Physical limits to resource access and utilisation and their economic implications in Mediterranean economies

This paper applies Ecological Footprint accounting to Mediterranean countries to track ecological asset balances and investigate the long-term feasibility of fulfilling natural resource and service needs. Our findings are that the Mediterranean region currently uses approximately 2.5 times more natural resources and ecological services than their ecosystems can provide. We argue that when consumption exceeds local availability, countries either resort to depletion of ecological assets or turn to international trade in order to satisfy their demands. Access to outside resources is however limited by (a) the availability of resources on international markets and (b) their affordability. Countries highly dependent on natural resource imports therefore expose their economies to the macroeconomic consequences of price volatility. We find that trade-related effects of natural resource price volatility are significant for Mediterranean economies as a 10% increase in the price of natural resources corresponds with a change in the trade balance between +7% and −2.4% of the GDP. We conclude that, in a world characterised by the existence of physical limits to the availability of global ecological assets, a systemic risk may exist for Mediterranean economies due to the concurrence of (1) ecological asset scarcity, (2) increasing prices and (3) challenging financial situations.     

中国环保企业竞争力评价指标体系研究及其实证应用

本研究在传统企业竞争力评价理论方法的基础上,结合环保产业发展特点,在评价体系内创新性地加入环保特色指标项,并通过层次分析法对指标权重的设定形成完整的评价指标体系。基于评价指标体系,本文以54家环保上市企业为例开展实证分析,有效验证了指标体系的合理性。结合各板块内企业竞争力分析结果,进一步开展中国环保子行业发展状况的研究,对环保行业整体及各子行业的发展特点和现状进行了深入解析。     

珠江三角洲城市竞争力评价

科学分析了珠江三角洲核心城市的综合竞争力状况,探讨了提升城市竞争力的对策.作者构建3个层次39个指标的评价体系,运用主成份分析法提取4个独立的主成份,借助线性加权函数模型计算了城市综合竞争力.结果表明,2002年城市竞争力由高到低排序为:深圳、广州、佛山、东莞、惠州、中山、珠海、江门、肇庆,划分了强竞争力型、较强竞争力型和较弱竞争力型三种类型,并分别分析了各类城市发展存在的优劣势,提出5条提升城市竞争力的建议.     

京津冀都市圈休闲旅游开发研究

随着我国经济发展和旅游需求的增长，休闲旅游消费日益成为我国居民的重要消费构成。京津冀都市圈休闲旅游的发展将有助于提升生活质量，带动相关产业发展，吸引内部休闲客源，提升都市圈及内部城市旅游竞争力，改善区域生态环境。分析了京津冀都市圈经济和旅游发展状况、休闲旅游发展条件、休闲旅游需求变化及开发潜力。在此基础上，论述了休闲地开发布局及相应的策略。     

Optimising herbicide dose: a straightforward approach to reduce the risk of side effects of herbicides

Public concern of possible effects of pesticides on human health and the environment has lead to an increased pressure on farmers to optimise their use of pesticides. Reducing pesticide doses below the recommended doses whenever possible is a straightforward approach to reduce the risk of adverse side effects. To adopt this approach decision-making has to be improved. The parameters to consider optimising herbicide doses are: weed flora and growth stage, crop competitiveness, climatic conditions, application technique, formulation/adjuvant and combination with other pesticides. In Denmark this information is provided to farmers through the decision support system ‹Plant Protection Online’. Based on input on weed species and densities, climatic conditions, soil type, crop cultivar and expected yield ‹Plant Protection Online’ will provide farmers with optimum herbicide solution usually with doses lower than standard recommended doses.     

区域旅游产业集群竞争力提升研究——以湘鄂渝黔边区为例

目前旅游产业集群现象已引起人们广泛的关注,提升区域旅游产业集群竞争力是发展区域旅游产业的关键。对国内外相关研究进行了简要的回顾,对旅游产业集群竞争力的影响要素进行了分析,构建了旅游产业集群的评价模型,并以湘鄂渝黔边区域旅游产业集群为例,提出了提升区域旅游产业集群竞争力的对策。     

芜湖工业旅游的SWOT分析与发展对策

为丰富旅游资源,提升旅游业竞争力,扩大工业旅游、工业企业及城市的知名度,全面提升城市综合竞争力,运用SWOT分析法对芜湖发展工业旅游的优势与劣势、机遇与挑战进行了分析,提出芜湖进一步发展工业旅游的对策:转变观念,充分认识发展工业旅游的意义;政府推动,企业自发,媒体推广;各方参与,统筹兼顾,共同打造工业旅游品牌;完善工业旅游产品,不断推陈出新,积极扩大市场;完善服务,重视公益目标,促进工业旅游的可持续发展等。     

长江中游城市群城市人居环境竞争力格局及优化路径

从人居环境与城市竞争力的关联性入手,将生态、居住、生产环境纳入一个分析框架。运用AHP与多级模糊综合评价相结合的方法,构建城市人居环境竞争力指标体系,对长江中游城市群城市人居环境竞争力进行评估并解析了其空间分异特征。此外,依托Arcgis平台,运用空间聚类分析法,基于人居环境竞争力特征进行区域归类,并借助箱型图,对城市人居环境竞争力领域及区域类别特征进行了探索。研究表明:(1)竞争力分布中,浙赣线江西段沿线城市生态、休闲环境竞争力等级最高,京广线沿线城市的居住、公共服务环境竞争力等级最高,居住、公共服务竞争力空间格局具有高度相似性。区域中心及副中心城市在经济发展环境竞争力领域具有显著优势。(2)综合竞争力二级以上等级的城市主要分布于环鄱阳湖地区,包括九江、景德镇、上饶、鹰潭、南昌,以及省会城市武汉、长沙。(3)四类空间的城市人居环境竞争力优劣格局十分清晰。第1类区域围绕省会等区域中心、副中心城市分布,生态环境具有最优竞争力,居住、公共服务、经济发展环境最劣;第2类区域多为区域中心、副中心城市,强势竞争力集中于居住、公共服务、经济发展环境领域,而休闲环境为最劣势;第3类区域多为临山型城市,具有最优异的休闲环境竞争力;第4类区域以老工业城市居多,在生态环境、公共服务环境拥有相对优异的竞争力。最后,以因地制宜、突出特色为出发点,基于格局、类别特征等提出了涵盖现实特征、发展定位、重点措施等内容的长江中游城市群城市人居环境竞争力提升路径选择。其中,第1类区域定位为生态优异的山水园林城市;第2类应以营造城市外部开放空间为重心,推进公共服务设施智慧转型,打造为智慧高效的综合都市;第3类区域建议以良好的休闲环境作为特色人居环境建设的切入点,有序推进对居住、生产、生活空间的综合整治,致力建成休闲舒适的中小田园城市;第4类区域按照老工业基地调整改造规划要求,重塑城市形象,建成安居乐业的可持续发展城市。     

川化股份有限公司循环经济竞争力评估研究

循环经济建设是从根本上缓解资源环境短缺与经济快速发展之间的尖锐矛盾的有效模式。本文对四川省发展循环经济建设成效较显著的试点企业——川化股份有限公司进行基于循环经济的企业竞争力评估。通过建立企业循环经济竞争力评估指标体系,采用数学模糊评估模型,系统分析了企业的基于循环经济的竞争力水平。报告的评估成果显示,经5年的企业循环经济建设,截止2009年,川化股份有限公司基于循环经济的企业竞争力总体处于“强”的水平。     

Multi-level discrepancies with sharing data on protected areas: what we have and what we need for the global village

Protected areas present a global heritage. Assessing conservation achievements in protected areas is of crucial importance with respect to the on-time delivery of international biodiversity conservation targets. However, monitoring data from publicly accessible databases for comparative studies of conservation achievements in the protected areas of the world are very scarce, if not non-existent. At first glance this is surprising because, with regards to protected areas, at least according to well established protected area management guidelines and widely accepted public mandates, a great deal of monitoring work and data gathering is to be conducted. This would imply that data on changes of biodiversity in protected areas could be expected to exist, and the constant progress in information technologies and Web tools engenders hope that some of it might even be available online for the global public. This review article presents the results of an extensive online search and review of existing monitoring data from freely accessible online databases for its use in an assessment of conservation achievements in a larger sample of protected areas. Results show two contrary sides to the status quo of accessible data from the World Wide Web for conservation science: data overkill and data scarcity with poor metadata provision. While ever more research is, in fact, based on open-access online data, such as extrapolations of species ranges used in conservation management and planning, it remains almost impossible to obtain a basic set of information for an assessment of conservation achievements within a larger number of protected areas. This awareness has triggered a detailed discussion about the discrepancies in sharing data at the level of protected areas; mismatching relationships between expected activities in protected areas and the capacity for delivering these requirements are certainly among the main challenges. In addition, the fear of data misuse potentially resulting in harm for nature, careers, and competencies still seems to be a critical barrier strictly controlling the willingness to share data. Various initiatives aimed at tackling technical and cultural obstacles are introduced and discussed to reach the goal of a modern resource management based on adaptive management using digital opportunities of the new millennium for a sustainable global village.