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.     

A numerical investigation of fluid-structure coupling of 3 MW wind turbine blades

In this paper, computational modeling is created for 3 MW wind turbine blade using the software Solidworks, and the computations are carried out using Workbench for the fluid–structure interaction of blades due to both the rated and the extreme wind load. The methods developed are applied to the simulation of the NREL Phase VI wind turbine blades, and validation against published data is presented. Moreover, the static structural analysis for wind turbine rotor is performed using Mechanical APDL. The results show that the maximum values of stress reach 458 MPa and 76.9 MPa due to the rated and extreme wind load, respectively, which are lower than 78.3 MPa, the flexural strength of Swancor 2511-A epoxy resin for blade material.     

Closing the Incentive Gap: The Role of Public and Private Actors in Governing Indonesia's Tuna Fisheries

Indonesia is one of the world's largest tuna producing countries, yet regulatory oversight remains weak and management is poor. Incentive-based approaches are a way to improve state-based resource management, but they often require strong government regulation. In this paper, we use principal–agent theory and the notion of the ‘incentive gap’ to explore how incentives could be brought to bear in Indonesia through a combination of private and public actors. With a shared fish stock like tuna, we argue that a double principal–agent problem emerges, where information, asymmetries between various players complicate management. We focus on the problems of adverse selection and moral hazard in three different tuna fisheries in Indonesia to identify the nature of the incentive gap, and comment on the mix of public and private actors currently engaged in tuna fishery governance towards reducing the gap. The double principal–agent problem is a useful yet underutilized framework to understand the dynamics of shared stocks management. In this first application to a developing country fishery, we conclude that information asymmetries cannot be overcome without the involvement of private actors, who are increasingly becoming important in aligning regional and global objectives with those of fishers themselves.     

The indecisive role of the market in China’s SO2 and COD emissions trading

Governmental intervention is essential to combat environmental pollution, a phenomenon classically explained as market failure, while market-based environmental policy instruments have provided cost-effective alternatives. By examining five pilot air pollution (sulfur dioxide) and water pollution (chemical oxygen demand) trading schemes in China through a market-based theoretical framework and extensive empirical analysis, this research analyzes where a state-market boundary is defined, whether the market is performing effectively, and, critically, what leads to underperformance. Constrained by policy design, policy conflicts, and excessive state intervention, the market has not played an effective and ‘decisive’ role, resulting in low market thickness for participants and transactions, market congestion on prices, and inadequate market safety for genuine emissions trading. Better emissions trading for conventional pollutants and CO₂ requires better market-oriented rules, improved policy coordination, and stronger implementation while minimizing state intervention.     

基于复杂网络的园区循环经济系统演化规律研究

对工业园区进行循环化改造,是发展循环经济、实现可持续发展的重要途径,而建立总体性、系统化的评价方法则是衡量循环化改造水平的理论支撑。现有的循环经济评价体系,在评价的系统性角度略显不足。因此,本研究以评价园区循环经济系统的演化水平为根本目标,探索系统演化的一般规律。在方法上,以复杂网络为基础模型,以江苏省某循环经济产业园区盐化工产业集群为研究对象,以集群循环化改造的4个阶段为时间尺度,以产业项目为节点,以项目间的资源、能源再循环关联为边,构建了园区循环经济系统演化的复杂网络模型,并从度分布、介数分布、聚集系数、平均路径长度、网络直径、度度相关和度介相关角度对网络特性进行了分析。结果显示:1伴随系统演化,网络的平均度分布呈现递增趋势,网络平均路径长度由2.02提高到3.58,网络直径由4提高到9,物质和能源再循环水平逐渐充分;2介数分布、度度相关和度介相关分析结果表明,伴随演化,园区循环经济系统复杂网络以优势项目为中心,项目地位存在支配、从属异构性的特征逐渐呈现;3较小的聚集系数、较短的平均路径长度和服从泊松分布的度分布特征表明,园区循环经济系统复杂网络是一个E-R随机网络。基于以上结论,未来在园区循环化改造评价中,可将网络平均度分布、平均路径长度等网络参数和表征异构性的网络结构熵纳入系统性指标中。同时,在新的工业园区开展循环化改造伊始,积极谋划,主动引导园区形成良性产业结构,避免被已有产业结构的短期效应锁定。     

一种除臭复合菌剂的功能菌鉴定

根据微生物之间协同关系的微生态理论筛选、组合获得一种由6株功能菌组成的除臭复合菌剂,该复合菌剂对粪便原位除臭效果良好,对综合恶臭的平均去除率为54.97%,最大去除率为72.95%。通过16 S r DNA、18S r DNA和26S r DNA D1/D2区序列同源性分析,菌剂中的6种微生物为罗伦隐球酵母菌(Cryptococcus laurentii)、Bacillus safensis、枯草芽孢杆菌(Bacillus subtilis)、卷枝毛霉(Mucor circinelloides)、发酵乳杆菌(Lactobacillus fermentum)和沼泽红假单胞菌(Rhodopseudomonas palustris),鉴定结果表明,复合菌剂中有酵母菌、芽孢杆菌、霉菌、乳酸菌及光合菌,这些功能菌属于当前生物除臭复合菌剂中的主流菌群。     

Polyoxometalates for photocatalytic degradation of aqueous dyestuff solutions and quantitative structure–property relationship study on photolysis rate constants

Polyoxometalate, K₆TiW₁₁O₃₉Sn·7H₂O (TiW₁₁Sn), was synthesized and characterized. TiW₁₁Sn and K₆ZrW₁₁O₃₉Sn·12H₂O (ZrW₁₁Sn) were evaluated for their photocatalytic degradation of triarylmethane (brilliant green and acid blue 9), bisazo (C.I. reactive black 5), and monoazo dyestuffs (C.I. reactive red 24, C.I. reactive red 194, and C.I. reactive orange 5) with natural sunlight in homogeneous aqueous solutions. TiW₁₁Sn and ZrW₁₁Sn effectively and photocatalytically decolorized the dyestuffs. The TiW₁₁Sn- and ZrW₁₁Sn-mediated photocatalytic degradation of the dyestuffs involved a pseudo-first-order reaction and was modeled by Langmuir–Hinshelwood-type kinetics. The observed pseudo-first-order rate constants (K^/) of triarylmethane dyestuffs were generally bigger than that of the azo dyestuffs. Quantitative structure–property relationship models of the K^/ of the dyestuffs were developed using partial least-square regression. The cumulative variance of the dependent variable explained by the partial least-square components was > 0.753 for each optimal model. This value indicated that the model had good predictive ability and robustness. The K^/ values of the dyestuffs were related to the energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, and the most positive net atomic charges on a sulfur atom of dyestuffs. The linear correlation coefficients between the predicted and experimental values were all > 0.9950.     

Effervescence assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by microvolume UV-Vis spectrophotometric determination of surfactants in water

The novel and simple methods for the sensitive determination of cationic and anionic surfactants in water based on effervescence assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and microvolume UV-Vis spectrophotometry have been developed. The method involves ion-pair extraction of cationic and anionic surfactants with organic dyes (methyl orange and azure A, respectively) during the dispersion of extraction solvent (CHCl₃) by CO₂ bubbles which are formed by the injection of a mixture of the extraction solvent and proton donor solvent into the sample solution which contains carbonate-ions as effervescency agent. The analytical performance of the proposed procedure was compared with the conventional dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction. Appropriate experimental conditions for both methods were investigated. The absorbances of the colored extracts at wavelengths of 440 and 625 nm obey Beer's law within the range of 0.1–5.0 mg/L for both cationic and anionic surfactants. The limit of detection (LOD) obtained using the effervescence assisted extraction method was 30 µg/L for cationic and anionic surfactants. The proposed methods were successfully applied to determination of surfactants in water samples.     

Greening up: the effects of environmental standards in EU and US trade agreements

Can environmental provisions in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) foster an environmental race to the top? The ways in which different enforcement mechanisms in North–South PTAs affect the implementation of environmental standards in developing countries are examined. It is argued that environmental provisions in European Union (EU) and United States (US) PTAs will be effective in instigating policy change in partner countries, although the timing of the effect will vary significantly. Fines and sanctions in US PTAs incentivize partner countries to reform during the negotiation process. Reform in EU PTA partners is predicted to occur during agreement implementation as a result of the EU’s policy dialogue approach. Illustrative evidence is provided and the hypotheses are tested using statistical estimations of EU and US PTAs with environmental provisions on developing countries’ environmental policy reform.