Perspectives on social capacity building for natural hazards: outlining an emerging field of research and practice in Europe

Social capacity building for natural hazards is a topic increasingly gaining relevance not only for so-called developing countries but also for European welfare states which are continuously challenged by the social, economic and ecological impacts of natural hazards. Following an outline of recent governance changes with regard to natural hazards, we develop a heuristic model of social capacity building by taking into account a wide range of existing expertise from different fields of research. Particular attention is paid to social vulnerability and its assessment, as well as to risk communication and risk education as specific strategies of social capacity building. We propose to distinguish between interventionist and participatory approaches, thus enabling for a better understanding of existing practices of social capacity building as well as their particular strengths and weaknesses. By way of conclusion, we encourage more research on social capacity building for natural hazards in the European context which at present is highly diverse and, at least in parts, only poorly investigated.     

Regional initiatives on promoting cleaner production in China: a case of Liaoning

With the increasing environmental issues, now cleaner production has been implemented across all the regions of China. During this process, regional governments have played a leading role for promoting cleaner production. Main measures include coordinating the various stakeholders, providing financial support, stipulating appropriate policies and conducting capacity building programs. Such an innovative initiative is quite unique and should be further studied. This paper reflects such a perspective through a case study of Liaoning province. We first introduce the main initiatives for the promotion of cleaner production in Liaoning and then identify the key barriers. Our focus is to provide suggestions for future improvements. Finally we make our conclusions.     

Towards an inter-disciplinary research agenda on climate change, water and security in Southern Europe and neighboring countries

The Mediterranean and neighboring countries are already experiencing a broad range of natural and man-made threats to water security. According to climate projections, the region is at risk due to its pronounced susceptibility to changes in the hydrological budget and extremes. Such changes are expected to have strong impacts on the management of water resources and on key strategic sectors of regional economies. Related developments have an increased capacity to exacerbate tensions, and even intra- and inter-state conflict among social, political, ecological and economic actors. Thus, effective adaptation and prevention policy measures call for multi-disciplinary analysis and action.This review paper presents the current state-of-the-art on research related to climate change impacts upon water resources and security from an ecological, economic and social angle. It provides perspectives for current and upcoming research needs and describes the challenges and potential of integrating and clustering multi-disciplinary research interests in complex and interwoven human-environment systems and its contribution to the upcoming 5th assessment report of the IPCC.     

Some Lessons Learned from Public Health on the Process of Adaptation

Lessons learned from more than 150 years of public health research and intervention can provide insights to guide public health professionals and institutions as they design and implement specific strategies, policies, and measures to increase resilience to climate variability and change. This paper identifies both some modifications to public health systems that may enhance adaptive capacity, and lessons drawn from the history of managing environmental and other threats in the public health sector that may have relevance for other sectors as they design approaches to increase their adaptive capacity to more effectively cope with climate variability and change. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not represent official US EPA policy.     

Water policy implementation in the state of São Paulo,Brazil: Key challenges and opportunities

Challenges in implementing water planning and management are common, and the effective implementation of integrated water policies is yet to occur. In Brazil, the state of São Paulo enacted a Water Act in 1991 to ensure water availability for current and future generations based on the principles of decentralization, participation and integration. This research addresses water policy implementation issues by conducting an exploratory case study in the state of São Paulo. Factors affecting the water policy implementation process were analyzed, together with some water resources management practices. The findings indicate four dimensions of key challenges: institutional and governance, political, financial and technical. The stakeholders believe the political and the institutional and governance challenges are more important than the technical and financial ones. Additionally, the results show different levels of involvement in the areas of water policy strategy, the planning and decision-making process, and implementation by the different stakeholders groups. Stakeholders external to the water sector and from local government were considered to be less involved in water-related issues, when compared with stakeholders from the water sector. The study recommends a change in current institutional and governance arrangements in order to influence decisions and investments in different levels and sectors.     

典型城市减污降碳协同控制潜力评价研究:以渭南市为例

我国已将应对气候变化全面融入国家经济社会发展的总战略,采取积极措施,有效控制重点工业行业温室气体排放,开展减污降碳协同研究对于城市实现大气环境质量改善与低碳转型发展具有重要意义. 本研究以国家大气污染防治重点区域——汾渭平原中渭南市为例,采用LMDI分解方法并运用LEAP模型,通过构建多种情景模拟分析污染减排、能源结构改善及产业结构调整等政策对渭南市未来能源消费、大气污染物减排潜力的影响,预测了该市碳达峰时间及峰值水平. 结果表明,能源结构改善、产业结构优化、交通运输调整具有显著的污染物与温室气体协同减排效果,而压减落后产能、工业炉窑改造、工业污染物排放标准升级等传统环境治理的潜力逐渐减小. 建议渭南市应积极推进产业结构优化升级、着力改善能源结构、加快推进交通运输结构优化,倒逼能源、产业、交通结构绿色低碳转型和生态环境质量协同改善,牵引经济社会发展全面绿色转型,实现减污降碳协同效应.      

Policy misfits,climate change and cross-scale vulnerability in coastal Africa: how development projects undermine resilience

Coastal social ecological systems in eastern Africa are subject to a range of environmental, social and economic changes. They are already vulnerable to these multiple stressors, and the impacts of climate change are likely to further exacerbate their vulnerabilities. Some of these impacts may be observed and experienced already. The analysis presented in this paper is based on mixed methods empirical research exploring local perceptions of recent changes at four sites in coastal Tanzania and Mozambique. People recognise and rank a number of climate and non-climate stressors which have contributed towards more risky and less diverse livelihoods. Importantly, regional and international policy initiatives – in the form of river basin management in Mozambique and South Africa, and development of a Marine Protected Area in Tanzania – are perceived to further erode resilience and exacerbate vulnerabilities. We suggest this is a form of policy misfit, where policies developed to address a specific issue do not take account of cross-scale dynamics of change, the interactions between multiple stressors, nor longer term climate change. This policy misfit may be remedied by a move towards adaptive forms of governance, and necessitates an explicit focus on building the adaptive capacity of the poor and most vulnerable in society.     

Policy coherence in climate governance in Caribbean Small Island Developing States

Climate governance in Small Island developing States (SIDS) is a pressing priority to preserve livelihoods, biodiversity and ecosystems for the next generations. Understanding the dynamics of climate change policy integration is becoming more crucial as we try to measure the success of environmental governance efforts and chart new goals for sustainable development. At the international level, climate change policy has evolved from single issue to integrated approaches towards achieving sustainable development. New actors, new mechanisms and institutions of governance with greater fragmentation in governance across sectors and levels (Biermann and Pattberg, 2008) make integration of policy in the area of climate change governance even more of a challenge today. What is the Caribbean reality regarding policy coherence in climate change governance? Are the same climate change policy coherence frameworks useful or indeed applicable for environmental governance in developing states more generally and for SIDS in particular? What are the best triggers to achieve successful climate change policy integration in environmental governance—especially as the complex interconnectivity of new actors, institutions and mechanisms make the process of integration even more challenging? What facilitates and what hampers climate policy integration in the regional Caribbean context? This article reviews the debates around policy coherence for climate change governance, creates a framework to test or measure policy coherence and examines how relevant this has been to regional climate change governance processes in Commonwealth Caribbean States. The study found that though at the regional level, there is substantial recognition of the importance of and mechanics involved in climate policy coherence, this has not translated to policy coherence at the regional and national levels. There is a large degree of fragmentation in the application of climate policy in each Caribbean Island with no mechanism to breach the gap. Silos in public environmental governance architectures, unwillingness to share data, insufficient political will; unsustainable project-based funding and lack of accountability among actors are the main challenges to climate policy coherence. The findings fill a gap in the literature on the elements of climate policy coherence from a SIDS perspective.     

以SO2排放控制和排污权交易为例分析中国环境执政能力

从中国SO2污染控制政策的演变,以及近年来政府大力推动的排污权交易这一污染控制经济手段试点入手,全面揭示中国环境管理中存在的问题,并从中国政策过程特点以及环境管理的政府治理结构2个角度阐释问题根源.揭示的主要环境问题包括政策的可操作性、政策间的协调性差,政策相互冲突以及政策本身缺乏科学性的论证等问题.中国自上而下的政策过程以及利用后发优势学习引用其他国家经济的政策演变特点是造成这些问题的政策原因,而中央与地方之间关系、政府部门之间、国家环境保护总局内部机构安排等方面存在的问题则是这些问题的政府治理结构根源.最后,从短期、最大可行性角度出发,以国家环境保护总局的建设为主线提出解决问题的建议,强化国家环境保护总局政策制定、协调监督以及执法监管三方面的职能与能力建设.     

REDD+ policy strategy in Cameroon: Actors,institutions and governance

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is receiving increasing political and scientific attention as a climate change mitigation approach. The government of Cameroon has expressed an interest in participating in REDD+, and national deliberation on a policy strategy has attracted interest from different actors in the forest sector. This paper analyses the challenges of designing a governance structure for a REDD+ strategy in Cameroon. Theoretically, the paper builds on the literature on governance structures for resource management, focusing analytically on the interactions between actor constellations (state and non-state) and institutions (formal and informal) to produce policy outcomes. The paper draws on documentation of REDD+ policy events, policy texts and 23 in-depth interviews with members from government, civil society, research organizations, development partners and the private sector. It argues that although the actors involved in REDD+ are, to an extent, polarized around different issues and priorities, they are nonetheless increasingly distributing roles and responsibilities among themselves. The institutional arrangements within the policy process include: (1) rule-making systems for engagement; (2) expanding existing coordination mechanisms; (3) national safeguard standards; and (4) building on existing forest governance initiatives. The paper concludes that the multiple benefits promised by REDD+, such as poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation and economic development, are critical for the legitimacy of the mechanism.     

Engaging stakeholders in an adaptation process: governance and institutional arrangements in heat-health policy development in Adelaide, Australia

Record breaking heat waves have been recorded in Adelaide, Australia in recent years and climate change would likely increase the frequency, duration and severity of heat waves. This paper describes the governance and institutional arrangements during the development of an adaptation strategy (herein referred to as heat-health policy) for heat waves in Adelaide, Australia. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted between June and August 2011 among 18 stakeholders who were involved in the participatory process during the development of the heat-health policy. Informed consent was obtained and interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and the data analysed using framework analysis. Interview data were supplemented by data gathered through a review of documents associated with the process. The results found that the process of developing the heat-health policy was initiated by the state government and comprised of stakeholders from both the state and non-state sectors. There was a high level of leadership and political commitment demonstrated during the process, given that the different players wanted a policy to be in place before any future heat wave. A Steering Committee was established that provided coordination and oversight in addition to the Emergency Management Act within the state which provided the legislative framework during the heat-health policy development process. Although the decision-making authority was controlled by a controlled by a public institution, to a larger extent, there was collaborative decision-making by virtue of the context in which the heat-health policy was developed. An assurance mechanism established during the process was among the factors that ensured accountability during the participatory process. Overall, the development of the heat-health policy in Adelaide was largely successful, attributed to the extent of political commitment from the state government and the sound institutional and legislative framework that facilitated the process. Good governance and institutional arrangements provide the enabling environment, the structures, systems and resources that would facilitate the development of adaptation strategies such as heat-health policies.     

亚洲环境执政理论与实践

发展中国家环境执政能力问题越来越引起人们的关注.在界定环境执政能力概念的基础上,分析了亚洲国家环境执政能力状况以解释这些国家面临的环境问题,并尝试分析亚洲国家环境管理从传统手段向市场手段转变的推动因素,最后提出了亚洲国家转向环境良治的扩大和加强区域、国家和地区机构网络,促进环境政策制定执行过程中权力的下放和向地方政府的转移,增加国家立法和其他政策制定机构中环境非政府组织和社区组织成员的比例,运用战略环境评价和战略环境管理理念,关注中小型企业遵守环境法规等政策、措施方面的建议.     

Combining internal and external motivations in multi-actor governance arrangements for biodiversity and ecosystem services

This paper analyses the possibility of building a mutually supportive dynamics between internally and externally motivated behaviour for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision. To this purpose a face to face survey amongst 169 key actors of 34 highly successful and prominent biodiversity arrangements in seven EU countries was conducted. The main finding of the paper is the feasibility of combining inherently intrinsically motivated behaviours (providing enjoyment, pleasure from experimentation and learning, aesthetic satisfaction) and internalized extrinsic motivations (related to the identification with the collective goals of conservation policy) through a common set of governance features. Successful initiatives that combine internal and external motivations share the following features: inclusive decision making processes, a broad monitoring by “peers” beyond the core staff of the initiatives, and a context that is supportive for the building of autonomous actor competences. These findings are in line with the psycho-sociological theory of motivation, which shows the importance of a psycho-social context leading to a subjective perception of autonomy and a sense of competence of the actors.     

国际贸易“碳中和”研究热点领域及其动向

碳中和是世界各国面临的共同问题。经济全球化与贸易自由化背景下国际贸易总量快速增长,伴随着深度国际分工与产业转移,贸易产品的生产者与消费者在陆表形成严重的空间位移。利用文献计量软件CiteSpace分析国际贸易主题下碳中和相关文献,揭示国际贸易“碳中和”研究动向。研究发现：（1）温室气体在全球范围时空演变,使跨区域、多尺度的全球碳治理变得更加复杂,发达国家将高污染与低价值链产业转移至各发展中国家,以生产者责任划分的碳核算原则不再适用于国际贸易合作。（2）进出口贸易逐渐成为新兴经济体经济发展动力,全球碳治理应转向新兴经济体与区域一体化,全球气候政策设计应遵守国际碳市场公平性底线,不断优化碳排放量核算体系,完善碳会计方法,模拟全球碳减排预期效果。重点提高产业部门碳减排意识和产业清洁技术及能源利用效率,利用多种手段改变生态系统的增汇减碳能力。新兴经济体在承接发达国家技术援助同时,应重点关注本国能源产业,发展可再生能源产业,提高能源的利用效率,并运用经济政策与金融工具促进本国的气候变化投融资产业发展。全球碳治理应更加注重公平性与国家间的经济发展、环境资源差异,利用多样的碳治理工具与协商合作方式,促使更多国家参与全球化或区域一体化的碳治理模式。（3）中国亟待通过国内多产业、多部门的增汇减排与国际碳减排、碳中和实践,健全碳市场机制,提高碳治理水平,为国际碳治理合作提供“最大公约数”。     

Towards a framework to assess,compare and develop monitoring and evaluation of climate change adaptation in Europe

Adaptation is increasingly recognised as essential when dealing with the adverse impacts of climate change on societies, economies and the environment. However, there is insufficient information about the effectiveness of adaption policies, measures and actions. For this reason, the establishment of monitoring programmes is considered to be necessary. Such programmes can contribute to knowledge, learning and data to support adaptation governance. In the European Union (EU), member states are encouraged to develop National Adaptation Strategies (NASs). The NASs developed so far vary widely because of differing views, approaches and policies. A number of member states have progressed to monitoring and evaluating the implementation of their NAS. It is possible to identify key elements in these monitoring programmes that can inform the wider policy learning process. In this paper, four generic building blocks for creating a monitoring and evaluation programme are proposed: (1) definition of the system of interest, (2) selection of a set of indicators, (3) identification of the organisations responsible for monitoring and (4) definition of monitoring and evaluation procedures. The monitoring programmes for NAS in three member states—Finland, the UK and Germany—were analysed to show how these elements have been used in practice, taking into account their specific contexts. It is asserted that the provision of a common framework incorporating these elements will help other member states and organisations within them in setting up and improving their adaptation monitoring programmes.     

国外污染物释放和转移登记(PRTR)制度比较研究及启示

污染物释放和转移登记（Pollutant Release and Transfer Register,PRTR）制度是国际上重要的化学品环境管理制度,对推动化学品环境安全管理、企业环境信息公开和污染减排具有重要作用.我国虽开展过相关试点工作,但尚未真正建立起PRTR制度.借鉴国际经验,建立我国PRTR制度,对补齐有毒有害化学品环境管理短板以及构建多方共治的现代化环境管理体系十分必要.该研究选取国际上7个规模较大且相对完善的PRTR制度作为研究对象,并选择两种特定的化学物质——汞和含汞化合物以及苯,对研究对象的核心技术要素进行横向对比,结果表明:研究对象的共同点为按照一套工业分类系统界定出需要管理的行业范围,设置分类管控的化学品清单,以及对不同化学品设定具体的报告阈值;不同点为覆盖化学品种类和分类方式不同以及报告阈值表征方式不同,且同一特定化学品的阈值设定不同,甚至差别较大.基于对比研究结果,总结国际经验,提出了建立实施我国PRTR制度的相关建议:①制定完善的PRTR核心技术体系,包括按照《国民经济行业分类》界定覆盖行业范围,参考加拿大和墨西哥PRTR制度设置分类管控的化学品清单,结合使用释放量阈值、生产加工和以其他方式使用量（MPO）阈值、企业规模阈值等表征方式分类设置化学品报告阈值;②从法律政策、社会认知和试点实践等方面逐步推动建立PRTR制度;③加强与美国、加拿大、欧盟和经合组织（OECD）等国家和组织的沟通合作,强化我国PRTR制度设计的国际规范性.      

The institutions-adaptive capacity nexus: Insights from coastal resources co-management in Cambodia and Vietnam

Responding to the unprecedented social-environmental change facing humankind will require responsive and flexible governance institutions (i.e., systems of rules and social norms) that facilitate adaptive capacity of individuals, groups and organisations. This may explain the sustained interest in the institutional dimensions of adaptive capacity. However, a better understanding of how institutions may enable adaptive capacity is still evolving. The literature is yet to clearly articulate how institutions relate to attributes of adaptive capacity. This study contributes to address this knowledge gap; it employs an evaluative approach that underscores the relationship between types of institutions and attributes of adaptive capacity (i.e., variety, learning capacity, autonomy, leadership, resources and fair governance). Such approach is used to examine how institutions enable adaptive capacity in the context of coastal resources co-managemen in the Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary (Cambodia) and Tam Giang Lagoon (Vietnam). In this study, complexity emerges as a defining feature of adaptive capacity. It results from the relationship between institutions and adaptive capacity and the contextual factors in which such relationship takes place. Exercises aiming to assess adaptive capacity should consider the institutions-adaptive capacity nexus together with the embedding social, cultural and political context.     

National greenhouse gas inventory capacity: An assessment of Asian developing countries

The transparency framework of the Paris Agreement (PA) will be elaborated from the existing arrangements under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Yet, the capacities of developing countries to regularly report national GHG inventories vary, and their needs for capacity building are closely linked with efforts and achievements of previous inventory preparation. The purpose of this study was to analyze the status and changes in the capacity of 37 developing countries in Asia by using a matrix of capacity-indicators. Indicators were composed for four assessment categories: (1) international engagement of a country in the GHG inventory-related process; (2) institutional capacity to produce a GHG inventory; (3) existing technical capacity available to develop a GHG inventory; and (4) actual technical capacity applied to produce a GHG inventory. The paper also analyzed the scale of international support and variations in meeting with capacity building needs. Eleven countries were identified as having low capacity over time, while 9 improved their capacity. Seventeen countries, including 7 countries with established capacity, continuously had relatively high capacity over time. International support was scarce in the majority of Asian developing countries with the most capacity building needs. Improvements in basic technical capacity available for GHG inventory preparation, such as statistics and the scientific expertise, were found to be a key necessity for countries to respond to the PA’s enhanced transparency framework. Based on these findings, the study recommended increasing support for improvements in basic technical capacity, especially in countries where existing capacity is low and support is limited. Such capacity building efforts are also beneficial for countries to form and implement nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and other economic and development policies.     

中韩合作助力东北亚蓝天

中韩两国乃至整个东北亚都面临空气质量改善的紧迫需求和挑战,大气污染防治领域的交流合作成为国际社会环境合作的热点议题. 为共同应对雾霾挑战,2019年以来,中韩两国通过密切交流合作,探索形成了一套以合作机制创新、共同平台建设、旗舰项目打造、互助联合研究等为主体的务实高效的合作范式,打破了双方在组织、地域、学科、信息、技术等方面的“五大壁垒”,实现了政策、技术、数据、信息、成果等共享,助力了两国空气质量改善,也推动了东北亚区域空气质量整体改善,为推动构建人类命运共同体在区域层面的实践提供了生态环境领域的宝贵经验. 本文在分析阐释2015—2019年中韩两国空气质量改善的紧迫需求和挑战的基础上,全面总结2019—2021年中韩大气领域合作进展和成果,以及合作过程中形成的具有全局性、前瞻性和可复制性的合作范式,阐明双方在提升两国大气污染治理能力、助力空气质量改善、切实回应社会关注问题实现增信释疑、支撑多边环境外交等方面的合作成效,并基于东北亚大气环境治理需求和面临的新形势,提出加强东北亚区域合作的展望和建议,建议未来两国应持续打造和推广中韩大气领域双边合作范式,积极推动建立“中韩+”环境合作新格局,为东北亚乃至全球大气环境治理贡献中韩智慧和方案.      

昆明市环境承载力空间管治研究

根据环境承载力的现状及其分布,为昆明市的城市可持续发展合理利用环境承载力,制订差别化产业发展和环境保护政策,提出了昆明市环境承载力空间管治分区及管治策略,为形成合理的空间开发结构提供科学依据和技术支撑.