Disaster management in the Caribbean: Perspectives on institutional capacity reform and development

This paper is a reflective contribution on the issues and processes that have influenced and informed the development and institutionalization of disaster management practice and policy in the Caribbean over the last two and a half decades. It takes the viewpoint of a ‘participant observer’ and seeks to not only describe the events and triggers but also to raise some key questions necessary to chart the way forward.     

Start-up of PN-anammox system under low inoculation quantity and its restoration after low-loading rate shock

• PN-A was start-up under low inoculation amount and a higher NRR was achieved. • PN-anammox system was successfully restored by aggressive sludge discharge. • Increase in granular sludge was the important factor to rapid recovery. • Enrichment of AOB and AnAOB in granular sludge favors the stable operation. Partial nitritation (PN)-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a promising pathway for the biological treatment of wastewater. However, the destruction of the system caused by excessive accumulation of nitrate in long-term operation remains a challenge. In this study, PN-anammox was initialized with low inoculation quantity in an air-lift reactor. The nitrogen removal rate of 0.71 kgN/(m³·d) was obtained, which was far higher than the seed sludge (0.3 kgN/(m³·d)). Thereafter, excess nitrate build-up was observed under low-loading conditions, and recovery strategies for the PN-anammox system were investigated. Experimental results suggest that increasing the nitrogen loading rate as well as the concentration of free ammonium failed to effectively suppress the nitrite oxidation bacteria (NOB) after the PN-anammox system was disrupted. Afterwards, effluent back-flow was added into the reactor to control the up-flow velocity. As a result, an aggressive discharge of sludge that promoted the synergetic growth of functional bacteria was achieved, leading to the successful restoration of the PN-anammox system. The partial nitritation and anammox activity were in balance, and an increase in nitrogen removal rate up to 1.07 kgN/(m³·d) was obtained with a nitrogen removal efficiency of 82.4% after recovery. Besides, the proportion of granular sludge (over 200 mm) increased from 33.67% to 82.82%. Ammonium oxidation bacteria (AOB) along with anammox bacteria were enriched in the granular sludge during the recovery period, which was crucial for the recovery and stable operation of the PN-anammox system.     

大渡河上游八步里沟泥石流防治中的资源综合利用研究

八步里沟位于大渡河上游,沟口堆积扇为金川县城,历史上泥石流灾害严重。20世纪80年代以来,对泥石流灾害进行了综合治理,工程防治效果明显,通过近30a的演化,防治工程与泥石流灾害共同作用形成了独特的泥沙资源并进行了初步开发。分析了八步里沟的资源特征、综合开发利用的制约因素、开发与保护的优化配置以及进一步开发的空间等问题,发现拦砂坝库区的建材开发有效延长了工程运行年限,沟内种植经济林抑制了泥石流灾害,拦砂坝抬高沟床侵蚀基准面为小水电开发和灌溉提供了水头,经济发展与灾害防治形成良性循环,达到可持续发展的目的。为提高资源利用率,最大化发挥防灾工程的经济效益和社会效益,可进一步利用现有治理工程建立泥石流防治的科普基地,沟口堆积扇泥石流排导工程两侧设立限制开发区、建立生态公园,达到优化资源开发的目的。     

北京市环境压力及重点调控策略研究

近年来,北京市在控制污染、提高环境质量方面投入了大量人力、物力、财力,取得了较大的成绩,在经济保持较快增长的同时,环境质量得到了持续改善。本文从环境质量、污染防治形势等方面深入分析了北京市的主要环境问题和环境压力,并从强化科学决策、调整能源结构、优化产业结构、深化污染防治等方面提出了具体的调控对策,对于相关管理部门宏观决策具有一定的参考价值。     

北方寒冷地区景观水体水质保障技术及对策研究

我国北方地区冬季漫长而寒冷,夏季短暂而温暖,年平均气温低,气温年较差大,开展北方寒冷地区景观水体研究对完善生态系统保护体系及可持续发展具有重要意义。针对北方寒冷地区景观水体环境特征,以牡丹江市南湖水系为例,开展水体水质及水环境特征研究,进行北方寒冷地区景观水体的生态重建与景观修复技术、水资源管理技术、越冬策略研究,并根据工程实践结果,提出北方景观水体水质保障的对策和建议,对北方地区景观水体保护、流域可持续发展具有借鉴意义。     

Governance models for nature-based solutions: Seventeen cases from Germany

Nature-based solutions (NBS) for mitigating climate change are gaining popularity. The number of NBS is increasing, but research gaps still exist at the governance level. The objectives of this paper are (i) to give an overview of the implemented NBS for flood risk management and mitigation in Germany, (ii) to identify governance models that are applied, and (iii) to explore the differences between these models. The results of a hierarchical clustering procedure and a qualitative analysis show that while no one-size-fits-all governance model exists, polycentricism is an important commonality between the projects. The study concludes by highlighting the need for further research on traditional governance model reconversion and paradigm changes. We expect the findings to identify what has worked in the past, as well as what is important for the implementation of NBS for flood risk management in future projects.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01412-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Social factors mediating human–carnivore coexistence: Understanding thematic strands influencing coexistence in Central Romania

Facilitating human–carnivore coexistence depends on the biophysical environment but also on social factors. Focusing on Central Romania, we conducted 71 semi-structured interviews to explore human–bear (Ursus arctos) coexistence. Qualitative content and discourse analysis identified three socially mediated thematic strands, which showed different ways in which perceived interactions between people, bears and the environment shape coexistence. The “landscape-bear strand” described perceptions of the way in which the landscape offers resources for the bear, while the “landscape-human strand” related to ways in which humans experience the landscape. The “management strand” related to the way bears was managed. All three strands highlight both threats and opportunities for the peaceful coexistence of people and bears. Management and policy interventions could be improved by systematically considering the possible effects of interventions on each of the three strands shaping coexistence. Future research should explore the relevance of the identified thematic strands in other settings worldwide.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0760-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

北海市水环境容量核算与分区总量控制对策研究

水环境容量核算是城市水环境管理的基础。分析了北海市水环境特征的现状,通过划分陆域控制单元和对应水环境容量核算单元,根据设计水文条件及功能区水质目标等参数,综合选用一维河流非感潮河段容量计算模型、一维河流感潮河段容量计算模型核算了北海市各主要流域地表水水系的水环境容量。在此基础上,结合近海海洋环境容量,核算各控制单元点、面源负荷排放量,分析了北海市基于控制单元分区的可利用水环境容量空间分布特征,并提出了容量资源分区控制利用对策建议。     

生计资本异质对农户农地流转行为的影响——以武汉城市郊区的516户农民为例

以武汉市城郊江夏区和蔡甸区的516户农民家庭为实证,运用logistic和分位数回归模型探索家庭生计资本对农户土地流转行为的影响及阈值。结果表明:(1)人力资本和金融资本与农户农地转出行为呈显著正向相关,家庭农地资源禀赋、机耕能力、社会资源禀赋及经营能力的信任程度等与农地转出行为负向相关。相反,自然资源禀赋及农业机械投入对农户土地转入行为的正向影响显著,而家庭融资能力则对农户转入行为呈显著的负向影响。(2)分位数回归结果显示,对农户土地流转行为存在影响阈值的仅有韧性指数。当农户家庭韧性指数≤2时,随韧性指数增强农户农地转出倾向愈强;家庭韧性指数≥3时,农户农地转出倾向随指数增强而弱化。该研究从农户微观个体视角探索生计资本异质对农地流转行为的影响,为针对农户家庭需求制定差别化的农地流转政策、有效推进农业适度规模经营提供建议参考。     

亲贫式增长刍议:论少数民族地区的扶贫政策取向

考察了经济增长和扶贫政策之间的跨国证据,突出了区域差异和国家经验这两个层面上形成的促进共同发展的多样性。对亲贫式增长的定义表明经济增长和扶贫这两个发展战略之间可能存在一种权衡问题。跨国证据表明,平均收入增长率和低收入者的收入增长率之间关系的巨大差异性,使得扶贫战略完全基于经济增长政策的论断存在争议。持续的快速增长显然有益于贫困人口,但是,如果整体的快速经济增长伴随着收入分配的缓慢恶化,这对贫困人口的福利比对经济增长影响更大。如果一国总体处于低增长环境,那么经济增长将难以获得贫困人口的支持。同时面向经济增长和旨在明确经济增长所带来的好处的混合策略被证明在实现持续减贫中可能是最为成功的。研究认为,在中国长期高速经济增长的支撑下,少数民族地区在收入改善和贫困人口数量显著减少方面取得了另世人瞩目的成就,为促进经济增长的倡导者和干预式扶贫的拥护者提供了实践支持。然而,普适的经济增长有利于贫困人口,但不会以相同的程度发生在少数民族地区。显然,一项公共政策更关注经济增长是必要的,但也同时必须关注经济增长所带来的收益是否会反映在提供贫困人口收入和贫困人口不可能轻易放弃的福祉上。针对于少数民族地区最有效的发展政策,是那些主张共同发展和利用公共政策创造增长的战略,同时还有利于贫困人口的共同参与,以确保他们成为积极的参与者和增长的受益者。自然资源收益管理,原生态农产品开发和区域经济带建设被列为促进这种增长战略实施的三个最有前途的领域。