Drinking water quality governance: A comparative case study of Brazil,Ecuador, and Malawi

Human health is greatly affected by inadequate access to sufficient and safe drinking water, especially in low and middle-income countries. Drinking water governance improvements may be one way to better drinking water quality. Over the past decade, many projects and international organizations have been dedicated to water governance; however, water governance in the drinking water sector is understudied and how to improve water governance remains unclear. We analyze drinking water governance challenges in three countries – Brazil, Ecuador, and Malawi – as perceived by government, service providers, and civil society organizations. A mixed methods approach was used: a clustering model was used for country selection and qualitative semi-structured interviews were used with direct observation in data collection. The clustering model integrated political, economic, social and environmental variables that impact water sector performance, to group countries. Brazil, Ecuador and Malawi were selected with the model so as to represent the diversity of the clusters. This comparative case study is important because similar challenges are identified in the drinking water sectors of each country; while, the countries represent diverse socio-economic and political contexts, and the case selection process provides generalizability to our results. We find that access to safe water could be improved if certain water governance challenges were addressed: coordination and data sharing between ministries that deal with drinking water services; monitoring and enforcement of water quality laws; and sufficient technical capacity to improve administrative and technical management of water services at the local level. From an analysis of our field research, we also developed a conceptual framework that identifies policy levers that could be used to influence governance of drinking water quality on national and sub-national levels, and the relationships between these levers.     

Collaborative governance and adaptive management: Lessons from California's CALFED Water Program

Both for its technological and institutional innovations and for its history of conflicts, California's water system has been one of the most observed in the world. This article and this Special Issue on the CALFED Bay-Delta Program continue in this tradition. CALFED is likely the most ambitious experiment in collaborative environmental policy and adaptive management the world has seen to date. This Issue moves beyond the celebratory tone of other analyses of collaborative, adaptive management and looks closer into how collaborative networks work to produce innovation, and more importantly to reflect also on their inherent contradictions, limitations and “dark sides”. While collaborative governance enhances mutual understandings and can be a source of innovation, it appears ill-suited to resolve alone the distributive dilemmas at the core of many water – and other environmental – conflicts. A lacuna in existing research concerns the institutional design of effective boundaries and linkages between democratic politics, legitimate authority, and adaptive governance, i.e. the mix of institutions that can provide sufficient responsibility, accountability and democratic legitimacy, without choking off the self-organizing interaction, shared learning, and communication that is at the heart of collaboration. A painful realization in the Delta is that environmental conservation and further growth may be fundamentally at odds; efficient win–win solutions, institutional or technological, seem insufficient to satisfy the competing demands posed upon the system. Radical decisions and changes might be necessary, but they seem unlikely under current institutional arrangements and political conditions.     

Using adaptive governance to rethink the way science supports Australian drought policy

In this paper we show how ideas from a longstanding but little recognised literature on adaptive governance can be used to rethink the way science supports Australian drought policy. We compare and contrast alternative ways of using science to support policy in order to critique traditional commentary on Australian drought policy. We find that criticism from narrow disciplinary and institutional perspectives has provided few practical options for policy makers managing these complex and interacting goals. In contrast, ideas from a longstanding but little recognised literature on adaptive governance have potential to create innovative policy options for addressing the multiple interacting goals of Australian drought policy.From an adaptive governance perspective, the deep concern held by Australian society for rural communities affected by drought can be viewed as a common property resource that can be sustainably managed by governments in cooperation with rural communities. Managing drought assistance as a common property resource can be facilitated through nested and polycentric systems of governance similar to those that have already evolved in other arenas of natural resource management in Australia, such as Landcare groups and Catchment Management Authorities. Essential to delivering these options is the creation of flexible, regionally distributed scientific support for drought policy capable of integrating local knowledge and informing the livelihood outcomes of critical importance to governments and rural communities.     

Knowledge governance for ecosystem-based management: Understanding its context-dependency

The governance of knowledge is a crucial element of ecosystem-based management (EBM) and is deemed important for its effectiveness. In this paper we analyze from an empirical perspective how the governance of knowledge in different EBM practices is organized and with what consequences. Based upon four different case studies – all derived from the Wadden Sea – which resemble different contexts (in terms of available knowledge and level of conflict) we reconstruct four different ways of knowledge governance. These four approaches are labeled the database, the alignment, the assessment and the holistic approach. These approaches differ in how the interaction between knowledge production and decision-making is organized. They show different degrees of success, partly related to the extent to which they fit in the context in which they are applied. Understanding the differences in contexts in which knowledge for EBM has to be organized, can help decision-makers to apply the most suitable way of knowledge governance in their specific case. In cases of low conflict and high knowledge capacity a more static, one-directional way of knowledge governance can suffice, while in more complex contexts a holistic approach seems to be necessary.     

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.     

The role of business in sustainable consumption

This paper explores the role of the business community in promoting sustainable consumption. While businesses play an important role in shaping social trends, including the growth of material consumption, allegations that individual corporations wield excessive power may have been overstated. Most of the time corporations are simply playing by the rules and culture of the market.Businesses have mostly assumed that their contribution to sustainability lies in improving eco-efficiency—staying within the current business framework. But sustainable consumption will require wider change, including shifts in the incentives that shape the actions of businesses and others, and a change in the culture that underlies market expectations. Firms, governments, the media and civil society may need to enter a dialogue together to develop a new story about the nature of prosperity and the role of the business community in promoting it. The initiative is most likely to come from civil society.     

Stakeholder involvement in strategic adaptation planning: Transdisciplinarity and co-production at stake?

To address increasing climatic variability and extremes, cities are gradually forced to develop climate change adaptation strategies that can ensure a continuous and transformative adaptation process. There is widespread consensus that the sustainable establishment of such strategies requires transdisciplinary approaches, that is, the involvement of internal and external stakeholders (state, civil society and market actors) to become part of the change and find innovative ways to unite their efforts and capacities. However, there is little research and hardly any empirical evidence on the process of stakeholder involvement and co-production in the development of municipal adaptation strategies. Against this background, this paper examines the factors that influence how and why different stakeholders are involved (or excluded) during the processes of developing adaptation strategies, and how this gets reflected in process outcomes. Based on applied participatory analysis of two pioneering municipalities in Germany and Sweden, the paper identifies and contrasts existing patterns to feed back into both theory and practice. Synergies, mismatches, barriers and driving forces for adaptation co-production are identified and contrasted with current adaptation discourses. The results highlight how the level of internal and external stakeholder involvement is conditional on (changes in) the broader governance context, and the associated power constellations in which stakeholders act (e.g., standing of departments, proximity to the decision-making body, changes in [or constellations of] political parties, contractual arrangements for staff, individual champions, progress in mainstreaming). On this basis, conclusions are drawn regarding how to foster sustainable and transformative adaptation through increased stakeholder involvement. The results and conclusions are crucial to advance theory on adaptation co-production, providing a basis for further analyses, research and action. They inform how existing theory, policies and/or guidelines for strategic adaptation planning need to be revisited to support change across current risk governance.     

Ecological modernisation: new perspectives

“Ecological modernisation” – understood as systematic eco-innovation and its diffusion – has by far the largest potential to achieve environmental improvements. In general, the market logic of modernisation and competition for innovation combined with the market potential of global environmental needs serve as important driving forces behind “ecological modernisation”. In recent times, however, additional factors like rising energy prices or fears from climate change have favoured the rise of this innovation-based approach to environmental policy. The article deals with two special driving forces: first, there is growing evidence for the importance of “smart” environmental regulation. Secondly, the increasingly complex actor constellation of global environmental governance leads to mounting business risks for polluters and thereby exerts pressure for eco-innovation.Despite these favourable framework conditions, the strategy of “ecological modernisation” nonetheless faces a number of inherent limitations. These include the unavailability of marketable technological solutions for relevant environmental problems like the loss of species, the rebound effect neutralising the incremental environmental improvements through economic growth (the dilemma of the “N-curve”) as well as resistance by “modernisation losers”. Against this background, structural solutions seem indispensable. Here, eco-innovations should be supported by transition management or ecological structural policy.     

治理现代化目标下国家空间规划体系的变迁与重构

基于治理理论,从中央—地方以及政府—市场关系维度,分别揭示了西方发达国家和我国空间规划体系在国家治理变迁影响下的演变历程与总体趋向。国土空间规划是我国面向生态文明建设的重要制度变革与治理体系重构的举措,但是面向国家治理现代化目标,未来我国国土空间规划体系再建构还必须重视三个方面的问题：（1）充分理解“国土空间”的多元价值属性,重视国土空间规划对多元目标的统筹平衡,不能把空间简单化为“自然资源”载体,谨防规划蜕化为单纯的“资源环境管控技术工具”;（2）集权与分权相结合,建立与政府事权相对应、层级差异有序的空间规划体系;（3）高度重视规划研究和非法定规划的作用,为空间规划的科学性提供有力支撑。     

排污权交易试点总体工作框架研究

通过调研分析排污权交易试点省市的业务工作,对省级排污权交易管理工作进行研究阐述,从整体的角度提出排污权交易管理工作的目标定位、总体工作框架和数据逻辑,提出排污权交易目前需要解决的重点问题,为排污权交易由试点转向全国推广积累经验.     

The institutional logic of life cycle thinking

This article considers the role of LCA in environmental management and policy. Organization theory and the social studies of science and technology are drawn on to gain an understanding of LCA as not only an instrumental tool, but also as an emerging institutional logic that influences the way environmental problems, and responsibility for them, are conceptualized. Empirical data from interviews with wholesale-retail purchasers are used to illustrate how the life cycle approach influences economic agents. The article concludes with a discussion of whether the life cycle approach has the power to infuse more responsibility into atomistic and fragmented markets.     

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.     

Institutionalising social learning: Towards systemic and adaptive governance

This paper critically examines how public policy makers limit policy and other institutional design choices by a failure to appreciate (i) how situations may be characterised or framed; (ii) how practices that generate neologisms (invented terms or concepts) or reify (make into a thing) abstract concepts can displace understandings, and (iii) the epistemological bases of governance mechanism choices. An inquiry into the coining of the neologisms ‘wicked’ and ‘tame’ problems is reported and the implications for research and policy practice explored. As practices, neologising, reifying, categorising and typologising have unintended consequences – they remove us from the primary experiences and underlying emotions that provided the motivation for formulating these concepts in the first place. The failure to institutionalise the understandings and experiences that sit behind the invention of the terms ‘wicked’ and ‘tame’ problems (or similar framing choices such as ‘problematique’, ‘messes’, ‘lowland real-life swamps’, ‘resource dilemmas’ or ‘complex adaptive systems’) present systemic constraints to institutionalising social learning as an alternative yet complementary governance mechanism within an overall systemic and adaptive governance framework. Ultimately situations usefully framed as ‘wicked’,’ such as water managing and climate change are problems of relationship – of human beings with the biosphere. Re-framings, such as institutions as social technologies and other research and praxis traditions concerned with the breakdown of relationships may offer ways forward in the purposeful designing and crafting of more effective institutions.     

沈阳市生态文明体制改革规划研究

以制度体制推进环境管理的有效性,是改善环境质量、解决环境问题及实现绿色发展最为直接且经济有效的手段。通过规划,对现有生态环境制度体系存在问题进行分析,提出沈阳市制度体制改革内容,明确改革方向。设计以空间管控、生态补偿、环境监管、治理市场、绩效追责、公众参与为核心,以绿色环保产业为承接的沈阳市"6+1"生态文明制度体系,明晰政府部门责任,建立联动机制,将单项制度孤岛联系起来,以制度创新及制度体系构建推动环境管理制度改革及沈阳市生态文明建设。     

Conflicts and security in integrated water resources management

Water sector reforms based on the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) are criticized for not considering context, local realities or legitimacy during the implementation of water sector reforms. Universal remedies of IWRM can thus lead to resistance, conflicts and ultimately failures of interventions. This paper examines how conflicts and disharmony can be addressed by IWRM's instruments. It conceptualizes institutional security as a highly relevant issue to be addressed during water management interventions. Further, the paper advocates a reform of the holistic concept of IWRM to incorporate ‘peace and security’ as a new pillar of water management based on a broad understanding of societal goals that are embedded in the principles of good governance and sustainable development. It also reviews recent criticism of and debates in IWRM and explains the advantages of expanding the normative idea behind it.     

Collaboration mobilises institutions with scale-dependent comparative advantage in landscape-scale biodiversity conservation

Landscape-scale approaches are emerging as central to ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation globally, triggering the requirement for collaboration between multiple actors and associated risks including knowledge asymmetries; institutional fragmentation; uncertainty; power imbalances; “invisible” slow-changing variables; and entrenched socio-economic inequities. While social science has elucidated some dimensions required for effective collaboration, little is known about how collaboration manages these risks, or of its effects on associated social-ecological linkages. Our analysis of four different Australian contexts of collaboration shows they mobilised institutions matched to addressing environmental threats, at diverse scales across regulatory and non-regulatory domains. The institutions mobilised included national regulatory controls on development that threatened habitat, incentives to farmers for practice-change, and mechanisms that increased resources for on-ground fire and pest management. Knowledge-sharing underpinned effective risk management and was facilitated through the use of boundary objects, enhanced multi-stakeholder peer review processes, interactive spatial platforms, and Aboriginal-driven planning. Institutions mobilised in these collaborations show scale-dependent comparative advantage for addressing environmental threats. The findings confirm the need to shift scientific attention away from theorising about the ideal-scale for governance. We argue instead for a focus on understanding how knowledge-sharing activities across multiple scales can more effectively connect environmental threats with the most capable institution to address these threats.     

降尺度与融合化：环境空间管控转型与体系优化——代“环境空间管控研究”专栏序言

由于经济增长与污染物排放增加尚未脱钩，当前中国环境保护与污染防治的结构性、根源性压力尚未根本缓解，在生产生活污染源头治理上仍然面临排污基数大、溢出效应强、空间跨度广等难题，亟需强化污染源管控精准落地、建立健全面向污染源头的环境空间管控体系，以降尺度与融合化空间管控形成更加精准、严格、高效的环境空间管控制度，系统提升环境空间治理效能.本文基于区域环境功能和环境承载力视角分析了环境空间管控体系的科学基点及优化逻辑，从降尺度建立分区分级管控体系、形成融合化环境管理机制、嵌入多层级国土空间规划体系、夯实环境空间管控信息化支撑等方面提出新时期环境空间管控转型与体系优化路径.此外，研究团队结合典型城市化地区和重点生态功能区的案例实证，从人类生产生活污染物排放过程和格局入手，按照"驱动机制解析—分区分类管控—环境效应评估"的主线设置了"环境空间管控研究"专栏，以期为污染物源头减排及环境空间管控技术方法探索、环境综合治理策略制定提供参考依据.     

Diversity of eco-innovations: Reflections from selected case studies

An analytical framework is developed in this paper in order to explore the diversity of eco-innovations according to several key dimensions (design, user, product service and governance). The framework is used to analyse a set of case studies of eco-innnovation processes. The diversity of the analysed eco-innovations appears to be considerable; each of them involves different kinds of combinations of elements pertaining to those dimensions. Albeit the design dimension is decisive to determine the environmental impacts of the innovation, all dimensions can play a significant role in the management of eco-innovation. Our findings suggest that the capacity of eco-innovations to provide new business opportunities and contribute to the transformation towards a sustainable society depends on the interplay of those dimensions and the engagement of key stakeholders in the innovation process.     

发电排污信息安全风险评估对水污染治理的影响研究

发电排污造成的水污染与日俱增,已经是生态环境领域中亟待解决的问题之一。对发电排污信息安全风险进行评估,分析其对水污染治理所产生的影响。在发电排污信息采样过程中,依照水体性能分布,重要水工构筑物与现有水文站点结合的方式,设置发电排污信息采样布点;通过滤纸将采集信息样本进行过滤,使用0.45μm滤膜,将样本中极小颗粒物和细菌微生物过滤;对发电排污风险进行分级,基于发电排污风险评估模型及风险分级结果,建立水污染分级治理标准;分别采用分片集中治理、分散治理及分级治理的水污染治理模式,实现因发电排污导致水污染的高效治理。     

Linking corporate climate adaptation strategies with resilience thinking

Within modern society, business organizations have a co-evolutionary relationship with society and ecosystems. Business organizations face highly diverse risks which they have to recognize, reflect on and handle. Climate change and its impacts clarify the need for managing overall system risk. Research has shown that climate vulnerability of business organizations in the German food industry is characterized by impacts that, in particular, affect business organizations indirectly. Indirect climate change caused impacts are complex, uncertain and characterized by a high degree of unpredictability. They focus on the derived social, ecological, economic and cultural consequences of the direct physical impacts from a worldwide perspective. This paper shows that introducing resilience thinking helps to identify strategic risks and opportunities coping with climate change caused impacts in sense of corporate climate adaptation strategies. Furthermore, it is shown from a strategic management perspective that mitigation is a profound element of long term adaptation strategies.