Delegating, not returning, to the biosphere: How to use the multi-scalar and ecological properties of cities

Our aim is to theorize the shifting relationship between cities and the biosphere in ways that can incorporate vanguard scientific, technical and social innovations. We specify that the city (a) generates third natures - specific new environments - such as heat islands, that today are destructive of the biosphere, and (b) that the city has systemic properties that correspond to those of the biosphere, but today are mostly flattened out of action through the ruptures that dominate today's articulation between cities and biosphere. That is to say, our specific project agrees with the problematizing of the category “nature,” which pertains to our presence in the biosphere. But we do not take Harvey's more absolute statement that the city itself is nature nor do we confine our analysis only to Latourian natures-cultures. Our analysis is less centered in the work of correcting a false binary, as is the case with both Latour and Harvey, notwithstanding their different objects of study. We focus on the complex in-between space that is the site of both the transactions between city and biosphere, as well as the site of the ruptures that characterize these transactions.     

A review of advances in flash flood forecasting

Flash flooding is one of the most hazardous natural events, and it is frequently responsible for loss of life and severe damage to infrastructure and the environment. Research into the use of new modelling techniques and data types in flash flood forecasting has increased over the past decade, and this paper presents a review of recent advances that have emerged from this research. In particular, we focus on the use of quantitative precipitation estimates and forecasts, the use of remotely sensed data in hydrological modelling, developments in forecasting models and techniques, and uncertainty estimates. Over the past decade flash flood forecast lead‐time has expanded up to six hours due to improved rainfall forecasts. However the largest source of uncertainty of flash flood forecasts remains unknown future precipitation. An increased number of physically based hydrological models have been developed and used for flash flood forecasting and they have been found to give more plausible results when compared with the results of conceptual, statistical, and neural network models. Among the three methods for deciding flash flood occurrence discussed in this review, the rainfall comparison method (flash flood guidance) is most commonly used for flash flood forecasting as it is easily understood by the general public. Unfortunately, no existing model is capable of making reliable flash flood forecasts in urban watersheds even though the incidence of urban flash flooding is increasing due to increasing urbanisation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Engaging stakeholders in fisheries and marine research

Despite knowledge-brokering being of high interest to public policy, there is a lack of research integrating the knowledge of stakeholders and scientists, principally because public policies remain viewed as top-down controlled. To help European research policies make a positive difference to society, there is a need to better engage stakeholders with the delivery of research and to demonstrate an impact and value that it brings. The pertinent question addressed by this communication is: how can a deeper and more systematic engagement of stakeholders be enabled through European research activities? Enabling stakeholder participation in European research activities requires there to be an incentive for researchers and stakeholders to engage, and the capacity of stakeholders to operate effectively in the research framework. Unsurprisingly, the establishment of communications and cultures conducive to shared problem solving is high priority, as is the need to work towards a governance structure that helps link research with policy outcomes, while at the same time resonating directly with stakeholders. The Regional Advisory Councils could be a strong force in bringing stakeholders knowledge to bear on the scientific issues relevant to management, but their strategy and capacity to mobilise the skills to do so are not yet ready.     

Addressing knowledge gaps for transboundary environmental governance

Knowledge is widely considered a key ingredient for the effective and sustainable governance of the environment. In transboundary settings – i.e., where political boundaries cross natural resource system boundaries – there are considerable barriers to knowledge production and use. Resulting knowledge gaps can be barriers to governance. This research examines three case studies in which international river basin organizations, tasked with facilitating cooperation in transboundary river basins, recognized and addressed knowledge gaps to support governance of shared waters. We synthesize across the three case studies to develop a typology of knowledge gaps and the strategies used to address those gaps. In identifying common types of knowledge gaps and the on-the-ground strategies used to fill them, this research provides an important framework for assessing and theorizing knowledge at the transboundary scale, as well as useful recommendations and examples for practitioners seeking to develop that knowledge.     

我国土地利用研究的发展态势与重点领域

进入21世纪以来,土地利用研究在与土地管理实践的密切结合中扩展了学术影响,提高了学科地位.在土地利用的调查与监测、综合属性评价、规划与设计、变化与机制、工程与技术等方面取得长足的进展.基于发展态势的分析,本文提出应加强土地利用的基础理论研究、重视土地利用的方法体系研究、拓展土地利用的研究视角和深化研究内涵、强化土地利用...     

QUANTIFYING SIMILARITY FOR HANDLING INFORMATION IN KNOWLEDGE BASES

When constructing diagnostic systems or using knowledge-based systems,e.g.in analytical chemistry,features of different type and character,represented by numbers,trajectories or linguistic variables suchas intensities or colours,must be considered.To find neighbourhoods or to fill in missing values,thenotion of similarity is of essential importance.The paper presents a new fuzzy-set-theory-based approachto quantifying similarity and provides a system of rules to be implemented into the diagnostic part of theknowledge base to be used.     

知识创新工程中地图学学科规划若干问题

 在中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所的知识创新工程中,地图学是一门十分重要的学科。本文就知识创新工程的地图学的学科规划中的几个问题进行分析和讨论。文中首先阐述了地图学学科规划的指导思想,即继承深厚的学科积淀、追踪国际热点和前沿、超越和创新、理论-技术-产业化紧密结合。随后作者讨论了地图学的国家目标和科学目标,对地图学的主要创新方向及其领域前沿科学问题进行了深入的叙述,同时也涉及到了创新基地内外一体化的组织管理体系的设想。最后,本文从“多层次的创新成果展望”和“地球科学中永远年青的横断型学科”两方面对地图学的未来发展前景作了展望     

Modelling risk and risking models: The diffusive boundary between science and policy in volcanic risk management

This article examines the science–policy interface in volcanic risk assessment. It analyses empirical data from research on Montserrat, where new volcanic risk assessment methodologies were pioneered. We discuss the ways in which these methods contributed towards the ordering of scientific advice in its geographical context, and we provide examples of the complex and overlapping topologies that are assembled in a volcanic eruption. In this case, the science–policy interface can be conceptualised as diffusive: both science and policy contain multiple overlapping networks of actors, objects and ideas that interact with one another through flows of responsibilities, attribution, identity and interpretation. Volcanic risk management involves negotiation of conceptual, relational and physical boundaries, and as a result requires the use of qualitative and quantitative methods across human and physical geography.     

基于CiteSpace的海洋空间规划研究进展分析

文章基于CiteSpace对2000-2020年海洋空间规划研究进行了知识图谱和可视化分析,分析发文量、作者、机构、期刊影响力和合作网络变化,揭示研究热点的变化趋势。研究表明:欧美等经济发达国家和澳大利亚具有较高影响力,国家与机构间合作密切。海洋空间规划研究始终以生态系统和环境保护为中心,研究内容以政策研究和生态环境研究为主,研究热点由关注生态功能转变为以人类活动为主的整体功能规划研究,蓝色经济、蓝色发展是近些年的主要关键词。在海洋开发强度、范围不断增大,全球气候环境频繁变化的背景下,加强海洋观测和数据收集,探索海洋生态系统对环境影响和人类活动响应机制,加强生态模型在海洋应用,细化海洋空间规划管理措施,因海制宜地调整规划方案,实现生态保护和经济发展的齐头并进,是我国海洋空间规划研究的未来方向。     

Science with society: Evidence-based guidance for best practices in environmental transdisciplinary work

Transdisciplinary research is a promising approach to address sustainability challenges arising from global environmental change, as it is characterized by an iterative process that brings together actors from multiple academic fields and diverse sectors of society to engage in mutual learning with the intent to co-produce new knowledge. We present a conceptual model to guide the implementation of environmental transdisciplinary work, which we consider a “science with society” (SWS) approach, providing suggested activities to conduct throughout a seven-step process. We used a survey with 168 respondents involved in environmental transdisciplinary work worldwide to evaluate the relative importance of these activities and the skills and characteristics required to implement them successfully, with attention to how responses differed according to the gender, geographic location, and positionality of the respondents. Flexibility and collaborative spirit were the most frequently valued skills in SWS, though non-researchers tended to prioritize attributes like humility, trust, and patience over flexibility. We also explored the relative significance of barriers to successful SWS, finding insufficient time and unequal power dynamics were the two most significant barriers to successful SWS. Together with case studies of respondents’ most successful SWS projects, we create a toolbox of 20 best practices that can be used to overcome barriers and increase the societal and scientific impacts of SWS projects. Project success was perceived to be significantly higher where there was medium to high policy impact, and projects initiated by practitioners/other stakeholders had a larger proportion of high policy impact compared to projects initiated by researchers only. Communicating project results to academic audiences occurred more frequently than communicating results to practitioners or the public, despite this being ranked less important overall. We discuss how these results point to three recommendations for future SWS: 1) balancing diverse perspectives through careful partnership formation and design; 2) promoting communication, learning, and reflexivity (i.e., questioning assumptions, beliefs, and practices) to overcome conflict and power asymmetries; and 3) increasing policy impact for joint science and society benefits. Our study highlights the benefits of diversity in SWS - both in the types of people and knowledge included as well as the methods used - and the potential benefits of this approach for addressing the increasingly complex challenges arising from global environmental change.