Species composition of the international shark fin trade assessed through a retail‐market survey in Hong Kong

The shark fin trade is a major driver of shark exploitation in fisheries all over the world, most of which are not managed on a species‐specific basis. Species‐specific trade information highlights taxa of particular concern and can be used to assess the efficacy of management measures and anticipate emerging threats. The species composition of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, one of the world's largest fin trading hubs, was partially assessed in 1999–2001. We randomly selected and genetically identified fin trimmings (n = 4800), produced during fin processing, from the retail market of Hong Kong in 2014–2015 to assess contemporary species composition of the fin trade. We used nonparametric species estimators to determine that at least 76 species of sharks, batoids, and chimaeras supplied the fin trade and a Bayesian model to determine their relative proportion in the market. The diversity of traded species suggests species substitution could mask depletion of vulnerable species; one‐third of identified species are threatened with extinction. The Bayesian model suggested that 8 species each comprised >1% of the fin trimmings (34.1–64.2% for blue [Prionace glauca], 0.2–1.2% for bull [Carcharhinus leucas] and shortfin mako [Isurus oxyrinchus]); thus, trade was skewed to a few globally distributed species. Several other coastal sharks, batoids, and chimaeras are in the trade but poorly managed. Fewer than 10 of the species we modeled have sustainably managed fisheries anywhere in their range, and the most common species in trade, the blue shark, was not among them. Our study and approach serve as a baseline to track changes in composition of species in the fin trade over time to better understand patterns of exploitation and assess the effects of emerging management actions for these animals.     

Effects of Karst Forest Degradation on Pulmonate and Prosobranch Land Snail Communities in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

Abstract:  Limestone (karst) outcrops in Southeast Asia are rich in land snails. Certain groups of land snails, in particular Prosobranchia species, are restricted to limestone and show a high degree of short-range endemism. Karst habitats are, however, seriously degraded by quarrying, logging, agriculture, and burning. The effect of these disturbances on land snail fauna is unknown, so we studied paired primary and secondary forest localities on six separate limestone hills in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Land snails were sampled with a standard protocol and identified to species level. More than 16,000 individuals, belonging to 74 species, were recorded. In most sites, snail diversities did not differ between disturbed and undisturbed plots. However, pulmonate snails were significantly more abundant at disturbed localities than prosobranch snails, whereas abundances for both groups were similar at undisturbed sites. Because Prosobranchia contain many site-endemic species, our findings suggest that continued exposure to these disturbances will eventually lead to extinctions in this group.     

新疆塔城黄土的形成

中亚黄土是研究区域古气候和古环境变化的重要载体。但是对于受到广泛研究的黄土 高原黄土来说,对中亚东部塔城黄土的报道较少。基于对塔城黄土粒度的系统分析,与伊犁盆 地黄土、典型黄土高原的黄土对比,我们发现无论是粒度频率曲线、粒度结构散点图、还是三 角图,塔城黄土与伊犁盆地清水河黄土较相似,而与黄土高原黄土不同,塔城黄土粒度频率分 布曲线为三峰分布,粒度组成比较分散,分选较差,细、中颗粒含量较少,主要以粗颗粒物质 为主,属近源风成黄土。结合当地地形和现代环流分析,我们认为中亚萨雷耶西克阿特劳沙漠 为塔城黄土提供主要的物源,盛行西风为粉尘的搬运提供足够的动力,向西开口的山间盆地地 形为粉尘的沉积提供有利的沉积中心,这三个条件的共同作用导致了塔城盆地厚层黄土的沉积。     

National greenhouse gas inventory capacity: An assessment of Asian developing countries

The transparency framework of the Paris Agreement (PA) will be elaborated from the existing arrangements under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Yet, the capacities of developing countries to regularly report national GHG inventories vary, and their needs for capacity building are closely linked with efforts and achievements of previous inventory preparation. The purpose of this study was to analyze the status and changes in the capacity of 37 developing countries in Asia by using a matrix of capacity-indicators. Indicators were composed for four assessment categories: (1) international engagement of a country in the GHG inventory-related process; (2) institutional capacity to produce a GHG inventory; (3) existing technical capacity available to develop a GHG inventory; and (4) actual technical capacity applied to produce a GHG inventory. The paper also analyzed the scale of international support and variations in meeting with capacity building needs. Eleven countries were identified as having low capacity over time, while 9 improved their capacity. Seventeen countries, including 7 countries with established capacity, continuously had relatively high capacity over time. International support was scarce in the majority of Asian developing countries with the most capacity building needs. Improvements in basic technical capacity available for GHG inventory preparation, such as statistics and the scientific expertise, were found to be a key necessity for countries to respond to the PA’s enhanced transparency framework. Based on these findings, the study recommended increasing support for improvements in basic technical capacity, especially in countries where existing capacity is low and support is limited. Such capacity building efforts are also beneficial for countries to form and implement nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and other economic and development policies.     

Towards a science of sustainable upland management in developing countries

Farmers attempting to subsist in tropical uplands often rely upon unsustainable resource use practices that lead to soil erosion, declining crop yields, and a loss of soil productivity capacity. Other uses of tropical uplands, including logging and conversion of forest to rangelands, have similar results. The undesirable effects of these actions are felt on-site, at the watershed level, and even nationally. Ecological cause-effect relationships are poorly understood, and few examples exist of the successful integration of ecological knowledge with upland development. It is hypothesized that recent results of ecological research could be applied to uplands management so that stable sustainable systems of human use may be established. A second hypothesis is that statistically reliable data can be obtained from experiments in upland situations, although natural variations of soils, weather, and vegetation are great. To test these hypotheses, research involving multinational collaboration among American and Southeast Asian scientists has begun. The objective of the work is to provide credible quantitative information to help policy and decision makers and resident farmers to plan and implement improved practices based on ecological principles.Some findings to date include:

Surface water pollution in three urban territories of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh

In South Asian countries such as Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, pollution of rivers is more severe and critical near urban stretches due to huge amounts of pollution load discharged by urban activities. The Bagmati River in the Kathmandu valley, the Yamuna River at Delhi, and peripheral rivers (mainly Buriganga River) of Dhaka suffer from severe pollution these days. The observed dry season average of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in all these rivers is in the range of 20–30 mg/liter and total coliform are as high as 10⁴–10⁵ MPN/100 ml. Per capita pollution load discharge of urban areas has been estimated to be about 31, 19, and 25 gBOD/capita/day in Bagmati, Yamuna, and the rivers of Dhaka, respectively. Regression analysis reveals pollution loads steadily increasing nearly in step with the trend in urbanization. The dissolved oxygen (DO) level of the Bagmati and Buriganga rivers is declining at an average annual rate of nearly 0.3 mg/liter/year. Unplanned urbanization and industrialization occurring in these cities may be largely responsible for this grave situation. Inadequate sewerage, on-site sanitation, and wastewater treatment facilities in one hand, and lack of effective pollution control measures and their strict enforcement on the other are the major causes of rampant discharge of pollutants in the aquatic systems.     

Land-Use and Land-Cover Change in Montane Mainland Southeast Asia

This paper summarizes land-cover and land-use change at eight sites in Thailand, Yunnan (China), Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos over the last 50 years. Project methodology included incorporating information collected from a combination of semiformal, key informant, and formal household interviews with the development of spatial databases based on aerial photographs, satellite images, topographic maps, and GPS data. Results suggest that land use (e.g. swidden cultivation) and land cover (e.g. secondary vegetation) have remained stable and the minor amount of land-use change that has occurred has been a change from swidden to monocultural cash crops. Results suggest that two forces will increasingly determine land-use systems in this region. First, national land tenure policies—the nationalization of forest lands and efforts to increase control over upland resources by central governments—will provide a push factor making it increasingly difficult for farmers to maintain their traditional swidden land-use practices. Second, market pressures—the commercialization of subsistence resources and the substitution of commercial crops for subsistence crops—will provide a pull factor encouraging farmers to engage in new and different forms of commercial agriculture. These results appear to be robust as they come from eight studies conducted over the last decade. But important questions remain in terms of what research protocols are needed, if any, when linking social science data with remotely sensed data for understanding human-environment interactions.     

PRIORITIZING WATER MANAGEMENT PROJECTS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: AN EXPERIMENTAL METHODOLOGY

ABSTRACT: Southeast Asian nations with extensive water management systems have numerous candidate and ongoing programs and projects. They cannot possibly all be funded and implemented simultaneously in any serious way. Choices must be made. But how to select? What criteria can assist with the screening in an acceptable manner, particularly in the near absence of useful technical and economic information across them all. This paper suggests a methodology by which assessment criteria can be constructed which conforms to any given national information base and development needs. Criteria can be weighted one against the other in their relative importance. For each criterion a ranking scale puts the “best” (most, highest) at one end and the “worst” (least, lowest) at the other. Each candidate project is then subjected to these consistent assessment methods for a weighted “score.” Key criteria normally have surrogate measures depending on information available. Criteria are of three sorts: sheer volume, e.g., of a specific use, a benefit; ratios and relations, e.g., A as percent of B; and other more subjective criteria, e.g., regional or income distribution impacts. The basic criteria include, for example, time to full benefits (minimize), OM & R as percent of investment (minimize), and permanent rural jobs created (maximize).     

Political Incentives for Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract:  There seems to be a worldwide lack of political will for conservation that leads, inevitably, to an undermining of conservation policy. This is a standard complaint but one that has received little academic attention. In an attempt to better understand the gap between conservation policy and practice, we examined conservation policies and practice as they have played out in the Great Himalayan National Park, Himachal Pradesh, India, over the past two decades. In particular we consider the park's experience within two larger contexts: (1) Himachal's current development orientation, which seeks to transform the state into the electrical powerhouse of the country by building over 300 medium and large power projects and (2) electoral politics that result in politician's support for villagers and others denied access to national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Each of these factors works to undermine state conservation policies. Conservationists need to build political bridges with local communities if they are to use electoral power to work for rather than against conservation. Only such electoral power can be expected to force governments to adopt more cautious policies in advancing a particular development agenda. In the absence of strategic alignments in places such as Himachal Pradesh with strong democratic traditions, one must expect continued political support for potentially destructive megaprojects and an absence of political support for the conservation of biological diversity.