Expanding Kenya's protected areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity to maximize coverage of plant diversity

Biodiversity is highly valuable and critically threatened by anthropogenic degradation of the natural environment. In response, governments have pledged enhanced protected‐area coverage, which requires scarce biological data to identify conservation priorities. To assist this effort, we mapped conservation priorities in Kenya based on maximizing alpha (species richness) and beta diversity (species turnover) of plant communities while minimizing economic costs. We used plant‐cover percentages from vegetation surveys of over 2000 plots to build separate models for each type of diversity. Opportunity and management costs were based on literature data and interviews with conservation organizations. Species richness was predicted to be highest in a belt from Lake Turkana through Mount Kenya and in a belt parallel to the coast, and species turnover was predicted to be highest in western Kenya and along the coast. Our results suggest the expanding reserve network should focus on the coast and northeastern provinces of Kenya, where new biological surveys would also fill biological data gaps. Meeting the Convention on Biological Diversity target of 17% terrestrial coverage by 2020 would increase representation of Kenya's plant communities by 75%. However, this would require about 50 times more funds than Kenya has received thus far from the Global Environment Facility.     

A binational, supply-side evaluation for managing water quality and invasive fouling species on California's coastal boats

Integrated solutions are needed for sustainable management of risks posed by recreational boats to coastal water quality and ecosystems. Fouling organisms roughen vessel hull surfaces, creating friction that slows sailboats and increases fuel consumption by powerboats. Hull fouling control strategies for recreational boats that are stored in the water may include antifouling hull paints, newer alternative hull coatings, periodic in-water hull cleaning, and excluding propagules by surrounding the boat with a slip liner or raising it above water on a lift. Copper discharged to harbor waters from antifouling paints via passive leaching and in-water hull cleaning may elevate dissolved copper levels above government standards. Invasive species carried among boat-hull fouling organisms may be introduced as boats move among coastal areas. Some of these species tolerate copper in antifouling paints and copper-polluted harbor waters. Policy development must consider supply-side capacity, as well as economic and environmental sustainability, in managing these issues. This paper presents a supply-side evaluation useful in developing policies to co-manage water quality and invasive species risks for recreational boats navigating along the coasts of California, the Baja California peninsula and California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Supply-side perspectives on services, materials, costs, and boat owner behaviors, such as residence and travel patterns, awareness of hull-coating choices and selection of hull coatings, are determined. Analyses include evaluation of risks, risk management capacity and costs, and role of education in risk management. The issues raised are broadly applicable, as they are appearing on research and policy agendas in diverse coastal areas.     

Benefits, efforts and risks of participants in landscape co-management: an analytical framework and results from two case studies in Austria

Participatory processes in general and also in relation to managing landscape issues are gathering importance mostly due to arguments surrounding legitimacy and effectiveness in decision-making. The main aim of this research, based on a transaction costs perspective, is to present an integrated analytical framework in order to determine individual efforts (time, money), benefits and risks of participants in landscape co-management processes. Furthermore a reflection on the analytical approach developed and arising lessons to be learned for landscape co-management are presented. In the analytical framework benefit-components comprise of factors such as 'contributing to landscape maintenance/development and nature protection', 'representing one's interest group', 'co-deciding on relevant topics', 'providing and broadening one's knowledge' and 'building networks'. The risks of participation are related to a lack of information and agreements, missing support and actual decision-making power. The analytical framework is applied to two case studies in Austria: an EU LIFE-Nature project and a Cultural Landscape Project of the Provincial Government of Lower Austria. Analysis of the effort-benefit-relations provides an indication for a more effective design of co-management. Although the processes are rated as quite adequate, there is a low willingness of participants to commit additional time to co-management processes. In contrast to the Cultural Landscape Project, in the LIFE-Nature project, professionally involved persons participate next to partly and full volunteers. These uneven conditions of participation and an unfair distribution of transaction costs, jeopardize the promising chances co-management bears for landscape governance.     

火电机组湿法石灰石-石膏烟气脱硫成本与综合效益分析

选择单机为300、600、1000MW的火电机组,分别分析了含硫量在0．5％～3．00％范围内,火电机组脱硫成本的变化情况;并以单机300MW火电机组为例分析了给火电机组脱硫后产生的经济效益,最后简单探讨了电力行业烟气脱硫带来的环境效益。结果表明：对于同一火电机组,随着煤炭含硫量的增加,其脱硫成本呈下降趋势;当煤炭合硫量相同时,火电装机容量越大,其脱硫成本越小;而且火电机组脱硫后每年获得净利润远大于其脱硫成本,同时能够产生较大的环境效益。     

国外巨额污染损害赔偿对我国环境法制的启示

近来国内外连续发生重大污染事件,尤其国外发生的重大环境污染事故法律处理结果引人关注。案例对比分析表明,在对环境污染的执法处罚方面,我国与国外存在明显差距,包括:国内处罚标准偏低,国外重罚趋势形成;国内污染损失难定,国外评估制度完善;国内企业违法成本偏低,国外政府出面进行索赔。因此,我国应当通过对污染企业实施司法赔偿来强化环境法制权威:一是靠赔偿提高违法成本;二是靠诉讼树立法制权威;三是靠政府索赔生态环境损害。     

污水深度处理臭氧氧化系统工程造价分析

系统掌握污水深度处理臭氧氧化系统的工程造价构成及其影响因素对降低其工程造价具有重要意义。详细分析了臭氧发生、臭氧投加、臭氧接触反应及臭氧尾气处理等污水深度处理臭氧氧化系统4个子系统的工程造价构成及其影响因素,结果表明:臭氧发生单元的造价所占比重最大,高达60%~70%,其次是臭氧尾气破坏设备(16%~18%)和臭氧投加单元(12%~15%),臭氧接触反应设备的造价所占比重最小,约为3%~5%。影响臭氧氧化系统工程造价的主要因素除处理规模外,还有臭氧投加量、臭氧气体浓度及水力停留时间等工艺参数,其中臭氧投加量和臭氧气体浓度的影响较大。在达到处理要求的情况下,提高臭氧利用率、降低臭氧投加量以及升高臭氧气体浓度,是有效降低臭氧氧化系统工程造价的关键。     

Costs of forestry best management practices in the south: A review

In response to federal and state clean water laws, forestry best management practices (BMPs) have been developed and implemented to prevent nonpoint source water pollution. Ellefson and Miles (1985) found that estimated BMP costs in the Midwest could amount to more than half of the net returns on national forest timber sales. Henly et al. (1988) found that government costs to implement forest practice rules ranged from as little as $100,000 per year in Idaho and Nevada to more than $4 million annually in California. A review of studies in the South indicates that estimated BMP costs have increased over time. Lickwar et al. (1992) estimated Southeast average costs of $12.45 per acre, $2.34 per MBF, or 2.87% of gross stumpage values based on 1987 BMPs and prices. Woodman and Cubbage (1994) estimated Georgia average BMP costs of $24.33 per acre or $3.02 per MBF for forest industry lands and $41.65 per acre or $5.39 per MBF for NIPF lands. For Virginia, Shaffer et al. (1998) estimated median BMP costs of $18.90 per acre. These moderate cost increases could be attributed to a higher level of standards in the revision of each state BMP guidelines manual, as well as moderate price inflation. BMPs such as better road construction, water bars, culverts, and broad-based dips have been most expensive so far. To date streamside zones have not been very expensive because the rules allow most of the valuable residual tees to be harvested as long as heavy equipment does not operate near the streams. However, this limitation may become much more difficult and costly – as indicated by Kluender et al. (2000) – as fewer chainsaw fellers and cable skidders are available. Stricter BMPs, such as those already adopted to implement forest certification standards in the South or those used to protect salmon habitat in the West, could prompt more expensive southern BMPs for landowners and state agencies in the future.     

CO2减排潜能和基于边际成本的补偿制度

提出了一种基于CO2排放强度的减排潜能计算方法,根据该方法对我国29个省、直辖市、自治区（不含新疆和西藏）未来减排潜能进行了分析.同时,采用麻省理工学院开发的RPPA模型对我国各个省、直辖市、自治区减排边际成本进行了计算,基于该减排边际成本,提出了省际间CO2补偿制度,并对补偿主体、补偿客体、补偿金额和补偿制度运行提出了建议,以期为我国发展低碳经济,促进各省区公平、协调发展提供借鉴.     

基于广义收益—成本分析的农村面源污染治理策略

应用污染排放系数法、技术经济评价方法,统筹考虑农村面源污染治理的环境效益与经济收益、技术成本与交易费用,构建面向一般区域的农村面源污染治理策略的分析框架与方法.研究表明,2011年宜兴市农村面源污染排放总氮2880.94t,总磷501.19t,水环境经济损失为3.38亿元.耕地测土配方施肥、规模化养殖沼气工程、分散养殖沼气工程和农村生活污水净化工程的净现值率分别为55.00、2.54、0.52、-0.15.综合考虑技术可行性、交易费用和政府管理支撑能力,近期应优先治理规模化养殖和种植业面源污染,分散养殖和农村生活污水污染可作为远期治理重点.     

The humanitarian response costs of climate change

This research attempts to improve understanding of how climate change may affect international humanitarian spending, using existing international databases that track disaster occurrence and humanitarian costs. A range of potential impact scenarios is developed employing four distinct methodological approaches. The findings indicate that climate change will have a significant impact on humanitarian costs and the increase could range from a 32 per cent increase (taking into account only changes in frequency of disasters) to upwards of a 1,600 per cent increase when other criteria, such as intensity, are also taken into account. The paper further highlights that extreme weather events do not occur in isolation and the increasing interconnectedness of world economic and political systems has made disasters more complex and destructive. It makes a number of recommendations, including the need for more rigorous and systematic collection of disaster-related data and more constructive interaction between the humanitarian and climate change communities on future research, planning and action.