How Can the Operating Environment for Nutrition Research Be Improved in Sub-Saharan Africa? The Views of African Researchers

Optimal nutrition is critical for human development and economic growth. Sub-Saharan Africa is facing high levels of food insecurity and only few sub-Saharan African countries are on track to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. Effective research capacity is crucial for addressing emerging challenges and designing appropriate mitigation strategies in sub-Saharan Africa. A clear understanding of the operating environment for nutrition research in sub-Saharan Africa is a much needed prerequisite. We collected data on the barriers and requirements for conducting nutrition research in sub-Saharan Africa through semi-structured interviews with 144 participants involved in nutrition research in 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 133 interviews were retained for coding. The main barriers identified for effective nutrition research were the lack of funding due to poor recognition by policymakers of the importance of nutrition research and under-utilisation of research findings for developing policy, as well as an absence of research priority setting from within Africa. Current research topics were perceived to be mainly determined by funding bodies from outside Africa. Nutrition researchers argued for more commitment from policymakers at national level. The low capacity for nutrition research was mainly seen as a consequence of insufficient numbers of nutrition researchers, limited skills and a poor research infrastructure. In conclusion, African nutrition researchers argued how research priorities need to be identified by African stakeholders, accompanied by consensus building to enable creating a problem-driven national research agenda. In addition, it was considered necessary to promote interactions among researchers, and between researchers and policymakers. Multidisciplinary research and international and cross-African collaboration were seen as crucial to build capacity in sub-Saharan nutrition research.     

Avian diversity and endemism in Namibia: patterns from the Southern African Bird Atlas Project

Namibia supports a highly diverse avifauna of 644 species, including over 90 species endemic to the southern African subregion and 13 species endemic to the country. Patterns of species diversity in relation to protected areas and habitat types were analysed using data from the Southern African Bird Atlas Project. A modified Shannon index appropriate for atlas data was used to derive an index of diversity for all species, wetland, terrestrial, threatened, and regional endemic species. Species richness for Namibian endemics was mapped. Overall species diversity is highest in the northeast of Namibia where wetland and riparian habitats coincide. Both wetland and terrestrial species show highest diversity in this area. The greatest diversity of southern African endemics falls within the Savanna-Karoo systems. Several key areas are identified for red data species, including the Caprivi Strip, Kunene and Orange Rivers, coastal wetlands and ephemeral river mouths and pans. This highlights the pressures operating on wetland and riparian habitats in arid environments. Concentrations of Namibian endemics are found in the northwestern (Kaoko) escarpment of the country. Although much of the area of high diversity of wetland, terrestrial and red data species falls within protected areas, national and regional endemics are poorly represented within national parks.     

Turning science into policy: challenges and experiences from the science-policy interface

This paper discusses key issues in the science-policy interface. It stresses the importance of linking the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity to the Millennium Development Goals and to issues of immediate concern to policy-makers such as the economy, security and human health. It briefly discusses the process of decision-making and how the scientific and policy communities have successfully worked together on global environmental issues such as stratospheric ozone depletion and climate change, and the critical role of international assessments in providing the scientific basis for informed policy at the national and international level. The paper also discusses the drivers of global environmental change, the importance of constructing plausible futures, indicators of change, the biodiversity 2010 target and how environmental issues such as loss of biodiversity, stratospheric ozone depletion, land degradation, water pollution and climate change cannot be addressed in isolation because they are strongly interconnected and there are synergies and trade-offs among the policies, practices and technologies that are used to address these issues individually.     

老库区反贫困与生态环境的可持续性 ——以四川省大洪河水库邻水县库区为例

我国老库区面临着严重的贫困和生态环境双重问题,而其贫困为典型的环境制约型贫困,贫困与生态环境问题交织在一起,互为因果。对于典型环境制约型贫困的老库区,只有打破贫困与生态环境之间的恶性循环,建立社会、经济和生态环境之间的良性循环才是老库区反贫困的根本途径。以四川省大洪河水库邻水县库区为例,在对老库区反贫困与生态环境可持续性进行分析的基础上,采用不确定多目标规划方法,构建了四川省大洪河水库邻水县库区经济和生态环境可持续发展规划模型。通过系统分析和建立规划模型既定性又定量地进行了四川省大洪河水库邻水县库区反贫困和生态环境可持续性研究,就整个邻水县库区而言,需进行移民8711人,新修梯田3188．24hm^2,扩建经济林果园地1413．09hm^2,新建人工草地85．47hm^2,才有可能达到反贫困和提高生态环境可持续性的目标。     

Clustering of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in rabbits and the environment: how hot is a hot spot?

Clustering of pathogens in the environment leads to hot spots of diseases at local, regional, national, and international levels. Scotland contains regional hot spots of Johne's disease (caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis) in rabbits, and there is increasing evidence of a link between paratuberculosis infections in rabbits and cattle. The spatial and temporal dynamics of paratuberculosis in rabbits within a hot spot region were studied with the overall aim of determining environmental patterns of infection and thus the risk of interspecies transmission to livestock. The specific aims were to determine if prevalence of paratuberculosis in rabbits varies temporally between seasons and whether the heterogeneous spatial environmental distribution of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis on a large scale (i.e., regional hot spots) is replicated at finer resolutions within a hot spot. The overall prevalence of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in rabbits was 39.7%; the temporal distribution of infection in rabbits followed a cyclical pattern, with a peak in spring of 55.4% and a low in summer of 19.4%. Spatially, M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis-infected rabbits and, thus, the risk of interspecies transmission were highly clustered in the environment. However, this is mostly due to the clustered distribution of rabbits. The patterns of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection in rabbits are discussed in relation to the host's socioecology and risk to livestock.     

生态脆弱区贫困与生态环境的博弈分析

生态脆弱区既是生态环境破坏最典型、最强烈的区域,也是贫困问题最集中的区域。然而,实践中试图摆脱"贫困陷阱"的成功案例并不多见。其中一个重要原因是鲜有协同生态保护与扶贫的研究,尤其是忽视了不同利益主体的相互作用过程与机制。从博弈论的视角,探讨生态脆弱区不同利益主体的两组核心博弈,即政府与民众以及政府与企业的博弈。研究发现,扶贫与生态环境保护相互作用过程事实上就是协调不同利益主体的目标与利益的博弈过程,博弈结果一定程度上决定了扶贫的效果以及生态环境保护的效应。研究为深入理解贫困与生态环境相互作用的过程与机制提供一个理论分析框架,并为中国生态脆弱区可持续发展实践提供有益借鉴。     

Ten years of native seed certification in Germany – a summary

Many renaturation projects and compensation areas are based on the use of seeds from regional indigenous wild plants; in the following: native or regional seeds. Despite this, such seeds make up only a small proportion of the total number of seeds used for greening projects; in Germany, for example, it is only around 1% (=200 t per year). Although the market for regional seeds is small, it is highly competitive. High‐priced native seeds compete with flower mixes of unspecified origin and can only be differentiated from them by reliable quality seals. A quality assurance system based on seed legislation (EU Directive 2010/60, preservation mixtures) has been developed in a few European countries. However, quality assurance ends with the sale of the seeds. Thus, seed use remains unmonitored, and often unsuitable material, or material foreign to the region, is planted in restoration areas. Unfortunately, nature conservation has not made seed‐based restoration one of its key issues, neither at the European nor at the national level. Currently there are many different local and regional standards, methods and private certificates that are confusing for users and which provide little continuity and predictability for producers. We recommend the establishment of an EU directive or a broadly agreed recommendation to the EU member states, spearheaded by nature conservation, which would define the standards for producing and using native seeds (e.g. harmonised regions that cross national borders, quality regulations). At the same time, wild plant interest groups should combine existing structures in order to strengthen seed‐based restoration through international cooperation.     

Harmonizing extended zone legislation in southeast asia

Abstract

The extension of national jurisdictions up to 200 nautical miles out to sea creates new opportunities for cooperation among nations in regions such as Southeast Asia. One approach to cooperation is for nations of the region to work toward harmonizing their national laws relating to the management of their extended zones. Harmonization may be defined as the deliberate alignment of the laws of different nations for the purpose of fulfilling their national interests.

In Southeast Asia there are opportunities for harmonization in most of the major ocean use sectors. In fisheries, for example, standardized laws might be established regarding the licensing of foreign fishing vessels for access to Southeast Asian waters. In shipping, agreed standards could be applied to expedite shipping between ports of the region as well as for traffic to and from the region. In environmental protection, uniform standards could be established for monitoring for pollution. Harmonization may be especially useful where issues are international in character but the concerned nations are reluctant to create any new international management body.     

Biodiversity informatics in Eastern Africa: Status,drivers and barriers

This article uses content analysis to review policies and relevant documents that promote or hinder the generation and use of biodiversity data in Eastern Africa. The review found that all countries in the region are committed to international and regional conventions that emphasize the protection and conservation of biodiversity. Some of the other drivers for biodiversity informatics include countries’ national biodiversity related policies although there are few, which highlight the need for biodiversity data management systems. However, the existing policies are deficient in terms of policies for biodiversity data management. Suggestions to ensure the success of biodiversity informatics in East Africa include: (i) Avoiding overlaps but promoting complementarities within and/or between different institutions and stakeholders involved in biodiversity conservation; (ii) Putting in place clear, complete and simple policy documents pertaining to biodiversity data management.     

Dimensions and approaches for Third World city water security

A rapid expansion of urban systems, particularly in less-developed countries, pose considerable challenges. Urbanization also provides opportunities for socio-economic progress. Relative contribution from the urban sector to national economic growth is very high. The fate and the role of the socio-economic system in local, regional and national development hinges on many circumstances. Apart from delicate social issues, deficiencies in water provision, internal distribution and a hazardous water and environmental quality represent basic and tangible daily problems. Urban water security requires fresh thinking at two levels. Some kind of basin authority (corresponding to a county council, i.e. a formal administrative and regulatory body for the geographical area within a river basin) in combination with a national water policy is required, notably in countries that contemplate, or are in the process of implementing, regional and sometimes inter-basin schemes to augment supply to growing conglomerations. Similarly, the generation of large volumes of waste water and the associated threat to downstream areas cannot be effectively tackled through conventional urban planning. Within the urban area, and particularly in non-regulated parts, there is an urgent need for institutional arrangements that facilitate operations for providers who have the capacity and ability to function under the prevailing circumstances. Introduction of effective production and treatment technologies are other necessary and urgent prerequisites to reach urban water security in Third World cities.     

植被与水土流失关系研究进展

水土流失是世界性的环境问题之一,对人类社会可持续发展构成威胁,控制水土流失成为迫切需要,有许多水土流失控制措施,而生物措施尤其植被一直是人们研究的焦点.根据前人的研究,从斑块、坡面和流域/区域尺度总结了植被与水土流失的关系.斑块尺度植被对降雨和径流侵蚀能量具有很大的减弱或消除作用,可以改变植株底部的土壤性质,改善其结构,进而降低土壤可蚀性,增加入渗能力,从而减轻土壤侵蚀程度.不同植被类型、植被的不同层次结构,不同植被的形态结构具有不同的土壤侵蚀控制作用.坡面尺度主要从坡位、坡度、坡向对植被生长和分布格局的影响、对水土流失过程和格局的影响以及裸地-植被镶嵌格局、植被的条带格局对水土流失的影响和反映水土流失过程的景观格局指数的构建等方面进行了研究.更多是从植被恢复及其水土流失效应方面进行了探讨,为退化生态系统恢复和格局设计提供了极其有用的信息.流域/区域尺度植被与水土流失的关系更大程度上受到气候、地貌特征的影响,因此研究多从一定气候条件控制的土地覆盖（植被覆盖）及其格局的水土流失效应方面进行的.由于大尺度监测非常困难,研究多从遥感监测、GIS集成和模型模拟方面开展,是流域、区域等大尺度生态安全格局设计的有力支持.前人的研究为生态环境建设和保护提供了大量参考信息,但仍有一些问题需要进一步探讨,对此进行了初步的概括和归纳,希望能够对植被和水土流失关系的研究起到一定促进作用.     

广东土壤科学的发展历程与展望

土壤是农业生产的基础,是人类赖以生存的基石,也是人类食物与生态环境安全的保障。土壤学是解决人口-资源-环境-粮食矛盾的重要学科之一。广东土壤科学发展历史悠久,在食物安全、环境保护、减少贫困、退化土地恢复重建和生态系统稳定性维持等事关全省发展方面取得了许多重要的成绩,但目前我省面临着人均耕地面积少、后备土壤资源匮乏、土壤肥力下降、土壤环境日趋恶化以及水土流失依然严重等问题,因此我省土壤科学研究也将从生产农学和基础土壤发生学拓展到包括高效持续农业生产、土壤变化与全球气候变化相互关系、土壤可持续利用、数字化与信息化土壤、土壤污染监测及其修复等多功能的研究领域。     

A new program for biomonitoring status and trends in the environment

Environmental contaminants threaten the biological integrity of aquatic and semi-aquatic communities both inside and outside of U.S. National Wildlife Refuges (Refuges). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the U.S. National Biological Survey are developing a new biomonitoring program, the Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) Program. The BEST Program is being designed to respond to the effects of contemporary environmental contaminant problems associated with fish and wildlife and their habitats. When fully operational, BEST will evaluate the effects of contaminants on fish and wildlife resources; identify and prioritize national, regional, and local contaminant issues for decision makers; monitor national trends of the presence and effects of contaminants; and provide baseline information to support various contaminant investigation activities. The BEST Program will use an integrated network to evaluate contaminant impacts at the tissue, organism, population, community, and ecosystem levels. The sampling approach will be designed around two major components, trust resources on FWS lands (primarily Refuges) and trust species and their habitats outside of FWS lands. The BEST Program is adopting bioassessment techniques from four broad categories including ecological surveys, biomarkers, bioassays and toxicity tests, and residue analysis. Pilot and demonstration projects will be conducted through fiscal year 1997.     

可持续城市化发展对环境法庭建设的需求分析

中国的"快速城市化"诱发了一系列生态环境问题,与之相伴的环境资源纠纷数量亦呈现较快的增长趋势,其中因重大环境污染等引发的群体性事件已越来越成为影响社会稳定的突出问题。由于环境案件具有很强的技术性,因此催生了各地环境法庭的产生。可持续城市化全球战略的发布为当下中国环境法庭的建设和发展提出了新需求,围绕建设"公正、安全、健康、方便、可担当、有抵御能力和可持续"的城市目标,分别从消除贫困、包容社会和有抵御灾害能力三方面对环境法庭建设提出新诉求。在可持续城市化时域下,确立环境权、扩大管辖权和成立环境资源审判专家咨询委员会是环境法庭建设的助力方向。     

The Southern African orchid flora: composition, sources and endemism

Aim The Southern African orchid flora is taxonomically well known, but the biogeographical and diversity patterns have not yet been analysed. In particular, we want to establish whether (a) it is, like the Southern African flora in general, more diverse than would be expected from its latitude and area; (b) it is an African flora, or whether it contains palaeoendemic relicts of a Gondwanan orchid flora; (c) the diversity and endemism in the orchid flora is concentrated in particular biomes and habitat types; and (d) the patterns of endemism in the flora can be accounted for by current environmental parameters, or whether we need to invoke historical explanations. Location Southern Africa. Methods We used the recent floristic account of the Southern African orchids, in conjunction with a data base of over 14,642 herbarium records, to assign the species and subspecies of Southern African orchids to biomes, habitats, and clades. We explored the relationship between the number and endemism of entities (species, subspecies and varieties) and the biomes and habitats. We compared the richness of this flora with that of 31 other regions from all continents and latitudes, to establish whether the Southern African orchid flora is richer or poorer than expected. We assigned the Southern African orchid species to 16 monophyletic clades and mapped the global distribution of these clades to establish the continental affinities of the flora. Main conclusions The Southern African orchid flora is not any more diverse than could be expected from its latitude or area, while the two tropical African floras included were less diverse than expected. Latitude is an excellent predictor of regional orchid species richness; this might indicate that available habitat is more important for orchid diversity than gross area available, since latitude is probably correlated with the extent of suitable habitat. The Southern African orchid flora is clearly an African flora, since all clades are also found in tropical Africa, while many of them are absent from the Americas or Asia. Conversely, while most African orchid clades are also found in Southern Africa, both the Americas and Asia contain many clades absent from Africa. The distribution of orchid entities among the biomes in Southern Africa is very uneven, with two of the seven biomes totally devoid of orchids. Habitats and biomes that have no equivalent in tropical Africa are high in endemism, and habitats and biomes which are also well developed in tropical Africa are low in endemism. Endemism appears largely explained in terms of modern habitats. However, two patterns (the high endemism in the Succulent Karoo and the lack of endemism in the southern Cape among epiphytic orchids) may also be explained in terms of Quaternary climatic changes.     

Subnational greenhouse gas and land‐based biodiversity footprints in the European Union

Insights into subnational environmental impacts and the underlying drivers are scarce, especially from a consumption‐based perspective. Here, we quantified greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land‐based biodiversity losses associated with final consumption in 162 regions in the European Union in 2010. For this purpose, we developed an environmentally extended multi‐regional input–output (MRIO) model with subnational European information on demand, production, and trade structures subdivided into 18 major economic sectors, while accounting for trade outside Europe. We employed subnational data on land use and national data on GHG emissions. Our results revealed within‐country differences in per capita GHG and land‐based biodiversity footprints up to factors of 3.0 and 3.5, respectively, indicating that national footprints may mask considerable subnational variability. The per capita GHG footprint increased with per capita income and income equality, whereas we did not find such responses for the per capita land‐based biodiversity footprint, reflecting that extra income is primarily spent on energy‐intensive activities. Yet, we found a shift from the domestic to the foreign part of the biodiversity footprints with rising population density and income. Because our analysis showed that most regions are already net importers of GHG emissions and biodiversity losses, we conclude that it is increasingly important to address the role of trade in national and regional policies on mitigating GHG emissions and averting further biodiversity losses, both within and outside the region itself. To further increase the policy relevance of subnational footprint analyses, we also recommend the compilation of more detailed subnational MRIO databases including harmonized environmental data.     

Looking back to see ahead: UNCLOS III and lessons for global commons law

The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) provides valuable lessons for future formulation of law to govern global commons, areas that lie beyond the limits of national jurisdiction and to which all peoples have free and open access. Although endowed with the advantage of a certain degree of scientific certainty about the need for regulation of the ocean environment, UNCLOS III fell victim to a North‐South schism that impaired the search for consensus on important issues and undermined the final product of the negotiations. An examination of the UNCLOS III experience suggests that agreements that exclude specially affected states are unlikely to succeed, and points to a variety of advantages and disadvantages that come from linking several issues under one negotiating framework. The consensus approach to negotiation used at the Conference tends to expand the time and effort needed to reach a successful outcome, which can lead the negotiations themselves to be outstripped by technological or political developments. Finally, the UNCLOS III experience underscores the importance of global ideological and philosophical differences on the allocation of resources and environmental responsibility. Given these lessons, alternatives to the “parliamentary diplomacy”; strategy used at UNCLOS III are suggested, including a framework‐plus‐protocols approach, international coordination of national plans, regional arrangements, and strictly unilateral actions. While the comprehensive parliamentary diplomacy approach is useful because it recognizes the interconnectedness of ecosystems, in many situations one of the other approaches may increase the chance for a successful outcome. Whichever method is chosen, there is an emerging global recognition of the need for some action to be taken by the world community in combatting the destruction of the world's commons areas, which may be a positive sign for the future of environmental negotiations of this sort.     

青藏高原国家公园群地域功能与结构研究

青藏高原国家公园群建设是促进青藏高原地区可持续发展的重要模式探索。解析地域功能、建构有序的空间组织模式是其关键科学基础。基于青藏高原科学考察研究队提出的国家公园群建设方案,从地域功能和空间结构上进行了探讨。研究认为青藏高原国家公园群具有生态保育功能、生活保障功能和游憩公益服务功能,并表现为空间异质性、时间变异性、多样复合性和相互依附性4种特性;在层级结构上可以划分为2个跨国国家公园、8个旗舰国家公园和11个一般国家公园,未来可再融入青藏高原其他不同层级的自然保护地;从"群"层面优化单体国家公园的功能定位和整体层面的有机组织,需要在类型结构、层级结构和空间结构上进行综合统筹,建构点域、线域、面域相结合的空间组织模式,形成联系紧密、发展稳定、演化有序的功能有机体,才能够深入推进青藏高原国家公园群建设、生态安全屏障建设和区域绿色发展的三位一体目标实现。     

Environmental science and management of coastal lagoons in the Southern Mediterranean Region: key issues revealed by the MELMARINA Project

Lagoons in the heavily populated, semi-arid coastal zone of the Southern Mediterranean Region exemplify the conflict between human utilisation of water and related resources and aquatic ecosystems. Having recognised the requirement to improve understanding of the functioning of the region’s coastal wetlands, the MELMARINA Project undertook integrated hydro-ecological monitoring and modelling within lagoons in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. This article highlights some key issues regarding environmental science and management of the region’s coastal lagoons revealed during the course of the project. It stresses the importance of hydrology as a key control upon lagoon functioning and ecosystem dynamics. Hydrological modifications due to water resource management schemes are the cause of many recent changes experienced within lagoons. Linkages between water quality, water availability, human activities and biological characteristics of coastal lagoons are discussed with particular reference to the controls upon vegetation within the MELMARINA lagoons. A series of methodological advances are reviewed which have potential for wider application within coastal lagoons. It is suggested that the use of lagoon sediment for environmental reconstruction can be invaluable, especially when monitoring data are lacking. Recent advances in instrumentation technologies make long-term continuous monitoring more feasible although these approaches can be combined with more traditional site surveys to provide wider spatial coverage at the expense of temporal resolution. Wider spatial coverage can also be achieved through the use of space-borne or aerial remote sensing imagery whilst longer-term trends in site characteristics can be assessed through historical map analyses. Geographical Information Systems, which facilitate the storage and interrogation of large and varied datasets, have enormous potential. Similarly, coupled hydro-ecological models can inform understanding of lagoon functioning and can assess scenarios associated with environmental change or alternative management approaches. The application of integrated, basin-wide approaches to the management of water resources and aquatic ecosystems in the Southern Mediterranean Region is advocated. This includes the application of principles from the EU’s Water Framework Directive. Finally, the need to place management in the context of climate change and associated sea level rise is stressed. Emphasis should be placed on the development of adaptation strategies designed to minimise the effects of these changes. Guest editors: J. R. Thompson & R. J. Flower Hydro-ecological Monitoring and Modelling of North African Coastal Lagoons     

Impact assessment revisited: improving the theoretical basis for management of invasive alien species

The theoretical underpinnings of the assessment of invasive alien species impacts need to be improved. At present most approaches are unreliable to quantify impact at regional scales and do not allow for comparison of different invasive species. There are four basic problems that need to be addressed: (1) Some impacted ecosystem traits are spatially not additive; (2) invader effects may increase non-linearly with abundance or there may be effect thresholds impairing estimates of linear impact models; (3) the abundance and impact of alien species will often co-vary with environmental variation; and (4) the total invaded range is an inappropriate measure for quantifying regional impact because the habitat area available for invasion can vary markedly among invasive species. Mathematical models and empirical data using an invasive alien plant species (Heracleum mantegazzianum) indicate that ignoring these issues leads to impact estimates almost an order of magnitude from the real values. Thus, we propose a habitat-sensitive formula for regional impact assessment that is unaffected by non-linearity. Furthermore, we make some statistical suggestions on how to assess invader effects properly and we discuss the quantification of the invaded range. These improvements are crucial for impact assessment with the overall aim of prioritizing management of invasive species.