Water and agriculture are interlinked： water is indispensable for agricultural production and agricultural production results in emissions of nutrients and other substances to surfacewater and groundwater. However, n...Water and agriculture are interlinked： water is indispensable for agricultural production and agricultural production results in emissions of nutrients and other substances to surfacewater and groundwater. However, not only in physical terms are water and agriculture interlinked, there are also strong links between water and agricultural policies. This paper focuses on European National Policies on water and agriculture. Agricultural practices are primarily regulated by European Agricultural Policies, such as the Nitrate Directive, Directive 2009/128/EC on sustainable use of pesticides and the Common Agricultural Policies. The achievement of the objectives for nutrients and pesticides of European water related policies, such as the Drinking Water Directive and the Water Framework Directive, depends on agricultural practices. Therefore, for an effective and efficient implementation of sustainable policies on both agriculture and water, it is necessary to make sure that the targets and instruments of the two policy areas are properly aligned. Current practices show that this is not yet the case; so, there is room for improvement. This paper highlights steps needed to improve cooperation between these two policy domains and discusses first steps already taken at the European level. In addition, some examples of Dutch National Initiatives resulting from a dialogue between farmers and water managers with the aim of combining the objectives of water and agricultural policies and interests are presented.展开更多
Restoration forestry （forest rehabilitation） or re-vegetation is one effective measure to solve environmental problems, notably soil erosion. It may be further stimulated by the Clean Development Mechanism for carbo...Restoration forestry （forest rehabilitation） or re-vegetation is one effective measure to solve environmental problems, notably soil erosion. It may be further stimulated by the Clean Development Mechanism for carbon sequestration. However, there is an intensive and on-going debate about the adverse effects arising from afforestation in dryland areas, such as soil drying up which may cause further damage to the success of forest restoration, and the water yield reduction from watershed which may harm the regional development. On other hand, some preliminary studies showed a possibility that these adverse effects may be diminished more or less by properly designing the system structure and spatial distribution of forest/vegetation in a watershed. However, it is urgent to develop an evidence-based and sustainable new forestry policy for harmonizing forest-water interrelation. As a leading country in afforestation, China is beginning to develop a more trans-disciplinary and cross-sectoral forestry policy for harmonizing forestry development with water management. The main points of the changing new forestry policy should include： （1） Establishing a regional development strategy focusing on harmonized forest-water relations; （2） Taking forest-water interactions as an important part of evaluation; （3） Reducing the ＇eco-water＇ quota of forests through technical advancement; （4） Developing and extending water-adaptive forest management practices; （S） Strengthening forest ecohydrological research and decision support ability.展开更多
Latin American and the Caribbean countries have one of the world＇s largest sources of renewable energy. Nonetheless, it estimated that nearly three-quarters of their energy consumption relies on the use of fossil fue...Latin American and the Caribbean countries have one of the world＇s largest sources of renewable energy. Nonetheless, it estimated that nearly three-quarters of their energy consumption relies on the use of fossil fuels, with most of the countries being net importers, ultimately imposing a marked economic and political dependence on those energy commodities. Therefore, the opportunity lies in a higher utilization of various renewable energy resources, which contribute to the country＇s energy security while promoting significant environmental benefits. This manuscript aimed to provide a comparative analysis of current energy scenarios of six Latin American countries （Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Brazil, Chile and Ecuador） to evaluate their policies, programs and strategies implemented in the search for greater participation of renewable energy, with a special attention to biogas. Given the importance of the water-energy-food nexus that could foment the use of renewable energies under conditions of water scarcity, a qualitative data comparison was accomplished, considering biogas production potential, biogas projects and CO2 emissions.展开更多
文摘Water and agriculture are interlinked： water is indispensable for agricultural production and agricultural production results in emissions of nutrients and other substances to surfacewater and groundwater. However, not only in physical terms are water and agriculture interlinked, there are also strong links between water and agricultural policies. This paper focuses on European National Policies on water and agriculture. Agricultural practices are primarily regulated by European Agricultural Policies, such as the Nitrate Directive, Directive 2009/128/EC on sustainable use of pesticides and the Common Agricultural Policies. The achievement of the objectives for nutrients and pesticides of European water related policies, such as the Drinking Water Directive and the Water Framework Directive, depends on agricultural practices. Therefore, for an effective and efficient implementation of sustainable policies on both agriculture and water, it is necessary to make sure that the targets and instruments of the two policy areas are properly aligned. Current practices show that this is not yet the case; so, there is room for improvement. This paper highlights steps needed to improve cooperation between these two policy domains and discusses first steps already taken at the European level. In addition, some examples of Dutch National Initiatives resulting from a dialogue between farmers and water managers with the aim of combining the objectives of water and agricultural policies and interests are presented.
基金Funding for this work was provided by the research projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40730631, 41071023)the State Forestry Administration of China (200904056, 200904005, 201104005)the Long-term Forest Ecological Research Station of Liupan Mountains,and the Key Laboratory for Forest Ecological Environment of the State Forestry Administration of China
文摘Restoration forestry （forest rehabilitation） or re-vegetation is one effective measure to solve environmental problems, notably soil erosion. It may be further stimulated by the Clean Development Mechanism for carbon sequestration. However, there is an intensive and on-going debate about the adverse effects arising from afforestation in dryland areas, such as soil drying up which may cause further damage to the success of forest restoration, and the water yield reduction from watershed which may harm the regional development. On other hand, some preliminary studies showed a possibility that these adverse effects may be diminished more or less by properly designing the system structure and spatial distribution of forest/vegetation in a watershed. However, it is urgent to develop an evidence-based and sustainable new forestry policy for harmonizing forest-water interrelation. As a leading country in afforestation, China is beginning to develop a more trans-disciplinary and cross-sectoral forestry policy for harmonizing forestry development with water management. The main points of the changing new forestry policy should include： （1） Establishing a regional development strategy focusing on harmonized forest-water relations; （2） Taking forest-water interactions as an important part of evaluation; （3） Reducing the ＇eco-water＇ quota of forests through technical advancement; （4） Developing and extending water-adaptive forest management practices; （S） Strengthening forest ecohydrological research and decision support ability.
文摘Latin American and the Caribbean countries have one of the world＇s largest sources of renewable energy. Nonetheless, it estimated that nearly three-quarters of their energy consumption relies on the use of fossil fuels, with most of the countries being net importers, ultimately imposing a marked economic and political dependence on those energy commodities. Therefore, the opportunity lies in a higher utilization of various renewable energy resources, which contribute to the country＇s energy security while promoting significant environmental benefits. This manuscript aimed to provide a comparative analysis of current energy scenarios of six Latin American countries （Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Brazil, Chile and Ecuador） to evaluate their policies, programs and strategies implemented in the search for greater participation of renewable energy, with a special attention to biogas. Given the importance of the water-energy-food nexus that could foment the use of renewable energies under conditions of water scarcity, a qualitative data comparison was accomplished, considering biogas production potential, biogas projects and CO2 emissions.
