Analysis on Marine Science and Technology Strategy and Key Layout of Japan and the Inspirations to China

The Basic Ocean Law (BOL) and Basic Ocean Plan (BLP) are important guarantee for the maritime strategy of Japan, which has established a complete policy system for the development of marine science and technology. On the other hand, the Japanese Government has started some major marine strategies and plans to promote the BLP. In this paper, the marine science and technology plans launched by the Japanese Government and its participation in the international cooperative research projects were introduced. The research of Japan Marine Science and Technology Center and the University of Tokyo Institute of Oceanography in the long-term planning and focus on the layout features, deep sea research technology layout, contents and advanced equipment were analyzed. At last, some recommendations for China’s development on marine science and technology were proposed, such as strengthening the legislation work and process, carrying out research and development of marine infrastructure with independent intellectual property rights, actively participating in international large-scale ocean plan, improving the discourse right and enhancing national maritime awareness and suggestions and so on.     

From stormy seas to the doldrums: The challenges of navigating towards an ecologically coherent marine protected area network through England's Marine Conservation Zone process

There is an on-going process to establish Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in England, to form part of a coherent and representative network of marine protected areas under national and EU legislation. From 2009 to 2011, the MCZ process included strong participatory elements. Four regional multi-sector stakeholder groups developed MCZ recommendations collaboratively, in line with ecological guidance provided by the Government's nature conservation advisers. This guidance was based on Government policy principles, including that MCZs should be designated based on ‘best available evidence’. This paper analyses the multi-dimensional conflicts that emerged within the stakeholder group in south-west England, which were magnified by uncertainty about future MCZ management. In September 2011, after working through these conflicts through trade-offs and negotiations, the stakeholder groups jointly recommended 127 MCZs to Government. The process subsequently shifted to a top-down approach, with further stakeholder engagement limited to bilateral consultation. There was a concurrent shift in policy, from a broad-scale network-level focus towards single-feature conservation. A lengthy series of evidence reviews concluded that the existing evidence at the time was insufficient to progress with the designation of most sites, marking a clear departure from the policy principle of proceeding with the designation of a representative network based on ‘best available evidence’, and effectively undermining the work carried out by stakeholder groups. Though MCZ designation was originally timetabled for 2012, in November 2013 just 27 of the recommended 127 MCZs were designated in a first tranche. At the time, no clear timetable was in place for subsequent tranches.     

Assessing potential spatial and temporal conflicts in Washington's marine waters

This paper uses spatial, temporal, and use-intensity data for 27 major marine uses in Washington waters to feature a method for assessing potential use conflicts in a variety of scenarios. The study represents a first step towards quantifying potential conflicts within Washington’s Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) study area by using a cumulative analysis to highlight high- and low-use intensity areas and the novel Marine Potential Conflict Index (MPCI), which incorporates space, time, and intensity of use, to quantify pairwise potential conflicts between uses. About 10% of pairs of uses do not overlap spatially and are likely compatible with one another. Temporally, the number of uses peaks in July and August and falls during January and February. Additionally, the MPCI identified three important use types with a substantial degree of potential conflict: commercial fishing, tribal fishing, and shipping. External data were used in three cases to ground-truth the analysis, as a limited test of its utility in managing any potential conflict. This article assesses the extent of Washington’s existing marine uses along spatial, temporal, and intensity axes, and more broadly provides a straightforward way to examine potential conflicts between marine uses.     

张掖黑河湿地发展碳汇的优势与对策

根据国内碳汇发展现状,分析了张掖黑河湿地发展碳汇的优势与劣势,提出了发展湿地碳汇的对策。     

Effects of demand estimates on the evaluation and optimality of service centre locations

Public service systems, such as emergency health care, police or fire brigades, are critical for day-to-day functioning of the society. To design and operate these systems efficiently much data needs to be collected and properly utilised. Here, we use the OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to model the demand points (DPs), which approximate the geographical location of customers, and the road network, which is used to access or distribute services. We consider all inhabitants as customers, and therefore to estimate the demand, we use the available population grids. People are changing their location in the course of the day and thus the demand for services is changing accordingly. In this paper, we investigate how the used demand estimate affects the optimal design of a public service system. We calculate and compare efficient designs corresponding to two demand models, a night-time demand model when the majority of inhabitants rest at home and the demand model derived from the 24-hour average of the population density. We propose a simple measure to quantify the differences between population grids and we estimate how the size of differences affects the optimal structure of a public service system. Our analyses reveal that the efficiency of the service system is not only dependent on the placement strategy, but an inappropriate demand model has significant effects when designing a system as well as when evaluating its efficiency.     

The Economic Contributions of Agricultural Tourism in Michigan

Family farms have long generated income from agricultural tourism including U‐picks, wagon rides, corn mazes and petting zoos, but contemporary agricultural tourism reflects much greater sophistication in terms of product variety, services, activities, and marketing. In Michigan, farm operators have moved beyond classic products and activities and the traditional consumer base. New sources of revenue derive from classes on beer, cider, mead and wine making, yarn spinning, perfume/soap‐making, farm markets, fishing, educational classes, school tours and hospitality including weddings and on‐farm restaurants. This case study of Michigan agricultural tourism reports results from a systematic survey of 154 agritourism operations conducted throughout the state during summer and fall of 2013 with a focus on the economic benefits of the fast‐changing sector. This study summarizes tax revenues, sales and employment trends for the farm operations participating in the survey but also quantitatively assesses the contribution of agricultural tourism to Michigan's economy through an extrapolation of the sample to estimate state‐wide totals. Results from OLS multivariate regression analysis intended to identify relationships between employment, advertising and scale to gross sales per day are also reported. These analyses show the importance of agricultural tourism to rural and peri‐urban places in Michigan and throughout the nation, while raising concerns about a growing division between large and small operators and what this growing gap may mean for the future of the sector.     

基于地学规律的科尔沁沙地土地整治与生态修复规划方法

内蒙古科尔沁沙地历史上曾是科尔沁大草原,现在是农牧交错区,该区的土地利用关系到生态安全、国家粮食安全和农民生计。该区域“坨甸相间”地貌特点造成不同地形部位土壤含水量存在差异,降水量年际变化大。通过卫星影像数据解译出土地利用/覆被类型图与土壤图进行叠加,获得了显性沙地和隐性沙地数量与分布信息。首先保留耕地以外的其他地类,再利用卫星影像数据反映不同降水年型耕地的归一化植被指数(NDVI),将偏欠水年NDVI低于平均值的耕地退耕还草,消除这些耕地的冬春沙化风险,以进行土地利用布局调整。这种直接利用遥感数据获取土地利用/覆被类型和耕地的NDVI进行土地利用空间布局调整的方法,十分简单实用。本文还根据地貌和沙地降水入渗快的特点,提出了与高标准农田建设模式不同但与区域地理环境相吻合的农田整治模式,即利用自然沙丘作为区域风沙防护工程,土地开发不做大平整,不修建灌溉系统,发展雨养农业。以上根据区域地理环境条件进行土地利用布局和确定农田开发建设模式,可将农业生产与荒漠化防治和谐结合在一起,实现土地可持续利用。     

冲-洪积平原1:5万区域地质调查技术方法探索

首都地区规划建设工作主要分布于平原松散地层之上,第四纪地质研究显得尤为重要。依托近几年来在北京地区开展的平原覆盖区1:5万区域地质调查和活动断裂专项调查项目成果,系统总结了平原区第四纪区域地质调查与评价的主要工作手段和技术方法,及其在解决第四纪基础地质问题及生态环境中所起的作用。通过平原区区域地质调查工作,可查明第四纪精细地质结构、含水层分布特征,精确厘定活动断裂位置及其活动时限,探讨自然环境演化序列与人类活动关系等,为城市规划、重大工程建设和应急水源地水资源合理开采提供基础地学数据。研究成果对首都城市减灾防灾、生态环境演变研究具有重要地学支撑作用。     

Conservation,contraception and controversy: Supporting human rights to enable sustainable fisheries in Madagascar

Environmental NGOs are increasingly called upon to respect human rights when undertaking conservation programs. Evaluating a family planning program running alongside marine management measures in Madagascar, we find that family planning services provided by an environmental NGO can support women’s reproductive rights. Family planning services allow the option of smaller families, and give more time to work, increased income and better health. These benefits do not translate into increased support for, or participation in, marine management, however, and women who are able to work more are typically fishing more. We identify patriarchal norms as a key factor preventing the family planning programme from manifesting in improved resource stewardship, limiting opportunities for women to participate fully in resource management meetings and diversify their livelihood outside traditional tasks, including fishing. We propose that a successful human rights-based approach must be more comprehensive, targeting multiple rights and challenging existing institutions and power structures.     

基于图像处理的自动野外救援系统设计

针对野外救援的不及时性,结合人工智能等技术的应用,提出了一种新的自动野外救援系统.人类在野外和海上活动中受困后,除了依靠自身能力和装备进行求生之外,外部的有效及时救援是提高生存几率的关键.自动野外救援系统,由自动报警装置、手动报警装置实现报警,触发整个系统的运行.自动救援装置可以通过定位模块实现定位,通过执行器移动到随身装置附近实现救援,随身装置还可以发出信标导引信号;自动救援装置还可以通过传感器检测信标,通过相位检测技术等计算待救者的坐标并规划路径,实现更精准的定位与救援.