Mine closure legislation in Indonesia: The role of mineral industry involvement

Major mining companies have recently embraced the sustainable development paradigm, in seeking to improve their competitiveness and increase shareholder returns. Successful mine closure is one important element of this process. Improved performance in this area is essential if surrounding communities are to see mining companies as responsible corporate and social partners.
In Indonesia, the new approach has coincided with the development of specific mine closure legislation. To facilitate the legislation, a consortium of mining companies joined to form the Industry Mine Closure Steering Committee. This Committee has lobbied the Government, actively negotiating to incorporate sustainable development ideals and practices into the new legislation. The Committee's aim has been to foster continued development of the mining industry, while taking account of variation in environmental, social and community conditions. In describing the process, this article seeks to provide guidance for the development of mine closure legislation in other nations.     

Biological Control of Water Hyacinth Under Conditions of Maintenance Management: Can Herbicides and Insects Be Integrated?

Neochetina eichhorniae and N. bruchi. We therefore sampled water hyacinth and weevil populations at 54 sites distributed statewide. Half were under maintenance control, half were not treated with herbicides. General site conditions were assessed, demographic data were collected on weevil and plant populations, the reproductive condition of the weevils was determined, and plant nutrient and proximate composition of water hyacinth leaves were analyzed. Water hyacinth infestations under maintenance control were minimal when compared to unmanaged sites. Likewise, on a population basis, all weevil cohorts were much lower due to the paucity of plants. Plants at unmanaged sites, where weevil intensities were much higher, suffered high levels of stress and showed low growth potential. Lower percentages of the female weevils were reproductive at unmanaged sites when compared to managed sites, so densities of reproductives and immatures were similar at both site types. Reproductive status of the weevils improved with increased plant quality. Plant quality, in turn, declined as stresses arising from weevil feeding increased. Plant quality was positively correlated with plant growth potential and flower production. Thus, maintenance control improved plant nutritive quality thereby inducing reproductive vigor of the weevils, but ensuring plant regrowth and the need for future control. This suggests that biological and herbicidal controls should be integrated, using herbicides to maintain water hyacinth infestations below management thresholds but in a manner that conserves biological control agent populations. This approach would lead to improved plant nutritional quality that would, in turn, stimulate reproduction in biological control agent populations.     

Linking Models of Land Use,Resources, and Economy to Simulate the Development of Mountain Regions (ALPSCAPE)

We present a framework of a scenario-based model that simulates the development of the municipality of Davos (Swiss Alps). We illustrate our method with the calculation of the scenario for 2050 “Decrease in subsidies for mountain agriculture and liberalization of markets.” The main objective was to link submodels of land-use allocation (regression-based approach), material and energy flows submodels (Material and Energy Flux Analysis), and economic submodels (Input–Output Analysis). Letting qualitative and quantitative information flow from one submodel to the next, following the storyline describing a scenario, has proven to be suitable for linking submodels. The succession of the submodels is then strongly dependent on the scenario. Qualitative information flows are simulated with microsimulations of actor choices. Links between the submodels show different degrees of robustness: although the links involving microsimulations are the weakest, the uncertainty introduced by the land-use allocation model is actually advantageous because it allows one possible change in the landscape in the future to be simulated. The modeling results for the scenario here presented show that the disappearance of agriculture only marginally affects the region’s factor income, but that the consequences for the self-sufficiency rate, for various landscape-related indicators and ecosystem services, and for the economy in the long term may be considerable. These benefits compensate for agriculture’s modest direct economic value. The framework presented can potentially be applied to any region and scenario. This framework provides a basis for a learning package that allows potential detrimental consequences of regional development to be anticipated at an early stage.     

Biomarker responsiveness in different tissues of caged Ruditapes philippinarum and its use within an integrated sediment quality assessment

Biomarkers comprising activities of biotransformation enzymes (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase -EROD-, dibenzylfluorescein dealkylase -DBF-, glutathione S-transferase -GST), antioxidant enzymes (glutathione reductase -GR- and glutathione peroxidase -GPX), lipid peroxidation -LPO- and DNA strand breaks were analyzed in the clam Ruditapes philippinarum caged at Cádiz Bay, Santander Bay and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (LPGC) Port (Spain). Sediments were characterized. Digestive gland was the most sensitive tissue to sediment contamination. In Cádiz Bay, changes in LPO regarding day 0 were related with metals. In LPGC Port, DBF, EROD, and GST activity responses suggested the presence of undetermined contaminants which might have led to DNA damage. In Santander Bay, PAHs were related with EROD activity, organic and metal contamination was found to be associated with GR and GST activities and DNA damage presented significant (p < 0.05) induction. R. philippinarum was sensitive to sediment contamination at biochemical level. Biomarkers allowed chemical exposure and sediment quality assessment.     

Flood disaster monitoring and evaluation in China

Abstract

China frequently experiences natural disasters, of which flooding is the most serious. How to monitor and control natural disasters, assess damage, and provide relief is the most urgent problem for the Chinese government and disaster experts. A national integrated system using remote sensing, geographic information systems, the Global Positioning System, and other technology for monitoring and evaluating flood disasters has been assembled and tried out for 3 years. The system has played an important role in flood mitigation during the trial and has become a key part of the flood management system at China's National Flood Control Headquarters. This paper presents an overview of the system and its use in China.     

厌氧-好氧一体化反应器处理高浓度有机废水的运行特性研究

本实验采用新型厌氧—好氧一体化反应器处理高浓度有机废水,主要研究了系统的启动与运行性能,并对系统的NH3 N去除效果作了初步考察。实验结果表明:在16℃～24℃的自然温度下,采用递增负荷、厌氧和好氧分期启动的方式,系统可在38天内达到较好的启动效果;在系统负荷运行期内,当系统总进水COD浓度平均值为3601 8mg/L,总出水COD浓度平均值为384 0mg/L,系统容积负荷平均值为2 54kgCOD/(m3·d),系统总HRT平均值为35 1h时,系统总COD去除率平均值达90 6%。实验还发现:当进水NH3 N浓度为280 3～350 7mg/L,整个系统的NH3 N去除率在68 5%～91 7%,平均为81 0%。由此说明,本反应器具有很好的COD去除性能和NH3 N去除效果,适合于处理COD浓度高且含有中等NH3 N浓度的有机废水。     

Integrated coastal management: top-down vs. community-based approaches

In this paper, a dynamic model is developed in which coastal quality can be improved, restored, or maintained by two distinct user groups; this is done by identifying a context that ensures an increase (or a greater increase) in coastal quality in terms of specific features that characterise the user groups. The results demonstrate that integrated coastal management is always better than non-integrated management. Moreover, when there is a low degree of interest in maintaining the coastal use over time, only integrated community-based (CB) coastal management will increase the coastal quality. Even when the interest in maintaining the coastal use over time is high, an integrated CB approach is preferred if the willingness to pay for coastal improvements is great and the marginal inefficiency of investments in coastal improvements is low, because the coastal quality improves to a greater extent; if not, only an integrated top-down (TD) approach to coastal management will increase the coastal quality. These results suggest that developing countries should always adopt a CB approach; in contrast, developed countries should adopt a CB approach where local stakeholders attach direct values to the coastal quality, and adopt a TD approach where the general population attaches indirect (option or existence) values to coastal quality.     

农村畜禽养殖污染的综合防治

畜禽养殖污染已成为农村环境污染的突出问题。本文通过调查分析广安市辖区内畜禽养殖业的发展和污染现状,在实地研究广安市两个畜禽养殖示范工程的基础上,借鉴现有的畜禽养殖污染防治技术成果,提出了一套以"养殖—沼气—农灌"和"养殖—堆肥—沼气—农灌"两种模式为技术基础,结合政策和法律措施,系统防治畜禽养殖污染的方案,有助于指导农村畜禽养殖的科学、绿色发展。     

Water supply and sanitation services for all: global progress during the 1990s

The Earth may be largely covered with water, but over one billion people are estimated to be without safe drinking water and almost 2.5 billion (40% of the world's population) without adequate sanitation at the outset of the new millennium. The provision of safe water and sanitation for all poses several serious institutional and economic challenges at international, national and local levels. Despite the various political commitments made from the late 1970s onwards, these commitments have remained largely unfulfilled. Even though some efforts to expand coverage have been made over the past two decades, much of those efforts have been undermined by socioeconomic problems and growing population, particularly in the urban areas of developing countries. The water supply and sanitation sector is actually in acute need of new investments for expansion and maintenance of facilities. Nonetheless, some positive trends can be discerned, such as, for example, the increasing recognition of integrated water resources management, environmental sanitation, public-private partnerships and women as a key for improvement and expansion of services.     

Definition of Homogeneous Environmental Management Units for the Catalan Coast

Geographical areas constitute the basic implementation locus for integrated coastal zone management strategies and activities. Because the definition of territorial planning objectives may be affected by socioeconomic and environmental characteristics, one of the main steps in the process involves dividing the coast into homogeneous environmental management units (HEMUs). This article presents a general and simple method for regionalizing the landside of a coastal zone into HEMUs and illustrates it through application to the Catalan coast. Socioeconomic and natural (biophysical) subsystems were selected as the most appropriate dimensions of the regionalization process. Dimensions were described using 11 spatial themes, which were managed in a geographic information system environment that proved to be an adequate tool for the purpose. A final coastal zone map of four classes of HEMUs connected to local administrative units was obtained, and because it reflects the current natural and socioeconomic dynamics, it can be considered as an initial step in the planning process for the Catalan coast. Although the proposed method was developed based on the characteristics of the Catalan coast, it is general enough to be adapted and applied to most developed or developing coastal areas.