoconsumption, nor are they self-sufficient for firewood. Energy supply is also the core problem of the region, since the DSS is 70%. Soil nitrogen stocks last at most for three more generations. Analyses with the scenario technique show that: (a) Unlimited population growth has serious consequences in the near future e.g. severe shortage of energy and food. (b) Alternative farming systems are possible, but they require reducing the population by a factor 2, and thus the creation of jobs in a Hinterland. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.