Assessing Canada’s disaster baselines and projections under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: a modeling tool to track progress

Natural Hazards - Under the United Nations (UN) Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030), 187 countries including Canada committed to increasing disaster resilience and...     

Water development in developing countries: Problems and prospects

Important as water is to man's manifold activities, a significant percentage of mankind still do not have access to clean water for drinking and personal hygiene. According to a WHO survey of facilities available in developing countries to the end of 1975, 75 % of urban population and 20 % of rural population have access to potable water. Studies carried out by the UN system estimate that investment necessary to provide clean water and sanitation by 1990 to both rural and urban areas is on the order of $ 132,940 million in constant 1977 dollors. Furthermore, provision of clean water alone is unlikely to eliminate all water-borne diseases, since it is only one of several complex factors affecting human health.The situation in developing countries on water requirements for agriculture, industry and generation of hydroelectric power also requires attention because of large amounts of water involved. Effectiveness and efficiency of the supply and distribution systems must be given top priority. There is a considerable potential for improving the efficiency of water use in virtually every developing country and in every sector.     

The importance of mineral and energy inventories

Based on the results of the Conference on Resource Assessment Techniques of IGCP Project 98 in Loen, Norway, 1976, the importance of mineral and energy inventories is demonstrated by their long-term objectives which aim at the solution of problems of quantitative and qualitative mineral and energy reserve and resource assessments, estimates of the exploration potential, supply analysis, future land-use planning, and national mineral policy. Prior to establishing a mineral and energy inventory it is essential to clearly define both the long-term and short-term objectives, because they control the scope of an inventory and determine the approach to and the method of constructing the data base. Only then can questions be answered as to the kind of data required, the advantages of regional-versus commodity-based inventories, the necessity of computer-processable data files, the availability of a user-oriented data base management system, and the usefulness of conducting a pilot project. Examples are given for simple and complex types of mineral and energy inventories. The “Mineral Deposit Inventory” of the Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Hannover, Federal Republic of Germany, serves mainly as an information and reference system, whereas the mineral inventory of “Project Manitoba” of the Geological Survey of Canada forms the base for reserve and resource assessment as well as land-use planning of that province. For developing and industrialized countries alike, mineral and energy inventories are appropriate tools in planning new exploration activities and decisions on future national mineral policy. Used by the Regional Mineral Resources Development Centers of ESCAP and ECA, the United Nations economic commissions in Asia and Africa, these tools could be of great advantage and mutual benefit to the developing countries of those regions. This paper was presented at the International Geological Correlation Program (IGCP) Project 98: “Standards for Computer Applications in Resource Studies” held at Taita Hills, Kenya, November 8–15, 1977.     

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the Response Strategies of China

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) which launched in 2015 inherited, extended and developed the merits of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in 2000. By the analysis of SDG goals, it can be found that SDG has mainly covered the securities of food supplies, disease prevention, social justice and human rights, the securities of water, energy, land and eco-environment. It covers the human, social, economic, and eco-environmental dimensions. To achieve it, the SDG should be localized and coordinated with the long-term development strategies of Chinese government. And the goals should be integrated into the policies and engineering projects of China simultaneously. By multilaterally cooperating with international communities and sharing the development experiences of other countries/regions, and confronting global issues together, the SDG can be achieved eventually by all the countries of the world.     

7th World Congress on water resources Rabat,Morocco, 13–18 May, 1991

Submitted to United Nations Environment Programme Nairobi, Kenya by International Water Resources Association.     

New perspectives on natural resource development in developing countries

The link between natural resources and economic development is more and more regarded as a fact today even though the whole process of development is only partially understood. The awareness has now spread to the developing countries of the world where resources have yet to be developed to bring about an improvement in standards of living especially for rural populations, as well as a general improvement in the quality of life for the people. Unfortunately many of the resources of these countries are still to be surveyed and development planning is often based on flimsy, inadequate or even unreliable natural resource data. The improvement of data base for resource planning would go a long way to ensure more knowledge about natural resources in developing countries and better use and management of the available resources. There are economic, technological and environmental difficulties to be overcome before more efficient natural resource utilization in these countries could be achieved. The role of population growth in resource realization is still clouded with an inconclusive debate. But even more important is the need for technological assistance and the application of modern technology to food and agriculture and to other resources to ensure a better life for the populations of developing countries. Developments in agriculture will need the greatest attention since it is a primary resource which provides employment for large proportions of the population, food for the rural and urban populations and exportable surpluses required for the purchase of industrial goods for use in the other sectors of the economy. The activities of transnational corporations distort developments in agriculture and mining in many developing countries and many of these countries are today making greater moves to realize full sovereignty over their natural resources as a first step towards more efficient and meaningful planning for economic growth and development. Energy resources, and in particular the development of new and renewable sources of energy, present one of the greatest challenges to developing countries. Examples of the development of rural energy systems in China and India are promising to open the way to alternative forms of energy for the rural masses of other similarly placed developing countries. Finally, new developments in the natural resources debate concerned with the sharing of the resources of the oceans as seen in the Law of the Sea Conference are a pointer to a more equitable approach to the use of global resources for the continued development of the developed as well as the developing countries of the world.The view expressed in this paper are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations University.     

中国新的矿产资源/储量分类标准与国际主要分类标准的对比研究

通过对国际上主要的矿产资源储量分类方案的对比研究,对国际上通行的做法与规则进行了归纳。在分析了联合国方案存在的问题与缺陷的基础上,指出了中国新的资源储量分类标准与国际通行规则接轨存在的明显偏差以及在实际使用中存在的问题。最后对中国矿产资源储量分类标准的修订与完善提出了意见。     

Societal Responsibility and Development Trends of Global Soil Studies and the Provisions for China: Lessons from the Status of the 《World’s Soil Resources Report》

2015 is the International Year of Soil (IYS) adopted by the 378th Congress of the United Nations. The Status of the World’s Soil Resources was released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which was the policy report about the status of the world soil resources for the first time. The universal values of the global community were strengthened by the challenges for the global society from the risk and safety of the change of soil quality, functions, services and soil health. One third of the world soil resources were suffering serious degradation, which could affect the food security in the future, regional development and local conflicts in the report. The major task of the global monitoring, regulation and management of the world soil resources and the social responsibility of supporting the sustainable soil management by education, research and technology development were highlighted. The social responsibility and global development trends of soil science and management strategies were discussed by the keywords, the distribution of contributing authors and the citation of the references, as well as the main contents of the report. The keywords distribution of the report showed that the focus of the soil research included the change of soil quality, processes, functions and services induced by the natural driving forces, human’s activity and soil degradation, as well as the hotspots covered soil carbon/nitrogen-water-biological pool and distribution related with the biogeochemistry, global climate change and ecosystem functions and human health. The number and structure of the cited papers showed that the integration research based on the mega-data analysis were the prominent development trend of the soil science. The geographic distribution of all the contributing authors showed that dominant discourse of the global soil science were grasped by the developed countries including Europe and the United States, China had just limited effects on the global soil science. It is urgent to promote China’s soil science research and the services for global society.     

A comparison of selected global disaster risk assessment results

We compare country risk rankings derived from two recently published global disaster risk analyses. One set of country rankings is based on the Disaster Risk Index (DRI) developed by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Division of Early Warning and Assessment Global Resource Information Database project under a contract to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The other is based on an index of disaster mortality risk developed by the Global Natural Disaster Risk Hotspots project implemented by Columbia University, the World Bank and associated partners. We convert data from these sources into two comparable indexes of disaster mortality risk and rank countries according to the resulting values for a set of natural hazards common to both studies. The country rankings are moderately correlated, ranging from .41 to .56 for individual hazards to .31 for multi-hazard mortality risks. We identify the top 25 countries according to the mortality risk values we recomputed from each study’s results to show the degree to which countries are highly ranked in common. The numbers of countries common to both lists for individual hazards range from 7 to 16 out of 25. The correspondence among the top 25 ranked countries is lowest for earthquakes and floods. Only 6 out of 25 countries are common to both lists in the multi-hazard case. We suggest that while the convergence in the results for some hazards is encouraging, more work is needed to improve data and methods, particularly with respect to assessing the role of vulnerability in the creation of risk and the calculation of multi-hazard risks. The views expressed are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of SM2 Consulting Multi-Hazards and Risk Holistic Solutions or the United Nations Development Program.     

International cooperation in water resources

Advancements in hydrology proceeded slowly until the late 1800's when new ventures created a surge of interest and accomplishment. Progress waned again until the middle 20th century when an International Hydrological Decade was conceived, eventually receiving wide multinational support from governmental agencies and nongovernmental institutions.Organized by UNESCO, the Decade program was launched January 1, 1965. Participation included 107 nations, six United Nations agencies, and more than a dozen international scientific organizations. The initial program emphasized scientific research, and international cooperation; the second half of the Decade, emphasized technical assistance and technology transfer, largerly through education, training and demonstration.The success of the Decade led to the establishment of the International Hydrological Program, again under the aegis of UNESCO, to continue the work of the Decade indefinitely. The five major program activities, now involving about 90 countries and several international organizations, include: the scientific program, the promotion of education and training, the enhancement of information exchange, support of technical assistance, and the enlargement of regional cooperation.A significant amount of activity related to hydrological data networks and forecasting is carried on in an Operational Hydrology Programme by the WMO, chiefly through its Commission for Hydrology.Other international governmental organizations with a strong interest in water include the UN, the UN Development Programme, the FAO, the WHO, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN Environment Programme, the International Standardization Organization, and developmental institutions such as the World Bank.The specialized interests of researchers outside of the governmental structure, are met through association in various scientific and technical organizations which are world wide in scope and membership.Notwithstanding a sometimes bewildering variety of organizations, there certainly exists, for any nation, group, or individual, a demonstrated mechanism for almost any conceivable form of international cooperation in hydrology and water resources.Dr. Heindl, L.A., formerly US Geological Survey, died on October 18, 1978 (see In Memoriam at the end of the paper) before he could finish the final version. His colleagues, James R. Jones, Robert M. Beall and Ennio V. Giusti, Office of International Hydrology, US Geological Survey, Reston, VA. 22092, USA, kindly prepared the paper for publication and wrote In Memoriam. Approved for publication by the Director, US Geological Survey.     

当前国际水文学科技术领域的研究方向

根据联合国有关机构发布的公报和世界各国近年来的学术研究情况，整理出了近期水文学科在地表水、地下水、水质、水资源系统、大气～土壤～植被、大陆侵蚀、冰雪、遥感技术和示踪技术等领域的热门研究课题，在一定程度上反映了当前国际上水文学科的研究和发展方向，对国内同行有一定的参考价值。     

Legal challenges to the management of transboundary watercourses in Central Asia under the conditions of Eurasian Economic Integration

Worldwide experience has shown that interstate economic integration can help states in strengthening of management of transboundary waters and international water law serves as a reference for developing of relevant interstate cooperation. Transboundary waters in Central Asia play important role in the economic cooperation among riparian states, including those who are members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). At the current stage of transboundary waters management in Central Asia, the obsolete legal status is evident. The international water law sources developed under the United Nations’ auspices have no binding application due to luck of formal membership of the EAEU states in these treaties. Also the regional set of regulations, especially for the Aral Sea Basin, needs further enhancement and more efficient implementation. The bilateral interstate regulatory framework of the managemennt of waters shared by EAEU states in Central Asia requires development of additional rules to enable better accommodation of challenges existing in terms of the current interstate cooperation. Having said that can one further assume that EAEU could serve as a new legal framework for more effective cooperation on transboundary watercourses in Central Asia? The answer might be yes, but… the current stage of the legal framework for cooperation on transboundary waters within the EAEU requires sufficient enhancements in terms of developing its legal and institutional framework. The first condition for EAEU to serve as framework for cooperation on transboundary waters of Central Asia is to strengthen the regulatory framework for the cooperation of EAEU member states regarding environmental issues in general and transboundary water relations in particular, able to accommodate two main goals: environmental protection on the one hand and economic development on the other hand. The EAEU legal framework shall also lead to improvement of existing institutional cooperation and a dispute settlement mechanism on transboundary waters shared by the member states of the EAEU.     

Analyzing the state of development of Pune City by using multi-criteria decision analysis and analytic hierarchy process

GeoJournal - As per the United Nations Human Settlement Programme Nairobi (2011), cities are the engines of economic growth with social and cultural life and spatial organization of human society...     

Main problems of water use and transfer of technology

Man and water are closely related in a dualistic manner: on one hand water has great influence on man's welfare and social development, on the other man's activities greatly affect water as such. Comparing the present and future water needs with water availability, the author concludes that some world regions should be considered as truly water scarce at least during the next generation. Man's activities create water problems which tend to change with time and exhibit a regional pattern. Many problems can be avoided if advance impact studies were made more regularly for planned water-related activities and projects. The author ends by stressing that differences in climate, hydrology, culture and dominating water problems tend to complicate the important process of transfer of knowledge between temperate and tropical countries.     

对北京市水资源可持续发展之路的思考

新中国成立以来，北京市多次发生水危机，且一次比一次严重这一状况严重制约了北京社会经济的发展，引起了党中央，国务院和北京市委，市政府的高度重视，并采取了有力措施缓解了水危机。随着１９９２年６月联合国环境与发展首脑会议的如开，要持续发展的思想已深入人心。     

Significance,Progress and Tasks of New-type Urbanization Research

Urbanization is the most prominent comprehensive geographical process based on human activities in the surface of the Earth, with obvious interdisciplinary characteristics. In recent years, new urbanization has become an important frontier issue both at home and abroad. Urbanization is also one of the most important frontier interdisciplinary directions and one of the key research areas of geosciences. Future Earth, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the International Geographical Union’s Commission on Geography for Future Earth:Coupled Human-Earth Systems for Sustainability (IGU-GFE) all emphasize coupling relationship between urbanization and human-earth system and sustainable development. Based on the discussion of significance of urbanization research in interdisciplinary fields, this paper reviewed the progress of urbanization research and put forward challenges and opportunities of urbanization research, and its objectives and tasks. It is recommended to play the role of the multi-disciplinary cross-cutting characteristics and strengthen the scientific and technological support and basic research depth of urbanization in interdisciplinary fields. To face the international research frontier and meet China's major needs, we proposed the top-level design and scientific and technological layout for urbanization research as soon as possible so as to improve the influence, the right to speak and the initiative of China's urbanization research in the world and play the scientific and technological support role of basic research better to serve the country’s strategic needs.     

National parks and protected areas,national conservation strategies and sustainable development

The role of national parks and protected areas in National Conservation Strategies (NCS), a key element in the 1980 World Conservation Strategy, is analyzed for the nine countries of Australia, Belize, Canada, Czechoslovakia, India, Senegal, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and Zambia. These NCS responses are described, evaluated and synthesized primarily for 12 national park and protected area functions identified through a review of the recent literature. National parks and protected areas are found to be involved in the nine NCS in uneven and less than optimal ways. Furthermore, little relationship can be found among the various proposed roles of national parks and protected areas and the socio-economic and other characteristics of the nine countries under study. As a basis for improving both NCS and the role of national parks and protected areas, a better NCS information system is recommended for the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) headquarters, Gland, Switzerland. IUCN Commissions also are urged to be more active in NCS work. More research also is recommended especially on the role of national parks and protected areas in regard to regional planning and development, indigenous and local people, and comprehensive land use management. Finally, special efforts should be made by IUCN, and other related international, national, provincial and regional agencies, to ensure their personnel are knowledgeable about NCS and the range of functions that national parks and protected areas can contribute to them, and so to sustainable development globally.     

Speeding Up the Analytical Workflow for Coltan Fingerprinting by an Integrated Mineral Liberation Analysis/LA‐ICP‐MS Approach

Coltan (the African trade name for columbite‐tantalite, a tantalum ore) is one of several raw materials that finance the civil wars in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To improve the transparency along the tantalum trade chain, a ‘certificate of origin’ for so‐called ‘conflict minerals’ has been recommended by the United Nations. Accordingly, the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) has developed an analytical fingerprint procedure for coltan. Mineral formation age, modal mineralogy and chemical composition are important fingerprint parameters. The original workflow to obtain these parameters was streamlined and is now based on mineral liberation analysis and LA‐ICP‐MS. The use of an ICP‐MS instrument with a detector system covering an extended linear dynamic range and the application of an internal standard‐independent calibration strategy allowed data for major and trace element determination and mineral formation age estimates to be obtained simultaneously. The analytical results of this new approach were compared with analytical techniques of the original workflow and showed excellent agreement in terms of mineralogical and chemical characterisation and mineral formation age of coltan samples. Within a test, samples of different origin were allocated correctly and simple, binary mixtures were also identified successfully.     

国际河流水文站网布局规划方法研究

随着近年来我国与周边国家在国际河流水资源利用与保护方面的合作工作的不断加强，以及边疆地区经济建设步伐的加快，国际河流水文资料收集，分析等基础工作显得越来越重要。为此，针对国际河流地区水文站点稀少，设施设备落后，监测能力薄弱的现实情况，水利部水文局组织编制了国际河流水文站网建设总体规划。简要介绍了该规划中有关国际河流的调查情况与规划河流的选择方法，说明了划定规划区范围的一般性原则和特殊性原则，提出了水文站网布局规划的思路，目标，原则与方法等。     

河流环境流量法研究进展

回顾了20世纪80年代以来,国内外在河流环境流量法方面的研究进展,包括研究现状、方法类别及发展趋势。在国外,从考虑单一水文要素的水文学法,到考虑多学科交叉的整体分析法,逐步建立起一套完整的方法研究体系,今后发展趋势是通过国际间的合作研究,开发满足不同国家国情和水情特点的综合环境流量法。在国内,研究尚处于起步阶段,大多停留在定性分析水平上,定量分析,计算比较简单,主要采用的是水文学法,如Tennant法、7Q10法等,今后的研究方向一方面要加强基础研究工作,另一方面要根据本国(或流域、或地区)特点开发出适合于国情和水情的环境流量法,研究地区也应从干旱半干旱的北方地区转移到水资源较为丰富的南方地区。