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.     

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。     

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.     

环境保护与公众参与

从公众言语的起源和内涵出发,分析了我国公众参与在环境保护中存在的主要问题,提出了健全和完善环保法律、法规等相对应的对策建议。     

实现节能减排的科学路径

在全球资源短缺、环境恶化的大背景下,中国作为一个人口众多、生产和消费相当惊人的发展中国家加强节能减排工作意义深远。鉴于中国的基本现状,应通过结构调整、技术创新、管理优化和公众参与四种途径来实现节能减排,力促经济、社会、环境和资源的可持续发展。     

发挥城市基层组织作用,有效进行公众参与工作

根据作者从事环境评价工作的经验,结合北京市的城市建设项目的案例,说明在公众参与工作中结合中国城市基层组织特点,发挥基层组织作用,能够有效使公众参与环境保护、体现公众环境知情权、制止群体事件的发生,进一步做好公众参与工作。     

环境影响评价公众意见调查的真实性评价探讨

公众参与在环境影响评价中扮演着重要的角色,认真做好公众意见调查工作,可以促进环境影响评价工作公正、公开、公平地发展。虽然在建设项目环境影响评价工作中,公众参与起到了一定的积极作用,但是在公众参与的实际过程中,还是遇到了许多具体问题,本文对环境影响评价工作中公众意见调查的结果应如何评估,提出意见和建议。     

规划环境影响评价中的公众参与实例研究

公众参与作为规划环境影响评价的重要组成部分,具有重要的作用和意义。以大同市医药工业园区规划环境影响评价中的公众参与为例,介绍了公众参与的工作程序、方式、分析结果及意见的落实,证实了公众参与的必要性。