Toward Sustainable Management of National Parks in Japan: Securing Local Community and Stakeholder Participation

Japan’s national park system constitutes a potentially viable mechanism for securing local community participation and building stakeholder consensus for sustainable park management, although the potential of this system is yet to be fully maximized. This article gives an overview of the system of protecting natural resources in Japan, focusing on the national park system. Parks are managed by zoning and regulation, which is unique in that land is not “set aside” for nature conservation, but designated as national park wherever the need to preserve “scenic beauty” has been recognized, regardless of land ownership or land use. Although resource conservation under this system has been problematic, it has advantages, especially in terms of community participation. This article demonstrates that in order to reach the system’s potential, the park authority must act as coordinator of stakeholders and facilitator of bottom-up approaches to decision-making. In order to do this, steps that must be taken include the following: identifying the various stakeholders in park management and defining the “local community”; clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder; and supporting consensus-building among stakeholders regarding the objectives and long-term vision of each park. By taking these steps, it would be possible to build a park management system that overrides government boundaries and involves local communities. This will enable the park authority to address the challenges facing Japan’s complex system of conserving natural resources, and move towards sustainable management of natural resources in Japan.     

Trends in Global Protected Area Governance,1992–2002

Governance refers to the interactions among structures, processes, and traditions that determine direction, how power is exercised, and how the views of citizens or stakeholders are incorporated into decision-making. Governance is now recognized as a critical aspect of effective conservation and is a prominent part of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s work program on protected areas. This study reports on a global survey to assess changes in governance of protected area systems between 1992 and 2002 based on responses from 41 countries. Results indicate that substantial changes have taken place with overall trends towards increased participation of more stakeholders, greater use of formal accountability mechanisms, and a wider range of participatory techniques. Many of these changes are supported by legislative and policy requirements and 75% of respondents reported changes in legislation over the past decade. Protected areas are becoming more influenced by global forces. A majority of respondents reported increased involvement of the private sector. Funding is coming from a broader range of sources, with a smaller proportion of income coming from government sources in 2002. Absolute funding amounts have increased, but almost two-thirds report that budgets fall short of requirements. Almost 90% of respondents felt that protected area governance had improved over the last decade; 67% felt that this had also led to improved management effectiveness. Respondents felt that secure funding, capacity building, and increased community involvement were the main governance needs for the future.     

中国居民潜在国内出游力的区域差异

运用因子分析法对中国居民潜在国内出游力的区域差异作了分析,得出影响国内居民出游力的因子包括区域经济发展水平与增长能力、区域居民收入和经济发展的外向性、行业从业结构、区域经济发展活力4个主要因子,并利用聚类分析法将中国居民潜在的国内出游力划分为5个层次.     

安顺市土壤pH空间变异及影响因素分析

探究土壤pH的空间分布特征及其变异规律,分析环境因子对土壤pH空间分异的影响,对安顺市山地复杂环境下土壤pH的精准管理和土壤资源的可持续利用具有重要意义.基于22 851个野外采样点,综合采用全局Moran's I指数、冷热点分析、半方差函数和克里金插值的方法,从不同角度揭示了安顺市土壤pH值的空间结构特征和分布规律,...     

海底悬跨管道表面双裂纹数值分析

为了研究海底油气管道多个裂纹间相互作用对管道产生的影响,针对海底悬跨管道表面双裂纹的相互作用,采用有限元方法建立双环向表面裂纹模型,采用围道积分法求解双裂纹下的应力强度因子,研究了不同边界条件下,不同尺寸裂纹间的相互影响规律,并对比了单裂纹下应力强度因子的变化情况。研究结果表明:不同尺寸的裂纹对双裂纹的相互影响规律有一定影响,且双裂纹应力强度因子最大值均出现在裂纹最深点处;弹簧边界下双裂纹相互影响规律与简单边界下相互影响规律明显不同;不同边界条件对悬跨管道双裂纹应力强度因子的影响较大。研究结果可为海底悬跨管道的失效分析提供参考依据。     

基于气象因子的PM_(2.5)回归预测模型研究

采用Pearson相关系数分析了2013—2016年3大典型城市北京、南京和广州的ρ(PM_(2.5))与各气象因子的关系。结果表明,3个城市ρ(PM_(2.5))与各风速因子最大的相关系数依次为-0.44,-0.29和-0.37,与各气温因子最大的相关系数依次为-0.44,-0.33和-0.37,气压与南京和广州的ρ(PM_(2.5))正相关,气压因子最大的相关系数分别为0.25和0.34,湿度与北京ρ(PM_(2.5))正相关,与广州ρ(PM_(2.5))负相关,湿度因子最大的相关系数分别为0.49和-0.36,日照时数与北京ρ(PM_(2.5))相关系数为-0.46,降水量与南京和广州ρ(PM_(2.5))相关系数分别为-0.20和-0.24;采用逐步线性回归方法建立城市次日ρ(PM_(2.5))与气象因子的预测模型,复合相关系数分别为0.722 8,0.770 6和0.809 9。模型预测3个城市2016年PM_(2.5)年均值分别偏高4,5和3μg/m3,日均值平均相对误差为±45.6%,±32.9%和±26.0%,模型对高ρ(PM_(2.5))普遍低估。     

基于博弈论与可拓学的非正常接发列车人因风险评价

为更加准确且全面地对非正常条件下接发列车作业人因风险进行评价,提出基于博弈论与可拓学的人因风险评价模型。在工作人员认知机理的基础上,构建认知行为模型,考虑到人因风险指标数据的特性,利用博弈论的思想将由AHP法得出的主观权重与由熵值法得到的客观权重进行最优组合,克服了单一赋权法的不足;引用可拓学原理,建立多级可拓评价模型,修正了风险评价的偏差,使人因风险评价更加准确。实例计算表明:此方法运用到铁路非正常条件下接发列车作业人因风险评价是有效的,且可为科学制订风险控制措施提供依据。     

Setting the stage for the review of the international estimate of short-term intake (IESTI) equation

ABSTRACT

In the framework of setting Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for pesticides, both chronic and acute health risks to consumers arising from the long-term and short-term dietary exposure to pesticide residues have to be assessed. The current internationally harmonized approach for assessing the acute dietary exposure is based on deterministic methods for calculating the IESTI (International Estimate of Short-Term Intake). Recently, it became apparent that the IESTI approach needs a revision in the light of new scientific and political aspects. The main reasons that require this review were the lack of an international harmonization of the methodology which implies trade barriers as well as difficulties in risk communication concerning the public trust in regulatory systems. The most recent milestone in the scientific debate on a possible revision of the IESTI equation was an international scientific workshop held in Geneva in September 2015. The main objectives of this meeting were the re-evaluation, and where possible, the international harmonization of the input parameters for the IESTI equations as well as the equations themselves. The main recommendations from the workshop were (i) to replace the highest residue and supervised trials median residue with the maximum residue limit (MRL), (ii) to use a standard variability factor of three, (iii) to derive the P97.5 large portion value from the distribution of consumption values of dietary surveys expressed as kg food/kg bw/d, and (iv) to remove the commodity unit weight from the equations. In addition, the application of conversion factors and processing factors was addressed. On the initiative of the (World Health Organization) WHO Collaborating Centre on Chemical Food Safety at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), the Netherlands, an international working group with members from the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, France (ANSES), Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, Australia (APVMA), German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Germany (BfR), Chemical Regulation Division, the United Kingdom (CRD), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and RIVM, the Netherlands was formed after the IESTI workshop to conduct a comprehensive impact assessment of the proposed changes of the IESTI equations.     

苏皖交界河网区浮游植物群落结构及其与环境因子关系的研究

苏皖交界处的石臼湖是长江下游唯一的通江淡水湖,通过青弋江和姑溪河直接与长江相连,形成了复杂的河网水系。为探讨这种复杂的河网水系中浮游植物种群结构特征,2012年平水期和枯水期分别对石臼湖及其周边入湖支流进行了浮游植物调查,研究河网水系中河网与湖区浮游植物的种类组成、季节变化及与环境因子的关系。结果显示:共采集到浮游植物105种,平水期与枯水期种类数差别不大,两次调查均出现的种类约有70%相同;浮游植物丰度最高可达1×108cell/L,达到了水华暴发的标准。优势种类主要绿藻门和蓝藻门为主,但是从生物量来看硅藻门占优。排序分析显示河网区域浮游植物季节演替明显,且河网与湖区浮游植物群落结构差异明显,进一步分析则表明影响浮游植物主要的环境因子是氮、磷等营养元素。     

Rural migrants’ participation in old-age insurance: a case study of the inter-provincial migrant workers from Sichuan,China

Old-age pension, a fundamental part of the Chinese social security system, is perceived by the Chinese government as the last support for rural-to-urban migrant workers upon retreating from the labor market. Using survey data collected by the authors, this paper examines a host of factors which influence migrant workers’ participation in the old-age scheme. The result shows that individual characteristics, employment status, attitudes toward old-age support and perception of the old-age pension system significantly differentiate two groups of migrant workers between those that have participated in and their counterparts who have not participated in the old-age pension schemes. Among a number of factors, age, educational attainment, holding labor contract, etc. are found to be significant factors influencing migrants’ behavior participating (or not participating) the available age-pension schemes. Policy implications for how to improve the rate of participation in existing old-age pension schemes among migrant workers are drawn from the findings.