Environmental and Economic Factors Can Increase the Risk of Exotic Species Introductions to the Arctic Region Through Increased Ballast Water Discharge

The effects of global warming can increase the risk of exotic species introductions in eastern Canadian Arctic waters by reducing surface ice cover and allow increased access to commercial vessels. Ballast water discharged by incoming overseas vessels is an important means for introducing species on a global scale. Analyses of air temperatures at Churchill, Manitoba between 1943 and 2002 indicated an increase in mean temperature within the past decade. Churchill is the only major northern port in this region where grain has been exported on a limited basis due to the short navigation season. Economic analyses of grain exported from Canadian and U.S. ports indicated some cost advantages for using northern ports. The Hudson Bay region is vulnerable to increased exotic species introductions because of its southerly location. Current ballast water exchange measures to reduce the risk of introductions may not be effective because most vessels enter the region with ballast, and the ballast exchange zone is located relatively close to coastal areas where the habitat could be favorable for an introduced species to become established. The probability of a large crab species introduced to this region from northern European waters is discussed. The risk of ballast water–related exotic species introduction to this region may be reduced by expanding the types of cargo handled and developing a strong import market. This approach would accommodate an increase in the number of vessels with cargo, and substantially reduce the volume of ballast carried to this region.     

关于高校人才引进工作的思考

人才资源是第一资源。人才问题始终是高等学校改革与发展的核心问题和头等大事,谁先引进具有较高竞争能力的高层次人才,谁就抓住了发展的先机。引进优秀人才势在必行。人才引进要遵循与学科发展相适应的原则、择优的原则、“不求所有、但为所用”的原则。同时人才引进过程中,要处理好引进人才与学科建设的关系、引进人才和现有人才的关系、人才发展和团队建设的关系、人才的短期工作绩效与长期作用的关系。     

The Truth about Public Health Protection and Community Sewerage and Water Supply Sanitation in Developing Countries

Since the establishment, following World War II, of the World System, by which the affluent industrialized countries established various international assistance agencies (including the multilateral development banks, UN affiliates, and Bilaterals), these assistance agencies have invested very large sums in helping finance planning and construction of community sewerage and water supply facilities in the developing countries. However, much of this large investment has been ineffective and wasted, primarily because of the lack of understanding by the staff of the assistance agencies that the design criteria for the facilities must be modified to suit the socio-economic status of the developing country. The developing countries are relatively very poor in terms of available finances, hence cannot afford to emulate Western environmental standards and design practices, especially as related to operation and maintenance, hence much simpler approaches must be used. Experiences in several Asian countries are discussed, and a recommendation is made on how to go about resolving this problem.     

EMMC process for combined removal of organics, nitrogen and an odor producing substance

In order to improve the process performance regarding the removal of organics, nitrogen, and an odor-causing compound (sulfide) contained in domestic wastewater, an entrapped-mixed-microbial cell (EMMC) with and without humic substances for both fixed and moving carrier reactors and conventional suspended growth culture (i.e. conventional activated sludge process) were investigated simultaneously. Both synthetic (simulated to the organics concentration of general domestic sewage) and actual domestic wastewater were investigated under operational conditions of 12 h of hydraulic retention time (HRT) with 1 h of aeration and 1 h of non-aeration, and 6 h of HRT with continuous aeration, at a room temperature of 25 +/- 2 degrees C. It was found that entrapping humic substances in the EMMC carriers had no impact on the removal of organics, nitrogen, and the odor-producing compound. Additionally, the performance of the EMMC moving carrier system for the removal of these pollutants is similar to that of the EMMC fixed carrier system. In general, the EMMC associated systems which provide high solids retention time achieve a better removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen, and the odor-producing substance than the suspended growth system for both HRTs of 6 h (continuous aeration) and 12 h (1 h of aeration and 1 h of non-aeration). Both the fixed and moving carrier EMMC processes, therefore, have the potential for improvement or replacement of the existing conventional activated sludge process with regard to improving the effluent qualities (such as COD, nitrogen and odor-producing compound) for reuse/disposal.     

Forced migration, processes of return and livelihood construction among pastoralists in northern Sudan

The Hawaweer, a nomadic, pastoralist group in northern Sudan, were seriously affected by the drought in the Sahel during the mid-1980s. Their experience illustrates the connection between internally displaced people, normal mobility, forced migration, dilemmas and opportunities of return and how new livelihoods can be successfully constructed based on traditional rights, strong local institutions and external resources. Some displaced Hawaweer got the chance to return to their homeland as new livelihood opportunities were established; others did not get this opportunity nor would they have returned if they had been given the chance. In both situations, the processes of displacement and return had an impact on the sense of belonging and identity.     

Emergency seed aid in Kenya: some case study insights on lessons learned during the 1990s

This article reviews the effectiveness of seed-aid distributions in Kenya during the 1990s. It analyses the internal process and effects, i.e. the performance of the aid itself as well as the external process and effects, i.e. how seed-aid intervention affected farmers' broader agricultural management strategies. During the drought emergency of 1997, Kenyan farmers favourably judged many of the immediate seed-aid features such as crop and variety appropriateness and seed quality--even through the overarching goals of the seed assistance were muddled, ranging from assistance to the poor, to generalised gift-giving to stimulating progressive farming practice. However, the longer term analyses, drawn from recollections of a decade of relief activity, showed no concrete evidence that seed aid, per se, had strengthened their farming systems, nor that those who have received it once were less likely to receive it again. Thus, while seed aid has been promoted to lessen the effects of an 'acute' stress, drought, Kenyan farmers, in practice, have been experiencing much wider, 'chronic' seed system problems. This article ends by exploring this distinction between acute and chronic seed system stress and suggests a range of interventions appropriate to each.     

River systems as providers of goods and services: a basis for comparing desired and undesired effects of large dam projects

In developing countries, large dam projects continue to be launched, primarily to secure a time-stable freshwater supply and to generate hydropower. Meanwhile, calls for environmentally sustainable development put pressure on the dam-building industry to integrate ecological concerns in project planning and decision-making. Such integration requires environmental impact statements (EISs) that can communicate the societal implications of the ecological effects in terms that are understandable and useful to planners and decision-makers. The purpose of this study is to develop a basic framework for assessing the societal implications of the river ecological effects expected of a proposed large dam project. The aim is to facilitate a comparison of desired and potential undesired effects on-site and downstream. The study involves two main tasks: to identify key river goods and services that a river system may provide, and to analyze how the implementation of a large dam project may alter the on-site capacity and downstream potentials to derive river goods and services from the river system. Three river goods and six river services are identified. River goods are defined as extractable partly man-made products and river services as naturally sustained processes. By four main types of flow manipulations, a large dam project improves the on-site capacity to derive desired river goods, but simultaneously threatens the provision of desirable river goods and services downstream. However, by adjusting the site, design, and operational schedule of the proposed dam project, undesirable effects on river goods and services can be minimized.     

Scientist and policy-maker response types and times in suburban watersheds

Differences between scientist and policy-maker response types and times, or the “how” and “when” of action, constrain effective water resource management in suburbanizing watersheds. Policy-makers are often rushed to find a single policy that can be applied across an entire, homogeneous, geopolitical region, whereas scientists undertake multiyear research projects to appreciate the complex interactions occurring within heterogeneous catchments. As a result, watershed management is often practiced with science and policy out of synch. Meanwhile, development pressures in suburban watersheds create changes in the social and physical fabric and pose a moving target for science and policy. Recent and anticipated advances in the scientific understanding of urbanized catchment hydrology and pollutant transport suggest that management should become increasingly sensitive to spatial heterogeneities in watershed features, such as soil types, terrain slopes, and seasonal watertable profiles. Toward this end, policy-makers should encourage funding scientific research that characterizes the impacts of these watershed heterogeneities within a geopolitical zoning and development framework.     

Preliminary indoor radon risk assessment at the Poços de Caldas Plateau,MG-Brazil

This paper aims to present an assessment of the environmental radiological exposure at a Brazilian area of high natural radiation and discusses the indoor radon exposure risk. A survey of inhabitant exposures arising from the inhalation of radon progeny and external gamma exposure was conducted in urban and rural areas of the Po?os de Caldas Plateau, which is recognized worldwide as a high natural radiation region. The results of this survey indicated that highest radiation exposure was restricted to the rural area of Po?os de Caldas. The radiation exposure in urban locations was quite similar to the values observed in normal background areas in some Brazilian counties. By the application of a constant relative risk model, an additional 20% in the lifetime risk of lung cancer mortality due to the exposure to radon progeny was estimated at Po?os de Caldas. It was also estimated that 16% of all lung cancer deaths at Po?os de Caldas county could be attributable to radon exposure.     

"开放型"区域资源策略探析--以浙江省为例

本文从区域资源安全的内涵出发,以浙江省为研究对象,在分析了省域资源条件及供给现状的基础上,提出了构建“开放型”区域资源安全体系的总体思路。