Participatory development of incentives to coexist with jaguars and pumas

Reducing costs and increasing benefits for rural communities coexisting with large carnivores is necessary for conservation of jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor). To design acceptable incentives, stakeholders must be involved in the process. We conducted an innovative, structured, group communication process based on a Delphi technique as a template for identifying potential incentives. Community workshops with 133 members of 7 communities and surveys with 25 multidisciplinary experts from government, nongovernmental organizations, and academia provided iterative data to design a plan of incentives through 4 rounds of discussion. The final product integrated 862 ideas into 6 types of incentives: organization of communities, mechanisms for improved dialogue, citizen technical assistance, green labeling for community products, payment for the ecosystem service of biodiversity, and an assessment of financial alternatives. We used quantitative and qualitative techniques to indicate support for decisions about the design of incentives, which reduced researcher subjectivity. The diverse incentives developed and the cooperation from multiple stakeholders resulted in an incentive plan that integrated issues of governance, equity, and social norms.     

Using machine learning to disentangle homonyms in large text corpora

Systematic reviews are an increasingly popular decision‐making tool that provides an unbiased summary of evidence to support conservation action. These reviews bridge the gap between researchers and managers by presenting a comprehensive overview of all studies relating to a particular topic and identify specifically where and under which conditions an effect is present. However, several technical challenges can severely hinder the feasibility and applicability of systematic reviews, for example, homonyms (terms that share spelling but differ in meaning). Homonyms add noise to search results and cannot be easily identified or removed. We developed a semiautomated approach that can aid in the classification of homonyms among narratives. We used a combination of automated content analysis and artificial neural networks to quickly and accurately sift through large corpora of academic texts and classify them to distinct topics. As an example, we explored the use of the word reintroduction in academic texts. Reintroduction is used within the conservation context to indicate the release of organisms to their former native habitat; however, a Web of Science search for this word returned thousands of publications in which the term has other meanings and contexts. Using our method, we automatically classified a sample of 3000 of these publications with over 99% accuracy, relative to a manual classification. Our approach can be used easily with other homonyms and can greatly facilitate systematic reviews or similar work in which homonyms hinder the harnessing of large text corpora. Beyond homonyms we see great promise in combining automated content analysis and machine‐learning methods to handle and screen big data for relevant information in conservation science.     

Cost shifting and other perverse incentives in biodiversity offsetting in India

Biodiversity offsetting aims to compensate for development‐induced biodiversity loss through commensurate conservation gains and is gaining traction among governments and businesses. However, cost shifting (i.e., diversion of offset funds to other conservation programs) and other perverse incentives can undermine the effectiveness of biodiversity offsetting. Additionality—the requirement that biodiversity offsets result in conservation outcomes that would not have been achieved otherwise—is fundamental to biodiversity offsetting. Cost shifting and violation of additionality can go hand in hand. India's national offsetting program is a case in point. Recent legislation allows the diversion of offset funds to meet the country's preexisting commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). With such diversions, no additional conservation takes place and development impacts remain uncompensated. Temporary additionality cannot be conceded in light of paucity of funds for preexisting commitments unless there is open acknowledgement that fulfillment of such commitments is contingent on offset funds. Two other examples of perverse incentives related to offsetting in India are the touting of inherently neutral offsetting outcomes as conservation gains, a tactic that breeds false complacency and results in reduced incentive for additional conservation efforts, and the clearing of native vegetation for commercial plantations in the name of compensatory afforestation, a practice that leads to biodiversity decline. The risks accompanying cost shifting and other perverse incentives, if not preempted and addressed, will result in net loss of forest cover in India. We recommend accurate baselines, transparent accounting, and open reporting of offset outcomes to ensure biodiversity offsetting achieves adequate and additional compensation for impacts of development.     

A habitat‐based approach to predict impacts of marine protected areas on fishers

Although marine protected areas can simultaneously contribute to biodiversity conservation and fisheries management, the global network is biased toward particular ecosystem types because they have been established primarily in an ad hoc fashion. The optimization of trade‐offs between biodiversity benefits and socioeconomic values increases success of protected areas and minimizes enforcement costs in the long run, but it is often neglected in marine spatial planning (MSP). Although the acquisition of spatially explicit socioeconomic data is perceived as a costly or secondary step in MSP, it is critical to account for lost opportunities by people whose activities will be restricted, especially fishers. We developed an easily reproduced habitat‐based approach to estimate the spatial distribution of opportunity cost to fishers in data‐poor regions. We assumed the most accessible areas have higher economic and conservation values than less accessible areas and their designation as no‐take zones represents a loss of fishing opportunities. We estimated potential distribution of fishing resources from bathymetric ranges and benthic habitat distribution and the relative importance of the different resources for each port of total catches, revenues, and stakeholder perception. In our model, we combined different cost layers to produce a comprehensive cost layer so that we could evaluate of trade‐offs. Our approach directly supports conservation planning, can be applied generally, and is expected to facilitate stakeholder input and community acceptance of conservation.     

汶川8.0级地震所引发的防震减灾工作启示

1966年邢台地震和2008年汶川8.0级地震,对中国防震减灾事业的方针政策已经产生和正在产生深刻影响。汶川8.0级地震的惨痛教训进一步说明,在地震预报不过关或还不可靠的前提下,震灾预防是减轻地震灾害的最有效途径。汶川地震的灾情和云南省减隔震技术研究应用、农村民居抗震、城中村改造三大工程加速了中国防震减灾结构的调整——应把建构筑物抗震设防摆在更重要的位置。     

Impacts of charcoal characteristics on sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Sorption of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, phenanthrene, anthracene and pyrene) on three charcoals and their precursor substance (sawdust) was studied. The charcoals obtained by heating at 400 °C for different periods were different in chemical composition and structure. Sorption characteristics were described by a Polanyi–Dubinin–Manes model combined with poly-parameter linear free energy relationships. The results revealed that though partition could not be neglected for sawdust and charcoal containing large sawdust residue, adsorption controlled the sorption of PAHs on matured charcoals, where π–π electron donor–acceptor (EDA) exerted as the main molecular-scale interactions. Charring elevated partition coefficients (K_oc) of the three PAHs more than one order of magnitude, which ranged from 10^5.74 to 10^6.58 on charcoals (for PAHs at equilibrium concentration C_e = 0.005S_w). Adsorption increased with the aromaticity of the charcoals, however, polar aromatic structure may stimulate sorption of PAHs due to the presence of π–π EDA interactions.     

负载V2O5-WO3／TiO2掺炭纤维脱除烟气中Hg^0

通过固定床实验系统研究烟气脱除零价汞的实验,首先研究了滤袋常用的聚苯硫醚（polyphenylene sulfide,PPS）以及活性炭纤维（activated carbon fiber,ACF）在不同温度、不同气体组分下负载V2O5-WO3／TiO2催化剂,对模拟燃煤烟气中零价汞（Hg^0）的脱除效果。然后对比研究了活性炭纤维协同滤袋常用纤维负载催化剂后,对模拟燃煤烟气中Hg^0的脱除性能。结果表明,在汞蒸气人口浓度为50μg／m^3,纯N2气氛下,当温度为25℃时,两者脱除率均能达到99％,当温度为200℃,负载催化剂的活性炭纤维脱除率在30％左右,PPS纤维仅为10％左右。在200℃情况下,模拟烟气的组分为N2＋O2时,2种纤维的Hg^0脱除率提高了10％～20％,当在混合气体中添加0．01％。后,负载催化剂的PPS纤维Hg^0脱除率能达到80％,活性炭纤维Hg^0脱除率能达到98％。当温度为200℃,模拟烟气的组分为N2＋O2＋HCl时,不同性能掺炭纤维负载催化剂后Hg^0脱除率在69％～95％范围之间变化,其中PPS掺炭纤维对Hg^0脱除效率最高达到95％,因此,负载V2O5-WO3／TiO2催化剂的PPS掺炭纤维能在高温烟气中保持较高的Hg^0脱除率。     

飞灰-氢氧化钙/聚苯硫醚(PPS)滤料对烟气中单质汞的脱除

在汞固定床实验台上进行了飞灰-氢氧化钙和PPS滤料负载飞灰-氢氧化钙吸附单质汞,以及不同温度、气体成分对滤料负载吸附剂脱除汞影响的实验研究。实验结果表明,质量配比为2∶1的飞灰-Ca(OH)2吸附剂对Hg0的脱除效果最好,最高可达到34.5%左右,比纯飞灰条件下的脱除效率提高了近10%。120℃条件下,PPS滤料负载飞灰-Ca(OH)2吸附剂对汞的脱除率最高达72%,远高于滤纸薄膜上吸附剂的脱除率。随着温度升高,PPS滤料负载吸附剂的脱除效率降低。HCl、SO2和NO对PPS负载吸附剂脱除汞表现出不同程度的促进作用,HCl具有很强的促进作用,少量HCl足以大幅度提高脱除效果,SO2有一定的促进作用,NO的促进效果并不明显。     

负载V2O5-WO3/TiO2掺炭纤维脱除烟气中Hg0

通过固定床实验系统研究烟气脱除零价汞的实验,首先研究了滤袋常用的聚苯硫醚（polyphenylene sulfide,PPS）以及活性炭纤维（activated carbon fiber,ACF）在不同温度、不同气体组分下负载V₂O₅-WO₃/TiO₂催化剂,对模拟燃煤烟气中零价汞（Hg⁰）的脱除效果。然后对比研究了活性炭纤维协同滤袋常用纤维负载催化剂后,对模拟燃煤烟气中Hg⁰的脱除性能。结果表明,在汞蒸气入口浓度为50 μg/m³,纯N₂气氛下,当温度为25℃时,两者脱除率均能达到99%,当温度为200℃,负载催化剂的活性炭纤维脱除率在30%左右,PPS纤维仅为10%左右。在200℃情况下,模拟烟气的组分为N₂+O₂时,2种纤维的Hg⁰脱除率提高了10%~20%,当在混合气体中添加0.01‰后,负载催化剂的PPS纤维Hg⁰脱除率能达到80%,活性炭纤维Hg⁰脱除率能达到98%。当温度为200℃,模拟烟气的组分为N₂+O₂+HCl时,不同性能掺炭纤维负载催化剂后Hg⁰脱除率在69%~95%范围之间变化,其中PPS掺炭纤维对Hg⁰脱除效率最高达到95%,因此,负载V₂O₅-WO₃/TiO₂催化剂的PPS掺炭纤维能在高温烟气中保持较高的Hg⁰脱除率。