Navigating the evolution of marine policy in Panama: Current policies and community responses in the Pearl Islands and Bocas del Toro Archipelagos of Panama     

《Marine Policy》2015

Recent changes in marine policy in Panama are closely related to sustained expansion of the Panamanian economy in the past ten years. Important drivers of economic growth such as the Panama Canal expansion, tourism, and real estate development directly involve marine and coastal areas. Therefore, maintaining the quality of these environments, as well as the sustainability of the human communities that depend on them, calls for the implementation of adequate management and planning policies. In light of a complex history of marine and coastal policy in Panama, current institutional restructuring processes, and a growing recognition of the importance of marine and coastal geographies, the authors aim to document the current status of, and community response to, marine and coastal policy in Panama, analyzed in terms of three important cross-cutting sectors: tourism, fishing, and conservation. To do so, the authors introduce two case studies: one in the Pearl Islands Archipelago and one in Bocas del Toro, each with varying degrees of participation or involvement in each sector, to illustrate the range of adaptations to change occurring in coastal communities. Based on an in-depth policy analysis and the case studies, the authors suggest that there are important administrative and structural gaps in the legislation and institutions that enforce them, as well as a lack of integration across institutions. In particular, the authors highlight the lack of clear marine and coastal property regimes as an obstacle to the implementation of integrative marine policies in Panama.  相似文献   

Comparing future patterns of energy system change in 2 °C scenarios with historically observed rates of change     

《Global Environmental Change》2015

This paper systematically compares modeled rates of change provided by global integrated assessment models aiming for the 2 °C objective to historically observed rates of change. Such a comparison can provide insights into the difficulty of achieving such stringent climate stabilization scenarios. The analysis focuses specifically on the rates of change for technology expansion and diffusion, emissions and energy supply investments. The associated indicators vary in terms of system focus (technology-specific or energy system wide), temporal scale (timescale or lifetime), spatial scale (regional or global) and normalization (accounting for entire system growth or not). Although none of the indicators provide conclusive insights as to the achievability of scenarios, this study finds that indicators that look into absolute change remain within the range of historical growth frontiers for the next decade, but increase to unprecedented levels before mid-century. Indicators that take into account or normalize for overall system growth find future change to be broadly within historical ranges. This is particularly the case for monetary-based normalization metrics like GDP compared to energy-based normalization metrics like primary energy. By applying a diverse set of indicators alternative, complementary insights into how scenarios compare with historical observations are acquired but they do not provide further insights on the possibility of achieving rates of change that are beyond current day practice.  相似文献   

Elevation,slope aspect and integrated nutrient management effects on crop productivity and soil quality in North-west Himalayas,India     

Birendra Nath Ghosh  Narinder Kumar Sharma  Nurnabi Meherul Alam  Raman Jeet Singh  Gopal Prasad Juyal 《山地科学学报》2014,11(5):1208-1217

On farm bio-resource recycling has been given greater emphasis with the introduction of conservation agriculture specifically withclimate change scenarios in the mid-hills of the north-west Himalaya region（NWHR）. Under this changing scenario, elevation, slope aspect and integrated nutrient management（INM） may affect significantly soil quality and crop productivity. A study was conducted during 2009-2010 to 2010-2011 at the Ashti watershed of NWHR in a rainfed condition to examine the influence of elevation, slope aspect and integrated nutrient management（INM） on soil resource and crop productivity. Two years of farm demonstration trials indicated that crop productivity and soil quality is significantly affected by elevation, slope aspect and INM. Results showed that wheat equivalent yield（WEY） of improved technology increased crop productivity by -20%-37% compared to the conventional system. Intercropping of maize with cowpea and soybean enhanced yield by another 8%-17%. North aspect and higher elevation increased crop productivity by 15%-25% compared to south aspect and low elevation（except paddy）. Intercropping of maize with cowpea and soybean enhanced yield by another 8%-15%. Irrespective of slope, elevation and cropping system, the WEY increased by -30% in this region due to INMtechnology. The influence of elevation, slope aspect and INM significantly affected soil resources（SQI） and soil carbon change（SCC）. SCC is significantly correlated with SQI for conventional（R2 = 0.65＊）, INM technology（R2 = 0.81＊） and for both technologies（R2 = 0.73＊）. It is recommended that at higher elevation.（except for paddy soils） with a north facing slope, INM is recommended for higher crop productivity; conservation of soil resources is recommended for the mid hills of NWHR; and single values of SCC are appropriate as a SQI for this region.  相似文献   

The ICZM Balanced Scorecard: A tool for putting integrated coastal zone management into action     

《Marine Policy》2014

Coastal areas are characterised by the choice of performance measures and/or reference points which may be critical in the environmental management process, determining the success of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) plan. The tools for the strategic control of ICZM plans are particularly important, although they are still not widely used at the local level. The following paper proposes the use of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) method of Kaplan and Norton (1992), which is a holistic management performance tool that can be used by managers to put into action their business strategy. In particular the methodology has focused on the use of a BSC process, inspired by the Niven (2003) approach for public bodies. The BSC suggests the creation of a framework for the strategic assessment of plans and projects based on the Protocol on Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean (Protocol). An analysis of the Protocol has been carried out according to the BSC model, and it shows how it can be integrated with assessment and environmental management tools, such as the Driving forces, Pressures, States, Impacts and Responses (DPSIR) framework. The proposed process has suggested a novel framework for analysing the ICZM plans of coastal managers and stakeholders. The analytical framework facilitates the examination of Drivers and causes of the ICZM strategy, the possible impact on society and coastal communities, the most appropriate measures to achieve the objectives and the practicalities of implementing such measures given the institutional context of where these are developed.  相似文献   

Introduction to systems approaches in coastal management—The legacy of the SPICOSA project     

《Marine Policy》2014

This Special Issue reflects work developed during and following the execution of the Science and Policy Integration for Coastal System Assessment project. Theoretical and practical outcomes of case studies have been of direct relevance to coastal management not only at local but also at a European scale. Papers included here consider the long term legacy of the project for academics and practitioners involved specifically in integrated coastal zone management. These align to two themes, the first focussing on the generic application of the Systems Approach Framework to coastal management and the second focussing on the specific application of the approach at case study sites.  相似文献   

Relevance of systems approaches for implementing Integrated Coastal Zone Management principles in Europe     

《Marine Policy》2014

Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) development is described here in the broader context of European coastal management initiatives. The European approach to coastal governance revolves around the principles of ICZM, as enshrined in EC Recommendation 2002/413/EC. This study investigates the extent to which the FP6 funded project SPICOSA (Science Policy Integration for Coastal Systems Assessment) was able to implement these principles. The SPICOSA project aimed to test whether it was possible to develop and implement a systems approach framework via delivery of a structured engagement process between scientists and policymakers. A survey of representatives from 14 European study sites involved in the project revealed that the approach had been effective at implementing some ICZM principles, particularly the “holistic approach”. However, not all principles were fully implemented at all sites and the most challenging to implement was that of “a long term approach”. The paper concludes with a critical consideration of the role of a systems approach framework in progressing the current state of intellectual assent towards practical implementation of ICZM principles. The findings provide evidence of contributions and limitations of systems approaches to sustainability science and good governance.  相似文献   

The use of ocean color remote sensing in integrated coastal zone management—A case study from Himmerfjärden,Sweden     

《Marine Policy》2014

In this study the use of ocean color data as a diagnostic tool in integrated coastal zone management was investigated as part of the Science Policy Integration for Coastal Systems Assessment (SPICOSA) project. Parallel to this, an operational coastal monitoring system has been set up in close collaboration with end-users. The core work of the bio-optical part in the project was to develop Secchi depth and attenuation of light as indicators for coastal zone management, by linking remote sensing with the socio-economic and ecological model developed in SPICOSA. The article emphasizes the benefits of stakeholder involvement and end-user feedback for efficient and improved system development. Furthermore, conceptual models were developed on how to integrate remote sensing data into coastal zone management and into a physical-biological model of the Baltic Sea. One of the work packages in the SPICOSA project was academic training. In this work package, on-line teaching material in the field of remote sensing and bio-optics was developed and disseminated on the SETnet web page. The article presented here may act as supportive material for training in bio-optics and remote sensing.  相似文献   

Risk mitigation and the social cost of carbon     

《Global Environmental Change》2014

The social cost of carbon – i.e., the marginal present-value cost imposed by greenhouse gas emissions – is determined by a complex interaction between factual assumptions, modeling methods, and value judgments. Among the most crucial factors is society's willingness to tolerate potentially catastrophic environmental risks. To explore this issue, the present analysis employs a stochastic climate–economy model that accounts for uncertainties in baseline economic growth, baseline emissions, greenhouse gas mitigation costs, carbon cycling, climate sensitivity, and climate change damages. In this model, preferences are specified to reflect the high degree of risk aversion revealed by private investment decisions, signaled by the large observed gap between the average rates of return paid by safe and risky financial instruments. In contrast, most climate–economy models assume much lower risk aversion. Given high risk aversion, the analysis finds that investment in climate stabilization yields especially large net benefits by forestalling low-probability threats to long-run human well-being. Accordingly, the social cost of carbon attains the markedly high value of $25,700 per metric ton of carbon dioxide in a baseline scenario in which emissions are unregulated. This value falls to just $4 per ton as the stringency of control measures is successively increased. These results cast doubt on the idea that the social cost of carbon takes on a uniquely defined, objective value that is independent of policy decisions. This does not, however, rule out the use of carbon prices to achieve the benefits of climate stabilization using least-cost mitigation measures.  相似文献   

The economic impact of extreme sea-level rise: Ice sheet vulnerability and the social cost of carbon dioxide     

《Global Environmental Change》2014

The possibility of extreme sea-level rise is one of the commonly cited reasons for concern about climate change. Major increases in sea level would likely be driven by the melting or collapse of major ice sheets. This possibility has implications for the social cost of carbon dioxide, which is a key policy value as well as a useful summary measure of damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions.This paper extends earlier work on the importance of low-probability, high-impact events for the social cost of carbon dioxide to incorporate the possibility of extreme sea-level rise.To estimate its impact, an integrated assessment model is used, which allows a probabilistic assessment of climate change damages based on the linkages between the economic and climate systems. In the model, the generic discontinuity damage is replaced with the possibility of large-scale damage from factors that are taken to be correlated with temperature rise and, crucially for this paper, explicit consideration of extreme sea-level rise.Estimates of the amount of increase in the social cost of carbon dioxide that can be expected from incorporating extreme sea-level rise show that the increase is significant, though not especially large in percentage terms.The paper contributes to the literature of how to represent uncertain climate impacts in integrated assessment models and the associated estimation of the social cost of carbon dioxide.  相似文献   

Stratigraphy and facies development of the marine Late Devonian near the Boulongour Reservoir,northwest Xinjiang,China     

《Journal of Asian Earth Sciences》2014

Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous stratigraphic units within the ‘Zhulumute’ Formation, Hongguleleng Formation (stratotype), ‘Hebukehe’ Formation and the Heishantou Formation near the Boulongour Reservoir in northwestern Xinjiang are fossil-rich. The Hongguleleng and ‘Hebukehe’ formations are biostratigraphically well constrained by microfossils from the latest Frasnian linguiformis to mid-Famennian trachytera conodont biozones. The Hongguleleng Formation (96.8 m) is characterized by bioclastic argillaceous limestones and marls (the dominant facies) intercalated with green spiculitic calcareous shales. It yields abundant and highly diverse faunas of bryozoans, brachiopods and crinoids with subordinate solitary rugose corals, ostracods, trilobites, conodonts and other fish teeth. The succeeding ‘Hebukehe’ Formation (95.7 m) consists of siltstones, mudstones, arenites and intervals of bioclastic limestone (e.g. ‘Blastoid Hill’) and cherts with radiolarians. A diverse ichnofauna, phacopid trilobites, echinoderms (crinoids and blastoids) together with brachiopods, ostracods, bryozoans and rare cephalopods have been collected from this interval. Analysis of geochemical data, microfacies and especially the distribution of marine organisms, which are not described in detail here, but used for facies analysis, indicate a deepening of the depositional environment at the Boulongour Reservoir section. Results presented here concern mainly the sedimentological and stratigraphical context of the investigated section. Additionally, one Late Devonian palaeo-oceanic and biotic event, the Upper Kellwasser Event is recognized near the section base.  相似文献