Improving the performance of the state environmental agencies (SEAs) necessitates an effective institutionalization of governmental
environmental management functions. There are examples of successful and unsuccessful SEAs in several parts of the world.
Analysis and assessment of these cases can deliver useful insights for institution builders. The objective of this article
is the assessment of the institutional effectiveness of the SEAs in Turkey through the perceptions of the experts using the
Delphi Technique. In this regard, a checklist is developed including 16 criteria and 123 subcriteria to measure the institutional
effectiveness of the SEAs. Twenty-eight national and international experts have formed a Delphi panel and evaluated the national
and local conditions. Results, based on the perceptions of the experts, indicate that the overall effectiveness of the SEAs
is far less than satisfactory. Negative consensus has been reached over the effectiveness of 13 of the16 criteria and 95 of
the123 subcriteria; however, no consensus has been achieved over the remainder of the parameters. The survey has also proven
that the Delphi Technique can be effectively used for that purpose. Utilization of the checklist method is also useful in
diagnosing the problematic components of the SEAs. It is recommended that this approach be used in similar cases elsewhere. 相似文献
We conducted a field experiment using constructed communities to test whether species richness contributed to the maintenance
of ecosystem processes under fire disturbance. We studied the effects of diversity components (i.e., species richness and
species composition) upon productivity, structural traits of vegetation, decomposition rates, and soil nutrients between burnt
and unburnt experimental Mediterranean grassland communities. Our results demonstrated that fire and species richness had
interactive effects on aboveground biomass production and canopy structure components. Fire increased biomass production of
the highest-richness communities. The effects of fire on aboveground biomass production at different levels of species richness
were derived from changes in both vertical and horizontal canopy structure of the communities. The most species-rich communities
appeared to be more resistant to fire in relation to species-poor ones, due to both compositional and richness effects. Interactive
effects of fire and species richness were not important for belowground processes. Decomposition rates increased with species
richness, related in part to increased levels of canopy structure traits. Fire increased soil nutrients and long-term decomposition
rate. Our results provide evidence that composition within richness levels had often larger effects on the stability of aboveground
ecosystem processes in the face of fire disturbance than species richness per se. 相似文献
Affirmative Action Programs (AAPs) are becoming increasingly common in the workplace. Typically their effectiveness has been assessed by the number of women and minorities hired and promoted. A neglected, but important measure of effectiveness is how AAPs are perceived by employees. When employees perceive that AAPs violate notions of fairness, negative attitudes and behaviors may occur and lead to decreased organizational performance. A model of perceived AAP fairness is presented using an organizational justice perspective. An initial (partial) test of the model is conducted and avenues for future research are discussed. 相似文献
We report the preparation of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-modified polyvinylidene fluoride electrospun fibers and their use as a novel adsorbent material for the removal of the anionic dye Methyl Orange (MO) from aqueous media. This novel adsorbent material can be used to selectively remove MO on a wide pH range (3.0–10.0), with a maximum capacity of 143.8 mg/g at pH 3.0. When used in a recirculating filtration system, the maximum absorption capacity was reached in a shorter time (20 min) than that observed for batch mode experiments (360 min). Based on the analyses of the kinetics and adsorption isotherm data, one can conclude that the predominant mechanism of interaction between the membrane and the dissolved dye molecules is electrostatic. Besides, considering the estimated values for the Gibbs energy, and entropy and enthalpy changes, it was established that the adsorption process is spontaneous and occurs in an endothermic manner. The good mechanical and environmental stability of these membranes allowed their use in at least 20 consecutive adsorption/desorption cycles, without significant loss of their characteristics. We suggest that the physical-chemical characteristics of PEDOT make these hybrid mats a promising adsorbent material for use in water remediation protocols and effluent treatment systems. 相似文献
Environment, Development and Sustainability - An abundant population of Ucides cordatus swamp crabs is present at Lameirão Ecological Station (Brazil), a tropical ecosystem man-made with... 相似文献
In Brazil, specifically in the Doce River basin, there is still a great lack of studies on temporal and spatial trends in water quality, since the water quality in the monitoring campaigns is basically evaluated when it comes down to the concentrations of monitored variables. In this sense, the objective of this work was to perform a temporal and spatial trend analysis of water quality data in the Minas Gerais portion of the Doce River basin, Brazil. For this, the Mann–Kendall, seasonal Mann–Kendall and Spearman correlation tests were used in the temporal analysis and the cluster analysis in the spatial analysis. In the analysis of temporal trends, the analyses were performed using the values of the National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSFWQI) and the variables that compose it. In the analysis of spatial trends, the stations were evaluated only based on the WQI. With the results of the analysis of temporal trend, it was identified that most stations did not present a statistically significant trend for the WQI. In the stations that presented trends of quality reduction, most of them are in densely populated areas, demonstrating the strong influence of the poor sanitary conditions of the municipalities to the water quality of the basin. When analyzing the variables that compose the WQI, the results found for nitrate demonstrated that water quality deterioration is also affected by the diffuse pollution originating from farming areas. The results for Escherichia coli reinforced the impact of the discharge of domestic effluents and demonstrated the absence of a significative trend is still of concern because it can represent the maintenance of a degradation state in the water bodies. In the spatial trend analysis, the CA grouped the monitoring stations into six clusters based on their similarity among the WQI values, and, together with the results of the other analyses, it was verified that the Caratinga River basin (UGRH5 Caratinga) presented the highest degree of pollution. It was also possible to identify five stations that can be reallocated or deactivated since they have similarities with other stations located in the same watercourse.
Environmental Management - Groundwater is one of the main resources for social-ecological systems. As part of the total water cycle and deeply connected with land use, groundwater management faces... 相似文献
Maintaining a living plant collection is the most common method of ex situ conservation for plant species that cannot be seed banked (i.e., exceptional species). Viability of living collections, and their value for future conservation efforts, can be limited without coordinated efforts to track and manage individuals across institutions. Using a pedigree-focused approach, the zoological community has established an inter-institutional infrastructure to support long-term viability of captive animal populations. We assessed the ability of this coordinated metacollection infrastructure to support the conservation of 4 plant species curated in living collections at multiple botanic gardens around the world. Limitations in current practices include the inability to compile, share, and analyze plant collections data at the individual level, as well as difficulty in tracking original provenance of ex situ material. The coordinated metacollection framework used by zoos can be adopted by the botanical community to improve conservation outcomes by minimizing the loss of genetic diversity in collections. We suggest actions to improve ex situ conservation of exceptional plant species, including developing a central database to aggregate data and track unique individuals of priority threatened species among institutions and adapting a pedigree-based population management tool that incorporates life-history aspects unique to plants. If approached collaboratively across regional, national, and global scales, these actions could transform ex situ conservation of threatened plant species. 相似文献
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology - In the animal kingdom, conspicuous colors are often used for inter- and intra-sexual communication. Even though primates are the most colorful mammalian taxon,... 相似文献