Mercury emission from the indigenous mercury smelting in Wuchuan mercury mining areas, Guizhou Province, China

Mercury smelting is one of the important anthropogenic atmospheric mercury emission sources. Small-scale mercury smelting activities with indigenous method which is considered illegal and forbidden by local government always extensively existed in the Wuchuan area, northeastern Guizhou Province, China. Because of the simple processes without any environmental protection, a large amount of mercury vapor released to the ambient air during the processing of cinnabar roasting. By determining mercury concentrations in mercury ore and smelting slag samples, a mass balance method was used to calculate mercury emission factors and annual mercury emission from indigenous mercury smelting in Wuchuan mercury mining areas, Guizhou Province, China. The mercury emission factors ranged from 6.9% to 32.1% with the recovery from 78.4% to 93.6% and the annual mercury emission was up to 3.7-9.6 metric tons. The results highlighted that the indigenous mercury smelting was one of the most important anthropogenic atmospheric mercury emission sources in this region.     

The transfer of agricultural technology and the development of small-scale farming in rural Africa: Case studies from Ghana, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and South Africa

In many developing countries, research institutions or centres have been established to develop and/or adapt technologies that would help agricultural development. This is particularly true in Africa where national efforts have been supplemented with international research institutes. Although some modest progress has been achieved in improving agricultural technology, on the whole, the improvement record is not quite encouraging among the small-scale farmers. In many areas, either there are no improved technologies, or where they exist, are unacceptable by farmers. However, where useful technologies exist, their spread has been very limited and where they have been adapted, the benefits only accrue to a small segment of the community. The logical question posed is: why and how do we find ourselves in the current situation? This paper considers the view that to understand fully why the available technologies have remained largely at the research centres, there is need to examine the whole process of research, development, dissemination and utilization of agricultural technology. It is significant to investigate the structural constraints and prospects under which those involved in the process work, their motivations and the interactions between different groups. The traditional ‘top-down’ of development strategy should be supplemented with farmers' indigenous knowledge, and programmes encouraging transfer of agricultural technology should include institutional support. Only by the identification of farmers' environmental and resource utilisation, preferences, socio-economic circumstances and constraints can a development programme of optimum meaning to farmers be devised and implemented with success.     

Surface water resources for prehistoric peoples in western Papaguer?́a of the North American south-west

Water for personal use was a limiting factor for the prehistoric and historic indigenous peoples who inhabited the extremely arid North American region of south-western Arizona and north-western Sonora, known as Papaguer?́a. This paper lists and quantifies the perennial and intermittent water resources available to them. In the 16,824 km²study area of the Sonoran Desert, there were 128 waterholes, most of them in the mountains and, when full, these offered at least 3,099,141 l of water. At today's precipitation levels, virtually all points of the region were accessible to inhabitants within a 40 km radius of one or more water sources.     

The water is not empty: cross‐cultural issues in conceptualising sea space

This paper provides an analysis of the neglect and marginalisation of indigenous peoples’ sea rights. It aims to explain how a complex and ecologically appropriate alternative law of the sea has largely escaped research interests and, until recently, has not been recognised by western systems of law and resource and environmental management. It is argued that the dominance of western views and concepts of nature and landscape predicated on western knowledge and values marginalises indigenous concepts of nature and undermines effective indigenous control of social space. Cultural differences between Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal ways of constructing meaning in the sea provide the vantage point from which to explore the relations between differences in cultural values, property rights, and political and economic control over marine and coastal environments.     

Rural women and technology in South Africa: Case studies from KwaZulu-Natal Province

This article contributes to a greater understanding of the linkages between women's roles, responsibilities and their use of technology in poor rural communities. The ways in which poor rural women conceptualize technology is examined. Furthermore, how they use their knowledge and skills to develop, modify and adapt the techniques and technical processes in which they are involved are also explored. Additionally, the links between indigenous and modern technologies in relation to gender considerations in poor rural contexts are examined. This article draws from findings of primary research undertaken in two marginalized rural communities in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. The study reveals that the use of technologies are highly gendered and differentiated among women. Poor rural women utilize a range of technologies in both productive and reproductive activities which are central to their livelihood strategies, especially at the household level. Furthermore, although women are adapting and innovating technologies their expertise remains largely unrecognized. A range of problems and constraints exist which limit women's access to and use of technologies. A key tension identified in the study is that between the use of locally-based, indigenous technologies and modern, external technologies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

贵州赫章土法炼锌导致的重金属积累

贵州省赫章县的土法炼锌不仅导致植被的破坏,而且使附近土壤和溪流沉积物中重金属有不同程度的积累,土壤中w(Pb)达到37.24×10~(-6)～30100×10~(6),w(Zn)为162.23×10~(-6)～31625×10~(-6),w(Cd)为0.50×10~(-6)～113×10~(-6),大大超过了当地的土壤背景值;沉积物中w(Pb)达到325.00×10~(-6)～21850×10~(-6),w(Zn)为1250.00×10~(-6)～30425×10~(-6),w(Cd)为25×10~(-6)～97×10~(-6)。土壤和沉积物中Pb、Zn含量与Fe_2O_3有极显著的正相关性;土壤中重金属Pb、Zn含量与Al_2O_3有极显著的正相关性,而沉积物中Pb、Zn含量与Al_2O_3则没有相关性。土壤和沉积物中铁矿物(铁氧化物和氢氧化物)对重金属的强烈固定作用。连续提取法对化学形态研究表明,Pb、Zn在土壤中主要表现为铁锰氧化物结合态与残渣态,而在沉积物中则主要为碳酸盐结合态、残渣态和铁锰氧化物结合态。土壤中可交换态Pb、Zn所占的比例很小,但其绝对含量变化较大,w(Pb)从最低2.75×10~(-6)到最高310.41×10~(-6),w(Zn)4.94×10~(-6)～321.10×10~(-6)。沉积物中w(Pb)7.42×10~(-6)～98.91×10~(-6);w(Zn)9.97×10~(-6)～72.67×10~(-6)。土壤中重金属Pb、Zn的有效性程度明显高于溪流沉积物,对生态环境的潜在危害更大。     

SOCIAL CAPITAL,DEVELOPMENT, AND INDIGENOUS POLITICS IN ECUADORIAN AMAZONIA*

ABSTRACT. This article examines the formation of social capital—defined as the norms of trust and reciprocity integral to social relations—and the ways in which it may help rural people's organizations gain access to rights and resources. The formation of social capital must be viewed within the context of the symbolic systems, or cultural capital, that imbues social relations with meaning. The concept of social capital provides a valuable conceptual framework for analyzing the multiscale processes of environmental management, rural development, and resource conflicts with which many rural social movements are involved. The role played by social capital is illustrated through a detailed case study of an indigenous political and cultural organization in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The organizational history of a lowland Quichua federation and the successes and problems it has had in managing development projects and achieving political objectives provide insight into the importance of social capital in the development of the region.     

开垦对阿拉尔绿洲盐渍化荒漠土壤微生物群落的影响

近年来,以对天然荒漠进行开垦和耕作为标志的人类活动加速了中国西北干旱荒漠区的绿洲化进程,但这种土地利用方式的改变对干旱荒漠土壤微生物群落特征的影响及其机理尚不清楚。本研究利用qPCR和Illumina Miseq高通量扩增子测序技术对新疆阿拉尔绿洲开垦5年的棉花田（FS）和毗邻的天然荒漠（ND）的土壤细菌、古菌和真菌群落的生物量、多样性和群落结构进行了对比研究,揭示了驱动荒漠土壤微生物群落结构演变的主要因子。结果表明：（1）荒漠开垦为农田后,土壤细菌和真菌群落的生物量显著增加,而古菌群落生物量显著降低;细菌群落多样性明显提高,古菌群落的Shannon多样性指数显著降低,而真菌群落多样性没有显著变化。（2）盐渍化荒漠具有不同于其他干旱荒漠的土壤微生物群落结构,开垦显著改变了其土壤细菌、古菌和真菌的群落结构。其中,放线菌门、绿弯菌门、酸杆菌门、螺旋体菌门和浮霉菌门细菌、乌斯古菌门和芽枝霉门真菌的相对丰度显著增加,而盐纳古菌门的相对丰度则显著降低。（3）土壤电导率（EC）、总有机碳（TOC）、全氮（TN）、全磷（TP）是影响细菌群落结构的关键因子;古菌群落结构的主要影响因子为植被盖度、地上生物量和丰富度、TP和AP;EC是影响真菌群落结构的关键因子。综上所述,盐渍化荒漠开垦后由于其原生植被群落、化学肥料的使用和土壤属性（EC、TP和AP）的改变不同程度地改变了荒漠土壤微生物群落特征。相对而言,细菌群落对土地利用方式的改变响应最为敏感,而古菌和真菌群落的多样性和结构则保持相对稳定。     

批判地缘政治学视角下原住民组织对北极事务的参与和影响

从自发组建的非政府组织到北极事务中颇具影响力的权力组织,原住民组织已经成长为北极事务中不可忽视的利益攸关方。在获取北极事务参与权及实施行动决策中,北极原住民组织展现了独特的思考和实践。基于批判地缘政治学的理论视角观察因纽特环北极理事会为代表的原住民组织的发展历程,发现：（1）北极原住民组织强调基于文本生产的知识权力获取方式;（2）制度性参与是原住民组织的主要行动路径。北极事务参与权的获取及针对性行动策略的实施帮助原住民组织成功影响和重塑了北极的治理理念、身份认同与地理空间,推动北极地区向着善治和良治发展。通过对因纽特环北极理事会案例的解析,可以为中国拓展自身在北极地区的合作空间提供参考。     

中国极地微生物学调查研究进展

中国自行组建的极地微生物学调研起始于上世纪80年代初,迄今20余年来,中国极地微生物学研究取得了丰硕的成果,调查范围涉及南北极,包括南极长城站、中山站及其附近区域土壤、空气、水体和南大洋水域,及从中取得的生命和非生命材料、白令海和楚科奇海、波弗特海、加拿大海盆等北冰洋海区,及青藏高原等等。对极地微生物的种群、含量、多样性、生长特征、生理生化特性、系统发育等作了广泛而有深度的研究分析,并就其中的一些菌株的活性物质开发利用进行了有意义的探索。最后对今后中国极地微生物学的研究提出了一些建议。