The community vs. the market and the state: Forest use inUttarakhand in the Indian Himalayas

Most writers on resource management presume that local populations, if they act in their self-interest, seldom conserve or protect natural resources without external intervention or privatization. Using the example of forest management by villagers in the Indian Himalayas, this paper argues that rural populations can often use resources sustainably and successfully, even under assumptions of self-interested rationality. Under a set of specified social and environmental conditions, conditions that prevail in large areas of the Himalayas and may also exist in other mountain regions, community institutions are more efficient in managing resources than either private individuals or the central government. In advancing this argument, the paper undermines the often dogmatic belief in the universal superiority of private forms of ownership and management.     

Analysis of Lower Green Bay and Fox River,Collingwood Harbour,Spanish Harbour,and the Metro Toronto and Region remedial action plan (RAP) processes

This article presents a model of remedial action planning, which includes four key variables that determine progress in plan development and implementation and explain the differing level of achievement in individual sites. The model is illustrated by the characteristics and developments of four remedial action plan (RAP) processes (Lower Green Bay and Fox River, Collingwood Harbour, Spanish Harbour, and the Metro Toronto and Region RAPs). Differences in the local context of the plans have, to a significant degree, predisposed individual planning and implementation experiences. Local context includes three variables, namely geographical—technical and sociopolitical aspects and the previous history of water pollution management in the area. RAP precursors are a necessary precondition for progress in planning and substantive achievements. While there is a tendency that most geographically focused RAPs in administratively simple areas accomplish most, the motivation and political clout of RAP participants are strongly intervening factors. Resource input from upper levels of government, in particular financial commitment for plan implementation, is the fourth necessary ingredient for progress due to the RAPs' weak regulatory and institutional framework. Unfortunately, upper levels of government have shown widespread reluctance to lead in remedial action planning. This was only in part offset by local commitment and support for RAP and its cause.     

Food Security in Complex Emergencies: Enhancing Food System Resilience

This paper explores linkages between food security and crisis in different contexts, outlining the policy and institutional conditions needed to manage food security during a crisis and to rebuild the resilience of food systems in periods of relative peace. The paper reviews experiences over the past decade of countries in protracted crisis and draws lessons for national and international policy. It assesses the different alternatives on offer in fragile countries to address, for example, the disruption of institutional mechanisms and the decreasing level of support offered by international donors with respect to longer-term expectations. It proposes a Twin Track Approach to enhance food security resilience through specific policies for protracted crises that link immediate hunger relief interventions with a long-term strategy for sustainable growth. Finally, the article analyses policy options and the implications for both short- and longer-term responses vis-à-vis the three dimensions of food security: availability; access; and stability.     

Food justice youth development: using Photovoice to study urban school food systems*

How do youth learn through participation in efforts to study and change the school food system? Through our participatory youth action research (YPAR) project, we move beyond the “youth as consumer” frame to a food justice youth development (FJYD) approach. We track how a group of youth learned about food and the public policy process through their efforts to transform their own school food systems by conducting a participatory evaluation of farm-to-school efforts in collaboration with university and community partners. We used the Photovoice research method, placing cameras in the hands of young people so that they themselves could document and discuss their concerns and perspectives. The research was designed to gain insight about youths’ knowledge of food, health, and community food systems. Drawing upon the youth group’s insights, we build a framework for building critical consciousness through FJYD.     

Using empirical models of species colonization under multiple threatening processes to identify complementary threat‐mitigation strategies

Approaches to prioritize conservation actions are gaining popularity. However, limited empirical evidence exists on which species might benefit most from threat mitigation and on what combination of threats, if mitigated simultaneously, would result in the best outcomes for biodiversity. We devised a way to prioritize threat mitigation at a regional scale with empirical evidence based on predicted changes to population dynamics—information that is lacking in most threat‐management prioritization frameworks that rely on expert elicitation. We used dynamic occupancy models to investigate the effects of multiple threats (tree cover, grazing, and presence of an hyperaggressive competitor, the Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) on bird‐population dynamics in an endangered woodland community in southeastern Australia. The 3 threatening processes had different effects on different species. We used predicted patch‐colonization probabilities to estimate the benefit to each species of removing one or more threats. We then determined the complementary set of threat‐mitigation strategies that maximized colonization of all species while ensuring that redundant actions with little benefit were avoided. The single action that resulted in the highest colonization was increasing tree cover, which increased patch colonization by 5% and 11% on average across all species and for declining species, respectively. Combining Noisy Miner control with increasing tree cover increased species colonization by 10% and 19% on average for all species and for declining species respectively, and was a higher priority than changing grazing regimes. Guidance for prioritizing threat mitigation is critical in the face of cumulative threatening processes. By incorporating population dynamics in prioritization of threat management, our approach helps ensure funding is not wasted on ineffective management programs that target the wrong threats or species.     

Humanitarians' ethics: the role of face-to-face experiences in humanitarian aid workers' motivation

This paper analyses the significance of specific ethical experiences for humanitarian aid workers' motivation. Following Emmanuel Levinas's understanding of ethics as arising from intersubjective face-to-face encounters, the study illuminates the experiential origins of the humanitarian commitment by analysing James Orbinski's memoir entitled An Imperfect Offering: Dispatches from the Medical Frontline. Orbinski, a former International Council President at Médecins Sans Frontières, was directly involved in humanitarian responses to several major crises during the 1990s, including those in Somalia, Afghanistan, Rwanda, and what was then Zaire. This paper explores three formative experiences from Orbinski's childhood and teenage years to analyse the personal ethics of humanitarian aid workers and to illuminate the intersection of the personal and professional level of humanitarian aid work. Illustrating that Orbinski's humanitarian commitment is a surrendering to the other's call, the paper argues for stronger inclusion of aid workers' lives and experiences to achieve a comprehensive understanding of humanitarian work.     

零价铁去除废水中的汞

研究了零价铁(zero-valent iron,ZVI)去除废水中Hg2+的动力学特征及其影响因素,初步探讨了ZVI与Hg2+的作用机制.结果表明,ZVI对废水中Hg2+的最佳去除条件:Hg2+的初始浓度为0.10 mg·L-1、pH为5、ZVI用量为0.050 g、温度为25℃,获得Hg2+的去除率为94.5%.ZVI对废水中Hg2+有一个快速的去除过程,可用准一级反应动力学方程描述,速率常数为0.010 min-1.ZVI去除废水中Hg2+的机制主要是氧化还原反应、铁氧化物和氢氧化物的吸附和共沉淀作用,ZVI表面钝化是降低Hg2+去除率的主要原因,其钝化成分主要是FeOOH和Fe2O3-Fe3O4.胡敏酸可与ZVI还原产生的Fe2+、Fe3+结合形成Fe-HA复合物,增加可溶性铁的比例,缓解ZVI的钝化,对细铁氧化物和铁氢氧化物胶体具有稳定作用,增强对废水中Hg2+的吸附作用.     

土壤铅-苯并[a]芘复合污染对小麦种子生长的影响研究

研究了土壤中低含量铅(Pb)-苯并[a]芘(B[a]P)复合污染对小麦种子萌发率、根伸长、芽伸长以及芽根比的影响,以期考察复合污染的生态效应并筛选具有指示土壤污染程度的指标.结果表明,小麦种子萌发率对Pb-B[a]P单一及复合污染均不敏感;Pb和B[a]P单一污染时小麦根伸长均受到一定程度的抑制作用;复合污染条件下Pb...     

冻融作用对酸化土壤中NH_4~+吸附特性的影响研究

以吉林农业大学长期定位试验田土壤为研究对象,采用室内模拟冻融环境和振荡平衡的方法,探讨冻融作用对NH+4在酸化土壤中吸附特性的影响。结果表明,随着冻融周期的增加,酸化土壤对NH+4的吸附量逐渐减小;冻结时间对酸化土壤吸附NH+4的影响不明显;随着冻前含水量的增加,酸化土壤对NH+4的吸附量逐渐减小,对NH+4的吸附量由大到小排列为:15%25%35%。酸化土壤对NH+4的吸附过程能很好地利用Langmuir方程拟合,冻融作用促进酸化土壤中NH+4的释放,增加了NH+4流失风险。     

Privatisation and outsourcing in wartime: the humanitarian challenges

The tendency today to privatise many activities hitherto considered the exclusive preserve of the state has given rise to sharp debate. The specific nature of humanitarian emergencies elucidates in particularly stark contrast some of the main challenges connected to the privatisation and outsourcing of essential public services, such as the provision of drinking water and health care. Privatising the realms of defence and security, which are at the very core of state prerogative, raises several legal and humanitarian concerns. This article focuses on the roles and responsibilities of the various parties involved in armed conflicts, especially those of private companies engaged in security, intelligence and interrogation work, and in the provision of water supply and health services. It highlights the need for humanitarian and development actors to grasp better the potential risks and opportunities related to privatisation and outsourcing with a view to supplying effective protection and assistance to communities affected by war.