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.     

The ozone formation potential of 1-bromo-propane

1-Bromo-propane (1-BP) is a replacement for high-end chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) solvents. Its reaction rate constant with the OH radical is, on a weight basis, significantly less than that of ethane. However, the overall smog formation chemistry of 1-BP appears to be very unusual compared with typical volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and relatively complex because of the presence of bromine. In smog chamber experiments, 1-BP initially shows a faster ozone build-up than what would be expected from ethane, but the secondary products containing bromine tend to destroy ozone such that 1-BP can have a net overall negative reactivity. Alternative sets of reactions are offered to explain this unusual behavior. Follow-up studies are suggested to resolve the chemistry. Using one set of bromine-related reactions in a photochemical grid model shows that 1-BP would be less reactive toward peak ozone formation than ethane with a trend toward even lower ozone impacts in the future.     

The chemistry of smog formation: A review of current knowledge

This paper describes smog chemistry and the methods used to develop our knowledge of its complex chemistry. These methods employ computer modeling, fundamental chemistry, smog chamber experiments, sophisticated analytical instrumentation, and process analysis techniques. The photochemistry leading to smog formation involves a kinetically controlled and coupled competitive process. The essential pathway for formation of nitrogen oxides starts with emissions composed primarily of NO, which are converted to NO₂, mostly via reactions with peroxy radicals; NO₂ is converted to photochemically inert nitric acid primarily by reaction with OH. Organics in smog chemistry are eventually oxidized to CO₂ and water; before this, they typically react with OH to form peroxy radicals. The peroxy (RO₂·) radicals couple the organic and nitrogen chemistry by converting NO to NO₂; the RO₂· radicals are converted to RO radicals, which typically lead to oxygenated intermediate organics that continue through OH·---RO₂·---RO· cycles. These OH·---RO₂·---RO· cycles produce CO, CO₂, and radical products. The radical products, which usually derive from photolysis of oxygenated intermediate organic products, are central to the overall process of smog formation. This is because the balance of these radicals affects the rapidity and severity of smog development. The radical balance is, in turn, controlled by the sources and sinks that depend on the HC/NO_x ratio, the types of organics, and the light flux. With only a rudimentary understanding of smog chemistry as a process, many of the effects observed from precursor controls can be explained and the basic shape of Empirical Kinetics Modeling Approach (EKMA) isopleth curves can be accounted for. The next step beyond this basic level of understanding involves a host of subprocesses composed of a complex series of chemical reactions. Current research in smog chemistry centers on the assessment and elucidation of these complex subprocesses. Atmospheric models currently in use rely on condensed chemical mechanisms. All such modern mechanisms treat the same basic processes, but differ both in their method of condensation and in their manner of addressing the complex subprocesses of smog chemistry.