Planning,governance and rural futures in Australia and the USA: revisiting the case for rural regional planning

Rural regions in post-industrial countries confront significant new challenges, particularly in relation to climate, biodiversity, unconventional resource development and energy. Yet at a time when the contours of these challenges are still being sketched, and preliminary, planned interventions undertaken, the practice of rural planning finds itself at a low ebb. We examine two ‘critical cases’, one each from Australia and the USA, to explore the issues and options for capacity of rural regional planning to surmount these new challenges. Our examination indicates the urgent need for a renewed discourse on rural regional planning.     

The evolution of socio-ecological systems: changing palm species management in the Colombian Amazon as an indicator of ecological and institutional change

We investigate natural resource governance in three indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon. We base our analysis on an evolutionary governance model in which governance dimensions emerge as relevant through time. The less accessible of the communities represents earlier steps in governance evolution, while the more physically accessible is more integrated into the western scene. We observe how increased physical accessibility in a community brings in western governance models which hybridize with more traditional ones, influencing the couplings between the social and ecological systems. We zoom in on changing management of three commonly used palm species and illustrate how detailed studies of natural resource management contribute to understanding governance evolution. By comparing governance evolutions we were able to gain insights and improve our understanding on how natural resource management changes in communities transiting into western ways of living. In doing so we recognized points of rigidity and flexibility which might influence the social ecological systems capacity to adapt to changing conditions.     

Adapting to changing climate risk by local government in New Zealand: institutional practice barriers and enablers

Adaptation to climate change has been reviewed in several developed nations, but in none where consideration of the effects of climate change is required by statute and devolved to local government. We examine the role of institutional arrangements, the players operating under them, the barriers and enablers for adaptation decision-making in the developed nation of New Zealand. We examine how the roles and responsibilities between national, regional and local governments influence the ability of local government to deliver long-term flexible responses to changing climate risk. We found that the disciplinary practices of law, engineering and planning, within legal frameworks, result in the use of static mechanisms which create inflexible responses to changing risk. Several enablers are identified that could create greater integration between the different scales of government, including better use of national policy instruments, shared professional experience, standardised information collection and risk assessment methods that address uncertainties. The framing of climate risk as dynamic and changing that differentiates activities over their lifetime, development of mechanisms to fund transitions towards transformational change, are identified as necessary conditions for delivering flexible responses over time.     

Towards a governance of sustainable consumption transitions: how institutional factors influence emerging local food systems in Belgium

System innovations and transitions in the realm of sustainable consumption policies will seldom emerge automatically from the present socio-political and socio-technical contexts. This paper explores a set of perspectives related to the governance of transitions and develops their application to the relatively unexplored governance of sustainable consumption transitions. Empirical material stems from an extensive case study which analyses a food consumption niche in the form of collectively organised local food systems (LFS) in Belgium. More specifically, we analyse and discuss the institutional contexts and socio-political configurations within which the investigated system innovation cases are embedded. The results explore the role of governmental interplay in fostering innovative consumption practices for a transition towards a more sustainable, autonomous, citizen-based, LFS.     

新形势下我国环境管理与改革取向

在"十三五"我国经济新常态的大逻辑下,环境管理机遇和挑战并存。污染欠账多、污染随着产业转移、政策执行走样、排污收费覆盖面窄、收取率低等,制约环境管理和环保产业的发展。对环境污染的严重性和复杂性、生态环境形势的十分严峻性,以及对污染治理的艰巨性和长期性,应当有一个清醒认识。扭转环境保护与经济发展不协调、不可持续状况,满足城乡居民日益高涨的环境诉求,必须调整环境管理思路,加快改革步伐,扭转环境保护"弱势"格局,厘清环境管理、环境事业和环境市场之间的关系,形成以排污许可证为依据的管理主线、以环境标准为准绳的倒逼机制,以环境司法裁定为常态的终身责任追究制度,创造一个人人守法、企业自觉治理污染和保护环境的社会氛围。     

Governing sexual behaviour through humanitarian codes of conduct

Since 2001, there has been a growing consensus that sexual exploitation and abuse of intended beneficiaries by humanitarian workers is a real and widespread problem that requires governance. Codes of conduct have been promoted as a key mechanism for governing the sexual behaviour of humanitarian workers and, ultimately, preventing sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA). This article presents a systematic study of PSEA codes of conduct adopted by humanitarian non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) and how they govern the sexual behaviour of humanitarian workers. It draws on Foucault's analytics of governance and speech act theory to examine the findings of a survey of references to codes of conduct made on the websites of 100 humanitarian NGOs, and to analyse some features of the organisation‐specific PSEA codes identified.     

环境保护工作新思路研究

中国环境保护工作的新形势和公益性属性为环境保护工作中实施社会治理提供了现实需求和理论基础.本文从社会治理的内涵入手,结合中国环境保护工作的形势和环境保护工作的公益属性分析,探讨了在环境保护工作中推进社会治理的可行性;从环境影响评价中公众参与存在的问题出发,分析了中国环境保护社会治理当前存在的问题;再此基础上,从社会治理制度、参与渠道等方面提出了以社会治理思路推进中国环境保护工作的思路.     

生态文明建设实现合作治理的条件、主体和路径分析研究

生态文明建设是政府、市场、非政府组织和公民等多元主体合作治理的整体性系统性实践活动,多元主体合作治理的实现依赖于制度环境、组织因素、共同目标和信息沟通等多个关键条件,同时,合作治理需要各主体按照生态文明建设的要求明确和重塑角色定位,进而通过健全多元主体参与生态文明建设法律保障体系,健全生态补偿和生态支出竞争使用机制,建立信息交互制度,寻求多元合作模式,最终实现统筹协调、联动增效的生态文明建设合作治理.     

《京都》15年后:分阶段减排政策与“绿色悖论”问题

低碳经济的政策分析,通常囿于单一国家层面的局部均衡结果,较少考虑到全球整体行动的外部影响,但从《联合国气候变化框架公约》建立以来的全球一致减排行动,却产生了一些意料之外的负面效果。本文通过梳理《京都议定书》签订以来,全球低碳经济合作中遇到的新挑战,以及碳交易市场的建设状况,采用制度分析与新古典框架下的市场均衡分析方法,讨论了全球一致减排行动所触发的"绿色悖论"问题。研究发现,造成"绿色悖论"的主要原因,一方面是由于国际合作存在制度设计上的缺陷,《京都议定书》及其关键性的附件一,将重点放在如何限制发达工业国的减排设计上,但却忽视了发展中国家在协议期内有可能出现的增排问题,以及发达国家向发展中国家污染转移的碳泄漏等问题;另一方面,当对不可再生资源的使用征税、以及对其替代品进行补贴时,将会导致在当前期对于化石能源的加速开采,并可能导致对同时期的化石燃料替代品的其他可再生资源的开采速度也大幅度加快,造成了在双重加速开采下的全球绿色福利损失以及CO2排放量的急剧升高,化石能源消费与温室气体排放面临到比协议签署前更为严峻,甚至与全球合作减排框架的设计初衷相悖的结果。研究结果表明,非全局性的减排公约和分阶段的减排政策,是造成"绿色悖论"现象的重要条件,缺少了大量发展中国家和一些重要工业国的缔约,使得负面的环境外部性难以克服;同时,减排任务和责任有所区别的分阶段设计,会把在未来行动期内可预见到的更高地化石能源使用成本转嫁到当前的行动期,造成短时间内资源与环境的迅速破坏。但本文的研究也表明,社会最优经济与对可再生能源进行补贴是克服"绿色悖论"现象的两条可行路径,且需要有与其相匹配的政府政策的支持。由此,本文的主要政策建议是,中国需要加强在国际气候公约中的影响力,提升自身话语权;以碳税政策作为发展低碳经济制度设计的主要政策工具;加快技术进步、提高能源使用效率,对于可再生能源研发进行补贴;根据国情不断优化碳税税率,并适时调整与其相匹配的新能源补贴等相关政策。     

山水林田湖草生命共同体的科学认知、路径及制度体系保障

山水林田湖草生命共同体是对人与自然和谐统一关系的新认知,是生态文明理论的重要组成部分。以建立一个山水林田湖草生命共同体的研究范式为目的,系统剖析了山水林田湖草生命共同体理论与应用在基础探索、快速发展和多元繁荣三个阶段的研究重点与特征;再次审视了山水林田湖草生命共同体的内涵、阐明了概念新认知、基本特征、人与生命共同体关系;最后提出面向山水林田湖草生命共同体的“问题—目标—时空策略—目的”的实施路径,及构建以自然资源监测监管体系、自然资源资产产权体系、国土空间规划体系、国土空间用途管制体系、国土空间生态修复体系、法律法规体系等为主的制度体系,进而提升其科学性和实用性,为构建国土空间治理体系及治理能力现代化提供决策支撑。