An integrated indicator on regional ecological civilization construction in China

China has come up with ecological civilization as one of major goals to improve its ecological sustainability during development in future. Under this broad framework, social, economic and natural ecosystems are expected to develop in harmony. However, there is lack of evaluation mechanism for this newly proposed strategy. Therefore, in this article, ecosystem services, Ecological Footprint and gross domestic product per capita were selected in order to reflect the resource endowment, human occupation on natural capital, and the economic growth. Thus, an integrated indicator was constructed from the three indexes based on the linear correlation among them, and we provided comprehensive evaluation on ecological civilization construction in the provinces and municipalities in China in 2010. When it comes to the indicator of ecological civilization construction, Hainan province has the greatest value which is 0.5091 and Beijing municipality has the smallest value which is 0.0377. At last, the article analyzed the ecological pressure and efficiency in ecological civilization construction in China. The results contribute to scientific and objective evaluation of regional ecological civilization construction in order to properly make decisions and take actions.     

Restoration of badlands and natural capital: an application in Saldaña (Palencia,northern Spain)

The environment provides many necessary services for a plethora of human activities related to that are being acknowledged as our ecosystems degrade; therefore, ecosystem-based solutions are becoming increasingly more important. Hydrologic restorations (HRs) apply this type of ecosystem approach; there are multiple examples around the Mediterranean area executed since the beginning of the twentieth century. One good example of these restoration-type solutions can be seen in the badlands of Saldaña (Palencia, Spain). This case has been particularly successful in stopping gully erosion from badlands. Despite its importance for the well-being of the inhabitants of Saldaña and surroundings, the economic effects of these services which were put into place by this HR have never been assessed. In the present study, four different and compatible ecosystem restored services have been valued in monetary terms. For their aggregation, an innovative approach has been taken using the analytic hierarchy process methodology, so the weight of each ecosystem service (ES) can be determined. The economic flow of these ESs has been calculated in terms of annual income and updated values, from which natural capital increase in the population of Saldaña can be assessed. After analysing the results, it can be concluded that the village has earned more than seven million euros, which, in turn, generates important benefits to its inhabitants.     

Beyond strong sustainability

Since the Brundtland Commission's delineation of the term sustainable development in 1987, virtually every country has incorporated the terms sustainability and sustainable development into their planning vocabulary and criteria for decision-making. However, many issues remain unresolved. Broad and sweeping references to sustainability and sustainable development do not necessarily translate into implementable policies to achieve these goals. In particular, unresolved issues include developing an understanding of how one sector of the economy can contribute to the sustainable development of the economy as a whole and the role of ecological resources in sustainable development. Our paper provides an initial conceptual examination of these questions by folding mining and ecological quality into the sustainability discussion. We use the Brazilian Amazon as an application of our sustainable development model.     

三江源区生态系统服务间接使用价值评估

论文利用替代成本法、机会成本法和影子工程法等经济学方法,对三江源区生态系统提供的间接使用价值进行了评估。研究结果表明:2008年三江源区生态系统的间接使用价值共计1.74×10¹¹元,其中水源涵养价值为1.07×10¹¹元,占61.38%,土壤保持价值为4.60×10¹⁰元,占26.50%,气候调节价值为2.01×10¹⁰元,占11.56%,空气质量调节价值为9.56×10⁸元,占0.55%。该结果突出反映了三江源区作为水源发源地在水量平衡、调节区域水分循环和改善水文状况等方面做出的贡献。     

Risk communication in emergency response to a simulated extreme flood

Risk communication in flood incident management can be improved through developing hydrometeorological and engineering models used as tools for communicating risk between scientists and emergency management professionals. A range of such models and tools was evaluated by participating flood emergency managers during a 4-day, real-time simulation of an extreme event in the Thamesmead area in the Thames estuary close to London, England. Emergency managers have different communication needs and value new tools differently, but the indications are that a range of new tools could be beneficial in flood incident management. Provided they are communicated large model uncertainties are not necessarily unwelcome among flood emergency managers. Even so they are cautious about sharing the ownership of weather and flood modelling uncertainties.     

广东鹤山三种南亚热带人工林的生态系统服务价值动态

在鹤山国家森林生态系统定位研究站长期定位研究的基础上,参照和修订了我国LY/T 1721-2008《森林生态系统服务功能评估规范》给出的生态系统服务价值量化方法与服务价格,分析揭示了三种人工林生态系统0~22龄间的服务价值结构特点及其动态规律。结果显示：南亚热带人工林各生态系统服务呈现非线性、不同步的动态发展特征：涵养水源和总服务价值动态特征为先大幅上涨,然后上升速度减缓,最终维持在一定价值高度出现小幅波动;固碳释氧和林木积累营养物质价值动态特征为迅速增长,然后趋于缓慢下降;生物保育价值和保育土壤价值动态特征为一直处于上升态势,但上升过程中变幅较大。0~22龄间,涵养水源始终是三种人工林生态系统服务价值组成中的最大组分,其次是固碳释氧和生物保育。三种人工林相比,在12龄以前马占相思林生态系统服务总价值最高,之后三者生态系统服务总值差异明显变小,乡土混交林生态系统服务功能总价值逐渐超越马占相思林。     

Nexus security: governance, innovation and the resilient city

Nexus security is a compound mix of ideas: reconciling human needs and wants with access to multiple resources; diversity of access to those resources and services; resilience in the face of weather- and climaterelated variability; resilience likewise in the face of infrastructure failure; and the personal, individual sense of belonging. At the level of Systems Thinking there is a very close relationship between resilience in the behavior of natural (ecological) systems and resilience in the social dynamics of governance within communities, where such resilience establishes the viability of these communities over centuries, which in turn entails successful stewardship of the man-environment relationship. We use insights from this cross-system mapping — across natural, built, and human systems — to assess, first, the role of city governance in achieving nexus security (or not) and, second, the role of technological innovations in serving the same purpose. More specifically, eight principles, covering resilience and diversity of access to resources and services, are used to gauge security-enhancing features of city buildings and infrastructure. Case studies include new designs of resilient office blocks, nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) recovery systems for sanitation and wastewater treatment, and the reconstruction of urban parks for the provision of ecosystem services. Throughout the paper, matters of risk in the face of meteorological variability are prominent. We do not conclude, however, that the presence of risk implies nexus insecurity.     

广州市流溪河流域白云区段生态系统服务价值的估算与分析

在分析流溪河流域白云区段生态系统的景观变化和生态环境现状的基础上,依据流溪河流域白云区段的土地详查数据(1993年)及其土地利用变更调查数据(2001年末),引用Constanza等对全球生态系统服务单位公顷价值的平均估算结果,对流溪河流域白云区段生态系统服务价值进行评估。评估结果表明:2001年流溪河流域白云区段生态系统服务的总价值为85190050.43美元,折合人民币70700.75万元,相当于该区域同期GDP的6.22%。由于存在影响核算结果准确性的一些因素,因此,该结果是粗略与保守的估算。     

A Revealed Preference Approach to Estimating Supply Curves for Ecosystem Services: Use of Auctions to Set Payments for Soil Erosion Control in Indonesia

Abstract:  To supply ecosystem services, private landholders incur costs. Knowledge of these costs is critical for the design of conservation-payment programs. Estimating these costs accurately is difficult because the minimum acceptable payment to a potential supplier is private information. We describe how an auction of payment contracts can be designed to elicit this information during the design phase of a conservation-payment program. With an estimate of the ecosystem-service supply curve from a pilot auction, conservation planners can explore the financial, ecological, and socioeconomic consequences of alternative scaled-up programs. We demonstrate the potential of our approach in Indonesia, where soil erosion on coffee farms generates downstream ecological and economic costs. Bid data from a small-scale, uniform-price auction for soil-conservation contracts allowed estimates of the costs of a scaled-up program, the gain from integrating biophysical and economic data to target contracts, and the trade-offs between poverty alleviation and supply of ecosystem services. Our study illustrates an auction-based approach to revealing private information about the costs of supplying ecosystem services. Such information can improve the design of programs devised to protect and enhance ecosystem services.     

Interoperable web GIS services for marine pollution monitoring and forecasting

This paper presents services and systems developed in the FP6 InterRisk (Interoperable GMES Services for Environmental Risk Management in Marine and Coastal Areas of Europe) project, which addresses the need for better access to information for risk management in Europe, both in cases of natural hazards and industrial accidents. The overall objective of the project is to develop a pilot system for interoperable GMES monitoring and forecasting services for environmental management in marine and coastal areas. This pilot system is based on established and widely adopted web-GIS standards, in line with INSPIRE recommendations. The pilot is comprised of, among other things, a portal and a web-GIS map viewer, both developed using open source tools. Providers using commercial tools adhering to the adopted standards, however, can also deliver products to the InterRisk pilot. The InterRisk services and system are based on a combination of free and commercial software, and have been demonstrated to end-users in three European areas: Norwegian, UK and Irish waters, and German and Polish waters. Products and services offered in these areas are presented, along with an outline of the technical development of web-GIS clients and portals.