Water Resource Management in Botswana: Balancing Sustainability and Economic Development*

Botswana is a rapidly developing country in southern Africa. Over the last three decades, diamond mining and tourism have provided double-digit rates of economic growth. Yet most of Botswana’s land is in the Kalahari desert where the climate is subject to sustained periods of severe drought. In this environment, water resources are the most crucial of all environmental resources. Water use directly affects economic development because water utilization impacts all the major national economic sectors. A sustainable water use resource management plan must stretch several decades into the future to assure the availability of adequate supplies of water to future generations while not compromising the ability of the current generation to reasonable rates of economic development. Yet thinking about sustainability is present in Botswana water policy mostly only in rhetoric. A series of cultural traditions and political constraints, coupled with bureaucratic managerial weaknesses, serve to maintain a system of water allocation that is unsustainable in the long run and inefficient in the short-term. Unless sustainable water use patterns are adopted, the results for the short-term, as well as the long-term, will be devastating. Drawing on data obtained through a series of interviews with government officials, leaders of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and water resource researchers, this paper explores water policy in Botswana within the larger context of sustainable natural resource management practice and the pressures of economic development. This research was partially funded under U.S. Department of State, College and University Affiliations Grant # ASCS-1095.     

陕西渭南地区土地生产潜力及其人口承载量

本文以多年大量的资源考察、经济统计资料为依据,运用系统动力学方法,通过建立包括土地资源、水资源和种植业、畜牧业、渔业等为主的土地生产潜力模型及人口发展预测模型,对未来40年渭南地区不同投入状况下土地生产潜力及其不同消费水平下的人口承载量,作了趋势性定量分析和预测,并得出渭南地区具有较大的土地潜在人口支持能力的基本结论。     

Cytogenetic analysis of trophoblasts by comparative genomic hybridization in embryo-fetal development anomalies

Cytogenetic studies of spontaneous abortions or intrauterine fetal death depend on conventional tissue culturing and karyotyping. This technique has limitations such as culture failure and selective growth of maternal cells. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) using specific probes permits diagnosis of aneuploidies but is limited to one or a few chromosomal regions. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) provides an overview of chromosomal gains and losses in a single hybridization directly from DNA samples. In a prospective study, we analyzed by CGH trophoblast cells from 21 fetuses in cases of spontaneous abortions, intrauterine fetal death or polymalformed syndrome. Six numerical chromosomal abnormalities including one trisomy 7, one trisomy 10, three trisomies 18, one trisomy 21 and one monosomy X have been correctly identified by CGH. One structural abnormality of the long arm of chromosome 1 has been characterized by CGH. One triploidy and two balanced pericentromeric inversions of chromosome 9 have not been identified by CGH. Sexual chromosomal constitutions were concordant by both classical cytogenetic technique and CGH. Contribution of trophoblast analysis by CGH in embryo-fetal development anomalies is discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

长江三角洲城市旅游与城市发展协调性及影响因素

城市旅游业作为城市服务业的重要部门,是推动城市发展的后续动力。运用信息熵赋权法和TOPSIS法相结合,从经济水平、社会发展、公共交通、城市绿化、环境保护、旅游发展6个方面对长江三角洲2003年和2008年的城市旅游与城市发展的协调性进行分析,借助ArcGIS软件的空间聚类法分析了城市旅游与城市发展协调水平的空间格局及演变,最后探讨影响因素。结果表明:长江三角洲16城市的城市旅游协调水平在研究期间相对稳定,具体可被划分为4个等级,第一、二等级城市数量较少,得分显著高于第三、四等级城市。城市旅游协调水平空间上存在较大差异,北部城市得分高于南部城市,基本格局保持稳定,呈现以上海、南京、杭州三个城市为核心向外围边缘城市的空间衰减。产业发展、城市旅游发展模式、城市旅游重大项目投资、区位条件是长江三角洲城市旅游协调水平产生空间分化的主要影响因素,可制定以城市旅游发展为手段的方式推动城市发展,促进区域均衡发展。     

活性污泥对四环素的吸附性能研究

通过批量平衡法研究了四环素在活性污泥上的吸附行为.结果表明,污泥混合液浓度和四环素初始浓度对吸附平衡时间、污泥吸附量和污泥吸附率均有较大影响.伪二级反应动力学模型较伪一级反应动力学模型更符合本吸附实验.在10、25℃条件下,四环素在活性污泥上的吸附行为较符合Langmuir模型,最大吸附量分别是31.14、70.95 mg.g-1;在40℃下,符合Henry模型.应用D-R模型判定吸附类型,10℃(平均吸附能为9.13 kJ.mol-1)下,化学吸附占主导;40℃(平均吸附能为7.07 kJ.mol-1)下,物理吸附占主导.温度升高,污泥对四环素的吸附能力增大.离子交换是四环素在活性污泥上吸附的一种机制.四环素的初始浓度为5、10、20 mg.L-1,钠离子浓度由0 mol.L-1增加到0.1 mol.L-1时,吸附量分别下降15.32%、15.00%、20.12%.当pH在5～10之间时,pH为6的条件下污泥对四环素的吸附量最大.     

Effects of rare earth elements La and Yb on the morphological and functional development of zebrafish embryos

In recent years, with the wide applications and mineral exploitation of rare earth elements, their potential environmental and health effects have caused increasing public concern. Effect of rare earth elements La and Yb on the morphological and functional development of zebrafish embryos were studied. The embryos were exposed to La³⁺ or Yb³⁺ at 0, 0.01, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 mmol/L, respectively. Early life stage parameters such as egg and embryo mortality, gastrula development, tail detachment, eyes, somite formation, circulatory system, pigmentation, malformations, hatching rate, length of larvae and mortality were investigated. The results showed La³⁺ and Yb³⁺ delayed zebrafish embryo and larval development, decreased survival and hatching rates, and caused tail malformation in a concentration-dependent way. Moreover, heavy rare-earth ytterbium led to more severe acute toxicity of zebrafish embryo than light rare-earth lanthanum.     

Absorption characteristics of new solvent based on a blend of AMP and 1,8-diamino-p-menthane for CO2 absorption

Aqueous 1,8-diamino-p-menthane (KIER-C3) and commercially available amine solutions were tested for CO₂ absorption. A 2-amino- 2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) solution with an addition of KIER-C3 showed 9.3% and 31.6% higher absorption rate for CO₂ than the AMP solution with an addition of monoethanolamine (MEA) and ammonia (NH₃), respectively. The reaction rate constant for CO₂ absorption by the AMP/KIER-C3 solution was determined by the following equation: k_2,AMP/C3 = 7.702×10⁶ exp (-2248.03/T). A CO₂ loading ratio of the AMP/KIER-C3 solution was also 2 and 3.4-times higher than that of the AMP/NH3 solution and the AMP/MEA solution, respectively. Based on the experimental results, KIER-C3 may be used as an excellent additive to increase CO₂ absorption capability of AMP.     

野鸭湖湿地挺水植物磷素截留量动态变化分析

野鸭湖湿地位于官厅水库上游,在截留养分、预防水库水体富营养化方面发挥着重要作用.通过野鸭湖湿地中4种优势挺水植物(茭白、扁秆藨草、香蒲、芦苇)的分布区域研究,分析了植物生物量及养分元素磷含量随季节的动态变化特征,得到了研究区域内4种挺水植物对磷素截留总量的动态变化.结果表明,研究区域内4种优势挺水植物地上部分磷含量为茭白>香蒲>扁秆藨草>芦苇;地下部分磷含量呈现茭白>扁秆藨草>香蒲>芦苇的分布特点;4种植物的地上部分和地下部分磷含量均随生长季节而降低;4种植物的单位面积磷素蓄积能力存在明显差异,表现为茭白>香蒲>扁秆藨草>芦苇的规律,其单位面积蓄积峰值依次为4910、4140、2190和1390g.m-2;研究区域内挺水植物磷素蓄积总量在夏季达到峰值2210.8kg,最小值出现在冬季,为1263.5kg;区域内上、中、下游挺水植物的磷素截留总量依次递减.     

长治市社会经济发展与环境质量变化相关趋势分析

系统阐述了长治市的社会经济发展及主要环境污染指标的变化趋势,利用库兹涅茨曲线对二者相互关系进行了相关性分析。     

生态文明与可持续发展关系探讨

本文从生态文明内涵和可持续发展本质出发,对生态文明和可持续发展之关系进行了初步探讨,这对于坚持科学发展观、走可持续发展道路,提高生态文明和尊重自然的认识,建设和谐社会,促进生态文明建设具有重要意义。