Country logistics performance and disaster impact

The aim of this paper is to deepen the understanding of the relationship between country logistics performance and disaster impact. The relationship is analysed through correlation analysis and regression models for 117 countries for the years 2007 to 2012 with disaster impact variables from the International Disaster Database (EM‐DAT) and logistics performance indicators from the World Bank. The results show a significant relationship between country logistics performance and disaster impact overall and for five out of six specific logistic performance indicators. These specific indicators were further used to explore the relationship between country logistic performance and disaster impact for three specific disaster types (epidemic, flood and storm). The findings enhance the understanding of the role of logistics in a humanitarian context with empirical evidence of the importance of country logistics performance in disaster response operations.     

ISO 14 001 at the farm level: analysis of five methods for evaluating the environmental impact of agricultural practices

Faced with society's increasing expectations, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) review considers environmental management to be an ever more critical criterion in the allocation of farm subsidies. With the goal of evaluating the environmental friendliness of farm practices, France's agricultural research and extension services have built a range of agricultural/environmental diagnostic tools over recent years. The objective of the present paper is to compare the five tools most frequently used in France: IDEA, DIAGE, DIALECTE, DIALOGUE and INDIGO. All the tools have the same purpose: evaluation of the impact of farm practices on the environment via indicators and monitoring of farm management practices. When tested on a sample of large-scale farms in Picardie, the five tools sometimes produced completely different results: for a given farm, the most supposedly significant environmental impacts depend on the tool used. These results lead to differing environmental management plans and raise the question of the methods' pertinence. An analysis grid of diagnostic tools aimed at specifying their field of validity, limits and relevance was drawn up. The resulting comparative analysis enables to define each tool's domain of validity and allows to suggest lines of thought for developing more relevant tools for (i) evaluating a farm's environmental performance and (ii) helping farmers to develop a plan for improving practices within the framework of an environmental management system.     

Sustainability and Local People’s Participation in Coastal Aquaculture: Regional Differences and Historical Experiences in Sri Lanka and the Philippines

This article discusses environmental sustainability in aquaculture and its contribution to poverty alleviation, based on field studies in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. The aquaculture practices studied are the monoculture of the black tiger prawn (Penneaus monodon) and milkfish (Chanos chanos) and the polyculture of the two species together with the mud crab (Scylla serrata). Factors affecting economic viability, social equity and environmental impacts in aquaculture are discussed and used to illuminate local and regional differences between aquaculture in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Findings indicate that the most significant difference is the level of participation by local people (i.e., people originating ≤10 km away from the farm location). In the Philippines, 84 % of the people involved in aquaculture are locals, whereas in Sri Lanka, 55% are outsiders. Whether differences between the two areas can be explained by analyzing regional conditions, which might have resulted in different aquaculture practices, is discussed. In Sri Lanka, semi-intensive shrimp monoculture is currently the most common practice, whereas in the Philippines, extensive shrimp/fish polyculture is more common. Previous studies, as well as fieldwork, indicate that extensive culture practices reduce environmental impacts and benefit local people more. Sustainability in aquaculture is, however, also dependent on the extent of mangrove conversion into ponds. As such, extensive and locally owned farms do not necessarily result in an all but sustainable situation. Keeping this in mind, it is discussed if extensive polyculture practices might result in a more sustainable aquaculture, both environmentally and socioeconomically.     

Assessing the economic impact of invasive species: the case of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solsitialis L.) in the rangelands of Idaho, USA

Yellow starthistle (Centaurea solsitialis L.) is an invasive weed that creates problems for the management of Idaho's rangelands. A bioeconomic approach combined with an input-output economic model is used to estimate direct and secondary economic costs of the weed in relation to its interference with agricultural and non-agricultural benefits that rangelands provide. Direct economic costs of the infestations were estimated to be of 8.2 million '05 dollars per year, and secondary costs of 4.5 million '05 dollars per year, for a total of 12.7 million '05 dollars; agricultural related economic impacts accounted for 79% of this total cost, and non-agricultural for 21%.     

我国取消电价补贴的经济影响——基于电价管制及完全竞争市场的分析

通过构建电力部门细分的CGE模型,分别在电价管制和完全竞争市场背景下,评估了取消电价交叉补贴和可再生能源电价补贴,以及引入碳税政策并将碳税收入转移支付给风电及光伏行业的经济影响.研究发现:取消电价交叉补贴对GDP有负面影响,而取消可再生能源电价补贴后GDP有所提升;相比完全竞争市场,电价管制市场背景下取消电价交叉补贴对GDP的负面冲击强度增加了0.003%,而取消可再生能源电价补贴对GDP的促进作用幅度则相对减小0.056%;同时取消两种补贴时,在电价管制市场背景下GDP相比基准情景下降了0.022%,而在完全竞争市场背景下GDP则增加了0.038%.电价管制市场背景下取消电价补贴对电力结构及能源结构影响较小;而在完全竞争市场背景下取消电价补贴将刺激传统电力消费并导致碳排放有所增加.引入碳税政策并将碳税收入转移支付给风电及光伏行业可以有效控制碳排放并促进电力结构和能源结构改善,但会对行业总产出和GDP产生更大的负面冲击.我国未来应适度放开电价管制,并采取诸如适时征收碳税并将其收入转移支付给风电和光伏行业的支持性政策,推动我国能源结构优化和节能减排目标的实现.     

Alterations in microbial community during the remediation of a black-odorous stream by acclimated composite microorganisms

Microbial application is an efficient, economical, and ecofriendly method for remediating black-odorous rivers. In this study, the field treatment effect and microbial community changes were monitored during remediation by the acclimated complex microorganisms of a typical black-odorous stream. After the treatment, the total phosphorus and ammonia contents decreased by 74.0% and 76.3% and the concentrations of dissolved oxygen increased from 1.65 to 4.90 mg/L, indicating the effectiveness of the acclimated composite microorganisms. The proportion of Bacteroidetes decreased significantly by 48.1% and that of Firmicutes increased by 2.23% on average, and the microbial diversity index first increased and then tended to be uniform. Redundancy analysis demonstrated that the pH, dissolved oxygen, and oxidation-reduction potential together determined the composition of the microbial communities (p < 0.05). These findings showed that the acclimated composite microorganisms can effectively remediate the black odor.     

The effectiveness of forecast-based humanitarian assistance in anticipation of extreme winters: a case study of vulnerable herders in Mongolia

This paper presents evidence relating to a forecast-based cash and non-food item distribution among vulnerable herder households during the 2017–18 dzud (extreme winter) season in Mongolia, and analyses the results of a quasi-experimental study evaluating its impacts. An innovative approach in disaster risk reduction, forecast-based financing (FbF) can have short- and long-term benefits to vulnerable households but remains understudied. The paper contributes information on a multimodal FbF programme offering one-off cash grants and in-kind veterinary kits. The data found significant effects of reduced mortality and increased offspring survival in some types of livestock, and that the timing of FbF assistance is crucial, as reported early assistance correlated to positive outcomes in terms of reduced animal mortality. These findings can be used to design more effective FbF interventions, to understand better the appropriateness of FbF designs, and to use early warnings and early actions to help people prepare and withstand disasters such as dzuds.     

矿区地下水环境影响评价的关键问题探讨

随着人类社会经济的快速发展,地下水环境问题日益严重,由于地下水环境影响具有隐蔽性和滞后性,在矿区建设生产前必须对地下水环境影响进行评价。结合某拟建整合灰岩矿的地下水环境影响评价,进行了实例分析,确定了保护目标、地下水环境影响识别、矿坑涌水量的计算、预测评价方法的选取等关键技术,以期为相似矿区地下水环境影响评价提供参考。     

项目环评在化工企业厂区平面布置优化中的作用

以河南某化工企业为例,从厂区功能区划分、主要污染源分布、排水路线制定、卫生和安全防护等方面对其进行厂区平面布置合理性分析,通过分析评价各关键因素对周围环境及敏感点的影响程度大小对厂区平面布置进行适当调整和优化。由案例可知,项目环评不仅能够有效削减工业污染物排放对厂区人员和附近敏感点的影响,而且能够有效反馈厂区平面设计中存在的不足,通过优化调整降低铁路、高压线、环境敏感点跨辖区搬迁等限制条件对项目主要生产功能区布置的影响,提高企业生产中的卫生安全和风险防护水平,降低企业环保投入,实现经济和环保效益协调发展。     

Elimination kinetics of perfluorohexanoic acid in humans and comparison with mouse,rat and monkey

Major fluorinated chemical manufacturers have developed new short-chain per- and polyfluorinated substances with more favorable environmental, health and safety profiles. This study provides the first evaluation of the elimination half-life of perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) from the blood of humans. PFHxA biomonitoring data were obtained from a recently published study of professional ski wax technicians. These data were analyzed to provide estimates of the apparent half-life of PFHxA from humans, and comparisons were made with kinetic studies of PFHxA elimination from mice, rats and monkeys. The apparent elimination half-life of PFHxA in highly exposed humans ranged between 14 and 49 d with a geomean of 32 d. The half-lives of PFHxA in mice, rats, monkeys and humans were proportional to body weight with no differences observed between genders, indicating similar volumes of distribution and similar elimination mechanisms among mammalian species. Compared to long-chain perfluoroalkyl acid analogs, PFHxA is rapidly cleared from biota. The consistent weight-normalized elimination half-lives for PFHxA in mammalian species indicates that results obtained from animal models are suitable for establishment of PFHxA benchmark dose and reference dose hazard endpoints for use in human risk assessments.