Assessing sustainability: An assessment framework to evaluate Agenda 21 actions at the local level

In Switzerland, communities are encouraged to define and to report on local Agenda 21. This paper presents an analysis framework to help local communities set sustainable development priorities and to follow through with appropriate actions. Four Swiss communities, from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, actively follow the project: Lausanne (114 304 citizens), Vevey (15 364 citizens), Mannens-Grandsivaz (505 citizens) and Essertines/Yverdon (666 citizens). The analysis framework developed is constituted of four interdependent fields: the societal characteristics, the individual or collective behaviours, the end objectives or sustainability impacts and the inhabitant's perception of these three fields. The link between society and behaviour can be studied through sociological analyses. The link between behaviour and environmental impact can be established thanks to Life Cycle analysis and Input/Output analyses. At each level, sustainable development indicators can be defined. As an application of the framework, the citizen energy consumption has been studied and expressed in energy slaves (= 3150 MJ/Year). A Swiss citizen needs altogether 69 slaves, 20 for his private consumption of goods and services, 19 for housing, 11 for transport, I1 for food and 8 for his consumption of public goods. If one fifth of the inhabitants of Lausanne, wanting to live closer to nature, actually moved out of town, the region would need 10 436 more slaves for 3500 persons happily living in the countryside.     

The influence of public transportation on housing values

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is becoming an increasingly common development strategy with potential consequences on property values. This study explores the potential relationship between the proximity to public transportation and housing values. The objective is achieved by performing a hedonic regression using the 2013 American Housing Survey (AHS) sample, which includes 25 metro areas. In 2013, the AHS added a topical supplement addressing public transportation issues which makes understanding public transportation impacts on housing values more feasible. In this study, being located within half a mile of a public transportation stop was a significant factor in explaining housing values for 6 out of 25 metro areas. This research is important to real estate practitioners operating within TODs as proximity to public transportation may significantly influence property values.     

生态住宅小区的水环境生态规划--以东莞"森林·湖"小区为例

生态住宅已成为住宅建设的发展趋势和潮流,水环境是生态住宅小区的重要组成部分.以东莞"森林·湖"生态住宅小区的建设为实例,探讨生态住宅小区的水环境规划,特别突出目前楼盘建设中缺少考虑的水环境生态综合技术、中水回用问题、开发进程中的水环境变化及其相应的生态策略,为生态住宅小区的水环境建设提供范例.     

生态住宅的水环境规划:I. 水循环

生态住宅已成为住宅建设的发展趋势和潮流,水环境是生态住宅小区的重要组成部分。文章以中信保利达美景度假区为实例,根据度假区建筑总体规划方案,结合当地自然条件和水环境现状,探讨生态住宅小区的水环境规划,全面统一规划住宅小区内各种水系统,提出小区水环境总体规划方案,充分发挥各系统的功能,使其相互衔接、协调与补充。重点对项目所在区域开发前后的水量平衡,水库的水位变化及其安全性,极端气候条件下的库区水量变化及其因应对策,高尔夫球道的用水方案以及项目开发后的水循环模型做了深入探讨,旨在为生态住宅的水环境建设提供范例。     

Achieving sustainable rural development in Southern China: the contribution of bamboo forestry

Bamboo forests, due to their special characteristics and ecological functions, play an important role in sustainable forest management and rural development in China. Over the past two decades, China has successfully established millions of hectares of bamboo forest, which has restored fragile ecosystems, provided benefits to local communities, alleviated rural poverty and eased timber shortages. However, there is potential for further improvements to the bamboo forest estate. This paper analyses the current state of bamboo forest resources and management, and the roles of the bamboo forest industry in social development, economic growth and ecosystem protection in China. We examine the main issues related to governance systems, local economic development and traditional management practices. Finally, we suggest some directions for future development.     

农户能源利用方式的选择与农村环境的变化:某贫困山村薪炭林利用案例研究

为了深入了解农户能源利用状况与农村环境的相互作用关系,对一个贫困山村进行了为期15天的实地考察。通过问卷调查,入户访谈等方式,收集了50余份问卷和大量原始数据、图片资料,发现当地农户在利用薪材能源作为燃料直接燃烧时并不会带来对当地森林资源的破坏,但能源利用效率不高;而在用薪材能源作为香菇培养基原料时显著地提高了能源利用效率,却也严重影响了当地森林资源的可持续利用。由此可见,能源利用方式的选择与农村环境的变化息息相关。为了保证农村能源的可持续利用,人们需要同时考虑农村环境的承载能力,这就决定了改善农户能源利用状况不能单纯以提高能源利用效率为目标。在结合当地客观条件,综合当地政府、当地农户的意见的基础上,提出了当地能源利用的最佳方向应该是:在不增加农民支出前提下,鼓励农民改善薪材能源的利用方式,力图达到提高能源利用效率和森林资源可持续利用的“双赢”目的。     

武汉居住区的能源利用与环境保护规划

针对武汉市冬季湿冷，夏季闷热的典型气候特点，探讨了统筹规划的武汉市住宅小区的能源利用怀环境保护的必要性和可行性。在对武汉市住区进行详细的现状分析后，明确提出了建设南北朝向的各式住宅，进行小区绿化与房顶绿化和发展区域锅炉房集中供热等节约能源，减轻大气污染，提高居室环境质量的规划措施。     

天津市农村能源建设与可持续发展战略探讨

本文针对天津市农村能源建设与可持续发展的关系及能源建设方向等问题,分析了天津市农村能源的现状与特征,从而提出能源与经济,环境协调发展,调整能源结构提高农村能源利用的新举措。     

River Chief System (RCS): An experiment on cross-sectoral coordination of watershed governance

The trans-regional characteristics of watershed governance produce more problems beyond the capacity of each individual water-related department, leading to the fragmentation of watershed management. The River Chief System (RCS) has experienced swift developments over the past decade in China by appointing the local government heads as river chiefs. RCS works efficiently in the short-term due to its superiority in the inclusion of clear responsibility, authority, and multi-sectoral collaboration. However, the characteristics of the authority-based vertical coordination of the hierarchical system remain unchanged, and therefore the problems of organizational logic and the responsibility dilemma still exist. Tasks including perfecting of laws, integrated watershed management, and public participation still need to be completed. RCS reflects the routine and characteristics of the migration of national governance, and as such provides new insights for other developing countries in the design of river management systems.     

Conservation Value of Clustered Housing Developments

Abstract:  Traditionally, exurban lands in Colorado have been subdivided into a grid of parcels ranging from 2 to 16 ha. From an ecological perspective, this dispersed pattern of development effectively maximizes the individual influence of each home on the land. Clustered housing developments, designed to maximize open space, are assumed to benefit plant and wildlife communities of conservation interest. They have become a popular alternative for rural development despite the lack of empirical evidence demonstrating their conservation benefits. To better inform rural land-use planning, we evaluated clustered housing developments by comparing their spatial pattern with that of dispersed housing developments and by comparing their conservation value with that of both dispersed housing developments and undeveloped areas in Boulder County, Colorado. We used four indicators to assess conservation value: (1) densities of songbirds, (2) nest density and survival of ground-nesting birds, (3) presence of mammals, and (4) percent cover and proportion of native and non-native plant species. Clustered and dispersed housing developments did not differ on the majority of variables we examined. Both types of housing development had significantly higher densities of non-native and human-commensal species and significantly lower densities of native and human-sensitive species than undeveloped areas. More rigorous ecological guidelines and planning on a regional scale may help create clustered developments with higher conservation value.     

Assessing the local economic impacts of land protection

Land protection, whether public or private, is often controversial at the local level because residents worry about lost economic activity. We used panel data and a quasi-experimental impact-evaluation approach to determine how key economic indicators were related to the percentage of land protected. Specifically, we estimated the impacts of public and private land protection based on local area employment and housing permits data from 5 periods spanning 1990–2015 for all major towns and cities in New England. To generate rigorous impact estimates, we modeled economic outcomes as a function of the percentage of land protected in the prior period, conditional on town fixed effects, metro-region trends, and controls for period and neighboring protection. Contrary to narratives that conservation depresses economic growth, land protection was associated with a modest increase in the number of people employed and in the labor force and did not affect new housing permits, population, or median income. Public and private protection led to different patterns of positive employment impacts at distances close to and far from cities, indicating the importance of investing in both types of land protection to increase local opportunities. The greatest magnitude of employment impacts was due to protection in more rural areas, where opportunities for both visitation and amenity-related economic growth may be greatest. Overall, we provide novel evidence that land protection can be compatible with local economic growth and illustrate a method that can be broadly applied to assess the net economic impacts of protection.     

Rural and Suburban Sprawl in the U.S. Midwest from 1940 to 2000 and Its Relation to Forest Fragmentation

Abstract:  Housing growth and its environmental effects pose major conservation challenges. We sought to (1) quantify spatial and temporal patterns of housing growth across the U.S. Midwest from 1940–2000, (2) identify ecoregions strongly affected by housing growth, (3) assess the extent to which forests occur near housing, and (4) relate housing to forest fragmentation. We used data from the 2000 U.S. Census to derive fine-scale backcasts of decadal housing density. Housing data were integrated with a 30-m resolution U.S. Geological Survey land cover classification. The number of housing units in the Midwest grew by 146% between 1940 and 2000. Spatially, housing growth was particularly strong at the fringe of metropolitan areas (suburban sprawl) and in nonmetropolitan areas (rural sprawl) that are rich in natural amenities such as lakes and forests. The medium-density housing (4–32 housing units/km²) category increased most in area. Temporally, suburban housing growth was especially high in the post-World War II decades. Rural sprawl was highest in the 1970s and 1990s. The majority of midwestern forests either contained or were near housing. Only 14.8% of the region's forests were in partial block groups with no housing. Housing density was negatively correlated with the amount of interior forest. The widespread and pervasive nature of sprawl shown by our data is cause for conservation concern. Suburban sprawl has major environmental impacts on comparatively small areas because of the high number of housing units involved. In contrast, rural sprawl affects larger areas but with less intensity because associated housing densities are lower. The environmental effects per house, however, are likely higher in the case of rural sprawl because it occurs in less-altered areas. Conservation efforts will need to address both types of sprawl to be successful.     

中国农业领域温室气体主要减排措施研究分析

气候变暖已成不争事实,主要是由于人为温室气体（GHG）排放增加所致,为减缓气候变暖趋势,各领域迫切需要采取减排措施;农业是一个重要的GHG排放源,农业领域采取减排措施对于减少我国GHG排放、保护农村生态环境有重要意义。文章在大量阅读前人研究结果的基础上,总结我国农业领域主要的减排管理措施,主要从农业活动、农村生活和生物质能源利用三方面进行阐述,并简要分析各措施的减排效果和存在问题。分析发现,农业活动的水肥管理是农田温室气体减排的研究热点,但由于地域和管理流程上的差异,对措施的减排效果尚存在争议;农村生活中存在巨大的减排潜力,采取恰当的减排措施不但可以减少GHG排放,还可以改善农村生态状况和环境卫生条件;农村生物质能源有很大发展潜力,合理开发利用,可以有效替代化石能源消耗,缓解能源危机,减少GHG排放,保护生态环境。总之,在农业领域采取积极的减排措施,有助于国家效应对气候变化,降低农业源污染和GHG排放,减轻环境压力,转换农业发展模式,加速农业现代化,促进农业生产的可持续发展和社会主义新农村建设。     

青海省干旱半干旱地区农村的能源问题

以青海省为例，探讨了我国西北干旱、半干旱地区农村的能源问题及其对自然生态环境的影响。针对青海省农村由于能源消费结构不合理，商品能源供应不足，生活能源利用率低下，可再生能源资源破坏严重等特点所引发的生态环境问题和社会问题，提出了解决青海省农村能源问题，保护生态环境的对策建议。     

Exurban development

Exurbia, the rural area beyond the built-up urban and contiguous suburban area, is being developed rapidly with attendant losses in habitat and ecosystem services. This paper analyzes a spatial dynamic model with two production technologies for residential development—municipal sewer service for suburban development and septic systems for exurban development. In outlying agricultural areas, the additional sewer extension costs can significantly reduce the value of agricultural land in suburban use. Exurban development, while at lower density, can occur immediately and requires only the onsite conversion costs of septic systems. Hence, the willingness to pay for exurban use from households with higher preferences for lot size may exceed the agricultural landowner's reservation price on future suburban use for a range of distances from the city boundary. This results in a “feasible zone” for exurban leapfrog development and another fundamental reason for scattered development in the urban–rural fringe.     

Socio‐economic benefits from protected areas in southeastern Australia

International case studies of protected area performance increasingly report that conservation and socio‐economic outcomes are interdependent. Effective conservation requires support and cooperation from local governments and communities, which in turn requires that protected areas contribute to the economic well‐being of the communities in which they are sited. Despite increasing recognition of their importance, robust studies that document the socio‐economic impacts of protected areas are rare, especially in the developed world context. We proposed 3 potential pathways through which protected areas might benefit local communities in the developed world: the improved local housing value, local business stimulus, and increased local funding pathways. We examined these pathways by undertaking a statistical longitudinal analysis of 110 regional and rural communities covering an area of approximately 600,000 km² in southeastern Australia. We compared trends in 10 socio‐economic indicators describing employment, income, housing, business development and local government revenue from 2000 to 2010. New protected areas acquisitions led to an increased number of new dwelling approvals and associated developer contributions, increased local business numbers, and increased local government revenue from user‐pays services and grants. Longer‐term effects of established protected areas included increased local council revenue from a variety of sources. Our findings provide support for each of our 3 proposed benefit pathways and contribute new insights into the cycling of benefits from protected areas through the economy over time. The business and legislative models in our study are typical of those operating in many other developed countries; thus, the benefit pathways reported in our study are likely to be generalizable. By identifying and communicating socio‐economic benefits from terrestrial protected areas in a developed world context, our findings represent an important step in securing local support and ongoing high‐level protection for key components of the world's biodiversity.     

Analysis of household energy consumption and related CO2 emissions in the disregarded villages of Lijiang City,China

Energy is one of the most important elements required for poverty alleviation and socioeconomic development, and it has a particularly strong impact on households in rural areas. An extensive survey on household energy consumption patterns that interrelates socioeconomic and demographic factors was conducted in the disregarded villages of Lijiang City by using the stratified random sampling technique for 120 households. This study focuses on household energy consumption and the related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the study area. Firewood, biogas, and electricity were identified as the main energy sources of the rural households. This study demonstrates that 100% of the households use firewood, 52% use biogas, and 95% use electricity as fuel types. On average, each household consumed 1752 kg of firewood, 280 m³ of biogas, and 392 kWh of electricity annually. All households generated an annual average amount of CO₂ emissions of 3851 kg, of which 85.08% come from firewood, 7.66% from biogas, and 7.26% from electricity. Family size, income, and educational level were found to be the major factors that influence CO₂ emissions. The results of this study may be useful in explaining the energy consumption characteristics in the rural areas of Lijiang City and are expected to be useful in policy formulation for energy consumption and environmental protection.     

城市化对北京霾日数影响统计分析

近年来,随着超大城市/城市群大气灰霾等复合污染加剧,引起人们对区域生态环境与及公共健康问题越来越多的关注。应用北京地区1980—2012年气候资料及同期城市发展统计指标,统计分析了城、郊区间霾日数的变化特征,并在此基础上探讨了北京城市化及局地气候差异对霾日数的影响。分析表明：北京城区霾日数要明显多于郊区,在2007年以前城、郊区站点均有相似的波动增长趋势,但城区站霾日数增加速率（约21 d/10 a）要远大于郊区站（约7.2 d/10 a）;北京各地霾日数与主要城市发展指数之间的相关系数均超过0.001显著性水平,随着城市化而迅速增加的能源消耗和机动车尾气排放是导致北京地区灰霾天气逐渐增多的主要污染源,污染源的不均匀分布是导致城、郊霾日数差异的主要因素。分析还发现,城市化导致的区域气候差异对局地灰霾亦有较明显的影响。伴随着城市化的快速发展,城、郊区气候差异逐渐变大,城市下垫面粗糙度增加导致近地面层风速减小。大城市热岛效应背景下,更容易出现较厚的逆温层,这将阻碍空气垂直方向的对流输送。此外,城区气温持续上升,相对湿度下降,平均风速减小,小风频率增加,也会阻碍空气的水平流通,使得城市排放颗粒污染物的扩散难以扩散,有利于霾日增加。这表明北京地区城市气候效应对区域生态环境具有不可忽视的影响。     

城市居住小区交通噪声的空间分布特征

根据实测所得交通流量和车型分布，采用预测为主、实测为辅的方法对典型居住小区进行了交通噪声预测与评价。对小区交通噪声的空间分布作了详细的分析，发现临街住宅交通噪声超标严重。另外，敏感点在建筑物中的朝向和楼层对交通噪声影响较大。上述空间分布规律对小区交通噪声评价与防治具有指导意义。     

宁波市公众环境意识调查与分析

公众环境意识是一个国家和民族文明程度的重要标志,它从各个方面反映出所调查地区的环境现状、公众对环境问题的认知、环保素质和环保行为,能够为政府的宏观决策提供依据。文章在数据分析的基础上,阐述了宁波市公众在地区环境问题、公民环境责任、环保支付意愿、绿色消费和固体废物收集处理等方面的调查结果,并给出了结论和建议。