Significant developments in sustainable development law and governance: A proposal

This article develops a practical proposal for progress on sustainable development law. It examines the prospects for an international sustainable development law to provide a framework for more effective, coherent governance. Sustainable development law is briefly defined and an analytical framework is provided. Different degrees of integration between economic, social and environmental law are described. Certain principles of international law related to sustainable development are also highlighted. It is argued that these principles may serve to guide law‐makers and jurists where social, economic and environmental law and policy conflict or overlap. Continuing, underlying questions of sustainable development governance are addressed and its global frameworks analysed. The article also focuses on the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg in August‐September 2002, and its specific mandate for the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) to take related legal developments into account. The article advances a proposal: that governments, economic, social and environmental intergovernmental organizations and other actors establish a ‘network of inquiry’ with members from relevant groups, including legal and academic organizations, and other expert groups, in order to follow, research, analyse and debate legal developments in a balanced way.     

Municipal solid waste management in South Africa: from waste to energy recovery through waste-to-energy technologies in Johannesburg

ABSTRACT

“Waste-to-energy” (WTE) technologies have been presented as one of the avenues to improve the management of solid waste whilst promoting clean and healthy urban environments through the recovery of waste and generation of energy. Research suggests that with the right investment in technologies and institutional changes, waste can potentially become a resource that can contribute to the socio-economic development of cities. It is in this context that this paper presents a review of the literature on WTE technologies and their implications on sustainable waste management in urban areas. The paper particularly contributes to our understanding of WTE technologies and its potential on Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is estimated that the city of Johannesburg’s landfills airspace will be completely depleted by year 2023. This projection becomes a motivation for the identification of suitable WTE alternative avenues to manage waste in the city. The paper argues that WTE technologies can contribute significantly to sustainable waste management, economic growth, ecological and environmental well-being.     

约翰内斯堡工艺的工程实践

通过监测城市污水处理厂约翰内斯堡工艺脱氮除磷各处理单元实际运行情况,分析该工艺实际运行效果,探讨该工艺中溶解氧(DO)、污泥龄(SRT)、碳源等因素对系统脱氮除磷效果的影响。     

2017年厦门金砖会晤期间人为减排和气象条件变化对臭氧污染特征的影响

针对厦门"金砖会晤"空气质量保障活动，本研究选取2017年8月10日—9月10日的O₃、NO₂和挥发性有机物（VOCs），以及气象因子等在线观测数据，开展人为减排、副热带高压、台风等对东南沿海城市大气O₃污染特征的影响研究.结果表明，研究期间厦门大气O₃-8 h平均浓度为（110.0±40.6）μg·m^-3.与管控前相比，无台风影响的管控I期的O₃-8 h浓度上升了19.9 μg·m^-3，而管控II期的O₃-8 h浓度下降了27.9 μg·m^-3.对于管控I期和II期，台风影响下O₃-8 h浓度较无台风时段分别下降85.2 μg·m^-3和8.9 μg·m^-3.在排放控制和台风的共同作用下，峰会期间厦门大气O₃浓度的日变化显现出"削峰填谷"的特征.另外，与管控I期相比，管控II期O₃前体物VOCs浓度显著下降，其臭氧生成潜势（OFP）下降了44.6%.总之，运用区域联防联控策略，对臭氧前体物（NO_x和VOCs）实施针对性减排，可有效地降低沿海城市大气O₃日间最高浓度.     

Risk,vulnerability, and pragmatic inevitability: the conflict–disaster nexus and urban governance in Johannesburg,South Africa

This paper spotlights post-disaster relief provision in Johannesburg, South Africa, following the floods of 2016 in a bid to explore how local government and non-governmental actors in the country conceive of compounding vulnerability and conflict within urban disaster governance. It reveals the diverse strategies employed to navigate violent conflict during the cyclical occurrence of disaster and reconstruction that the predominantly migrant population experiences in the Setswetla informal settlement, adjacent to the Alexandra township in northern Johannesburg. Rendered visible in moments of disaster and recovery are the spatial politics and multidimensional nature of conflict. These phenomena unfold across various levels of urban governance and in the affected community and effectively construct a disaster citizenship that makes risk reduction and community cohesion impossible in the eyes of disaster managers. This research, based on a set of expert interviews, integrates conflict and disaster studies to shed light on how the conflict–disaster interface materialises, and is operationalised, in an urban setting.     

World Summit on Sustainable Development: An environmental highlight or an environmental education letdown?

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) met from 26 August to 4 September 2002, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its goal was to hold a 10-year review of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development and to reinvigorate global commitment to sustainable development. Main outcomes include the reaffirmation of sustainability as a basic worldwide need, the establishment of a World Solidarity Fund, the eradication of poverty and the agreement on particular attention to the needs of the African countries. However, there is also a great failure. It failed to address the issue of environmental education (EE). The need for implementation and support of the greatest tool, which can lead to action, i.e. the need for specific knowledge, was never stated. Issues of knowledge, access to information, critical thinking, evaluation, assessment, even dispute and doubt, i.e. components that make citizens actively participate in the environmental decision process, were not addressed. Delegates in Johannesburg managed to decide upon the need for reaction, without mentioning EE, the necessary prerequisite. 21,000 people discussed sustainability targets, but forgot to consider how we will reach them. One may think that EE was not discussed because it has already been successfully implemented; maybe the worldviews are that citizens do actively participate in environmental decision-making. Or perhaps we can still be so naïve, as to simply forget what we are talking about.     

2011年6~8月平流输送对黄山顶污染物浓度的影响

基于单条后向轨迹的滞留时间场和污染物排放强度场,设计了一种可以评估该轨迹对污染物的平流输送强度参数.利用2011年6~8月光明顶CO和O3浓度资料对该参数进行了验证,进而分析了该观测时段平流输送对光明顶污染物的影响;此外将O3浓度分成3档,利用改进的PSCF(Potential source contribution function)方法分析了各档浓度对应的源区分布.结果表明:(1)平流输送评估参数与污染物浓度的变化具有很好的一致性,表明平流输送对光明顶污染物浓度的变化具有重要作用.其中,安徽、湖北和江西三省交界区域的城市群向光明顶输送的污染物占到输送总量的一半以上;(2)光明顶O3浓度 >55×10-9、(30~55)×10-9、<30×10-9时所对应的主要源区分别为华北及长三角发达工业区、黄山西南方向的工业区、较远的南部沿海地区;(3)影响光明顶污染物浓度变化的输送类型可以分为秸秆燃烧输送、发达工业区气团输送、西南方向气团输送和海洋性气团输送4种类型,对应的污染物浓度(CO/O3)(×10-9)依次为474.47/72.50、221.16/57.71、86.31/30.41、51.67/27.45.     

预缺氧池配水比对Johannesburg工艺脱氮除磷效果的影响

以处理城市污水的中试规模Johannesburg工艺为对象,探讨不同配水比对预缺氧池的反硝化及Johannesburg工艺脱氮除磷效果的影响。在总HRT为12.86 h,预缺氧池HRT为0.6 h的条件下,当配水比分别为0%、10%、20%和30%时,预缺氧池硝酸盐去除率分别为37.67%、78.95%、87.62%和94.95%,对应的厌氧池磷酸盐浓度分别为8.72、19.37、16.1和12.99 mg/L。预缺氧池最佳配水比为10%,此时厌氧段释磷速率、好氧吸磷速率和缺氧吸磷速率分别为6.94、3.17和2.12 mg/(g MLSS·h),厌氧池中磷的最大浓度和污泥中的磷最大含量可达到19.37 mg/L和25.7 mg TP/g MLSS。出水COD、NH3-N、TN和TP等各项水质指标有80%以上的概率达到《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准(GB18918-2002)》一级A标准。     

杭州G20峰会空气污染控制状况评估

为了实现杭州G20峰会（二十国集团财长和央行行长会议）期间的环境空气质量目标,2016年初开始长江三角洲地区尤其是浙江省加快推进大气污染防治行动,分区分时间节点实施多种污染控制措施.为了评估这些措施实施成效,利用WRF-Chem（Weather Research and Forecasting Model Coupled to Chemistry）模式对2015—2016年浙江省AQI（air quality index）、PM_2.5、SO₂等污染物浓度观测资料进行了模拟计算及分析.结果表明:①模拟计算显示,G20峰会期间各污控措施减排效果明显,核心区减排比例最大,严控区次之,管控区最小,4种污染物浓度减排比例从大到小顺序依次是SO₂、PM_2.5、NO_x和VOCs.②观测资料分析显示,G20峰会期间浙江省环境空气质量明显改善,但不同控制区改善状况不尽相同.与2015年9月、2016年8月相比,2016年9月核心区月均AQI的降幅约为35和25;严控区次之,AQI降幅约为20和15;管控区最弱,AQI降幅约为8和5.ρ（PM_2.5）情况与AQI相似,观测结果与模拟计算一致.③G20峰会期间日均AQI及各种污染物浓度振荡下降,9月5日降至最低值.9月4—5日杭州市和浙江省日均AQI分别为90、62和77、51,均在GB 3095—2012《环境空气质量标准》的二级标准限值以下;日均ρ（PM_2.5）分别为37、35 μg/m3和20、21 μg/m3,优于GB 3095—2012二级标准.④污控措施改变了大气中的首要污染物.以杭州市为例,2016年6—8月没有出现以PM_2.5为首要污染物的污染天气情况;7—9月没有出现以NO₂为首要污染物的污染天气情况,2015仅8月出现这种情况,10月出现跃升,日数占比高达60%左右;从4月开始以O₃为首要污染物的日数占比较往年呈更快的增长状态,7月出现最大值,并呈现与往年双峰型不同的单峰型结构.研究显示,除有利气象条件外,对污染源所采取的严格控制措施是杭州G20峰会取得良好效果的主要原因.