Vietnamese Updates: Strengthening the legal regulation on responding to oil spills at sea (20 Mar 2013)

Strengthening the legal regulation on responding to oil spills at sea

Thứ tư, ngày 20 tháng 03 năm 2013 cập nhật lúc 02:17

Vietnam’s waters are an open sea connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is among the maritime routes with an enormous amount of traffic, of which 70% is oil tanker. As a result, Vietnam is facing the risk of pollution caused by oil spills. Implementing the regulation on responding to oil spills of the Government is a necessity given the context that our country does not have a long-term strategy to cope with this type of disaster.

Over 20 years, 100 oil spills

According to the Institute of Marine Environment and Resources - Institute of Science and Technology of Vietnam, from 1989 to the present, our water have seen about 100 oil spills caused by ship accidents which spilled into the sea from a few dozens to hundreds of tons of oil. The oil spills usually occur in March and April in the Central while in the North, it is May and June.

Statistics show that from 1992 to 2008, oil spills in the Vietnamese waters came from various causes. In particular, oil spills with amount of 7-700 tons were mainly due to stranded ships while oil spills of over 700 tons were mostly due to collisions at sea during the transportation.

Oil spills pollute the marine environment and seriously impact the ecosystem of mangroves, sea grass, intertidal sand, lagoons and coral reefs. Oil contains many different components which change and destroy biological cell structure. Sometimes they can annihilate an entire population. Oil seeped into coastal sand and mud can cause impact that lasts very long. Oil-polluted water leads to fish die-off due to lack of dissolved oxygen. Oil clinging to the land, stone embankments, shore of islands affects landscape view and causes unpleasant odors, leading to heavy damages to the tourism industry. Oil spills also affect the operation of fishing ports and ship building and repair facilities.

A survey at Lach Bang fishing port, Tinh Gia, Thanh Hoa, the place where thousands of fishing ships from different regions often anchor at, showed that water pollution in this area has reached an alarming level due to oil sludge discharged from ships. 10 years ago, this estuary was home to a rich mangrove ecosystem. Now, almost the entire area of ​​mangrove is dying due to oil contamination, leading to the extinct of the local brackish-water fauna and flora. Also, continuous incidents of oil pollution here caused the loss of hundreds of hectares of aquaculture, forcing many families to give up their business.

The most recent oil spill was the incident of Racer Express (Panama) with tonnage of more than 43,000 tons, which occurred on January 11, 2012. The ship anchored at Dung Quat port and spilled an amount of 1,000 liters of FO oil into the sea.

Therefore, oil spill can be considered as one of those that cause the biggest economic loss among the environmental incidents caused by humans.

Implementing the regulation on responding to oil spills

The Decision on issuance of the regulation on responding to oil spills of the Prime Minister has taken effect from March 1, 2013. This regulation provides for the preparation and organization to respond to oil spill and remedy its consequences, as well as the responsibilities of organizations and individuals regarding oil spills in the territory and waters Vietnam.

According to the regulation, oil spill response is divided into three levels: local, regional and national levels. The extent of the spill is also divided into three levels: small (volume of spill of less than 20 tons), medium (from 20 tons to 500 tons), and large (over 500 tons).

For oil spills at sea, based on specific situations, the collected oil can be temporarily seized for reuse and the ship causing the spill can be arrested for compensation assurance. For oil spills in the port area, if the owner of the ship causing the spill has not set up a compensation guarantee fund, the port authority, local competent authority or the responding unit can submit a complaint to the Court to request an arrest to ensure compensation for response costs and damages and losses caused by the incident.

This regulation is widely considered a "summer rain" given the serious "lack of law" on protecting marine natural resources today. In addition, experts said that, to enhance the implementation and supervision of oil spills, Vietnam should establish a Committee for oil spill response and issue a strategy on responding to oil spills at sea ​​with a guideline of proactive prevention, rapid remedy and minimizing damages caused by oil pollution.

T.Minh

Source: 

http://www.monre.gov.vn/v35/default.aspx?tabid=675&CateID=80&ID=126118&Code=HDJW126118

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South Korean Updates: Jury system for environmental R&D project to be introduced (27 Mar 2013)

Jury system for environmental R&D project to be introduced

webmaster

2013.03.27

Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) under the Ministry of Environment announced to introduce the ‘Environmental R&D Project Jury,’ composed of environmental experts, housewives, university students and teachers.

The jury system is of significance in that the public will directly participate in the process of planning, designing and evaluating the development of environmental technology, which used be the task of experts.

The members of jury will join the process from the project-selecting stage, and reflect the public’s voices on various environmental issues. Also, they will participate in public seminars, public hearings as well as evaluation and deliberation of R&D project as monitoring staffs.

KEITI selected 30 members of the environmental R&D project jury and held a kick-off ceremony on March 27.

KEITI expects that the jury system will help reflect the public’s opinion on environmental issues in daily life into R&D policies and accelerate realization of environment welfare.

An official in KEITI said that the environmental R&D project jury will serve as an opportunity to meet the environmental needs of the public regarding Korea’s environmental R&D projects, and will listen attentively to the people’s interest and demand. 

Source: 

http://eng.me.go.kr/board.do?method=view&docSeq=11349&bbsCode=new_news&currentPage=1&searchType=&searchText=&categoryCode=

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Publication: Charting New Waters State of Watershed Payments 2012 by Genevieve Bennett, Nathaniel Carroll, and Katherine Hamilton (29 Mar 2013)

Charting New Waters State of Watershed Payments 2012

Authors: Genevieve Bennett, Nathaniel Carroll, and Katherine Hamilton


Contributors: Michael Bennett, Marta Echavarria, Karol Fierro, and Heidi Huber-Stearns

January 2013


The latest report released by Forest Trends on incentive-based water protection. One is that investments in watershed protection are fast approaching a tipping point - rising 25% from the previous year and with 25% of all recorded investments occurring within last two years. The other is that investments in watershed protection have a long ways to go before they are more than a scant drop in the bucket in terms of world GDP, prevalent outside of China, or independent of government/non-profit aid. The truth lies somewhere in between.


To download the full document: 
http://www.forest-trends.org/documents/files/doc_3308.pdf

Source: 
http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0329-loux-watershed-services.html

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Call for Proposals: 2013 Pacific Rim Energy & Sustainability Conference (Deadline: 30 Apr 2013)

Call-for-Proposals

For more information: 

http://www.presdafoundation.org/pacific-rim-energy-sustainability-conference/proposals

The 2013 Pacific Rim Energy & Sustainability Conference invites scholarly interactions among academics, researchers, doctoral students, and representatives from industry, as well as think tanks, non-profit / non-governmental organization professionals to submit research abstracts and research papers.

As the fields of energy and sustainability cross over into multiple disciplines, authors are welcome to submit from a range of topics, perspectives, and disciplines. The range of research submissions may include conceptual, empirical, experimental, and case studies.

We invite proposals to be submitted through our online system. Proposals should focus on one of the four following areas: Sustainable Energy, Sustainable Consumption, Resiliency, or Policy Needs.

Key Dates

Abstracts Due	April 30, 2013
Presenter Registration Deadline	July 15, 2013
Full Papers Due	September 30, 2013
Proceedings Released	October 15, 2013

Topics

Sustainable Energy
Sustainable Consumption
Resiliency
Policy Needs
Other (please specify)

Special Topics

The future of electricity generation in a post-Fukushima world:
Are we on track to return to coal and oil with parallel CO2 emissions?
What might the economics of power generation look like in the 5-10 year time frame? 50 years?
Renewable energy? Safety? Conservation? Societal implications?

Submission Guidelines

1) Abstracts must be a maximum of 300 words and include the following items, (1) Title of abstract/research paper; and (2) Full names, academic rank or job title, contact information and email addresses, names of institution or firm for all authors and co-authors.

2) Abstracts must focus on scientific results or their application and the broader impacts of the research findings. The Review Committee may decline to consider abstracts that do not meet both of these items.

3) Submitted papers or posters may be placed in a different, more appropriate session than the one to which it was submitted.

4) The preferred type of presentation, platform or poster should be made clear with the abstract submission. Every effort to accommodate authors preference will be made; however the Review Committee has final control over the program.

5) Payment of the registration fee is required for inclusion in the schedule and proceedings.

6) Co-authors also wishing to attend and present must register separately in order to attend sessions and receive a Certificate of Presentation.

7) Submission of an abstract carries with it the obligation to give a presentation in the designated manner assigned by the Review Committee. Permission to publish in the conference program is implied.

8) An individual cannot present another person’s paper, if their name is not listed as an author on the abstract.

9) Submissions derived from plagiarized or copyrighted research will automatically be rejected.

10) If the submitted research paper or results have been previously published in another journal, it will not be accepted.

Oral Presenters

1) Oral presenters will be allotted 30 minutes to present, including comments and questions. If two or more co-authors will present together, the allotted time is still only 30 minutes. The session chair will field questions after all panel members have presented.

2) The session chair is expected to handle three tasks, (1) briefly introduce each panelist; (2) serve as a time moderator to ensure equal presentation times; and (3) to field questions and stimulate discussion after the final presentation.

3) Seating arrangement for oral presentations will be theater style with a table at the front.

4) Each room will be equipped with a projector and a screen. If you are using an Apple computer, please be sure to bring the proper adapter for connecting to the projector.

5) Computers will not be provided for presenters. We kindly ask that you bring your own computer, or to bring a flash memory USB drive with your presentation on it.

Poster Presenters

1) Poster presenters will be scheduled at times chosen maximum audience exposure.

2) The duration of each poster session will be approximately two hours.

3) Poster boards mounted on stands will be provided. Also, masking tape will be provided.

4) Posters must be set up 15 minutes before the start of the session and taken down within 30 minutes after the session ends. Display materials not removed following conclusion of the session will be discarded.

5) Poster materials should include the title of the presentation and the list of authors. Bring all illustrations needed — figures, tables, color photographs, charts.

6) Common dimensions for posters are 107cm x 107cm; 107cm x 122cm; or 107cm x 132cm.

7) Poster material should be well labeled and easy to read from a distance of one meter. Lettering should be bold. If you will be posting typed material, use a large font size (24 to 30 pt) on white, pale yellow or cream-colored non-glossy paper. Avoid use of non-standard fonts. Use 1-inch margins. Use upper and lower case letters.

8) No audiovisual equipment is permitted for poster presentations.

Proceedings

Oral presenters are not required to submit a full paper to be included in the Conference Proceedings.
All submissions to the Conference will undergo a blind review process. The Proceedings will be published in electronic format only.

Full Paper Template

In an effort to assist the author in preparing and formatting the paper, these instructions present the specifications for formatting the elements of the paper. All papers must follow these guidelines. All artwork, tables, and graphs must be correctly inserted into the final paper.

The Full Paper will not exceed 2500 word-equivalents (i.e. inclusive of tables, figures, bibliographic citations and supplemental material and shall be submitted in PDF format with all artwork, tables and graphs correctly inserted into the final paper.

The PRESCO 2013 Full Paper Template will be uploaded and available for downloading after March 10, 2013.

Contact

For information or questions regarding submissions, please send an email to: presco.coordinator@presdafoundation.org

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Call for Papers: 2013 3rd International Conference on Biotechnology and Environment Management (Deadline: 1 May 2013)

ICBEM 2013 Call for Papers 
For more information: http://www.icbem.org/cfp.htm

New Delhi, India The 2013 3rd International Conference on Biotechnology and Environment Management (ICBEM 2013) is the premier forum for the presentation of new advances and research results in the fields of Biotechnology and Environment Management. The conference will bring together leading researchers, engineers and scientists in the domain of interest from around the world. Topics of interest for submission include, but are not limited to: Environmental Science and Technology Environmental dynamics Meteorology Hydrology Geophysics Atmospheric physics Physical oceanography Global environmental change and ecosystems management Climate and climatic changes Global warming Ozone layer depletion Carbon capture and storage Biofuels Integrated ecosystems management Satellite applications in the environment Environmental restoration and ecological engineering Habitat reconstruction Biodiversity conservation Deforestation Wetlands Landscape degradation and restoration Ground water remediation Soil decontamination Eco-technology Bio-engineering Environmental sustainability Resource management Life cycle analysis Environmental systems approach Renewable sources of energy-energy savings Clean technologies Sustainable cities Health and the Environment Health related organisms Hazardous substances and detection techniques Biodegradation of hazardous substances Toxicity assessment and epidemiological studies Quality guidelines, environmental regulation and monitoring Indoor air pollution Water resources and river basin management Regulatory practice, water quality objectives standard setting, water quality classification Public participation Economic instruments Modelling and decision support tools Institutional development Transboundary cooperation Management and regulation of point and diffuse pollution Monitoring and analysis of environmental contaminant Ground water management Wastewater and sludge treatment Nutrients removal Suspended and fixed film biological processes Anaerobic treatment Process modelling Sludge treatment and reuse Fate of hazardous substances Industrial wastewater treatment Advances in biological, physical and chemical processes On site and small scale systems Storm-water management Air pollution and control Emission sources Atmospheric modelling and numerical prediction Interaction between pollutants Control technologies Air emission trading Solid waste management Waste minimization Optimization of collection systems Recycling and reuse Waste valorization Technical aspects of treatment and disposal methods (landfilling, thermal treatment etc) Leachate treatment Legal, economic and managerial aspects of solid waste management Management of hazardous solid waste Water treatment and reclamation Advanced treatment of water and secondary effluents (membranes, adsorption, ion exchange, oxidation etc) Disinfection and disinfection by- products Management of water treatment residuals Aesthetic quality of drinking water (taste, odors) Effect of distribution systems on potable water quality Reuse of reclaimed waters All ICBEM 2013 papers will be published in the International Journal of Bioscience, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics (IJBBB, ISSN: 2010-3638), and all papers will be included in the Engineering & Technology Digital Library, and indexed by EBSCO, WorldCat, Google Scholar, Cross ref., ProQuest and sent to be reviewed by EI Compendex and ISI Proceedings. Important Date Paper Submission (Full Paper)                                                                  Before May 1, 2013 Notification of Acceptance                                                                            On May 20, 2013 Final Paper Submission                                                                          Before June 10, 2013 Authors' Registration                                                                               Before June 10, 2013 ICBEM 2013 Conference Dates                                                             September 14-15, 2013 SUBMISSION METHODS: 1. Electronic Submission System; ( .pdf) If you can't login the submission system, please try to submit through method 2. 2. Email: icbem@cbees.org ( .pdf and .doc)

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Call For Papers: The Asian Conference on Sustainability, Energy and the Environment (Deadline: 15 Apr 2013)

Call For Papers deadline extended - April 15 2013

Special Theme: "Sustainability, Society and the Environment: Searching for Synergies"

The conference theme is "Sustainability, Society and the Environment: Searching for Synergies" and the organizers encourage submissions that approach this question from a variety of perspectives. However, the submission of other topics for consideration is welcome and we also encourage sessions within and across a variety of disciplines and fields related to Sustainability, Energy and the Environment, including the following streams:

Environmental Sustainability & Human Consumption: Food and Water, Hunger and Thirst
Environmental Sustainability & Human Consumption: Waste
Environmental Sustainability & Environmental Management: Freshwater, Oceans and Seas
Environmental Sustainability & Environmental Management: Land Use & Misuse
Environmental Sustainability & Environmental Management: Atmosphere and Air

Cultural Sustainability: Protecting, Preserving and Conserving

Economic Sustainability: Environmental Challenges and Economic Growth
Economic Sustainability: Sustainable Businesses and CSR

Social Sustainability & Social Justice
Social Sustainability, War and Peace
Social Sustainability & Sustainable Living

Energy: Environmental Degradation
Energy: Renewable Energy and Environmental Solutions
Energy: Energy Economics and Ecological Economics

Call for Papers

Submission procedure

Please note that you are asked to submit only ONE proposal of any kind to the ACSEE 2013 conference. The deadline for submissions is February 1 April 15, 2013.


Individual Presenter (30 minutes paper/60 minutes workshop)

You can submit a proposal to present an individual paper or give a workshop at ACSEE 2013 under the open call for papers. Please submit through the online system by clicking on the ONLINE SUBMISSIONS SYSTEM button below. You will be asked to create your own personal account before you will be able to upload your proposal. You can then return to the system at any time using your user name and password to edit your information and submission. Your proposal will normally be reviewed within two weeks.

If your proposal is accepted you will be invited to register for the conference. Upon payment of the registration fee your paper or workshop will be scheduled for presentation. If you wish your paper to be published in the conference proceedings, please ensure that a paper is uploaded through the online system by July 1 2013.


Virtual Presenter

We understand that some presenters will be unable to make the trip to Japan to present their paper, mainly due to financial and/or political restrictions on travel. ACSEE 2013 has therefore instituted a virtual presentation system to allow the authors of accepted proposals the same publication opportunities as regular presenters.

You can submit a proposal for virtual presentation under the open call for papers through the online system by clicking on the ONLINE SUBMISSIONS SYSTEM button below. You will be asked to create your own personal account before you will be able to upload your proposal. You can then return to the system at any time using your user name and password to edit your information and submission. Your proposal will normally be reviewed within two weeks.

If your proposal is accepted you will be invited to register for the conference as a virtual presenter. Upon payment of the registration fee your paper will be listed as a virtual presentation. If you wish your paper to be published in the conference proceedings, please ensure that a paper is uploaded through the online system by July 1 2013.

We do not allow presentations by video-conferencing but virtual presenters are encouraged to upload a video of their presentation onto the ACSEE 2013 Youtube conference channel. Information on how to do this will be given to you following registration.

Following the conference you will be mailed a conference pack including a printed copy of the ACSEE 2013 programme, and a receipt/certificate of virtual participation. 

Panel Organizers (90 minutes)

As the chair/organizer of a proposed panel, you can submit a proposal through the online system by clicking on the ONLINE SUBMISSIONS SYSTEM button below.

As the chair/organizer of the panel/colloquium, you will be asked to create your own personal account before you will be able to upload your proposal. You can then return to the system at any time using your user name and password to edit your information and submission. 

Panels should have at least four participants (including the chair). All the panel/colloquium participants must be listed in the submission, listing the chair or leader as the primary author, and the other presenters as co-authors. Panel organizers are responsible for the arrangement of all the presenters under their proposed topics, and should ensure that all are firmly committed.

Your proposal will normally be reviewed within two weeks. 

If your proposal is accepted you will be invited to register for the conference. Please ensure that you transmit the submission reference number to the other members of your colloquium and invite them to register in timely fashion. Upon payment of the registration fee of ALL PARTICIPANTS your colloquium will be scheduled in the conference programme.

If you, as the panel/colloquium chair, wish to publish a joint paper associated with the panel/colloquium in the conference proceedings, please ensure that a paper is uploaded through the online system by July 1 2013.

If you and your panel/colloquium members wish to publish separate papers then they will have to register individually with the system and submit their proposals for review.

 
General Information

Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be submitted by the deadline of February 1 April 15 2013.

All abstracts will be blind reviewed by a voluntary team, and authors will usually be notified of the decision of the reviewers within two weeks of submission. Those who submit near the February 1 April 15 deadline will usually receive confirmation of acceptance or rejection by February 15 May 1 2013.  

All accepted authors may have their full paper published in the online. Full text submission is due by July 1 2013. 

The deadline for full conference payment for all presenters is May 15 2013.

Proceedings Submission Deadlines

Deadline for submission of abstracts: February 1 April 15 2013
Results of abstract reviews returned to authors: Usually within two weeks of submitting an abstract 
Deadline for submission of full papers: July 1 2013
Deadline for full conference registration payment for all presenters: May 15 2013
ACSEE Conference: June 6-9 2013

Abstract Submission Process

Acceptance of Abstract: If your abstract is accepted by the review team and you pay the conference registration fee by the specified deadline, your submission will be scheduled in an appropriate session for oral or poster presentation at the conference.

Final Paper Submission Process

If your abstract is accepted for oral presentation, you are encouraged to submit a full paper before July 1 2013for inclusion in the ACSEE 2013 Conference Proceedings, to be published online. The full article should be submitted in Word (NOT pdf). Final papers should be uploaded through the submissions system. Please ensure that your paper is ready to go to press by the July 1 submission deadline, having thoroughly read the paper for errors. If English is not your first language then this is especially important. To facilitate easier processing, reviewing, and publishing all submissions, PLEASE follow this checklist:

• 
  
• 12-point Times New Roman font.
• 
  
• Single-spacing throughout the document. 
• 
  
• Double space (instead of indent) to designate a new paragraph or section. 
• 
  
• Page numbers at the bottom center of each page. 
• 
  
• Top, bottom, and side margins no less than 7/8 of an inch or 2.2 cm. 
• 
  
• Cover page that includes title, authors, their affiliations, their contact information, and the topic of the submission. 
• 
  
• Title, authors and affiliations repeated at the beginning of the body of the paper. 
• 
  
• Manuscript not to exceed 5000 words (excluding tables, figures and references). 
• Manuscripts longer than 5,000 words will be returned for editing.
• 
  
• Graphs and visuals can be reproduced electronically.
• 
  
• 

Publication and Licensing Issues

Abstracts and follow-up full articles will be published in a conference proceedings volume to be made available online as part of the IAFOR research archive. Authors retain copyright in their work but through the act of submission to this conference are agreeing to a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License for their work to help ensure continued global access to the work over time. All publications produced for the conference, including abstracts, full papers and presentation slides will be openly archived eventually on the IAFOR site.

For more information: http://acsee.iafor.org/Submissions.html

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Call for papers: 2013 3rd International Conference on Environmental, Biomedical and Biotechnology (ICEBB 2013) (Deadline: 10 Apr 2013)

A
About the Conference

2013 3rd International Conference on Environmental, Biomedical and Biotechnology (ICEBB 2013) will be held in Singapore during 24-25 August, 2013. ICEBB 2013 is sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Chemical, Biological & Environmental Engineering Society (APCBEES). It is one of the leading international conferences for presenting novel and fundamental advances in the fields of Environmental, Biomedical and Biotechnology. It also serves to foster communication among researchers and practitioners working in a wide variety of scientific areas with a common interest in improving Environmental, Biomedical and Biotechnology related techniques.

All full paper submissions will be peer reviewed and evaluated based on originality, technical and/or research content/depth, correctness, relevance to conference, contributions, and readability.

All papers for the ICEBB 2013 will be published in the International Journal of Bioscience, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics (IJBBB, ISSN: 2010-3638), and all papers will be included in the Engineering & Technology Digital Library, and indexed by EBSCO, WorldCat, Google Scholar, Cross ref, ProQuest and sent to be reviewed by Ei Compendex and ISI Proceedings.

Important Date

Paper Submission (Full Paper)                     Before April 10, 2013
Notification of Acceptance                                  On May 1, 2013
Final Paper Submission                               Before May 20, 2013
Authors' Registration                                    Before May 20, 2013
ICEBB 2013 Conference Dates                       August 24-25, 2013

One Excellent Paper will be selected from each oral session. The Certificate for Excellent Papers will be awarded in the Welcome Banquet on August 25, 2013.

6 March, 2013, News! ICEBB 2012 has been indexed by Ei Geobase(Elsevier).(Click)

5, December, 2012 News ! ICEBB 2013 will be included in ProQuest

13, September, 2012 News!! The best and excellent papers are available now.(Click)

13, September, 2012 News! The papers of ICEBB 2012 are availbale in the Volume 41 of IPCBEE (ISSN:2010-4618).

18, July, 2012 News!! The conference program is available now. (Click)

11, July, 2012 News!! The conference keynote speakers are available now. (Click)

12, June, 2012 News!! The conference venue place is available now. (Click)

10, September, 2011 News! The papers of ICEBB 2011 are availbale in the Volume 16 of IPCBEE (ISSN:2010-4618).

8, August, 2011 News!! The conference program is available now.(Click)

 

Objective

The conference is a international forum for the presentation of technological advances and research results in the fields of Environmental, Biomedical and Biotechnology. The conference will bring together leading researchers, engineers and scientists in the domain of interest from around the world.

More about papers contents: http://www.icebb.org/cfp.htm

More information about the conference: http://www.icebb.org

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Call for abstract: International Conference on Regional Climate – CORDEX 2013 A partnership between WCRP, the European Commission and IPCC in Brussels, Belgium (Deadline: 15 Apr 2013)

International Conference on Regional Climate – CORDEX 2013 A partnership between WCRP, the European Commission and IPCC in Brussels, Belgium

29/03/2013

International Conference on Regional Climate – CORDEX 2013
A partnership between WCRP, the European Commission and IPCC
4-7 November 2013, Brussels, Belgium

The International Conference on Regional Climate – CORDEX 2013 brings together the international community of regional climate scientists to present and discuss results from WCRP regional climate studies, with a particular emphasis on the CORDEX initiative.

The first day of the meeting will feature two important pre-conference events: a High Level Session with the participation of the European Commissioners for Research & Innovation and for Climate Action where the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presents key findings from the IPCC Working Group I contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. This will be followed by a Stakeholder Dialogue focusing on how science-based regional climate information can best serve the needs of regional decision-makers. Both events are open to all the conference participants.

The second segment of the conference over the following three days is organized around the key scientific results from CORDEX Phase I. A discussion on future priority research areas for the next phase of CORDEX, of other WCRP regional climate initiatives and of major funding programmes – such as the EU FP7 and the future Horizon2020 – will also take place, taking into account the recommendations from the first segment of the conference.

For further information on the conference aims, please click here.

The registration is now open! It also gives access to the abstract submission form and to the financial support application form.

To register, please click here.

Deadline for abstract submission and financial support applications has been extended till 15 April 2013

For more information:
http://www.apn-gcr.org/2013/03/29/international-conference-on-regional-climate-cordex-2013-a-partnership-between-wcrp-the-european-commission-and-ipcc-in-brussels-belgium/

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HK's Updates: Clean factory fund applications to open (27 Mar 2013)

Clean factory fund applications to open

March 27, 2013

The Environmental Protection Department will launch the next phase of the Cleaner Production Partnership Programme on April 1.
 
It will run until March 31, 2015.
 
Hong Kong enterprises operating factories locally or in Guangdong can apply for fund support to conduct environmental projects, such as on-site improvement assessments to identify cleaner production solutions for their factories.
 
The Government will share half the cost, with a funding ceiling of $25,000 per factory.
 
Demonstration projects can be conducted to showcase cleaner production technologies' effectiveness, through equipment installation or production processes' modification, with a funding ceiling of $300,000 per project.
 
The Government will subsidise the verification services to assess the cleaner production projects' effectiveness, with a  $20,000 ceiling per project.
 
The programme’s geographical coverage is being widened to the whole of Guangdong. Workshop-type enterprises which involve polluting processes in Hong Kong can also apply for demonstration projects.
 
Interested businesses can download the application form here.

Photo: 

Environmental encouragement:  The Cleaner Production Partnership Programme provides fund support to promote energy efficiency and cleaner production methods in factories.

For more information: 

http://www.news.gov.hk/en/categories/environment/html/2013/03/20130327_175702.shtml

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Taiwanese Updates: 行政院環境保護署【讓專業為公眾對話】新書發表 (27 Mar 2013)

行政院環境保護署【讓專業為公眾對話】新書發表

提供單位：行政院環境保護署綜計處
發布日期：2013.03.27

環保署近年處理重大環境爭議議題，建立「專家會議」的決策參與機制，並在中油三輕、永揚掩埋場、國光石化、中科三、四期等重大開發案的環境影響評估過程中，取得顯著成效，並獲得愈來愈多的參與者贊同此項做法，環保署特編撰「讓專業為公眾對話」一書，以供社會大眾及公共政策決策者閱讀後參考採用，本次新書發表會訂於102年3月27日（星期三）下午2時假臺北光圈1樓舉辦。 

民主開放的先進國家，強調任何公共政策的決定，必須建基於事實與科學知識的基礎上，而在確認事實與應用科學知識的決策過程，非常強調「科學的政治」。在科學的政治中，重要的定律是：「事實發現的過程，如果沒有顧及政治的參與面，事實永遠不會成為公認的事實。」因此，公共政策的決策過程應該分成兩個階段，第一階段是科學的程序，也就是確認推動者所陳述的政策背景事實及所帶來的成效或影響的科學推論，在確定與不確定性上「是不是」有合理可採信基礎的程序；第二階段是政治的程序，由決策者，法律授權下許可制的主管官署首長、委員會制的委員或公投時的相關民眾，根據「是不是」的共識結果、權益相關者的利益與損害權衡及價值取捨，來決定「要不要」推動這項政策的程序。 

而第一階段是科學的程序就是透過「專家會議」的機制，針對特定爭議的議題，由爭議各方推薦具該議題所需專長的專家參與，藉專家間的專業對話，對爭議事項的事實與推論，進行價值與利益中立的查核及討論，必要時委託各方接受之第三公正團體調查，以確保最終獲得事實與推論的共識，未受到爭議各方及權益相關者的影響及扭曲，最終建立專家系統「是不是」的共識結論。 

以國光石化開發案為例，對於是否興建社會各界意見分歧，因此環保署力求審慎，針對不同的議題包括海岸地形、中華白海豚、水源供給、健康風險評估、溫室氣體等5個議題，分別由地方政府、民間團體、開發單位及目的事業主管機關四方各自推薦信賴之專家，組成專家會議予以釐清事項的真相。而這些專家並非基於推薦單位或團體的利益或價值觀而發言，而是基於所具之專業與專業倫理，進行價值中立與利益中立的科學性客觀與討論。最後產生了有共識的結論與無共識的結論並陳送環保署環評委員會，才進行第二階段的價值取捨。 

本次新書發表會將邀請為本書題序之開南大學公共事務管理學系（所）柯三吉教授兼學務長、接受本書專訪之歷次專家會議代表臺灣大學環境工程所鄭福田教授及歷次專家會議代表嘉南藥理科技大學陳椒華教授等人出席引言，會後本書將於國家書店松江門市及五南文化廣場展售，歡迎前往閱讀選購，讓社會能有更多科學理性對話。

Source: http://ivy5.epa.gov.tw/enews/fact_Newsdetail.asp?InputTime=1020327152328

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Chinese Updates: Green Tax Mulled to Help Fight Pollution (25 Mar 2013)

Green Tax Mulled to Help Fight Pollution
2013-03-25

China is considering levying a consumption tax on some products that make heavy use of resources and cause pollution, in a major effort to promote resource and environmental protection awareness, according to a report.

The plan was mentioned in a document compiled by the Ministry of Finance and the Budget Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, Economic Information, a newspaper affiliated with Xinhua News Agency, reported on Friday.

The committee is studying the inclusion of products with high resource consumption, those causing environmental pollution, and some high-end consumer goods in items subject to consumption tax, the document states.

It also says it is considering adjusting the tax rate on some consumer products that are "incompatible with the country's consumption level".

Fourteen items are currently subject to consumption tax, including cigarettes, alcohol, cosmetics, expensive jewelry, pearls and jade, firecrackers, motorcycles and automobiles.

The finance ministry did not respond to media inquiries on Friday. The document did not detail any timetable. Ni Hongri, a research fellow with the Development Research Center under the State Council, said under the current "structural tax reform", the "adjustment" should include both an increase and a decrease.

For example, cosmetics are subject to a 30 percent consumption tax. But as people's living standards have improved, many cosmetics products have become more widely available, so should be subject to a lower tax, Ni said.

Several experts suggested raising the consumption tax on cigarettes, as this levy in China is much lower than the international average.

Liu Shangxi, researcher at the Research Institute for Fiscal Science under the Ministry of Finance, said some emerging luxuries such as motorboats, sailboats, light aircraft and luxury bags should be subject to consumption tax.

Yuan Qingdan, vice-director of the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy under the Ministry of Environmental Protection, suggested that disposable plastic bags and lead-acid batteries should be subject to consumption tax.

A 5 percent consumption tax is currently levied on disposable chopsticks and solid-wood floors.

Yuan said fertilizers and pesticides, whose prices fall as their use increases, should be subject to consumption tax.

Ni said whether a rise in tax leads to price increases depends on "elasticity" in product prices.

"For example, cigarettes are a daily necessity for smokers. So a tax increase means smokers will pay more for cigarettes if they don't quit, and this is good.

"And if a tax increase on high-end watches raises their price, fewer people might buy them. This is good for reducing extravagance."

Source: http://english.mep.gov.cn/News_service/media_news/201303/t20130325_249818.htm

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Chinese Updates: China Releases First National Water Report (26 Mar 2013)

China Releases First National Water Report
2013-03-26

The first national report on China's water conditions was released Tuesday by the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The nationwide survey covered river conditions, water conservancy projects, water consumption, river development and management, and water and soil conservation in 2011.

China has 45,203 rivers each covering an area of at least 50 square kilometers, totalling 1.51 million kilometers in length. Some 2,865 lakes with a regular surface area of over 1 square kilometer took up 78,000 square kilometers, the report said.

The capacity of 98,002 reservoirs amounted to 932.31 billion cubic meters and the total installed capacity of 333 million kilowatts were generated by 46,758 hydropower stations.

The irrigation area reached 1 billion mu (66.8 million hectares), according to the report.

Source: http://english.mep.gov.cn/News_service/media_news/201303/t20130326_249912.htm

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Publications: Aqueduct Metadata Document --- Yellow River Basin Study and Yangtze River Basin Study by Francis Gassert, Tien Shiao, Tianyi Luo, Matt Luck (Feb 2013)

Aqueduct Metadata Document: Yellow River Basin Study

Francis Gassert, Tien Shiao, Tianyi Luo, Matt Luck

Working Paper: February, 2013

The Yellow River Basin (YRB) Study provides details of the data, sources, methodology, and maps for 14 water-related indicators across the Yellow River Basin in China. The YRB Study is primarily designed for research organizations for analysis and research purposes.
WRI working papers contain preliminary research, analysis, findings, and recommendations. They are circulated to stimulate timely discussion and critical feedback and to influence ongoing debate on emerging issues. Most working papers are eventually published in another form and their content may be revised.

Inquiries
Tien Shiao, Senior Associatetshiao@wri.org+1 (202) 729-7772

Downloads
Full Text (PDF, 1.8 Mb)
Data Set
Licensed under Creative Commons (more info).

Summary
Prior to the creation of the global Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, indicators were developed and tested in a number of river basins worldwide. The results of the Yellow River Basin Study helped inform and shape the global Aqueduct Water Risk Framework. The Yellow River Basin study contains 14 indicators of water quantity, water variability, water quality, public awareness of water issues, access to water, and ecosystem vulnerability.

For more information: http://www.wri.org/publication/aqueduct-metadata-yellow-river-basin

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Aqueduct Metadata Document: Yangtze River Basin Study
Francis Gassert, Tien Shiao, Tianyi Luo, Matt Luck

Working Paper: February, 2013


The Yangtze River Basin (YZB) Study provides details of the data, sources, methodology, and maps for 14 water-related indicators across the Yangtze River Basin in China. The YZB Study is primarily designed for research organizations for analysis and research purposes.
WRI working papers contain preliminary research, analysis, findings, and recommendations. They are circulated to stimulate timely discussion and critical feedback and to influence ongoing debate on emerging issues. Most working papers are eventually published in another form and their content may be revised.

Inquiries
Tien Shiao, Senior Associatetshiao@wri.org+1 (202) 729-7772

Downloads
Full Text (PDF, 1.9 Mb)
Data Set
Licensed under Creative Commons (more info).

Summary
Prior to the creation of the global Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, indicators were developed and tested in a number of river basins worldwide. The results of the Yangtze River Basin Study helped inform and shape the global Aqueduct Water Risk Framework. The Yangtze River Basin study contains 14 indicators of water quantity, water variability, water quality, public awareness of water issues, access to water, and ecosystem vulnerability.

For more information: http://www.wri.org/publication/aqueduct-metadata-yangtze-river-basin

Read More