On the possibility of sustainable development with less economic growth: a research note

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss whether it is possible to achieve human development without or with less economic growth. For this to happen, it is important that developed countries can maintain high levels of human development while reducing the scale of production and consumption so that developing countries can achieve greater economic growth. Using panel data from 118 countries aggregated in ten blocks of countries, we assess the influence of “growth” on “development”, as proxied by a transformed variable “Social Human Development Index” (SHDI), controlling for the influence of geo-economic factors. In particular, we analyse whether developed countries present a weaker statistical relation between GDP and the social dimension of HDI than their less developed counterparts. Results reveal that the GDP elasticity of SHDI is higher in blocks of countries where the concentration of developing countries occurs than in blocks dominated by the presence of developed countries. Thus, it is possible to envisage that a slowdown in economic activity in developed countries may occur without great sacrifice of human development, at least when it is measured by health and education components. We interpret the findings as meaning that at an aggregate level there are conditions for development to occur without or with less growth.     

The effects of globalization on Ecological Footprints: an empirical analysis

Whether globalization is sustainable is a contested issue. The quantitative literature on the Maastricht Globalization Index (MGI) and the KOF index of globalization shows that globalization contributes positively to economic and human development, environmental performance, mortality, gender equality and physical integrity rights. However, globalization also drives within-country income inequality, especially in developing countries. Evidence on the effects of globalization on the ecological environment does not provide clear patterns; various dimensions of globalization have different effects on various pollutants. This article analyzes the statistical relationship between the most recent MGI (2012 edition) and the ecological dimension of sustainable development. The latter will be operationalized by considering four variants of the Ecological Footprint. The relation between globalization and sustainable development will be controlled for GDP per capita as a proxy for affluence and report the results for Pearson’s correlations and multivariate regressions for up to 171 countries. We conclude that the overall index of globalization significantly increases the Ecological Footprint of consumption, exports and imports. The decomposition of globalization into different domains reveals that apart from the political dimension, all dimensions drive human pressures and demands on the environment. Globalization needs to go into new directions if it is to make a contribution toward all aspects of sustainable development.     

全球可持续发展面临的挑战与对策

全球可持续发展涉及可持续经济、可持续环境和可持续社会三方面的协调统一,要求人类在发展中讲究经济效率、关注环境和谐与追求社会公平,最终达到人的全面发展。自1992年联合国环境与发展大会以来,国际社会积极推动实施《关于环境与发展的里约宣言》、《21世纪议程》和《可持续发展首脑会议执行计划》,各种形式的国际和区域环发合作深入开展,各个国家为促进可持续发展付出了巨大努力,在消除贫困和实现千年发展目标方面取得一些成绩。但是,全球在经济、环境和社会发展方面正在面临着越来越复杂的形势,全球可持续发展事业依然面临严峻的挑战。本文从经济、环境与社会三个方面,系统分析了全球可持续发展面临的挑战。分析表明:全球经济发展依然不平衡,不稳定性在加大,而且世界贫富差距明显,发达国家对发展中国家的官方援助不足;全球能源结构没有根本性改变,CO2排放不断增加,气候变化问题突出,而且一些国家生态环境问题较为严重;世界总人口数不断增加,各国就业水平难以提高,各国教育水平非常不均衡,而且欠发达国家人均医疗卫生支出水平低,居民健康状况堪忧。针对全球可持续发展面临的挑战,本文提出了相应的对策:①坚持"共同但有区别的责任"原则。可持续发展没有统一的模式,各国的发展阶段、条件和能力的不同必须予以正视;要区别发达国家和发展中国家的不同国情,要充分尊重发展中国家的发展权利;要为发展中国家向可持续发展转型提供技术、资金和能力建设方面的强有力支持。②加强各国政府在环境领域的交流与合作。不仅要重视全球性环境问题,而且更要优先考虑区域性环境问题,特别是发展中国家和最不发达国家面临的生态环境问题。③积极推动全球社会朝向均衡、普惠和共赢的方向发展。世界上所有国家都应有权以平等的身份参与全球治理过程以及不断改进和优化治理机制,而且全球治理结构应该向发展中国家倾斜;要积极消除贫困、减少不平等现象、使增长具有包容性、使生产和消费更可持续;要增强人们做出可持续选择的权利,特别是妇女、年轻人、失业者以及社会最弱势和最脆弱群体的权利等。     

An approach to sustainable development: the case of Cuba

This paper analyzes the Cuban model of sustainable development and explains the causes that made Cuba the only country that meets the conditions of sustainability according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). The Human Development Index has three main components: quality of life (health indicator measured as life expectancy at birth), knowledge (education indicator measured as adult literacy) and the standard of life (economic indicator measured by the Gross Domestic Income). This paper analyses the aspects of the educational and health system of Cuba and also of its energy policies that explain the excellent scores of the Human Development Index. Cuba shows a Human Development Index of 0.8 with an Ecological Footprint of 1.8?gha. This is achieved with a Gross Domestic Income lower than other countries with similar Human Development Index. The Ecological Footprint of Cuba is mainly determined by the CO₂ and the agricultural land footprint. The paper shows how the economic transition, after the economic crisis of the early 1990s, was realized without significantly increasing the Ecological Footprint.     

A review of regulatory decisions for environmental protection: part I - challenges in the implementation of national soil policies

Since many soil studies have already revealed the possible risks to human health and the environment arising from contaminated soils it is therefore crucial to preserve soil quality under current and future conditions. In the last three decades a number of countries already introduced national policies and practices for the management of contaminated sites, and in 2002, an EU Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection was proposed by the European Commission. In this paper we review and analyse several national contaminated land policy regimes already in place in order to assess common elements and to identify specific needs in the development of national soil policies. We propose a framework that combines the D-P-S-I-R structure of policy evaluation with the Source-Pathway-Receptor approach to health risk assessment to support the development of effective country specific regulatory decisions for managing contaminated land in countries where these are yet to be implemented. The framework proposed allows decision makers to effectively use available information and to identify existing data gaps. As a result it is apparent that while there are technical aspects of site characterisation, risk assessment and remediation processes that could be commonly implemented at an EU level there are certain trans-scientific aspects that require political choices and need to be customized by EU Member States.     

Sustainability from a Chinese cultural perspective: the implications of harmonious development in environmental management

Sustainable development has broad consensus in environmental science and policy discourse, but its implications differ in specific cultural contexts. This article articulates sustainable development from a Chinese cultural perspective by tracing ideas from Chinese traditional culture and exploring China’s concept of harmonious development with emphasis on environmental management. Ideas that resemble sustainable development are not new to Chinese culture, but have roots in ancient Chinese thoughts, which in turn influence current governance and policies. Notably, Chinese traditional philosophies such as Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, and Yin–Yang contain philosophies fundamental to sustainable development. As a distinct local discourse, such concepts were well interpreted and understood in the ancient meaning of harmony, giving China unique sustainability perspectives with institutional implications for policies of harmonious development and environmental management. Currently, China is driven to create a new national identity of harmonious development that involves Chinese traditional philosophies and values in its modern administration. The slogans “harmonious society” and “Chinese dream” reflect this new way of responding to the world with the aspiration to achieve cleaner growth, personal prosperity, and social stability. The Chinese and Western roots of sustainable development are conceptually, ideologically, and historically different, and this paper articulates how the convergence of the two underlies contemporary international debates.     

论发展中国家在经济全球化中的环境安全对策

环境安全是国家安全的重要组成部分。随着人口的增长和人类生产规模的扩大,环境安全问题已经引起了人们越来越多的关注。在经济全球化过程中,由于发达国家掠夺式的原料进口、污染转移,发展中国家的环境安全问题变得尤为突出。因此,发展中国家应处理好经济全球化、发展与环境安全之间的关系,从国际经济交往和环境合作中寻求机遇,从发展中维护环境安全。     

经济增长和环境规制对雾霾的区际影响差异

为探究不同省级区域雾霾、经济增长和环境规制之间的空间关联效应,本文提出针对雾霾的引力模型空间权重矩阵,并利用该矩阵建立了空间杜宾模型,分别对全国、西部、中部和东部省区的面板数据进行了空间计量检验。实证结果显示:全国雾霾的莫兰指数值显著,且取值介于0.367—0.460之间;雾霾"重心"呈现先向东南再向西北移动的趋势,移动距离为76 557 m;雾霾的莫兰指数值为东部省区最大,西部省区最小,中部省区介于二者之间。全国的雾霾与经济增长之间呈显著的"U"型曲线,而西部、中部和东部省区则呈倒"U"型曲线,其中中部省区的曲线最为陡峭,西部省区次之,东部省区最为平缓。环境规制每增加1%,只有西部和东部的雾霾相应减少,且各自相应下降0.009和0.010个百分点。西部和东部经济增长的溢出效应均显著,而环境规制的溢出效应不显著。研究结果表明:(1)雾霾在空间上表现出集聚的特点,全国和三个区域的雾霾都存在显著的正向空间溢出效应,这种空间依赖性在时间维度上大致呈加强的趋势;雾霾的空间相关性表现为东部省区最强,西部省区紧随其后,中部省区最低。(2)西部和东部省区部分省市还未过拐点,全国意义上的环境库茨涅兹假说是不存在的,或者是至少还未出现。(3)西部和东部环境规制效果较为理想,而中部省区的环境规制效果不佳;从全国总体来看,当前的环境规制整体上对雾霾并未起到有效的抑制作用。(4)东西部省区和中部省区经济增长对雾霾溢出效应分别表现为正向和反向;环境规制对雾霾的溢出效应并不显著。建议加强对雾霾的区域协同治理,重点推进西部和东部省区经济结构的转型升级,调整和完善西部、中部和东部省区的环境规制政策。     

Sustainable Health Risk Management and the Role of Cross-Disciplinary Professionals in Developing Countries: Mexican Experience

The paper argues health risk management in Developing Countries cannot be sustainable unless it is conceived, planned, implemented and maintained by community-led multi-stakeholder groups using an integrated capacity building process with five components: (1) education and awareness raising; (2) strengthening information resources and decision making; (3) strengthening regulations and compliance; (4) improving basic sanitation infrastructure; and (5) stimulating the market for support products and services for health and environment sectors. Occupational and environmental health professionals with cross-disciplinary understanding are uniquely qualified to build much-needed bridges between stakeholders, risk science and policy. They should adopt a cost-effective mentality, adapting models/methods used in developed countries to developing country contexts, negotiating political obstacles and understanding cultural differences in risk sources, exposures and perceptions. Stakeholders – health professionals, community representatives, officials, NGOs/advocacy groups, industries, and providers of products/services – collaborate to detect needs, mobilize resources, design, develop, implement, consolidate and maintain interventions to priority problems. Field experience in Mexico supports the argument. This sustainability process is adaptable to other keystone development sectors like soil and water resources stewardship, biodiversity conservation, agriculture and energy.     

Fracking and Framing: A Comparative Analysis of Media Coverage of Hydraulic Fracturing in Canadian and US Newspapers

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a controversial but popular method of extracting oil and gas in North America. There are a myriad of completing claims about the economic benefits and the environmental costs of the technology. This paper examines news media coverage of fracking in four Canadian and four American newspapers over a five-year period. A comparison is made at the national level as well as at a paired subnational level between jurisdictions where fracking is embraced and where fracking is banned. The paper demonstrates that in both countries the main storyline is about water quality, but beyond that differences emerge as Americans focus more on wildlife and public health and Canadians focus more on moratoriums and energy independence. Moreover, while there were similarities in media coverage of fracking in pro-fracking and anti-fracking jurisdictions, there were notable differences in attention to the topics of public health and economic benefits.     

Doses to members of the general public and observed effects on biota: Chernobyl Forum update

The Chernobyl Forum was organized by the United Nations to examine the health and environmental effects of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station. This paper is concerned with the environmental effects, as determined by Expert Group Environment. The accident resulted in release of a large amount of radioactive materials over a period of 10 days. These materials were deposited throughout Europe with the three more affected countries being Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. More than 5 million persons lived on territories in these countries judged to be contaminated at >37kBqm(-2). Many countermeasures were employed to mitigate the effects of the accident. The collective effective dose to the residents of the contaminated territories is estimated to be about 55,000 person-Sv. Effects on non-human biota were observed that ranged from minor to lethal; the current increase in the number and diversity of species in the most contaminated area is due to absence of human pressure.     

环境库兹涅茨曲线理论与国家环境法律间关系的研究

研究表明,经济发展与环境退化之间经常呈现倒U型曲线关系,许多学者将其定义为环境库兹涅茨曲线(EnvironmentalKuznets Curves,EKC),并将其运用到对发展中国家和发达国家的先污染,后治理的发展模式的解释之中。但是环境库兹涅茨曲线假说本身并不完善。在摒弃了传统计量模型指标后,以国家环境立法和国家环保投资作为目标研究EKC。结果表明,环境改善的重要条件是政府的支持,尤其是以环境法律的形式。     

人类健康风险的定量评估与分析

通过深入研究．将人类健康风险解析环境污染、食物安全、疾病流行和医疗保障四个方面。在建立一套评价人类健康风险指标体系的基础上。对40个样本国家进行评估。用聚类分析的方法．将40个国家分为四类，在对每一类国家的人类健康风险特点进行对比发现，在同等经济发展水平下，中国的人类健康风险相对较高。通过分析人类健康风险与经济发展水平的关系得出,人均GNI 1000，3000美元是国家经济发展的关键时期。同样也是改善人类健康状况的关键时期，这一时期国家要高度重视改善人类健康状况。     

Quantitative Evaluation and Analysis on Human Health Risk

Health condition is related to the economic and social development of a country and the whole world. We concluded that the influencing factors of health risk include environment pollution, food security, disease threat and health care condition, and then an indicators system is put forward in the paper. Based on the foundation of the indicators system, 40 countries were chosen to evaluate the condition of human health risk. With the method of Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, 40 countries were divided into four groups, and we analyzed the characteristic of each group. Compared with other countries at the similar development level of economy, the human health risk of China is much higher. We analyzed the correlation between human health risk and the economy development level, and then we concluded that a country should attach importance to improving the condition of human health, when the GNI per capita is between $ 1000 and 3000 US dollars. The stage is vital for economy development, and also for the improvement of the human health condition. We found that countries with high human health risk are mostly in Africa and Asia. The developed countries should help the developing countries reduce the human health risk for a win-win situation of the development of the whole humanity.     

Interpretation of the source-specific substantive control measures of the Minamata Convention on Mercury

Being persistent, toxic, and bio-accumulative, Mercury (Hg) seriously affects the environment and human health. Due to Hg's attribute of long-range environmental transport across national borders, especially through atmospheric transport, no country can fully protect its environment and human health with its own efforts, without global cooperation. The Minamata Convention on Mercury, which was formally adopted and opened for signature in October 2013, is the only global environmental regime on the control of Hg pollution. Its main substantive control measures are source-specific: its phasing-out, phasing-down, and other main substantive requirements all direct to specific categories of pollution sources through the regulation of specific sectors of the economy and social life. This Convention does not take a national quota approach to quantify the Parties' nationwide total allowable consumption or discharge of Hg or Hg compounds, nor does it quantify their nationwide total reduction requirements. This paper attempts to find the underlying reasons for this source-specific approach and offers two interpretations. One possible interpretation is that Hg might be a non-threshold pollutant, i.e., a pollutant without a risk-free value of concentration. The existence of a reference dose (RfD), reference concentration (RfC), provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI), minimal risk level (MRL) or other similar reference values of Hg does not necessarily mean that Hg cannot be regarded as non-threshold because such reference values have scientific uncertainties and may also involve policy considerations. Another interpretation is that Hg lacks a feasibly determinable total allowable quantity. There is evidence that negotiators might have treated Hg as non-threshold, or at least accepted that Hg lacks a feasibly determinable total allowable quantity: (1) The negotiators were informed about the serious situations of the current emissions, releases, and legacy deposition; (2) the UNEP Secretariat took the position that Hg is non-threshold and should be eliminated to the maximum; (3) European countries, the USA and other western countries were in a better position to regard Hg as non-threshold and push forward a global reduction of Hg emissions and releases to the minimum; (4) the negotiators took the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) as a model; and (5) a fairly large number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were organized under umbrella NGO networks such as the Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG) and the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) and made a significant contribution to the negotiation process. The interpretations for the Minamata Convention might similarly be used to interpret the source-specific approach of the Stockholm Convention on POPs and the national quota approach of global environmental regimes on stratospheric ozone and climate mitigation. These two interpretations focus on the features of the pollutants and for this reason may be useful for future negotiators of other international environmental treaties to select appropriate models. They also suggest that the source-specific approach may be adopted in the future for pollutants with similar features of being possibly non-threshold and without a feasibly determinable total allowable quantity.     

人力资本、产业结构调整与绿色发展效率的作用机制

寻求经济增长与环境改善的双赢已成为中国推进绿色发展的内在要求。人力资本与产业结构调整相互作用,均被视作改善绿色发展效率的重要支撑条件,然而两者的相互作用能否促进中国绿色发展效率提升尚未得到关注。本文梳理人力资本、产业结构调整与绿色发展效率之间的作用机制,在使用包含非期望产出的SBM模型测算中国1997—2013年各省份绿色发展效率的基础上,识别人力资本、产业结构调整及其交互对于绿色发展效率的作用方向与影响力度。结果显示:总体而言,样本期内绿色发展效率存在无效率状态,这与中国粗放型发展方式有关;从空间尺度上看,绿色发展效率呈现出东部高于中西部的态势;从时间尺度上看,绿色发展效率在样本前半期与后半期的变动趋势并不一致,前半期效率值呈现出下降趋势而后半期则表现为波动变动;全国层面与东、中、西部人力资本水平以及人力资本结构未能发挥提升绿色发展效率的作用,产业结构调整的两个维度——产业结构高级化与产业结构合理化在全国层面与东、中部均表现出改善绿色发展效率的态势;人力资本水平(人力资本结构)与产业结构高级化、产业结构合理化的交互项对于绿色发展效率的提升作用在全国层面与东部有所体现但力度不强。应以联动性而非割裂的视角看待中国所进行的人力资本培育与产业结构调整,应当努力减少人力资本与产业结构调整之间相互脱节、不相适应的状况,不断增进人力资本与产业结构调整的适配性以提升中国各省份绿色发展效率。     

Health and environmental costs of pesticide use in vegetable farming in Nepal

There is a growing concern of pesticide risks to human health, natural environment and ecosystems. Many previous economic valuations have accounted health aspects or environmental components, but rarely combined; thus, overall risk assessment is partially distorted. The study, conducted close to the capital of Nepal, addressed the health effects of pesticides on small-scale farmers and evaluated the monetary risks of pesticide use on human health and environmental resources. We also aim to establish the relationships among valuation methods. The paper adopts cost of illness, defensive expenditure and contingent valuation willingness to pay approach. The study concluded that the methods used for valuing pesticide risks to human and environmental health are theoretically consistent. The exposed individuals are likely to bear significant economic costs of exposures depending on geographical location, pesticide use magnitudes and frequency. Individuals are willing to pay between 53 and 79% more than the existing pesticide price to protect their health and environment. The integrated pest management training is less likely to reduce health costs of pesticide exposure, although it leads to higher investment in safety measures.     

论徽州软体文化旅游资源的元价值与生存困境

首先界定了软体文化旅游资源的概念：即以“非物化”的形式承载并惠及子孙。具有潜在的巨大经济含量,以适当的方式可以开发成旅游产品的文化存在。接着．探讨了软体文化旅游资源在徽州文化旅游开发中的元价值地位。指出软体文化资源是徽州文化旅游产品的灵魂．因而也是其生命周期之长短的决定性因素。在此认识的基础上．文章基于徽州文化旅游资源开发的现状．论述了徽州当前原生性软体文化资源存续的四大困境：生存环境逼仄、文化认同危机、研究与发掘滞后、制度制定不足等问题;最后．提出软体文化资源开发的有关对策：梯度开发、建章立制、去商业化、培养社区情感等。     

环境载荷与环境压强:环境压力指标及应用

一个国家的经济活动产生的环境压力与其具有的环境承载能力。决定了该国社会与经济发展的可持续状况。因此．测度环境压力和承载力是制定可持续发展目标和政策的必要条件之一。基于国家尺度的社会代谢物质流、地理面积和生态承载面积。可以构建出一个国家本国环境所承受的环境压力总量指标体系——环境载荷和环境压强；德国、荷兰、奥地利、日本和美国等五个工业国家的环境载荷和各环境压强总量指标若干年的实证计算和对比分析。可以发现．虽然美国的国内环境总载荷、人均物质总需求及人均生态足迹赤字等均是各国最高者．其环境压强却处于五国的最低端。与奥地利相近；以环境压强指标测度。除日本不明显外．其余四国的经济发展与本国环境压力之间在研究期（1975—1996）均显示出“脱钩”关系．即本国环境压强并没有随经济总量的增长而增加。为此．最后就环境问题的公平性和环境压力指标的优缺点进行简要讨论。     

Environmental health, development and economic empowerment of rural women in Nigeria

Sustainable development is a process that has social, cultural, economic and ecological dimensions. The necessity of improving the quality of life of rural women in terms of socio-economic aspects in developing countries like Nigeria is the aim of this study. The study was carried out in four villages of Tonkere district (Okeake, Abagboro, Elefon and Akiri), situated on expansive university land at Ile-Ife and typical of rural settings in Nigeria. Data were generated from group meetings, local government and individual interviews and surveys. In rural Nigeria, women’s essential contributions to overall environmental health, development and economy are negatively influenced by domestic tasks such as gathering of fuel woods and biomass for cooking. In reality, wood burning, kerosene stoves, and open fireplaces emit significant quantities of known health-damaging pollutants. The significant emissions of health-damaging pollutants per unit activity, combined with daily use in close proximity to rural human populations mean household biomass fuel use exposes total population to important pollutants resulting in ill-health and premature dead. Application of solar energy collectors and hosts of solar devices is an alternative energy sources in rural areas that could best improve women’s health, socially and economically, and positively add to ecological dimensions. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.