Managing Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is a severe and growing urban challenge, particularly in post-conflict countries. Though Kosovo has significantly rebuilt and developed after the Liberation War, these initiatives have accompanied suboptimal waste management. This research evaluates CDW management in Kosovo by assessing current practices and operations vis-a-vis the legal framework and EU requirements. It identifies instruments and policies capable of ameliorating gaps and proposes a more sustainable and circular CDW management system for Kosovo. Information was primarily collected during on-site visits to Pristina and the surroundings by a cohort of Urban Management Students from the Technische Universität Berlin, students from Kosovo, and the local office of the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ. The analysis identified gaps in Kosovo's CDW management and its observance and enforcement of existing CDW legislation, including an ambiguous licensing system impeding sustainable demolition, storage, and transport; the absence of approved CDW storage options leading to uncontrolled disposal; and an underdeveloped market for recycling and reuse, deterring stakeholders from further pursuit of circular practices. These gaps were compounded by poor recordkeeping, obscuring precise information on CDW streams. Possible instruments and incentives to support Kosovo's transition to a more sustainable CDW management system were then identified.
Seed-coating with the insecticide fipronil has been intensively used in sunflower cultivation to control soil pests such as wireworms. A research project was undertaken to determine the soil distribution of fipronil and of its main phenylpyrazole metabolites. Under agronomic conditions, the quantity of fipronil in the seed-coat (437 microg/seed) decreased continuously during the cultivation period (3.9 microg day(-1) during the first two months; 0.3 microg day(-1) during the next four months). At the end of the cultivation period, 42% of all phenylpyrazole compounds remained in the seed-coat. Fipro nil was poorly mobile in soil, and at the end of the cultivation period it was mostly concentrated in the soil layer close to the seed (3240 microg kg(-1) soil). Starting from the seed-coating, a fipronil concentration gradient was measured in the soil, up to a distance of 11 cm from the seed. Degradation in the soil occurred at a moderate rate, probably due to the fact that water solubilization of the solid active ingredient present in the seed coating was rate limiting. Indeed, after 6 months of cultivation, only 51% of the fipronil seed-coating was found in the soil, about 7% having been absorbed by the sunflower plant, and 42% remaining in the seed coat. The predominant metabolites produced in the soil were sulfone-fipronil, sulfide-fipronil and amide-fipronil, which were produced at average rates of 5 microg kg(-1) soil day(-1), 3 microg kg(-1) soil day(-1), and 0.4 microg kg(-1) soil day(-1), respectively. In contrast, the photoproduct, desulfinyl-fipronil, was barely detected. All phenylpyrazole compounds were poorly mobile, except for the amide derivative, which is devoid of insecticidal activity in marked contrast to the other metabolites. Furthermore, detectable soil contamination was limited to a zone of about 11 cm around the seed. 相似文献
A comprehensive review of online, official, and scientific literature was carried out in 2012–13 to develop a framework of disaster social media. This framework can be used to facilitate the creation of disaster social media tools, the formulation of disaster social media implementation processes, and the scientific study of disaster social media effects. Disaster social media users in the framework include communities, government, individuals, organisations, and media outlets. Fifteen distinct disaster social media uses were identified, ranging from preparing and receiving disaster preparedness information and warnings and signalling and detecting disasters prior to an event to (re)connecting community members following a disaster. The framework illustrates that a variety of entities may utilise and produce disaster social media content. Consequently, disaster social media use can be conceptualised as occurring at a number of levels, even within the same disaster. Suggestions are provided on how the proposed framework can inform future disaster social media development and research. 相似文献
The razorback sucker ( Xyrauchen texanus ) is a large, long-lived catostomid fish endemic to the Colorado River drainage of western North America, endangered because of recruitment failure. Efforts to preserve the species have emphasized artificial propagation and reintroduction. Given the importance of maintaining genetic diversity in such a program, we examined mitochondrial DNA diversity in a source population (Lake Mohave, Arizona-Nevada) and three hatchery-produced year classes (1987, 1989, 1990). The source contained considerable variation, indicated by high haplotype diversity ( ĥ = 0.97) and a large number of unique haplotypes (17 in 25 individuals). Diversity also was high in the 1987 ( ĥ = 0.89, 6 haplotypes in 10 individuals) and 1989 hatchery-produced year classes ( ĥ = 0.91, 7 in 11), but significantly lower in the 1990 year class ( ĥ = 0.71, 4 in 10). Low diversity in the last class was likely because of differences among females in fecundity, viability of progeny, or both. Because natural populations have collapsed throughout the species' range, we must identify methods that preserve the most diversity. We examined three potential alternatives: standard hatchery propagation, natural spawning in predator-free environments, and protective custody of larvae collected from the lake with reintroduction after growth to a size likely to survive. The last is the preferred alternative and should be pursued as the most cost-effective option for preserving genetic diversity in the razorback sucker. 相似文献