A framework and indicators for evaluating policies for conservation and development: The case of wildlife management units in Mexico

The Mexican government has an innovative policy model for biodiversity conservation and rural development that includes permissible use of wildlife within a System of Land Management Units (SUMA, by its Spanish acronym). This co-management approach has been successful in terms of landowner participation, since the SUMA currently covers 38.2 million hectares (nearly 20% of Mexican territory). However, after 18 years of implementation, there has been no comprehensive evaluation by which to assess its effectiveness at national level. This article introduces the SUMA policy, its implementation and outcomes, and proposes a framework for conducting institutional monitoring and evaluation within an adaptive co-management approach. Our methodology comprised analysis of the achievements and challenges reported through interviews with stakeholders, journals and grey literature, and a review of the SUMA Information System (SIS) and its decision-making information needs. As result we have developed a set of 40 environmental, social and economic indicators grouped into five distinct but complementary dimensions within a sustainability framework: (I) Biodiversity conservation,(II) Wildlife management, (III) Economics, (IV) Social welfare and (V) Administration. These indicators can be incorporated into the SIS in order to support program evaluation and strengthen decision-making. Our article provides specific pathways for developing policy-oriented evaluation systems for worldwide biodiversity and conservation initiatives.     

论地震灾害心理研究的内容与目标

依据１９７６年唐山大地震后的现场调查材料，考察了地震灾害给人造成的心理伤害，分析了震灾心理的形成机制和表现特征，提出了地震灾害心理研究的基本内容和目标，同时对地震灾害发生后实施心理救助的问题也做了一些探讨。     

Farm animal welfare policymaking in the European Parliament – a social identity perspective on voting behaviour

ABSTRACT

Sustainable agriculture implies trade-offs with farm animal welfare. Proposals to increase agricultural productivity and ecological sustainability alike, are often linked to intensification, which may restrict animal welfare. Despite the growing importance of farm animal welfare for the alignment of agricultural and environmental policy, determinants of decision-making at the EU level remain unexplored. This article contributes to closing this research gap, broadening our understanding of why policymakers vote for the enactment of animal welfare policies. Applying the Social Identities in the Policy Process (SIPP) perspective we highlight the role of group membership for individual decision-making. By means of a quantitative analysis of voting behaviour in the European Parliament on two animal welfare policies, we show that different identities are salient. The strongest predictor is political group membership. In case of defections from the group line, the salience of national, sectoral and also demographic identities adds to the understanding of decision-making.     

一次井喷事件及其社会影响

本文分析了天津市板桥农场机井突发性自喷的原因,造成的经济损失和产生的社会影响。     

Women and community water supply programmes: An analysis from a socio-cultural perspective

Community water supply programmes are seen as instrumental in achieving the goal of ‘safe’ water for all. Women, a principal target group of these programmes, are to be benefited with greater convenience, enhanced socio‐cultural opportunities and better health for themselves and their families, provided through improved water facilities. Water supply programmes largely consist of three essential components, namely: technology, people and institutions. Although such programmes are intended to benefit women members of local communities, scant attention is paid to the impacts of the socio‐cultural context of the community on these programmes. This article explores the influence of social and cultural intricacies on the implementation of community water supply programmes, and assesses their effectiveness. The article offers important lessons for the design and implementation of this type of programme. It concludes that the local socio‐cultural context sets the stage for programme implementation, being a dynamic factor that determines actual access to water sources, more so than mere physical availability, which is often used as a criterion for programme performance. The article stresses the urgent need to integrate socio‐cultural factors as a fourth dimension in designing community water supply programmes, and suggests practical measures for enhancing the effectiveness of such programmes.     

Integrating social preference in GIS-aided planning for forestry and conservation activities: a case study from rural SE Asia

Land-use planning using geographic information systems (GIS) commonly emphasizes biophysical spatial data; however planning can be improved by integrating spatial sets of socioeconomic data into the GIS. As an example, we compared a traditional GIS-aided forestry planning protocol that considered only biophysical suitability, with an integrated GIS-aided approach that incorporated both biophysical and socioeconomic suitability. The analyses were conducted for the planning of plantation investments in the Kyaukpadaung Township in the dry zone of central Myanmar. The traditional approach used three biophysical layers for suitability: land use, slope, and accessibility. In contrast, the integrated GIS approach included biophysical suitability data, perceptions and preferences of local villagers towards forestry (social suitability), and quantitative socioeconomic data. The results indicated that the integrated approach provided two principal benefits over the traditional method. First, the integrated method resulted in a more precise idea of suitable sites for plantation investment that could benefit more rural people and also lead to greater investment efficiency. Second, incorporating social preference into the GIS takes into account the crucial element of social capital (viz., social preference), which should lead to higher levels of community acceptance of plantation projects because those plantations would be established on socially suitable land. A second GIS exercise showed how conservation investment decisions could be informed using the integrated method. The results of this study support the idea that GIS-aided planning activities can be enhanced through the incorporation of social data into the analysis. When applicable, spatial data collection efforts for GIS-based planning exercises should incorporate spatial socioeconomic data.     

Firewood consumption in a Nepali village

People's dependence on firewood as a primary source of energy is causing serious deforestation problems in many developing countries. Reliable information on firewood consumption rates is needed to develop afforestation plans and to control deforestation. This study compares three methods used to determine firewood consumption in a Nepali village. Cultural and environmental factors that affect firewood consumption in the village are also examined.Theweight survey proved to be the most accurate method used. The less precisedaily recall andannual recall surveys overestimated actual firewood consumption by factors of 1.76 and 1.95, respectively. Overestimates are attributed to both physical and social factors. In view of the good agreement between daily and annual recall surveys, and the much greater ease of conducting the latter, annual recall surveys are recommended as the most practical method of monitoring firewood consumption rates. Validating the survey with occasional weighed measurements is suggested as a means of improving accuracy.     

持续提升环境社会检测数据质量工作探讨

分析了我国社会环境检测机构发展现状,指出由于政府监管体系尚不完善、环境监测服务市场低价竞争、社会环境检测机构缺乏社会责任意识以及环境监测专业技术人员缺乏等因素,环境社会检测数据质量无法得到保证。提出,进一步完善政府监督管理制度、健全环境监测行业自律约束机制、提升环境监测人员能力水平、规范信息公开范围4方面的社会环境检测机构监管工作建议,从而持续提升环境社会检测数据质量。     

Long-term phytoplankton trends and related water quality trends in the lower Chesapeake Bay,Virginia, USA

Long-term trends (i.e., 1985 through 1999; 14 1/2 yrs) of the phytoplankton community in Chesapeake Bay indicated patterns of increasing phytoplankton abundance and biomass associated with mainly diatoms and chlorophytes, and to a lesser degree dinoflagellates. Decreasing trends in productivity rates above the pycnocline were present over a shorter time period (10 1/2 yrs.), with evidence for increasing nitrogen limitation is indicated. Reduced light availability is inferred due to decreasing trends of Secchi depths and increased suspended solids trends, which were associated with decreasing trends in productivity rates.