Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in sediment and human health risk assessment of heavy metals in fishes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin

The concentrations of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Hg, Cu, Zn, Pb and As) in the water, sediment, and fish were investigated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Potential ecological risk analysis of sediment heavy metal concentrations indicated that six sites in the middle reach, half of the sites in the lower reach, and two sites in lakes, posed moderate or considerable ecological risk. Health risk analysis of individual heavy metals in fish tissue indicated safe levels for the general population and for fisherman but, in combination, there was a possible risk in terms of total target hazard quotients. Correlation analysis and PCA found that heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, and Zn) may be mainly derived from metal processing, electroplating industries, industrial wastewater, and domestic sewage. Hg may also originate from coal combustion. Significant positive correlations between TN and As were observed.     

Evaluation of alternative PCB clean-up strategies using an individual-based population model of mink

Population models can be used to place observed toxic effects into an assessment of the impacts on population-level endpoints, which are generally considered to provide greater ecological insight and relevance. We used an individual-based model of mink to evaluate the population-level effects of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the impact that different remediation strategies had on mink population endpoints (population size and extinction risk). Our simulations indicated that the initial population size had a strong impact on mink population dynamics. In addition, mink populations were extremely responsive to clean-up scenarios that were initiated soon after the contamination event. In fact, the rate of PCB clean-up did not have as strong a positive effect on mink as did the initiation of clean-up (start time). We show that population-level approaches can be used to understand adverse effects of contamination and to also explore the potential benefits of various remediation strategies.     

基于演化博弈的流域生态补偿利益冲突分析

资源合理利用与环境保护是维护当今经济平稳、健康、较快发展的重要前提。生态补偿是缓解经济快速发展与环境污染、生态环境破坏之间利益矛盾冲突的重要手段。它是为了制止生态破坏而征收或补偿的费用,所以不同于一般排污费和资源补偿费。本文根据补偿的类型不同,将生态补偿分为资源型生态补偿和环境型生态补偿。本文以流域生态补偿为例,将流域上游政府的策略简化为保护或不保护河流,下游政府针对上游的情况,选择"自主型"或"接受型",运用演化博弈的方法,分析流域生态补偿的特点和结果。结果表明:流域生态补偿需要中央政府的适度干预,而且关键点是保证上游地方政府收益始终最大化;中央政府干预的程度是使上游政府群的收益在保护的情况下比不保护的收益要大,而干预的结果则是使流域上下游的(保护,补偿)策略成为演化博弈的长期稳定均衡。最后本文针对我国现行流域管理体制,为我国流域生态补偿提供了政策建议,以推广我国生态补偿政策。     

丹江口库区化肥施用控制与农田生态补偿标准

为保护丹江口水库水质,减少氮、磷流入水体,可考虑以生态补偿方式鼓励农民将部分土地休耕或退耕。利用样本调查的农户微观数据,估计了丹江口库区主要农作物小麦、玉米、水稻产量与化肥施用量的经验函数,计算了库区农田平均生态补偿标准。结果是:基于2008年的生产条件、技术水平和市场价格,种植小麦须补偿259.69元/亩,玉米须补偿331.64元/亩,水稻须补偿567.31元/亩。为减少补偿过程中的政府强制行为和信息租金,可考虑将农户土地按历年产量进行评估后分成多个等级,每一等级支付该等级土地最高净收益。本文将每亩作物净收益即每亩劳动收入和地租作为农田生态补偿标准,这一计算标准是基于农民遭受的损失,属于保留效用,是农民谈判的起点。如果南水北调中线工程是有利可图的,可进一步将工程的部分净收益分配给维护生态系统、保护水质的库区农民,具体分配的份额则取决于当地农民的谈判力。     

中国农村居民点用地变化的社会经济因素分析

基于2000-2008年省级单元的土地利用和社会经济统计数据,探讨来自区域、城镇和农村的社会经济因素对农村居民点用地扩张的作用机制,认为农村居民点用地扩张受到农村自身社会经济发展和城镇社会经济发展的双重作用,一方面区域和农村社会经济推动了农村居民点用地规模扩张,另一方面工业化和城镇化进程引起的城镇空间扩张,缓解了农村居民点用地扩张的趋势,在此"一增一减"双重作用下,农村居民点用地呈现缓慢增长趋势。相比于来自区域和城镇的社会经济因素,农村自身的社会经济发展因素对于省级单元的农村居民点用地扩张的影响更为重要。不论是对于来自城镇或是农村的社会经济因素,产出效应都比投资和收入效应更明显,在控制产出效应的情况下,来自于城镇和区域的投资和收入效应不再显著。为控制农村居民点用地过度扩张,政府应在健康快速的工业化和城镇化进程中,实施城乡建设用地增减挂钩政策,加大土地开发整理和复垦力度,积极投资农村,提高农用地产出,以有效引导农村居民点用地节约集约利用。     

中国排污权有偿使用与交易实证的比较研究

建立排污权有偿使用与交易制度对于解决过高的环境治理成本问题具有重要作用.总结了中国排污权有偿使用与交易试点地区的实践经验,梳理并分析了不同时期、不同地区的交易模式、组织过程和主要方法,以期推动中国排污权交易工作的顺利开展和有序推进,进而推动符合国情的排污权交易政策体系的构建.结果表明,总体而言各试点地区的排污权有偿使用和交易在探索中不断发展,取得了积极成效:促进了环境管理的精细化,为地方经济的发展提供了空间,促进了环境质量改善.最后还指出,中国的排污权有偿使用和交易工作中仍存在政策制度建设支撑不足、交易市场活跃度不高、后期监管不力等问题,今后应依法依规,始终坚持由易到难、积极稳妥、重点突破的原则,由点到面、有序推进试点工作.     

Philippine protected areas are not meeting the biodiversity coverage and management effectiveness requirements of Aichi Target 11

Aichi Target 11 of the Convention on Biological Diversity urges, inter alia, that nations protect at least 17 % of their land, and that protection is effective and targets areas of importance for biodiversity. Five years before reporting on Aichi targets is due, we assessed the Philippines’ current protected area system for biodiversity coverage, appropriateness of management regimes and capacity to deliver protection. Although protected estate already covers 11 % of the Philippines’ land area, 64 % of its key biodiversity areas (KBAs) remain unprotected. Few protected areas have appropriate management and governance infrastructures, funding streams, management plans and capacity, and a serious mismatch exists between protected area land zonation regimes and conservation needs of key species. For the Philippines to meet the biodiversity coverage and management effectiveness elements of Aichi Target 11, protected area and KBA boundaries should be aligned, management systems reformed to pursue biodiversity-led targets and effective management capacity created.     

基于GIS分析的生态清洁小流域治理思路——以陕西省石泉县饶峰河小流域为例

生态清洁小流域建设对于维护重要水源区水生态安全具有极其重要的意义。以汉江上游的陕西省石泉县饶峰河小流域为研究对象,在对该小流域自然因素和社会经济因素进行调查的基础上,采用GIS空间分析方法,对该小流域治理区域进行精细划分。研究表明饶峰河小流域可划分7个不同的治理区域,分别为:生态修复区、坡耕地修复区、坡面治理区、坡耕地治理区、农田治理区、村镇综合治理区及河(沟)道周边整治区。根据各区域的污染产生特点,针对性地提出各区域治理方向,并进行治理措施配置。该研究可为生态清洁小流域精准治理提供一种新的建设思路。     

Smallholder Farms as Stepping Stone Corridors for Crop-Raiding Elephant in Northern Tanzania: Integration of Bayesian Expert System and Network Simulator

Crop-raiding elephants affect local livelihoods, undermining conservation efforts. Yet, crop-raiding patterns are poorly understood, making prediction and protection difficult. We hypothesized that raiding elephants use corridors between daytime refuges and farmland. Elephant counts, crop-raiding records, household surveys, Bayesian expert system, and least-cost path simulation were used to predict four alternative categories of daily corridors: (1) footpaths, (2) dry river beds, (3) stepping stones along scattered small farms, and (4) trajectories of shortest distance to refuges. The corridor alignments were compared in terms of their minimum cumulative resistance to elephant movement and related to crop-raiding zones quantified by a kernel density function. The “stepping stone” corridors predicted the crop-raiding patterns. Elephant presence was confirmed along these corridors, demonstrating that small farms located between refuges and contiguous farmland increase habitat connectivity for elephant. Our analysis successfully predicted elephant occurrence in farmland where daytime counts failed to detect nocturnal presence. These results have conservation management implications.     

A wind resource assessment around large mountain masses: The speed-up effect

The wind potential around an intensely mountainous area has been studied and an experimental analysis is presented the output of which could be used in the wind farm planning procedure aiming at maximization of the wind power production output of an area. The wind speed of a chosen site of Central Greece was studied based on field measurements around a large mountainous area of Central Greece. Understanding flow in the foothills and the wider area of the mountains is of great importance for estimating wind resource in rough terrain. In this article, special focus was given to the speed-up effect and forced air flow around mountainous masses.