Local and national protection of endangered species: an assessment

We searched the statutory codes of all 50 states to locate provisions applicable to endangered and threatened species. The state statutes were compared to 6 components of the US Endangered Species Act: (1) coverage; (2) listing procedures and requirements under section 4; (3) habitat designation and protection procedures and criteria under sections 4 and 7; (4) prohibitions on commerce and taking under section 9; (5) exceptions to the prohibitions on commerce and taking and (6) conservation planning under section 4. State endangered and threatened species legislation is far less comprehensive than the federal act. Only 15 states have statutes that cover all plants and animals. Similarly, only 11 states offer any protection for taxa below the subspecific level. 45 states have provisions for listing species independently of the federal act but only 8 authorize emergency listings. 43 states have no provisions authorizing the designation of critical habitat; 39 states offer no protection against habitat destruction on either private or publicly owned lands. Most states prohibit commercial transactions and taking of listed animal species; plant species receive less protection. Only 3 states include any requirements that the wildlife management agency engage in recovery planning processes. In the absence of a federal statute to protect endangered and threatened species, we question whether current state protection is either adequate or would be maintained. We briefly examined legislation on endangered species in two other countries with federal systems of government, Australia and Canada. Canada lacked a federal statute. Assessment of national, state and territorial legislation in Australia revealed several similarities and differences with the United States endangered species legislation. Differences suggested an alternative to the top down approach embodied in the United States Endangered Species Act.     

论美国能源监管立法与能源管理体制

美国联邦政府从20世纪30年代开始制定能源监管立法。依据集中程度和立法主题,美国能源监管立法可分为电力管控、核能监管、能源安全、放松管制等4个发展时期。根据现行美国能源立法．美国能源管理体制分为联邦和州两个层次。在联邦层次,对能源进行监管的部门有美国能源部、联邦能源监管委员会、核能监管署、环境保护署、国会内政部等。其中,能源部主要负责能源发展和安全的大政方针的制定,联邦能源监管委员会的使命在于通过管制和市场的手段执行能源立法及能源政策。在州层次,一般由州能源委员会、州公用事业委员会以及州环保局负责州的能源监管。     

中美淡水生物区系中汞物种敏感度分布比较

通过收集无机汞对中国与美国淡水水生生物的毒性数据,构建了脊椎动物(包括鱼类)、无脊椎动物(包括节肢动物和非节肢无脊椎动物)及所有物种对汞的物种敏感度分布(SSD:species sensitivity distributions)曲线,并在此基础上对中国和美国不同类别生物对汞的敏感性分布进行了分析.结果表明:中国与美国各类生物及所有物种对汞的SSD敏感性分布曲线没有显著差异.然而,中国淡水水生物种对汞短期暴露的HC5(hazardous concentration for 5% of the species)较美国淡水物种的阈值小,尤其是非节肢无脊椎动物,汞对美国非节肢动物的HC5值是我国对应物种的7.4倍.在保护95%的物种水平下,中国不同类别试验生物对汞的敏感性排序为无脊椎动物>脊椎动物,其中节肢动物>非节肢无脊椎动物>鱼类;而对应的美国生物对汞的敏感性排序无脊椎动物>脊椎动物,其中节肢动物>鱼类>非节肢无脊椎动物.另外,中美所有节肢动物对汞的敏感性要强于所有鱼类和所有非节肢无脊椎动物.所以在使用所有物种推导水质基准时应考虑其中各类别物种敏感度分布的影响,且需要注意采用美国淡水水生物种推导的水质基准可能会对我国淡水水生物种造成"保护不足".     

Complementary safeguards for robust regional watershed governance in a federation: New York City and its municipal water supply

In federations such as the United States, governments at various levels are experimenting with new watershed governance arrangements to protect water quality for both ecosystem health and human consumption. Such arrangements may bring previously uncooperative governments together to credibly commit to resource protection under the auspices of new and intricate formal institutions. Given the risks of cooperation, theory indicates that a robust arrangement will contain means of holding governing actors accountable to each other. This paper examines a purportedly successful case, the New York City watershed governance arrangement, to identify how safeguards against intergovernmental opportunism promote lasting cooperation. Using the qualitative method of process tracing, this paper finds that the New York City watershed governance arrangement uses structural, judicial, and popular safeguards against opportunistic behaviors by governing actors that might threaten the resource or the arrangement. The results indicate that such safeguards are present and interact with other safeguards and rule institutions at the state and federal level to maintain compliance.     

加拿大安大略省和多伦多市的水资源管理

随水环境保护的深化加拿大逐步完善政府的水资源管理系统和法律法规，建立联邦、省、市３种政府分级管理及各有关部门分工合作的管理体系，在城市和城市间制水供水、排水服务及对企业污管理上引进了市场机制，可资借鉴。     

美国《濒危物种法》对联邦机构的要求--美国《濒危物种法》第七章浅析

目前，在世界范围内，美国《濒危物种法》可以说是物种保护方面最强有力的国内立法，它规定了两项国家政策，其一就是要求所有的联邦部门和机关都必须努力保护濒危物种并运用其权力促进《濒危物种法》立法宗旨的实现。本文简要介绍美国《濒危物种法》的历史发展和其第七章的主要内容，分析美国《濒危物种法》对联邦机构在物种保护中的要求。     

Pollution prevention through performance-based initiatives and regulation in the United States

This paper documents over 20 years of progress in the United States to advance environmental protection through pollution prevention and other performance-based initiatives and regulations. This paper highlights a number of different approaches and strategies used at the state and federal government levels while outlining emerging barriers to the overall effectiveness of the existing US environmental protection system. As a result, the authors provide specific recommendations to accelerate the use and evolution of performance-based initiatives and regulations to achieve the goal of sustainable consumption and production systems.     

Effects of forest policy on landscape pattern of late-seral forest of the Western Olympic Peninsula,Washington

Forest harvest policies and regulations in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States have changed considerably across all land ownerships over the last 25 years, primarily in response to concerns over threatened and endangered species. For example, in July 2001, Washington State adopted new forest practice rules for private ownerships, which were aimed primarily at improving habitat for aquatic and riparian species. Before adopting the new rules, an environmental impact assessment was conducted in which three alternatives were considered in detail for their contributions to riparian habitat. Implications for upland species were not considered, although riparian protection has the potential to make contributions to habitat for obligate late-seral species.Effects of the three management alternatives were projected on private lands 200 years into the future, holding constant current practices on other lands managed for timber (federal, tribal, and state). The resulting distribution of late-seral forest across the Western Olympic Peninsula was compared. Simulations predicted that late-seral forest would cover between 39 and 48% of the landscape, well above the 8% that it currently occupies. Five to 21% of this late-seral forest would be on private lands (compared to <1% currently), and 71–85% on public lands (compared to 91% currently). Landscape pattern analysis indicated that the total amount of late-seral forest was significantly different among the three scenarios. However, there was no discernible difference in interior forest area, edge density, and mean distance between patches between a “no-action” alternative and the alternative that was ultimately adopted into rule. The most protective alternative had significantly more interior forest area and greater mean distance between patches, but it also had significantly higher edge density as a result of the linear nature of the riparian reserves and small patches of steep, unstable slopes. Our analysis framework will be useful for evaluating the effects of alternative management scenarios on landscape pattern across broad geographic areas with complex ownership.     

洱海鱼类多样性危机及解危对策

洱海原有土著鱼类17种,其中,有8种为洱海所特有。60年代以后土著鱼类逐渐减少,鱼类多样性出现危机。文章论述了50～90年代洱海鱼类的动态变化,分析了鱼类多样性危机的原因,并提出了解除洱海鱼类多样性危机的对策措施。      

Suitability of selected North American grasshopper species as hosts for grasshopper parasites from Pakistan

Three species of Sacrophagidae (Diptera) and four of Scelionidae (Hymenoptera) that are parasites of grasshoppers or grasshopper eggs in Pakistan were imported into the United States and exposed to 16 and 24 species of North American grasshoppers representing the three major sub-families. The hosts that were provided were unacceptable, and the exotic parasites were not promising for control of American grasshoppers.     

美国对危险废物产生者的管理及启示

文章对美国现行的危险废物产生者的管理法规进行了研究，并对广州市及我国加强危险废物产生者的管理对策提出了建议和设想。     

基于SSD方法比较中美物种对铜的敏感性差异

基于无机铜(以下简称铜)对中、美淡水水生动物的毒性数据,构建了中、美水生动物对铜的SSD(物种敏感度分布)曲线,比较了中、美物种的HC₅(hazardous concentration at 5th percentile of the species,保护95%以上物种的浓度水平)及其差异. 结果表明:在HC₅下,中国的水生动物对铜的敏感性排序为节肢动物>非节肢动物>鱼类,无脊椎动物>脊椎动物;而美国不同物种对铜的敏感性排序为非节肢动物>节肢动物>鱼类,无脊椎动物>脊椎动物. 根据铜短期暴露的HC₅对中、美物种敏感性进行比较可知,中国鱼类、节肢动物和脊椎动物的敏感性均大于美国相应物种;而中国非节肢无脊椎动物和无脊椎动物均小于美国相应物种. 研究所选的美国全部物种对铜的敏感性略高于中国物种,但二者仅相差0.52 μg/L. 除非节肢无脊椎动物外,中、美水生生物对铜的SSD敏感性分布均未见显著差异. 因此,在推导中国水质基准时应注重考虑敏感性物种(如节肢动物).      

Linking the Northeast states of the US mitigation program to the EU Emission Trading Scheme—Implications and costs

It is argued that there are at least five reasons for the Northeast states of the United States to implement a regional emission trading scheme for carbon dioxide despite the lack of federal policy regulations: goodwill, learning, political influence, risk management and competitiveness interests. Using an energy-economy model, the carbon price to bring the firms into compliance with a 10% reduction by 2020 is estimated to be 20-150 US$ per ton C. There have been discussions about linking the ongoing EU Emission Trading Schemes to the Northeast state initiative. The prime argument is that such a linkage would encourage a change of the federal US policy, which has traditionally followed action taken at the state level. Emissions trading with binding mitigation commitments could thus be demanded and accepted also on federal level. This paper demonstrates that the impact of linkage on permit prices depends on the reduction target in the European scheme: A low EU target results in a net flow of permits to the Northeast scheme, while a 40% EU reduction target results in a net flow of permits from the Northeast. Flow of permits from the Northeast state must be compensated for by the EU because the United States is not a party of the Kyoto Protocol. The EU must therefore buy permits in allowances recognized in the Kyoto regime in an amount equal to the net flow of permits from the Northeast states.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL HAZARDS IN NORTHERN CANADA: INTEGRATING INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES WITH GOVERNMENT POLICY

A study of the relationship between natural hazards and climate change in the international context provides the background for a discussion of the expected changes. In the context of this global discussion, this paper reviews the current perspectives of those natural hazards that are likely to be influenced by climate change, using northern Canada as a regional case study. The northern implications of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are examined, including the status of climate change action by the northern territorial governments, the evolving role of indigenous people, and the responsibility for climate change impacts. The difficulties surrounding natural hazards research in remote locations, and the approaches of indigenous people to natural hazards are then presented. The paper concludes with a suggested policy approach for climate change and natural hazards in northern Canada, underscoring the need for more comprehensive adaptive strategies to complement the current tendency to focus on the mitigation of greenhouse gases produced in this region.     

Degradation and re-emergence of the commons: The impacts of government policies on traditional resource management institutions in China

In the vast majority of cases studied to date, rapid changes in indigenous resource management institutions and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) have been reported with profound implications for indigenous livelihoods, biodiversity, and system resilience worldwide. In this case study, we examined how policy changes in China over the past 60 years have influenced indigenous resource management institutions designed to manage common pool pastoral systems in eastern Inner Mongolia. Based on semi-structured interviews (n = 91), focus group discussions (64 participants involved), and participant observation, we found that for over half a century rescaling efforts by the Chinese government shifted the focus to national level development planning, which led to the degradation of indigenous institutions that managed common pool pastoral systems in the region. However, we also highlight how local actors have used recent changes in government policies to revitalize traditional herding institutions. This provides a rare glimpse at the re-emergence of the commons from the bottom up.     

受威胁植物濒危等级划分概述

濒危物种通常是指由于物种自身原因或受到人类活动或自然灾害影响而有灭绝危险的所有生物种类。目前国内外存在着许多濒危物种等级的划分标准,最常用的是Mace—Lande物种濒危等级。我国受威胁的植物等级被划分为濒危（Endangered）,稀有（Rare）和渐危（Vulnerable）3个等级。物种濒危等级评价标准的主要发展趋势就是由定性指标向定量指标发展,但是当前国内外对植物稀有性和受威胁的各个等级的定量限定尚未有一个统一的标准。     

野生动物资源的保护与持续利用

本文从非洲南部的大象、澳大利亚的大袋鼠到北美的野生动物管理体制、欧洲的野生动物狩猎、新西兰草地牧业的转轨,回顾了世界野生动物利用与保护的历史。并追溯了我国古代野生动物管理思想,以黄羊、虎两个实例,分析了我国野生动物资源濒危的原因与现状。最后,探讨了野生动物资源保护与开发的辩证关系,提出了野生动物利用分为开发初期、过度开发期、保护恢复期及持续利用期,目前我国野生动物资源正处于保护恢复期。     

Examining the determinants of public environmental concern: Evidence from national public surveys

Early research showed that citizens’ environmental concern in the United States was linked to three individual-level factors: socio-demographic variables, political orientations, and personal beliefs or worldviews about human-nature relations. Given many changes in the American society over the last several decades, one important, yet unanswered question is whether these factors still drive public environmental concern in the United States today, and if so, to what extent. This study, drawing from extant theoretical and empirical studies, aims to reinvestigate the determinants of citizens’ environmental concern by employing three national public surveys conducted in 2004, 2007, and 2013. Our data analyses confirm and expand the findings of previous research on the significance and importance of political ideology, fundamental beliefs about human-nature relations, and certain socioeconomic factors such as gender and race in explaining citizens’ environmental concern. More specifically, political liberals, people with higher New Ecological Paradigm values, females, and Non-Whites tend to be more concerned about environmental problems than their counterparts are. Our data analyses also reveal some interesting findings when compared to many previous studies: first, our data indicate a positive relationship between age and environmental concern, suggesting that older people in the United States are more concerned about the environment than younger adults; second, unlike most past research showing a positive Education-Environmental Concern relationship, our study suggests that education level seems to have little effect in explaining citizens’ environmental concern measured in this study. Key implications for environmental policymaking and recommendations for future research are discussed in the conclusion.     

近年来美国环境政策制定的趋势及对我国的启示

美国是世界环境政策的引领,对我国生态文明制度建设有着重要的参考价值。通过系统梳理近年来美国环境政策制定的趋势发现,美国环境立法出现了僵局,但环境政策却以国会"非正统"的立法、联邦行政机构的环境政策制定、法院裁决、联邦行政机构和非公机构合作制定环境政策、地方环境政策、非政府环境政策等新方式出现,环境政策制定相当活跃。因此,借鉴美国经验,我国也可加强系统性环境法律体系的建设、优化行政机构的环境政策制定、积极发挥法院体系在环境政策领域中的作用、推动地方环境政策可先行先试以及参与式环境政策制定模式的探索。     

水质基准方法学中若干关键技术探讨

我国正在开展系统的水质基准研究,对发达国家的水质基准理论和技术处于学习和研究阶段. 物种敏感度分布分析、“最少毒性数据需求”以及基准的修正是水质基准推算中的若干关键技术. 以氨氮水生生物基准为例,对这些关键技术进行了研究与探讨,提出在我国本土生物毒性数据缺乏的情况下可在种的水平上对水质基准进行推算. 另外,可先利用全部生物的毒性数据进行物种敏感度分析,确定需重点获取的敏感生物类群的毒性数据,再用于基准推算,有望降低推算过程中对毒性数据量的需求. 最后,基于中美生物物种分布的差异,借鉴美国修订国家水质基准的水效应比法,提出利用生物效应比法对美国国家水质基准进行修订以获取我国水质基准.