Evolutionary governance choice for corporate social responsibility: a forestry campaign case in South Korea

Firms select different governance types (e.g. internalisation, outsourcing or collaboration) for corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. This paper examined how the choice of CSR governance type is influenced by social factors and organisational experiences and how changes in these factors affect the governance choice. These questions are especially meaningful in the context of developing countries with weak institutional environments and recent social change. With the unique phenomenon that is not readily explainable in terms of the extant theoretical groundwork on CSR governance choice, a case study of a South Korean forestry campaign by Yuhan-Kimberly was analysed. It was found that social circumstances triggered Yuhan-Kimberly's initiation of forestry projects, but the absence of social infrastructure limited the choice of governance type early on. Lack of experience also constrained the governance choice. Over time, environmental change and the accumulation of organisational knowledge caused the choice of governance to evolve. This study contributes to the CSR governance choice literature by exploring social and organisational determinants other than economic efficiency and by applying a dynamic perspective.     

Measurement of sustainability performance in Brazilian organizations

In recent years, sustainability issues are gaining greater prominence among organizations and their stakeholders around the world. This paper aims to verify the sustainability performance of Brazilian organizations in performance measures and to propose sustainable guidelines with the intention of directing future efforts to the transition to sustainable development. The research utilized a triangulated approach by collecting qualitative and quantitative data acquired through multiple collection methods of a theoretical literature review, documentary analysis of corporate reports, questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews with industry professionals and academic researchers. The results show that internal organizational factors are the main inductors of the sustainable environment in organizations, and sustainability must be tied to strategic planning, starting from upper management to lower levels. It is essential to use sustainable performance measurement systems in order to respond to external and internal levers and serve as benchmarking for future corporate operations and strategies. In addition, it is the responsibility of organizations to focus their efforts on environmental protection, reduction of energy, corporate reputation, quality management, customer satisfaction and investor relations, as they are considered to be more important and have a relationship of dependence on organizational sustainability. The findings will be of value to professionals and academics who want to start measuring and for continuously improving the sustainability performance of their organizations according to the technical, economic, environmental, social and governance dimensions. This research work also helps to understand the perceptions and expectations of stakeholders.     

Making central-local relations work: Comparing America and China environmental governance systems

The challenge of making central requirements work at local levels is a common problem for environmental governance throughout the world. Countries can learn from one another's approaches, but must understand the local context in which they are set. This paper compares the features of the China and US environmental governance systems that need be understood by those working between the systems. Key features include: (1) common values which shape the environmental governance choices in both countries, but which may have different practical meanings in each country; (2) America's common law-based environmental governance system, and China's civil law system, which involves plan(s) as well as law; (3) America's Federal central-local system, and China's unitary central local system. This paper concludes by suggesting areas in which further comparative understanding may be of value, including: (1) better understanding of the role of plan and law in China's governance system; (2) comparing the American Federal-state agreement system for implementation of environmental law with the China central-local system of target responsibility agreements for plan implementation; (3) improving understanding of nongovernmental resources needed to assure compliance with environmental laws and plans; (4) identifying institutions that can coordinate central-local and cross-border environmental governance.     

Indigenous guardians as an emerging approach to indigenous environmental governance

Over the past 3 decades, indigenous guardian programs (also known as indigenous rangers or watchmen) have emerged as an institution for indigenous governments to engage in collaborative environmental governance. Using a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature for research conducted in Australia, Canada, Aotearoa-New Zealand, and the United States, we sought to characterize the emergence of indigenous guardians in the literature and explore whether guardian approaches are representative of Indigenous approaches to environmental governance. Using a multistep relevance-screening method, we reviewed 83 articles published since 1995, that report on, critique, or comment on Indigenous guardians. Our findings indicated that most articles on the topic were published in the last decade (88%), focused on Australia (65%), and were in a social science discipline (53%). The lead author of the majority of articles was an academic, although only half of the articles included an indigenous scholar or member of an indigenous group or organization as a coauthor. Finally, 11 articles were on research of guardian programs that were locally led and only 5 exemplified indigenous governance, based on 2 well-known community-based monitoring typologies. Our findings indicate that more research is required to understand the implications of current guardian programs for indigenous self-determination, particularly when such programs are embedded in a broader western environmental governance structure.     

Using perceptions as evidence to improve conservation and environmental management

The conservation community is increasingly focusing on the monitoring and evaluation of management, governance, ecological, and social considerations as part of a broader move toward adaptive management and evidence‐based conservation. Evidence is any information that can be used to come to a conclusion and support a judgment or, in this case, to make decisions that will improve conservation policies, actions, and outcomes. Perceptions are one type of information that is often dismissed as anecdotal by those arguing for evidence‐based conservation. In this paper, I clarify the contributions of research on perceptions of conservation to improving adaptive and evidence‐based conservation. Studies of the perceptions of local people can provide important insights into observations, understandings and interpretations of the social impacts, and ecological outcomes of conservation; the legitimacy of conservation governance; and the social acceptability of environmental management. Perceptions of these factors contribute to positive or negative local evaluations of conservation initiatives. It is positive perceptions, not just objective scientific evidence of effectiveness, that ultimately ensure the support of local constituents thus enabling the long‐term success of conservation. Research on perceptions can inform courses of action to improve conservation and governance at scales ranging from individual initiatives to national and international policies. Better incorporation of evidence from across the social and natural sciences and integration of a plurality of methods into monitoring and evaluation will provide a more complete picture on which to base conservation decisions and environmental management.     

The EU's double-track pursuit of sustainable development in the 2000s: how Lisbon and sustainable development strategies ran past each other

For almost a decade, the EU has pursued sustainable development not with one but with two overarching strategies: the so-called Lisbon Strategy and sustainable development strategies. While the Lisbon Strategy was a genuinely European policy response to global economic and social pressures, which was superseded by the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy in 2010, sustainable development strategies are ongoing cyclical processes that aim to better coordinate and integrate economic, social and, in particular, environmental policies at both the EU and Member State levels. This paper explores the horizontal governance linkages that existed between the two strategies. It first contrasts the Council rhetoric, emphasizing the complementarity of the two strategies with their different histories and governance arrangements. This paper then shows that the Council rhetoric of complementarity never materialized in the everyday governance routines of the two strategies, and provides three explanations for this finding. Based on these findings, this paper finally provides a brief outlook discussion on how to proceed with the governance of sustainable development in Europe.     

环境分析化学发展战略研究

环境分析化学是环境化学的一个重要分支.本文报导环境分析化学的研究领域,对象,国内外研究工作的发展趋势以及环境分析方法和环境监测仪器等。近年来,在污染物的超痕量分析、环境标准参考物的制备以及环境分析监测技术自动化方面都有较大的进展,对推动研究污染物的来源、毒性和含量,为最终控制和改造环境起到了推动作用,环境科学的发展在一定程度上依赖于环境分析化学所取得的成就。 在研究国内外工作动向的基础上,我们提出了环境分析化学的中近期研究方向,其中包括有机污染物和元素化学形态定值的环境标准参考物质、无机毒物的形态分析、分析技术的联用,有毒污染物的系统分析、我国优先监测污染物名单的制定、新型采样器,以及监测技术自动化研究等方面,以供从事这方面工作的领导和科研人员参考。     

天津滨海新区环境状况分析及对策建议

天津市滨海新区包括塘沽、汉沽、大港、开发区、保税区、是近年天津最大的经济增长点,是全市经济发展的新龙头。本文依据近年环境的监测结果,分析了滨海新区的环境现状和主要环境问题,在此基础上提出了实现了新区社会、经济发展与环境,资源保护相协调,走可持续发展之路的对策建议。     

Metal organic frameworks as adsorbents for dye adsorption: overview,prospects and future challenges

Considering the amount of colored waste water generated from many industries (textile, leather, paper, printing, dyestuff, and plastic) that are sent to various water bodies and the ecosystem, the search for efficient and better methods of purification still continues. With the recent research into metal organic frameworks (MOFs), there is a steady growing interest worldwide for their various applications. This article presents a review of MOFs, their application in dye adsorption and their various challenges and future prospects. It was concluded that with the current interest, research and development for various applications, there are possibilities which will bring to limelight more laboratory, industrial and environmental usage of MOFs as dye adsorbents.     

溴系阻燃剂的毒理学研究进展

溴系阻燃剂(brominated flame retardants,BFRs)广泛应用于塑料、电子、建筑、纺织等材料和产品中,在多种环境介质中都可以检测到BFRs的存在。目前市场上的溴系阻燃剂主要有3种:四溴双酚A(tetrabromobisphenol A,TBBPA)、多溴联苯醚(polybrominated diphenyl ethers,PBDEs)和六溴环十二烷(hexa bromocyclododecanes,HBCDs)。近年来,进入环境中的BFRs在数量和种类上迅速增加,由此引发的环境效应日益受到国际社会广泛关注,有关BFRs的毒理学研究也成为相关领域的焦点内容。在总结近年来国内外相关研究的基础上,就BFRs在内分泌干扰效应、肝脏毒性、生殖毒性和神经毒性等方面的研究现状及需要进一步研究的内容进行了综述。     

The real effect of legal institutions: Environmental courts and firm environmental protection expenditure

This paper evaluates the real effects of environmental justice reform on environmental governance at the firm level. Using the establishment of environmental courts in China as a quasi-natural experiment, our difference-in-differences estimation shows that: (1) environmental courts significantly enhance environmental investment by firms, and this relationship is robust to different specifications and alternative measures; (2) three possible channels are the improved levels of justice and enforcement of environmental protection, and the mitigation of local government intervention; (3) our findings are particularly pronounced in subsamples with severe local protectionism, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and non-SOEs with political connections; (4) at the city-level, environmental courts significantly increase air quality and promote cities to cross the inflection point of the environmental Kuznets curve earlier. Overall, this paper reveals the micro-mechanisms behind the real effects of environmental justice on firm environmental investment, thus providing timely implications for regulators concerned with environmental protection.     

微生物燃料电池构造研究进展

微生物燃料电池(Microbial fuel cell,MFC)的研究在近几年获得了快速发展.产电微生物在厌氧条件下氧化底物释放电子和质子,电子通过导线传递给阴极,从而在外电路中形成电流,而质子通过质子交换膜进入阴极与电子和氧气结合生成水.微生物燃料电池的研究与应用开发涉及到从微生物、电化学到材料学和环境工程等科学领域的交叉,特别是废水处理能与微生物产电相结合的研究成果,使污水、污泥、垃圾等环境污染物的治理有可能成为生物质能源的生产过程,展示了微生物燃料电池的广泛应用前景.本文着重综述微生物燃料电池在构造上的进展,并介绍了其在水处理中的应用前景.图8参56     

Measuring sustainable governance in the European Union

This paper examines the problem of measuring sustainable governance in the European Union (EU-27) through the use of duality and the Slutsky equation. The proposed methodology is based on the application of a three-dimensional optimisation model, where the arguments of the objective (sustainable social welfare) function are economic goods that contribute to sustainable economic growth; environmental goods that provide for sustainable environmental protection; and social goods through which sustainable social development is achieved. The dual problem, formulated through this three-dimensional theoretical model, is solved to find the optimal solution, indicating a certain sustainability level. We suggest that this solution can be used for calculating the value of what we define here as the sustainable governmental policy indicator, which is considered to provide quantitative measurement of government policies on sustainable development within the context of ‘good governance’. Furthermore, it is suggested that the Slutsky equation can be used as a reliable method for long-term monitoring and planning of national as well as international good governance with regard to sustainable development policies. In its empirical part, the paper applies the theoretical model in an analysis of the sustainable development indicators (as set out in the Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) of the EU) in Bulgaria for the period 2000–2010 and compares them to those of the EU-27.     

世纪之交土壤学研究的挑战和契机──从第16届世界土壤学大会看土壤学的未来

第１６届国际土壤学大会包括全会和４５个分会,内容涵盖土壤学所有分支并反映了本世纪土壤学的进展。本文综述了土壤学在全球资源与环境问题中的重要地位,分析了世纪之交土壤学面临的挑战和契机,提出土壤学只有拓展与其它学科以及社会的联系,服务于社会的可持续发展,保持自己的特色并在基础研究和应用研究中不断创新,才能在未来更好地生存和发展。     

NMR代谢组学在水生软体动物生态毒理研究中的应用

随着核磁共振(NMR)技术的不断发展,基于NMR的代谢组学方法已经逐渐成为研究水生动物在代谢水平响应环境变化的一种有效方法。水生软体动物作为重要的环境监测生物,近年来人们在其相关研究中取得了不小的成果。文章总结了利用NMR的代谢组学方法研究各类环境胁迫因子对水生软体动物代谢影响的成果,主要综述了水生软体动物不同组织内代谢物组成和含量对环境胁迫的响应,同时对水生软体动物生态毒理代谢组学研究中存在的问题和今后的发展方向进行了讨论和展望。     

A Cross-National Analysis of How Economic Inequality Predicts Biodiversity Loss

Abstract:  We used socioeconomic models that included economic inequality to predict biodiversity loss, measured as the proportion of threatened plant and vertebrate species, across 50 countries. Our main goal was to evaluate whether economic inequality, measured as the Gini index of income distribution, improved the explanatory power of our statistical models. We compared four models that included the following: only population density, economic footprint (i.e., the size of the economy relative to the country area), economic footprint and income inequality (Gini index), and an index of environmental governance. We also tested the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, but it was not supported by the data. Statistical comparisons of the models revealed that the model including both economic footprint and inequality was the best predictor of threatened species. It significantly outperformed population density alone and the environmental governance model according to the Akaike information criterion. Inequality was a significant predictor of biodiversity loss and significantly improved the fit of our models. These results confirm that socioeconomic inequality is an important factor to consider when predicting rates of anthropogenic biodiversity loss.     

天津市环境管理工作特色分析

本文对天津市近１０年来在环境保护工作中所取得的成绩进行综述,并分析了成绩取得与政府的重视和会社会的大力合作支持分不开,是与天津市科学的环境管理密切相关。天津环境管理工作的特色是形成了１０个环境管理网络,从四个方面加强环境管理,将环境管理与市政府及社会的８个方面的工作相结合。     

矿山废弃地生态退化程度评价

矿山废弃地是受采矿影响极度退化的生态系统,生态退化程度评价是对矿山废弃地生态质量现状、环境影响和治理难度的评估过程,可用于指导矿山废弃地生态环境影响评价和生态恢复规划编制等。本文分别尾矿库、露采迹地、排岩场和压占区4种矿山废弃地类型,采用兼顾自然因子和人为干扰强度因子的评价方法,通过对主要生态、环境问题的分析,选择导致生态系统退化的主要因子或易于反映生态系统质量的自然因子和人为干扰强度因子作为生态退化评价指标,评价指标来自于工程设计条件、土壤、植被和地质安全性4个方面;首先采用层次分析法确定各评价指标权重,其中占用面积和地表破坏程度是最最要的指标;在生态退化等级划分基础上确定了各评价指标的域值,并将各指标量化和标准化,计算各生态退化等级的综合得分值变化范围,建立了矿山废弃地生态退化程度综合评价方法体系,将生态退化程度划分为可自然恢复、可治理、难于治理和不能治理4个等级。最后,针对遵化市典型民营铁矿进行了案例适用性分析,并对不同退化等级的废弃地进行了生态防护措施分析。     

抗生素抗性基因在环境中的来源、传播扩散及生态风险

近年来,由于抗生素的滥用首先诱导动物体内产生抗生素抗性基因(antib iotic resistance genes,ARGs),从而加速了抗性基因在环境中细菌间的传播扩散.目前,抗生素抗性基因作为一类新型环境污染物,在不同环境介质中的传播、扩散可能比抗生素本身的环境危害更大.本文针对抗生素抗性基因在地表水、地下水、医疗废水、城市污水处理厂、养殖场、土壤、沉积物以及大气环境中的来源、分布、传播情况以及国内外最新研究动态进行综述.分析了抗生素抗性基因在环境中的潜在传播途径及其可能影响因素,并指出光照,厌氧,高温处理可以有效遏制抗生素抗性基因在环境中的传播和扩散.揭示了抗生素抗性基因可能造成的生态风险,针对我国对该类污染物的研究现状,提出了今后的研究重点.     

碳纳米材料的水环境行为及对水生生物毒理学研究进展

随着纳米科技的迅猛发展,人工碳纳米材料的生产和使用逐年递增,越来越多的碳纳米材料进入水环境中,对水生生物产生毒性效应。本文在介绍了碳纳米球、石墨烯、碳纳米管3种碳纳米材料的基础上,分析了碳纳米材料的水环境行为,重点综述了碳纳米材料对水生生物毒性效应研究现状,以及可能的致毒机制,并指出今后碳纳米材料对水生生物毒理学亟待加强的研究领域。