Local Sustainability Indicators

Local Environment has established a bit of a niche in local sustainability indicator studies. In 1997 it published the important debate between Jeb Brugman and Graham Pinfield, which highlighted that sustainability indicators and their role are contested issues (Vol. 2, Nos 1-3). In 1999 it produce a first special issue on the topic (Vol. 4, No. 2). As the editors identified, this special issue probed ‘deeper into aspects of indicator selection, methodology, theory and practice’. The papers presented there began to discuss a theme that is developed further in this special issue, that of the relationship between the objective and the subjective in indicator development and use. Our special issue brings together three full papers and a commentary presenting research and information from the USA, Sweden, France and Austria. In this editorial we are going to review the growth of interest in sustainability indicators and the changing way in which they are viewed and briefly comment on some recent indicator projects that we have been involved in.     

Confusing messages of sustainability indicators

This study examines sustainability indicators using the sustainability report of the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry as the case study. The report is a compilation of indicators designed to assess the sustainability of natural resource management. The interviews with the users revealed, however, that the indicators have not been particularly effective in informing the actors or in affecting their behaviour. Clearly, the informative value of the indicators has been overrated and the complexity of the information transfer has been underestimated. At least partly, the difficulties were due to the obscurity of the indicator-concept itself and consequently to their improper use. First, the statistics with the objective state-of-affairs information should be distinguished from the indicators that are always related to policy discussion. In addition, the technical and communicative use of the indicators should be distinguished from each other as they have different relationship between the information, policy values and the associated activities.     

Vernacular knowledge and environmental law: cause and cure for regulatory failure

The Australian environment and agriculture is suffering from land degradation and declining biodiversity. Laws protecting native vegetation are aimed at addressing these problems but have been resisted by farmers, compromising the social agreement necessary for regulatory success. A case study drawing on farmer interviews in central northern New South Wales reveals that the laws are considered to be under-achieving environmental outcomes since they are ill-suited to local conditions. The low feasibility of the rules is also undermining rule and state legitimacy. Regulatory resistance is due to the lack of recognition of place-specifics by government and laws that impose universal requirements. There is an epistemic distance between the bureaucratic knowledge held by government and the vernacular knowledge (place-based knowledge) of heterogeneous environments held by farmers. Incorporating vernacular knowledge so that laws are more geographically sympathetic may close vernacular disjunctures and cure regulatory failure.     

藏东地区农业资源开发利用与生态保护研究

全面分析了青藏高原东部藏族地区（简称藏东地区）农业资源特点及开发利用现状，阐明了农业资源开发利用中出现的生态环境问题及成因，提出了该地区农业资源合理开发，持续利用和生态环境保护的对策和措施。     

鱼类实验动物的生物学特性及应用

本文阐述了鱼类实验动物的生物学特性,并综述了其作为实验动物在生物医学研究中的应用现状.     

The Wild Animal as a Research Animal

Most discussions on animal experimentation refer to domesticated animals and regulations are tailored to this class of animals. However, wild animals are also used for research, e.g., in biological field research that is often directed to fundamental ecological-evolutionary questions or to conservation goals. There are several differences between domesticated and wild animals that are relevant for evaluation of the acceptability of animal experiments. Biological features of wild animals are often more critical as compared with domesticated animals because of their survival effects. An important issue is what is called here “natural suffering”: the suffering from natural circumstances. Should this type of suffering be taken into account when suffering from experimentation is evaluated? As an answer, it is suggested that ``natural functioning'' should be considered as an additional standard in the evaluation of wild animal experimentation. Finally, two topics related to the ecological context are considered. Firstly, the often inevitable involvement of non-research animals in wild animal experimentation, and secondly, the eco-centric approach to nature conservation. According to the latter position, animals are subordinated to ecosystems. All these aspects make the evaluation of wild animal experiments much more complex than experiments with domesticated animals. Preliminary scores are proposed to deal with these aspects. It is argued that this should not lead to a more complex governmental regulation, since an effective maintenance and control are hard to realize and one may loose the cooperation of researchers themselves. In addition, non-governmental professional organizations such as research societies and funding organizations play a pivotal role.     

测定水中动植物油含量的不确定度简化评定

对红外分光光度法测定水中动植物油的不确定度来源进行了分析,构造出合理的数学模型,确定了各输入量之间的关系,量化各分量后,合成得到满意的结果。从而提出,根据被测量及其所依赖的输入量之间的关系构造数学模型,并运用不同的评定方法对各个分量进行量化,可实现对某些检测项目不确定度的简化评定。     

东辽县畜禽养殖污染现状及对策研究

根据第一次全国污染源普查成果,对东辽县畜禽养殖业污染现状进行了介绍,指出了畜禽养殖污染主要是专业化畜禽养殖造成的,专业化畜禽养殖污染是农村面源污染的主要来源,已成为影响环境质量的重要因素。据此,提出了防治畜禽养殖污染的对策。     

四川发展农业循环经济的现状及问题

介绍了四川省地形地貌、人口与农业资源概况,分析了四川发展农业循环经济的现状和模式,提出了四川发展农业循环经济的关键问题。     

几种农业有机废弃物沼气发酵工艺条件优化研究

以农业有机废弃物鲜猪粪、干稻草、青草、南瓜叶以及菜叶为原料,沼气产量和甲烷产量为指标,采用4因素3水平的正交实验设计方法对沼气发酵工艺参数优化配置进行了实验研究。结果表明反应器内原料碳氮比、原料固体浓度、反应环境温度以及投加微量元素对沼气发酵均有不同程度的影响,其中反应环境温度对沼气产量的影响显著。最优工艺条件为原料碳氮比25:1、固体浓度8%、温度35℃、投加微量元素Co。