Key Issues for Determining the Exploitable Water Resources in a Mediterranean River Basin

[EN] One of the major difficulties in water planning is to determine the water availability in a water resource system in order to distribute water sustainably. In this paper, we analyze the key issues for determining the exploitable water resources as an indicator of water availability in a Mediterranean river basin. Historically, these territories are characterized by heavily regulated water resources and the extensive use of unconventional resources (desalination and wastewater reuse); hence, emulating the hydrological cycle is not enough. This analysis considers the Jucar River Basin as a case study. We have analyzed the different possible combinations between the streamflow time series, the length of the simulation period and the reliability criteria. As expected, the results show a wide dispersion, proving the great influence of the reliability criteria used for the quantification and localization of the exploitable water resources in the system. Therefore, it is considered risky to provide a single value to represent the water availability in the Jucar water resource system. In this sense, it is necessary that policymakers and stakeholders make a decision about the methodology used to determine the exploitable water resources in a river basin. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The authors wish to thank the Confederacion Hidrografica del Jucar (Spanish Ministry of the Environment) for the data provided in developing this study and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for its financial support through the projects SCARCE (Consolider-Ingenio 2010 CSD2009-00065) and NUTEGES (CGL2012-34978). We also value the support provided by the European Community's Seventh Framework Program in financing the projects DROUGHT-R82SPI (FP7-ENV-2011, 282769), ENHANCE (FP7-ENV-2012, 308438), WAMCD (EC-DG Environment No. 07.0329/2013/671291/ SUB/ENV.C1) and LIFE ALBUFERA (LIFE12 ENV/ES/000685).Pedro Monzonís, M.; Ferrer Polo, FJ.; Solera Solera, A.; Estrela Monreal, T.; Paredes Arquiola, J. (2015). Key Issues for Determining the Exploitable Water Resources in a Mediterranean River Basin. Science of the Total Environment. 503-504:319-328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.07.042S319328503-50

An evaluation of wild bird avian influenza surveillance in Great Britain

This study presents a method for evaluation of surveillance for avian influenza (AI) in wild birds and compares surveillance activities before and after changes in surveillance strategy in Great Britain (GB). In October 2008 the AI Wild Bird Surveillance (AIWBS) system in GB was modified to focus on passive surveillance (birds found dead), including those found during warden patrols of wetlands and wildlife reserves, with less emphasis on public reporting of birds found dead. The number of birds sampled by active surveillance (birds live-trapped or shot) was also reduced. In the present study the impact of these changes was investigated by comparing the 12 mo prior to October 2008 with the subsequent 12 mo. Four factors were considered for each surveillance system component: 1) the number of wild birds tested; 2) whether the tested wild birds were considered “higher risk species” (HRS) for being infected with AI; 3) the location of the birds tested with respect to counties designated as a priority for surveillance; and 4) the probability that the birds tested might yield a positive AI virus result based on surveillance results in wild birds across Europe. The number of birds tested by both surveillance types was greatly reduced after the strategy change. The proportion of birds sampled in priority counties also significantly decreased in the second year for both active and passive surveillance. However, the proportion of HRS sampled by active surveillance significantly increased, while a significant decrease in these species was seen for passive surveillance in the second year. The derived probability scores for detecting AI based on European surveillance results indicated a reduction in sensitivity for H5N1 highly pathogenic AI detection by passive surveillance. The methods developed to evaluate AIWBS in GB may be applicable to other European Union countries. The results also reflect the complex issues associated with evaluation of disease surveillance in wildlife populations in which the disease ecology is only partially understood.Andrew C. Breed, Richard M. Irvine, Daisy Duncan, David Rae, Lucy Snow, Alasdair J.C. Cook and Ian H. Brow

An analysis of recruitment, training and retention practices in domestic and multinational enterprises in the country of Brunei Darussalam

This paper studies the behavioural differences in the recruitment, training and retention practices of domestic (DEs) versus multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the country of Brunei Darussalam. Hypotheses from literature survey predict MNEs to be more stringent in their recruitment and training and rigorous with promotion practices. Results show this is to be largely true. MNEs are found to be more rigorous in recruitment and place more emphasis on such traits as candidates’ ‘devotion to task’, ‘self-motivation’, and ‘independent judgment’. DEs rely more on internal appointments than external. MNEs place more emphasis on training; they also emphasise a stronger work culture by relying on ‘induction by socialisation’, and ‘buddy system for mentoring’. When analysed by age, older firms were found to place more importance on language and commitment. They also rely on training via the buddy system and on external appointments for senior posts. Large firms place emphasis on employees’ willingness to travel and work experience in other countries as the main recruitment criteria. Large firms also believe in external appointments for senior positions. The study which is one of few of its kind conducted in non-western environment, and the only one in the context of Brunei, adds to our understanding of HR practices in the context of two different genres of enterprises and has implications for future research