民国前期荆江两岸地区洪水灾害若干特征分析

“万里长江，险在荆江”，民国前期（1912-1927）荆江两岸地区水灾频仍．在荆江两岸地区1912-1927年洪水灾害相关资料的基础上，运用一般统计方法和理论分析了这一时期洪水灾害的若干特征，即普遍性、连续性、积累性和区域性四个特征．对洪水灾害基本特征及其规律的探讨至今对于有效的进行水患治理与防治仍有着深远的影响．     

论民国时期河南灾荒的社会成因

民国年间河南灾荒现象异常突出，虽与当时整体气候背景及河南特殊的地理特征相关，但灾荒背后的社会原因更应引起我们的关注。其主要表现为：一、社会经济乏力，百姓抗灾能力低；二、政治腐败，体现在政府的赋税名目繁多、政府官员失职渎职以及挪用、贪污河防公款等几个方面；三、战争与灾荒；四、帝国主义列强对中国的残酷掠夺。     

论民初我国救灾之主要特征

民国初年我国救灾的主要特征有三:一是救灾主体多元化,这可从阶层、国籍、职业、身份等方面看出,总体上又可划分为政府和社会力量两个方面。至于救灾效能,无论是政府还是社会救济力量均存在着或多或少的局限性。二是短效机制占主导,这可从救灾因素之临设性、救灾甚于防灾两点看出。三是社会过渡性彰显,无论是思想,还是机构、制度,都呈现出明显的新旧交错性,即社会过渡性。     

民国时期川东北灾荒严重的社会因素

民国时期川东北地区的干旱、洪水、滑坡、泥石流等灾害频发,范围广,灾情较严重,危害大。除自然因素外,各种社会因素对灾荒的严重程度也有直接影响。在军阀混战、赋税繁重、政治腐败、土匪横行的大背景下,政府防灾、救灾水平较为低下,民间赈灾杯水车薪,灾后恢复难度大。整体上防灾、救灾水平较低,人祸不亚于天灾。     

Striking the balance: Challenges and perspectives for the protected areas network in northeastern European Russia

Increasing anthropogenic pressure on the largest remaining tracts of old-growth boreal forest in Europe necessitates additional conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity in northeastern European Russia. In a regional network comprising 8 % of the Nenets Autonomous District and 13.5 % of the Komi Republic, 248 areas have varying protected statuses as state nature reserves (zapovedniks), national parks, reserves/sanctuaries (zakazniks), or natural monuments. Due to increased natural resource extraction in this relatively pristine area, designation of additional protected areas is critical for the protection of key ecological sites. The history of ecological preservation in these regions is herein described, and recent recommendations for incorporating additional ecologically representative areas into the regional network are presented. If the protected area network can be expanded, the overall environmental stability in these globally significant ecosystems may remain intact, and can help Russia meet the 2020 Aichi conservation targets, as set forth by the Convention of Biological Diversity.     

Evaluation of a population mobility,mortality, and birth surveillance system in South Kivu,Democratic Republic of the Congo

Prospective, community-based surveillance systems for measuring birth, death, and population movement rates may have advantages over the ‘gold-standard’ retrospective household survey in humanitarian contexts. A community-based, monthly surveillance system was established in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in partnership with a local implementing partner and the national ministry of health. Data were collected on the occurrence of births, deaths, arrivals, and departures over the course of one year, and a retrospective survey was conducted at the end of the period to validate the information. Discrepancies between the two approaches were resolved by a third visit to the households with discordant records. The study found that the surveillance system was superior in terms of its specificity and sensitivity in measuring crude mortality and birth rates as compared to the survey, demonstrating the method's potential to measure accurately important population-level health metrics in an insecure setting in a timely, community-acceptable manner.     

Spatial distribution of ciguateric fish in the Republic of Kiribati

Ciguatera is food poisoning caused by human consumption of reef fish contaminated with ciguatoxins (CTXs). The expanding international trade of tropical fish species from ciguatera-endemic regions has resulted in increased global incidence of ciguatera, and more than 50 000 people are estimated to suffer from ciguatera each year worldwide. The Republic of Kiribati is located in the Pacific Ocean; two of its islands, Marakei and Tarawa, have been suggested as high-risk areas for ciguatera. The toxicities of coral reef fish collected from these islands, including herbivorous, omnivorous and carnivorous fish (24% [n = 41], 8% [n = 13] and 68% [n = 117], respectively), were analyzed using the mouse neuroblastoma assay (MNA) after CTX extraction. The MNA results indicated that 156 fish specimens, or 91% of the fish samples, were ciguatoxic (CTX levels >0.01 ng g⁻¹). Groupers and moray eels were generally more toxic by an order of magnitude than other fish species. All of the collected individuals of eight species (n = 3-19) were toxic. Toxicity varied within species and among locations by up to 10 000-fold. Cephalapholis argus and Gymnothorax spp. collected from Tarawa Island were significantly less toxic than those from Marakei Island, although all individuals were toxic based on the 0.01 ng g⁻¹ threshold. CTX concentrations in the livers of individuals of two moray eel species (Gymnothorax spp., n = 6) were nine times greater than those in muscle, and toxicity in liver and muscle showed a strong positive correlation with body weight. The present study provides quantitative information on the ciguatoxicity and distribution of toxicity in fish for use in fisheries management and public health.     

An evaluation of legislative measures on electrical and electronic waste in the People's Republic of China

With the increasing number of recycling mishaps in connection with waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) in the People's Republic of China, it is imperative that the handling and recycling of WEEE be sufficiently regulated in China. Regulations covering three major issues, namely, take-back issues, controls on hazardous substances in WEEE and the assurance of good environmental management in WEEE plants, were promulgated between 2006 and 2008. The evaluation in this country report shows that few of these regulatory measures have performed satisfactorily in terms of enforcement, of public acceptance and of environmental concerns. In brief, the take-back requirements and the associated financial responsibilities are only vaguely defined; the control on hazardous substances and the so-called "environmental expiry date" requirements cannot be properly enforced, and the resources needed to ensure the satisfactory enforcement of the environmental abatement and pollution control requirements in WEEE plants are overwhelming. In addition, the use of a "multiple enforcement body" approach to the control of hazardous substances in WEEE is an indication that the Chinese government lacks the determination to properly enforce the relevant legal requirements.     

Removal of trace elements in three horizontal sub-surface flow constructed wetlands in the Czech Republic

Between March 2006 and June 2008 removal of 34 trace elements was measured on a monthly basis at three horizontal-flow constructed wetlands in the Czech Republic designed to treat municipal wastewater. In general, the results indicated a very wide range of removal efficiencies among studied elements. The highest degree of removal (average of 90%) was found for aluminum. High average removal was also recorded for zinc (78%). Elements removed in the range of 50-75% were uranium, antimony, copper, lead, molybdenum, chromium, barium, iron and gallium. Removal of cadmium, tin, mercury, silver, selenium and nickel varied between 25 and 50%. Low retention (0-25%) was observed for vanadium, lithium, boron, cobalt and strontium. There were two elements (manganese and arsenic) for which average outflow concentrations were higher compared to inflow concentrations. Reduced manganese compounds are very soluble and therefore they are washed out under anaerobic conditions.