The Role of the Concept of the Natural (Naturalness) in Organic Farming

Producers, traders, and consumers oforganic food regularly use the concept of thenatural (naturalness) to characterize organicagriculture and or organic food, in contrast tothe unnaturalness of conventional agriculture.Critics sometimes argue that such use lacks anyrational (scientific) basis and only refers tosentiment. In our project, we made an attemptto clarify the content and the use of theconcepts of nature and naturalness in organicagriculture, to relate this conception todiscussions within bioethical literature, andto draw the implications for agriculturalpractice and policy.Qualitative interviews were executed with arange of people in the field of organicagriculture and with consumers of organicproducts, on the basis of a list of statementsabout the meaning of the concept of naturalnessformulated by the authors. Based on the resultsof the interviews, we distinguished 3 aspectsof the concept of naturalness: natural as theorganic (life processes), natural as theecological, and natural as referring to thecharacteristic nature of an entity. We relatedthese conceptual aspects to three mainapproaches within the field of organicagriculture: the no chemicals approach, theagro-ecological approach, and the integrityapproach. It became clear that these approachescan also be recognized in the change ofattitude of farmers as they convert fromconventional to organic agriculture, and in theattitudes of consumers of organic foodproducts.We conclude that the idea of ``naturalness' canbe used to characterize organic agriculture andto distinguish it from conventionalagriculture, but only if naturalness not onlyrefers to not using chemicals but also toecological principles and respect for theintegrity of life. Thus perceived, theprinciple of naturalness can also serve as aguide to future developments in the field oforganic agriculture. As part of the holocentricethics of organic farming the value ofnaturalness has three dimensions: a cognitiveone, an emotive one, and a normative one.     

建立和完善人的职业安全“行为模式”

思维、反应、行动,是构成职业安全“行为模式”的基本环节。这些环节运转正常,职业活动就能满足职业安全的需要。为了提高操作者的安全防护能力,有必要分析职业安全“行为模式”的基本特征和要点,认为:1.应努力造就人的“双重性”思维模式,即“识别的双确认,判断的双侧面,应变的双保险”,从根本上控制人为失误。2.完善人的反应模式—一念三思,一变三联,一动三看(即“三·三守则”),保证操作者反射行为的正确导向。3.练就一套稳固、熟练的应变动作系列,防止操作者在职业活动过程中操作变型,机能失调。     

纳板河流域国家级自然保护区水资源质量分析初探

基于中德合作项目LILAC（生命景观中国）,纳板河国家级自然保护区保护局与德国斯图加特大学及上海同济大学合作并于2010年3月和7月开展了两次水资源管理和保护的调研工作——“土地利用和水”子项目.项目的目的是研究保护区内种植橡胶及经济作物对水资源的影响。本文通过此次调研获得的数据,对纳板河水资源质量进行了初步评价。     

纳板河自然保护区生物多样性及其保护与发展研究

根据纳板河保护区的生物多样性和保护管理现状,提出了加强保护区生物多样性保护和促进保护区发展的对策。     

城市环境规划的法律性质

在复杂的城市环境中,城市环境规划正是凭借其理性的预测与部署使整个环境保护活动有条不紊、游刃有余。然而在实践中,由于法律地位的不明确,城市环境规划的法律效力并没有得到公众的重视,其保护城市环境的功能未能完全发挥。要从根本上解决这种不被重视的现状,必须首先明确城市环境规划法律性质的界定。主要阐述了城市环境规划法律性质研究的重要意义、目前的研究状况等问题,并在此基础上,提出了城市环境规划是一类特殊的行政行为的观点。     

天然有机高分子絮凝剂研究与应用

本文根据物质的组分及来源对天然有机絮凝剂进行了分类,并对这三大类天然高分子絮凝剂的性能、应用、结构及研究发展概况等方面进行了论述     

基于模糊聚类法研究绥宁黄桑自然保护区种子植物多样性与邻近地区之间的关系

通过对绥宁黄桑自然保护区植物多样性与其相邻的其余的9个地区植物多样性进行模糊聚类分析,结果表明,按与其区系关系的密切程度的大小进行排列,与绥宁县黄桑自然保护区的关系的密切从大至小的顺序为：台湾岛〉井冈山〉武夷山〉大罗山〉白云山〉北山〉北仑山〉黄山〉神农架,旨在对植物分类方法的研究作一个有益的尝试,探索一条植物分类的新方法,同时其结果对黄桑自然保护区的经营管理和保护具有一定的实践指导意义．图1,表2,参14．     

Realizing the potential of GIS in community-based management of protected areas

SUMMARY

This paper explores the roles GIS technology can play in support of land management, focusing in particular on its application in protected environments such as Biosphere Reserves. These ecologically significant areas present complex planning situations since, unlike areas set aside solely for conservation, they must continue to support human populations that depend on natural resources for their economic and social well being. In situations such as marginal tropical locations, land managers often face major economic and political disincentives to the conservation of precious natural resources. The necessity for community participation and local expertise in the planning process becomes increasingly critical as GIS evolves from a basic presentation aid for spatial data to a synthesizing problem-solving tool. Coupled with enhanced community participation is the opportunity for greater education of stakeholders; the potential for GIS to serve as a medium for information gathering and dissemination is discussed. A case study in the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve (SMBR), México, is presented.     

Contingent valuation of ecotourism development in country parks in the urban shadow

To optimise the use and management of Hong Kong's country parks, ecotourism has recently been promoted by the government and echoed by the leisure sector. Visitors' valuation of ecotourism development hitherto remains scant and could add a new dimension to the knowledge and management base. This study estimated the potential value of ecotourism development using the contingent valuation method (CVM). A total of 613 visitors in three country parks were interviewed. The results showed that the bid amounts and the motives to experience and learn more about nature were significant predictors of willingness-to-pay (WTP). The mean and median WTP were, respectively, HK$101.1 and HK$85.0 annually, varying slightly between parks. The differences were associated with the special ecological and accessibility characteristics of individual parks. The results could justify financial support from the government for ecotourism development and associated nature conservation endeavours and promote the incorporation of natural resource valuation in formulation of public policies in Hong Kong and other developing regions.     

Four challenges to an effective national nature assessment

Comprehensive biodiversity assessments play an essential role in strengthening global and national conservation strategies. The recently announced first U.S. National Nature Assessment (NNA) provides an unparalleled opportunity to comprehensively review status and trends of biodiversity at all levels. This broad context can help in the coordination of actions to conserve individual species and ecosystems. The scientific assessments that informed the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted at the 2022 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference of parties provide models for synthesizing information on trends at multiple levels of biodiversity, including decline in abundance and distribution of species, loss of populations and genetic diversity, and degradation and loss of ecosystems and their services. The assessments then relate these trends to data on drivers of biodiversity loss and pathways to their mitigation. The U.S. NNA can augment such global analyses and avoid the pitfalls encountered by previous U.S. efforts by ensuring policy-relevant design, data accessibility, and inclusivity in process and product and by incorporating spatial data relevant to national and subnational audiences. Although the United States is not formally a CBD party, an effective NNA should take full advantage of the global context by including indicators adopted at the 2022 meeting and incorporating an independent review mechanism that supports periodic stocktaking and ratcheting up of ambition in response to identified shortfalls in stemming biodiversity loss. The challenges to design of an effective U.S. assessment are relevant globally as nations develop assessments and reporting to support the new global biodiversity framework's targets. By considering and incorporating the diverse ways in which society values and benefits from nature, such assessments can help bridge the gap between research and conservation practice and communicate the extent of the biodiversity crisis to the public, fostering broad-based support for transformative change in humanity's relationship to the natural world.