Impact of heavy metal pollution on plants and leaf-miners

Large-scale effects of diffuse heavy metals pollution on terrestrial ecosystems are still underestimated. We studied the relation between the biodiversity of vascular plants and the feeding Lepidoptera, in our case leaf-miners and pollinating adult butterflies, in a Dutch nature reserve over a period of five years. We found that 5% of the 56 plants species which provide food and habitat to Microlepidoptera during their larval stage were affected by heavy metal pollution. Furthermore, the numerical abundance of leaf-mining larvae remained rather constant, despite of significant increases of the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ni and Zn pollutants in leaves and litter.     

荷兰长期能效协议和能效标杆合约及启示

提高能效是减排的重要途径,荷兰长期能效协议和能效标杆合约在这方面取得了很大成效,其成功经验值得研究和学习。本文首先系统介绍了荷兰长期能效协议和能效标杆合约的构建、实施及监督过程,分析了其取得的成效和存在的不足。然后描述了自愿协议式方法在中国的应用情况和我国面临的节能减排压力。最后总结出长期能效协议和能效标杆合约对我国应用和推广自愿协议式方法的启示。     

荷兰生态（有机）农业对上海农业发展的借鉴

安全高效、资源节约、环境友好型的生态农业生产技术,已成为国际农业领域研究和关注的热点;发展高效生态（有机）农业,以新的强度和效能为长三角和我国现代化农业发展作贡献,是上海社会主义新农村建设的重大战略,是上海现代农业发展的必由之路。荷兰生态（有机）农业发展提供了以下成功经验：以生态学原理指导农业生产,实现生产生态共荣;在农产品生产中应用HACCP理论,加强农业生产的过程控制和质量管理;通过制定良好农业技术规范（Eurep-GAP）,保障农业的可持续发展,保护生态环境。上海发展高效生态（有机）农业的对策建议：加强政策扶持,深化有机农业理论和技术研究,建立和规范与国际接轨的认证体系,以生态学的原理和原则指导农业生产和技术的发展。     

Developments in Dutch coastline management: Conclusions from the second governmental coastal report

In 1990 the Dutch government decided to stop any further long-term landward retreat of the coastline. This policy choice for a ‘dynamic preservation’ is primarily aimed at safety against flooding and at sustainable preservation of the values and interests concerning the dunes and beaches. Five years later, a first overview of the benefits and bottlenecks of the new coastal defence policy could be presented, which was published in the second governmental coastal report ‘Kustbalans 1995’ (coastal balance 1995). This consists of three elements: (1) evaluation of the implementation of ‘dynamic preservation’, (2) the consequences of several natural and anthropogenic developments in the coastal zone and (3) integrated coastal zone management. The present report describes experiences of Dutch coastline management and summarizes the main conclusions of the second governmental report. The overall conclusion of the evaluation study is that the 1990 choice for ‘dynamic preservation’ was right. Sand supply is an effective method of coastline maintenance, which also serves functional uses in the beach and dune area. However, nearly a doubling of the supply volume is necessary to compensate for sand losses in the coastal zone. A more integrated management of the coastal zone is necessary to find an equilibrium between the interests of socio-economic development and the maintenance of a natural, dynamic system.     

Environmental Determinants of Recent Endemism of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Infections in Amphibian Assemblages in the Absence of Disease Outbreaks

The inconsistent distribution of large‐scale infection mediated die‐offs and the subsequent population declines of several animal species, urges us to understand how, when, and why species are affected by disease. It is often unclear when or under what conditions a pathogen constitutes a threat to a host. Often, variation of environmental conditions plays a role. Globally Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) causes amphibian declines; however, host responses are inconsistent and this fungus appears equally capable of reaching a state of endemism and subsequent co‐existence with native amphibian assemblages. We sought to identify environmental and temporal factors that facilitate host–pathogen coexistence in northern Europe. To do this, we used molecular diagnostics to examine archived and wild amphibians for infection and general linear mixed models to explore relationships between environmental variables and prevalence of infection in 5 well‐sampled amphibian species. We first detected infection in archived animals collected in 1999, and infection was ubiquitous, but rare, throughout the study period (2008–2010). Prevalence of infection exhibited significant annual fluctuations. Despite extremely rare cases of lethal chytridiomycosis in A. obstetricans, Bd prevalence was uncorrelated with this species’ population growth. Our results suggest context dependent and species‐specific host susceptibility. Thus, we believe recent endemism of Bd coincides with environmentally driven Bd prevalence fluctuations that preclude the build‐up of Bd infection beyond the critical threshold for large‐scale mortality and host population crashes. Determinantes Ambientales del Endemismo Reciente de Infecciones de Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis en Conjuntos de Anfibios en Ausencia de Brotes de Enfermedades Spitzen et al.     

Instruments for achieving desired distributional effects

The paper argues that desired distributional effects are achieved by a public authority taking concrete measures rather than making plans. It also suggests that the choice of instrument is important to the achieved results, but also that it is not always possible to achieve the effects desired. In addition to theoretical discussion, the author uses examples of housing policy in Nijmegen in the Netherlands. The conclusion argues for the use of instruments which have a continuous application, and flexibility.     

Use of Animal Species Data in Environmental Impact Assessments

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) should ideally help minimize adverse effects on biological diversity by considering impacts of projects on wide ranges of species. This paper investigates how recent Dutch EIAs included the species comprising animal diversity. We present results of two studies on fauna data used in the EIAs. Objectives were to determine for different taxa (a) the relative representation of species in Environmental Impact Statements (EISs); (b) the extent to which EISs referred to specific species and the accuracy of survey data referred to; and (c) apparent roles of different EIA actors in species inclusion. EIAs were found to use data on various taxa but on limited numbers of species. The frequency with which taxa were included varied significantly. Birds were most frequently included, followed by mammals, amphibians, and other species groups. The quality of data on birds exceeded that regarding other vertebrates. Our results indicate that (a) EIA working groups of independent experts were the most influential in determining the data to be used; (b) on average, proponents included data more often than required by guidelines; and (c) in 30 to 40% of the EIAs, the participation of nongovernmental organizations prompted use of data. Despite the key role of experts in data inclusion, the taxon rankings found in the EIAs showed little deviation from those observed in studies on people’s preferences for species. Given the limited ranges of species considered, it is doubtful that the EIAs examined effectively contributed to conserving animal species diversity. Edo Knegtering produced this work in his personal capacity     

Stages in Dutch regional policy: 1945–1984

This paper discusses the major developments in regional policy in the Netherlands by relating the policy instruments and locations to stages in the socio‐economic and political development of the Netherlands from 1945 onwards. It concludes that, at present, the spatial dimension of economic policy has lost importance, and the support for peripheral regions is restricted.     

Integrated environmental index for application in land-use zoning

This paper describes the development of an integrated environmental index that may serve as a representation of the general environmental quality at a certain location. This index is meant to be used by local administrators to strike a balance between the development of industrial activities and the protection of sensitive land-uses (housing). The approach used to arrive at this index, based on health considerations, is described, detailing the different steps in the construction of the index: identification, assessment, summation, valuation and aggregation. The index combines environmental quality information concerning noise, odor, air pollution, and risk of industrial calamities. The resulting integrated environmental index is illustrated using data of a pilot project.     

荷兰生活垃圾分类管理经验及启示

通过对荷兰生活垃圾分类管理和经验做法的介绍,分析荷兰居民生活垃圾源头减量的措施,以及对我国开展垃圾分类减量及减量管理工作的启示.