Conservation Success as a Function of Good Alignment of Social and Ecological Structures and Processes

How to create and adjust governing institutions so that they align (fit) with complex ecosystem processes and structures across scales is an issue of increasing concern in conservation. It is argued that lack of such social‐ecological fit makes governance and conservation difficult, yet progress in explicitly defining and rigorously testing what constitutes a good fit has been limited. We used a novel modeling approach and data from case studies of fishery and forest conservation to empirically test presumed relationships between conservation outcomes and certain patterns of alignment of social‐ecological interdependences. Our approach made it possible to analyze conservation outcome on a systems level while also providing information on how individual actors are positioned in the complex web of social‐ecological interdependencies. We found that when actors who shared resources were also socially linked, conservation at the level of the whole social‐ecological system was positively affected. When the scales at which individual actors used resources and the scale at which ecological resources were interconnected to other ecological resources were aligned through tightened feedback loops, conservation outcome was better than when they were not aligned. The analysis of individual actors’ positions in the web of social‐ecological interdependencies was helpful in understanding why a system has a certain level of social‐ecological fit. Results of analysis of positions showed that different actors contributed in very different ways to achieve a certain fit and revealed some underlying difference between the actors, for example in terms of actors’ varying rights to access and use different ecological resources. El Éxito de la Conservación como Función de una Buena Alineación de Estructuras y Procesos Sociales y Ecológicos     

Successes and Challenges from Formation to Implementation of Eleven Broad‐Extent Conservation Programs

Integration of conservation partnerships across geographic, biological, and administrative boundaries is increasingly relevant because drivers of change, such as climate shifts, transcend these boundaries. We explored successes and challenges of established conservation programs that span multiple watersheds and consider both social and ecological concerns. We asked representatives from a diverse set of 11 broad‐extent conservation partnerships in 29 countries 17 questions that pertained to launching and maintaining partnerships for broad‐extent conservation, specifying ultimate management objectives, and implementation and learning. Partnerships invested more funds in implementing conservation actions than any other aspect of conservation, and a program's context (geographic extent, United States vs. other countries, developed vs. developing nation) appeared to substantially affect program approach. Despite early successes of these organizations and benefits of broad‐extent conservation, specific challenges related to uncertainties in scaling up information and to coordination in the face of diverse partner governance structures, conflicting objectives, and vast uncertainties regarding future system dynamics hindered long‐term success, as demonstrated by the focal organizations. Engaging stakeholders, developing conservation measures, and implementing adaptive management were dominant challenges. To inform future research on broad‐extent conservation, we considered several challenges when we developed detailed questions, such as what qualities of broad‐extent partnerships ensure they complement, integrate, and strengthen, rather than replace, local conservation efforts and which adaptive management processes yield actionable conservation strategies that account explicitly for dynamics and uncertainties regarding multiscale governance, environmental conditions, and knowledge of the system? Éxitos y Retos de la Formación a la Implementación de Once Programas de Conservación de Amplio Alcance     

Practical Science Communication Strategies for Graduate Students

Development of skills in science communication is a well‐acknowledged gap in graduate training, but the constraints that accompany research (limited time, resources, and knowledge of opportunities) make it challenging to acquire these proficiencies. Furthermore, advisors and institutions may find it difficult to support graduate students adequately in these efforts. The result is fewer career and societal benefits because students have not learned to communicate research effectively beyond their scientific peers. To help overcome these hurdles, we developed a practical approach to incorporating broad science communication into any graduate‐school time line. The approach consists of a portfolio approach that organizes outreach activities along a time line of planned graduate studies. To help design the portfolio, we mapped available science communication tools according to 5 core skills essential to most scientific careers: writing, public speaking, leadership, project management, and teaching. This helps graduate students consider the diversity of communication tools based on their desired skills, time constraints, barriers to entry, target audiences, and personal and societal communication goals. By designing a portfolio with an advisor's input, guidance, and approval, graduate students can gauge how much outreach is appropriate given their other commitments to teaching, research, and classes. The student benefits from the advisors’ experience and mentorship, promotes the group's research, and establishes a track record of engagement. When graduate student participation in science communication is discussed, it is often recommended that institutions offer or require more training in communication, project management, and leadership. We suggest that graduate students can also adopt a do‐it‐yourself approach that includes determining students’ own outreach objectives and time constraints and communicating these with their advisor. By doing so we hope students will help create a new culture of science communication in graduate student education. Estrategias Prácticas para la Comunicación Científica para Estudiantes de Posgrado     

Life cycle assessment of sewage sludge co-incineration in a coal-based power station

A life cycle assessment was conducted to evaluate the environmental and economic effects of sewage sludge co-incineration in a coal-fired power plant. The general approach employed by a coal-fired power plant was also assessed as control. Sewage sludge co-incineration technology causes greater environmental burden than does coal-based energy production technology because of the additional electricity consumption and wastewater treatment required for the pretreatment of sewage sludge, direct emissions from sludge incineration, and incinerated ash disposal processes. However, sewage sludge co-incineration presents higher economic benefits because of electricity subsidies and the income generating potential of sludge. Environmental assessment results indicate that sewage sludge co-incineration is unsuitable for mitigating the increasing pressure brought on by sewage sludge pollution. Reducing the overall environmental effect of sludge co-incineration power stations necessitates increasing net coal consumption efficiency, incinerated ash reuse rate, dedust system efficiency, and sludge water content rate.     

旅游产业财政补贴、社会责任与经济绩效——来自中国A股旅游上市公司的经验证据

从国家和旅游企业自身的角度出发,构建了社会、政府和员工三方面的社会责任评价指标体系,以A股19家旅游上市公司连续6年的数据为样本,对财政补贴、旅游企业社会责任和经济效益三者之间的关系进行了实证分析.实证结果表明,国家财政补贴可有效地激励旅游企业吸纳就业人员,但对员工福利水平的影响不明显,员工的福利水平长期被忽视.此外,基于企业履行社会责任视角,旅游企业主动履行社会责任需要付出一定的经济成本.因此,国家应继续加大对旅游业的财政补贴力度以达到缓解社会就业压力的目的;旅游企业应当积极地与政府、员工、社会建立良好的社会关系网络,重视员工的福利水平.     

废物回收系统的社会评价方法

发展中国家已经将非正式回收系统进行了几次正规化,其目的是将其整合入正式的回收系统,其目的不仅仅是解决经济问题。而且还包括了非正规回收行业的社会问题,例如：社会歧视、教育的缺失以及健康和工作条件问题。然而,往往不能得到准确、正面的社会影响的评价和测量。本文的目的是根据社会生命周期评价法,用正确的手段对发展中国家的回收系统评价开发方法。以秘鲁城市案例研究表现了应用这一方法评价回收系统的案例显示了关于歧视、公认就业关系、社会效益的实现、体力工作条件和接受教育指标的负面绩效。关于结社自由、心理工作条件和社会的接受,城市回收业（从前的非正规）形成了较好的评价,而对于工作时间、最低、公平工资并没有获得好的评价。     

环境正义研究前沿及其启示

环境正义不仅是重大的现实问题,也是不同学科和领域研究的焦点。通过对国内环境正义研究文献的梳理,比较分析环境正义所涉学科、内容和方法后发现：环境正义研究呈现出多学科视角、多元化主题和学科交叉趋势,但研究体系不够完善,缺乏理论创新;亟待构建中国特色环境正义理论体系和分析框架,总结中国环境正义研究案例和解决模式;环境正义概念多而不统一,混杂而不明确,需进一步厘清和辨明;考虑多维内涵、多重维度和多维原则,建构和完善环境正义概念体系;环境正义问题主要表现在多尺度区域和多类型群体两个层面,环境强势群体（区域）与弱势群体（区域）的环境权责不对等是焦点;城乡环境正义问题广受关注,需加强经济弱势地区和环境弱势地区环境正义研究;解决环境正义问题的政策措施缺乏系统性考量和可操作性,在具体的社会文化和地方情境中探讨环境正义及其解决之道是重点;按照问题的轻重缓急,分区域分群体逐步消除环境不正义;环境正义评价标准欠缺,不同学科数据和方法交叉融合不足。未来环境正义研究的重点和难点在于：建构一个问题导向的、跨学科交叉的环境正义理论框架;精确表征和测度环境（不）正义;模拟多尺度、多主体的环境正义演变过程;基于地方性加强环境正义的典型案例研究。     

风域视角京津冀生态廊道空间格局识别

在风域视角下,分析大尺度生态廊道形成的关键因子,构建最小累计阻力模型和通风效益评测模型,以京津冀为研究区,利用气象、遥感及其他基础地理数据等,阐述研究区近地面风场特征,识别区域内生态廊道空间格局,结果表明：研究区全域近地面多年平均风速为2.07m/s.冬季,研究区多年平均风速呈张家口坝上—北京—天津沿海高两侧低格局,主导风向为偏北风;夏季,多年平均风速呈现西北部和东南部高,中东部和西南部低的格局,主导风向为偏南风.冬季,在研究区筛选出34个社会经济源地,识别出5条一级生态廊道,走向从西北向东南或从北向南,7条二级生态廊道,走向主要从西向东;夏季,在研究区筛选出68个生态源地,识别出5条一级生态廊道,走向从东南向西北或从南向北,6条二级生态廊道,走向主要从东向西.合并精简冬夏连通性能较好的生态廊道,优选出5条一级生态廊道,总长度3073.04km,以南北向为主,5条二级生态廊道,总长度1582.06km,以东西向为主,初步形成京津冀“五纵五横”生态廊道格局.