How local environmental stewardship diversifies democracy

Although recent studies have suggested that environmental participation may be a countertrend to decreasing civic engagement in the United States, there are very few empirical studies that examine these claims. This paper studies participation in local environmental stewardship as such a countertrend. Using data collected from participants in the Watershed Stewards Academies (WSAs) of Maryland, we assess how these organisations are successful in mobilising individuals to be environmentally and civically engaged in their communities. We argue that hybrid organisations like the WSAs represent a countertrend to diminishing rates of civic engagement by offering citizens what a “paper-membership” cannot: the chance to lead their own environmental restoration projects, create tangible change in their communities, and network with other like-minded individuals. These environmental programmes serve to diversify democracy at the local level, providing a unique form of civic engagement and enriching the connections between individual citizens and their civic communities.     

A tale of ‘fat cats’ and ‘stupid activists’: contested values,governance and reflexivity in the brno railway station controversy

ABSTRACT

The article explores one of the biggest controversies over sustainability in modern Czech history, a protracted conflict over whether the Brno railway station should be re-built in a new location. By examining the language of the interaction between a ‘modernizing discourse’ and a ‘sustainability discourse’, the article highlights reflexivity as analytic enterprise that bares the governance dimension of policy conflicts. The reflexive analysis focuses on how actors justify their positions, how they distinguish themselves from their opponents and how they express trust in their own group. It reveals that both discourses are not only related to the re-location issue per se, but that they entail contested notions of legitimate knowledge and modes of governance. Since such power contest is common in sustainability controversies, the reflexive analysis suggests a novel analytical agenda for addressing policy conflicts in sustainability issues.     

安全信息学视域下安全舆情演化及引导策略研究*

为正确引导和控制负面安全舆情,基于安全信息学与舆情理论,利用事故树分析方法研究安全舆情演化过程,计算负面安全舆情最小割集、最小径集和结构重要度,提出安全舆情引导方法。结果表明:利用最小割集得到负面安全舆情产生原因组合,利用最小径集得到避免负面安全舆情产生最低限度事件组合,通过结构重要度得到系统改进重点及优化顺序;在事故树中增加安全舆情审核和引导组织、安全事件亲自确认、专业意见领袖3个最小径集,以期减少负面安全舆情,促进公共安全。     

试谈突发环境污染事件的舆论引导

突发环境污染事件的舆论引导,是政府特别是环保部门应对突发环境污染事件,降低其对环境造成严重污染和破坏,减少对人身和财产造成重大损失的重要举措。本文全面分析了突发环境污染事件舆论引导工作的现实意义、基本要求,并提出建立突发环境污染事件的舆论引导机制。     

环境保护公众参与制度回顾、评估和建议

文章总结了国际上公众参与环境保护的发展与趋势,分析了中国公众参与环境保护现状、存在问题及原因,并借鉴国际经验,明确中国公众参与的具体方式和主要内容,提出了进一步推进中国公众参与环境保护的政策建议。     

关于我国发展循环经济的思考

循环经济在我国还处于研究探索的阶段,其理论基础和实践途径有待进一步发展。发展循环经济,建设资源节约型社会,需要积极发挥政府的主导作用,努力实现企业行为的转变,大力倡导社会公众的积极参与,以及尽快建设绿色技术支撑体系。但是,我国的现实情况是,政府在循环经济发展中主导作用不强;企业生态化转型滞后;公众对发展循环经济的意识淡薄。     

云南省重点污染源监控中心的设计与展望

按国家要求并结合云南省实际,云南省设计并着手实施重点污染源监控中心建设项目。文章介绍了云南省重点污染源监控中心的各子系统组成及其功能特点,分析了监控中心建设对提升环境管理水平、提高环境执法工作效能、增强环境事故应急处理能力、保障公众权益方面的作用和意义。     

环境公益诉讼原告的立法缺陷与完善

随着中国经济的迅速发展,许多侵害公众环境权益事件的频频发生,有些甚至造成了很大的社会影响和国际影响。建立环境公益诉讼制度迫切需要。但中国在环境公益诉讼原告的立法规定上存在缺陷,限制了环境公益诉讼的提起。应该赋予环境保护行政监督主管部门、检察机关、公民、环保社团的环境公益诉讼原告资格,通过环境公益诉讼原告资格的扩展,来维护我们公众的环境权益。     

灌溉管理改革的进展、特征及决定因素:黄河流域灌区的实证研究

论文采用两年的面板数据实证研究了我国黄河流域灌区灌溉管理改革的进展、特征及决定因素。研究结果表明,自20世纪90年代开始,黄河流域灌区灌溉管理改革取得了很大的进展,传统的集体管理已经逐步被承包管理和用水协会管理所取代,不同管理制度下农民参与的程度与管理的透明度都有所区别,政府的政策干预在促进灌溉管理改革上发挥了十分重要的作用,改革具有明显的政策导向性。在未来的灌溉管理改革中,政府部门应进一步出台相关鼓励改革政策,积极引导广大农民参与到改革的事业中,促进改革在更加广阔的农村地区的有效推进和良性发展。     

Resident participation in post-Lushan earthquake housing reconstruction: a multi-stage field research method-based inquiry

In April 2013, a 7.0?Mw earthquake struck in Lushan County, Sichuan Province, China, causing serious housing damage. Housing reconstruction is a crucial part of disaster recovery, and resident participation has been recognized as a key part of reconstruction success. This paper examined housing reconstruction resident participation in the post-Lushan earthquake period as a multi-stage problem based on multi-stakeholder collaborative perspectives, which covered emergency shelter, temporary housing and permanent housing stages. Multi-stage field research was conducted in the affected areas, and the residents were found to be fully involved in the reconstruction with a ‘high – medium – high' distribution across the three stages. Resident participation experiences were summarized in terms of previous earthquake education, NGO participation and community-based organization functions, and the reasons discussed, such as civic awareness and civic rights. Problems regarding improper reconstruction and cultural conflicts were also examined and valuable suggestions given.