Women and biodiversity: The long journey from users to policy-makers

Although there has been a broad acknowledgment that women's local and traditional knowledge is fundamental to guarantee food security and conserve biological diversity, few women are represented at the managerial and decision‐making level of environmental movements and organizations. The United Nations, its agencies and agreements have long promoted the full and effective participation of women in decision‐making processes. So how can commitments contained in international agreements be translated into concrete actions? By using the case of the Convention on Biological Diversity, one of the key agreements adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, this article analyses how gender‐equitable initiatives tend to assume an ad hoc character with few governments effectively involving women in their sustainable development strategies. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the United Nations or its subsidiary bodies.     

地球系统科学提出前我国科学界的某些思维

列举了在1988年美国提出"地球系统科学"前我国学者在该领域的某些思维:人与天地相应的观点,东亚大陆磁异常与我国人群健康关系的观点,天地生三位一体的观点,地球表层学的观点以及灾害系统的观点等.这些观点虽不如"地球系统科学"着眼于全球整体,但也包括了很大的系统,且不空洞.     

Human Diets and Animal Welfare: the Illogic of the Larder

Few moral arguments have been made against vegetarian diets. One exception is the “Logic of the Larder:” We do animals a favor by purchasing their meat, eggs, and milk, for if we did not purchase these products, fewer animals would exist. This argument fails because many farm animals have lives that are probably not worth living, while others prevent a significant number of wild animals from existing. Even if this were not so, the purchase of animal products uses resources that could otherwise be used to bring a much greater number of animals into existence.     

A hybrid decision-making approach based on FCM and MOORA for occupational health and safety risk analysis

IntroductionWith the development of industries and increased diversity of their associated hazards, the importance of identifying these hazards and controlling the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) risks has also dramatically augmented. Currently, there is a serious need for a risk management system to identify and prioritize risks with the aim of providing corrective/preventive measures to minimize the negative consequences of OHS risks. In fact, this system can help the protection of employees’ health and reduction of organizational costs. Method: The present study proposes a hybrid decision-making approach based on the Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM), and Multi-Objective Optimization on the basis of Ratio Analysis (MOORA) for assessing and prioritizing OHS risks. After identifying the risks and determining the values of the risk assessment criteria via the FMEA technique, the attempt is made to determine the weights of criteria based on their causal relationships through FCM and the hybrid learning algorithm. Then, the risk prioritization is carried out using the MOORA method based on the decision matrix (the output of the FMEA) and the weights of the criteria (the output of the FCM). Results: The results from the implementation of the proposed approach in a manufacturing company reveal that the score at issue can overcome some of the drawbacks of the traditional Risk Priority Number (RPN) in the conventional FMEA, including lack of assignment the different relative importance to the assessment criteria, inability to take into account other important management criteria, lack of consideration of causal relationships among criteria, and high dependence of the prioritization on the experts’ opinions, which finally provides a full and distinct risk prioritization.     

Use of historical and contemporary distribution of mammals in China to inform conservation

A systematic understanding of dynamic animal extinction trajectories for different regions in a nation like China is critically important to developing practical conservation strategies. We explored historical and contemporary changes in terrestrial mammalian diversity to determine how diversity in each of the 5 regions in China has changed over time and to examine the conservation potential of these regions. We used records from databases on Pleistocene mammalian fossils and historical distribution records (1175–2020) for Primates (as a case study) to reconstruct evolutionary and historical distribution trajectories of the 11 orders of terrestrial mammals and to predict their prospective survival based on the national conservation strategy applied. The results indicated that since the Pleistocene, 4–5 mammalian orders have been lost in the northeast, 3 in central China, 2 along the coast, and 1 in the northwest. In the southwest, all 11 orders were maintained. Contemporarily, the coast and southwest had the highest and second-highest species densities. The southwest region and southeastern sections of the northwest region were the most historically and contemporarily diverse areas, which suggests that they should be the first priority for protected area (PA) designation. The central and coastal areas should be secondarily prioritized. In these 2 regions, conservation should focus on human coexistence with nature. Less attention should be paid to the PA in the northeast and western northwest because in these areas ecosystems are depauperate and the climate is harsh. Conservation in these areas should focus principally on avoiding further human encroachment on natural areas. Article impact statement: Historical and contemporary patterns of extinction can be a basis for mammalian conservation strategies.     

Global Trade in Exotic Pets 2006–2012

International trade in exotic pets is an important and increasing driver of biodiversity loss and often compromises the standards required for good animal welfare. We systematically reviewed the scientific and gray literature and used the United Nations Environment Programme ‐ World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP‐WCMC) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) trade database to establish temporal and geographical trade patterns of live exotic birds, mammals, and reptiles and to describe trends in research, taxonomic representation, and level of threat and legal protection of species traded. Birds were the most species‐rich and abundant class reported in trade; reptiles were second most abundant but unusually the most studied in this context; and mammals were least abundant in trade. Mammalian and reptilian species traded as pets were more likely to be threatened than expected by random. There have been a substantial number of Appendix I listed captive‐bred mammals and birds and wild‐caught birds and reptiles reported in trade to CITES. We identified the Middle East's emerging role as a driver of demand for exotic pets of all taxa alongside the well‐established and increasing role of South America and Southeast Asia in the market. Europe, North America, and the Middle East featured most heavily in trade reports to CITES, whereas trade involving South America and Southeast Asia were given most emphasis in the literature. For effective monitoring of and appropriate response to the international exotic pet trade, it is imperative that the reliability and detail of CITES trade reports improve and that scientific research be directed toward those taxa and locations that are most vulnerable. El Mercado Global de Mascotas Exóticas 2006‐2012     

Priorities for Improving the Scientific Foundation of Conservation Policy in North America

Abstract:  The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) can enhance conservation of biodiversity in North America by increasing its engagement in public policy. Toward this end, the North America Section of SCB is establishing partnerships with other professional organizations in order to speak more powerfully to decision makers and taking other actions—such as increasing interaction with chapters—geared to engage members more substantively in science-policy issues. Additionally, the section is developing a North American Biodiversity Blueprint, which spans the continental United States and Canada and is informed by natural and social science. This blueprint is intended to clarify the policy challenges for protecting continental biodiversity, to foster bilateral collaboration to resolve common problems, and to suggest rational alternative policies and practices that are more likely than current practices to sustain North America's natural heritage. Conservation scientists and practitioners can play a key role by drawing policy makers' attention to ultimate, as well as proximate, causes of biodiversity decline and to the ecological and economic consequences of not addressing these threats.     

添加动物源氨基酸水解液研制生物有机肥

为改善生物有机肥性质,提高生物有机肥质量,采取在生物有机肥中添加外源氨基酸水解液以提升生物有机肥中功能微生物的数量.以病死猪酸解制得氨基酸水解液为生物有机肥外加原料,研究了氨基酸水解液添加量、有机肥种类（鸡粪、牛粪、中药渣）、发酵时间对功能菌株SQR9数量的影响.结果表明:当氨基酸水解液添加量为20%时固体发酵效果优于其他接种量,预发酵3 d后接种SQR9的功能菌数量明显高于未预发酵直接接菌,预发酵中肥料（以干质量计,下同）的最高功能菌数量可达4×108 CFU/g,而第0天接菌时肥料的最高功能菌数量仅为1.2×108 CFU/g.以腐熟鸡粪、牛粪、中药渣堆肥为载体,添加酸解氨基酸研制生物有机肥的最优接菌量分别为10.0%、7.5%、10.0%;SQR9菌株生长的最佳含水量为40%.此外,氨基酸水解液的添加可提高生物有机肥的w（TN）.研究显示,氨基酸水解液的添加能有效促进固态发酵过程中功能菌株数量的增加.      

东北三省畜禽养殖类固醇激素排放及其潜在污染风险

以东北三省畜禽养殖数量统计数据和养殖结构分析为基础,对黑龙江、吉林和辽宁省畜禽养殖类固醇激素排放量进行了估算,并初步探讨了畜禽粪便中类固醇激素对当地水体的潜在污染风险.结果表明,由于养殖数量的增加,东北三省畜禽粪便所排放的类固醇激素量均持续增大.在1998～2008年的10 a间,辽宁、吉林和黑龙江三省的类固醇激素排放量分别增长了2 272.7、1 951.1和1 634.8 kg,并且省会城市沈阳、长春和哈尔滨的增长最为明显.东北三省各城市中畜禽粪便类固醇雌激素排放量最大的是长春,达到874.7 kg;哈尔滨和沈阳的排放量在各自省份中也是最大,分别为652.7 kg和603.1 kg·辽宁省的畜禽类固醇激素排放总量在东北三省为最多,所排放类固醇雌激素的雌二醇等当量浓度EEQs预测值也最高,达到17.1ng·L-1.如果以英国环保署(Environment Agency,United Kingdom)建议的最低可观测效应浓度10 ng·L-1为参考依据,辽宁省在目前的畜禽养殖规模和结构下,所排放的粪便类固醇雌激素极有可能会对地表水体中的水生生物产生内分泌干扰效应.     

上海市工业固体废物处理处置现状分析

详细分析了上海市一般工业固体废物及工业危险废物的产生及处理处置现状,提出:一般工业固废主要以资源化利用为主,危废处置企业实行末位淘汰,实现清洁生产;加强国家提倡的"三位一体"综合处理项目建设,实现集中处理、集中监管,降低运营成本;加强工业危废产生企业申报登记及转移的网络信息化管理,杜绝监管盲区。