Improving collaboration in the implementation of global biodiversity conventions

Eight conventions make up the biodiversity cluster of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) that provide the critical international legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of nature. However, concerns about the rate of implementation of the conventions at the national level have triggered discussions about the effectiveness of these MEAs in halting the loss of biodiversity. Two main concerns have emerged: lack of capacity and resources and lack of coherence in implementing multiple conventions. We focused on the latter and considered the mechanisms by which international conventions are translated into national policy. Specifically, we examined how the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and the associated Aichi Biodiversity Targets have functioned as a unifying grand plan for biodiversity conservation. This strategic plan has been used to coordinate and align targets to promote and enable more effective implementation across all biodiversity-related conventions. Results of a survey of 139 key stakeholders from 88 countries suggests streamlining across ministries and agencies, improved coordination mechanisms with all relevant stakeholders, and better knowledge sharing between conventions could improve cooperation among biodiversity-related conventions. The roadmap for improving synergies among conventions agreed to at the 13th Convention on Biological Diversity's Conference of Parties in 2016 includes actions such as mechanisms to avoid duplication in national reporting and monitoring on conventions and capacity building related to information and knowledge sharing. We suggest the scientific community can actively engage and contribute to the policy process by establishing a science-policy platform to address knowledge gaps; improving data gathering, reporting, and monitoring; developing indicators that adequately support implementation of national plans and strategies; and providing evidence-based recommendations to policy makers. The latter will be particularly important as 2020 approaches and work to develop a new biodiversity agenda for the next decade is beginning.     

Economic Conditions,the Policy Cycle,and Media Visibility of Environmental Organizations

The extent to which social movements have access to the news media has important implications on the capability of social movements to communicate with and garner support from the public. Factors that shape movement organizations' media visibility thus deserve scholarly attention. This article deals with news coverage of environmental movement organizations (EMOs) in Hong Kong and focuses on the impact of economic conditions, the policy cycle, and the number of EMOs in society on media visibility of EMOs. Analysis of a data-set constructed based on archival data and official statistics illustrates that all three factors influence media visibility of EMOs through media attention to environmental issues, while the number of EMOs and economic conditions also affect media visibility of EMOs directly. In-depth interview data are then used to supplement the quantitative analysis by showing how movement activists perceive and respond strategically to the structural factors. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Effect of variable fishing strategy on fisheries under changing effort and pressure: An agent-based model application

An agent-based model was used to evaluate the response of a two-species fish community to fishing boat exploration strategies, namely: boats following high-yield boats (Cartesian); boats fishing at random sites (stochast-random); and boats fishing at least exploited sites (stochast-pressure). At low fishing pressure, the stochast-random mode yielded a high average catch per boat while sustaining fish biomass. At high fishing pressure, the Cartesian mode was more effective. For the Cartesian strategy, fish biomass exhibited four distinct behaviors with increasing number of boats. In the first phase, the fish biomass dropped with increasing number of boats due to a corresponding rise in biomass extraction. Rapid exploitation occurred in the second phase, when two or more boats occupied the same initial area, that led to the faster abandonment of those sites which then underwent biomass recovery. In the third phase, adding more boats resulted in a fluctuating stock biomass, where the combined effects of initial spatial distribution of boats and rapid localization led to either full stock recovery when boats were eventually confined to a single location due to spillovers, or stock extirpation when the entire area became fully occupied. Beyond the third phase, stock extirpation was assured. In order to break the pattern of localization (bandwagon effect), we introduced stochast-random intruders in a Cartesian-dominated fishery. Adding a single intruder changed the patchy-structured stock biomass pattern of a purely Cartesian fishery to a uniformly explored stock biomass pattern because of the additional spatial information provided by the intruder. Consequently, the average catch per boat increased but at the expense of a disproportionate decline in equilibrium biomass.     

纳米颗粒物对雄性生殖系统影响的研究进展

纳米颗粒物因其独特的性质(表面效应、量子尺寸效应和宏观量子隧道效应),在化学、力学、电磁、光学以及生物医学等方面得到了广泛的应用。由于纳米颗粒物具有特殊的性质,使其更容易进入机体并对机体产生生物学效应,其对人体的潜在危害也已逐渐引起人们的关注。生殖健康作为健康的一个重要部分,关系着人类的繁衍与发展,因此纳米颗粒物对生殖系统的影响也逐渐引起人们的重视。本文主要总结了近几年来纳米颗粒物对雄性生殖系统影响的研究,为进一步的研究提供建议和帮助。     

纳米材料对鼠科动物的生殖毒性及致毒机理

纳米材料是近几年应用越来越多的一种新型材料,因此国内外科研单位对其毒性的研究也逐年增加。但是目前对鼠科动物生殖毒性及其机理的了解还相对较少,亟需大量研究填补此领域的空白。本文主要从亲代和子代2个方面阐述了纳米材料对鼠科动物的生殖毒性,从不同生物水平等方面概述了纳米材料对亲子两代鼠科动物的损伤效应及可能的机制。最后,试探性地提出了今后在纳米材料领域对鼠科动物生殖毒性的研究重点。     

联苯菊酯暴露对雌性褐菖鲉卵巢发育的影响及其毒性机制

联苯菊酯是农业、园林等领域应用广泛的拟除虫菊酯类杀虫剂,然而有关联苯菊酯对鱼类生殖毒性的研究却很少。以常见的近海鱼类褐菖鲉为受试对象,探讨联苯菊酯对鱼类卵巢发育的影响及机制。褐菖鲉在以环境相关浓度(1、10、100 ng·L~(-1))的联苯菊酯暴露50 d后,各暴露组卵巢生殖细胞发育均受到显著抑制,卵巢17β-雌二醇与睾酮含量均出现下降,caspase-3活性呈剂量依赖性上升。相对定量PCR分析显示,卵巢雌激素受体(ERβ)mRNA水平下降。结果表明,联苯菊酯诱导细胞产生凋亡,导致雌、雄激素水平和雌激素受体表达下降,环境剂量作用下对褐菖鲉卵巢发育具有显著影响。     

Protective effects of curcumin on antioxidant status,body weight gain,and reproductive parameters in male rats exposed to subchronic 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of curcumin (CUR) on antioxidant status, body weight (BW) gains, and some reproductive parameters in male rats exposed to subchronic doses of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Thirty-two rats were divided into four groups. The first group was kept as control. The second group (TCDD group) was given TCDD at a dose of 50 ng·kg^?1 BW per day; the third group (CUR group) was treated with CUR at a dose of 80 mg·kg^?1 BW per day. The fourth group (TCDD + CUR group) was given TCDD and CUR at the same doses simultaneously. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were significantly increased in the TCDD group. In addition, TCDD exposure decreased liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, catalase (CAT) activities of kidney and brain, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities of liver, kidney, and brain, and glutathione levels of liver, kidney, and heart. However, CUR treatment with TCDD exposure decreased MDA levels in all tissues and increased SOD activities of liver, kidney, and brain, CAT activity of heart, and GSH-Px activities of heart and brain. TCDD caused a decrease in BW gain, and CUR partially eliminated this effect of TCDD. In addition, while reproductive organ weights, sperm concentration, and sperm motility tended to decrease with TCDD exposure, these effects tended to be close to normal levels by CUR treatment. In conclusion, CUR was seen to be effective in the treatment and prevention of toxicity induced by subchronic TCDD exposure.     

磁流变阻尼器结构控制策略研究进展

磁流变阻尼器(Magnetorheological Damper,简称MR阻尼器)是一种在振动控制领域中表现出巨大应用潜力的智能型驱动装置,它主要是根据输入电压(电流)的变化产生趋近于最优主动控制力的阻尼力。本文详细综述了MR阻尼器控制策略的研究现状,分析了各种控制策略的优缺点。探讨了如何充分发挥不同电压下的MR阻尼器耗能能力,指出神经网络和模糊逻辑等智能技术的应用是解决这一问题的有效途径。     

Complexity,continuity and change: livelihood resilience in the Darfur region of Sudan

Darfur farming and pastoralist livelihoods are both adaptations to the environmental variability that characterises the region. This article describes this adaptation and the longer‐term transformation of these specialised livelihoods from the perspective of local communities. Over several decades farmers and herders have experienced a continuous stream of climate, conflict and other shocks, which, combined with wider processes of change, have transformed livelihoods and undermined livelihood institutions. Their well‐rehearsed specialist strategies are now combined with new strategies to cope. These responses help people get by in the short term but risk antagonising not only their specialist strategies but also those of others. A combination of factors has undermined the former integration between farming and pastoralism and their livelihood institutions. Efforts to build resilience in similar contexts must take a long‐term view of livelihood adaptation as a specialisation, and consider the implications of new strategies for the continuity and integration of livelihood specialisations.     

Efficient regional ozone control strategies for the eastern United States

When environmental regulatory bodies formulate control plans, it is incumbent upon them to try to achieve the stated goals in an economically efficient manner. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is presently developing regulations to limit the influence of transported ozone on areas that are having difficulty meeting the ambient air quality standard. EPA has proposed stringent control measures for emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in 22 states of the eastern US. The strategy would necessitate the use of selective catalytic reduction or similar high-performance technology on almost all major power plants in the region, as well as extensive controls on industrial sources. This paper suggests several alternative approaches that would achieve equal or better environmental improvement at lower cost. These include focusing control efforts on sources closer to the North-east Corridor, pushing controls on close-in sources to a higher level of technology performance, and relaxing the stringency of requirements for states remote from ozone problem areas. All the approaches examined are two to three times more cost-effective than EPA's proposed approach in the North-east Corridor.