The Role of Foreign Debt in Deforestation in Latin America

Much current controversy exists about the role that foreign debt plays in deforestation in Latin America. In an attempt to familiarize concerned biologists with this issue, we present an overview of the proposed positive and negative effects that foreign debt has had on neotropical forest loss. From the literature, we identify three main hypotheses as to how the large external debts of developing Latin American countries may contribute to deforestation. We find that (1) countries have not increased exports of tropical timber and beef in response to rising debt; (2) external debts have contributed to economic stagnation and an associated increase in poverty in Latin America, which in turn has caused the degradation of marginal lands, but the role of debt in this process cannot be isolated from other important contributing factors; and (3) while debt payments have probably led to governmental budget cutbacks in environmental spending, historically spending in these areas has not been high. On the positive side, we found that (1) innovative debt-for-nature swaps have traded devalued debt for a commitment and funds to create and protect nature reserves; and (2) debt could be exchanged for forestry and agricultural sectoral reform, which would have very large positive effects on the conservation and management of forests.     

Quality and Congestion in Environmental Goods: The Road to the Wangapeka

An increasing complaint heard among New Zealand residents is that their enjoyment of local environmental resources is being diminished by increased congestion from foreign visitors. This paper considers a model of vertical differentiation in which foreign high-value and domestic low-value consumers incur congestion costs in using a common resource. We demonstrate that reducing quality in the face of increased foreign demand is optimal absent discriminatory prices (but not otherwise). We also consider the provision of multiple environmental goods and demonstrate that providing differential qualities may be optimal even if domestic consumers do not use the high-quality resources at all.     

Reducing over-reporting of deterministic co-occurrence patterns in biotic communities

Null models of species co-occurrence are widely used to infer the existence of various ecological processes. Here we investigate the susceptibility of the most commonly used of these models (the C-score in conjunction with the sequential swap algorithm) to type 1 and type 2 errors. To do this we use simulated datasets with a range of numbers of sites, species and coefficients of variation (CV) in species abundance. We find that this model is particularly susceptible to type 1 errors when applied to large matrices and those with low CV in species abundance. As expected, type 2 error rates decrease with increasing numbers of sites and species, although they increase with increasing CV in species abundance. Despite this, power remains acceptable over a wide range of parameter combinations. The susceptibility of this analytical method to type 1 errors indicates that many previous studies may have incorrectly reported the existence of deterministic patterns of species co-occurrence. We demonstrate that in order to overcome the problem of high type 1 error rates, the number of swaps used to generate null distributions for smaller matrices needs to be increased to over 50,000 swaps (well beyond the 5000 commonly used in published analyses and the 30,000 suggested by Lehsten and Harmand, 2006). We also show that this approach reduces type 1 error rates in real datasets. However, even using this solution, larger datasets still suffer from high type 1 error rates. Such datasets therefore require the use of very large numbers of swaps, which calls for improvements in the most commonly used software. In general, users of this powerful analytical method must be aware that they need surprisingly large numbers of swaps to obtain unbiased estimates of structuring in biotic communities.     

国内地下式污水处理厂的设计要点

对目前国内在建和已建的地下式污水处理厂的设计要点进行了研究和总结。研究表明：地下式污水厂的工艺选择一般有MBBR和MBR工艺,结构形式主要为伸缩缝设计和无缝设计两种,建筑防火分区一般为2 000 m^2或以上;消防可以采用自动灭火系统和消火栓系统,局部变电站采用气体灭火系统。地下式污水处理厂投资较高,约为地上污水厂的两倍,但占地面积远远小于地上污水处理厂,可以节省大量的土地成本,同时地上绿化增加了城市的环境效益和社会效益。     

Development of environmental policy,objectives, and targets

This paper describes a process to develop and establish an environmental policy and its associated environmental targets, objectives, and management programmes. The environmental policy is defined in a statement which addresses the company expectations for programmes that are important to assure adequate environmental protection and define its future commitment towards preventing pollution and continuously improving the effectiveness of its environmental protection programmes. A set of environmental objectives, derived from the policy, define the overall goals which will ensure that the company's environmental performance will remain consistent with the commitment identified in its policy when its environmental management system (EMS) is implemented, Environmental targets reflect the requirements and standards that the company must strive to achieve each objective and minimize any harmful environmental impacts from its production and manufacturing processes or other activities. In addition to defining specific targets, environmental management programmes are also used to guide EMS implementation. These programmes, however, must provide the company with the necessary flexibility to select the most appropriate technologies to enhance its own processes and prudently allocate its available financial resources in areas that return the greatest overall environmental benefit.Though they are expected to allow some discretion in the allocation of resources targeted towards environmental protection, EMS programmes must also provide assurance that the corporation environmental policy, objectives, targets, and management programmes do not result in a facility failure to adhere to all of its certification requirements. The principle and factors described in this article should be considered to the extent that they are necessary and practical.     

Review of challenges and strategies for balanced urban–rural environmental protection in China

With the rise of environmentalism in China, great efforts have been devoted to environmental protection over the past several decades. Compared with urban environmental protection, rural environmental protection has not been attached enough importance in China due to the dual-track structure of socio-economic development. As a result, rural China is shouldering disproportionally heavy environmental burdens partly because of the differences and biases between urban and rural environmental protection seen in environmental policies, environmental rights and interests, environmental protection investment, and the environmental protection awareness of people. To eliminate the gap between rural and urban environmental protection, and achieve the goal of “balanced urban–rural environmental protection” (BUREP), government should consider mapping out proper policies and strategies. In this paper we put forward an innovative strategy of BUREP against the background of China’s urban-rural environmental protection. First, we review the current status of rural environmental protection status and its challenges compared with urban environmental protection in China. Secondly, we analyzed the main driving factors and reasons deeply, and then we put forward the BUREP strategy base on the unequal status between urban and rural environment. Finally, we proposed the framework of BUREP. This study may serve as a scientific reference regarding decision-making in coordinating urban and rural environmental protection and in constructing the new countryside of China.     

Trade, technology, and the environment: Does access to technology promote environmental regulation?

Focusing specifically on regulation of coal-fired power plants, we examine how technological innovation by early adopters influences the timing of new environmental regulation in non-innovating countries. We build a general equilibrium model of an open economy to identify the political-economy determinants of regulation. With a newly created dataset of SO₂ and NO_x regulations for coal-fired power plants and a patent-based measure of the technology frontier, we estimate the determinants of environmental regulation diffusion. Our findings support the hypothesis that international economic integration eases access to environmentally friendly technologies and leads to earlier adoption, ceteris paribus, of regulation in non-innovating countries. However, we also find evidence that domestic trade protection promotes earlier adoption allowing shifts of regulatory costs to domestic consumers. Furthermore, international market power permits large countries to shift costs to foreign consumers. Other political economy factors, such as the quality of domestic coal, are also important determinants.     

关于环境管理方式的几点思考

我国利用经济手段、行政手段治理环境污染存在一定局限 ,从而使各项环保措施难以收到理想效果。文章针对几种环境管理方式的局限性 ,指出开展环境保护工作不能“一刀切” ,也不能对国外流行的方式照搬照抄 ,而是要脚踏实地 ,从现实入手进行环境管理。最后对几种新环境管理方式给予了评价。     

大都市群的环境问题及其环境保护战略

从实现新时期统筹发展的国家战略需求出发,剖析了大都市群跨区域交叉污染、复合污染、累计污染的特点,指出这些区域已成为环境资源“漏斗区”和突发性环境危机的风险区。认为只有采取主动引导发展的国家环境战略才能有效地解决大都市群和环境的协调可持续发展问题。阐述了主动环保战略的重大措施包括引导调整发展布局、转变经济增长方式、转变生活方式、创新国家环境管理体制、创新环境科技体系和系统、人工提高环境承载能力等。     

The role of environmental activity integration into the R&D department to obtain competitive advantage

The objective of this work is to examine to what degree the integration between R&D and environmental departments facilitates the achievement of an environmental practice-derived competitive advantage. With this aim, we surveyed 110 International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 certified factories. The results reveal that the integration of environmental action into the R&D department enhances a company's reputation through the product quality and image. Moreover, the said integration positively influences the company's overall innovative capability and, hence, its ability to penetrate international markets.     

Estimating the direct and indirect impact of typhoons on plant performance: Evidence from Chinese manufacturers

We quantify the impact of typhoons on manufacturing plants in China. To this end we construct a panel data set of precisely geo-located plants and a plant-level measure of typhoon damage derived from storm track data and a wind field model. Our econometric results reveal that the impact on plant sales can be considerable, although the effects are relatively short-lived. Annual total costs to Chinese plants from typhoons are estimated to be in the range of US$ 3.2 billion (2017 prices), or about 1 per cent of average turnover. When we examine the channels by which plants react to a storm event we find that there is some buffering through an increase in debt and a reduction in liquidity. In terms of propagating the shock through foreign or domestic channels, our estimates suggest that plants prefer to reduce sales to domestic buyers more than foreign buyers and purchases from foreign rather than domestic suppliers. We also find some evidence of a negative indirect effect on turnover through spillovers from customers and a positive effect through damage to very nearby competitors.     

浅论我国环境法与外商投资的关系

为调整外商中的投资环境保护问题,我佃环境法已经形成了一个包括宪法性规范,专项单行立法,地方性法规及国际公约等多层次的法律框架。我国将外商投资项目分为鼓励允许、限制禁止四类,并规定了外商投资应遵循的若干环境管理措施。但总体上看我国环境法还存在立法和执法缺陷,亟待完善。     

利用私人资本进行环保基础设施建设

借助私人资本进行环保基出设施建设已经成为世界性的潮流，我国要解决环保“十五”计划巨大的投资任务，也必须将私人资本引入到环保基础设施中来。引入私人资本进行环保基础设施建设有两条途径，一是成立国家环保基金扶持私营环保企业的发展，二是通过资本市场吸引私人资本进入环保基础设施领域。     

国外的环境移民问题及启示

工业的发展、人口的不断增长、经济全球一体化、气候变化等,导致生态环境的持续恶化,环境移民已成为困扰世界社会经济可持续发展的严重问题之一。国际社会的环境移民状况表明,环境移民主要是自发性的移民,缺乏政府的主导,容易形成环境难民和种族冲突,移民的人权难以得到保证,也不具有可持续发展性;可持续的环境移民要以政府为主导,以国内迁移为主实施移民工程;环境移民工程需要借鉴世界银行工程移民的经验,关键是做好迁人地的选择和评估。未来气候变化和突发环境灾难将不断加大人口的迁移范围和规模,需要给予特别的关注。总结国外环境移民的经验和教训,对我国实施有效的环境移民具有十分重要的意义。     

环境保护与国际贸易

从国际环境标准,绿色产品环境标志,国际环保公约等方面研究了近几年环境保护对国际贸易的影响,并根据目前国际环保发展趋势,提出了保护环境和促进我国对外贸易的对策。     

Evaluating 22 EU member states’ ‘waste culture’ using Hofstede’s and Schwartz’s cultural dimensions

The issue of municipal solid waste (MSW) arisings has received great attention recently since it is not only a by-product of economic activity but also serves as an input to the economy through material or energy recovery. The main focus of this study is cultural formation and especially the current picture of waste culture and public perception across European Union (EU) member states. Thus, this study will first evaluate environmental efficiency with data envelopment analysis (DEA) based on five parameters: waste, gross domestic product (GDP), labour, capital, and population density for 22 EU Member States and for the years 2005, 2010 and 2015 in order to evaluate which Member States are more efficient. Then the efficiency results are contrasted to Hofstede’s and Schwartz’s cultural dimensions on STATA with the use of regression modelling. Results show that for year 2005 no significant relationship is noticed for both cultural models, whereas for years 2010 and 2015 there appears to be a significant connection. The above-mentioned findings can be associated with the financial crisis that has hit Europe after 2008 making people more sceptical, while EU legislations have laid out some important directives in the field of waste management. Finally, along with the factors above, EU has faced severe environmental challenges due to waste arisings, as well as accidents and injuries for people working in this sector, which in turn have widely modified EU’s waste culture as supported by this study’s results.     

辽宁中部城市群环境保护治理规则

辽宁中部城市群是由以沈阳为中心，包括沈阳，鞍山、抚顺、本溪、辽阳、铁岭六个市。本文分三部分，辽宁中部城市不境质量现状基本概况，辽宁中部城市九环境保护治理，辽宁中部城市群环境保护政策措施。     

房地产开发项目生态环境保护措施

针对房地产开发项目的生态环境影响的特点,分析了制定房地产开发项目生态环境保护措施的原则、途径和方法,并以天津市某房地产开发项目为实例,从施工期和使用期的角度,提出了生态环境保护的措施和对策建议。     

城市河道生态环境需水研究--以湖南省常德市穿紫河为例

在系统归纳总结国内外河道生态环境需水理论研究成果的基础上，结合穿紫河作为一条城市河流的实际情况，应用生态学、环境学和水文学理论，系统分析了穿紫河河道生态环境需水的研究范畴和影响因素，对穿紫河不同时段下的河道生态环境需水进行定量研究。研究得出穿紫河河道生态环境需水平均为2．92m^3／s，城市河道生态环境需水与来水水质和河道沿岸的污染物排放情况关系最为密切。一方面，为穿紫河流域水资源的合理调配提供科学依据，有利于穿紫河生态环境的稳定和良性循环；另一方面，对城市河道生态环境需水理论进行一些探索。     

Enhancing Conservation,Ecosystem Services,and Local Livelihoods through a Wildlife Premium Mechanism

We propose the wildlife premium mechanism as an innovation to conserve endangered large vertebrates. The performance‐based payment scheme would allow stakeholders in lower‐income countries to generate revenue by recovering and maintaining threatened fauna that can also serve as umbrella species (i.e., species whose protection benefits other species with which they co‐occur). There are 3 possible options for applying the premium: option 1, embed premiums in a carbon payment; option 2, link premiums to a related carbon payment, but as independent and legally separate transactions; option 3, link premiums to noncarbon payments for conserving ecosystem services (PES). Each option presents advantages, such as incentive payments to improve livelihoods of rural poor who reside in or near areas harboring umbrella species, and challenges, such as the establishment of a subnational carbon credit scheme. In Kenya, Peru, and Nepal pilot premium projects are now underway or being finalized that largely follow option 1. The Kasigau (Kenya) project is the first voluntary carbon credit project to win approval from the 2 leading groups sanctioning such protocols and has already sold carbon credits totaling over $1.2 million since June 2011. A portion of the earnings is divided among community landowners and projects that support community members and has added over 350 jobs to the local economy. All 3 projects involve extensive community management because they occur on lands where locals hold the title or have a long‐term lease from the government. The monitoring, reporting, and verification required to make premium payments credible to investors include transparent methods for collecting data on key indices by trained community members and verification of their reporting by a biologist. A wildlife premium readiness fund would enable expansion of pilot programs needed to test options beyond those presented here. Mejora de la Conservación, Servicios del Ecosistema y Calidad de Vida Local Mediante un Mecanismo de Compensación de Vida Silvestre