Privatizing conditions of production: trade agreements as neoliberal environmental governance

Recent multilateral trade agreements are among the major manifestations of neoliberalism. They are also emerging as some of the most important sites of environmental governance in the 21st century. I argue here that these trade agreements, particularly the sweeping new protections they provide for investors, are redefining property rights and environmental governance in fundamental ways. I suggest that in addition to furthering the centuries-long process of the enclosure of nature under capitalism, the neoliberal agenda of NAFTA and similar trade agreements also involves something new: the privatization, or primitive accumulation, of conditions of production as an accumulation strategy. I explore these dynamics through examination of two cases, one in the United States and one in Mexico. I also explore the roles of social movements in these dynamics.     

The neoliberalization of ecosystem services: wetland mitigation banking and problems in environmental governance

Wetland mitigation banking is an American neoliberal environmental policy that has created a functioning market in `ecosystem services', commodities defined using the holistic measures of ecological science. The development of this market is discussed as a project of environmental governance, defined as the nation-state's regulation of ecological relations within its territory towards stabilizing capitalist relations of power and accumulation. I argue that the wetland banking industry serves as a bellwether that presages problems that other strategies of neoliberal environmental governance will experience. Ethnographic, economic and ecological data from the Chicago-area wetland banking industry inform a discussion of two major obstacles to neoliberal strategy: the problem of relying on ecological science to define the unit of trade, and the problem of aligning the somewhat independent relations of law, politics, markets and ecosystems across an array of spatial scales. Theoretical guidance is sought from recent work on `social natures' and from the Regulationist approach to institutional political economics.     

Environmental geochemistry of Zarshuran Au-As deposit, NW Iran

Zarshuran deposit is the most famous and important As-Au mine in Iran. However, there is no information on the impact of mining activity on the surrounding environment, especially on water systems. This paper attempts to document the concentration of arsenic and associated elements in waters and sediments resulting from the mining history of Zarshuran, a period covering hundreds of years. Water and sediment samples collected from Zarshuran Stream indicate high content of some potentially toxic elements, especially of As which ranges from 0.028 to 40 ng/l in water and 182 to 36,000 mg/kg in sediment samples. Mining activity, exposure of a large volume of mining wastes to weathering, and the anomalously high background of trace metals in the mining area are considered to be the main sources of heavy metal pollution.     

中国兴凯湖北岸平原晚全新世花粉记录及泥炭沼泽形成

通过兴凯湖北岸平原泥炭剖面高分辩率花粉分析研究，对晚全新世花粉划分4个组合带。XKH-4组合时期(1857～1746aB．P．)为沼泽发育前期，这一时期花粉浓度小，陆生草本植物占优势，气候干冷。XKH-3组合时期(1746～1287aB．P．)为沼泽发育早期，这一时期花粉浓度较大，且水生植物花粉含量为剖面最高，喜温落叶阔叶植物大发展时期，气候温和湿润。XKH-2组合时期(1287～602aB．P．)为沼泽发育中期，这一时期花粉浓度最小，但以陆生草本植物为主，木本植物为辅，水生植物急剧减少，针叶植物出现两次高峰，气候向冷干方向发展。XKH-1组合时期(602aB．P．至今)为沼泽发育盛期，这一时期花粉浓度最大，陆生草本植物大发展时期，气候波动较大。     

Changes in soil organic carbon and other physical soil properties along adjacent Mediterranean forest, grassland, and cropland ecosystems in Turkey

Cultivation, overgrazing, and overharvesting are seriously degrading forest and grassland ecosystems in the Taurus Mountains of the southern Mediterranean region of Turkey. This study investigated the effects of changes on soil organic carbon (SOC) content and other physical soil properties over a 12-year period in three adjacent ecosystems in a Mediterranean plateau. The ecosystems were cropland (converted from grasslands in 1990), open forest, and grassland. Soil samples from two depths, 0–10 and 10–20 cm, were collected for chemical and physical analyses at each of cropland, open forest, and grassland ecosystems. SOC pools at the 0–20 cm depth of cropland, forest, and grassland ecosystems were estimated at 32,636, 56,480, and 57,317 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. Conversion of grassland into cropland during the 12-year period increased the bulk density by 10.5% and soil erodibility by 46.2%; it decreased SOM by 48.8%, SOC content by 43%, available water capacity (AWC) by 30.5%, and total porosity by 9.1% for the 0–20 cm soil depth (p<0.001). The correlation matrix revealed that SOC content was positively correlated with AWC, total porosity, mean weight diameter (MWD), forest, and grassland, and negatively with bulk density, pH, soil erodibility factor, and cropland. The multiple regression (MLR) models indicated that any two of the three ecosystems and one of the two soil depths accounted for 86.5% of variation in mean SOC values ((p<0.001).     

Real-time simulation of ground displacement by digital accelerograph record

Introduction The observation records of strong ground motion previously, on the one hand, supplied basicdata both to research on earthquake engineering and to constitute the criterion of aseismatic de-signing of all project structures; on the other hand, it provided important information for the re-search on the process of epicenter burst in seismology. With the development of research on strongground motion observation, especially the development of the new generation accelerograph,which…     

Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectonic transition in Kuqa Depression-Tianshan, Northwest China: Evidence from sandstone detrital and geochemical records

Succeeding to multiply collisions of different blocks in Late Paleozoic[1―5], complex intracontinental structural deformation occurred in the Tianshan area during Mesozoic-Cenozoic[6―16], which controlled coeval basin-range evolution and resulted in intensive modi- fication and adjustment of the Paleozoic oil-gas reser- voirs[17―19]. The Kuqa Depression is a secendary struc- tural unit of the Tarim basin, in which Mesozoic- Ce- nozoic deposits occur in thickness of 6000―7000 m. The Kuq…     

Taxonomic composition and seasonality of diatoms in three Dinaric karstic lakes in Croatia

The composition and temporal distribution of planktonic diatoms were studied in three small shallow karstic lakes – Modro Oko, Desne, and Kuti – throughout the seasons in 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998. Physico-chemical parameters did not differ among the three lakes, except for NO₃ concentrations. Altogether, 137 diatom taxa within 41 genera were found in all three lakes combined. The highest number of taxa belonged to the genera Surirella (13), Navicula (12), andCymbella (9). Most taxa were tychoplanktonic, with true panktonic taxa contributing only 14% of the total. Despite their physical-chemical similarity, the lakes showed differences in the structure and dynamics of their diatom communities. Blooms occurred at different times in each of the lakes, and community similarity (Jaccard index) among all three was low (17.6–29.1%). The highest mean values of surface diatom abundance in Modro Oko (2199 cells L⁻¹), Desne (7900 cells L⁻¹), and Kuti (20690 cells L⁻¹) were not significantly different. Margalef's species richness index did not differ either among the lakes or seasonally. Only five diatom taxa in quantitative samples, and 22 taxa in net-samples, were common to all lakes. The most frequent diatoms were Cyclotella striata (56–93%), Fragilaria ulna (50–67%), and Asterionella formosa (27–83%). The most abundant taxa in Modro Oko, Desne, and Kuti were, respectively, Cymbella sp. 1 (402 cells L⁻¹), Cyclotella striata (3000 cells L⁻¹) and Asterionella formosa (20690 cells L⁻¹). Eighteen taxa were recorded for the first time in Croatia: Amphora commutata, Caloneis amphisbaena var. subsalina, C. silicula var. peisonis, Campylodiscus echeneis, Coscinodiscus lacustris, Denticula elegans, Gyrosigma acuminatum var. lacustre, G. distortum var. parkeri, G. fasciola, Navicula menisculus var. menisculus, N. pusilla, N. helensis, Stauroneis parvula var. prominula, Staurosira construens f. subsalina, Stephanodiscus sp. 1, Surirella gracilis, S. ovalis, and S. striatula. The genus Stephanodiscus was recorded for the first time in Croatia.     

长江三角洲全新世环境演变与人地关系研究综述

综合分析了近20年来长江三角洲全新世环境演变与人地关系研究的进展，着重对长江三角洲的形成与演变、环境演变与人类活动、人地关系的历史演变、古环境研究方法等进行了综述。指出今后研究的主要内容，包括多种环境替代指标的相互验证，高分辨率研究，定量研究，加强环境质量的时空演变研究，加强综合研究，寻求人地关系协调发展的途径。     

An approach for quantifying geomorphological impacts for EIA of transportation infrastructures: a case study in northern Spain

A methodological proposal for the assessment of impacts due to linear infrastructures such as motorways, railways, etc. is presented. The approach proposed includes a series of specific issues to be addressed for each geomorphological feature analysed—both ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’—as well as a series of steps to be followed in the process.Geomorphic characteristics potentially affected were initially identified on the basis of a conceptual activities/impacts model that helps to single out geomorphic impacts related to environmental concerns for the area. The following issues were addressed for each individual impact: nature of potential effects; indicators that can be used to measure impacts; criteria of ‘geomorphologic performance’; procedure for measurement/prediction of changes; translation of geomorphologic impacts into significant terms from the viewpoint of human concerns; possible mitigation and/or compensation measures.The procedure has been applied to a case study corresponding to a new motorway in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Geomorphological impacts considered in this analysis included: (1) consumable resources; (2) sites of geomorphological interest; (3) land units with high potential for use, high productivity or value for conservation; (4) visual landscape; (5) slope instability processes. The procedure has been designed for implementation in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. Details are given on the application of the method to each individual impact analysed and results are presented in both numerical and map form.Impacts assessed were initially expressed by means of heterogeneous magnitudes, depending on the geomorphological feature considered. Those geomorphological impacts were then translated into significant terms and homogeneous magnitudes. Integration was carried out on the basis of impact values thus obtained. Final integrated results were also expressed in numerical and map form.The method proposed enables comparison of alternatives as well as ‘prediction’ and assessment of impacts in terms directly related to geomorphic characteristics. It also facilitates the expression of those impacts in terms that allow integration with other types of environmental impacts.