Community action for environmental restoration: a case study on collective social capital in India

In southern India, tens of thousands of village-level irrigation systems (‘tanks’ and feeder channels) are in disrepair. This paper analyses the results of a local NGO effort that focused on awareness-raising and advice to bring about self-sustained community action for irrigation system restoration. After designing a model structure that contains both motivational and capacity (social capital) factors, it is found that (pre-existing) collective social capital, as measured through five simple indicators, strongly correlates with success of the NGO strategy. The intensity of the NGO’s effort shows a negative correlation with success, however. The discussion focuses on issues of social capital definition and measurement and the practical implications of the concept for environmental action, especially the difference between using existing social capital for environmental management versus the construction of social capital as a basis for later self-sustained environmental work. Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

沈阳市污水资源化的技术路线和政策导向

介绍了沈阳市水资源现状 ,提出了解决水资源不足的污水资源化的技术路线和有关政策导向 ,为沈阳市和其他同类城市在解决污水资源化问题提供借鉴     

Farm-level irrigation and the marginal cost of water use: evidence from Georgia

We create a proxy for the cost of irrigation water in Georgia from a sample of Georgia irrigators by investigating the marginal cost of pumping groundwater. We then combine this proxy with agronomic and climatic variables to estimate the response of agricultural water use to differences in the marginal cost of irrigation. The results show that pumping costs are a significant determinant of water use, and imply that agricultural water use would be moderately affected by institutional changes that would explicitly price water.     

河套灌区地下水氮污染状况

河套灌区浅层地下水氮浓度和地下水埋深的季节变化规律调查结果表明:3月地下水NO3--N和TN浓度显著高于5、7和9月,地下水埋深也比5月和7月深。不同类型的井水N浓度差异较大:农田与庭院的井水NO3--N浓度显著高于村庄附近的井水,而NH4+-N和TN则表现为庭院井水浓度显著高于农田和村庄。地下水氮形态以NO3--N为主,全年17.1%的水井地下水NO3--N浓度高于10 mg.L-1,最高达184.4 mg.L-1。在灌溉量和其他生产条件相同的情况下,沙壕渠试验站农场内施肥区井水NO3--N浓度[(17.55±15.02)mg.L-1]明显高于未施肥区[(7.67±4.48)mg.L-1],且65.5%的水样NO3--N浓度超过WHO规定的生活饮用水NO3--N浓度上限值(10 mg.L-1),而未施肥区仅有27.6%的水样超标。井水NO3--N的来源主要为农田氮肥与动物粪肥,当地地下水NO3--N污染已不容忽视。     

Management of treated pulp and paper mill effluent to achieve zero discharge

Pulp and paper mills are one of the major effluent generating industries in the world. In most cases, mill effluent (treated or raw) is discharged back into a river, creek, stream or other water body; resulting in negative environmental impacts, as well as social concerns, among the downstream users. Pulp and paper mill effluent management, which could result in zero discharge into downstream water bodies, would present the best management option to address socio-environmental concerns. This paper presents such an effort aimed at closing the water cycle by using treated effluent from the mill to irrigate forage and fodder crops for producing animals feed. The treated effluent is delivered from the mill through gravity into a winter storage dam of 490ML capacity. For irrigation applications on 110ha of farmland, which is 42% of the total farmland, the water is pumped from the winter storage dam to five individual paddocks with Centre Pivot (CP) irrigators and one rectangular paddock with a Soft Hose Travelling (SHT) irrigator. From October 2001 to June 2006, a total of 2651mm of wastewater was applied at the farm. The impact assessment results, obtained from field monitoring, investigations and analysis, indicated that the closed water cycle effluent management strategy described had resulted in a lessening of the impact on water resources usually associated with paper mills. However, social attitudes to the use of crops that have been irrigated with recycled waters and the resulting impact on market value of the produce may still be a major consideration.     

内蒙古河套灌区春小麦挥发性有机物排放特征

于2021年5月下旬至6月中旬,采用动态箱采样法对内蒙古河套灌区17种春小麦排放生物源挥发性有机物(BVOC)进行了研究,同时记录了温度、湿度和光合有效辐射(PAR)等参数.结果表明:内蒙古河套灌区春小麦主要排放异戊二烯、α-蒎烯和甲苯,生长期其排放率分别为(0.85~39.31),(2.60~14.32)和(6.41~35.39)ng/(g·h),成熟期其排放率分别为(1.75~7.99),(1.11~5.81)和(1.91~25.61)ng/(g·h);生长期异戊二烯、单萜烯类和BTEX标准状态(T=303K,PAR=1000µmol/(m²·s))下排放率分别为(12.92±5.14),(11.98±7.13)和(23.13±7.32)ng/(g·h),成熟期分别为(2.47±0.64),(5.73±1.19)和(14.23±5.27)ng/(g·h),生长期的排放率明显大于成熟期;一定环境温度和PAR范围内,河套灌区春小麦BVOC排放率与环境温度和PAR均呈指数相关,具有明显的日变化特征,但环境温度超过45℃时会抑制其BVOC排放率.     

Historical assessment of Chinese and Japanese flood management policies and implications for managing future floods

Floods are among the world's most devastating natural disasters, causing immense damage and accounting for a large number of deaths world-wide. Good flood management policies play an extremely important role in preventing floods. It is well known that China has more than 5000 years of experience in flood management policy beginning with the reign of DaYu and Gun. Although culturally related, Japanese flood management developed differently from that of China. Under rapid development of civil engineering technology, flood management was achieved primarily through the construction of dams, levees and other structures. These structures were never adequate to stop all floods, and recent climate change driven extreme events are ever more frequently overwhelming such infrastructure. It is important to take a historical perspective of Japanese and Chinese flood management in order to better manage increasingly frequent extreme events and climate change. We present insights taken from an historical overview of Japanese and Chinese flood management policies in order to guide future flood risk management policy.     

Integrated Wastewater Management Reporting at Tourist Areas for Recycling Purposes, Including the Case Study of Hersonissos, Greece

Wastewater treatment facilities in tourist areas, in comparison to other municipal facilities, require specific configurations and additional management actions in order to achieve a reliable and cost-effective treatment. For example, the same facility operates during winter with minimum flows and in summer with peak flows. Moreover, careful effluent management is required to minimize environmental impact and health effects on tourists. In this study, effluent management data, including quantitative and qualitative effluent characteristics, reuse, and economic aspects of the Hersonissos Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) in Greece, are discussed. It has been designed to treat both municipal wastewater from the Hersonissos Municipality and septage from the wider area. Analysis of effluent quantitative data showed two flow peaks in the summer period and only one in winter. The WTP was found to provide a reliable level of treatment in terms of biochemical oxygen demand (95.9%), total suspended solids (97.2%), and total nitrogen (87.7%) removal, but increased numbers of fecal coliforms were measured at some peak flow periods, suggesting the need for additional management strategies. Effluent is reused mainly for agricultural irrigation; secondary uses include fire protection and landscape irrigation. Economic analysis showed that for each cubic meter treated, the total annual economic cost for treatment, filtration, and reuse infrastructure was 1.07 €, 0.05 €, and 0.08 €, respectively.     

造纸工业废水资源化途径的新探讨

本文从造纸工业废水治理技术现状分析入手,讨论了目前用于处理造纸黑液和白水的主要处理工艺及其特点。在此基础上,提出了造纸工业废水尤其是造纸黑液综合利用的新途径。着重对造纸工业废水污灌作了重点的分析,对用造纸黑液作为型煤粘合剂和水煤浆生产工艺用水作了探讨性分析,为造纸工业废水尤其是造纸黑液资源化途径的探讨提出了新思路。     

Irrigation water management policies: Allocation and pricing principles and implementation experience

Food security and sustainable development require efficient use of water resources, especially in irrigation. Economic pricing can be an effective tool to achieve more efficient water use, provided it is supported by other policies in implementation. Applying various water pricing and cost recovery arrangements is suggested for efficient allocation. Any adverse impact on farmers’ incomes must be addressed and more reliable service must accompany higher prices. Experience from several countries suggests a variety of implementation issues. Essential complements to water pricing are water distribution rules and technological choices at critical nodes in the delivery system that allow farmers flexibility in conserving water in response to higher prices. Among supporting institutions, water users associations seem a higher priority than water markets.