Addressing climate change: Determinants of consumers' willingness to act and to support policy measures

Consumers influence climate change through their consumption patterns and their support or dismissal of climate mitigation policy measures. Both climate-friendly actions and policy support comprise a broad range of options, which vary in manifold ways and, therefore, might be influenced by different factors. The aims of the study were, therefore, two-fold: first, we intended to find a meaningful way to classify different ways of addressing climate change. Second, we aimed to examine which determinants influence people's willingness to engage in these behaviors. We conducted a large-scale mail survey in Switzerland in which respondents rated, among other items, their willingness to act or support a range of possible actions and mitigations measures. A principal component analysis indicated that a distinction in terms of a behavior's directness as well as a differentiation according to perceived costs seem to be appropriate to classify climate-friendly actions. Multiple regression analyses showed that perceived costs and perceived climate benefit turned out to be the strongest predictors for willingness to act or to support climate policy measures. The strong influence of perceived climate benefit might reflect a strategy of reducing cognitive dissonance. As high-cost behaviors are more difficult to adopt, consumers may reduce dissonance by dismissing high-cost behaviors as not effective in terms of climate mitigation. Political affiliation proved to be another strong determinant of willingness to act or support. Participants on the right wing were less willing to show indirect climate-friendly behaviors, change their mobility behaviors, and to support any type of climate mitigation policy measures. Climate-friendly low-cost behaviors, however, were not influenced by political affiliation.     

Poaching Risks in Community‐Based Natural Resource Management

Poaching can disrupt wildlife‐management efforts in community‐based natural resource management systems. Monitoring, estimating, and acquiring data on poaching is difficult. We used local‐stakeholder knowledge and poaching records to rank and map the risk of poaching incidents in 2 areas where natural resources are managed by community members in Caprivi, Namibia. We mapped local stakeholder perceptions of the risk of poaching, risk of wildlife damage to livelihoods, and wildlife distribution and compared these maps with spatially explicit records of poaching events. Recorded poaching events and stakeholder perceptions of where poaching occurred were not spatially correlated. However, the locations of documented poaching events were spatially correlated with areas that stakeholders perceived wildlife as a threat to their livelihoods. This result suggests poaching occurred in response to wildlife damage occurred. Local stakeholders thought that wildlife populations were at high risk of being poached and that poaching occurred where there was abundant wildlife. These findings suggest stakeholders were concerned about wildlife resources in their community and indicate a need for integrated and continued monitoring of poaching activities and further interventions at the wildlife‐agricultural interface. Involving stakeholders in the assessment of poaching risks promotes their participation in local conservation efforts, a central tenet of community‐based management. We considered stakeholders poaching informants, rather than suspects, and our technique was spatially explicit. Different strategies to reduce poaching are likely needed in different areas. For example, interventions that reduce human‐wildlife conflict may be required in residential areas, and increased and targeted patrolling may be required in more remote areas. Stakeholder‐generated maps of human‐wildlife interactions may be a valuable enforcement and intervention support tool. Riesgos de Cacería Furtiva en el Manejo de Recursos Naturales Basado en Comunidades     

土壤Cd污染对跳虫Folsomia candida的生态毒性

采矿及冶炼等行为造成了严重的土壤重金属污染,其中Cd污染及其带来的健康风险近年来引起人们的高度重视。利用弹尾目跳虫开展土壤Cd污染的生态毒理研究,对Cd污染土壤的生态风险评价具有重要意义。本研究将跳虫Folsomia candida(F.candida)暴露在不同Cd浓度污染的人工土壤中,利用跳虫存活数量、繁殖数量及回避行为实验来评价重金属Cd污染对跳虫的生态毒性。结果表明,Cd对F.candida的急性毒性LC50值为2 086.93 mg·kg~(-1),慢性毒性的繁殖抑制(28 d)EC50值为224.95 mg·kg~(-1)。此外,Cd对跳虫回避行为影响的EC50(48 h)为721.26 mg·kg~(-1)。可以看出,慢性毒性的EC50值与Cd对回避行为影响的EC50值近似,但远低于急性毒性LC50值。因此,跳虫F.candida的回避行为和繁殖率对Cd污染土壤有较高的灵敏度,可用来表征土壤中Cd的生态毒性。     

Building the role of local government authorities towards the achievement of the human right to water in rural Tanzania

In recent decades, many changes have occurred in the approach to financing and operating water services in developing countries. The demand‐responsive approach is now adopted in many countries in a context of donor‐supported decentralization processes, which gives more responsibility to end users. However, the government's responsibility at different levels is enforced by the international recognition of the human right to water. This paper examines specific actions that build the role of local government authorities in this scenario. A collaboration between an international NGO and a rural district in Tanzania from 2006 to 2009 is used as an action research case study that is representative of local capacity‐building needs in decentralized contexts and rural areas. Three main challenges were detected: i) lack of reliable information; ii) poor allocation of resources in terms of equity; and iii) lack of long‐term community management support from the district. Two mechanisms were established: i) water point mapping as a tool for information and planning; and ii) a District Water and Sanitation Unit Support (DWUS) for community management. The results show how the framework provided by the goal of human right to water helps to define useful strategies for equity‐oriented planning and post‐project support at the local level.     

农户采用节约耕地型与节约劳动型技术的差异

研究农户技术采用行为,对于解决农业技术转化与扩散问题具有重要意义.本文以6个省1672户农户的问卷调查结果为依据,从农户技术采用率和采用行为模型2个层面,研究农户采用节约耕地型技术与节约劳动型技术是否存在差异及影响农户技术采用行为的因素.农户技术采用率调查表明.有60%以上的农户采用了机耕技术,只有23.5%的农户采用了高产品种.采用行为模型的定量分析表明,具有不同家庭特征、外部环境特征的农户基于技术自身特征差异会表现出不同的技术采用行为.具体表现为,同一变量对农户采用不同属性技术的影响各不相同.本村地形、耕地面积、技术作用认知、出行频率对节约耕地型技术和节约劳动型技术采用都有较为显著的影晌;户主年龄、专业技能、家庭人均收入、参加技术培训、借款难易对一种技术的采用影响显著,对另一种技术的采用则影响不显著.     

行为安全管理理论在我国的实践困境及其解决途径

行为安全管理理论在我国被广泛宣传与应用,但在概念理解、定量判断及影响因素的分析等方面存在着认识误区,要改变行为安全管理理论在实践中的困境,发挥其应有作用,笔者认为:应首先对理论研究中的相关概念进行规范,加强对我国生产安全事故与行为安全之间的定量关系研究;并将工程技术措施和组织管理措施作为事故风险的控制重点;探索符合我国职工特点的安全教育培训方式,增强企业的安全生产主体责任意识,提高安全投入的有效性,将安全融入到经济与社会发展过程中。只有为行为安全管理理论的实践和应用提供良好的环境和保障,才能进一步提升我国企业的生产安全事故风险控制水平。     

Quantitative Assessment of a Tanzanian Integrated Conservation and Development Project Involving Butterfly Farming

Abstract: Scientific understanding of the role of development in conservation has been hindered by the quality of evaluations of integrated conservation and development projects. We used a quasi‐experimental design to quantitatively assess a conservation and development project involving commercial butterfly farming in the East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. Using a survey of conservation attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and behavior, we compared 150 butterfly farmers with a control group of 170 fellow community members. Due to the nonrandom assignment of individuals to the two groups, we used propensity‐score matching and weighting in our analyses to control for observed bias. Eighty percent of the farmers believed butterfly farming would be impossible if local forests were cleared, and butterfly farmers reported significantly more participation in forest conservation behaviors and were more likely to believe that conservation behaviors were effective. The two groups did not differ in terms of their general conservation attitudes, attitudes toward conservation officials, or knowledge of conservation‐friendly building techniques. The relationship between butterfly farming and conservation behavior was mediated by dependency on butterfly farming income. Assuming unobserved bias played a limited role, our findings suggest that participation in butterfly farming increased participation in conservation behaviors among project participants because farmers perceive a link between earnings from butterfly farming and forest conservation.     

中国农户收入最大化与耕地保护行为研究

与西方农业家庭模型研究假设不同,经济结构转型期,我国农户将面临更大的空间和更多的自由配置资源以实现收入最大化.以劳动力配置为基础的投入最大化条件证明在农产品价格和政府补贴效应影响下,农业经营与外出务工劳动力投入的边际收入贡献相等时,农户能够实现收入最大化.在实现收入最大化过程中,农户耕地保护行为是否发生关键在于耕地保护劳动投入是否能得到补偿,充分分享耕地保护收益是农户层次耕地保护行为发生的基础条件.而流转条件下的农户农业经营劳动力投入和耕地数量变化之间的比较静态分析则进一步说明农户耕地保护行为发生的复杂性,国家层面应充分考虑耕地流转过程中农户资源禀赋变化趋势及行为选择,调整和完善耕地流转政策.     

中国转型期水环境治理中的政府责任研究

水环境问题已成为制约我国长期可持续发展的主要瓶颈.如何有效治理水环境问题已引起全社会的普遍关注.本文在全面分析水环境公共物品属性以及水环境问题的客观现实的基础上,论证了政府承担治理水环境责任的必要性.进而对现阶段政府承担的水环境治理责任进行研究,归纳出其环境治理责任主要有财政责任、制度责任、监管责任和社会整合责任.然后对水环境治理中政府责任存在的现实问题进行深入分析,揭示其问题主要表现为:责任主体边界模糊、责任分布以“行政”为主导、责任履行中“越位”与“缺位”并存、责任种类中重直接投入轻间接引导.最后,提出水环境治理中的政府责任应该在坚持财权与事权统一、政府主导与责任分担统一、制度设计、监管与实施合理分离、政府引导与社会参与相结合的原则基础上,按照分类、分项、分级来构建转型期水环境治理中政府的应然责任框架体系.     

危险品运输实时监控及应急救援服务平台构建

针对我国危险品运输监管及应急救援现状,提出构建"危险品运输实时监控及应急救援服务平台"的技术方案。设计了平台系统的技术框架,介绍装载于危险品运输车辆之上的"监控终端"以及应急救援车辆之上的"智能终端"的基本功能,并以环保部门为例阐述了服务平台与危险废物监管政务平台之间的数据交换及功能耦合,以及利用服务平台开展危险品运输事故应急救援联动流程。该平台可望解决"危险品运输多部门监管数据不一致以及多部门联动应急救援调度困难"这一实际问题。