Dismantling Environmental Racism in the USA

A growing body of evidence reveals that people of colour and low-income persons have borne greater environmental and health risks than the society at large in their neighbourhoods, workplaces and playgrounds. Over the past decade or so, grassroots activists have attempted to change the way government implements environmental, health and civil rights laws. A new movement has emerged in opposition to environmental racism and environmental injustice. Over the past two decades or so, grassroots activists have had some success in changing the way the federal government treats communities of colour and their inhabitants. Grassroots groups have also organised, educated and empowered themselves to improve the way health and environmental policies are administered. Environmentalism is now equated with social justice and civil rights.     

Gender analysis and international financial institutions

The following article is an attempt to reconcile the opinions of various activist-oriented non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the use of gender analysis as a policy tool in the field of international development and macroeconomic policy. Of special concern to the author is the evolving relationship between international financial institutions (IFIs) and grassroots environmental NGOs seeking reform in macroeconomic policy initiation, implementation and evaluation. The ideas presented below are those of the author alone, and are solely intended to facilitate dialogue between the aforementioned parties as an alternative to the characteristic set of untenable demands and concomitant uncompromising resistance. Thus stated, the reader is challenged to remove his/her professional hat to accept or reject the validity of the propositions with an equal proportion of reason and intuition.     

我国流域省际横向生态补偿机制初探-以九洲江和汀江-韩江流域为例

横向生态补偿作为生态补偿的一种重要方式,在补偿方式上更多地引入市场机制,更加灵活和有效。在流域横向生态补偿方面,2016年3月广东分别与广西、福建签订了关于九洲江、汀江-韩江的流域上下游横向生态补偿协议,首次构建了跨省水环境保护的合作机制。本文通过分析广东省与邻省(区)的流域横向生态补偿案例,重点探讨粤桂和粤闽开展流域横向生态补偿的形式、特点、绩效及存在的问题,认为存在流域生态补偿的法律基础薄弱,补偿资金的设定缺乏定量的科学依据,政策之间缺乏协调等问题,提出因地制宜地创设多种补偿模式,科学制定流域横向生态补偿的量化标准,鼓励采用多元化的补偿方式等建议。     

Post-contentious politics and Iran's first ecovillage

The existing scholarship on alternative institutional designs around environmental issues mostly focuses on ideals, goals and practices of these designs. It remains unclear under which circumstances these initiatives emerge and expand. Moreover, those scholars who address the emergence and expansion of these initiatives focus on examples which are located in advanced industrialised societies. It remains unclear why and how these alternative institutions emerge in non-industrialised societies and countries which have not gone through the same growth path as their advanced industrialised counterparts. Consequently, transformative implication of these initiatives for broader social change in non-advanced industrialised societies has not been explored. In this paper, I show that in Iran the emergence of these alternative designs should be understood within the context of post-contentious politics. I present original research on a cooperative that embraces an alternative lifestyle and whose aim is to create Iran's first ecovillage. This case study discusses one kind of response to the contraction of space for civil society and environmental non governmental organisations in Iran. The paper adds to our understanding of the interplay between democratisation processes and environmental activism.     

Environmental Protection in the Russian Federation: Lessons and Opportunities

Environmental managers in Russia face severe problems, both from Soviet-era and continuing environmental degradation and due to the weakness of current institutions with responsibilities for environmental protection. This paper draws on surveys, a case study of water pollution and workshops on Russian environmental decision making to explore prospects for environmental improvements. Using concepts from the regulatory reform literature, it focuses on the use of market incentives, the construction of a civil society and community involvement, and emphasizes that Russian non-governmental organizations may have a particularly important role to play in improving environmental management. Solidifying their legal base, coalition-building skills and the capability to conduct independent, pragmatic policy analyses would enhance their contribution.     

Revealing inadvertent elitism in stakeholder models of environmental governance: assessing procedural justice in sustainability organizations

Consensus-based multi-stakeholder forms of environmental governance involving government, private and civil society actors, have become popular for advancing sustainability, but have been criticized for failing to achieve procedural justice objectives including recognition, participation and strengthening capabilities. Yet, how such models have functioned within non-governmental organizations dedicated to advancing sustainability has been underexplored. This paper assesses the procedural elements of consensus-based multi-stakeholder models used within Canadian biosphere reserves and model forests, two organizations working to address environment and sustainability issues. We draw on strategic documents and semi-structured interviews from five organizations in Canada to analyze their governance structures and processes against a framework for procedural justice. We find the organizational structure reproduces elitism and professionalism associated with stakeholder models more generally and reproduces challenges associated with recognition, participation and building capabilities found in other stakeholder approaches. Meeting broader sustainability challenges requires organizations to address procedural justice issues in addition to their traditional environmental concerns.     

Does adding more lettuce make a hamburger truly green? A metaphor behind the green movement paradigm in designing cities

In designing cities, the label of the green movement these days is being applied to almost everything—starting from works of environmental non-governmental organizations and international as well as local conservation organizations to grass-roots resistance activism including radical environmentalism. This paper seeks to understand the motivation—the paradigm—behind the green movement initiatives and how the paradigm appears to shift from the ground reality. Conclusions suggest that, on one hand, environmental problems are far from being a matter of common sense and, on the other, the matter of intellectual and technological developments—the outcomes of rigorous academic research reflected in endless literature predominantly comprising the fields of environmental sociology, environmental anthropology, and conservation psychology—are in reality often found to be dealt with by shallow planning and policy practices without even realizing the big-picture that the paradigm is merely being used as an advertizing tool for making business profit. It is expected that, unless a shift from such negative practices towards a conscious and genuine commitment to proactive environmental stewardship is made, the situation will continue to be exacerbated.     

Mining amid decentralization. Local governments and mining in the Philippines

In recent years, as part of its neoliberal development paradigm, the Government of the Philippines has engaged in efforts to encourage extraction of the nation's mineral resources. The Philippines is also a country where decentralization has devolved substantial powers to local governments. Concern over potentially adverse environmental effects has led to opposition to mining by some local governments in the Philippines. This opposition has led to the withholding of consent to mining projects by local governments and, in some cases, the implementation of moratoriums banning mining. Central to this opposition have been the activities of civil society groups, and their collaboration with local governments. This collaboration has involved the drafting of legislation prohibiting mining and support of candidates for office who are opposed to mining. Collectively, Filipino local governments and civil society groups are examples of the concept of governance, a dispersed process wherein society manages itself for the betterment of all its members. For mining companies seeking to implement projects, it is no longer sufficient to have the consent of the national Government — that of local governance forces must also be considered.     

“一带一路”视域下环境保护问题的战略定位与治理体系

环境保护是"一带一路"建设的重要议题,它所面临的挑战更多源于沿线国家和地区经济发展任务繁重与生态环境先天脆弱之间的矛盾。仅仅依靠单个政府部门或某一政策,或者仅仅依靠单个国家或地区的某一倡议与行动,均不足以应对"一带一路"建设中的跨国环境风险,这将倒逼国内与国际社会提升环境保护的战略地位,构建新型环境治理体系。"一带一路"沿线的各地政府不仅要发挥生态环保的示范作用,还要建立横向若干部门和纵向各级政府的协同治理机制,完善环境保护跨国合作制度,鼓励企业、NGO组织与民间力量、智库共同参与环境治理。     

Mobilisation and protest: environmental justice in Durban,South Africa

This paper examines the ability of civil society actors to champion environmental justice in an industrial risk society in South Africa by way of mobilisation and protest action. This paper presents viewpoints from key stakeholders at the Durban city level and three local case study sites to examine social capital relations to achieve environmental justice. It explores how civil society engages in social capital for mobilisation with itself and subsequent protest actions to engage with government and industry. The paper highlights that social actor response to engage in social capital for mobilisation and protests is best understood in relation to the socio-economic and political positioning of individuals or organisations.     

Environmental Protection in the Tomsk Region of the Russian Federation: A Case Study

/ Implementation of environmental management in Russia is undergoing rapid changes. Federal responsibility rests with the Russian Federation State Committee for Environmental Protection (RFSCEP) and is delegated at regional level to local State Committees for Environmental Protection (SCEPs). This paper focuses on the functioning of the SCEP for Tomsk oblast' (region) in Siberia, which is strongly committed to forging constructive links with regional government, academia, industry, and environmental NGOs. Considerable difficulties exist for SCEPs in Russia, however, and prominent among these are (1) a rigidly vertical civil service structure, with separate organs having responsibility for different natural resources, persisting from Soviet times, which hinders effective intergrated and holistic environmental management; and (2) a lack of open access to environmental information from military and quasi-military sites.     

The influence of institutional design on local environmental interest representation in the national polity

This article investigates structural and informal institutional design variables to account for civil society actors’ views on the political representation of local environmental interests in the national polity. It does so by linking literature on institutional design and place-based environmental advocacy to a case of large scale infrastructure development in the national interest. The case study concerns the proposal for a national high speed rail network (“HS2”) in the United Kingdom, which is heavily opposed locally based on its expected adverse impacts. Through fieldwork research on protest against HS2 in an area of high landscape value, it has been found that local actors perceived specific institutions to structurally under-represent interests associated with environmental conservation, compounded further by an informal style of doing politics. The paper recommends that the environmental management and planning literature turns to institutional explanations to make insightful the dynamics of defending the local interest in the national sphere.     

Non-governmental organisations and public participation in local environmental decision-making in the Czech Republic

This paper examines the extent to which institutional provisions for participation were implemented in Czech communities during the transition period, the types of participatory practices that emerged and the role that NGOs played in fostering community involvement in environmental decision-making. The results indicate that there was virtually no relationship between community action and the presence of active social, cultural, professional and religious organisations. In contrast, participation and mobilisation were more likely to emerge in communities where local, national or international environmental organisations were active. These patterns suggest that specialised NGOs may be instrumental in promoting public participation in local environmental policy and planning processes in states that historically have not had a non-profit sector.     

Revolution or inch-by-inch? Campaign approaches on climate change by environmental groups

Climate change is a significant environmental, social and environmental problem that has been identified by scientists in consensus internationally. The Australian Government’s response is considered by environmental non-government organisations (NGOs) to be inadequate. NGOs are ‘change agents’ of society, and in this role they are agitating to influence political decision-making on climate change response. This paper outlines the campaign strategies being used by Australian NGOs to attract public and political attention to the issue of climate change. Using seven NGOs as case studies, the archival materials of these organisations were accessed and analysed. Current academic and other literature also was used to reflect on their effectiveness. Four campaign themes and, within these, fifteen activities were identified. The results indicate that the notion of whether NGOs are undertaking an ‘revolutionary’ or ‘incremental’ approach, or any other narrow strategic approach put forward by various scholars is too simple for analysing campaigns: none of the NGOs appear to intentionally favour one type of strategy. The question raised by this finding is whether the NGOs’ current ‘multi-strategic’ approach is effective. This research contributes to filling the information gap with regard to NGO campaign strategies on environmental issues, and highlights the need for further research.     

Non-governmental organisations and public participation in local environmental decision-making in the Czech Republic

This paper examines the extent to which institutional provisions for participation were implemented in Czech communities during the transition period, the types of participatory practices that emerged and the role that NGOs played in fostering community involvement in environmental decision-making. The results indicate that there was virtually no relationship between community action and the presence of active social, cultural, professional and religious organisations. In contrast, participation and mobilisation were more likely to emerge in communities where local, national or international environmental organisations were active. These patterns suggest that specialised NGOs may be instrumental in promoting public participation in local environmental policy and planning processes in states that historically have not had a non-profit sector.     

“Horizontal” and “vertical” diffusion: The cumulative influence of Impact and Benefit Agreements (IBAs) on mining policy-production in New Caledonia

The scale, duration and intensity of conflicts over mineral resources vary greatly. However, they always involve, in varying proportions, the triad stakeholder model—corporation, state, community—each element of which is internally heterogeneous. Increasingly, new players are entering the scene: international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), environmental grassroots groups, indigenous transnational networks, international aid and development agencies. Nevertheless, conflicts and arrangements around access to and control over mineral resources can take the apparent form of dyadic relationships between companies and local communities, resulting in negotiated company-community agreements, often called “Impact and Benefit Agreements” (IBAs). In our analysis, local agreements on mineral resource governance are seen as building blocks in the production of mining policy “from below”, even though they seem at first sight to exclude the state. This paper argues that these agreements, and the negotiations surrounding them, inform debates around mining through both “horizontal diffusion” (influence on other localities facing similar situations) and “vertical diffusion” (influence on policy design and implementation at upper political and administrative levels). This diffusion may occur in a “positive” sense, effecting further change in line with the intent of the original agreement, or in a “negative” one, actually making substantive change less likely, whether at a community or policy level. We build this argument through two case studies from New Caledonia, in the south-west Pacific, where mining has long been a key issue, especially in the current context of “negotiated decolonization” launched by the 1998 Nouméa Accord.     

Framing Shale Gas for Policy-Making in Poland

Despite enthusiasm about new gas reserves, shale gas has not come to Poland without controversies. This study examines how shale gas has been framed as a public issue by political and business elites, experts, local communities and civil society organizations. Through a frame analysis, we found three main frames about shale gas: shale gas as a novel economic resource, as a strategic resource for energy security and as a threat. However, only the first two frames, proposed by political and business elites, have shaped the policy process. The third frame, constructed by local actors and civil society groups, has had minimal impact. We explain this exclusion drawing on the deficit model of risk communication. This approach reveals that Polish experts, and business and political actors, during their interactions with local groups, have framed proponents of the threat frame as ‘incompetent actors’ effectively excluding the threat frame from policy processes.     

The ecohealth system and the community engagement movement in foundations: A case study of mutual benefits from grants funded by the United Nations Foundation

Ecohealth is a process for identifying key environmental determinants causing mortality or morbidity and combating them by mobilizing multiple social sectors. Evolving out of the concept of environmental health, ecohealth provides a framework for long‐term sustainability. The health outcomes anticipated by environmental interventions are part of a long‐term agenda and require fundamental groundwork for the growth of community‐driven development. Building long‐term sustainability requires that two key approaches be developed through ecohealth. The first is the strengthening of local community institutions, whether formal or informal. The second is building financial mechanisms that are more diversified and less reliant on a single donor. As a result, the ecohealth system provides an opportunity for foundations to empower communities, build cross‐cutting cooperation, and gain knowledge through projects. If people's environmental behaviour is to change and be sustained in the long term to produce desired health outcomes, this will require all members of society to be capable of functioning within the existing institutional infrastructure. This means that not only do formal institutions need to become more accessible but also that concepts relating to local informal institutions must be incorporated into ecohealth projects. It is imperative that we identify and understand relevant local institutions and how they can be transformed so that new environmental forms of behaviour can be sustained and result in positive health outcomes. The intersection of environmental and health concerns provides an ideal area in which the gap between government and civil society can be bridged — not only providing solutions to ecohealth concerns, but building government capacity in general and making these positive changes sustainable in the long term. This article is a case study, based on several United Nations Foundation grants. It outlines the significance of traditional community organizations, the breadth of their long‐term relations with communities, their resources, and the adoption of sustained forms of behaviour. In addition, the article highlights the role that international foundations can play in creating innovative financing mechanisms through community‐based foundations.     

The road to environmental participatory governance in Taiwan: collaboration and challenges in incineration and municipal waste management

Waste management has been a problem for Taiwanese society over the past two decades due to rapid economic growth and urbanisation. The building of incinerators, however, has stimulated controversies and social discontent over the impacts of incineration on both environmental and human health. In Beitou, a district in the capital city of Taiwan, not-in-my-backyard activism was launched against the building of an incinerator, but the community later promoted the idea of a ‘zero-waste city’ and played a role in the decision by Taipei's government. Using in-depth qualitative interview methods to interview local community actors, and green society members to understand the dynamics between actors, this research discusses these changes and employs the participatory governance approach to networks among residents of the local community and other actors. This paper also concludes that there has been a power shift in state–citizen relationships at the local level, deepening and consolidating democratic politics in Taiwan.     

关于地方推进现代环境治理体系实践进展的述评

为跟踪各地落实《关于构建现代环境治理体系的指导意见》的实践进展，本文通过比较各地发布的相关实施意见文本，结合实地调研座谈，总结典型案例，分析发现：①由于各地对现代环境治理体系内涵的理解存在差异，关注的重点领域有所不同，部分地方突破了“七大体系”。②实践中，在推动企业落实主体责任、优化政府监管服务、规范市场化建设、协同推进区域共建共保、激活基层治理效能、增强科学精准治理能力等方面形成了一些富有特色的实践经验。③《关于构建现代环境治理体系的指导意见》中的“七大体系”推进程度不均衡，政府、企业、社会组织和公众三大主体的力量结构失衡状态改善不明显，主要体现为“三多三少”，即政府责任体系和监管体系建设多，企业环境责任体系和社会治理体系建设少；关注规范第三方环境服务、落实“放管服”多，运用市场调节机制的案例少；社会治理以宣传活动和网格员机制多，践行绿色生活的全民行动体系成果少。为此，本文提出，加快建立环境治理体系现代化的评价体系，针对环境治理薄弱环节，协调推进“七大体系”建设等建议。