A Combined Park Management Framework Based on Regulatory and Behavioral Strategies: Use of Visitors' Knowledge to Assess Effectiveness

In light of the increasing mandate for greater efficiency in conservation of natural reserves such as national parks, the present study suggests educational approaches as a tool to achieve conservation purposes. Currently, the management of human–wildlife interactions is dominated by regulatory strategies, but considerable potential exists for environmental education to enhance knowledge in the short run and to prompt attitude change in the long run. A framework for conservation based on both traditional regulatory- and behavior-oriented strategies was proposed whereby the level of knowledge that park visitors have acquired comprises an obvious outcome and establishes a basis upon which the effectiveness of regulatory- and behavior-based regimes could be assessed. The perceptions regarding park-related issues of two distinct visitor groups (locals and nonlocals) are summarized from a survey undertaken in Vikos-Aoos national park. The findings suggest a superficial knowledge for certain concepts but little profound understanding of the content of such concepts, indicating that knowledge-raising efforts should go a long way towards establishing a positive attitude for the resource. Visitors' poor knowledge of the park's operation regulation contest the efficiency of the presently dominant regulatory management regime. While geographical distances did not appear to significantly differentiate knowledge between the two groups, wilderness experience (as certified by visits to other parks) was proved to be an impetus for generating substantial learner interest in critical park issues among nonlocal visitors. School education and media were found to be significant knowledge providers.     

Ammonia abatement and its impact on emissions of nitrous oxide and methane—Part 2: application for Europe

Agriculture is an important source of NH₃, which contributes to acidification and eutrophication, as well as emissions of the greenhouse gases CH₄ and N₂O. Because of their common sources, emission reduction measures for one of these gases may affect emissions of others. These interrelations are often ignored in policy making. This study presents an analysis of the effects of measures to reduce NH₃ emissions on emissions of N₂O and CH₄ from agriculture in Europe. The analysis combines information from the NH₃ module of the Regional Air pollution INformation and Simulation (RAINS) model for Europe with the IPCC method for national greenhouse gas inventories. The IPCC method for estimating agricultural emissions of N₂O and CH₄ is adjusted in order to use it in combination with the RAINS database for the European agricultural sector. As an example, we applied the adjusted method to the agricultural sector in the Netherlands and found that application of several NH₃ abatement options may result in a substantial increase in N₂O emissions while the effect on CH₄ emissions is relatively small. In Part 2 of this paper we focus on the resulting emissions for all European countries for 1990 and 2010.     

The non-target organism Caenorhabditis elegans withstands the impact of sulfamethoxazole

The widespread usage of antibiotics in agriculture leads to releases into the environment, but there is insufficient knowledge of the side-effects on non-target organisms. Therefore, we investigated the effects of the sulfonamide-antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX) on Caenorhabditis elegans at phenotypic, biochemical and molecular biological levels. Multiple endpoints, including life history traits, thermal stress resistance and lipid peroxidation, as well as gene expression profiles, were determined after exposure of the nematodes to SMX. In contrast to expectations, SMX prolonged the lifespan and increased both the body size and pharynx pumping rate. On the other hand, SMX delayed reproductive timing and caused lipid peroxidation. The total number of offspring and thermal stress resistance were unaffected. The up-regulation of hsp-16.1 indicated stress in general and the increased lipid peroxidation oxidative stress in particular. This oxidative stress indicated that mitohormesis was the likely cause of the longevity and that enhanced pumping frequency was probably the reason for the increased growth. The sole adverse effect was delayed initial reproduction. This delay, however, can be crucial for r-strategists, such as the bacterivorous model animal used, in sustaining their populations in the environment in the presence of predators. Bacterivorous animals, in turn, are essential to maintaining nutrient recycling via the microbial loop.     

Proactive limit values for responsible management of chemicals

Limit values (LVs) are legal concentration limits for constituents, residues and contaminants in consumer products or for emissions from production processes into environmental compartments. They are a traditional regulatory aid to manage chemicals in human environments. To make them proactive, LVs should become enforced by means of a transparent and informed decision process whose starting point is the Basic Rule of Environmental Hygiene, BREH:Avoid useless exposure as far as possible, minimize useful exposure in a reasonable manner, and prevent that exposure which is dangerous. The BREH calls upon minimizing exposure not only according toon site risk potentials and acceptance, but also tooff site avoidability and acceptability.     

The evolution of CSR life-history strategies in a plant model with explicit physiology and architecture

This paper introduces a functional-structural plant model based on artificial life concepts and L-systems. This model takes into account realistic physiological rules, the architecture of the plants and their demography. An original benefit of this approach is that it allows the simulation of plant evolution at both functional and life-history levels implementing mutations to the L-systems and a set of genetic parameter values. The conducted experiments focus on the evolutionary emergence of different life history strategies in an environment with heterogeneous resource availability and disturbance frequency. It is found that, depending on the encountered conditions, the plants develop three major strategies classified as competitors, stress-tolerators and ruderals according to Grime's CSR theory. Most of the evolved characteristics comply with theoretical biology or field observations on natural plants. Besides these results, our modelling framework is highly flexible and many refinements can be readily implemented depending on the issues one intends to address. Moreover, the model can readily be used to address many questions at the interface between evolutionary ecology, plant functional and community ecologies and ecosystem ecology.     

Analysis of CO2 emissions peak: China’s objective and strategy

Establishing positive and urgent targets for CO₂ reduction and emission peak, and promoting energy conservation and energy structure adjustment are among the strategies to address global climate change and CO₂ emissions reduction. They are also means to break through the constraints of domestic resources and environment, and internal needs, to achieve sustainable development. Generally speaking, a country's CO₂ emission peak appears after achieving urbanization and industrialization. By then, connotative economic growth will appear, GDP will grow slowly, energy consumption elasticity will decrease, and energy consumption growth will slow down – dependent mainly on new and renewable energies. Fossil fuel consumption will not increase further. When CO₂ emission reaches its peak, the annual reduction rate of CO₂ intensity of GDP is greater than GDP annual growth rate; and the annual reduction rate of CO₂ intensity of energy use is greater than the annual growth rate of energy consumption. Therefore, three important approaches to promotion of CO₂ emission peak can be concluded: maintaining reasonable control of GDP growth, strengthening energy conservation to significantly reduce the GDP energy intensity, and optimizing the energy mix to reduce the CO₂ intensity of energy use. By around 2030, China will basically have completed its rapid development phase of industrialization and urbanization. Connotative economic growth will appear with the acceleration of industrial structure adjustment. The target of GDP energy intensity will still be to maintain an average annual reduction of 3% or higher. The proportion of non-fossil fuels will reach 20–25%, and the aim will be to maintain an average annual growth rate of 6–8%. The total annual energy demand growth of 1.5% will be satisfied by the newly increased supply of non-fossil fuels. The annual decline in CO₂ intensity of GDP will reach 4.5% or higher, which is compatible with an average annual GDP growth rate of approximately 4.5% in order to reach CO₂ emission peak. This corresponds to the level of China's potential economic growth. Achieving CO₂ emission peak will not impose a rigid constraint on economic development, but rather promote economic development and accelerate the transformation of green, low-carbon development. The CO₂ emission peak can be controlled with a cap of 11 billion tons, which means that CO₂ emission will increase by less than 50% compared with 2010. The per capita emission peak will be controlled at a level of less than 8 tons, which is lower than the 9.5 tons in the EU and Japan and much lower than the 20 tons in the US, future economic and social development faces many uncertainties in achieving the CO₂ emission peak discussed above. It depends on current and future strategies and policies, as well as the pace and strength of economic transformation, innovation, and new energy technologies. If the economic transformation pattern fails to meet expectations, the time required to reach CO₂ emission peak would be delayed and the peak level would be higher than expected. Therefore, we need to coordinate thoughts and ideas and deploy these in advance; to highlight the strategic position of low-carbon development and its priorities; to enact mid- to long-term energy development strategies; and to establish and improve a system of laws, regulations, and policies as well as an implementation mechanism for green, low-carbon development. Oriented by positive and urgent CO₂ reduction and peak targets, the government would form a reversed mechanism to promote economic transformation and embark on the path of green, low-carbon development as soon as possible.     

Mapping out the design opportunities: pathways of sustainable behaviour

To advance the area of design for sustainable behaviour (DfSB), a common behaviour terminology is needed to enable comparisons of studies across application areas. Thus, the map of pathways of sustainable behaviour was created with the aim of charting different paths that users can follow to reduce environmental impact when interacting with artefacts. The construction of the map results from a comparative analysis of sustainable behaviours identified in previous studies in conjunction with a review of existing behaviour classifications. The proposed map of pathways gives a comprehensive overview of all artefact-related resource-consuming usage behaviours, organised according to a design perspective and divided with regard to aspects of use and obtainment, primary and secondary artefact, duration and type of effort. Through design, the user can be encouraged to take any of the five identified paths: choice of artefact, changed use, maintenance and repair, mediated use and regulated artefact. Using the map in a DfSB process can guide the exploration phase and highlight potential design opportunities when choosing target behaviour. If adopted by the DfSB community, the united typology of the map also provides means necessary to make rigorous comparisons and develop the field and its tools.     

Identification of PM sources by principal component analysis (PCA) coupled with wind direction data

The effectiveness of combining principal component analysis (PCA) with multi-linear regression (MLRA) and wind direction data was demonstrated in this study. PM data from three grain-size fractions from a highly industrialised area in Northern Spain were analysed. Seven independent PM sources were identified by PCA: steel (Pb, Zn, Cd, Mn) and pigment (Cr, Mo, Ni) manufacture, road dust (Fe, Ba, Cd), traffic exhaust (P, OC + EC), regional-scale transport (, , V), crustal contributions (Al2O3, Sr, K) and sea spray (Na, Cl). The spatial distribution of the sources was obtained by coupling PCA with wind direction data, which helped identify regional drainage flows as the main source of crustal material. The same analysis showed that the contribution of motorway traffic to PM10 levels is 4-5 microg m-3 higher than that of local traffic. The coupling of PCA-MLRA with wind direction data proved thus to be useful in extracting further information on source contributions and locations. Correct identification and characterisation of PM sources is essential for the design and application of effective abatement strategies.     

Human Impacts on Land Cover and Water Balances in a Coastal Mediterranean County

We analyzed the effects of changes in land cover on the water balance in Spain’s Marina Baixa County, on the Mediterranean coast. To reveal how different land management strategies have affected the area’s environment, four municipalities within the same catchment were studied: Benidorm, Callosa d’en Sarrià, Beniardà, and Guadalest. In the municipalities of Callosa and Benidorm, the proportion of the area covered by woodland declined by 4.2% and 30.2%, respectively, and woodland was replaced by agriculture and urban development. The abandonment of farmland produced a 17% increase in the proportion of the area covered by vegetation in Guadalest and Beniardá, where frequent forest fires have exacerbated a decrease in the area of pine woodland. Tourism development in Benidorm has been accompanied by an increase in the transportation infrastructure and by an expansion of areas with an impermeable surface, with the lowest level of infiltration into the aquifer system. These changes have generated a net water deficit in Callosa and Benidorm of more than 6 Mm³/year, creating a high demand for water imported from other municipalities (Guadalest and Beniardá) or from outside of the county to maintain the sustainability of the current water management strategies. The Marina Baixa case study is representative of many of the world’s coastal areas that are undergoing rapid urban development based on an inappropriate understanding of human progress based mainly on economic development and thus provides insights into water management in other areas.     

关于完善我国医疗废物无害化处置和管理的政策思考

该文全面分析了我国医疗废物管理与处理、处置现状、政策法规贯彻执行情况和能力建设情况。医疗废物,作为危险废物管理中相对独立的一个重要组成部分,在我国得到了高度的重视。“十一五”期间,法律、法规的支撑体系趋于完善,环保、卫生分工合作的管理体制基本形成,医疗废物集中处置设施建设取得突破,城市医疗废物处置率快速上升。不过,医疗废物污染防治工作依然严峻。医疗废物环境无害化管理作依然存在医疗废物分类体系不当、收运处置体系不完善、监管能力不足、疫情应急能力缺乏等问题,东中西部地区、城市与偏远农村地区的设施水平、管理能力的差异还较大。对此,作者建议将医疗废物无害化处置纳入“十二五”环境保护规划范围,完善医废分类,规范收集和后续处理、处置,并从完善医疗废物分类和收集管理、全方位提高无害处处置水平、推进设施规范运行和整改淘汰、提升疫情应急应对能力等方面提出了政策建议。