环境影响评价机制中公众参与存在问题及对策研究

随着新环境保护法的实施,人们的环境保护意识越来越高,信息公开和公众参与的重要性也愈发凸显。对于环境保护的重要环节———公众参与,在建设项目的环境影响评价中更是体现了“民主决策”、“预防为主”的思想。随着公众对环保认识程度的加深,环境需求的提高,公众参与中一系列问题也随之产生。文章在结合实际工作的基础上,从参与者的人选及参与的方式、时机、信息公开的方式等方面剖析了公众参与存在的一些弊端,并提出了对策和措施,为中国现有的公众参与制度的完善提供了一些参考。     

Enhancing the productivity and multifunctionality of traditional farming in Latin America

SUMMARY

An assessment is made of various grassroots development initiatives in Latin America which show that agroecological technologies can bring significant environmental and economic benefits to small farmers and rural communities in the region. Examined initiatives offer new ways of enhancing the multifunctional attributes of traditional agriculture through greater per unit area productivity and environmental services obtained in complex, integrated agroecological systems that feature many crop varieties, together with animals and trees. If such experiences were to be scaled up, multiplied, extrapolated, and supported in alternative policy scenarios, the gains in food security and environmental conservation would be substantial. The challenge now is to mobilize science, institutions and the right policies to increase the productivity of smallholder farming systems, while preserving the resource base and at the same time empowering local communities.     

Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies in Kenya

Abstract

To determine the climate changes that are due to natural variability and those due to human activities is quite challenging, just like delineating the impacts. Moreover, it is equally difficult to ascertain the adaptive strategies for coping with the climate changes and in particular for developing countries like Kenya. While climate change is a global phenomenon, the impacts are more or less specific to local areas such as observed in Kenyan case. Therefore climate change impacts adaptation strategies are appropriately applicable to a given local perspective. The study investigated the main indicators of climate change and effective adaptive strategies that can be employed in Kenya. Based on online questionnaire survey, the study established unpredictable rainfall patterns as the major indicator of climate change in the country, while water harvesting and change of cropping methods are the best adaptive strategies.     

工业控制网络安全风险及防护策略

分析了工业企业工控系统网络面对诸如自身漏洞、工业协议、操作系统、杀毒软件以及管理缺陷等日益增多的安全风险,需要采用分区隔离、边界防护、异常检测、访问控制、限制接入、健全管理等多种技术、管理手段,建立纵深防御体系,提升工业控制系统的网络安全防护水平,以抵御工业控制网络面临的安全风险。     

我国海岸带环境灾害的基本特征与减灾对策

海岸带是自然灾害与社会经济发达区相互重叠的特殊环境地带.我国海岸带环境灾害的基本特征是种类繁多,频次高,破坏性强,与社会经济发展耦合,易形成复杂灾害链等.本文提出了基于可持续发展观点的、以工程建设与生态建设相结合、灾害区划与综合减灾相结合、基础研究与高科技应用相结合的减灾对策.     

天然林保护与东北地区水患治理方略

从天然林水文功能出发，阐述了东北地区天然林削减及其与洪涝灾害的关系，提出了东北地区水患治理方略。同时建议建立防汛信息系统，提高暴雨和洪水预报准确率以及防洪保险灾后重建。     

Integrated strategies to reduce vulnerability and advance adaptation,mitigation, and sustainable development

Determinants of adaptive and mitigative capacities (e.g., availability of technological options, and access to economic resources, social capital and human capital) largely overlap. Several factors underlying or related to these determinants are themselves indicators of sustainable development (e.g., per capita income; and various public health, education and research indices). Moreover, climate change could exacerbate existing climate-sensitive hurdles to sustainable development (e.g., hunger, malaria, water shortage, coastal flooding and threats to biodiversity) faced specifically by many developing countries. Based on these commonalities, the paper identifies integrated approaches to formulating strategies and measures to concurrently advance adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development. These approaches range from broadly moving sustainable development forward (by developing and/or nurturing institutions, policies and infrastructure to stimulate economic development, technological change, human and social capital, and reducing specific barriers to sustainable development) to reducing vulnerabilities to urgent climate-sensitive risks that hinder sustainable development and would worsen with climate change. The resulting sustainable economic development would also help reduce birth rates, which could mitigate climate change and reduce the population exposed to climate change and climate-sensitive risks, thereby reducing impacts, and the demand for adaptation. The paper also offers a portfolio of pro-active strategies and measures consistent with the above approaches, including example measures that would simultaneously reduce pressures on biodiversity, hunger, and carbon sinks. Finally it addresses some common misconceptions that could hamper fuller integration of adaptation and mitigation, including the notions that adaptation may be unsuitable for natural systems, and mitigation should necessarily have primacy over adaptation.

Forest Health Assessment and Monitoring – Issues for Consideration

Part of this paper has been prepared for the lecture Forest Health Assessment-Criteria,Methods and Problems given by the author at the UIMPuniversity course Sanidad Forestal en el Bosques Mediterraneos yTemplados. Implicacion de la Contaminacion Atmosferica y del Cambio Global, held in Valencia, Spain, October, 1995. Assessment and monitoring of forest health representsa key point for environmental policy and for the management ofenvironmental resources. With the renewed interest in assessment andmonitoring of forest health generated by the suspected occurrence ofa widespread forest decline in Europe and North America, manyactivities have been undertaken: however, some questions should beconsidered and clarified when attempting to estimate forest health.Particularly, the objective(s) of the assessment and monitoringprogram should be carefully identified. Identification of a program‘stask has a number of implications and consequences: it implies adefinition of what concept of forest health (forest ecosystem health,forest health or forest trees health?) is assumed, what will be thetarget entity to be monitored, and therefore the identification of therelevant assessment questions and assessment endpoints.Consequences concern the definition of the spatial scale (frominternational to landscape and plot scale monitoring) and ecologicalcoverage (from single species population to population ofecosystems) of the program, which can have a considerable influenceon the choice of the proper sampling strategy and tactic, as well ason the most suitable methods, indicators and indices to be used.Although much of the work in the field of forest health and airpollution has concentrated on surveys on crown transparency anddiscoloration, there is an entire range of methods, indicators andindices developed to assess the health status of forests. The decisionas to which ones should be used will depend on the aim of theprogram and on economic and practical considerations. A furtherconsideration concerns the time span of the program, but anydecision in this field is subject to many limitations due to difficultiesin predicting future monitoring needs. All these points should becarefully considered and implemented according to a rigorousQuality Assurance procedure since any decision will influence futurework for many years.     

Application of environmentally conscious manufacturing strategies for an automotive component

Application of appropriate environmentally conscious manufacturing strategies enables the sustainable development of products and processes. Automotive component manufacturers recognise the potential of applying appropriate strategies for attaining Triple Bottom Line benefits. In this context, three strategies such as eco-efficiency, waste minimisation and material efficiency are being applied to minimise environmental impacts associated with the manufacture of automotive products and its associated processes. A case study of an automotive component manufacturing firm has been exemplified. After conducting the study, the potential environmental impact was reduced by 20% and eco-efficiency was improved by 13%. Further, improvements have been observed in terms of overall resource consumption and material efficiency. The overall power consumption was reduced by 18% and weight of the component was reduced by 11%. The study aimed at improving the sustainable performance of product by incorporating green and environmentally friendlier manufacturing practices.

Abbreviations: USEPA: United Nations Environmental Protection Agency; OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; WBCSD: World Business Council for Sustainable Development; Eco-QFD: Environmental Quality Function Deployment; WCED: World Commission on Environment and Development; LCA: Life Cycle Assessment