Sustainability: a Dissent

Abstract:  Broadly conceived and considered in its many usages, sustainability has grave defects as a planning goal, particularly when used by conservationists: it confuses means and ends; it is vague about what is being sustained and who or what is doing the sustaining; it is uninspiring; it is little more than Pinchot-era conservation (and thus ignores the many lessons learned since then); it need not be linked to land, to the land's functioning, or to any ecological science; it need not include a moral component; it is consistent with the view of humans as all-powerful manipulators of the planet; and, in general, it is such a malleable term that its popularity provides only a facade of consensus. When sustainability is defined broadly to include the full range of economic and social aspirations, it poses the particular risk that ecological and biodiversity concerns will be cast aside in favor of more pressing human wants. Given these many defects, the conservation movement should discard the term in favor of a more alluring goal, attentive to nature and its ecological functioning. A sound goal would incorporate and distill the considerable ecological and moral wisdom accumulated since Pinchot's day while giving conservationists the rhetorical tools needed to defend the land against competing pressures. In our view, conservation would be well served by an updated variant of "land health," Aldo Leopold's ecologically grounded goal from the 1940s. Land health as an independent understanding should set the essential terms of how we live and enjoy the earth, providing the framework within which we pursue our many social and economic aims.     

“城郊型农副业综合经营生态区”探讨

介绍了上海闽行区近年来大中型禽畜场污染治理的典型技术。根据该区的实践及其发展趋势来看,建立“城郊型农副业综合经营生态区“模式势在必行。文章还探讨了“城郊型农副业综合经营生态区”的特征、必要条件以及功能区划方案等。     

罗布泊野骆驼自然保护区的建设及生物多样性保护

新疆罗布泊野骆驼自然保护区位于我国西部极旱荒漠带 ,以保护世界濒危物种———野双峰驼为主要对象 ,同时也保护当地特有的地貌、盐泉、丝绸之路遗迹及其他珍稀动植物物种 ,面积 7 8× 10 4km2 。该保护区在世界生物多样性保护中有重大作用。由于周边地区经济的发展 ,对该保护区的影响逐渐扩大 ,威胁到野生动植物的生存安全 ,急需加强宣传、建卡、检查、巡护等保护管理措施 ,同时需要提高周边贫困社区人民生活水平 ,强化管制非法采矿业     

塔河上游地区阿拉尔段天然退化生态系统植物群落物种多样性特征分析及恢复途径

通过对塔河上游阿拉尔地区天然植被的物种多样性的特征分析,并结合实际情况,得出了该地区天然植被生态系统在人类干扰下普遍存在退化现象,尤其在绿洲—荒漠过渡带,这种现象更为严重。应采取有效措施对天然植被特别是过渡带的植被进行生态恢复。另外还讨论了本地区植被恢复与重建的对策。     

洪泽湖西部湖滨的生物多样性保护与可持续利用

洪泽湖湿地共鉴定出浮游植物165种、水生高等植物81种、浮游动物91种、底栖动物69种、鱼类102种、鸟类194种。在对洪泽湖西部湖滨的范围、自然特征、社会经济特征和环境质量进行简要介绍后，分析了影响洪泽湖西部湖滨生物多样性的主要因素，重点提出了洪泽湖西部湖滨生物多样性保护的措施：加强保护区建设、湖滨生态工程建设和区域环境综合整治。最后对洪泽湖西部湖滨生物多样性保护的资金来源进行了筹划。     

太湖底泥疏浚的水环境质量风险性分析

采用基于因子分析的主成分分析法将五里湖的16个水质参数概括为5个主成分,研究了各主成分以及其综合主成分在疏浚前后的变化,并以此为依据就底泥疏浚对水环境质量的影响进行了评价.结果表明,疏浚过程中,五里湖疏浚区的综合主成分得分最高,为1.15,水质综合排名在最后,水体色度和污染指数(F1)也达到最高值5.0;同时对照区综合主成分得分以及水体污染和色度指数(F1,F2)也相应升高,水质质量明显下降;这说明疏浚运作具有促进表层沉积物发生再悬浮和扩散作用,以及沉积物中内源性营养盐和重金属离子的释放作用.采用Monte Carlo随机采样法,利用平衡分配模型模拟和预测了疏浚过程中悬浮沉积物中重金属离子释放的阈值,结果表明疏浚过程中大部分重金属离子由悬浮沉积物向水体中释放的风险性较高,可信度达到90%以上,尤其是重金属离子Ni²⁺以及非金属污染物As释放的风险性较大,其可能的释放量分别分布在各自地表水环境质量标准EQS的28.6%～+∞之间和34%～+∞之间,说明底泥疏浚具有导致五里湖水体环境质量短期恶化的风险.此外,Monte Carlo随机采样分析方法应用也许可为湖泊底泥疏浚生态风险评价提供一条新的途径.     

磷对混养反硝化污泥活性和微生物群落结构的影响

生物反硝化脱氮是现在最广泛使用的去除水中NO-3-N的方法之一,混养反硝化因其综合了异养和自养反硝化的共同特性而引人关注.本实验探究添加一定量无机磷前后反硝化污泥活性及其微生物群落结构的变化.结果表明,混养反硝化污泥在无磷供给时也能进行反硝化反应,但磷的添加可显著提高其生物量和反硝化活性,反硝化污泥的异养反硝化活性明显高于自养部分,添加无机磷之后,自养和异养反硝化速率(以N/VSS计)分别可达0.056 mg·(L·min·g)-1和0.232mg·(L·min·g)-1,分别为加磷前的2.9和3.9倍.此外,微生物群落分析表明,投加磷之后混养污泥中反硝化菌占比显著增加,从13.47%增加到44.82%;优势菌属发生显著变化,添加无机磷使自养、异养以及兼性反硝化菌的生长均得到有效促进.     

Vertical fiscal externalities and the environment

We show that imposition of a state-level environmental tax in a federation crowds out pre-existing federal taxes. We explain how this vertical fiscal externality can lead unilateral state-level environmental policy to generate a welfare gain in the implementing state, at the expense of other states, even absent any environmental benefits. Using a computable general equilibrium model of the Canadian federation, we show that vertical fiscal externalities can be the major determinant of the welfare change following environmental policy implementation by a state government. Our numerical simulations indicate that – as a consequence of vertical fiscal externalities – state governments can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 20 percent without any net cost to themselves.     

Interactions between Carbon Sequestration and Shade Tree Diversity in a Smallholder Coffee Cooperative in El Salvador

Agroforestry systems have substantial potential to conserve native biodiversity and provide ecosystem services. In particular, agroforestry systems have the potential to conserve native tree diversity and sequester carbon for climate change mitigation. However, little research has been conducted on the temporal stability of species diversity and aboveground carbon stocks in these systems or the relation between species diversity and aboveground carbon sequestration. We measured changes in shade‐tree diversity and shade‐tree carbon stocks in 14 plots of a 35‐ha coffee cooperative over 9 years and analyzed relations between species diversity and carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration was positively correlated with initial species richness of shade trees. Species diversity of shade trees did not change significantly over the study period, but carbon stocks increased due to tree growth. Our results show a potential for carbon sequestration and long‐term biodiversity conservation in smallholder coffee agroforestry systems and illustrate the opportunity for synergies between biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Interacciones entre el Secuestro de Carbono y la Diversidad de Árboles de Sombra en una Cooperativa de Café de Pequeños Agricultores en El Salvador     

Priorities for Improving the Scientific Foundation of Conservation Policy in North America

Abstract:  The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) can enhance conservation of biodiversity in North America by increasing its engagement in public policy. Toward this end, the North America Section of SCB is establishing partnerships with other professional organizations in order to speak more powerfully to decision makers and taking other actions—such as increasing interaction with chapters—geared to engage members more substantively in science-policy issues. Additionally, the section is developing a North American Biodiversity Blueprint, which spans the continental United States and Canada and is informed by natural and social science. This blueprint is intended to clarify the policy challenges for protecting continental biodiversity, to foster bilateral collaboration to resolve common problems, and to suggest rational alternative policies and practices that are more likely than current practices to sustain North America's natural heritage. Conservation scientists and practitioners can play a key role by drawing policy makers' attention to ultimate, as well as proximate, causes of biodiversity decline and to the ecological and economic consequences of not addressing these threats.