北方缺水地区水资源可持续利用管理途径研究

对北方地区的水资源现状与配置状况进行了分析,指出了目前北方地区水资源利用存在的问题,提出水资源的合理开发利用需要一套行之有效的管理途径,并从政府政策管理方面研究了该管理途径,以合理有效地利用水资源。     

River landscapes and sustainable development: a framework for project appraisal and catchment management

Sustainable development will remain a holy grail until our institutional framework honours community participation in the husbandry of our natural resources through the process of decision-making over land use change at all levels. Concern over this prediction, and how to meet its challenge, is the essence of this article, with the focus on river landscape as the broad indicator of the health of the catchment (claimed by the late Noel Hynes). A review of some of the current 'best practice' and their recent history, from policy to projects, affecting the river environment draws on lessons learned in the UK and abroad.     

我国绿色建筑给排水节能新技术的应用

从第二水源开发、热水供应系统开发与完善、新型节水设备推广等方面对建筑给排水节能新技术进行了深入的探讨,指出给排水节能技术的应用对实现绿色建筑,促进我国建筑可持续发展具有重要的作用.     

Defining coherence for landscape planning and management: a regional landscape strategy for North West England

The range of environmental activity in the North West of England is as diverse as its landscapes. These embrace some of the finest, but also some of the most degraded, landscapes in the UK; to date however, there has been no overall co-ordination of initiatives aimed at their protection and rehabilitation. The emergence of regional planning guidance, a regional economic strategy and the agenda of sustainable development demands a more integrative, strategic approach to environmental action. This paper details the development of a regional landscape strategy which seeks to provide the connection between action at the regional and the neighbourhood levels through the co-ordination, reinforcement and innovation of environmental activity. The regional landscape strategy provides a focus around which the interests of public, private and voluntary bodies can coalesce and a medium for the articulation of policy aspirations relating to the sustainable planning and management of landscapes.     

Defining coherence for landscape planning and management: a regional landscape strategy for North West England

The range of environmental activity in the North West of England is as diverse as its landscapes. These embrace some of the finest, but also some of the most degraded, landscapes in the UK; to date however, there has been no overall co‐ordination of initiatives aimed at their protection and rehabilitation. The emergence of regional planning guidance, a regional economic strategy and the agenda of sustainable development demands a more integrative, strategic approach to environmental action. This paper details the development of a regional landscape strategy which seeks to provide the connection between action at the regional and the neighbourhood levels through the co‐ordination, reinforcement and innovation of environmental activity. The regional landscape strategy provides a focus around which the interests of public, private and voluntary bodies can coalesce and a medium for the articulation of policy aspirations relating to the sustainable planning and management of landscapes.     

Landscape elements as a basis for integrated water management

Water scarcity and flooding associated to climate variability and poor water use efficiency affect the liveability of our cities and their water security in the long term. As advocated by the Integrated Water Management (IWM) model, a transition towards arrangements that, besides centralized water infrastructures, also include onsite and efficient organization of water flows is required. A Landscape Elements Water Management Strategy (LEWMS) has been outlined to immediately guide the exploration of potential source control solutions for the recurrent spatial elements of a given urban landscape (roofs, gardens, parks, etc.) and the result of their reiteration at the catchment level. In the LEWMS, spatial configurations, water flow patterns and stakeholder’s arrangements generated by the spread of different decentralized options are drawn up to allow their comparison. Tested in the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR), the analysed macro effects of micro-scale landscape-based practices are gaining the attention of the local institutions.     

Ensuring sustainable development for the German water sector: setting the stage for the risk-based sustainability management system (RSS)

Abstract

The service provision of drinking water and the disposal of waste water are severely challenged by changing framework conditions. Although service providers necessitate systematic information regarding sustainability risks, no available management tool accounts for them comprehensively. In the context of the project NaCoSi ‘Ensuring Sustainability for Urban Water Systems’, a risk-based sustainability management system (RSS) was developed. This paper aims to introduce RSS and to discuss its contribution towards companies’ viability and transformation in the water sector. The paper describes the comprehensive self-screening approach of RSS, which is based on a causal-chain concept and comprises steps of risk analysis, monitoring and mitigation. Results of the testing phase suggest the validity of risk analysis and its effectiveness in deriving measures. Thus, RSS can help to improve the ability of service providers by analysing challenges and communicating them.     

Factors affecting the adoption of green supply chain management practices in Brazil: empirical evidence

The aim of this study is to identify and analyse the factors that affect the adoption of Green Supply Chain Management practices based on empirical evidence from the Brazilian electronics sector. Data are collected in a survey of 100 electronics companies and analysed using statistical analysis of variance and regression methods. The study finds that the size of the company, previous experience with Environmental Management Systems, and the use of hazardous inputs are positively correlated with GSCM practices adoption. Surprisingly, formal pressure from the stronger tier/player in the supply chain is not correlated with the adoption of GSCM practices. Finally, we present some explanations for these findings and suggestions for future research.     

Reuse potential of municipal wastewater treatment facility effluents for sustainable water resource management in Ulsan,Korea

Effluent qualities of five municipal wastewater treatment facilities (MWWTFs) in Ulsan were evaluated to examine their reuse potential. Effluent from Yongyeon (Y) MWWTF, Onsan (O) MWWTF and Bangeojin (B) MWWTFs can be used as cooling water without further treatment. As evident from Langelier saturation index and Ryzner index values, reuse of treated effluent from OMWWTF and BMWWTFs is recommended by controlling the pH to reduce the scale-forming potential of effluent. However, effluents from these MWWTFs need additional treatment to remove residual dissolved constituents before reuse as boiler water. Besides, effluent from Hoiya (H) MWWTF and Unyang (U) MWWTFs can be reused for agricultural irrigation without any additional treatment. Based on the scientific results obtained from this investigation, proper application of technology and promotion of public awareness to change the traditional mindset for treated effluent reuse could immensely contribute towards conserving local water resources and addressing global environmental problems on a regional basis.     

A decision support tool for sustainable planning of urban water systems: Presenting the Dynamic Urban Water Simulation Model

Population growth, urbanisation and climate change represent significant pressures on urban water resources, requiring water managers to consider a wider array of management options that account for economic, social and environmental factors. The Dynamic Urban Water Simulation Model (DUWSiM) developed in this study links urban water balance concepts with the land use dynamics model MOLAND and the climate model LARS-WG, providing a platform for long term planning of urban water supply and water demand by analysing the effects of urbanisation scenarios and climatic changes on the urban water cycle. Based on potential urbanisation scenarios and their effects on a city's water cycle, DUWSiM provides the functionality for assessing the feasibility of centralised and decentralised water supply and water demand management options based on forecasted water demand, stormwater and wastewater generation, whole life cost and energy and potential for water recycling. DUWSiM has been tested using data from Dublin, the capital of Ireland, and it has been shown that the model is able to satisfactorily predict water demand and stormwater runoff.     

Minimizing water cost in water resource management of Athens

This paper considers the minimization of the cost of water through an integrated water resources planning and management model, implemented within the decision support system for the management of the Athens water supply system. The mathematical framework employs a simulation-optimization scheme, where simulation is applied to faithfully represent the system operation, whereas optimization is applied to derive the optimal management policy, which simultaneously minimizes the risk and cost of decision-making. Real economic criteria in addition to artificial costs are appropriately assigned to preserve the physical constraints and water use priorities, ensuring also the lowest-cost transportation of water from sources to the point of consumption. The proposed model is tested on the hydrosystem of Athens, in order to minimize the expected operational costs for several system configurations.     

A sustainable framework for water resources management in an urban watershed: the case of Volos,Greece

The implementation of sustainable development principles in water resources management refers to an integrated management and coordination of the entirety of the actions and interventions that concern the water ecosystem, or parts of it, within a watershed. This procedure is accomplished through the development and application of an overall management plan at a hydrological basin level. This concept was followed by the water resources management plan of the city of Volos' watershed, which is presented in this paper. The main objective is the choice of the best set, among others, of hydraulic projects, which will be able to re-establish the balance in the basin's deficient water budget, satisfying at the same time future urban water demand. Decision making was carried out using a GIS tool and involved traditional water capture hydraulic projects on the one hand and sustainable water saving measures on the other. The whole procedure is being developed in an area with serious environmental problems, concerning mainly the groundwater resources. The particularity here is that the alternative solutions strongly depend on administrative agreement and consensus between relevant authorities.     

The implementation deficits of adaptation and mitigation: green buildings and water security in Amsterdam and Boston

Frameworks of environmental regulations are fundamental yet problematic factors in achieving climate mitigation and adaptation policy goals. Recent theoretical arguments claim the value of general legal frameworks to enable experimentation and contextual adaptation of policies. However, empirical research regarding the effects of both general and specific norms in the practice of urban intervention remains limited. In this article we empirically discern how city governments deal with the tension between control and flexibility in the implementation of urban climate change goals. We argue that policies of adaptation/mitigation face two types of implementation problems: non-adaptive implementation and non-implementation. The first stems from an excessively constraining use of rules, while the second derives from a too general and undefined regulatory framework. Analysing two empirical cases in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Boston, MA, USA, we conclude that there are three elements that affect the way actors deal with these deficits: the level of scale at which regulations are established, the degree of land ownership which provides margin of manoeuvre to public authorities, and the sense of political urgency behind mitigation and adaptation policies.     

Evaluating demand management aspects of urban water policy—A field survey in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece

The objective of the paper is to investigate the attitudes and preferences of the residential water users of the city of Thessaloniki, in order to evaluate the demand management aspects of the urban water policy. A field survey has been conducted in the city of Thessaloniki and investigated among others the reliability of the utility’s services and infrastructure, the acceptability of various water demand options, the willingness to pay of the consumers and the level of public awareness. Straightforward comparisons with the results of a similar survey five years ago help extract useful remarks and conclusions concerning the shift of the urban water policy towards integrated and therefore more sustainable directions.     

Developing an integrated water management strategy to overcome conflicts between urban growth, water infrastructure and environmental quality: a case study from Ashford, Kent

Ashford, in East Kent, is a government‐designated growth area. Between 2001 and 2031, the town is set to grow by 31 000 homes and 28 000 jobs, almost doubling in size. This raises numerous concerns about the ability of the local water infrastructure and Kentish Stour catchment to accept this pressure in the short and long term. The Ashford integrated water management study (AIWMS) set out to address all the issues around water quality, water resources, biodiversity and flood risk to allow Ashford's growth to occur without unacceptable environmental damage. The study reviewed current problems with the water environment, established the key constraints to growth that might arise from the proposed development and identified water management strategies to accommodate Ashford's expansion. The paper reviews the integration methodology that was developed and discusses the lessons learned from the experience.     

Demand management aspects of urban water policy in the industrial sector: the case of the city of Thessaloniki,Greece

The present paper presents the main results of a research project. It deals with consumers' perception of water issues in the industrial sector, and examines and analyses water use patterns, water conservation methods and water pricing issues. Issues presented are the contribution of water to production processes, water consumption levels, water conservation options, the possibility of construction of a dual water supply system, the evaluation of different pricing policies, the willingness to pay (WTP) and the potential impact of a price increase. The study has shown that there is limited use of recycling methods, few pollution control practices and small effect of industrial water price on water consumption levels. As far as industrial consumers are concerned, they present inaccurate perception of water consumption levels and low willingness to pay for the improvement of water services.     

Maximising the benefits of rainwater harvesting technology towards sustainability in urban areas of South Africa: a case study

ABSTRACT

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) technology has been in use for a long time, however its contribution towards urban water supply has been negligible in South Africa. Through a comprehensive literature review and analysis of interviews with key stakeholders, this case study presents implementation challenges and policy gaps in relation to the scale of adoption in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ). Findings show that only 0.1% of CoJ’s population utilises RWH due to various reasons, varying from financial viability, reliability, quality concerns, and system maintenance. This paper attributes these to the scale of adoption and suggests upscaling the system to larger commercial buildings to optimise benefits. However, there is an urgent need to bridge the policy gaps for successful implementation. Three categories of policy reforms are therefore proposed to facilitate innovation uptake, stakeholder engagement and compliance. This knowledge can guide future research towards urban water management, scientists and policymakers nexus.     

Toward a sustainable land management of vernacular landscape in the highlands of south-western Saudi Arabia: indigenous and statutory experiences

The vernacular landscape of the highlands of south-western Saudi Arabia comprises three distinct elements: natural, agricultural and built. The highlands are currently facing land use planning problems which result in deforestation, despite significant attempts at afforestation by several governmental agencies (especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Water) and by municipal governments in the area. Intentions towards more sustainable forms of land management now characterize official documents. With regard to landscape issues, this is marked by a discourse of sustainable land management and the sponsorship of initiatives addressing the relationship between land management and the environment. This paper demonstrates that the approach to sustainable land management is technical, rational and scientific. A more balanced approach would combine scientific knowledge and practice with traditional expertise.     

Experiences of stakeholder participation in multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) processes for water infrastructure

Abstract

The process of multi-criteria decision analysis is commonly utilized in planning processes for technical infrastructure. This includes water infrastructure, which is currently impacted by global changes in environmental conditions. Consequentially, technical and conceptual options have been developed with the focus on sustainability by closing water and material cycles. The inclusion of stakeholder perspectives in the planning process would be supported by purposeful MCDA implementation. This paper examines initial stages of the MCDA with a focus on the multi-stakeholder-group-driven collaborative development of a set of objectives (SOO). Additional emphasis is given to participatory methods for each stage of the two, presented case studies examined in this paper. An attempt has been made to describe perceptions and outcomes of the case studies. The developed SOOs are presented and discussed with special regard to the development process and the evaluation outcomes.