Dynamite fishing in northern Tanzania - pervasive, problematic and yet preventable

Dynamite fishing, although illegal, has resurfaced in recent years as a major threat to the reefs of northern Tanzania. This is despite the fact that institutional arrangements for co-management of the inshore fisheries by local communities and the district governments have been put in place and, through a 12-year donor-funded programme, numerous activities undertaken to build capacity for effective fisheries management. The use of dynamite is having widespread negative impacts, including damage to the reefs and their long-term productivity, deterrence of tourism investors, and potential threat to the large population of coelacanths in the area. The dynamite fishers are able to continue, even though enforcement efforts have been stepped up, because they are members of influential families or otherwise well-connected. Previous similar cases in Tanzania, and examples from elsewhere in the world, suggest that a major initiative is now needed to develop a zero-tolerance approach on the part of fishers and local and national leaders, that will shame the dynamiters through peer pressure, promote full implementation of sanctions and penalties by the judiciary, and lead to public recognition of and support for the work of the enforcement agencies.     

Environmental responsibility and co-operation between Baltic and North Sea municipalities: Part 1: The Baltic Eco-Cities programme and its pilot function for the municipalities bordering the North Sea

National governments have greater legislative authority than local governments in marine environmental protection, on the global basis, but local governments both invest more money than national governments in environmental protection and often execute more environmental policies. When national governments have established regional marine resources management programmes, e.g. the Baltic, the Mediterranean, or the Great Lakes region, the final remediation planning responsibility has ultimately been delegated to local authorities.

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 did not consider this dichotomy and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and a coalition of other local government associations are considered to have a role within the two sectors, national governments and non-governmental organizations. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 on Protection of the Oceans gives little attention to the primary role presently being played by the local authorities in controlling marine pollution. Chapter 17 states that 70% of the marine pollution comes from land-based sources, and that more than half of the world's population is settled in coastal communities. But the Chapter does not present the fact that local authorities are the primary force in organizing and managing the coastal settlements concerning the greatest sources of marine pollution. The role of local authorities in Agenda 21 and the partnership between the international community and local authorities to achieve Agenda 21 objectives must be defined.     

Integrated water management in shared water resources: The EU Water Framework Directive implementation in Greece

The political dimension of water becomes highly important not only because of its scarcity, but also as a result of its sharing across national boundaries. Approximately 40% of the global population lives in transboundary water basins, 55% of which are located in Europe, emphasizing the need for cooperation and harmonization of policies. In order to better handle major water problems Europe have adopted the new EU Water Framework Directive 2000/60 the implementation of which is further discussed. Especially in Greece, management of transboundary rivers is of major importance, since roughly 25% of the country’s renewable resources are “imported”. However, lack of integrated approaches and legal agreements as well as administrative shortcomings, make transboundary cooperation and management a hard task. This study refers to 4 shared basins in Northern Greece and demonstrates the problems that occur for their sustainable management.     

Review of oil and HNS accidental spills in Europe: identifying major environmental monitoring gaps and drawing priorities

The European Atlantic area has been the scene of a number of extensive shipping incidents with immediate and potential long-term impacts to marine ecosystems. The occurrence of accidental spills at sea requires an effective response that must include a well executed monitoring programme to assess the environmental contamination and damage of the affected marine habitats. Despite a number of conventions and protocols developed by international and national authorities that focused on the preparedness and response to oil and HNS spills, much remains to be done, particularly in relation to the effectiveness of the environmental monitoring programmes implemented after oil and HNS spills. Hence, the present study reviews the status of the environmental monitoring programmes established following the major spill incidents over the last years in European waters, aiming at identifying the key monitoring gaps and drawing priorities for an effective environmental monitoring of accidental spills.     

Performance Evaluation of a Full‐Scale Extended Aeration System in Al‐Bireh City,Palestine

Major challenges attributed to dysfunctional wastewater treatment facilities in developing countries include lack of commitment and poor informed decision making by the higher municipal administration. This paper presents how process monitoring and control during full scale operation ensures sustainability of civic infrastructures like Al‐Bireh wastewater treatment plant (AWWTP). It is written from the perspective of practical process selection to evaluate the performance of AWWTP, a single‐sludge nitrification–denitrification process with aerobic sludge stabilization. Process monitoring data (July 2000–April 2007) from available monthly operating reports were analyzed and evaluated. Additional data on microbiological analysis and information about facility unit operations were gathered through review of published local literature and interviews with AWWTP personnel. Influent and effluent data evaluated were the chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP). Despite annual and seasonal variations in AWWTP influent for COD, BOD, TN, and TP, the Palestinian wastewater reuse requirements for restricted irrigation were met. Process design and proper facility operation have direct impacts on effluent quality. The study concludes that regardless of the design capacity and process type, adequate administrative and operational management dictate the sustainability of AWWTP and reuse schemes.     

Effectiveness of a market-based instrument for the allocation of water in a tropical river environment

The seasonal nature of Australia’s tropical rivers means that connected groundwater aquifers are an important source of both consumptive and non-consumptive water, particularly during the dry season. The management of these common pool groundwater resources is one of the predominant water issues facing northern Australia. A national program of water reform stipulates the expansion of water trading as a key instrument for water allocation. The effectiveness of new institutional arrangements such as water markets will be determined mostly by how well they coordinate with local environmental requirements, local institutions and local norms. This paper describes a novel application of combined field work, institutional analysis, experimental economics and agent-based modeling to the analysis of a potential water market in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, Australia. The effectiveness of different versions of the policy instrument is assessed in light of local conditions. Instruments that enable personal relationships and local institutions and norms to play a role in water management are found to be more effective in terms of both farming income and environmental impact.     

信息整合是地震政务网站建设的基础和关键——中国地震局门户网站建设的几点思考

电子政务是国民经济和社会信息化的重要内容,也是当前和今后一个时期我国信息化工作的重点。本文从信息整合的概念及面临的形势阐述了地震政务网站信息整合分类体系构架和面向公共服务的构成,提出了地震政务网站信息整合的新思路。     

《甘肃省地震安全性评价管理条例》修订相关问题探讨

自2015年 “放管服” 改革以来,地震安全性评价政策发生重大变化,地震安全性评价资质许可和结果审定等行政许可被取消,改为强制性评估,继而开展区域性地震安全性评价。国家层面的相关行政法规已于2017和2019年进行了两次修订。《甘肃省地震安全性评价管理条例》作为调整甘肃省地震安全性评价相关法律关系的专门性地方性法规,颁布距今已有15年之久,出现与上位法冲突、法律空白及法律滞后性明显等不适应经济社会发展的情形。本文从地方性法规修订的角度出发,阐述了修订的意义、修订应当把握的原则,并就明确地震安全性评价对象、部门职能职责权限、地震安全性评价范围、区域性地震安全性评价等制度方面提出具体建议,分析当前省级地震工作主管部门在修法及工作实践中存在的困境,提出相关建议。      

The Potential Use of Bali Wastewater for Crop Production Based on Moscow Region Experience

The article offers a new approach to the selection of a treatment plant, based on the optimization of biogeochemical matter flows. The existing treatment facilities of Bali are analyzed. The authors propose several process schemes for domestic wastewater treatment, depending on the technology of utilization of biogenic elements from the wastewater for agricultural production. These are based on water treatment technologies that have been in use in Moscow for more than 100 years.     

The use of biomarkers in environmental monitoring programmes

The monitoring of biological effects has recently become an integral component of environmental monitoring programmes as a supplement to the commonly used contaminant monitoring. Over the years, many biomarkers have been developed that are claimed to be efficient at providing an early warning of deleterious effects on biological systems and for estimating biological effects due to contaminants. Although biomarkers are potentially useful, they have a number of important limitations. In this paper, we examine some of the key assumptions behind the theory and practice of use of biomarkers, and propose a scheme, which may facilitate decisions by environmental managers as to how and when to use biomarkers in their monitoring programmes.     

Water availability for the greening of Kuwait

Water resources for agricultural development and landscape enhancement in Kuwait are very scarce; the quality is saline (brackish), and the soil texture is sandy, incapable of holding nutrients and moisture. Most of the rainfall in Kuwait either evaporates due to the high temperatures or percolates through the soil. The rainfall is not sufficient to recharge the underground water supply. A variety of alternative water sources have been studied, including seawater desalination and wastewater treatment. Wastewater treatment proved to be convenient due to the relatively low salinity detected in the treated water. Furthermore, the amount of wastewater is expected to increase as more residential areas are connected to the sewage system as the population increases.

The development of a greenery plan for Kuwait requires intensive water management. This goal can be achieved through manpower training in landscape development, selection of plants tolerant to arid environments, usage of appropriate irrigation and drainage systems, promotion of greenery programs within public and the governmental agencies for their direct participation in urban area beautification, and extension of wastewater treatment techniques.     

太湖流域空间开发适宜性分区与失衡性评估

随着发达地区经济社会的快速发展,建设用地急剧扩张,改变地表下垫面水文条件,成为导致区域水环境不断恶化的重要因素,并引发一系列的资源环境问题.为了促进资源环境与经济社会均衡发展,近年来地理学界开展了大量空间开发功能分区和适宜性分区的研究,为区域空间管理和建设用地调控提供科学依据,但是这些研究大多以单一行政区为对象,缺少流域等跨行政区的自然地理单元的分区研究,忽视了流域经济社会发展与资源环境保护的整体性.为此,本文在借鉴相关分区研究的基础上,以太湖流域为例,探讨了流域单元空间开发适宜性分区指标选择与综合评价等技术方法,将太湖流域划分为高适宜区、中等适宜区、低适宜区和不适宜区等四种类型,并采用数据包络分析方法,探讨了建设用地配置规模与空间开发适宜性的对应关系和均衡程度,据此判断流域空间开发的失衡状态.     

Bioindication of water and bottom sediment pollution in the Kondopozhskaya Bay of Lake Onega

The situation in the Kondopozhskaya Bay of Onega Lake, polluted by wastewater of a pulp-and-paper mill is considered. The dynamics of wastewater input over 80 years is analyzed; the rate of such input varied widely in this period because of changes in cellulose production processes. A close correlation was found to exist between the characteristics of the state of aquatic organism communities and the environmental physicochemical characteristics. The pollution indices of water mass and the bed are evaluated, including biological and physicochemical data. Those indices can be used to identify polluted zones of water and bottom sediments in Onega Lake subject to the discharge of wastewaters from pulp-and-paper mill.     

The application of histo-cytopathological biomarkers in marine pollution monitoring: a review

During the past two decades, a variety of histopathological alterations in fish and bivalves have been developed and used as biomarkers in pollution monitoring. Some of these have been successfully adopted in major national monitoring programmes, while others, although show promise, are still in the experimental stage. This paper critically reviews the scientific basis, cause and effect relationship, reliability, advantages and limitations of 14 histo-cytopathological biomarkers. The usefulness and practical application of each biomarker have been evaluated against a number of objective criteria including: ecological relevance, sensitivity, specificity, dose-response relationship, confounding factors, technical difficulties and cost-effectiveness.     

结构抗震鲁棒性分析方法研究

结合侧向增量连续倒塌过程中框架结构受力特征来研究结构抗震鲁棒性,提出其定量计算方法,通过对钢筋混凝土框架结构有限元模型的对比分析进行验证。研究表明:结构鲁棒性强弱是一个相对概念,虽然无法设计和建造出绝对鲁棒的结构,但可以通过定量分析结构鲁棒性进行建筑选型和结构布置方案优化;降低重要构件的易损性系数能够增强结构抗震鲁棒性,合理增加构件数量,同时加强其相互联系的有效性并保证备用荷载路径的可靠性,能够提高整体结构的鲁棒性;在同样荷载作用下,随着所承担荷载的不同,框架柱易损性系数按照大小排序依次为中柱、边柱和角柱,而由于备用荷载路径分布和传递荷载的机制不同,框架柱重要性按照大小排序则依次为角柱、边柱和中柱,对易损性系数和重要性系数均较大的构件设置可靠保护或增加荷载传递路径都能够提高整体结构抗连续倒塌的鲁棒性;提高结构冗余度,增强构件相互联系,可以降低结构中初始失效所造成的不利影响。     

Institutional Challenges for National Groundwater Governance: Policies and Issues

Understanding the issues surrounding groundwater governance is a precondition for developing policy recommendations for both national and transboundary groundwater governance. This review discusses groundwater attributes relevant to the design of governance systems and provides a systematic review of current national groundwater governance differentiated by various policy instruments. The synthesis of both resource system characteristics and experience with policy instruments allows us to conceptualize institutional aspects of groundwater governance. This leads to six institutional aspects: (1) voluntary compliance; (2) tradition and mental models; (3) administrative responsibility and bureaucratic inertia; (4) conflict resolution mechanisms; (5) political economy; and (6) information deficits. Each of these issues embodies institutional challenges for national and international policy implementation.     

Water policies in Mexico

The National Water Commission (CNA) is the federal agency in charge of the administration and custody of water resources. The Mexican water industry including provision of drinking water, sewerage, sewage treatment and disposal, environmental functions, and community services like flood protection and dams security, is not a monolithic one, however since 1989, the national policy in this area has been to reduce, as much as possible, the number of public offices involved in water resources decision-making processes. The creation of the CNA must be envisaged within this objective, i.e., within the final purpose of having a unique authority dealing with all problems stemming from the water provision, distribution, use and management. This reform was intended to augment the CNA capabilities to face its challenges. Such challenges are huge and from different nature, and the following article is written to present a general view of the main strategies designed by the CNA to modernize the water industry, under three basic areas: (1) use of water resources and infrastructure, (2) efficient management of water resources and (3) modernization of the water industry organizational structure.     

Adaptive management and its role in managing Great Barrier Reef water quality

Adaptive management is the pathway to effective conservation, use and management of Australia's coastal catchments and waterways. While the concepts of adaptive management are not new, applications involving both assessment and management responses are indeed limited at the national and regional scales. This paper outlines the components of a systematic framework for linking scientific knowledge, existing tools, planning approaches and participatory processes to achieve healthy regional partnerships between community, industry, government agencies and science providers to overcome institutional barriers and uncoordinated monitoring. The framework developed by the Coastal CRC (www.coastal.crc.org.au/amf/amf/_index.htm) is hierarchical in the way it displays information to allow associated frameworks to be integrated, and represents a construct in which processes, information, decision tools and outcomes are brought together in a structured and transparent way for adaptive catchment and coastal management. This paper proposes how an adaptive management approach could be used to benefit the implementation of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (RWQPP).     

地方地震工作的分级分类管理

根据唐山市地震局业务管理工作的多年实践经验，分析了决定地方地震管理模式的诸因素，以及按地方地震工作方向，任务需要，结合当管理主体与客体的实际，制订管理工作目标等问题。在此基础上，提出了实行分级分类管理的方式和办法。最后，介绍了强化运行机制的四种激励手段。     

A ten year Moment Tensor database for Western Greece

Moment Tensors (MTs) provide important information for seismotectonic, stress distribution and source studies. It is also important as a real time or near real time information in shakemaps, tsunami warning, and stress transfer. Therefore a reliable and rapid MT computation is a routine task for modern seismic networks with broadband sensors and real-time digital telemetry. In this paper we present the database of Moment Tensor solutions computed during the last ten years in Western Greece by the University of Patras, Seismological Laboratory (UPSL). The data from UPSL broad band network were used together with the ISOLA Moment Tensor inversion package for routine MT calculation. The procedures followed and the comparison of UPSL derived solutions with the ones provided by other agencies for Western Greece region are presented as well. The Moment Tensor database includes solutions for events in the magnitude range 2.8–6.8 and provides a unique insight into the faulting characteristics of Western Greece. Moreover it paves the way for detailed studies of stress tensor and stress transfer. The weak events' Moment Tensor included in UPSL's database are important for the comprehension of local seismotectonics and reveal the role of minor faults, which may be critical in seismic hazard estimation.