Adapting a holistic approach to flood management in the Hawkesbury–Nepean region: complexities and perceptions of the agencies involved

This paper looks into the complexity of managing flood risks in the Hawkesbury–Nepean catchment, Australia. Several aspects are explored: (1) the complexities created by the way different agencies are involved in assessing flood risks; (2) different perceptions on acceptable flood risk level; (3) community engagement in defining acceptable flood risk level; (4) views on a holistic flood risk management plan; and (5) challenges of a centralised information system. This study concludes that the complexity of managing a large catchment is exacerbated by the difference in the way professionals perceive the problem. This has led to (1) different standards for acceptable risks; (2) inconsistent attempt to set up a regional-scale flood management plan beyond the jurisdictional boundaries; (3) absence of a regional-scale agency with licence to share and update information; and (d) lack of forums for dialogue with insurance companies to ensure an integrated approach to flood management.     

城市天然气加气站噪声影响分析及噪声控制技术简

城市天然气加气站位于城市道路和居民区周边。由于加气站地理位置特殊,声源复杂,与周边道路对环境的影响叠加,还要考虑通风散热等问题,噪声治理难度大。目前,国内关于城市天然气加气站的噪声控制研究的报道较少。本研究以合肥市长江西路天然气加气站为例,根据城市天然气加气站加气工艺噪声源及邻近交通噪声对周围环境进行叠加影响预测,根据预测结果和通风散热等工艺要求设计冷却塔安装进风、出风消声器和隔声罩,压缩机安装局部通风隔声罩及压缩机房东墙内安装隔声墙及通风隔声窗等措施。经检验,研究结果好于《工业企业厂界噪声排放标准（GB12348-2008）》中的2类标准的夜间50 dB（A）的标准。该研究设计技术工艺、参数先进合理,费用低且实际简单,为国内天然气加气站噪声预测及治理提供较好的示范作用。     

Balancing urban growth and ecological conservation: A challenge for planning and governance in China

China has high biodiversity and is rapidly urbanizing. However, there is limited understanding of how urban expansion in the country is likely to affect its habitats and biodiversity. In this study, we examine urban expansion patterns and their likely impacts on biodiversity in China by 2030. Our analysis shows that most provinces are expected to experience urban expansion either near their protected areas or in biodiversity hotspots. In a few provinces such as Guangdong in the south, urban expansion is likely to impinge on both protected areas and biodiversity hotspots. We show that policies that could facilitate the integration of natural resource protection into urban planning exist on paper, but the prevailing incentives and institutional arrangements between the central and local governments prevent this kind of integration. Removing these obstacles will be necessary in order to safeguard the country’s rich biodiversity in light of the scale of urbanization underway.     

The four faces of the environmental state: environmental governance regimes in 28 countries

The primary task for the environmental state is to address problems related to the market’s externalisation of environmental costs. It has four main resources at its disposal: regulation, redistribution, organisation, and knowledge generation. The way these four resources are deployed make up a state’s environmental governance arrangements. Using data on environmental regulation, taxes, public administrations, and knowledge production from 28 countries, and a hierarchical cluster analysis, four different types of environmental states are identified: established, emerging, partial, and weak. This is followed by some suggestions for further research on the environmental state in a comparative perspective.     

江西仙女湖流域大型底栖动物群落结构及水质评价

以典型的亚热带大型山地丘陵湖泊——江西省仙女湖研究为例,2014~2015年每月对仙女湖湖区及主要入湖河流进行了大型底栖动物群落的周年动态研究。经鉴定得底栖动物111种,隶属3门53科77属。其中软体动物40种,节肢动物61种,环节动物10种。优势种为中华颤蚓、梨形环棱螺、河蚬、锯齿新米虾、羽摇蚊、粗腹摇蚊属、前突摇蚊属、霍甫水丝蚓。仙女湖大型底栖动物年平息栖息密度为346 ind./m2,年平均生物量为54.26 g/m2;不同区域和季节底栖动物的栖息密度与生物量有显著差异(P0.05),河流型生境R2年平均栖息密度最大,为722 ind./m2。湖泊型生境L4年平均栖息密度最小,为251 ind./m2。1月的平均栖息密度最高,为567 ind./m2,5月平均栖息密度最低,为163 ind./m2。用辛普森多样性指数对不同区域水质进行评价,结果表明,入湖河流和钤阳湖为轻度污染,舞龙湖为中度污染。系统聚类和MDS排序分析表明,大型底栖动物的分布具有环境空间异质性,可以划分为2个群落。     

Legal Framework for Biosphere Reserves as Learning Sites for Sustainable Development: A Comparative Analysis of Ukraine and Sweden

The Biosphere Reserve (BR) concept aims at encouraging sustainable development (SD) towards sustainability on the ground by promoting three core functions: conservation, development, and logistic support. Sweden and Ukraine exemplify the diverse governance contexts that BRs need to cope with. We assessed how the BR concept and its core functions are captured in national legislations. The results show that the core functions are in different ways reflected in legal documents in both countries. While in Ukraine the BR concept is incorporated into legislation, in Sweden the concept is used as a soft law. In Ukraine managers desired stronger legal enforcement, while in Sweden managers avoided emphasis on legislation when collaborating with local stakeholders. Hence, BR implementation have adapted to different political cultures by development of diverse approaches. We conclude that a stronger legal support might not be needed for BRs, rather SD needs to be recognized as an integrated place-based process at multiple levels.     

Comparison of total mercury and methylmercury cycling at five sites using the small watershed approach

The small watershed approach is well-suited but underutilized in mercury research. We applied the small watershed approach to investigate total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) dynamics in streamwater at the five diverse forested headwater catchments of the US Geological Survey Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB) program. At all sites, baseflow THg was generally less than 1ng L(-1) and MeHg was less than 0.2ng L(-1). THg and MeHg concentrations increased with streamflow, so export was primarily episodic. At three sites, THg and MeHg concentration and export were dominated by the particulate fraction in association with POC at high flows, with maximum THg (MeHg) concentrations of 94 (2.56)ng L(-1) at Sleepers River, Vermont; 112 (0.75)ng L(-1) at Rio Icacos, Puerto Rico; and 55 (0.80)ng L(-1) at Panola Mt., Georgia. Filtered (<0.7microm) THg increased more modestly with flow in association with the hydrophobic acid fraction (HPOA) of DOC, with maximum filtered THg concentrations near 5ng L(-1) at both Sleepers and Icacos. At Andrews Creek, Colorado, THg export was also episodic but was dominated by filtered THg, as POC concentrations were low. MeHg typically tracked THg so that each site had a fairly constant MeHg/THg ratio, which ranged from near zero at Andrews to 15% at the low-relief, groundwater-dominated Allequash Creek, Wisconsin. Allequash was the only site with filtered MeHg consistently above detection, and the filtered fraction dominated both THg and MeHg. Relative to inputs in wet deposition, watershed retention of THg (minus any subsequent volatilization) was 96.6% at Allequash, 60% at Sleepers, and 83% at Andrews. Icacos had a net export of THg, possibly due to historic gold mining or frequent disturbance from landslides. Quantification and interpretation of Hg dynamics was facilitated by the small watershed approach with emphasis on event sampling.     

Dynamic modeling of organophosphate pesticide load in surface water in the northern San Joaquin Valley watershed of California

The hydrology, sediment, and pesticide transport components of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) were evaluated on the northern San Joaquin Valley watershed of California. The Nash-Sutcliffe coefficients for monthly stream flow and sediment load ranged from 0.49 to 0.99 over the watershed during the study period of 1992-2005. The calibrated SWAT model was applied to simulate fate and transport processes of two organophosphate pesticides of diazinon and chlorpyrifos at watershed scale. The model generated satisfactory predictions of dissolved pesticide loads relative to the monitoring data. The model also showed great success in capturing spatial patterns of dissolved diazinon and chlorpyrifos loads according to the soil properties and landscape morphology over the large agricultural watershed. This study indicated that curve number was the major factor influencing the hydrology while pesticide fate and transport were mainly affected by surface runoff and pesticide application and in the study area.     

关于习近平生态文明思想的理论与制度创新问题的探讨

习近平生态文明思想源自于三个方面的理论与实践,包括马克思主义关于人与自然关系思想、全面深化改革和依法治国思想,以及相关自然科学和社会科学理论,由此确立了生态文明建设的基本理念和方略、路径保障以及方法、目标和制度。本文从总体上探讨了习近平生态文明思想的理论与制度创新问题,重点剖析了"两山论"与环境经济规律、"生态环境民生福祉""全民行动"与环境社会规律、山水林田湖草生命共同体与生态系统理论之间的内在联系和实践脉络,梳理了共谋全球生态文明建设与全球环境治理的思想和实践进程,进一步明确了习近平生态文明思想与社会主义生态文明建设总布局的关系和重大意义。     

基于L-THIA模型的四川省濑溪河流域非点源污染负荷分析

非点源污染是造成流域水环境恶化的重要原因之一,掌握非点源污染的时空分布特征是流域水环境污染防治和流域综合管理的基础性工作.为落实国家《水污染防治行动计划》,四川省启动了濑溪河等流域综合治理达标方案编制工作,探明濑溪河流域非点源污染负荷及其分布特征是该方案编制的前提.以四川省境内濑溪河流域为研究区域,基于GIS（地理信息系统）,利用L-THIA（long-term hydrologic impact assessment,长期水文影响评价）模型,基于2015年土地利用地图数据、土壤水文数据以及长时间序列（2009—2014年）逐日降雨数据,调整模型参数,使模型模拟径流量符合水文站监测数据,进而模拟2014—2015年流域内的非点源污染负荷空间分布.L-THIA模型模拟得到濑溪河流域径流量约为5.10×108 m3,和控制水文站实测径流量相比,模型模拟相对误差为5%,表明模型模拟质量较好,模拟结果可信度较高.结果表明,流域内TP、NH₃-N、COD_Cr非点源污染负荷分别为204.10、353.12、5 162.53 t;农业用地对研究区的非点源污染影响最大,林地最小;根据濑溪河水系分布特点将研究区划分为16个控制单元,各控制单元TP、NH₃-N、COD_Cr的空间分布特征及比例相似,研究区非点源污染平均负荷强度为3.72 t/km2,TP、NH₃-N、COD_Cr的输出范围分别为（0.08~0.15）（0.14~0.27）（2.19~3.89）t/km2.研究显示,流域非点源污染产生量的估算和空间分布特征的揭示为编制濑溪河流域水污染治理方案提供了科学参考.