Uncertainties in the assessment of “significant effect” on the Dutch Natura 2000 Wadden Sea site – The mussel seed fishery and powerboat race controversies

Natura 2000, the nature network based on the European Bird and Habitat Directives, is explicitly grounded on ecological science. To acquire a permit under the Dutch Nature Conservation Act, an appropriate assessment of significant effects must be conducted based on the best available scientific knowledge. In this way the scientific and policy world are directly linked. This article focuses on ‘significant effect’ as a boundary object to analyse how science–policy interactions shape the meaning and assessment of significant effect and how these interpretations influence the decision-making process. To this end, two conflicts over significant effect are investigated: the conflict over the 2006-spring permit for the mussel seed fishery, and the 2011 permit for the planned World Championship powerboat races. In both cases nature organisations started a court process against the government-granted permits in protest to the “no significant effect” claim, stating that there was insufficient certainty for this conclusion. These conflicts are approached as controversies between discourse coalitions with different interpretations of the ecological knowledge. We show how significant effect became a focal point in the controversies, limiting the debate to ecological arguments and science-based expertise, but also creating options for parties to advance their protest by articulating uncertainties. Only uncertainty of incomplete knowledge was explicitly addressed, excluding ambiguity of values and unpredictability of the actual ecosystem. We suggest that acknowledging the value aspect in disputes on significant effect would leave more space for effective solutions of the problems under debate.     

A Bayesian network highlighting the linkages between landscape structure and the local economy: the case of agritourism in lowland areas of Northern Italy

Linking landscapes to socio-economic benefits necessarily requires considering the usability of landscape structure. To do so, however, depends on the interaction between users and producers of landscape-related services. We illustrate this interaction with a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) in a case study analysing the connection between residents' perceptions of landscape structure and agritourism restaurants in the eastern lowlands of Ferrara (Italy). We use estimates of prior and conditional probabilities from a mix of different data: land use, survey data, regional statistics, and expert judgements to show the likely effects of the landscape structure on the local economy by using intermediate forms of services (i.e. second-order services). The second-order service is highly influenced by the agritourism density and by the frequency with which customers dine at agritourism restaurants and less by landscape attractiveness, confirming the importance of the supply and demand of second-order services in the provision of landscape-related services.     

Reuse of nickel recovered from spent Ni–Cd batteries for the preparation of C/Ni and C/Ni/Pd layered electrodes for energy sources

Nickel recovered in the recycling process of Ni–Cd batteries was used as a main component of bath for electrodeposition of nickel onto carbon fabric in order to obtain C/Ni composite. A part of the obtained composite was additionally coated with a thin layer of palladium (C/Ni/Pd composite). All the materials were investigated to assess the possibility of their use in the processes of electrochemical storage (sorption/desorption) of hydrogen and electrochemical oxidation of methanol. The obtained results showed the composites to be active electrode materials in these processes. The electrodes exhibited high activity and cyclability, especially in the process of methanol oxidation due to electrocatalytic activity of both nickel deposited onto carbon fabric and the outer layer of porous palladium coating nickel substrate.     

Innovative combined technique for high concentration of azo dye AR18 wastewater treatment using modified SBR and enhanced Fenton process as post treatment

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the performance of combined biological/advanced oxidation process (AOP) system for treatment of wastewater containing high concentration (500 mg/L) of azo dye Acid Red 18 (AR18). Two alternating anaerobic–aerobic sequencing batch reactors (SBR1 and SBR2 without and with external feeding at the beginning of aeration cycle, respectively) were operated. The effluent of the SBRs was then post treated through enhanced Fenton process (using zero-valent iron combined with ultrasonic irradiation). More than 90% and 97% of COD was removed in the combined SBR/AOP system without external carbon source (CTS1) and with external feeding (CTS2), respectively. The analysis of dye and its metabolites using UV–vis and HPLC analysis also proved that 99% of the original dye was decolorized and more than 89% of its metabolites were degraded through CST2 which is significantly higher than the reported values in the literature. Besides, more than 87% of phosphorus removal efficiency was obtained in CST2 compared to only 54.5% removal efficiency in CST1. Regarding the findings of this study, the proposed combined treatment system (CTS2) can be suggested as an effective technique for treatment of high azo dye AR18 concentration wastewater.     

Investigation of affecting parameters on treating high-strength compost leachate in a hybrid EGSB and fixed-bed reactor followed by electrocoagulation–flotation process

In this research, treatability of high-load compost leachate in a hybrid expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) and fixed-bed (FB) bioreactor followed by electrocoagulation–flotation (ECF) system was examined. The operational factors in EGSB–FB were influent chemical oxygen demand (COD), hydraulic retention time (HRT) and COD/nitrogen ratio (COD/N). And, their interactive effects on the efficiency of COD removal and biogas production rate (BPR) as responses were analyzed and correlated by response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum conditions of the hybrid EGSB–FB reactor were acquired at COD = 7800 mg/L, HRT = 35 h, COD/N = 70, in which COD removal efficiency was 83% and BPR 94 mL/h. The amount of confidence interval was 95%. COD (relevant coefficient = 9.8) and HRT (relevant coefficient = −24) were resulted respectively as the most effective parameters on COD removal and BPR. Yet, COD/N parameter imposed negative effect on COD removal and BPR in values less than about 100. The outcomes indicated that operated ECF as post-treatment in constant conditions (electrolysis time = 75 min, electrodes distance = 3 cm, voltage = 20 V) successfully satisfied discharge criteria in the most part of experimental domains.     

2000～2010年贵州省植被净初级生产力时空变化研究

为了探明贵州省植被净初级生产力(NPP)在2000~2010年的变化状况,以2000~2010年植被NPP数据为基础,运用ArcG IS和SPSS进行综合分析。结果表明:近11年间,草地、城镇用地、阔叶林、针叶林和湿地等面积呈增加趋势,而灌木林和农田则持续减少,其中农田面积变化尤为明显;2000~2010年贵州省植被NPP变化较大,NPP变化范围为778~889 g/(m2·a),平均值为828.1 g/(m2·a),NPP缓慢上升趋势;全省NPP分布有明显地域性差异,铜仁和六盘水为显著增加(P0.05),其余地州市增加缓慢(P0.05)。黔东南年均NPP最高((927±111)g/(m 2·a)),毕节最低((725±107)g/(m2·a))。NPP变化趋势为东南向西北方向递减,而往西北方向NPP波动程度明显;阔叶林和灌木林缓慢下降,而针叶林和针阔混交林则上升。NPP表现为针阔混交林阔叶林针叶林灌木林。     

西安市高新区采暖期大气颗粒物污染状况分析

为了解西安市高新区采暖期大气颗粒物(包括PM1 0和PM2.5)污染状况,于2013年1月1日到2013年3月15日在高新区进行了为期74 d的连续自动采样。结果表明:采样期间高新区PM1 0的小时浓度范围28~1744μg/m3,平均浓度为332μg/m3;PM2.5的小时浓度范围13~946μg/m3,平均浓度为207μg/m3。PM2.5占PM1 0的平均比例为63.8%。颗粒物浓度日变化呈现弱双峰特征,分别在凌晨2:00和上午7:00~8:00左右达到浓度最高值,但是上午的峰值并不明显。颗粒物在15:00~1 6:00之间浓度达到最低值,由于受采暖影响,18:00之后颗粒物浓度明显上升。     

固城湖水环境污染状况与来源分析

对2001~2011年固城湖水环境污染状况评价与时空变化特征分析的基础上,探讨了固城湖的特征污染物及污染来源。结果表明,固城湖水质污染的主要超标因子为TN和TP;总体水质呈现先恶化再改善的趋势,污染由拦河网水域向小湖区水域扩散;固城湖湖体水质基本上劣于水环境功能区划要求;固城湖特征污染物为COD+M n、NH4-N、TN、TP、BOD 5;富营养化程度不断加重,之后又有所改善;氮磷污染的主要来源是水产养殖污染。     

甘南县空气变化趋势分析

运用近五年的大气监测数据分析了甘南县大气污染特征,指出了影响甘南县空气质量的主要污染物及变化趋势。     

Competition gives way to cooperation: rethinking Sino-Indian relations in climate change negotiations

In global climate change politics, China and India have worked closely with each other, representing two big emitters from the developing world. This article reviews Sino-Indian cooperation during four UN climate change negotiations from 2009 to 2012. Their collaboration echoed the perception of neorealism in international relations (IR) studies that states will seek “external balancing” for maximizing national “relative gains”. China and India are expected to continue their cooperation on climate change issues when sharing the same structural position as big economies and big emitters, the same pressure in carbon emission reductions, and the same goal of improving living standards for their citizens. Encountering the devastating impacts of climate change and the deadlock in responsibility division in current global climate change governance, this work seeks to shed light on the evolving multilateral governance environment and its complex implications for Sino-Indian relations from an IR perspective.