Effects of Oil‐Palm Plantations on Diversity of Tropical Anurans

Agriculturally altered vegetation, especially oil‐palm plantations, is rapidly increasing in Southeast Asia. Low species diversity is associated with this commodity, but data on anuran diversity in oil‐palm plantations are lacking. We investigated how anuran biological diversity differs between forest and oil‐palm plantation, and whether observed differences in biological diversity of these areas is linked to specific environmental factors. We hypothesized that biological diversity is lower in plantations and that plantations support a larger proportion of disturbance‐tolerant species than forest. We compared species richness, abundance, and community composition between plantation and forest areas and between site types within plantation and forest (forest stream vs. plantation stream, forest riparian vs. plantation riparian, forest terrestrial vs. plantation terrestrial). Not all measures of biological diversity differed between oil‐palm plantations and secondary forest sites. Anuran community composition, however, differed greatly between forest and plantation, and communities of anurans in plantations contained species that prosper in disturbed areas. Although plantations supported large numbers of breeding anurans, we concluded the community consisted of common species that were of little conservation concern (commonly found species include Fejervarya limnocharis, Microhyla heymonsi, and Hylarana erythrea). We believe that with a number of management interventions, oil‐palm plantations can provide habitat for species that dwell in secondary forests. Efectos de las Plantaciones de Palma de Aceite sobre la Diversidad de Anuros Tropicales Faruk et al.     

Willingness to pay to improve domestic water supply in rural areas of Central Tanzania: Implications for policy

This analysis estimates willingness to pay to improve community-based rural water utilities in the Dodoma and Singida Regions of Central Tanzania, using Multinomial Logit functions. An estimate of willingness to pay provides an indication of the demand for improved services and potential for them being sustainable. Surveys were conducted in a total of 30 villages in the two regions. In the Dodoma Region, about 14% of respondents indicated that they were satisfied with the status quo, 64% suggested increasing water discharge and watering points, and 22% proposed other improvements relating to water quality. In the Singida Region, 31% of the respondents were satisfied with the status quo, 59% wanted deeper boreholes and watering points, and 10% indicated other types of improvement relating to water quality. The Multinomial Logit functions indicated that the interaction between the water quality variable and proposed bids were important in making choices with reference to the type of improvement desired. Respondents who wanted to increase water supply in Dodoma Region were willing to pay 32 Tsh above the existing tariff of 20 Tsh/bucket. In the Singida Region, the analogous amount was 91 Tsh per household per year above the existing user fee of 508 Tsh per household per year. If the tariff or user fees have to be increased, the estimated average potential revenue for the surveyed villages was 252 million Tsh/year (US$265 263) in the Dodoma Region, and 5.2 million Tsh/year (US$5474) in the Singida Region. In the future, strategic planning is needed to ensure that improvements proposed potentially improve cost recovery initiatives and increase the level of consumer satisfaction. Also, care will be needed to ensure that more disadvantaged community members do not suffer unduly from increases in tariff or user fees.     

Conservation Biology in Asia: the Major Policy Challenges

Abstract:  With about half the world's human population and booming economies, Asia faces numerous challenges to its biodiversity. The Asia Section of the Society for Conservation Biology has identified some key policy issues in which significant progress can be made. These include developing new sources of funding for forest conservation; identifying potential impacts of energy alternatives on the conservation of biodiversity; curbing the trade in endangered species of plants and animals; a special focus on the conservation of mountain biodiversity; enhancing relevant research; ensuring that conservation biology contributes to major international conventions and funding mechanisms; using conservation biology to build a better understanding of zoonotic diseases; more effectively addressing human–animal conflicts; enhancing community-based conservation; and using conservation biology to help address the pervasive water-deficit problems in much of Asia. These challenges can be met through improved regional cooperation among the relevant stakeholders .     

Sustainable consumption and production: Trends, challenges and options for the Asia-Pacific region

This paper highlights current trends in consumption and production patterns in Asian developing countries and emerging economies. It describes the main challenges and opportunities for Asian countries making the transition towards sustainable consumption and production patterns. The main challenge for Asian economies is to address the unsustainable consumption patterns of urban consumers, which entails a policy shift from the current focus on pollution and inefficient industrial production. In view of future consumption trends and the global convergence of consumption patterns, the characteristics of the emerging 'global consumer class' are examined, with particular focus on urban ecological footprints and carbon emissions. Furthermore, the difference between urban and rural consumption is discussed, together with opportunities for low-carbon urban development in the megacities of Asian developing countries. To conclude, the paper presents an overview of current policy measures taken in Asian countries to green economic development and realise sustainable consumption and production patterns.     

Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China

Persecution and overexploitation by humans are major causes of species extinctions. Rare species, often confined to small geographic ranges, are usually at highest risk, whereas extinctions of superabundant species with very large ranges are rare. The Yellow‐breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) used to be one of the most abundant songbirds of the Palearctic, with a very large breeding range stretching from Scandinavia to the Russian Far East. Anecdotal information about rapid population declines across the range caused concern about unsustainable trapping along the species’ migration routes. We conducted a literature review and used long‐term monitoring data from across the species’ range to model population trend and geographical patterns of extinction. The population declined by 84.3–94.7% between 1980 and 2013, and the species’ range contracted by 5000 km. Quantitative evidence from police raids suggested rampant illegal trapping of the species along its East Asian flyway in China. A population model simulating an initial harvest level of 2% of the population, and an annual increase of 0.2% during the monitoring period produced a population trajectory that matched the observed decline. We suggest that trapping strongly contributed to the decline because the consumption of Yellow‐breasted Bunting and other songbirds has increased as a result of economic growth and prosperity in East Asia. The magnitude and speed of the decline is unprecedented among birds with a comparable range size, with the exception of the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), which went extinct in 1914 due to industrial‐scale hunting. Our results demonstrate the urgent need for an improved monitoring of common and widespread species’ populations, and consumption levels throughout East Asia.     

集中供热项目环境效益分析——以某市集中供热项目为例

介绍了某市新区供热现状,并对预测模型AERMOD的运行参数及数据来源进行了简要说明,根据区内供热现状及采取集中供热方式后新区冬季采暖集中供热锅炉烟气污染物排放源强的变化情况,采用AERMOD模型分别进行了预测。在此基础上,通过对比分析,得出了大型集中供热工程具有明显环境效益的结论。     

西昆仑山黄土1 Ma 以来的粒度变化特征及其古气候意义

塔里木盆地南缘保存有中国西北地区厚度最大的黄土,是详细研究亚洲内陆极端干旱 区以及塔克拉玛干沙漠形成演化的理想材料。但是,目前对该地区黄土堆积粒度特征系统的研 究还相对较少,对粒度指标的古环境意义仍存有不同的认识。通过对207 m 黄土岩芯的粒度分 析发现,西昆仑山黄土的粒度组成比较均一,分选较好,主要以粗颗粒物质为主,细颗粒含量 极少,并具有典型的风成成因特征。此外,西昆仑山黄土粒度1 Ma 以来呈现出持续变粗的趋势。 通过与其他气候指标的对比,这种变粗的趋势可能主要反映了中更新世以来亚洲内陆逐步增强 的干旱化过程。     

Landslide Vulnerability Criteria: A Case Study from Umbria,Central Italy

Little is known about the vulnerability to landslides, despite landslides causing frequent and widespread damage to the population and the built-up environment in many areas of the world. Lack of information about vulnerability to landslides limits our ability to determine landslide risk. This paper provides information on the vulnerability of buildings and roads to landslides in Umbria, central Italy. Information on 103 landslides of the slide and slide-earth flow types that have resulted in damage to buildings and roads at 90 sites in Umbria is used to establish dependencies between the area of the landslide and the vulnerability to landslides. The dependencies obtained are applied in the hills surrounding the town of Collazzone, in central Umbria, an area for which a detailed landslide inventory map is available. By exploiting the landslide inventory and the established vulnerability curves, the geographical distribution of the vulnerability to landslides is mapped and statistics of the expected damage are calculated. Reliability and limits of the vulnerability thresholds and of the obtained vulnerability assessment are discussed.     

A survey of lead pollution in Chhattisgarh State, central India

Lead (Pb) is of major environmental concern due to its toxicological importance. The anthropogenic emission of Pb is at least 100 times higher than natural emissions. Soil and dust are significant sources of Pb exposure. Lead is generally immobile in soil and accumulates in the upper layers. Lead particles may enter homes via shoes, clothes, pets, and windows. Central India is rich in deposits of natural resource materials such as coal, pyrite, dolomite, and alumina that contain Pb and other heavy metals at the trace levels, and the substantial exploitation of these materials has tended to increased contamination of water and geological formations. Here we present data on Pb concentrations in the water, soil and sediment samples (n=158) collected from 70 locations in Chhattisgarh state, Raipur region. Lead concentrations in the surface water (n=44), groundwater (n=44), soils (n=60) and sediments (n=10) ranged from 6 to 1410, 3 to 52, 12.8 to 545, and 31 to 423 μg g⁻¹, with mean values of 305, 16, 102 and 190 μg g⁻¹, respectively. Most of the Pb fractions of >80% can be leached out with the chemical extractants EDTA, acetic acid, and hydroxylamine hydrochloride. Lead has accumulated in the soil clay fraction due to its relatively large surface area and decreases with increasing depth in the soil profile.