深化水资源水环境政策改革,积极推动环境社会治理——PACE20周年纪念大会会议综述

中国工程院国际工程科技高端论坛暨PACE 20周年纪念大会于2017年8月28~29日在北京举行。PACE 20周年大会就"水资源水环境政策"和"环境社会治理"两个主题进行了深入研讨,并达成以下共识:政府治理是中国水资源水环境治理的主导模式,但目前我国水资源水环境政府治理仍面临政策不规范、立法不完善、监管不到位等实质性的问题,要积极促进政策的制定与执行;环境社会治理是我国环境治理的短板,环境治理不仅需要政府的主导,更需要社会上的利益相关方参与政策制定、监督与执行过程,更需要社会各行为主体的自觉自主行动,促进环境行为改善,化解由环境引起的社会矛盾。     

Understanding local community attitudes toward industrial development in the Great Barrier Reef region World Heritage Area: are environmental impacts perceived to overshadow economic benefits?

Conflicts between industrial development and environmental conservation can be particularly acute when such development occurs in the vicinity of World Heritage sites. A key example is the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) in northeastern Australia, where a 2012 review by the World Heritage Council found that rapid port development inshore of the coral reef posed significant risks to local marine ecosystems. Such instances pose pressing challenges for decision‐makers seeking to manage World Heritage sites for multiple values and needs, including those of key stakeholder groups, such as local communities. There is increasingly a societal expectation that public decision‐making takes into account local views and priorities, and that companies seek a ‘social license to operate’. This research explored local community attitudes toward port development associated with the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal through the GBRWHA. Using data drawn from a survey and interviews, the research examined how a range of geographical factors, including proximity to gas infrastructure and the perceived impacts and risks of development to the local community, economy and environment shape community perceptions of the industry. Findings suggest that local attitudes toward gas and coal terminal development inshore of the GBRWHA are shaped predominantly by community perceptions of environmental impacts and risks associated with such infrastructure, in contrast to a broader public narrative that focuses largely on economic benefits. A complex combination of other factors, including social impacts, personal environmental values, community trust in industry, and equity in decision‐making and distribution of the risks and benefits of industrial development also contribute. Placed in a broader, global context, the findings have important implications for public decision‐making processes in Australia and elsewhere as they suggest that, for local communities, the perceived impacts of gas development on the environment may overshadow the benefits of industry.     

Vulnerability assessments as a political creation: tsunami management in Portugal

Vulnerability assessments are a cornerstone of contemporary disaster research. This paper shows how research procedures and the presentation of results of vulnerability assessments are politically filtered. Using data from a study of tsunami risk assessment in Portugal, the paper demonstrates that approaches, measurement instruments, and research procedures for evaluating vulnerability are influenced by institutional preferences, lines of communication, or lack thereof, between stakeholder groups, and available technical expertise. The institutional setting and the pattern of stakeholder interactions form a filter, resulting in a particular conceptualisation of vulnerability, affecting its operationalisation via existing methods and technologies and its institutional embedding. The Portuguese case reveals a conceptualisation that is aligned with perceptions prevalent in national government bureaucracies and the exclusion of local stakeholders owing to selected methodologies and assessment procedures. The decisions taken by actors involved in these areas affect how vulnerability is assessed, and ultimately which vulnerability reduction policies will be recommended in the appraisal.     

Why social values cannot be changed for the sake of conservation

The hope for creating widespread change in social values has endured among conservation professionals since early calls by Aldo Leopold for a “land ethic.” However, there has been little serious attention in conservation to the fields of investigation that address values, how they are formed, and how they change. We introduce a social–ecological systems conceptual approach in which values are seen not only as motivational goals people hold but also as ideas that are deeply embedded in society's material culture, collective behaviors, traditions, and institutions. Values define and bind groups, organizations, and societies; serve an adaptive role; and are typically stable across generations. When abrupt value changes occur, they are in response to substantial alterations in the social–ecological context. Such changes build on prior value structures and do not result in complete replacement. Given this understanding of values, we conclude that deliberate efforts to orchestrate value shifts for conservation are unlikely to be effective. Instead, there is an urgent need for research on values with a multilevel and dynamic view that can inform innovative conservation strategies for working within existing value structures. New directions facilitated by a systems approach will enhance understanding of the role values play in shaping conservation challenges and improve management of the human component of conservation.     

The forgotten pillar: a definition for the measurement of social sustainability in American cities

This article provides a timely review of the interdisciplinary and disjointed literature on social sustainability and identifies some readily available measures of this concept for American cities. Based upon a comprehensive review of the literature, four broad dimensions are identified as being reflective of social sustainability: equal access and opportunity, environmental justice, community and the value of place, and basic human needs. Breaking these four dimensions into measurable indicators, this research provides a method for researchers and for American cities to begin to evaluate and to assess social sustainability efforts within their jurisdictions.     

Equity in neighbourhood walkability? A comparative analysis of three large U.S. cities

This study examines the spatial and statistical relationships between social vulnerability (SV) and neighbourhood walkability across three large U.S. cities with different urban typologies and development patterns: Charlotte, NC (a low-density, fast-growing “Sunbelt” city); Pittsburgh, PA (a moderate density, shrinking “Rust Belt” city); and Portland, OR (a progressive West Coast city known for its sprawl-containment policies). Binary logistic regression, independent-samples t-tests, and mapping techniques are employed to determine whether neighbourhoods with high SV (i.e. older populations, higher poverty rates, more service occupations, lower educational attainment, and a higher proportion of minorities) are as likely as those with low SV to exhibit a high degree of walkability. The publically available Walk Score® metric, based on proximity to amenities, street network connectivity, and density, was used as a proxy for neighbourhood walkability. The results indicate significant variability among cities, with Charlotte exhibiting the greatest potential for inequitable access to walkable urban environments and the most prominent concentration of “walk-vulnerable” block groups (BGs) with high SV and low walkability. Both Portland and Pittsburgh exhibited more equitable access when comparing BGs with high and low SV; however, they each presented unique spatial patterns, visualised using a series of maps.     

Some happy,others sad: exploring environmental justice in solid waste management in Kinshasa,The Democratic Republic of Congo

This paper explores the concept of environmental justice (EJ) in solid waste management (SWM) in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It evaluates the extent to which EJ occurs in SWM and discusses the factors accounting for this state of affairs. The paper examines the relevant theoretical framework(s) and mechanisms that would facilitate the attainment of EJ in Kinshasa. It is argued that solid waste (SW) often ends up in the poorest and least powerful communities in the cities of the DRC. A qualitative research methodology, which includes exhaustive critical review of the literature, system analysis, reflections from best practices through case studies and discussion with stakeholders, was used for this study. Findings revealed that SWM in Kinshasa is a duty entrusted to publicly-funded municipal authorities. There are evidences of a clear divide between the rich and poor neighbourhoods in the manner SW is managed. This is an inequality that has only recently begun to be recognised as injustice practices in SWM. It is argued that a politico-cultural mechanism on remedying SWM inequities could enable changes that will address EJ in Kinshasa. Such a solution will go directly against the prevailing notion “some happy, others sad”.     

高效脱硫菌的筛选及其性能研究

从高硫污染的活性污泥中富集培养,分离纯化得到一株可以降解噻吩的菌株s_4,并对该菌株的形态特征进行观察。应用Design—Expert8．0．5b软件进行响应面优化实验,研究了反应时间、噻吩浓度、微生物浓度3个因素的组合对菌株s_4脱硫效果的影响,并拟合得到多元二次回归方程,得出最佳实验条件。拟合结果表明,当反应时间27．46h,噻吩浓度为1．04％,微生物浓度4．04％时,预测噻吩降解率为14．8％,通过验证得最佳条件下的降解率为14．3％,与预测值相符。     

微生物絮凝剂M-C11处理高岭土悬浊液的响应曲面优化

采用响应曲面法对微生物絮凝剂M-C11处理高岭土悬浊液的过程参数进行优化,选取中心复合实验设计(CCD),以p H、M-C11投加量和Ca Cl2投加量等因素为自变量,以处理后的高岭土悬浊液絮凝率(Fr)为响应值,并借助扫描电镜对絮凝剂的作用机理进行初步探讨。结果表明,微生物絮凝剂M-C11可显著改善高岭土悬浊液的絮凝性能,且选取的3种单因素水平均可影响絮凝剂活性。经多元回归拟合分析,在M-C11投加量为2.56 m L,Ca Cl2投加量为0.37 g/L的最优条件下,微生物絮凝活性实验值可达92.37%,接近模型预测值(92.30%)。Ca Cl2投加量对絮凝效果的影响高于M-C11投加量(PCa Cl2相似文献