A United States shark fin ban would undermine sustainable shark fisheries

A proposed nationwide ban on the sale of shark fins within the United States would undermine sustainable shark fisheries, would have little effect on global shark mortality, and would perpetuate the misconception that the shark fin trade is the only threat facing sharks. Instead, placing a priority on policies focusing on sustainable shark fisheries management is preferred for meeting the goals of shark conservation.     

The Impact of Urbanization on Groundwater Quantity,Quality,Hydrothermal Changes and Its Countermeasures

Groundwater, as a drinking water source for nearly one third of the world’s urban population, plays a strategic role in the development of urbanization. The object of this study is urban areas with the largest demand for water resources, the heaviest load of groundwater pollution and the most intense development of underground projects. This study sorted out the eco-hydrological problems such as the variation of the groundwater hydrological process, the groundwater pollution, and the urban heat island of groundwater in urban areas under the background of urbanization. Furthermore, the mechanism of changes in the quantity, quality and heat of groundwater was also systematically analyzed, and the intrinsic interaction among these three factors was revealed. The study showed that changes in land use and land cover caused by the urbanization are the main reasons for the variation of groundwater hydrological process. The pollution load of urbanization construction and domestic production waste has aggravated the deterioration of groundwater quality. The increase in vertical heat flux caused by urbanization gives rise to the warming of groundwater. By summarizing the eco-hydrological problems and causes of groundwater in urbanized areas, several suggestions were proposed: \mathrm{①} Establishing the evaluation method and system of urban groundwater resources; \mathrm{②} Speeding up the technological breakthroughs of groundwater pollution control; \mathrm{③} Improving the regional control strategies for groundwater pollution; \mathrm{④} Optimizing the allocation of groundwater resources. This study will provide the theoretical basis and technical support for ensuring urban water safety, building ecological civilized cities and further promoting the sustainable development of economy and society.     

What’s in a name? Epistemic perspectives and Payments for Ecosystem Services policies in Nicaragua

As Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) continues to gain attention as a policy tool for securing efficient and effective environmental governance, a rising tide of criticism warns of the potentially detrimental social–ecological consequences of nature commodification and ‘green neoliberalism’. These concerns are also expressed at international policy fora, where the market rhetoric has met with political resistance from countries belonging to the ‘Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America’ (ALBA). But despite this ideological opposition, some ALBA countries are increasingly integrating PES into their environmental policies. In this article we consider the reasons underlying this apparent contradiction and relate it to the notion of ‘epistemic circulation’. On the basis of a study on the evolution of PES-thinking in Nicaragua (an ALBA member) and a reassessment of the supposed ‘success’ of an influential pilot project, we shed light on the forces driving the adoption of particular PES modes and contextualise practical difficulties to endorsing more critical approaches to the tool. Instead of either ideologically rejecting PES as a neoliberal evil or embracing it uncritically as the new panacea, we argue that it is precisely through the socio-political processes surrounding environmental governance debates that the application of PES is shaped. In practice, it may either contribute to an imposed and dispossessing form of capitalism, or tend towards a more negotiated and socio-culturally embedded version of it. Only through its reconceptualisation based on political–cultural primacy rather than market-fetishism can PES achieve its true potential within a broader strategy towards improved environmental governance.     

Putting the seafood in sustainable food systems

Increasing attention by consumers to the social and environmental dimensions of the food they eat has generated many different responses, including certification programs, watch lists and local/slow food movements. This article examines the more recent entry of seafood into these consumer social movements. Although a concern with the family farm—as well as tendency to equate national security with food security—has long connected terrestrial food production with other cultural concerns, fisheries have tended to be regarded more as natural resources. Considering seafood as part of the “food system” would enhance the management of fisheries, while the long engagement in fisheries with co- and adaptive management and the politics of knowledge would enrich the debate in the agri-foods literature. The article also offers suggestions on how fisheries management could better govern for sustainable food systems, and provides further ideas about food, sustainability and governance.     

中国西部流域水循环研究进展与展望

由于中国西部水文循环的地区特性、生态系统的脆弱性和社会经济发展对水资源需求的增加,使得中国西部开发面临十分现实和严峻的水资源问题。从中国西部流域水循环的特点及存在的问题出发,探讨了中国西部流域水循环研究基础科学问题。同时,对21世纪中国西部流域水循环科学问题的研究进行了展望。核心的方面是：自然变化和人类活动影响的西北干旱地区水资源演变规律是什么？在西部生态环境建设中如何估算生态需水量？西北干旱地区的水资源究竟能够承载多大规模的社会经济发展需求？如何合理分配与调控水资源,最大限度地发挥其潜力,促进该地区社会经济的可持续发展？     

中尺度流域土地利用/土地覆盖变化评估--以伊洛河中部地区为例

将规范分析与实证分析相结合，提出了一个评估区域各点位土地利用／土地覆盖变化的新方法：（1）采用相对原则观察一时段内的变化方向；（2）物理模型与统计模型相结合，基于区域实际情况建立生境适宜性参照基准；（3）用多变量分析方法量度各点位与参照基准的差异。结合GIS和遥感技术，这种方法被应用于伊洛河中部地区的研究中。     

Forest certification eligibility as a screen for CDM sinks projects

Abstract

Parties negotiating the Kyoto Protocol recently agreed that Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) investments can include carbon sequestration projects in developing countries. However, guidelines for achieving the socio-economic and environmental objectives of the CDM, and other concerns with sinks projects, have yet to be elaborated. Independently of the Kyoto process, international efforts have advanced to define and certify sustainably managed forests through processes, such as that of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). In this paper, the FSC-US principles and criteria for sustainable forest management are evaluated in light of current concerns for guiding afforestation and reforestation projects in the CDM. It is found that the FSC criteria would help to meet some of the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol, including provisions to reduce the risk of premature carbon loss, and features that could somewhat lessen leakage of emissions outside the project area. Existing FSC monitoring and verification procedures provide some, but insufficient, overlap with expected requirements for measuring carbon stock changes. FSC principles and criteria articulate stringent guidelines for meeting environmental and social goals that reflect years of negotiations between environmental, timber, human rights and labor interests.     

Transforming agricultural land use through marginal gains in the food system

There is an increasing need for transformational changes in the global food system to deliver healthy nutritional outcomes for a growing population while simultaneously ensuring environmental sustainability. However, such changes are subject to political and public constraints that usually allow only gradual, incremental changes to occur. Drawing inspiration from the British cycling team’s concept of marginal gains, we show how transformation might be reconciled with incremental changes. We demonstrate that a set of marginal food system changes acting to increase production efficiency, to reduce losses or to adjust diets could collectively reduce the agricultural land required globally for food production by 21%, or over a third given higher adoption rates. The results show that while all categories of action are important, changes in consumer choices in Europe, North America and Oceania and in the supply-chain in Africa and West and Central Asia have the greatest potential to reduce the land footprint of the food system.     

西北干旱区土壤资源特征与可持续发展

分析了干旱区主要土壤类型、分布规律,土壤的理化性状、养分特征以及在盐碱化、沙化和灌耕条件下的变化,并论证了干旱区土壤资源的基本特征对区域可持续发展的影响。认为干旱区土壤分布具明显的空间垂直地带性及径向分布规律。极端干旱条件下的暖温带棕漠土的资源性能最差,其他土壤的资源性能排序依次为灰棕漠土<灰漠土<灰钙土(棕钙土)<灌耕土<草甸土类。土壤资源性能在灌耕、风沙及盐碱化条件下发生显著变化,在干旱区广为分布的荒漠土壤多数具有显著的中深部盐化表现和易于沙化的条件。干旱区可持续发展依赖于绿洲灌耕土壤资源的稳定发展、高生产力水平及可持续利用,在明确土壤资源特性与分布规律的基础上,土壤资源的合理利用与保护及其与生态环境的可持续协调是关键问题。     

区域可持续发展的若干理论问题研究

区域可持续发展是一项涉及到自然、经济、社会三个子系统组成的动态、开放复杂系统, 其研究内容涉及到地理学、资源管理、生态学、环境科学、人口学、系统工程、经济学、社会学等许多相关领域。本文以人地关系地域系统理论为基础, 从区域与区域之间不同时空尺度的PRED相互联系、相互影响的制约关系出发, 分析了人地系统的特点、结构和功能,并探讨了人地关系优化的核心、区域可持续发展的理论模式以及可持续发展的系统调控等问题。