Use of Eucalyptus DNA profiling in a case of illegal logging

Eucalyptus is grown world-wide for paper pulp, solid wood, and other industries. Theft or illegal cutting of the trees causes hardship to owners of plantations and countries whose economies rely on the sale and export of eucalyptus products. Unfortunately, many of these crimes go unpunished due to lack of forensic evidence.Over 1200 short tandem repeat (STR) markers have been identified in the genomes of genus Eucalyptus and related species. However, their importance and utility in aiding forensic investigations of wood theft have not been explored. This study evaluated nine STRs for diversity and applied them to a case involving suspected wood theft.As expected, three dinucleotide STR markers showed greater variability but resulted in harder to interpret profiles. Four STR tetranucleotide markers evaluated in this study were found to contain additional repeat structures (dinucleotide or trinucleotide) that enhanced their variability but resulted in profiles with peaks at multiple stutter positions and heterozygote peak imbalance. The most promising STR markers were EGM37 and EMBRA 1374. Though less variable, they yielded robust and reproducible DNA profiles.All nine STR markers were applied to a case involving suspected wood theft. Samples were collected from seized wood and from remaining stumps in a plantation. No DNA match was found, thus eliminating the evidence samples as having originated from the forest. Dendrochronology analysis also resulted in an exclusion. This case study represents the first report using STR markers in any eucalyptus species to provide DNA evidence in a case of suspected wood theft.     

An Economic Analysis of a Swedish Environmental Liability Case

A High Court case illustrates Swedish legal reasoning. The case extends the use of strict liability, although the main liability rule is negligence. The aim of the paper is to show the usefulness of the economic analysis in a practical case. The case concerns liability for damages caused by a leaky, hot-water pipe. The defendant maintained that it should not be held liable because it had not acted negligently, and the district court and the court of appeals supported the defence. Nevertheless, the High Court decided on strict liability. The High Court used a line of argumentation that, partly and implicitly, may have been economically correct. However, the precedence was most limited and unclear. Given an explicit goal of economic efficiency, the precedence would, in this simple and straightforward case, be that strict liability should prevail where the cause is unilateral and the injurer is able to cover and/or insure the loss.     

环境损害赔偿与公益信托——以福岛核事故为中心

福岛核辐射事故造成包括森林、海洋、湖泊、地下水等的环境损害,其中,有些是私人受到了损害,有些是社会受到了损害。这些损害应该如何赔偿?特别是自然资源价值的赔偿是问题的难点所在,比如自然资源之森林,交换价值的赔偿应归属于所有人,其非使用价值则应归属于公众。因此,非使用价值则应赔偿给公众。但是,如何归属呢?对此,宜采用公益信托理念,由国家或地方政府作为受托人,为了社会整体享有利益,请求赔偿。而赔偿方式也是一个重要问题,一般有恢复原状、金钱赔偿两种,一般计算出的环境价值减少部分低于恢复原状的费用,但如果能准确计算出全部自然资源价值,环境价值减少部分与恢复原状的费用基本上相同。因此,公益受托人可以选择任何一种适于该情形的赔偿。     

越南农村地区环境问题:现状及解决措施

越南农村地区面临着环境污染问题,越南政府已颁布了多项环境保护政策和措施以有效保护环境和促进农村的可持续发展。这些政策包括:提高人口素质、减少贫困、增加农村基础设施投入、扶助农村和农村家庭经济发展、环境保护,以及保障清洁水供应、提高农村环境卫生质量、修建畜牧业沼气站、建立生态示范村、鼓励新鲜食品生产和采取有效措施应对气候变化等。     

我国环境警察机构设置探析

环境警察的机构设置是建立环境警察制度的起点,其设置是否科学合理是环境警察能否高效执法和健康发展的关键。世界各国和我国多地的环境警察机构设置模式都有一定的不同之处,对环境警察的执法实践也产生了不同的影响。环境警察的机构设置应遵循因地制宜、注重实际需要,明晰职责、注重资源整合,适应实战、注重执法实效,讲究专业、注重人员素质等原则,在设置环境警察机构时要进行充分的论证和精心的构思,以便建立起符合各地地情和环境问题实情、符合环境执法实际需要的环境警察机构。     

多重视野下的环境法价值

对环境法的价值的理解和研究要有广阔的视野和多重视角，首先要深入剖析“价值”的内涵，再分别从法律的目的价值、评价标准价值和法律的形式价值这几个层面出发．分别对环境法的价值进行定位和全方位考察。环境法具有；方面和多层次的价值，并且这些不同层面的价值在具体的环境法律原则和制度中得以体现。     

Differentiation between drug use and environmental contamination when testing for drugs in hair

The differentiation between systemic exposure and external contamination for certain drug groups has been frequently referred to as one of the limitations of in drug testing in hair. When hair samples are used, three steps are usually employed in order to minimise the possibility of external contamination causing a misinterpretation. The first consists of decontaminating hair samples by washing the hair before analysis, the second is the detection of the relevant metabolites in the hair samples and the third is the use of cut-off levels. Difficulty in the interpretation arises when metabolites are not detected either due to external contamination of the hair or low doses of the drugs used. A wash protocol needs to be practical and ideally remove any drug deposited on the external portion of the hair.     

韩国环境会计的发展及其启示

环境会计是开展环保活动的一个有效工具。实施环境会计有利于促进企业加强环境管理,提高环境业绩,提升企业形象,增强竞争优势,也有利于提升企业和公众的环境意识,对落实科学发展观、发展循环经济、实施可持续发展战略和建设和谐社会十分重要。韩国是目前亚洲环境保护工作做得很好的国家之一,其环境会计的发展也有较明显的特色。韩国的经验表明,企业重视环境信息,不仅有利于提高企业的经济效益和环境效益,而且具有明显的社会效益,推进了环保型社会建设的进程,也给我们提供了有益的启示。     

Environmentalism undercover: The environmental dimension of public support for domestic water charges

Research shows that environmental attitudes can affect support for environmentally-beneficial policies. However, it is unclear whether environmental attitudes can influence support for such policies when they are not being primarily framed through an environmental lens. Using data from the 2011 Irish National Election Study, this paper examines the issue using the case of support for the reintroduction of water charges. This was a contentious issue with debate largely focusing on the proposal as an austerity measure, but the proposal also had environmental implications. The results find that while individuals' willingness to prioritise environmental protection over economic growth did not affect their support for water charges, their willingness to make individual sacrifices for the environment did. Moreover, voters’ position on this policy impacted their vote choice. The findings are particularly important given the struggles that governments are facing in implementing environmental taxes and charges.     

经济手段在南部非洲发展共同体环境管理中的运用及启示

南部非洲发展共同体为根除贫穷和解决生态恶化问题需要寻求以可持续发展为导向、以促进共同实现经济效益和环境效益为目标的环境管理手段。作为一种市场激励手段,经济手段进入南共体环境管理的视野,并被广泛地运用于这一区域土地资源的管理和使用,水资源的使用、分配和管理以及工业部门中。南共体有关环境管理中经济手段运用的实践对于我国环境管理的革新同样具有一定的借鉴意义。