Evaluation and valuation of wildlife resources

Issues of resource conservation and development are essentially about choice between alternative uses of land. Resource evaluation in rural planning has usually been based on assessments of land quality or capability in relation to a variety of alternative uses. In the case of wildlife, choices have to be made as to whether the wildlife resource is worth conserving at all and if so, which sites should be used. Considerable efforts have been made to rationalise, improve and make explicit the way in which choices are made, and this paper reviews the current position and draws attention to issues and developments which could lead to improvements in current practice.     

Modeling the spatial dynamics of regional land use: the CLUE-S model

Land-use change models are important tools for integrated environmental management. Through scenario analysis they can help to identify near-future critical locations in the face of environmental change. A dynamic, spatially explicit, land-use change model is presented for the regional scale: CLUE-S. The model is specifically developed for the analysis of land use in small regions (e.g., a watershed or province) at a fine spatial resolution. The model structure is based on systems theory to allow the integrated analysis of land-use change in relation to socio-economic and biophysical driving factors. The model explicitly addresses the hierarchical organization of land use systems, spatial connectivity between locations and stability. Stability is incorporated by a set of variables that define the relative elasticity of the actual land-use type to conversion. The user can specify these settings based on expert knowledge or survey data. Two applications of the model in the Philippines and Malaysia are used to illustrate the functioning of the model and its validation.     

Designating Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) in the UK Implications for Securing UK Air Quality Objectives

Across the United Kingdom, the majority of local authoritieshave now completed their first phase of local air qualityreview and assessment work, as required under the AirQuality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and NorthernIreland (DETR, 2000a). Emerging from this first phasework is an anticipated suite of over 110 Air QualityManagement Areas (AQMAs). These areas are identifiedlocations where one or more of the national air qualityobjectives are predicted to exceed by specific target dates,and their spatial extent and shape is emerging as highlyvariable. Local authorities are guided to use a variety ofscientific tools to underpin the scientific assessments, anda consideration of uncertainty in both the tools used andsubsequent delineation of AQMAs is likely to affect theemerging management areas significantly. With subsidiarity underpinning the process of local air qualitymanagement (LAQM), local decision-making is anticipated toinfluence the outcome of the LAQM process in its entirety,with the declaration of AQMAs necessitating the preparationand implementation of air quality action plans. UKexperience of the effective management of local air quality,through the designation of AQMAs, demonstrates a valuableframework for other European countries developing mechanismsto manage air quality locally.     

新型安全管理模式——HSE管理体系的理念与模式研究

笔者提出了建立适合市场经济条件的、新型安全管理模式的设想 ;介绍和研究了国内外大型石油公司实行的健康、安全与环境管理体系 (HSE管理体系 )的理念、模式与实施方法。HSE模式是国外石油公司面对频繁发生的事故 ,经冷静反思后 ,自发自愿建立 ,并逐步完善的一种管理体系 ,因而其安全理念和管理模式对市场经济下的各类企业均有一定的指导和借鉴意义。HSE体制将政府的安全管理 ,转变为企业行为。HSE管理体系的建立 ,为企业提供了以系统理论为指导、融合全面质量管理等理念的一种新型现代安全管理方法。     

加入WTO与建筑安全生产管理

加入WTO ,中国建筑业将面临着很好的发展机遇 ,同时 ,也将遇到极大的挑战。建筑安全生产管理是建筑行业管理的主要内容之一 ,直接关系到人民的生命与财产安全。因此 ,加强建筑施工安全管理 ,降低安全事故率 ,是国内建筑业适应未来国际市场激烈竞争极其重要的工作。笔者从思想认识、建筑安全生产法律法规标准规范体系 ,基建投资体制、建筑市场以及企业建筑安全生产管理体系等方面 ,分析了当前国内建筑业安全生产管理存在的主要问题和弊端 ,逐项提出了应对建议和措施 ,为政府主管部门和施工企业加强建筑安全生产管理提供参考。     

Fostering sustainable small-scale investments: lessons from experience and ideas for intervention and innovation

This article presents lessons from experience pertinent to implementing small-scale natural resource and related investment projects in developing countries. It outlines ideas for intervention and innovation to foster such investments. Particular emphasis is placed on private-sector participation in these investments. Following a brief presentation of the economic development and other arguments that support intervention and innovation in support of such small-scale natural resource investments, the article discusses many of the lessons learned from experience. These lessons reinforce those touched upon in the investment-specific discussions in the previous articles. The experience and associated lessons that are examined include experiences in both developing and developed countries and encompass not just lessons from natural resource investments, but also small-scale investments in other sectors. Financing and other innovations which facilitate meeting the challenges are drawn from relevant experience where barriers to investment have been surmounted. Options for programme and project interventions to increase market penetration of small-scale investments and achieve the associated development linkages and synergies are suggested. These suggestions are aimed especially at governments and bilateral and multilateral development finance and development assistance entities. It is those players who might support such interventions in collaboration with local financial institutions and other market players.     

A method for evaluating areas for national park status

A procedure for evaluating different areas as national parks based on a scoring system is proposed. A National Park Evaluation Form (NPEF) evaluating natural, cultural, and recreational resources in accordance with international criteria for national parks is presented. The evaluation points given to an area indicate the possibility of the area becoming a national park. In this method, subjectivity and bias have been minimized by a special application of the Delphi technique. The method outlined here could help in the efforts of selecting and establishing national parks in many countries.     

Resource scarcity,energy use and environmental impact: A case study of the New Bedford,Massachusetts, USA,fisheries

The commercial fishing fleet in New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA, harvests seafood on George’s Bank, home of one of the nation’s most productive fisheries. We calculated the energy return on investment (EROI) and carbon intensity of protein harvest in the New Bedford fisheries from 1968 to 1988. EROI is the ratio of the energy content of the edible fish protein harvested to the quantity of fossil fuel energy used directly in the harvesting process. Carbon intensity is the quantity of carbon dioxide (CO₂) released (from the burning of fossil fuels) per calorie of edible fish protein harvested. The results show that the EROI of protein harvest declined from 0.18 to 0.028 from 1968 to 1988, indicating that the energy used to harvest seafood increased from about 6 to 36 kcal of fuel for each kilocalorie of protein harvested. The quantity of CO₂ released per calorie of edible fish protein is a linear function of energy use and therefore increased in a similar manner. During this period there was a large increase in fishing effort (caused by the increase in the real price of seafood products, favorable tax treatment for new vessel construction, and low interest loans from the government), and a decline in several important species of fish. The results suggest that fishing pressure could be managed effectively by the regulation of fuel use by the fleet. Despite the increase in the price of many seafood products, fishermen absorbed many of the costs of increasing scarcity in the form of longer working hours and fewer men per vessel.     

窑洞民居防灾

黄河中上游广泛分布的窑洞民居常遭受种种灾害:有自然塌落、浸水损坏、滑坡崩塌和地震袭击。本文根据民间建窑经验、调查研究资料及试验结果,进行分析归纳,提出窑洞防灾措施:①选址;②合理选择窑洞跨度和断面形式,做好防水措施。并验算了民间一般明箍窑洞的抗震能力。