生态补偿理论研究进展

生态补偿是生态经济学领域的一个研究热点,研究者、决策者和实践者都将生态补偿视为应对生态系统退化的有效政策工具。围绕生态补偿的定义、补偿客体、生态补偿主体、补偿标准和方式,学术界进行了大量研究,形成了市场交易、生态经济、税收补贴和社会制度等多种生态补偿理论框架。但是,由于这些理论存在不同程度的缺陷,在实践中难以避免挤出效应、外溢效应、交易费用高等问题,也不利于协调效率、效益和公平之间的关系。构建具有普遍适用性和可操作性的生态补偿理论框架,需要研究如何将生态服务纳入经济学的总供给和总需求分析模型,提出简便易行的生态服务价值综合评估方法,统一生态服务价值与经济领域价值计量的基础,从生态、经济和社会的综合维度研究针对不同生态服务补偿机制的有效尺度。     

Effects of spatial and temporal scales on cultural services valuation

The monetary valuation of ecosystem services has proved to be a powerful tool for influencing management decisions, as it can be used to quantify the relative importance of various ecosystem functions. However, these valuation methods are rarely implemented with adequate care; in particular, they do not consider spatial and temporal variations in the services offered and demanded. This paper examines the effect of heterogeneity on the valuation of cultural services offered by the Doñana natural protected area in Spain. We apply the zonal travel cost method at various spatial scales, and the individual travel cost method at various temporal scales. We conclude that economic valuation techniques must account for spatial and temporal heterogeneity if they are to provide accurate and realistic information.     

生态灾害与弱势群体

从自然和社会两个角度来划分,可以把生态灾害划分为自然性生态灾害和社会性生态灾害。生态灾害与弱势群体有一定的关联:生态灾害会催生灾害性弱势群体;由于弱势群体在社会系统中总是处在相对恶劣的环境之中,也缺乏必要的资源保护自己,在发生生态灾害时,弱势群体往往最受损害。需要用科学发展观指导环境生态建设,也要在建设生态文明的视角下加大保护弱势群体的力度。     

Developing a spatial framework of common ecological regions for the conterminous United States

In 1996, nine federal agencies with mandates to inventory and manage the nation's land, water, and biological resources signed a memorandum of understanding entitled “Developing a Spatial Framework of Ecological Units of The United States.” This spatial framework is the basis for interagency coordination and collaboration in the development of ecosystem management strategies. One of the objectives in this memorandum is the development of a map of common ecological regions for the conterminous United States. The regions defined in the spatial framework will be areas within which biotic, abiotic, terrestrial, and aquatic capacities and potentials are similar. The agencies agreed to begin by exploring areas of agreement and disagreement in three federal natural-resource spatial frameworks—Major Land Resource Areas of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Hierarchy of Ecological Units of the USDA Forest Service, and Level III Ecoregions of the US Environmental Protection Agency. The explicit intention is that the framework will foster an ecological understanding of the landscape, rather than an understanding based on a single resource, single discipline, or single agency perspective. This paper describes the origin, capabilities, and limitations of three major federal agency frameworks and suggests why a common ecological framework is desirable. The scientific and programmatic benefits of common ecological regions are described, and a proposed process for development of the common framework is presented.     

Establishing standards and assessment criteria for ecological instream flow needs in agricultural regions of Canada

Agricultural land use can place heavy demands on regional water resources, strongly influencing the quantity and timing of water flows needed to sustain natural ecosystems. The effects of agricultural practices on streamflow conditions are multifaceted, as they also contribute to the severity of impacts arising from other stressors within the river ecosystem. Thus, river scientists need to determine the quantity of water required to sustain important aquatic ecosystem components and ecological services, to support wise apportionment of water for agricultural use. It is now apparent that arbitrarily defined minimum flows are inadequate for this task because the complex habitat requirements of the biota, which underpin the structure and function of a river ecosystem, are strongly influenced by predictable temporal variations in flow. We present an alternative framework for establishing a first-level, regional ecological instream flow needs standard based on adoption of the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration/Range of Variability Approach as a broadly applicable hydrological assessment tool, coupling this to the Canadian Ecological Flow Index which assesses ecological responses to hydrological alteration. By explicitly incorporating a new field-based ecological assessment tool for small agricultural streams, we provide a necessary verification of altered hydrology that is broadly applicable within Canada and essential to ensure the continuous feedback between the application of flow management criteria and ecological condition.     

A Framework for Net Environmental Benefit Analysis for Remediation or Restoration of Contaminated Sites

Net environmental benefits are gains in value of environmental services or other ecological properties attained by remediation or ecological restoration minus the value of adverse environmental effects caused by those actions. Net environmental benefit analysis (NEBA) is a methodology for comparing and ranking net environmental benefits associated with multiple management alternatives. A NEBA for chemically contaminated sites typically involves comparison of several management alternatives: (1) leaving contamination in place; (2) physically, chemically, or biologically remediating the site through traditional means; (3) improving ecological value through onsite and offsite restoration alternatives that do not directly focus on removal of chemical contamination; or (4) a combination of those alternatives. NEBA involves activities that are common to remedial alternatives analysis for state regulations and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, post-closure and corrective action permits under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, evaluation of generic types of response actions pertinent to the Oil Pollution Act, and land management actions that are negotiated with regulatory agencies in flexible regulatory environments (i.e., valuing environmental services or other ecological properties, assessing adverse impacts, and evaluating remediation or restoration options). This article presents a high-level framework for NEBA at contaminated sites with subframeworks for natural attenuation (the contaminated reference state), remediation, and ecological restoration alternatives. Primary information gaps related to NEBA include nonmonetary valuation methods, exposure–response models for all stressors, the temporal dynamics of ecological recovery, and optimal strategies for ecological restoration.Published online     

后疫情时期全国碳市场政策对经济和排放的影响

新冠肺炎疫情暴发一年多以来,国际国内形势仍面临极大不确定性。疫情显著降低了短期排放水平,但是经济恢复政策和疫情发展形势的不确定使得对未来经济发展和碳排放的判断变得复杂,碳排放是否会反弹对实现《巴黎协定》目标造成挑战,已经投入运行的全国碳市场能多大程度发挥政策效果等问题值得关注。本文首先定量评估了疫情对经济和环境的短期和长期的影响,基于此分析疫情后全国碳市场政策的实施效果。结果显示:疫情造成中国经济活动以及碳排放短期显著下降,2020年中国全年的GDP增长较基准情景下降3.84%,能源消费和碳排放分别较基准情景下降4.47%和5.12%。但是,接下来的十年内,GDP会逐渐恢复至基准情景,累计碳排放较基准情景增加0.06%。在没有其他气候政策干预的情况下,疫情带来的短期减排效应不足以保障中国各项气候目标的实现,落实碳市场政策十分必要。疫情之后启动全国碳市场,可以促进投资、减少能源使用和碳排放,到2030年,能源消费将下降7.44%,碳排放下降10.49%,碳价为229.73元/t。国外疫情若在2021年还不能得到控制,将会继续影响中国的对外贸易,使得中国GDP损失略有提高,但不会改变国内疫情之后经济恢复的大趋势。     

自然资源资产负债表编制的理论与实践

自然资源资产负债表在国内外都是一个全新的课题,然而学术界关于自然资源核算、环境经济核算、国家资产负债表编制和生态系统服务评估等方向的研究由来已久,为我国自然资源资产负债表的编制提供了大量可资借鉴的学术成果。本文在综述相关领域研究进展的基础上,基于会计学、经济学、资源环境科学等学科视角论述了自然资源资产负债表编制的理论基础,辨析了自然资源资产、负债和净资产等核心概念的内涵,从基本假设、表式结构、数据来源等方面探讨了自然资源资产负债表的框架体系,并回顾了当前自然资源资产负债表编制的实践经验,以期为深化自然资源资产负债表研究提供科学参考。     

Associating Ecosystem Service Losses with Indicators of Toxicity in Habitat Equivalency Analysis

Habitat equivalency analysis (HEA) was developed as a tool to scale mitigation or restoration when habitat is contaminated by hazardous substances or has been otherwise harmed by anthropogenic activities. Applying HEA involves balancing reductions in habitat quality against gains from restoration actions, and quantifying changes in habitat quality in terms of ecological services. We propose a framework for developing ecological service definitions and measures that incorporate knowledge about the impacts of chemical contaminants on biota. We describe a general model for integrating multiple lines of evidence about the toxicity of hazardous substances to allow mapping of toxicological inputs to ecological service losses. We provide an example of how this framework might be used in a HEA that quantifies ecological services provided by estuarine sediments contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.     

Ecosystem management to achieve ecological sustainability: The case of South Florida

The ecosystems of South Florida are unique in the world. The defining features of the natural Everglades (large spatial scale, temporal patterns of water storage and sheetflow, and low nutrient levels) historically allowed a mosaic of habitats with characteristic animals. Massive hydrological alterations have halved the Everglades, and ecological sustainability requires fundamental changes in management.The US Man and the Biosphere Human-Dominated Systems Directorate is conducting a case study of South Florida using ecosystem management as a framework for exploring options for mutually dependent sustainability of society and the environment. A new methodology was developed to specify sustainability goals, characterize human factors affecting the ecosystem, and conduct scenario/consequence analyses to examine ecological and societal implications. South Florida has sufficient water for urban, agricultural, and ecological needs, but most water drains to the sea through the system of canals; thus, the issue is not competition for resources but storage and management of water. The goal is to reestablish the natural system for water quantity, timing, and distribution over a sufficient area to restore the essence of the Everglades.The societal sustainability in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) is at risk because of soil degradation, vulnerability of sugar price supports, policies affecting Cuban sugar imports, and political/economic forces aligned against sugar production. One scenario suggested using the EAA for water storage while under private sugar production, thereby linking sustainability of the ecological system with societal sustainability. Further analyses are needed, but the US MAB project suggests achieving ecological sustainability consistent with societal sustainability may be feasible.