Fish mercury increase in Lago Manso, a new hydroelectric reservoir in tropical Brazil

It has been frequently demonstrated that mercury (Hg) concentrations in fish rise in newly constructed hydroelectric reservoirs in the Northern Hemisphere. In the present work, we studied whether similar effects take place also in a tropical upland reservoir during impoundment and discuss possible causes and implications. Total Hg concentrations in fish and several soil and water parameters were determined before and after flooding at Rio Manso hydroelectric power plant in western Brazil. The Hg concentrations in soil and sediment were within the background levels in the region (22-35 ng g(-1) dry weight). There was a strong positive correlation between Hg and carbon and sulphur in sediment. Predatory fish had total Hg concentrations ranging between 70 and 210 ng g(-1) f.w. 7 years before flooding and between 72 and 755 ng g(-1) f.w. during flooding, but increased to between 216 and 938 ng g(-1) f.w. in the piscivorous and carnivorous species Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum, cachara, and Salminus brasiliensis, dourado, 3 years after flooding. At the same time, concentrations of organic carbon in the water increased and oxygen concentrations decreased, indicating increased decomposition and anoxia as contributing to the increased Hg concentrations in fish. The present fish Hg concentrations in commonly consumed piscivorous species are a threat to the health of the population dependent on fishing in the dam and downstream river for sustenance. Mercury exposure can be reduced by following fish consumption recommendations until fish Hg concentrations decrease to a safe level.     

Costa Rican Environmental Service Payments: The Use of a Financial Instrument in Participatory Forest Management

The core element of the Costa Rican forestry policy is a financial instrument called the environmental service payment. This instrument rewards forest owners for the environmental services (the mitigation of greenhouse gases, the protection of watersheds and scenic beauty, and the development of biodiversity) their forests provide. In this article, the experiences with this new instrument are analyzed by focusing on the way interests are represented and access is granted, the openness of information exchange, whether social learning occurred, and whether decision-making authority is shared. The analysis is based on a survey conducted in the Huetar Norte Region and on in-depth interviews with the major stakeholders. The Costa Rican case indicates that financial instruments can be used to share responsibilities and that stakeholders can successfully cooperate on forest issues. It also shows that such a participatory approach is only promising if certain cultural, economic, organizational, and political conditions are met.     

含油污泥体膨颗粒调剖剂的研究

研究了利用含油污泥制备体膨颗粒深部调剖剂的技术。试验表明,在单体浓度20%、干泥含油率14%、污泥占单体质量110%、交联剂占单体质量0.14%、反应温度35℃条件下,聚合产物性能较好。胶块造粒过程中需加入适量减阻剂,粒度可根据实际要求调整。含油污泥体膨颗粒调剖剂在自来水中和0.5%NaCl水溶液中的膨胀倍数分别为40倍和15倍,膨胀后强度和弹性好。     

The dynamic changes of arsenic biotransformation and bioaccumulation in muscle of freshwater food fish crucian carp during chronic dietborne exposure

Dietary uptake is the major way that inorganic arsenic (iAs) enters into benthic fish; however, the metabolic process of dietborne iAs in fish muscle following chronic exposure remains unclear. This was a 40-day study on chronic dietborne iAs [arsenite (AsIII) and arsenate (AsV)] exposure in the benthic freshwater food fish, the crucian carp (Carassius auratus), which determined the temporal profiles of iAs metabolism and toxicokinetics during exposure. We found that an adaptive response occurred in the fish body after iAs dietary exposure, which was associated with decreased As accumulation and increased As transformation into a non-toxic As form (arsenobetaine). The bioavailability of dietary AsIII was lower than that of AsV, probably because AsIII has a lower ability to pass through fish tissues. Dietary AsV exhibited a high potential for transformation into AsIII species, which then accumulated in fish muscle. The largely produced AsIII considered more toxic at the earlier stage of AsV exposure should attract sufficient attention to human exposure assessment. Therefore, the pristine As species and exposure duration had significant effects on As bioaccumulation and biotransformation in fish. The behavior determined for dietborne arsenic in food fish is crucial for not only arsenic ecotoxicology but also food safety.     

以Hartwick准则破解“资源的诅咒”

一些资源禀赋较高的国家或地区,一直以来经济社会发展未充分享受自然资源带来的红利,甚至陷入贫困和动荡,这一现象被称作"资源的诅咒";在我国,也有不少资源型城市在发展过程中由于资源的耗竭而陷入困境。经济学家Hartwick对资源枯竭区域发展进行了深入研究,并提出"Hartwick准则"对这一类区域的发展进行了理论指导。本文对Hartwick准则进行简要介绍,以这一准则在非洲国家博茨瓦纳的钻石开发中的应用进行分析,并依据理论和经验,对我国一些资源型区域的发展提出建议。     

探究城市污水处理项目的环境影响评价

水作为人类赖以生存的主要能源物质,随着社会综合水平的提高,各行业对水资源的需求越是急切。而现阶段城市中大量污水给环境带来很多不利影响,环保公司针对城市污水处理不断在技术上进行突破、完善,将智能化节能技术运用到城市污水处理中,使设备、资源得到充分利用,为人们用水条件带来更加充沛、丰富的保障与支持。为有效处理城市污水,争取在城市污水处理发挥更大作用,带动城市环境可持续发展。     

Forest resources and household welfare: Empirical evidence from North Central Vietnam

Using secondary data from a socio-economic quantitative household survey of the North Central region of Vietnam, the main aim of our study is to analyze the causal effect of forest resources on household income and poverty. Based on the observed characteristics of a forest-based livelihood and forest-related activities, we use a propensity score matching (PSM) method to control for potential bias arising from self-selection. The PSM results indicate that households with a forest-based livelihood had a higher level of income and lower poverty rates than did those without. Interestingly, our findings confirm that a forest-based livelihood offers much higher income than any other type of livelihood adopted by local households. Also, the poverty rate among households with a forest-based livelihood is lower than those earning non-labor income or engaged in wage/crop and crop livelihoods. Among households and provinces, we find varying opportunities deriving from forest resources, suggesting that there are potential barriers hindering local households from pursuing a forest livelihood or participating in some forest activities. Therefore, government policy and regulations on forest management should focus on improving the access of households to forest resources, while enhancing the sustainability of these resources.     

生态环境损害赔偿诉讼：定义与定位矫正

面对生态环境损害赔偿诉讼这一新型诉讼形式,准确把握其定义和定位至关重要。现有生态环境损害赔偿诉讼按国家自然资源所有权私权化路径进行制度构建,其现行定义为特殊私益诉讼,现行定位为环境行政替代工具。这种定义与定位导致其与环境公益诉讼割裂,运行序位上优先于环境民事公益诉讼,引起国家机关角色错位。生态环境损害赔偿诉讼与环境民事公益诉讼的诉讼标的相同,救济和保护的利益均为环境公益,其定义应回归公益诉讼本位;政府在环境公益保护上有着广泛的职权和手段,是环境公共治理的优先主体,仅在少数行政不能的情形下才有借助司法的必要性和合理性,其在定位上应作为环境行政执法的补充机制在有限范围内发挥作用。据此,生态环境损害赔偿诉讼在制度体系上应与既有环境民事公益诉讼置于同一诉讼系属统筹立法,在诉讼序位上应让位于社会组织提起的环境民事公益诉讼。     

Using vertebrate environmental DNA from seawater in biomonitoring of marine habitats

Conservation and management of marine biodiversity depends on biomonitoring of marine habitats, but current approaches are resource-intensive and require different approaches for different organisms. Environmental DNA (eDNA) extracted from water samples is an efficient and versatile approach to detecting aquatic animals. In the ocean, eDNA composition reflects local fauna at fine spatial scales, but little is known about the effectiveness of eDNA-based monitoring of marine communities at larger scales. We investigated the potential of eDNA to characterize and distinguish marine communities at large spatial scales by comparing vertebrate species composition among marine habitats in Qatar, the Arabian Gulf (also known as the Persian Gulf), based on eDNA metabarcoding of seawater samples. We conducted species accumulation analyses to estimate how much of the vertebrate diversity we detected. We obtained eDNA sequences from a diverse assemblage of marine vertebrates, spanning 191 taxa in 73 families. These included rare and endangered species and covered 36% of the bony fish genera previously recorded in the Gulf. Sites of similar habitat type were also similar in eDNA composition. The species accumulation analyses showed that the number of sample replicates was insufficient for some sampling sites but suggested that a few hundred eDNA samples could potentially capture >90% of the marine vertebrate diversity in the study area. Our results confirm that seawater samples contain habitat-characteristic molecular signatures and that eDNA monitoring can efficiently cover vertebrate diversity at scales relevant to national and regional conservation and management.     

基于复式记账的土地资源资产核算与报表编制研究

借鉴会计学复式记账核算的优点,在国际资源核算体系的基础上,根据我国自然资源资产核算需求,提出土地资源资产核算的复式记账体系和报表编制框架。研究认为,基于复式记账的土地资源资产核算和报表编制要以“摸清家底、反映自然资源负债、提供土地资源审计和绩效考核信息”为目标,明确区、县级自然资源局为土地资源资产受托管理和进行土地资源资产核算与报表编制的核算单位。在界定土地资源资产、负债和权益相关概念的基础上,提出土地资源资产属性变化的核算内容和每次土地资源资产实物量变化必须遵循占补平衡的基本原则,进行过程核算。以YC县土地资源资产变化为例,对土地资源资产变化进行了基于复式记账的土地资源资产核算与报表编制实证研究,确定核算的事项类型和特征及其借贷核算流程,编制出土地资源资产负债表,并同时进行实物量核算和价值量核算的报表编制,结果表明:YC县土地资源资产实物量1485 km^2,2018年末价值量5639874.22万元、经济权益5271874.22万元、生态权益367991.6万元,土地资源负债8.40万元,通过土地资源资产用途调整,土地资源资产价值量增加21319.42万元,但在调整过程中,形成了土地资源负债0.07 km^2(8.4万元),在以后土地整治中需要增加园地。