Environmental auditing: Theory and applications

The environmental audit has become a regular part of corporate environmental management in Canada and is also gaining recognition in the public sector. A 1991 survey of 75 private sector companies across Canada revealed that 76% (57/75) had established environmental auditing programs. A similar survey of 19 federal, provincial, and municipal government departments revealed that 11% (2/19) had established such programs. The information gained from environmental audits can be used to facilitate and enhance environmental management from the single facility level to the national and international levels. This paper is divided into two sections: section one examines environmental audits at the facility/company level and discusses environmental audit characteristics, trends, and driving forces not commonly found in the available literature. Important conclusions are: that wherever possible, an action plan to correct the identified problems should be an integral part of an audit, and therefore there should be a close working relationship between auditors, managers, and employees, and that the first audits will generally be more difficult, time consuming, and expensive than subsequent audits. Section two looks at environmental audits in the broader context and discusses the relationship between environmental audits and three other environmental information gathering/analysis tools: environmental impact assessments, state of the environment reports, and new systems of national accounts. The argument is made that the information collected by environmental audits and environmental impact assessments at the facility/company level can be used as the bases for regional and national state of the environment reports and new systems of national accounts.     

Toward Sustainable Management of National Parks in Japan: Securing Local Community and Stakeholder Participation

Japan’s national park system constitutes a potentially viable mechanism for securing local community participation and building stakeholder consensus for sustainable park management, although the potential of this system is yet to be fully maximized. This article gives an overview of the system of protecting natural resources in Japan, focusing on the national park system. Parks are managed by zoning and regulation, which is unique in that land is not “set aside” for nature conservation, but designated as national park wherever the need to preserve “scenic beauty” has been recognized, regardless of land ownership or land use. Although resource conservation under this system has been problematic, it has advantages, especially in terms of community participation. This article demonstrates that in order to reach the system’s potential, the park authority must act as coordinator of stakeholders and facilitator of bottom-up approaches to decision-making. In order to do this, steps that must be taken include the following: identifying the various stakeholders in park management and defining the “local community”; clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder; and supporting consensus-building among stakeholders regarding the objectives and long-term vision of each park. By taking these steps, it would be possible to build a park management system that overrides government boundaries and involves local communities. This will enable the park authority to address the challenges facing Japan’s complex system of conserving natural resources, and move towards sustainable management of natural resources in Japan.     

DEVELOPMENT OF A NONDEGRAIATION POLICY FOR HIGH QUALITY WATERS1

ABSTRACT: The development of a nondegradation policy for high quality waters is a complex and often controversial process. This paper discusses the development of a nondegradation policy for two components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Water quality in these reaches of the Delaware River is threatened by rapid growth and development and the cumulative impacts from numerous wastewater discharges and nonpoint sources of pollution. The Delaware River Basin Commission, with assistance from its member states and the National Park Service, conducted a highly public, six-year planning process to develop a nondegradation policy that protected existing water quality without impinging upon local and state economic development objectives. The resulting non-degradation policy includes such features as numeric definitions of existing water quality and measurable change; stringent point source requirements; nonpoint source requirements including watershed planning requirements; and other water quality management policies.     

Work domain analysis for air traffic controller weather displays

INTRODUCTION: Adverse weather conditions have a major impact on National Airspace System (NAS) operations. They create safety hazards for pilots, constrain the usable airspace for air traffic control (ATC), and reduce the overall capacity of the NAS. A system-wide dissemination of weather information to controllers could theoretically improve safety and efficiency. PROBLEM: However, it is currently unclear what weather information would be beneficial for tactical operations. Furthermore, no previous research has empirically evaluated optimal presentation designs for ATC weather displays. Ill-designed weather displays can cause safety hazards by presenting redundant information (i.e., by increasing the cognitive load) and display clutter (e.g., by interfering with the visual extraction of traffic data). METHOD: In the present paper, we outline our use of cognitive work analysis (CWA) techniques for the assessment of weather information needs for terminal controllers. RESULTS: Specifically, we describe how the CWA modeling tools helped us reveal instances in the terminal domain where weather information is lacking or insufficiently disseminated. We used our CWA results to drive the development of weather display concepts and to set up a high-fidelity simulation capability. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: By means of high-fidelity simulations, we can empirically evaluate controller weather information needs in order to propose weather displays for increased aircraft safety and efficiency of terminal operations.     

Heat illness among high school athletes--United States, 2005-2009

Introduction

Heat illness is a leading cause of death and disability among U.S. high school athletes.

Methods

To examine the incidence and characteristics of heat illness among high school athletes, CDC analyzed data from the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study for the period 2005–2009.

Results

During 2005–2009, the 100 schools sampled reported a total of 118 heat illnesses among high school athletes resulting in ≥ 1 day of time lost from athletic activity, a rate of 1.6 per 100,000 athlete-exposures, and an average of 29.5 time-loss heat illnesses per school year. The average corresponds to a weighted average annual estimate of 9,237 illnesses nationwide. The highest rate of time-loss heat illness was among football players, 4.5 per 100,000 athlete-exposures, a rate 10 times higher than the average rate (0.4) for the eight other sports. Time-loss heat illnesses occurred most frequently during August (66.3%) and while practicing or playing football (70.7%). No deaths were reported.

Conclusions

Consistent with guidelines from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, to reduce the risk for heat illness, high school athletic programs should implement heat-acclimatization guidelines (e.g., set limits on summer practice duration and intensity). All athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, and parents/guardians should be aware of the risk factors for heat illness, follow recommended strategies, and be prepared to respond quickly to symptoms of illness. Coaches also should continue to stress to their athletes the importance of maintaining proper hydration before, during, and after sports activities.

Impact of industry

By implementing preventive recommendations and quickly recognizing and responding to heat illness, coaches, athletic trainers, and the sporting community can prevent future deaths.     

美国国家海洋自然保护区监测及其对我国的启示

着重介绍了美国国家海洋自然保护区的监测目标、理论基础、监测内容。监测是掌握海洋自然保护区状况与发展趋势的重要手段,是海洋自然保护区建设与管理的重要工作内容。美国国家海洋自然保护区的保护目的和所保护的资源类型同我国的海洋自然保护区相似。且监测水平与管理机制处于世界领先水平。了解研究美国的先进经验,对促进我国海洋自然保护区的监测工作具有很好的借鉴作用。     

生态系统中的人类——现代生态观浅议

在概要回顾生态学发展的基础上,对当前生态学的新发展以及新的生态价值观进行了综述。特别强调了人类在生态系统中的地位,及由人类中心论到人地和谐发展的新变化,并对生态文明时代基本要素进行了初步的勾勒,以期对现代生态观作更好的宣传。     

GEE支持下联合植被物候特征与机器学习的入侵植物互花米草提取

互花米草（Spartina alterniflora）作为滨海湿地的主要入侵植被,对滨海湿地生态系统结构和功能造成了严重影响,因此,及时、准确地监测互花米草的生长状况,可为滨海湿地生态系统的恢复提供依据。本研究基于Sentinel-2多光谱卫星影像,提取原始波段、植被指数和生物物理参数3类特征变量,利用多元逐步回归的方法构建互花米草的地上生物量最优估算模型,并对生物量进行空间制图。结果表明,在所构建的模型中,基于结合3类特征变量的逐步回归模型的估算精度最高,其决定系数R²为0.879,均方根误差RMSE为255.5 g/m²,平均相对误差MRE为10.63%。互花米草地上生物量的空间分布,呈靠近陆地一侧生物量低、靠近海洋一侧生物量高的特点。综上所述,利用Sentinel-2数据对互花米草地上生物量高精度反演是可行和有效的。

     

海滨湿地景观过程模型与模拟研究——以江苏盐城保护区核心区为例

景观过程模型已经成为深化景观变化研究的重要手段并日益受到重视。海滨湿地是一种高度复杂和动态变化的景观系统,构建景观过程模型能够从机理上解释湿地景观时空动态演变过程。研究中,将盐城国家级自然保护区核心区划分为人工管理区和自然湿地区两种模式,根据2000、2006、2011 年3 个时相的景观资料以及野外生态监测数据,构建海滨湿地景观过程模型,结果如下：①利用空间代替时间并结合灰色关联分析,确定了海滨湿地景观演变的关键影响因素为土壤盐度和水分;②运用人工神经网络的方法,分析了土壤盐度和水分的空间分异,并通过图层叠加和分级统计,得出了土壤盐度和水分的阈值范围以及变化规律;③运用GIS-Matlab-CA技术构建了基于关键生态过程的海滨湿地景观过程模型,模型总体精度都在80%以上,Kappa 系数都在0.7 以上,一致性检验结果表明空间位置一致率决定了整个景观模拟的精度;④运用已构建好的模型对研究区2012-2020、2025 年的结果进行了模拟预测,预测结果表明,盐城海滨湿地芦苇沼泽和米草沼泽扩张、碱蓬沼泽面积减少的趋势将愈加明显。