北京城市公园湿地休憩功能的利用及其社会人口学因素

城市公园湿地是城市重要的生态基础设施,是城市居民休闲游憩的重要场所,具有重要的生态、社会文化服务功能。以北京地区20个典型的公园湿地为研究对象,采用问卷调查方法,将定性指标和定量指标相结合,用统计学方法分析了休憩者对公园湿地的使用情况,并采用Logistic回归方法揭示了影响城市公园湿地利用的社会人口学因素。结果表明:(1)休憩者到访公园湿地的距离与使用频率密切相关,43.4%的休憩者到达公园湿地的行程时间<1 h,这其中34.1%的休憩者使用公园湿地的频率每年在12次以上;仅有17.4%的休憩者每年使用各公园湿地频率为12次以上,这其中85%到达各公园湿地的行程时间<1h;(2)影响休憩者对公园湿地使用频率为每年12次以上的因素依次为行程时间、个人月收入、有无私家车、文化程度、职业、年龄。另外,性别与年龄的交互作用也有一定的影响;(3)愉悦身心是休憩者使用各公园湿地的最主要原因。研究旨在为城市公园湿地的合理优化与配置、城市绿地系统规划及城市的可持续发展提供科学依据。     

关于生物医药产业园区建设的思考

概括了生物医药产业园区的发展历史,介绍了目前世界上几个主要国家和地区生物医药产业园区的发展现状,详细阐述了我国生物医药产业园区的发展现状,深入分析了目前我国生物医药产业园区存在的问题,最后提出了对我国生物医药产业园区的几点思考和发展对策。     

Nature’s care: diarrhea, watershed protection, and biodiversity conservation in Flores, Indonesia

Part of the puzzle surrounding biodiversity loss lies in an incomplete understanding of how humans value the functions and services that flow from biodiversity conservation projects. This paper takes a closer look at the links between the conservation of biodiversity and the livelihoods of rural people who live on the fringes of the parks and protected areas. We revisit some of the key aspects of ecosystem valuation—purpose, methodology, and policy design and implementation—because the links between biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, and human welfare are obscured by considerable smoke and mirrors. Using a biodiversity conservation project (Ruteng Park) on Flores Island in Indonesia as a case study, we build a concrete empirical example of ecosystem valuation. This conservation project has resulted in spatially patchy watershed protection that allows us to identify and estimate the impacts of watershed services on human health (diarrhea prevalence) in the buffer zone of the park. We conclude by offering a plan of research to improve the design of conservation interventions for protecting biodiversity and providing ecosystem services. These recommendations include developing more conceptual knowledge on the linkages between biodiversity and ecosystem services; scaling up valuation efforts of underappreciated services such as health; shifting focus from valuing services individually to valuing multiple benefits from the same area; and conducting conservation policy experiments to identify causal outcomes (including defensible estimates of ecosystem values).

Evaluating the sustainability of mine rehabilitation programs in China

Social, economic, and environmental restorations are important concerns in mine rehabilitation programs. Nonetheless, limited attention has been given to the social and economic evaluation of mine rehabilitation programs in developing countries with fast‐growing economies and large populations. To evaluate the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of mine communities before and after mine rehabilitation programs, we placed the study in China, which has experienced large‐scale mine closures resulting from resource depletion. By adopting an integrative model, sustainability cube, we evaluated social, economic, environmental, and overall sustainability (the combination of social, economic, and environmental) of its mine rehabilitation program—the national mine parks (reengineering closed mines as tourist parks, which constitutes the mine rehabilitation program) at the community level before and after the park establishment. Our results indicate that the implementation of national mine parks has improved the overall sustainability of local communities; the sustainability scores of the economic and environmental sectors increased significantly, while the sustainability score for the social sector decreased (mainly due to increased emigration after mine shutdown). We provide suggestions to improve social sector performance in mine rehabilitation programs, aiming to further enhance overall sustainability after mine closure.     

Through what mechanisms do protected areas affect environmental and social outcomes?

To develop effective protected area policies, scholars and practitioners must better understand the mechanisms through which protected areas affect social and environmental outcomes. With strong evidence about mechanisms, the key elements of success can be strengthened, and the key elements of failure can be eliminated or repaired. Unfortunately, empirical evidence about these mechanisms is limited, and little guidance for quantifying them exists. This essay assesses what mechanisms have been hypothesized, what empirical evidence exists for their relative contributions and what advances have been made in the past decade for estimating mechanism causal effects from non-experimental data. The essay concludes with a proposed agenda for building an evidence base about protected area mechanisms.     

Protected areas and poverty

Protected areas are controversial because they are so important for conservation and because they distribute fortune and misfortune unevenly. The nature of that distribution, as well as the terrain of protected areas themselves, have been vigorously contested. In particular, the relationship between protected areas and poverty is a long-running debate in academic and policy circles. We review the origins of this debate and chart its key moments. We then outline the continuing flashpoints and ways in which further evaluation studies could improve the evidence base for policy-making and conservation practice.     

Analyzing network topological characteristics of eco-industrial parks from the perspective of resilience: A case study

Realizing the stable operation of an eco-industrial park (EIP) as a complex system consisting of a variety of the enterprises and embedded relations is challenging. The topological structure plays an important role to understand the balance of network resilience and eco-efficiency in the operation process of a given EIP. In this paper, Ningdong Coal Chemical Eco-industrial Park (Ningdong CCEIP) is used as a case study in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China. Based on complex network theory, we focus on topological characteristics analysis of symbiotic network from the perspective of resilience. Results reveal that Ningdong CCEIP has scale-free characteristics as well as the small world ones. Compared with the node-level metrics, the important degree of node considering ecological factor is a more crucial index measuring the importance of a particular node in the network. The removal of top 10% node contributes to 60% decrease of network efficiency, which indicates the decline of resilience in the studied case. Protecting the most important nodes is critical to safeguard the potential “vulnerability” in the development of EIPs. This study can help us better understand the strategies for avoiding disruptions, improving the resilience of EIP and safeguarding the stable operation.     

The international politics of national parks

National parks are the keystone institutions of environmental conservation. Because national parks make certain lands part of the state itself, international agencies and nongovernmental organizations that promote national parks propose, in effect, to alter the state, as well as the local economy and state relations with social groups. Has international political pressure caused states to create national parks? I consider whether countries highly involved in international politics have the largest proportions of land in national parks. I conclude that many states create minimal park systems as symbolic gestures to the international community. Field researchers may find it easier to explain the success or failure of parks if they identity why state officials decide that adopting international conservation norms will enhance state authority over people and state sovereignty over land.     

Factors facilitating research: a survey of zoo and aquarium professionals

The purpose of this survey was to assess the background, training, and perceptions of professionals conducting and coordinating research at North American zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and to identify the factors they considered critical to successful scientific programs. We analyzed responses to a 57‐item questionnaire from 231 professionals at AZA zoos and aquariums. The majority of those surveyed conducted behavioral research, conducted research only in a captive setting, held curatorial positions, had their salaries supported by their institutions' operating budget, and considered themselves part of a successful scientific program. About 30% of those we surveyed possessed a doctoral research degree in comparison to 55% possessing lesser level degrees—19% with master's, 34% with bachelor's, and 2% with other degrees. Support from the chief executive officer and personnel dedicated to conducting scientific programs were judged as the two most important factors contributing to the successful scientific programs. The information provided in this report may be used to develop and improve both established and newly initiated scientific programs in zoos and aquariums. Zoo Biol 29:663–675, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.