Medium-term responses of rocky bottoms to sewage discharges from a deepwater outfall in the NE Atlantic

An investigation on the effects of deepwater outfall discharges on the status of rocky reef communities was carried out. The sanitation system was found to be an environmentally suitable option for the protection of those habitats situated in high energy coastal environments. Sediments occurring between the predominating rocky substrates showed low values of the fine fraction (<63microm) and organic matter content. In addition, high average concentrations of Cd, Hg and Zn were found in these sediments, though these values were similar to those registered in non-affected sites, far away from the outfall. On the other hand, those assemblages typical of hard substrates that settled near the outfall showed an increase in total richness and abundance of macroinvertebrates. Moreover, the average number of species of each taxonomic group, a good indicator of the maintenance of the previous trophic structure, only varied considerably over time at the rip-rap protection. In a global context, those changes were not directly related to the discharge disturbances, but to the natural variability or the successional processes occurring within those communities. Only communities dwelling in the rip-rap protection area were affected by the proximity of the discharges.     

Performing environmental governance

This essay reflects on issues of researcher positionality within participant observation and action research, and the specific methodological issues surrounding research on neoliberal governance strategies, using my experience at the US Environmental Protection Agency as case material. Although I was initially concerned about participating with the anti-progressive Bush Administration, I attempted to adopt the interests and subjectivity of an environmental bureaucrat. Doing so proved to be an extremely effective way of exploring the multi-vocality and cross-cutting interests constituting the state, which often appears from the outside to be a policy monolith. Participant research among elites in the neoliberal state is an effective way to observe such complexity. It became apparent that, because mainstream economics tends to adopt a totalizing epistemology, both its casual and dogmatic adherents usually do not conceive of a coherent external critique. This often means that researchers of any theoretical background can be quite frank concerning their purposes, background, and interests, even as participants.     

金选矿厂含氰废水中氰化物降解及其环境风险评价

对陕西凤县四方金矿选矿过程中氰化物的迁移转化和降解进行了研究,结果表明,其尾矿库外排含氰废水氰化物浓度达到国家规定的排放标准。在此基础上对氰化物环境风险进行评价,为同类项目尾矿浆和尾矿水环境风险评价提供可信的基础数据。     

轨道交通规划环境影响评价公众参与的探讨

公众参与是环境影响评价的重要内容,城市轨道交通规划环评不同于一般的建设项目,其线路一般选择在城市中心繁华地区、城市交通主干道,环境影响的范围较广,城市轨道交通规划环境影响评价公众参与的广度和深度均应比建设项目环境影响评价公众参与的要求高,本文对轨道交通规划环境影响评价公众参与的必要性进行了阐述,其中包括公众参与是轨道交通规划环境影响评价过程的重要组成部分和现阶段社会主义民主的充分体现;是提高公众环境意识、化解社会矛盾和提高轨道交通规划环境影响评价有效性的重要途径。     

海洋地球工程的研究进展与相关国际法探析

全球气候变化及其引发的负面影响是当今人类面临的最大挑战之一,地球工程因被认为是减缓甚至扭转气候变化的切实可行的方案之一而备受关注。为推动地球工程技术的发展和相关国际法的完善,文章分析海洋施肥、人工上升流、人工海洋碱化、海洋云增白和海底造墙5种海洋地球工程的技术原理、研究进展及其在具体实施中对现行国际法的挑战。研究结果表明:无论是处于理论模拟阶段还是处于实验阶段,上述海洋地球工程技术都显示其减缓气候变化的潜力,同时也存在对海洋环境和人类生活的潜在风险;由于科学的不确定性和国际法的模糊性,各项技术在实际应用中都存在与国际法的冲突或适用问题,但目前从科研实践角度分析具体技术涉及的相关国际法问题的研究较少;虽然应在国际法框架下进行探索性研究,然而目前有关地球工程技术的国际法在理论研究和实践应用中仍存在很多争议。因此,必须加强对地球工程技术的研究,将技术风险降到最低,并在科学探索中做好环境基线研究,完善技术探索的环境影响评估方法;随着旨在减缓气候变化的小规模地球工程研究得到越来越多的支持,更应明确地球工程技术在国际法中的地位,建立合理的法律框架,推进国际法的改进。     

哈拉湖岩芯XRF扫描元素统计分析及其环境意义

青藏高原东北缘高山湖泊哈拉湖是位于季风与西风影响的交汇带的封闭深水湖泊,是区域环境和气候变化的良好记录载体。目前对该湖的研究还较少,缺乏对沉积物中元素环境意义的系统认识。通过高分辨率XRF岩芯扫描,用相关、聚类和因子分析的方法对哈拉湖沉积岩芯地球化学元素进行分析。结果显示Ti、K、Si、Al、Fe、Mn等元素变化一致,相关性高,归为同一类,即径流输入的陆源碎屑组分,反映了流域水文状况如径流量的变化。Sr、Zr元素相关性高,为赋存在粗颗粒沉积物中的元素,根据哈拉湖实际,应为冬季湖泊冰面风力搬运,反映了湖区冬季风力强度的变化。Ca元素既与径流输入元素总体变化一致,也与Sr、Zr元素显著相关,且在第一和第二主成分(径流和风力)上的载荷相当,表明哈拉湖沉积物中的碳酸盐既有粗颗粒的外源碎屑,也有湖泊自生的组分,这在利用碳酸盐进行地球化学研究时应重视,注意去除外源碎屑碳酸盐的影响。可溶元素S和Cl可能反映了入湖水量与蒸发对比情况,与湖泊盐度有关。     

汉石桥湿地自然保护区环境教育体系设计

从汉石桥湿地自然保护区自身特点出发,通过分析受众类型、设计原则、展示形式、内容等方面,对解说系统、展示系统和环境教育活动三方面进行设计,最终形成汉石桥湿地自然保护区的环境教育体系。     

Sustaining marine life beyond boundaries: Options for an implementing agreement for marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

For nearly a decade, governments have been discussing the need to improve efforts to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Support for a new international agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) – an Implementing Agreement – on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ has been growing. In June 2012, at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, States agreed to take a decision on the development of an international instrument under UNCLOS before the end of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which runs from September 2014 to August 2015. In follow-up to this commitment, it was agreed to consider the “scope, parameters and feasibility” of this instrument. To inform these international discussions, this article highlights some potential options for the content of a new UNCLOS Implementing Agreement. It first reviews the history of UN discussions, and then elaborates on options to address key elements identified as priorities for States in 2011: marine genetic resources, including the sharing of benefits, area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments, capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology. It addresses cross-cutting issues such as the governing principles, institutional structure as well as on other critical points such as High Seas fishing and flag State responsibilities. The article concludes with suggestions on possible next steps in order to succeed in the negotiations for an agreement.     

Integrating environmental variables and WorldView-2 image data to improve the prediction and mapping of Thaumastocoris peregrinus (bronze bug) damage in plantation forests

This study integrated environmental variables together with high spectral resolution WorldView-2 imagery to detect and map Thaumastocoris peregrinus damage in Eucalypt plantation forests in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The WorldView-2 bands, vegetation indices and environmental variables were entered separately into PLS regression models to predict T. peregrinus damage. The datasets were then integrated to test the collective strength in predicting T. peregrinus damage. Important variables were identified by variable importance (VIP) scores and were re-entered into a PLS regression model. The VIP model was then extrapolated to map the severity of damage and predicted T. peregrinus damage with an R² value of 0.71 and a RMSE of 3.26% on an independent test dataset. The red edge and near-infrared bands of the WorldView-2 sensor together with the temperature dataset were identified as important variables in predicting T. peregrinus damage. The results indicate the potential of integrating WorldView-2 data and environmental variables to improve the mapping and monitoring of insect outbreaks in plantation forests. The result is critical for plantation health monitoring using a new sensor which contains important vegetation wavelengths.     

Understanding climate coping as a basis for strategic climate change adaptation – The case of Queenstown-Lake Wanaka,New Zealand

Weather conditions that influence natural resource-based tourist destinations are likely to be affected by climate change, but our understanding of how businesses and destinations manage for present and future conditions is limited. In this study we report on the relationships between weather and tourism activities in the Queenstown-Lake Wanaka region, South Island, New Zealand. Key stakeholder interviews and a workshop form the empirical basis of this paper. Coping range application ideas derived from ecological management literature are used to develop a framework to understand and inform thinking and strategies around how tourism businesses and destinations are currently responding to the weather and perhaps could in future respond to climate change. Results show that within a destination individual businesses have widely varying relationships with the weather, with each type of activity operating within its own coping range to particular environmental gradients, for example temperature. Coping, which can be observed outside the ‘ideal’ range of a particular environmental gradient, requires business adjustments so as to cope with increasingly marginal conditions, up to a Critical Stop Point – the ultimate threshold. The data suggest that increased need for adjustments impacts on business viability, and more planned adaptation measures would be necessary to increase viability under increasingly detrimental climatic conditions. Discussion at a destination level workshop indicates that at and beyond thresholds, keystone industry and destination level strategic adaptation planning is required to ensure the viability of the destination as a whole.