Assessment of physical economy through economy-wide material flow analysis in developing Uzbekistan

In this paper, we assess the physical dimensions of Uzbekistan's economy during 1992–2011 by using the economy-wide material flow analysis (EW-MFA) method, which is an internationally recognized tool for such assessments. There have been a number of studies using methodological standardization of EW-MFA, but to the best of our knowledge, it has never been used to assess the metabolism of Central Asian economies, especially, in this case, the Republic of Uzbekistan.Our analysis strives to empirically evaluate macroscopic economic activities by considering the accounting of material flows. The material flows data-set comprises of consistent data for domestic extraction, imports, and exports, as well as other derived MFA-based indicators.The derived indicators are internationally compared for further evaluation of national economic development performance in a given period. The indicators of direct material input (DMI) and total material requirements (TMR) showed a slight increase in 1992–2011 with an average annual increase of 2.79% and 2.34%. The trends of TMR, DMI, domestic material consumption (DMC) and material efficiency, which is indicated by GDP/DMI, displayed lower values than other industrialized countries referenced in the international comparison. Although national economic performance data showed particularly remarkable success, indicators measuring material inputs and DMC reveal an insignificant increase during the period of study. During the second decade of study period, relative decoupling has occurred which indicated that the economic indicator (GDP) grows faster than DMC and other macro indicators grow.     

城市固废好氧加速稳定及碳氮迁移试验研究

选取上海市老港填埋场3~4a垃圾做室内强制通风单元体试验,监测固、液、气三相成分变化,并对有机污染负荷的削减规律以及碳、氮元素的迁移规律进行分析与研究.结果表明,固相纤维素/木质素(C/L)值从初始0.8降至0.4以下,固相中BDM、TOC、TN也有降低,固相指标降解速率呈现前期大后期小的特点,且上层垃圾降解程度更大.液相pH值、EC维持在固定区间,有机污染负荷得到了极大地削减,在整个试验期间,TOC、COD、BOD降解率分别达97%、94%、94%,TN、NH₄-N的降解率分别达到95%、94%.试验期间,累积CO₂释放量6.7kg,累计N₂释放量0.75kg.C/L值、降解稳定化归一指标β可作为固相垃圾稳定化程度判定指标,BOD/COD、NH₄-N/TN值可作为液相中可降解物质稳定化程度判定指标.根据质量守恒原理,对试验过程中碳、氮元素的迁移进行了分析.固相累积损失C质量2.09kg,液相累积流失C质量0.14kg,CO₂累积释放C质量1.83kg.固相累积损失N质量0.62kg,液相累积流失N质量0.08kg,N₂累积释放N质量0.75kg.降解基本结束后,固相中仍然残存着大量的不可降解或者难降解的含碳及含氮化合物.     

EMERGY analysis for sustainability evaluation of the Baiyangdian wetland ecosystem in China

This study presents a quantitative and ecological benefit evaluation of the Baiyangdian wetland in China between the years 2000 and 2006. Methods of EMERGY analysis were applied to illustrate the wetland ecosystem, to evaluate the economic and environmental inputs and consequent yields, and to assess the sustainability of the Baiyangdian wetland. The indicators for the integrated ecological and economic system, such as EMERGY yield ratio (EYR) (7.51), EMERGY investment ratio (EIR) (4.52), environmental loading ratio (ELR) (2.92), EMERGY exchange ratio (0.41), and EMERGY sustainable indicator (ESI) (2.57) were calculated, compared, analyzed, and discussed. The non-renewable investment in Baiyangdian was greater than renewable investment, leading to the unsustainable development of the system. High EYR indicated that the Baiyangdian integrated system had created huge profits for its people, while ELR and ESI revealed that human behavior has been a heavy burden on the environment, and countermeasures should be taken by the Chinese government to relieve and resolve these problems. Potential management methods were also proposed in this paper.     

中国工业部门生态效益分析

借鉴世界企业永续发展委员会（WBCSD）提出的生态效益指标体系,结合社会价值因子构建了中国工业部门生态效益指标体系,利用因子分析模型研究了中国2006年工业部门生态效益及其主要影响因子,并按照工业生态效益特征将39个工业部门划分为4个类型。结果表明：中国工业部门生态效益的影响因素可以归纳为能源消耗-污染因子、水资源消耗-污染因子、经济社会效益因子 中国工业部门生态效益差异显著,机械设备制造业、电子属于生态效益最优的工业部门,以矿产品采掘与加工为基础的工业部门整体表现出高能耗、高污染、低效益,造纸及纸制品业生态效益最差。因子分析法较全面的反映了中国工业部门的生态效益,提高工业部门生态效益的建议可为中国工业的可持续发展提供决策依据。     

大气中氟化物污染的生物学指标监测评价

植物对HF气体的敏感性是由多种因素相互作用而成的复杂综合性状,常用于定性描述大气环境质量状况。通过在密闭的培养瓶中一次性通入不同体积浓度的HF气体,以不同浓度HF胁迫下的不同类型植物为例,观察其在不同时间的外观伤害症状和细胞膜透性与HF浓度的关系。结果表明：不同植物对HF的敏感性不同;低浓度长时间和高浓度短时间的症状基本相同;植物细胞膜透性数据即电导率直接反映植物受损程度。综合植物外观症状指标与生理生化指标并赋予不同权重值,建立相对定量化的大气质量生物学指标评价模式,以定量的判断HF气体对植物的伤害,为应用植物监测和评价大气环境质量提供理论和实践依据。     

New methodological strategies for detecting bacterial indicators

The development of monitoring strategies for the early warning of seawater pollution, with particular reference to faecal and hydrocarbon contamination, has been the specific goal of research carried out within the Cluster 10-SAM (Advanced Systems for Coastal Marine Monitoring) Project, funded by the Italian Ministry for University and Scientific Research. Advanced analytical approaches have been designed and applied to detect bacterial species that have been selected as potential indicators of pollution in seawater samples. We report the results obtained using the fluorescent antibody and enzymatic assays for the detection of Escherichia coli, and a real-time PCR protocol for monitoring marine areas for hydrocarbon pollution. Immunofluorescence and enzymatic methods revealed the occurrence of different faecal pollution levels, reaching 10⁵ E. coli cells 100 ml^?1 in the Straits of Messina. Real-time PCR results corresponded to the different degree of oil pollution of the analysed samples. The specificity and speed make these methods promising for the detection and evaluation of marine pollution.     

War and sustainability

SUMMARY

In order to use the planet's ecological life-support systems sustainably, damage to them must be both prevented and repaired. However, repair requires awareness of damage which, in this case, mandates a high level of ecological literacy. Prevention of ecological damage will only be successful on a planetary scale if human society endorses precautionary practices that reduce the probability of ecosystem damage. Society is beginning to endorse precautionary practices to protect human health, which is no longer regarded as merely absence of symptoms of disease and malfunction. Health is regarded as a robust function — an approach toward optimal conditions. Similar views are beginning to emerge regarding ecosystem health, and a close link between human and ecosystem health is gaining increased recognition. However, to achieve health, ecological ‘wounds’ must be repaired, which is impossible until society ‘sees’ the wounds. After this recognition, society must become more literate on the attributes of ecosystem health. The methods and procedures are in place, but they will not be used effectively until a major paradigm shift occurs.     

Assessing sustainability: An assessment framework to evaluate Agenda 21 actions at the local level

In Switzerland, communities are encouraged to define and to report on local Agenda 21. This paper presents an analysis framework to help local communities set sustainable development priorities and to follow through with appropriate actions. Four Swiss communities, from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, actively follow the project: Lausanne (114 304 citizens), Vevey (15 364 citizens), Mannens-Grandsivaz (505 citizens) and Essertines/Yverdon (666 citizens). The analysis framework developed is constituted of four interdependent fields: the societal characteristics, the individual or collective behaviours, the end objectives or sustainability impacts and the inhabitant's perception of these three fields. The link between society and behaviour can be studied through sociological analyses. The link between behaviour and environmental impact can be established thanks to Life Cycle analysis and Input/Output analyses. At each level, sustainable development indicators can be defined. As an application of the framework, the citizen energy consumption has been studied and expressed in energy slaves (= 3150 MJ/Year). A Swiss citizen needs altogether 69 slaves, 20 for his private consumption of goods and services, 19 for housing, 11 for transport, I1 for food and 8 for his consumption of public goods. If one fifth of the inhabitants of Lausanne, wanting to live closer to nature, actually moved out of town, the region would need 10 436 more slaves for 3500 persons happily living in the countryside.     

Sustainable development indicators: a case study on the city of Flagstaff and Coconino county

The application of capitalist theory and the perception of an autonomous economy have created a range of environmental and social ramifications not addressed via traditional economic reasoning. In order to effectively and efficiently abate sustainability issues, the sustainable development discourse developed evaluation methods such as sustainable development indicators to gauge progress towards sustainability in communities without using traditional cost–benefit methods of analysis. The indicators created in this work are intended to be applied as a method of project evaluation in local community development departments. Using local growth management policy as a basis, these indicators have been designed to show how a development project contributes to policy goals that relate to all three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, economic, and socio-economic.     

Working with indicators: description of states of territorial adjustment for protected natural areas

As is the case to date with respect to sustainability indicators, there is an enormous quantity of information available about their basic components (social, economic and environmental), but these are generally dealt with in a sectoral and fragmented manner, and the components have been analysed and approached in a more or less independent fashion. On the other hand, it is difficult to find indicators that encompass all the dimensions of sustainability. The topic chosen for this research is sustainability organised in a systematic fashion, which entails taking the combination of issues that affect each subsystem and investigating the states of territorial adjustment that exist between each of them. In short, it is the possibility of establishing a sustainable territorial development pattern, accepting that the economic and social activities that utilise the natural resources influence sustainability, and that they will do so to a greater or lesser extent depending on the effectiveness of the conservation of the stock of resources. The Territorial Adjustment Indicator System (TAIS) is a good tool that enables the management, assessment and monitoring of development processes in PNAs (protected natural areas), facilitating homogeneity and uniformity to aid comparison between protected areas in the centre-south of Spain, principally those areas designated as natural parks (NPs).