Sustainable Agriculture: New Paradigms and Old Practices? Increased Production with Management of Organic Inputs in Senegal

Farmers in Sahelian countries are confronted with a variety of soil fertility and management problems. During the last two decades, NGOs have worked with farmers and research institutions to develop and test practices that will increase food production, while at the same time enhance the natural resource base.Since 1987, The Rodale Institute (RI) has worked closely with farmers' associations and government institutions to promote regenerative agriculture-farming systems that prioritize the use of local resources while improving them as they are used to grow food, using agro-ecological methods. The Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute has collaborated in this program as a partner of RI. The Senegal Regenerative Agriculture Resource Center model has been applied as a new and viable approach that builds on traditional knowledge and farmer-to-farmer exchange.Research results on soil conservation and improvement have shown that fields spread with amended animal manure or compost yield greater harvests than fields farmed with traditional methods.     

The impact of global warming on winter tourism and skiing: a regionalised model for Austrian snow conditions

Possible climate change will modify snow-cover depth and change the characteristics of winter tourism and skiing districts. Our model describes seasonal snow-cover depth related to altitude in six Alpine climate regions as the best fit of all snow stations. Data cover 30 winter seasons (November to April values) from 1965 to 1995. We modified the data according to a scenario of temperature and precipitation change (2 °C warming, no precipitation change) and achieve a new simulated snow-cover depth. The indicators MARP (mean altitude of resident population) and MASPSL (mean altitude of starting point of ski lifts) serve as references for “critical altitudes” of Austrian districts. A warming implies a reduction of snow in all districts, but the loss is overproportional in lower altitudes. The direction of economic impacts is clear – income losses and adaptation costs – but magnitude and time frames remain uncertain. Received: 24 February 1999 · Accepted: 15 May 1999     

Landslides, risk and decision-making in Kinnaur District: bridging the gap between science and public opinion

In November 1989 a major landslide destroyed the link road to the village of Sapni in Kinnaur District of Himachal Pradesh in the Indian Himalaya. Although aware of the risk of further landslide activity, the community has campaigned successfully for reconstruction of the road. Decisions of this kind take place at the local level, through village institutions and open debate, with good feedback between villages and district government authorities. In this way a balance is established between meeting more immediate needs (such as domestic water supply, irrigation, road access) and taking acceptable risks. Using the Sapni landslide as a case study, this paper explores the issue of 'acceptable risk', and looks at the existing strategy for risk and disaster reduction in the district.     

Sanitation workers at the frontline: work and vulnerability in response to COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The absence of a vaccine and effective treatment for COVID-19 has created public panic and burdened the health systems in most countries. Along with health workers’, sanitation personnel are also working at the frontlines in the war against the disease by keeping cities clean. Sanitation workers are engaged in Drudgery, Dangerous, Dirty and Dehumanising work that makes them vulnerable for developing the chronic respiratory diseases due to the exposure of various hazardous materials and toxic gases that are emitted from the solid waste. The sanitation workers working on a contractual basis are excluded from the labour policies and welfare programs who are playing a vital role in fighting the pandemic. Women sanitation workers are even more vulnerable because most of them are non-literate, poor in financial management and under-represented in the sanitation employee’s union. The local and state governments should protect and safeguard sanitation workers by providing them with adequate protective equipment, ensure payment of paying adequate salaries and provide them with health insurance.     

乡镇工业企业发展与环境,资源协调问题初探

我国乡镇工业企业的发展与环境、资源的协调问题已经成为我国发展与环境、资源关系方面的大问题。实行工农相对分离,组建乡村工业区,是提高乡镇工业企业素质、效益,强化乡镇工业企业优化组合、规模经营的有效途径;是保护环境,实现资源有效利用的基础工作之一;是提高农业劳动生产率,实现农业规模经营的基础工作之一。     

Addressing Data Deficiency in Classifying Extinction Risk: a Case Study of a Radiation of Bignoniaceae from Madagascar

Abstract:  Of the roughly 12,000 known plant species in Madagascar, only 3% are found in the IUCN (World Conservation Union) Red List of Threatened Species. We assigned preliminary IUCN categories of threat to the species of a comparatively well-known tribe, Coleeae (Bignoniaceae), which comprises an endemic, species-rich radiation in Madagascar. Because the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria 3.1 discourage the use of the data-deficient category, we developed a novel method for differentiating between range-limited species and poorly sampled species. We used the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) gazetteer to determine where other collection efforts had taken place. We drew buffers around each Coleeae locality and determined how many times the surrounding area had been visited since the last sighting of the specimens by intersecting the buffers with all known botanical localities from the MBG gazetteer. We determined that at least 54% of the Coleeae species are threatened with extinction. Assignments of species to this category were often due to predicted future decline within their current area of occupancy and their lack of inclusion within the protected-area network (only 42% of species are known to occur in protected areas). Three species were presumed extinct, and an additional 12 have not been seen in decades. Among the species threatened with extinction, we "rescued" six of them from the data-deficient category by considering both the sample dates and localities of places where they occurred in relation to additional collections that took place in the immediate area. Due to their recent discovery, 15 species remained in the data-deficient category. If Coleeae is representative of the Malagasy flora, or at least of other endemic-radiated plant groups, then species loss in Madagascar may be even more extreme than is realized.     

流域水资源可持续开发利用中激励机制的应用

本文分析了流域水资源开发利用中存在的问题及原因，并根据可持续发展的理论，提出了流域水资源可持续开发利用的原则及相应的激励机制：①水价机制；②宏观调控机制；③水权机制；④相应的流域管理机制。     

城市土地资产经营新思路探讨

自1996年上海市成立第一家土地收购储备机构——土地发展中心后，全国各大城市已纷纷效仿它的成功经验。截止2001年8月不完全统计，全国已有大小不同的土地收购储备机构669家。实践证明，土地收购储备机制在盘活城市存量土地，促进土地集约利用，保障城市土地资产的保值增值等方面成绩卓著。然而，实践过程中，土地收购储备机制的运作也暴露出不少问题。本文通过对这些问题的分析，提出了引进公司制度完善土地收购储备机制，合理运营城市土地资产的新思路。     

黄酒中尿素的测定

二乙酰－肟分光光度法是测定黄酒等样品中尿素含量的一种快速、灵敏、简便的方法。样品中的尿素与显色试剂在沸水浴中发色１０￣１５ｍｉｎ后比色测定，显色的线性范围在０￣９μｇ尿素之间。测得的结果中包含了瓜氨酸的含量。样品中酒精和葡萄糖的存在不干扰测定。以标准加入法进行定量，从而使该方法的回收率和重现性大大提高，可满足一般痕量分析的要求。     

Preferred surface microscopic geometric features on floors as potential interventions for slip and fall accidents on liquid contaminated surfaces

PROBLEM: Surface roughness affects friction, so selection of floor surfaces with certain roughness characteristics could potentially reduce slip and fall accidents. This article summarizes the preferred surface microscopic geometric features that could increase friction on surfaces covered with liquid contaminants. METHOD: Three types of surface features, represented by the average of the maximum height above the mean line in each cut-off length (R(pm)), the arithmetical average of surface slope (Delta(a)), and the kernel roughness depth (R(k)), are identified as preferred surface microscopic geometric features for a higher friction. The proper settings on the profilometers (instruments used to measure surface roughness) for optimizing these surface parameters are specified. The friction mechanisms involved reveal why these features are more desirable. RESULTS: Although surface roughness is important in determining slipperiness, there is still insufficient information to establish a safety criterion based on roughness; however, the method presented in this paper can readily provide a relative comparison. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The summary presented will help safety professionals properly select new floor surfaces or assess existing floors to reduce slip and fall accidents.