Local perception of infrequent,extreme upland flash flooding: prisoners of experience?

The United Kingdom has experienced several exceptional summer flash floods in recent years and there is growing concern about the frequency of such events and the preparedness of the population. This paper uses a case study of the upper Ryedale flash flood (2005) and questionnaire and interview data to assess local perceptions of upland flash flooding. Experience of a major flash flood may not be associated with increased flood risk perception. Despite local residents’ awareness of a trend towards wetter summers and more frequent heavy rainfall, the poor maintenance of rivers was more frequently thought to be a more significant factor influencing local flood risk than climate change. Such findings have important implications for the potential success of contemporary national flood policies, which have put greater emphasis on public responsibility for responding to flooding. This study recommends, therefore, the use of fresh participatory approaches to redistribute and raise awareness of locally‐held flood knowledge.     

铁路运输安全的产权分析

由于我国铁路运输安全的复杂性 ,运输安全在改革过程中极有可能沦为“公地悲剧” ,对安全进行产权分析确有必要。分析了一些国家保证铁路运输安全的产权制度安排 ,如英国的“网运分离”后的私有产权路网公司完全负责制、美国的垂直一体化私有产权铁路公司负责和政府安全监管体制、瑞典的非赢利性组织管理和政府安全监管体制以及我国的垂直一体化国有垄断企业 (政府部门 )负责制。笔者认为我国铁路在改革过程中 ,不能忽视运输安全的产权问题 ,应建立适当的运输安全管制体系 ,政府更应该在确保铁路运输安全方面发挥重要作用。     

中国安全社区建设的若干对策探讨

简要论述了安全社区和安全促进的概念以及国内外安全社区建设的发展状况 ,介绍了世界卫生组织安全社区的认可标准及其有关指标。笔者提出了中国安全社区建设若干建议和对策 ,尽快制定我国安全社区建设标准及其考核管理办法 ,将安全社区建设作为和谐社会、全面小康社会建设的重要组成部分 ,把安全社区建设作为公共安全、事故预防体系、应急救援体系和安全文化建设的基石 ,将社区安全水平纳入各级政府政绩考核和经济社会发展水平评价体系 ,积极开展安全社区建设的跨学科合作研究 ,开展城市安全社区与农村安全社区的建设试点工作。     

建立突发公共事件应急机制的探讨

本文根据我国目前公共安全的现状、问题与经验,提出了建立健全应急机制的指导思想和工作原则,并根据突发公共事件的分类、分级,探讨了建立和完善突发公共事件的应急体制、机制和法制的途径和方法.     

The role of local communities in chemical accident prevention and preparedness

Since the adoption of community right-to-know programs in the US there has been an increase in the number of groups known as local emergency planning committees. These committees have matured in focus over the intervening years since the Bhopal incident and even more so since the events of September 11, 2001. There is a strong recognition that local communities working very closely with chemical handling facilities in their areas can directly and meaningfully reduce the threat of a chemical release incident, regardless of cause. Likewise, through similar means they can better prepare themselves to respond should an incident occur. Especially as regards modern concepts of process chemical safety and facility security, local communities can be of great assistance to smaller facilities that do not otherwise necessarily have the resources to accomplish these tasks. As the vulnerabilities of a facility to accident or intentional act, the impacts of these events and the ability of communities to react are all a function of local conditions, it is clear that these local efforts can be more meaningful than large-scale national efforts. While national legislation is certainly helpful to the process of bringing people together, it is the local relationships that produce results.     

浅谈以公共交通为导向的土地利用模式

本文通过对城市土地利用和城市交通规划相互关系的分析,探讨解决城市交通问题的合理用地模式,提出了要以公共交通来引导城市土地的利用,并探讨了在我国建立公共交通导向的城市土地利用形态的策略与途径。     

An evaluation paradigm for cumulative impact analysis

Cumulative impact analysis is examined from a conceptual decision-making perspective, focusing on its implicit and explicit purposes as suggested within the policy and procedures for environmental impact analysis of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and its implementing regulations. In this article it is also linked to different evaluation and decision-making conventions, contrasting a regulatory context with a comprehensive planning framework. The specific problems that make the application of cumulative impact analysis a virtually intractable evaluation requirement are discussed in connection with the federal regulation of wetlands uses. The relatively familiar US Army Corps of Engineers' (the Corps) permit program, in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) responsibilities in managing its share of the Section 404 regulatory program requirements, is used throughout as the realistic context for highlighting certain pragmatic evaluation aspects of cumulative impact assessment.To understand the purposes of cumulative impact analysis (CIA), a key distinction must be made between the implied comprehensive and multiobjective evaluation purposes of CIA, promoted through the principles and policies contained in NEPA, and the more commonly conducted and limited assessment of cumulative effects (ACE), which focuses largely on the ecological effects of human actions. Based on current evaluation practices within the Corps' and EPA's permit programs, it is shown that the commonly used screening approach to regulating wetlands uses is not compatible with the purposes of CIA, nor is the environmental impact statement (EIS) an appropriate vehicle for evaluating the variety of objectives and trade-offs needed as part of CIA. A heuristic model that incorporates the basic elements of CIA is developed, including the idea of trade-offs among social, economic, and environmental protection goals carried out within the context of environmental carrying capacity.     

环境保护领域中环境NGO作用探讨

20世纪80年代以来，国际社会中非政府组织蓬勃发展。环境NGO（环境保护非政府组织）成为国际环境保护领域中的一股新生力量。阐述了环境NGO的定义、属性及其发展过程。分析了环境NGO在国际环保领域所起的作用、前景。指出了环境NGO对中国环境保护的启示作用。     

The classification of lands managed for conservation: existing and proposed frameworks, with particular reference to Australia

Comprehensive classification systems to accurately account for lands managed for biodiversity conservation, are an essential component of conservation planning and policy. The current international classification systems for lands managed for nature conservation are reviewed, with a particular emphasis on Australia. The need for a broader, all-encompassing, categorisation of lands managed for conservation is presented and a proposed broader categorisation system is developed—the Conservation Lands Classification. This classification system has the advantage of incorporating data on both tenure and protection mechanisms and has been applied in this paper using conservation lands in three Australian jurisdictions as examples. It is envisaged that this method of classification has the potential to significantly improve the ability to measure current and future trends in nature conservation across all land types at a variety of scales and hence is put forward in order to stimulate discussion on this important topic.