Access rights for outdoor recreation in New Zealand: some lessons for open country in England and Wales

Access opportunities for outdoor recreation in New Zealand and England and Wales are classified according to their conformity with collective, citizenship or exclusion rights and their degrees of permanence. Alternative criteria for the apportionment of access rights are considered in the context of this classification. Different criteria for rights apportionment are found to be appropriate according to different circumstances in the context of pluralist provision. Policy developments in New Zealand are compared with those in England. After 150 years of a dominance of collective rights in New Zealand current policy is shifting provision towards exclusionary rights. In England, there is a policy shift in the other direction, towards collective rights. Lessons for the development of collective rights in England are drawn from the New Zealand experience in relation to styles of governance, public preferences, public cost, insurance liability and the potential of markets.     

Minimizing Harm in Possum Control Operations and Experiments in New Zealand

Pest control operations andexperimentation on sentient animals such as thebrushtail possum can cause unnecessary andavoidable suffering in the animal subjects.Minimizing animal suffering is an animalwelfare goal and can be used as a guide in thedesign and execution of animal experimentationand pest control operations.The public has little sympathy for the possum,which can cause widespread environmentaldamage, but does believe that control should beas painless as possible. Trapping and poisoningprovide only short-term solutions to the possumproblem and often involve methods that causesuffering. Intrusive experiments connected withthese methods of control and published in thelast 6 years are reviewed. Many of theexperiments do not attain the welfare standardsrequired by members of the public.Possums also act as vectors for bovinetuberculosis. While this is not as important inthe minds of the public as environmentaldegradation, as long as people wish to continueraising cattle, this disease needs to becontrolled.Immunocontraception is a humane means ofcontrolling possums with wide publicacceptance. The use of vaccines for cows and/orpossums would also cause far less sufferingthan present eradication operations. Researchinto these methods does require some intrusiveexperimentation. This can be reduced if liveanimals are not used for secondary antibodyharvesting, if adequate analgesia is provided,and if potential vaccines or contraceptives aretested under conditions that would beexperienced in the field.     

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF LAND COVER DATA SOURCES FOR EROSION PREDICTION1

ABSTRACT: A fundamental problem in protecting surface drinking water supplies is the identification of sites highly susceptible to soil erosion and other forms of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is trying to identify erodible sites as part of a program aimed at avoiding costly filtration. New York City's 2,000 square mile watershed system is well suited for analysis with geographic information systems (GIS); an increasingly important tool to determine the spatial distribution of sensitive NPS pollution areas. This study used a GIS to compare three land cover sources for input into the Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE), a model estimating soil loss from rangeland and forests, for a tributary watershed within New York City's water supply system. Sources included both conventional data (aerial photography) and Landsat data (MSS and TM images). Although land cover classifications varied significantly across these sources, location-specific and aggregate watershed predictions of the MUSLE were very similar. We conclude that using Landsat TM imagery with a hybrid classification algorithm provides a rapid, objective means of developing large area land cover databases for use in the MUSLE, thus presenting an attractive alternative to photo interpretation.     

Winding up of the new town development corporations in Scotland

The development corporations of the new towns in Scotland have had to overcome many obstacles in the execution of their task. This history is outlined for each new town in the appendices. The statutory and political context of the imminent winding‐up of the development corporations of the remaining five new towns is explained, and the preliminary steps by the Scottish Office in recent years are outlined. The Government's strategy for transfer of responsibilities from the development corporations to other bodies is summarised and discussed under four broad headings. Finally, the prospects for more new settlements in Scotland are assessed.     

COMPARISON OF ANNUAL AND PARTIAL DURATION SERIES FLOODS ON THE MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER1

ABSTRACT: In current hydrologic practice flood frequency estimates are usually based upon either the annual or the partial duration series of floods. Recurrence intervals generated by each series are not equivalent, however, and conversion of recurrence intervals from one series to the other is usually achieved by reference to a mathematical function developed by Langbein in 1949. Data collected on the Murrumbidgee River in New South Wales suggest, however, that the Langbein conversion function does not always provide a reliable means of comparing recurrence intervals. For discharges more frequent than the three year annual flood the Langbein function understates the discrepancy between the two sets of recurrence interval by approximately 35 percent. Langbein's own North American data appear to be consistent with those collected on the Murrumbidgee River.     

Study on the Evolution of River Networks during Urbanization since the Development and Opening of Pudong New Area, Shanghai

1 INTORDUCTIONRivers are the artery of the earth surface system; and it isone of the major components of natural environment incities, whose quantity and quality result from the long-time interaction between environment and human activities(Chen Dechao, et al. 2002; Wang Ying, Sheng Jingfen.2002). As a symbol of reform and opening in China,Pudong New Area plays an important role in the economicdevelopment around Yangtze Delta and even all over thecountry. The 14th congress of the Com…     

The role of schools in helping communities copes with earthquake disasters: the case of the 2010–2011 New Zealand earthquakes

ABSTRACT

This article draws from the author’s four-year study of five school communities hit by the 2010–2011 earthquake sequence in the Canterbury region of New Zealand to highlight the roles that schools played in supporting their communities in the aftermath of the disaster. The article begins by synthesising the relevant literature on disasters, schools in earthquake disasters, and the importance of schools to their communities, pre- and post-disaster. The following themes from the data are discussed: (a) the role of schools in their communities prior to the earthquakes; (b) the role of schools in immediate rescue and response; (c) the role of schools in short-term relief; and (d) the role of schools in long-term recovery. The author then argues that as more evidence shows that schools play such crucial roles in post-disaster response and recovery, we need to better prepare and support them to undertake these functions. Further, we need to recognise the wider roles schools play supporting local communities to build and sustain resilience as part of on-going community cohesion and connectedness, so that society is better prepared when major disasters occur.     

新西兰氮排放配额与交易制度对中国的启示——以奶牛养殖业为例

近年来,排污权有偿使用与交易制度在中国部分省份开展了试点工作,许多大型的规模化畜禽养殖场也进行了排污许可证的申领。针对新西兰奶牛养殖业的污染治理措施进行了研究,梳理其开展污染防治工作的措施体系,以陶泊湖周边施行的氮排放配额与交易为主要对象,阐述了新西兰在养殖业排放配额与交易制度方面的工作实践,其配额基准核定方法、"资源许可证"申领制度、配额交易体系、相关支撑措施在一定程度上具备优势和先进性,对中国的畜禽养殖污染减排工作具有借鉴意义。     

天津市滨海新区城市形态演化模拟及驱动力分析

基于TM遥感影像、城市规划图等数据,利用logistic CA模型,模拟了2005~2010年天津市滨海新区城市形态演化,经过模拟面积和Lee Sallle指数两个指标的精度评价后,定量分析了新版总规实施后城市形态演化的驱动力。实证研究表明：滨海新区城市形态扩展迅速,驱动力大小依次是自然环境、经济发展、交通带动、城市规划引导;其中交通驱动力中,影响最强烈的依次是火车站、城市的道路、高速出入口、县乡道、航道、省道。因此提出：城市规划必须顺应城市形态发展的规律,把握好可控的关键驱动力,科学预测城市形态发展和提出城市规划方案,做到积极有效的引导城市形态发展     

天津滨海新区城市化进程中的环境风险分析

从天津滨海新区城市化趋势入手,系统分析了滨海新区城市化进程中产生的非突发性环境风险、突发性环境风险,并在此基础上进行了滨海新区区域生态环境安全和突发性环境污染事故的环境风险评估,结果表明:水环境安全系统是影响滨海新区区域生态环境安全的关键因素,滨海化工区是环境风险事故重点控制区、滨海新区中心商务区是环境风险影响重点防范区。结合滨海新区区域发展战略,提出了天津滨海新区环境风险防范管理对策与建议。