Possibilities and options for the Clean Development Mechanism and the Green Investment Scheme in Central and Eastern Europe: Macedonian and Romanian perspectives

Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is a rapidly changing and developing region which is making the transition to a market based economy. Along with economic reforms, the countries of the region are engaged in substantial environmental reforms, including climate change mitigation activities. Mitigation of, and adaptation to, the consequences of climate change are costly processes. It is therefore of great importance that the national and international mechanisms addressing these problems use methods both environmentally sound and economically efficient. Through two case studies that address the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the Green Investment Scheme (GIS) in Romania, this paper explores challenges, related tasks and main problems in the establishment of mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol in Central and Eastern Europe.     

From climate change impacts to adaptation: A development perspective for India

India has good reasons to be concerned about climate change as it could adversely affect the achievement of vital national development goals related to socio‐economic development, human welfare, health, energy availability and use, and infrastructure. The paper attempts to develop a framework for integrated impact assessment and adaptation responses, using a recently built railroad coastal infrastructure asset in India as an example. The framework links climate change variables — temperature, rainfall, sea level rise, extreme events, and other secondary variables — and sustainable development variables — technology, institutions, economic, and other policies. The study indicates that sustainable development variables generally reduce the adverse impacts on the system due to climate change alone, except when they are inadequately applied. The paper concludes that development is a vital variable for integrated impact assessment. Well crafted developmental policies could result in a less‐GHG intensive future, enhanced adaptive capacities of communities and systems, and lower impacts due to climate change.     

An ethical analysis of hydrometeorological prediction and decision making: The case of the 1997 Red River flood

Weather, climate, and flood predictions are incorporated into human decisions in a wide variety of situations, including decisions related to hazardous hydrometeorological events. This article examines ethical aspects of such predictions and decisions, focusing on the case of the 1997 Red River flood in Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota (US). The analysis employs a formal ethical framework and analytical method derived from medical and business ethics. The results of the analysis highlight issues related to forecast generation, communication of forecast meaning and uncertainty, responsibility for the use of forecasts in decision making, and trade-offs between the desire for forecast certainty and the risk of missed events. Implications of the analysis for the broader arenas of weather, climate, and flood prediction and disaster management are also discussed.     

Plant Community Structure in Relation to Long-Term Disturbance by Mechanized Military Maneuvers in a Semiarid Region

/ Mechanized military maneuvers are an intensive form of disturbance to plant communities in large areas throughout the world. Tracking by heavy vehicles can cause direct mortality and indirectly affect plant communities through soil compaction and by altering competitive relationships. We assessed the long-term condition of structural attributes of open woodland, grassland, and shrubland communities at Fort Carson, Colorado, in relation to levels of disturbance and soil texture. Covariate analyses were used to help separate the directional forcings by the chronic disturbance from the regenerative capacities in order to assess the relative resistance and resilience of the communities and to determine whether the continual disturbance-recovery processes balanced under current levels of utilization. All three communities responded differently to disturbance. In open woodlands, altered understory/overstory relationships were suggested by increased grass, forb, shrub, and total vegetation cover and smaller decreases in shorter than taller woody species with increasing levels of disturbance. Grassland communities generally displayed greater responses to disturbance than other communities, but temporal dynamics were often similar, indicating relatively less resistance but greater resilience of this community. Weed and exotic species increased both temporally and in relation to levels of disturbance in all three community types. Temporal trends in community-level indices of dissimilarity and diversity also indicate that rates of disturbance were greater than rates of recovery. Few variables were related to within-community differences in soil texture. While total aerial cover was temporally stable, changes in species composition and in basal cover in grasslands and shrublands suggest increasing erosion potential.     

全球气候监测业务系统简介

本文重点介绍了国家气象中心实施减灾战略之一的一项重要基础业务一,全球气候监测业务系统。同时指出加强多学科监测的合作研究是加速认识气候变化规律的重要途径。     

Ecological Integrity: Concept,Assessment, Evaluation: The Traunsee Case

Definitions and concepts relevant to the evaluation of theEcological Integrity of lakes are discussed herein. Theirapplication to Traunsee, a deep lake located in the AustrianAlps which is affected by wastes of salt- and soda-producingindustries, is evaluated, based on 13 contributions published inthis special issue of Water, Air, and Soil Pollution.: Focus.     

秦皇岛市气候变化对可持续发展的影响及对策

秦皇岛市46年来气候变暖变干,年平均气温提高1.8℃,≥10℃年积温增加11.4％,无霜期延长22天,但年平均降水量却减少11.5％。这对农业和工业的影响弊大于利,对旅游业的影响则有利有弊。为此应趋利避害,加强水资源的开源节流,发展节水经济和循环经济,发展休闲度假旅游,延长旺季。     

THE HUDSON BAY AIR MASS TYPE–SOME CLIMATOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

A substantial percentage of days with below normal temperatures in central Illinois during May and June (1956-1965) appear to be associated with polar air masses which traverse the Hudson Bay area before entering the Midwest. January departures, in contrast, are related to polar air masses that enter the United States near the Mackenzie River in western Canada. The general influences of the Hudson Bay area on climate are discussed.     

1995年气候对交通系统的影响

根据气象部门和交通部门的资料，对１９９５年气候条件对我国交通系统造成的影响进行了分析评述，其中影响最大的是暴雨洪水，其它气候灾害还有雾、雪、风及高温等，使我们对影响交通系统的气候灾害有了进一步的认识。     

考虑不同侵扰场景的高速公路韧性评估方法

为分析高速公路应对流量冲击和恶劣气象环境侵扰时的运行状态演变过程,基于韧性理论的系统解析,构建了考虑吸收能力、适应能力、恢复能力3个维度的韧性评估方法;设定重大节假日和恶劣天气2种侵扰场景,与常规场景进行对比分析,并选取滇西高原山区高速公路为实例进行验证。研究结果表明:恶劣天气降低了高速公路的总体韧性,韧性值较常规运行减少685%;重大节假日的流量冲击主要影响高速公路韧性的稳定性,其方差较常规运行增加92%;2种侵扰场景下的恢复能力波动均较大,而重大节假日时高速公路的吸收能力较强。