Barriers Beyond the Partners: Bureaucratic and Political Constraints to Implementing Joint Forest Management in Tamil Nadu,India

Whereas past research has treated co-management of common pool resources as if villagers and project implementing authorities were the only relevant actors, numerous external factors beyond the control of these two partners create barriers to successful co-management. This paper draws on discussions with Forest Department officials to examine the influence of these forces on the outcomes of Joint Forest Management (JFM) in Tamil Nadu, India. An empirical inquiry into the operational aspects of JFM indicates the important roles of political parties, powerful people, and other state institutions and functionaries as well as the flow of foreign funding. Further, the strong demand by local people for socio-economic development interventions as opposed to improvement of degraded forests belittles the role of the Forest Department relative to other departments. Numerous other conditioning factors and relationships are explored. The authors call for reforms in public governance to allow better participation of all the actors involved for this participatory management approach to succeed and sustain.     

Perceptions toward stewardship among residents living near U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Facilities

Although stewardship has been widely defined and used in environmental management and planning, there is a dearth of studies that describe how the lay public perceives this concept. A national sample of residents in 14 states who live near DOE nuclear facilities were interviewed to delineate public understanding and awareness of the stewardship program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This study discusses the findings of the survey and discusses how institutional trust influences public participation and resident’s choices of potential stewards. Almost 40% of the respondents could not define stewardship; those who did, believed that ‘responsibility,’ ‘management,’ and ‘accountability’ are key elements of stewardship. In addition, about a third of the respondents identified Federal groups and the DOE as potential stewards. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue     

Effects of ocean temperature on the southern range limits of two understory kelps, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pterygophora californica</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eisenia arborea</Emphasis>, at multiple life-stages

Environmental factors have long been shown to influence species distributions, with range limits often resulting from environmental stressors exceeding organism tolerances. However, these abiotic factors may differentially affect species with multiple life-history stages. Between September 2004 and January 2006, the roles of temperature and nutrient availability in explaining the southern distributions of two understory kelps, Pterygophora californica and Eisenia arborea (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales), were investigated along the coast of California, USA and the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico, by limiting either: (a) tissue nitrogen uptake and storage by adult sporophytes during periods of elevated temperature, and/or (b) production of embryonic sporophytes by microscopic gametophytes. Results suggest that while adult sporophytes of both species are tolerant of high temperatures and low nutrients, reproduction by their microscopic stages is not. Specifically, while E. arborea produced embryonic sporophytes at both 12 and 18°C, temperatures commonly observed throughout the southern portion of its range, P. californica produced sporophytes at 12 but not at 18°C. As a result, it appears that the southern distribution of P. californica, which ends in northern Baja California, Mexico, may be limited by temperature acting on its microscopic stages. In contrast, the ability of E. arborea’s microscopic and adult stages to tolerate elevated temperatures allows it to persist in the warmer southern waters of Baja California, as well as to the north along the California coast where both species co-occur.     

GCM-based analysis of water availability along the Tone River and Tokyo Metropolitan Area under climatic changes

Tone River supplies most of the water requirements of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area (TMA). Lowering of Tone flow and yearly fluctuation, however, is causing water shortage along TMA nowadays. This study investigated the future water availability scenarios under climatic changes. A state-of-the-art approach to utilize the output of several GCM has been demonstrated to investigate the future water availability scenarios for TMA from the Tone River. An integrated modeling approach for water balance considering several hydrological risk indices was adopted to quantify the future changes in this case. It is observed that the future summer precipitation along the Tone basin is going to be increased considerably, while an almost constant or decreasing trend is observed for winter season. Natural flow availability for winter or spring seasons thus can be crucial under future scenarios. After reservoir routing, the hydrological risk indices estimated, however, were not found to be changed significantly due to the presence of a robust reservoir system at the upstream.     

SUSTAINABILITY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL: MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND MUNICIPAL TAX INCENTIVE MODEL

The implementation of sustainable development may seem a simple concept when written on paper. However to carry-out long term actions put forward by the Agenda 21 (AG21) at the local level represents one of the main challenges as municipal governments in general do not have the capacity to effectively implement the process. Regional environmental assessment (REA) has shown to be effective in supporting decision-making not only to correct environmental problems due to past unsustainable social-economic developments but also help local governments to implement sustainable actions. However this requires long-term investments of AG21 plans and projects. The allocation of regular and consistent financial resources is one of the main ingredients for the sustainable development process. But traditional plans and projects financed by national and/or international funds may not be sustainable in the long-term because they become dependent on external funding. Research demonstrate that innovative economic instruments such as ecotaxes represent a feasible alternative to sponsor local sustainability because taxes are collected permanently by the government and could be invested in continuous actions. Ecotaxes experiences have provided important reference to structure a municipal incentive model (MIM) to sponsor AG21’s environmental plans and projects on a long-term (permanent) basis. However sustainable development cannot be solely through economic investments. A comprehensive municipal environmental management scheme (MEMS) has been established to support the incentive model. The scheme seeks not only to improve local institutional framework but also incentive continuous participation of local stakeholders at all levels of society. Participatory events and the provision of incentives (educational and financial) are key to motivate society to protect the environment and support actively the sustainable development process as emphasised in the RIO-92 Conference.     

Evaluation and analysis of heavy metals in iron and steel industrial area

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Heavy metal pollution has attracted more attention due to the toxicity and migration characteristics, which has close relationship with soil...     

基于“BIM+GIS”技术的建筑垃圾精准管控信息管理平台研究初探

近年来,我国建筑垃圾产量不断增加,全国600多座大中城市中有70%被垃圾所包围,其中建筑垃圾贡献率达到40%,而相比于部分发达国家,我国尚缺少针对于建筑垃圾的全过程实时监测与智能管控手段。将"BIM+GIS"技术引入建筑垃圾监管领域,并基于此技术建立建筑垃圾实时监测与智能管控信息管理平台,可实现对建筑垃圾的精准管控。     

Dynamic nano-Ag colloids cytotoxicity to and accumulation by Escherichia coli: Effects of Fe3+, ionic strength and humic acid

Released Ag ions or/and Ag particles are believed to contribute to the cytotoxicity of Ag nanomaterials, and thus, the cytotoxicity and mechanism of Ag nanomaterials should be dynamic in water due to unfixed Ag particle:Ag⁺ ratios. Our recent research found that the cytotoxicity of PVP-Ag nanoparticles is attributable to Ag particles alone in 3 hr bioassays, and shifts to both Ag particles and released Ag⁺ in 48 hr bioassays. Herein, as a continued study, the cytotoxicity and accumulation of 50 and 100 nm Ag colloids in Escherichia coli were determined dynamically. The cytotoxicity and mechanisms of nano-Ag colloids are dynamic throughout exposure and are derived from both Ag ions and particles. Ag accumulation by E. coli is derived mainly from extracellular Ag particles during the initial 12 hr of exposure, and thereafter mainly from intracellular Ag ions. Fe³⁺ accelerates the oxidative dissolution of nano-Ag colloids, which results in decreasing amounts of Ag particles and particle-related toxicity. Na⁺ stabilizes nano-Ag colloids, thereby decreasing the bioavailability of Ag particles and particle-related toxicity. Humic acid (HA) binds Ag⁺ to form Ag⁺-HA, decreasing ion-related toxicity and binding to the E. coli surface, decreasing particle-related toxicity. HA in complex conditions showed a stronger relative contribution to toxicity and accumulation than Na⁺ or Fe³⁺. The results highlighted the cytotoxicity and mechanism of nano-Ag colloids are dynamic and affected by environmental factors, and therefore exposure duration and water chemistry should be seriously considered in environmental and health risk assessments.     

Algal toxicity induced by effluents from textile-dyeing wastewater treatment plants

This research aimed to evaluate the alga Scenedesmus obliquus toxicity induced by textiledyeing effluents(TDE).The toxicity indicator of TDE in alga at the physiological(algal growyth),biochemical(chlorophyll-a(Chl-a) synthesis and superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity) and structural(cell membrane integrity) level were investigated.Then we further study the relationship among toxicity indicators at physiological and biochemical level,and supplemented by research on algal biomacromolecules.According to the analysis of various endpoints of the alga,the general sensitivity sequence of toxicity endpoints of Scenedesmus obliquus was:SOD activity Chl-a synthesis algal growth.The stimulation rate of SOD activity increased from day 3(57.25%～83.02%) to day 6(57.25%～103.81%),and then decreased on day 15(-4.23%～-32.96%),which indicated that the antioxidant balance system of the algal cells was destroyed.The rate of Chl-a synthesis inhibition increased gradually,reaching19.70%～79.39% on day 15,while the rate of growth inhibition increased from day 3(-12.90%～10.16%) to day 15(-21.27%～72.46%).Moreover,the algal growth inhibition rate was positively correlated with the inhibition rate of SOD activity or Chl-a synthesis,with the correlation coefficients were 0.6713 and 0.5217,respectively.Algal cells would be stimulating to produce excessive reactive oxygen species,which would cause peroxidation in the cells,thereby destroying chloroplasts,inhibiting chlorophyll synthesis and reducing photosynthesis.With increasing exposure time,irreversible damage to algae can lead to death.This study is expected to enhance our understanding of the ecological risks through algal tests caused by TDE.     

新冠肺炎疫情期间我国居民佩戴口罩防护行为研究

口罩作为阻隔病毒传染的物理方式之一,其能阻断病原体经飞沫传播,同时具有双向隔离保护作用.佩戴口罩对于公众防范新型冠状病毒（2019-nCoV）感染的风险和维持人体基本健康具有重要意义.为了解新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19,简称“新冠肺炎”）疫情期间我国居民佩戴口罩的行为模式特征,基于新冠肺炎疫情期间我国人群环境暴露行为模式调查,分析全国31个省（自治区、直辖市）居民在新冠肺炎疫情期间佩戴口罩的行为特征,并探讨不同潜在风险人群佩戴口罩行为模式的差异性.结果表明:①在新冠肺炎疫情期间,我国人群外出佩戴口罩的比例在99%以上,显著高于非疫情期间的口罩佩戴率（16.05%）,其中,医务人员以及与人群广泛接触群体的口罩佩戴率最高（100%）.②居民以仅佩戴医用外科口罩、仅佩戴一次性使用医用口罩以及佩戴医用外科口罩和一次性使用医用口罩3种模式为主,占31种口罩佩戴模式的60%以上.③新冠肺炎疫情期间,不同职业人群、不同所属人群以及不同疫情地区人群佩戴口罩的比例均存在显著差异.④新冠肺炎疫情期间,我国居民佩戴口罩的更换频次多为累计使用时长4 h更换一次和累计使用时长24 h更换一次.⑤人群外出佩戴口罩的比例随新冠肺炎疫情严重程度的升高而增加.尽管新冠肺炎疫情分布特征和管控措施存在差异,但居民佩戴口罩行为均表现良好,其中居住地不存在疑似病例的人群比居住地存在疑似病例的人群的口罩佩戴率更高,说明人群佩戴口罩行为与疫情的发展可能存在一定的相互作用.研究显示,新冠肺炎疫情期间我国人群佩戴口罩这一防护行为总体执行较好.