海南岛生物多样性保护研究

以大量的调查研究结果以及有关数据,论述了海南岛生物多样性的保护研究战略意义,并揭示了在开发利用中存在的问题,有针对性地提出了海南岛生物多样性保护研究的主要任务。      

关于环境管理手段实施条件和影响的若干分析

不同的环境管理手段其适用条件和实施效果往往是不同的。一方面环境管理手段的实施效果要受到各种因素的影响,其实施条件往往不同,另一方面不同的环境管理手段对企业也带来不同的影响。在本文中作者首先讨论了信息的非对称性这个研究涉及较少而又普遍存在的因素对环境管理手段实施效果的影响,然后又比较了不同的环境管理手段对企业技术革新的不同影响。     

铁矿的采选污染问题及防治对策

在对调查铁矿污染问题的基础上,针对污染物排放特点以及造成的生态环境破坏,提出了污染防治对策。     

水环境质量评价方法的比较分析

综述了水环境质量评价的发展及目前常用的各种水环境质量评价方法 ,对目前水环境质量评价中的不同方法进行了比较分析 ,针对各种评价方法的优点和不足做出评述。指出水环境评价方法的发展趋势是与计算机技术的有机结合 ,随着计算机技术的发展而不断深化     

Frontiers of protected areas versus forest exploitation: Assessing habitat network functionality in 16 case study regions globally

Exploitation of natural forests forms expanding frontiers. Simultaneously, protected area frontiers aim at maintaining functional habitat networks. To assess net effects of these frontiers, we examined 16 case study areas on five continents. We (1) mapped protected area instruments, (2) assessed their effectiveness, (3) mapped policy implementation tools, and (4) effects on protected areas originating from their surroundings. Results are given as follows: (1) conservation instruments covered 3–77%, (2) effectiveness of habitat networks depended on representativeness, habitat quality, functional connectivity, resource extraction in protected areas, time for landscape restoration, “paper parks”, “fortress conservation”, and data access, (3) regulatory policy instruments dominated over economic and informational, (4) negative matrix effects dominated over positive ones (protective forests, buffer zones, inaccessibility), which were restricted to former USSR and Costa Rica. Despite evidence-based knowledge about conservation targets, the importance of spatial segregation of conservation and use, and traditional knowledge, the trajectories for biodiversity conservation were generally negative.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01628-5.     

The miombo woodlands at the cross roads: Potential threats, sustainable livelihoods, policy gaps and challenges

The Miombo, the most extensive tropical woodland formation of Africa directly supports the livelihoods of over 100 million people through the provision of many tree products and ecosystem services essential to both the rural and urban communities. While the destruction of the Miombo has often been blamed on the rural communities dwelling near the forest resources, many urban dwellers depend heavily on the various products derived from the woodlands. This paper highlights the importance of the Miombo in the livelihoods of rural people, the potential threats to this ecosystem and opportunities for its sustainable management. About 70% of energy consumed in southern Africa is in the form of fuelwood or charcoal. The economic importance of the Miombo especially from non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is usually understated due to their perceived non-economic value yet they play an important role in sustaining livelihoods of forest dependent people in the miombo ecoregion. The Miombo also contributes to health services through the use of medicinal plant and products, in some cases, contributing up to 80% to rural health, including helping in coping with effects of HIV/AIDS, malaria and several diseases. The possibility of developing payment for environmental services schemes through public–private partnerships, and community-based sustainable management models are proposed. Through conservation and commercialization of some of the products and services, there is a potential to provide income and improve the livelihood of people involved in the trade along the value chain.     

Empirical research in environmental psychology: Past, present, and future

Have research interests in environmental psychology changed over the years? If so, in which direction? What can we learn from the past to direct future research? To answer these questions, empirical studies published in Environment & Behavior (E&B) and in Journal of Environmental Psychology (JEP), from their foundation to 2005, were reviewed. The articles were classified in relation to the following criteria: mode of human–environment transaction, research topic, type of setting and function of places, socio-demographic characteristics and environmental role of people, mode of presentation of the setting, sampling procedure, and source of data. Results showed both variations through the years and differences between the journals. The main research topics can be identified as the study of the residential environment, environmental cognition, observation of actual behaviour in the environment, and concern for the ecological value of the global environment. Trends in research interests showed a stable interest in the analysis of the built environment, a more place-specific approach in the beginning, strongly anchored in observational studies, and a central concern for sustainability and conservation of the environment in recent years. With respect to journals, the central role attributed to psychology by JEP, and the stronger participation by designers and planners in E&B, are reflected in the emphases given to the different modes of human–environment transaction. Trends in research interests help address the strengths and weaknesses of the discipline, thus suggesting future directions of inquiry.     

Small-scale mining in China: Assessing recent advances in the policy and regulatory framework

This paper explores the background of a proposed revision to the Mineral Resources Law of China, why and how the law was amended in the past, its salient features and objectives. Of equal importance is an analysis of how this national law, with its attendant regulations and policies, formed the basis for the growth and continued development of China's small-scale mining industry. The Xiaoqingling Gold Mountain case study is shown to justify the necessity and feasibility for formalizing and consolidating small-scale mines in China, and to some extent, the success of the nation-wide ASM resource consolidation policy at a local level.     

The management of household hazardous waste in the United Kingdom

Waste legislation in the United Kingdom (UK) implements European Union (EU) Directives and Regulations. However, the term used to refer to hazardous waste generated in household or municipal situations, household hazardous waste (HHW), does not occur in UK, or EU, legislation. The EU's Hazardous Waste Directive and European Waste Catalogue are the principal legislation influencing HHW, although the waste categories described are difficult to interpret. Other legislation also have impacts on HHW definition and disposal, some of which will alter current HHW disposal practices, leading to a variety of potential consequences. This paper discusses the issues affecting the management of HHW in the UK, including the apparent absence of a HHW-specific regulatory structure. Policy and regulatory measures that influence HHW management before disposal and after disposal are considered, with particular emphasis placed on disposal to landfill.     

Environmental bonds and the challenge of long-term carbon sequestration

The potential to capture carbon from industrial sources and dispose of it for the long-term, known as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), is widely recognized as an important option to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions. Specifically, CCS has the potential to provide emissions cuts sufficient to stabilize greenhouse gas levels, while still allowing for the continued use of fossil fuels. In addition, CCS is both technologically-feasible and commercially viable compared with alternatives with the same emissions profile. Although the concept appears to be solid from a technical perspective, initial public perceptions of the technology are uncertain. Moreover, little attention has been paid to developing an understanding of the social and political institutional infrastructure necessary to implement CCS projects. In this paper we explore a particularly dicey issue--how to ensure adequate long-term monitoring and maintenance of the carbon sequestration sites. Bonding mechanisms have been suggested as a potential mechanism to reduce these problems (where bonding refers to financial instruments used to ensure regulatory or contractual commitments). Such mechanisms have been successfully applied in a number of settings (e.g., to ensure court appearances, completion of construction projects, and payment of taxes). The paper examines the use of bonding to address environmental problems and looks at its possible application to nascent CCS projects. We also present evidence on the use of bonding for other projects involving deep underground injection of materials for the purpose of long-term storage or disposal.