On the Expansion and Realization of the Right to Environmental Information in Environmental Protection Supervision

As an innovation in the environmental governance system that breaks the traditional hierarchical structure,environmental protection supervision has not only played a significant role in protecting tangible environmental rights but also expanded the basic scope of the right to environmental information—part of procedural environmental rights.In the supervision of environmental protection,the objects of the right to environmental information and the subjects of the obligation to provide environmental information have been both expanded,with the focus shifting from government information to Party information and from administrative organs to Party organs.This vividly demonstrates the Communist Party of China’s concrete efforts to protect human rights in the field of the endeavor to build an ecological civilization.At present,the realization of the right to environmental information in environmental protection supervision still faces problems such as insufficient standards and norms,disordered practice and operation,and lack of liability guarantee.In this context,based on renewing relevant subjects’cognition of the right to know in environmental protection supervision,we should further improve and specify the rule for disclosing information about environmental protection supervision,rationally distribute the obligations for information disclosure in environmental protection supervision,and clarify the accountability rules for violating relevant requirements for information disclosure,so as to promote the overall development of the environmental protection supervision system while guaranteeing the realization of the right to environmental information.

Constraints of Women Farmer’s Access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Agricultural Information in Oyo State, Nigeria

The study investigated constraints of women farmers access to ICTs for agricultural information in Oyo State.A total of 120 respondents were sampled.Data were retrieved using interview schedule and were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Statistics reveal respondents average age,average household size and average monthly income as x=45.8,x=10.6 and x=₦7,800.34 respectively,majority(86.7%)were married,58.3%representing respondents with primary education.Mobile phone(x=0.98)was the most available among the respondents while poor ICTs infrastructure(x=1.55)and difficulty in the utilization of ICTs gadgets(x=1.62)ranked highest as constraints access to ICTs for agricultural information.Significant relationship existed between respondents average monthly income(r=0.492,p=0.000),educational level(χ^(2)=4.726,p=0.021)and the constraints access to ICTs for agricultural information.Scaling up the ICTs infrastructure base around farming clusters and capacity building like training on ICTs to access agricultural information retrieval is advocated for women farmers.

Angular Distribution of Element Contents in Tree Rings and the Environmental Information

Element contents of tree rings and soils near tree roots collected from Deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) G. Don) and Masson pine (Picks massoniana lamb.) were determined to study the relationship between the angular distribution of element contents in tree rings and the environmental information. The chemical composition and properties of soils are very much complicated, which leads to the non-uniform distribution of the element contents in tree rings. The statistical multi-variable regression method was used to got the information of the tree-centered distribution of element contents in the environment (soil) (C’), C’(z, θj ), from the distribution of element contents in tree rings (C), C(Z, θi), which depends on the plane azimuth angle (θi), i. e., C=C(Z,θi), where Z is the atomic number of the element, with a satisfactory result,though this study is only a primary one.

Study on the environmental information disclosure of Chinese forestry enterprises

Environmental accounting is a kind of accounting which focuses on the compensation for the resources spending. It combines the theories of environmental economics and traditional accounting and uses scientific as well as systematic ways to coordinate the development of economics and the protection of environment. It is just in the primary process for forestry enterprises in China to introduce the research and practice of environmental accounting. Based on discussion about the principle of environmental information disclosure and analysis on the current situation of the environmental information disclosure of the forestry enterprises, this paper attempted to propose that the supplementary report mode of information disclosure should be appropriate for the forestry enterprises, which provide the balance sheet of environment, the income statement of environment besides the original three financial report to reflect the general environmental information of the enterprise.

Linking Numerical Water Quality Models in an Environmental Information System for Integrated Environmental Assessments

Decision makers involved in prevention of water contamination often lack the technical knowledge of water quality evaluation or the comprehension of complex software for environmental information management required to make effective decisions. Providing information about the environment is not an easy task due to its complex structure, relationships, and dynamic processes. Because environmental models play an important role in environmental decision support systems, the integration of models into user-friendly integrated information systems is a key factor in the support of such users. This paper presents an environmental information system which supports water protection of Coatzacoalcos River in Mexico, having as a main building block water quality assessments supported by mathematical modeling through the two-dimensional Saint Venant and Advection-Diffusion-Reaction equations to calculate the river hydrodynamics and the contaminant transport, respectively. The mathematical modeling solution yields appropriate results representing the river contaminant distribution when compared with field measurements. But the direct use of these models by decision makers is difficult at best, meaning they are not likely to be used in making practical decisions. The system described in this paper integrates these models, and several other tools, into a seamless, user-centered application, improving model usability, initial configuration, and results visualization.

Environmental Accounting in the Context of Environmental Information： Case Study of a Reforestation Company in Campo Belo do Sul City, Santa Catarina State, Brazil

In Brazil, environmental accounting is inserted in a set of emerging matters, which are arousing great interest among researchers. One of the important points regarding the environmental issue is how to develop tools in order to analyze and manage the natural resources in a balanced way. However, in the literature there are no studies that made use of a knowledge-based approach to implement environmental accounting in organizations. This work aims to examine how environmental accounting can contribute to the knowledge creation in organizations. It held an exploratory, descriptive study and a research-action. The methodological procedures held were： literature review and development of a research-action in a forest enterprise between October 2008 and January 2011. During the interviews, the creation and change of routines and activities was pointed out, such as classification of expenditures schedules, creation of new accounts and new knowledge which help the planning and decision-making process in the organization. This work has an original character due to the practical application within an organization, in which there is a longitudinal follow up for a period of two years and three months, showing the results obtained through interviews with people involved in this process of implementing environmental accounting.

Characterization of Small-Scale Farmers and Assessment of Their Access to Crop Production Information in Selected Counties of Kenya

Small-scale farming accounts for 78% of total agricultural production in Kenya and contributes to 23.5% of the country’s GDP. Their crop production activities are mostly rainfed subsistence with any surplus being sold to bring in some income. Timely decisions on farm practices such as farm preparation and planting are critical determinants of the seasonal outcomes. In Kenya, most small-scale farmers have no reliable source of information that would help them make timely and accurate decisions. County governments have extension officers who are mandated with giving farmers advisory services to farmers but they are not able to reach most farmers due to facilitation constraints. The mode and format of sharing information is also critical since it’s important to ensure that it’s timely, well-understood and usable. This study sought to assess access to geospatial derived and other crop production information by farmers in four selected counties of Kenya. Specific objectives were to determine the profile of small-scale farmers in terms of age, education and farm size;to determine the type of information that is made available to them by County and Sub-County extension officers including the format and mode of provision;and to determine if the information provided was useful in terms of accuracy, timeliness and adequacy. The results indicated that over 80% of the farmers were over 35 years of age and over 56% were male. Majority had attained primary education (34%) or secondary education (29%) and most farmers in all the counties grew maize (71%). Notably, fellow farmers were a source of information (71%) with the frequency of sharing information being mostly seasonal (37%) and when information was available (43%). Over 66% of interviewed farmers indicating that they faced challenges while using provided information. The results from the study are insightful and helpful in determining effective ways of providing farmers with useful information to ensure maximum benefits.

Online learning method for predicting air environmental information used in agricultural robots

Air environmental information plays an important role during plant growth and reproduction, prompt and accurate prediction of atmospheric environmental data is helpful for agricultural robots to make a timely decision. For efficiency, an online learning method for predicting air environmental information was presented in this work. This method combines the advantages of convolutional neural network (CNN) and experience replay technique: CNN is used to extract features from raw data and predict atmospheric environmental information, experience replay technique can store environmental data over some time and update the hyperparameters of CNN. To validate the effects of this method, this online method was compared with three different predictive methods (including random forest, multi-layer perceptron, and support vector regression) using a public dataset (Jena). According to results, a suitable sample sequence size (e.g., 16) has a smaller number of training sessions and stable results, a larger replay memory size (e.g., 200) can provide enough samples to capture useful features, and 6 d of historical information is the best setting for training predictor. Compared with traditional methods, the method proposed in this study is the only method applied for various conditions.

Data and tools to integrate climate and environmental information into public health

Background:During the last 30 years,the development of geographical information systems and satellites for Earth observation has made important progress in the monitoring of the weather,climate,environmental and anthropogenic factors that influence the reduction or the reemergence of vector-borne diseases.Analyses resulting from the combination of geographical information systems(GIS)and remote sensing have improved knowledge of climatic,environmental,and biodiversity factors influencing vector-borne diseases(VBDs)such as malaria,visceral leishmaniasis,dengue,Rift Valley fever,schistosomiasis,Chagas disease and leptospirosis.These knowledge and products developed using remotely sensed data helped and continue to help decision makers to better allocate limited resources in the fight against VBDs.Main body:Because VBDs are linked to climate and environment,we present here our experience during the last four years working with the projects under the,World Health Organization(WHO)/The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases(TDR)-International Development Research Centre(IDRC)Research Initiative on VBDs and Climate Change to integrate climate and environmental information into research and decision-making processes.The following sections present the methodology we have developed,which uses remote sensing to monitor climate variability,environmental conditions,and their impacts on the dynamics of infectious diseases.We then show how remotely sensed data can be accessed and evaluated and how they can be integrated into research and decision-making processes for mapping risks,and creating Early Warning Systems,using two examples from the WHO TDR projects based on schistosomiasis analysis in South Africa and Trypanosomiasis in Tanzania.Conclusions:The tools presented in this article have been successfully used by the projects under the WHO/TDRIDRC Research Initiative on VBDs and Climate Change.Combined with capacity building,they are an important piece of work which can significantly contribute to the goals of WHO Global Vector Control Response and to the Sustainable Development Goals especially those on health and climate action.

Public access to information and open governance in Kenya

This paper investigates the role of public access to information in open governance in Kenya;identifies the factors affecting access to public information in Kenya;establishes the extent to which access to public information has influenced open governance in Kenya;and recommends strategies to enhance open governance through access of public information in Kenya.The paper is based on a qualitative study designed as an exploratory survey.Qualitative data was collected through key informant interviews with staff of the Commission on Administrative Justice(Office of the Ombudsman),which is tasked with implementing the Act,and documentary analysis.Content analysis of reports generated by implementing or oversight agencies was also conducted.The findings of the study show that the implementation of the Access to Information Act(2016)has had major contributions to the attainment of Kenya's commitments to open governance.Access to information underlies initiatives relating to open data sharing,beneficial ownership and access to justice.However,the implementation of the Act in Kenya faces challenges such as lack of funding,corruption,low levels of citizen awareness,and a culture of secrecy.The study recommends that the government should set up monitoring mechanisms to evaluate milestones of open governance initiatives such as the Act so as to be able to better evaluate the contributions of each commitment internally rather than relying on external evaluators.

Men with prostate cancer and the accessibility to information—a literature review

Objective: To explore possible consequences of short stays in hospitals, as these short contacts reduce the patients’ time for information and support. Method: A literature survey was carried out to get an insight in possible consequences by summarizing the state of knowledge on how men with prostate cancer undergoing prostatec-tomy surgery experience their contacts with the healthcare professionals. Results: A consequence is that often men with prostate cancer, treated with prostatectomy surgery, do not receive the individualized support, infor-mation, and dialogue they need, which leads to feelings of uncertainty, insecurity, and loss of control. The men use the Internet in their search for information and support, which makes them able to stay in control and be active, responsible partners in their own course of treatment. Conclusion: For men to feel secure and certain the accessibility of the healthcare professionals and the healthcare professionals’ ability to individualize information and support are important aspects. Practice Implications: It is relevant to provide male cancer patients with tools that can underpin their contact to the healthcare professionals. Utilizing Web 2.0 technologies, Internet based tools can support exchange-ability, towards dialogue-based contacts, between men with prostate cancer and healthcare professionals.

Internet based environmental monitoring information system and its application in Yili Prefecture

With the development of Internet technologies, Internet Based Information System (IBIS) arises with more advantages: Firstly, it is convenient for users to use owing to the introduction of Internet technologies. Secondly, it benefits greatly the data dissemination and data sharing based on Internet. The most important but not the last is that we can establish the information service network supported by its technologies and the facilities of information highway. So, it would be significant to design IBIS to realize the data collection, sharing and dissemination on Internet. There are many factors affecting regional environment. So it is not easy to realize the integrated environmental monitoring. Given this, we designed the Internet based environmental monitoring information system. By the virtue of the Internet based environmental monitoring information system, the management and storage of environmental monitoring data would be easier, which lays the foundation to actualize the environmental monitoring efficiently.

Remote monitoring system for livestock environmental information based on LoRa wireless ad hoc network technology

The environmental quality of livestock houses is key to livestock breeding and directly affects the growth and health of animals.To target the characteristics of long application cycles and large coverage areas for environmental monitoring in large-scale livestock breeding,the current study designed a remote monitoring system to provide livestock environmental information based on LoRa wireless ad hoc network technology.The system consisted of collection terminals,control terminals,LoRa gateways,and Alibaba Elastic Compute Service.It realized real-time collection,wireless transmission,storage of multi-sensor node data,and remote control.The system was not limited by the selected time or region,because data interaction was achieved by accessing cloud servers using GPRS technology.Users could browse and obtain data from computers and a WeChat mini program from any location with network coverage.Additionally,the system used the improved receiver-based auto rate(RBAR)rate-adaptive algorithm in the LoRa wireless communication component.After application on a dairy farm,the results showed that the whole system collected 6140 sets of environmental data from four dairy houses.The packet loss rate was less than 1%within a communication distance of 604 m,and the communication success rate was greater than 99%.The control instructions were real-time and accurate,and the response time was less than 10 s,which met the remote control needs of large farms.The system provided powerful data and technical support for precision animal production.

Storytelling and environmental information: connecting schoolchildren and herpetofauna in Morocco

Northwestern Morocco is undergoing a sudden change in the level of infrastructure growth and pressure on the environment from increased tourism.The ongoing changes are raising questions about how the ecosystem will react,and the relevant drivers of these changes.The Oued Laou valley in north-west Morocco hosts high landscape,species and human cultural diversity.The Talassemtane National Park has been established to preserve the envi-ronment in this region;however,what information tools are available to children regarding this environment?The ecosystem is illustrated here using three components:herpetofauna(representing ecosystem components),prob-lems related to water quantity and quality(representing interactions within ecosystem components)and Talassemtane National Park(representing a case of ecosystem management).A children’s book was written on this topic,and when the book was delivered to pupils,a questionnaire was included,aimed at determining their sources of environ-mental information.The results identified major changes in the sources of information utilized by children in this part of Morocco,a clear role of schools in explaining ecosystem components,and an increasing role of TV in environmental information supply.The role of the family was found to be less important than TV or school.Another major source of pupils’environmental knowledge is personal observation and hands-on experience,both for rural and urban children.Children are willing to discover and understand complex systems,and researchers should be encouraged to supply children with correct and up-to-date information on environmental systems,focusing at first on the local environment,as a background for sustainable development.

Enriching online access to health information for the public: Efforts from a medical library in China

Purpose: Disseminating medical and health information is a mission of a public medical library. This paper describes a practice of a medical library in providing online access to health information for the general public.Design/methodology/approach: A four-step workflow is developed to integrate and disseminate heterogeneous health information from medical associations. First, a raw data repository is developed to manage the original submissions from information providers.Second, each document in the raw data repository is represented in a standardized XML schema. Third, the medical terms are identified and manually annotated, enriching the semantics of health information. Lastly, all the semantically enriched XML documents are converted to HTMLs for online dissemination.Findings: A health information website, CHealth, was developed for Chinese speakers. It provides free online access for all without any login or IP constrains. CHealth is available at www.chealth.org.cn.Research limitations: The current workflow is time-consuming and labor-intensive due to the lack of information submission/exchange standard and commonly agreed-on consumer health terminology in Chinese.Originality/value: In this work, the target audience of the medical library has been extended from traditional academic/professional to the general public. Methodologies in library sciences have been combined with those in consumer health informatics in CHealth development.

Environmental Information Governance Reform in the Era of Big Data--From Information Disclosure to Public Service

The development of environmental information governance includes three phases: providing for oneself,information disclosure,and public service. And then China is in the transition and transformation of environmental information disclosure to the environmental information public service. The core of the transformation is public participation,in the whole procedure of environmental information supply decision making,production,and quality supervision and evaluation,etc. The target path of the environmental information governance reform includes five parts: improvement of public satisfaction,optimizing information disclosure,information quality control,integration of information resources,and multiple supply.

Empirical Research on Factors Influencing Level of Environmental Protection Information Disclosure in Annual Reportsby Listed Companies

Taking 248 A-share manufacturing listed companies in 2006 Shanghai Stock Exchange as example, using "index method" to measure level of environmental protection infor-mation disclosure, this paper examines the factors influencing level of environmental protection information disclosure. The findings show that the disclosure level has improved, but the overall level is still low and unable to satisfy information users; there is positive correlation between corporate size, industry type, accounting firm's type and corporate environmental dis-closure index. The companies of large scale and heavy pollu-tion and those audited by international "Big 4" and domestic "Big 10" accounting firms have a high level of environmental disclosure, while the profitability and financial leverage has no impact on the disclosure level. Finally some suggestions are put forward to establish environmental information disclosure sys-tem in China.

Problems on the application of geographic information systems to urban environmental management

Geographic information systems (GIS) are a widely used tool in urban planning and management. More and more cities and decision-makers require its attributes of promptness, precision and visualization. But the application of GIS in urban environmental management is still a new field and relevant researches are getting on tardily. As a subsystem of GIS, an urban environmental management geographic information system (UEMGIS) should be a complex multi-discipline and multi-objective tool to perform quantitative multi-dimension analysis and to transfer the results into an expression legible to an ordinary user. It should be a dynamic system of prompt functions based on upgradable databases, and be composed of many subsystems respectively specialized in items about water, air, waste and noise as well as relative standards and regulations. However, existing UEMGISs mostly rely on the basic GIS too much to design the actual requirements of applications and managements in themselves, and the unavailability of sufficient fundamental data has retarded their improvement. In the design of a UEMGIS, the standardization of data classification should be taken into consideration to make the data exchangeable and shareable among its subsystems and within every subsystem, and the applicable error limits for input data should be defined in accordance with the user抯 required precision of data out. Data acquisition can be easy and quick if remote sensing, global positioning system (GPS) and other technologies are combined with GIS. Rapidly progressing information technologies have been giving a bright prospect for the melioration of UEMGIS that will have great potential and wide application in environmental conservation.

Environmental Information Statement for Home Appliances at Online Stores in Japan

This study aims to identify the current situation and problems of environmental information statement for major four home appliances （refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and television receivers） sold at online stores in Japan, and then to suggest how to improve the situation, through a questionnaire survey conducted among businesses that operate online stores and online malls with multiple online stores. The findings of this study are summarized into the following two points： （l） It is found out that environmental information statement for the home appliances at online stores has four problems： （i） less information on ＂three Rs （reduce, reuse and recycle）＂ and ＂chemical substances＂ than the one on ＂energy conservation＂; （ii） cost for providing environmental information statement; （iii） issues associated with a label and mark placement; （iv） issues associated with energy conservation statement. （2） Improvements are suggested for each of the four problems listed above, and shown are （i） the effectiveness of, and need to promote, a label and mark placement; （ii） cost burden on buyers; （iii） need of active efforts made by businesses and of dissemination of legal regulations to businesses.