Downgrading,Downsizing, Degazettement,and Reclassification of Protected Areas in Brazil

Protected areas (PAs) are key elements for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. Brazil has the largest PA system in the world, covering approximately 220 million ha. This system expanded rapidly in the mid‐1990s to the mid‐2000s. Recent events in Brazil, however, have led to an increase in PA downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD). Does this reflect a shift in the country's PA policy? We analyzed the occurrence, frequency, magnitude, type, spatial distribution, and causes of changes in PA boundaries and categories in Brazil. We identified 93 PADDD events from 1981 to 2012. Such events increased in frequency since 2008 and were ascribed primarily to generation and transmission of electricity in Amazonia. In Brazilian parks and reserves, 7.3 million ha were affected by PADDD events, and of these, 5.2 million ha were affected by downsizing or degazetting. Moreover, projects being considered by the Federal Congress may degazette 2.1 million ha of PA in Amazonia alone. Relaxing the protection status of existing PAs is proving to be politically easy in Brazil, and the recent increase in frequency and extension of PADDD reflects a change in governmental policy. By taking advantage of chronic deficiencies in financial and personnel resources and surveillance, disputes over land tenure, and the slowness of the Brazilian justice, government agencies have been implementing PADDD without consultation of civil society. If parks and reserves are to maintain their integrity, there will need to be investments in Brazilian PAs and a better understanding of the benefits PAs provide. Degradación, Reajuste, Eliminacióm de las Listas y Reclasificación de Áreas Protegidas en Brasil     

浅谈实施教师资格制度

实施教师资格制度使教师的任用走上了科学化、规范化、法制化的轨道,推动了教育人事的改革,逐步形成了开放式的教师培养体系。     

The Interior-to-Edge Breakpoint Distance as a Guideline for Nature Conservation Policy

A method is proposed to quantify disturbance impact on isolated habitats. For every landscape patch, the breakpoint distance, defined as the penetration distance for which equality of interior and edge habitat is observed, can be calculated. Disturbance with equal impact at all patch sides is assumed. Effects of patch compactness, size, convolution, and perforation are discussed. The potential use of the measure for nature reserve design is discussed. The breakpoint distance follows the reserve design guidelines for individual patches, based on island biogeography and is consistent with the form and function principle. A large breakpoint distance is preferred for natural habitats. Small size, small compactness, intense convolution, and the occurrence of many gaps depress the breakpoint distance.     

改性木屑吸附剂对印染废水的脱色性能研究

本文介绍了以廉价易得的杨树木屑为原料，经环氧氯丙烷交联，制备的一种新的生物吸附剂，研究各种反应因素（氢氧化钠浓度、环氧氯丙烷用量、反应温度、木屑粒径等）对反应过程和吸附剂性能的影响，检验了其对品红及孔雀石绿在不同条件下的吸附性能，并探讨了它的吸附动力学曲线和再生性能。     

MUNICIPAL WATER CONSERVATION ALTERNATIVES1

ABSTRACT: The municipal water conservation options available to meet the goals of a national water conservation policy are evaluated. Water conservation with water conservation devices is shown to offer many significant advantages over education and pricing and metering as a method of accomplishing water conservation goals. Current constraints on the use of water conservation devices are outlined, and their elimination is suggested if the nation's water conservation goals are to be met.     

运城湿地自然保护区管理现状及对策建议

针对运城湿地自然保护区的管理现状,分析了其存在的主要问题与产生原因,并结合自然保护区管理相关法律、法规、政策和制度,从多方面提出了加强和改进运城湿地自然保护区管理的若干对策与建议.     

海峡两岸自然保护区比较研究

８０ 年代以来,海峡两岸在自然保护区建设方面都取得了较大成绩,但双方交流甚少,缺乏相互了解。本文重点对海峡两岸的自然保护区建设现状以及管理体制、分类系统、管理状况等进行了比较分析,并就如何进一步加强相互交流和促进中国自然保护区事业的发展提出相应的对策建议。     

Biomimicry: How the environment serves as a guide for technological advancements

Multiple ecological tactics, like the ones described here, can be imitated to strongly affect these two components in the construction sector. This article provides an in-depth examination of the literature on biomimicry-based strategies intended to enhance building designs. This analysis is motivated by the rising need for energy legislation to achieve future local goals and provide a framework for use in Panama. These biomimicry-based methods have undergone more review and evaluation, and the incorporation of organism-based design for three of Panama's climate types has been proposed. Therefore, a SWOT analysis assisted in realizing the full potential that biomimicry-based techniques might have in raising the likelihood of satisfying local and international regulatory standards. In order to design constructions using biomimicry, multidisciplinary collaboration is required. This gives a competitive edge for better-trained human resources and expands horizons in the conventional construction industry. Finally, the analysis provided here might act as the preliminary step for the additional technical assessment using numerical and experimental procedures.     

天然水体中铵态和硝态氮δ15N的测定

介绍了一种天然水体中铵态和硝态氮δ15N的测定方法,包括3个步骤:(1)离子交换法富集水中铵态和硝态氮;(2)蒸馏法进一步提纯铵态和硝态氮;(3)阳离子树脂萃取由转化和蒸馏得到的铵态氮,并将树脂干燥后送入元素分析仪串联质谱(EA-IRMS)测定δ15N.用这种方法处理NH4Cl和KNO3配制的人工模拟水样和野外采集的天然水样,发现δ15N-NH4+和δ15N-NO3-测定的准确性高、重复性好,人工模拟水样δ15N-NH4+的测定值和标准值相差0.560‰,δ15N-NO3-的测定值和标准值相差0.341‰,所有水样重复间的标准偏差在0.008‰—0.384‰之间.测定方法需要的水样体积较少,水样处理速度较快,离子交换后水样中的铵态和硝态氮可长期保存,适合野外天然水体δ15N测定.     

An Assessment of the Valuation Methods Used to Calculate the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW), Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), and Sustainable Net Benefit Index (SNBI)

For some time now, ecological economists have been putting forward a ‘threshold hypothesis’ – the notion that when macroeconomic systems expand beyond a certain size, the additional cost of growth exceeds the flow of additional benefits. In order to support their belief, ecological economists have developed a number of similar indexes to measure and compare the benefits and costs of growth (e.g., the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare and the Genuine Progress Indicator). In virtually every instance where an index of this type has been calculated for a particular country, the movement of the index appears to reinforce the existence of the threshold hypothesis. Of late, a number of observers have expressed concerns about whether these alternative indexes reflect concrete reality or the prejudices of ecological economists. In view of these concerns, this paper closely examines the valuation methods used in the calculation the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare, the Genuine Progress Indicator, and the Sustainable Net Benefit Index. It is argued that a consistent and more robust set of valuation techniques is required in order for these alternative indexes to gain broad acceptability.*Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.