The political ecology of water metabolism: the case of the Cobre las Cruces copper mine,southern Spain

Access to extractive resources relies as much on technology and prices as it does on the power to designate ecological and economic meanings to water and other environmental goods. This paper examines the ways in which the mining industry uses scientific models to create meanings for water that in turn legitimizes their access to and control over it. To do so, this paper explores the relevance of combining biophysical analyses—in this case water metabolism—with an examination of those power relations and social constructions that coexist with and affect the flows of water. Based on empirical research, this paper analyzes the evolution of water management in the process of copper production at the Cobre las Cruces mine in southern Spain to identify present contradictions in the strategies adopted by the mining company to avoid water degradation. These contradictions are revealed by examining how water has been framed as a resource not susceptible to being used for purposes other than mining processes. We argue that those framing this environmental explanation—the regional government and the mining industry—are promoting net subtractions of water from an aquifer against current regulations.     

碳交易机制下可再生能源投资价值与投资时机研究

中国承诺2017年启动全国性碳排放交易系统,在碳交易机制下,可再生能源项目可以通过CCER交易获得额外收益。由于碳价格是随着市场条件而随机波动的,碳价波动性使得可再生能源发电项目投资具有了期权性质的权利,即未来不确定性可能包含更高的价值。可再生能源企业在做投资决策时,可以选择立即投资,也可以选择推迟投资,等待更多信息来提高项目收益,而立即投资的项目回报必须足够高以克服等待期权的蕴含价值。为了研究碳价波动下可再生能源项目投资,本文采用实物期权法的三叉树模型,测算了三类可再生能源发电项目投资的npv及其实物期权价值(ROV)。根据延迟实物期权决策规则,三类项目均执行期权延迟投资决策。本文还计算了在无政府补贴和有政府补贴两种情形下,三种可再生能源项目在不同时点的栏杆价格,以确定项目的投资时机。栏杆价格随着政府补贴的增加而逐步下降,说明政府补贴会促进可再生能源项目投资;栏杆价格随着时间的推移而逐步上升,意味着时间跨度越大,不确定性越大,需要更高碳市场价格来确定投资时机。本文对影响可再生能源项目投资因素敏感性进行了分析,结果表明碳价波动率与可再生能源发电项目的栏杆价格呈现正相关的关系,说明碳价波动性增加了企业投资的期权价值,却推迟了企业开展投资的时间。随着中国碳交易体系的不断完善,碳价波动幅度会趋于平稳,从而促进发电企业进行可再生能源发电项目投资。     

Study on the investment value and investment opportunity of renewable energies under the carbon trading system

China has promised to start the national carbon trading system in 2017. In the carbon trading system, the renewable energy projects may obtain additional benefits through the Certified Carbon Emission Reduction (CCER) trade. As the carbon price fluctuates along with the market conditions, such fluctuation enables the renewable power projects to acquire the rights of an option, i.e. it may contain an even higher value due to the uncertainties in the future. While making an investment decision, the renewable power companies may choose to make the investment immediately, or postpone the investment and accumulate more information to increase the return of investment; and for immediate investments, the return must be sufficient to exceed the potential value of a waiting option. To study the investment in renewable power projects subject to the fluctuation of carbon price, this paper adopts the trinomial tree model of real options to estimate the net present value (NPV) and real option value (ROV) of three types of renewable power projects; according to the decision-making rules of real options to defer, all the three types of projects will exercise the option to postpone the investment decision. This thesis also calculates the benchmark prices of the three types of renewable projects at different times, in the two situations of having no government subsidy and having the government subsidy, so as to determine the investment opportunity of a project. The benchmark price decreases gradually along with the increase of government subsidy, indicating that the government subsidy will stimulate the investment in renewable projects. The benchmark price also increases gradually along with the lapse of time, indicating that the uncertainty will increase together with the time span and thus requires an even higher carbon price to determine the investment opportunity. This thesis also analyzes the sensitivity of factors affecting the investment in renewable projects and draws the conclusion that the fluctuation of carbon price is positively related with the benchmark price of renewable power projects, which indicates that the fluctuation of carbon price increases the option value of an investment but postpones the time of investment. As the China’s carbon trading system improves gradually, the carbon price will reach a stable status, thus stimulate the power companies to invest in the renewable projects.     

铜陵地区矿山生态环境综合治理途径

分析了铜陵地区矿山生态环境存在的主要问题,将其分为矿山“三废”排放与污染。矿山生态环境破坏和矿山地质灾害等三类。在此基础上,提出矿山生态环境整治必须从管理制度、经济和技术方面寻找综合治理途径。其中,管理制度方面：完善矿山生态环境保护的法规体系,实施矿山环境准入制度,确立科学合理的矿山生态环境保护目标和评价标准;经济方面：建立明晰的矿山环境资产产权制度,建立经济激励机制,建立多元化、多渠道投资机制,发展矿山生态环境保护整治产业;技术方面：开发矿业清洁生产技术,矿区土地复垦和生态重建技术,矿山水均衡破坏防治工程技术,开展矿山环境保护的科学技术研究与国际合作。     

A critical review of the effects of gold cyanide-bearing tailings solutions on wildlife

Wildlife deaths associated with cyanide-bearing mine waste solutions have plagued the gold mining industries for many years, yet there is little published data showing the relationship between wildlife mortality and cyanide toxicity. A gap of knowledge exists in monitoring, understanding the causal relationships and managing risks to wildlife from cyanide-bearing waste solutions and tailings. There is a need for the gold industry to address this issue and to meet the International Cyanide Management Code (ICMC) guidelines. The perceived extent of the issue varies, with one study finding the issue inadequately monitored and wildlife deaths grossly underestimated. In Nevada, USA during 1990 and 1991, 9512 carcasses were reported of over 100 species, although there was underestimation due to reporting being voluntary. Of these, birds comprised 80-91% of vertebrate carcasses reported annually. At Northparkes, Australia in 1995, it was initially estimated that 100 bird carcasses were present by mine staff following a tailings incident; when a thorough count was conducted, 1583 bird carcasses were recorded. Eventually, 2700 bird deaths were documented over a four-month period. It is identified that avian deaths are usually undetected and significantly underestimated, leading to a perception that a risk does not exist. Few guidelines and information are available to manage the risks of cyanide to wildlife, although detoxification, habitat modification and denying wildlife access have been used effectively. Hazing techniques have proven ineffective. Apparently no literature exists that documents accurate wildlife monitoring protocols on potentially toxic cyanide-bearing mine waste solutions or any understanding on the analysis of any derived dataset. This places the onus on mining operations to document that no risk to wildlife exists. Cyanide-bearing tailings storage facilities are environmental control structures to contain tailings, a standard practice in the mining industry. Cyanide concentrations below 50 mg/L weak-acid-dissociable (WAD) are deemed safe to wildlife but are considered an interim benchmark for discharge into tailings storage facilities (TSFs). Cyanide is a fast acting poison, and its toxicity is related to the types of cyanide complexes that are present. Cyanide in biota binds to iron, copper and sulfur-containing enzymes and proteins required for oxygen transportation to cells. The accurate determination of cyanide concentrations in the field is difficult to achieve due to sampling techniques and analytical error associated with loss and interferences following collection. The main WAD cyanide complexes in gold mine tailings are stable in the TSF environment but can release cyanide ions under varying environmental conditions including ingestion and absorption by wildlife. Therefore distinction between free, WAD and total cyanide forms in tailings water for regulatory purposes is justified. From an environmental perspective, there is a distinction between ore bodies on the basis of their copper content. For example, wildlife deaths are more likely to occur at mines possessing copper-gold ores due to the formation of copper-cyanide complexes which is toxic to birds and bats. The formation of copper-cyanide complex occurs preferentially to gold cyanide complex indicating the relative importance of economic vs. environmental considerations in the tailings water. Management of cyanide to a perceived threshold has inherent risks since cyanide has a steep toxicity response curve; is difficult to accurately measure in the field; and is likely to vary due to variable copper content of ore bodies and ore blending. Consequently, wildlife interaction needs to be limited to further reduce the risks. A gap in knowledge exists to design or manage cyanide-bearing mine waste solutions to render such facilities unattractive to at-risk wildlife species. This gap may be overcome by understanding the wildlife behaviour and habitat usage of cyanide-bearing solutions.     

煤矿区域可持续发展的动力学模型

本文从系统论的观点出发 ,结合当前煤矿区域的实际情况 ,给出了煤矿区域系统所具备的动力学性质和特征 ,通过所建的一个数学模型 ,探讨了煤矿区域煤炭资源持续利用与地方经济可持续发展之间的非线性关系及其调控措施     

The flow/fund model of Conga: exploring the anatomy of environmental conflicts at the Andes–Amazon commodity frontier

This paper aims to contribute toward improved understanding of complex ecological distribution conflicts at the commodity frontiers, where increasing metabolism in industrial societies is leading to increased environmental destruction in resource-rich countries throughout the world. The focus of this paper is the Conga gold mine project in northern Peru, where there have been violent clashes between the Minera Yanacocha mining company and the local population, represented mainly by campesinos that live in the highlands of the Andes–Amazon region. We do this by using the flow/fund model developed by Georgescu-Roegen and extended by Giampietro and Mayumi, to help us trace the anatomy of this conflict, using simplified representations of the central economic processes involved: gold mining and milk production. By complementing the concept of Ricardian land—an indestructible fund—with the concept of land materials, which is susceptible to qualitative change, and therefore can be either a fund or a flow element of the economic process, we illustrate that the gold extraction process, which treats this land material as a flow, stands in conflict with the milk production process, at least in part, because that process is using these land materials as a fund, i.e., in order to make production possible. The paper employs the concept of environmental valuation triadics, developed by Farrell, in order to explore how the boundaries—physical frontiers and temporal durations—of a specified economic process are related to flow/fund element identities. We conclude with some reflections on potential future applications for the methods employed and on the implications of our analytical results.     

基于边际机会成本理论的农地价格矫正研究——以江都市为例

当前我国农地非农化进程的加快使农地资源价值显化问题凸现出来，但在现行的政策与制度框架内，农地价格严重扭曲，不能完全表达农地的真正价值。社会经济的不断发展要求农地资源能合理配置并达到可持续利用，因此要实现这一目标，就必须建立一套完整的农地价值核算体系与农地价格体系，并对现行扭曲的农地价格进行矫正。本文通过理论与实证分析，利用边际成本定价的方法探讨体现农地真正价值的农地完全价格，并通过这一价格将农地的资源价值纳入整个绿色GDP核算体系中，这也是本文提出的政策性建议之一。     

Shifting sands: changes in community perceptions of mining in Ghana

The contribution of mining to the Ghanaian economy has been substantial. The mining sector is currently a major foreign exchange earner and contributes to long-term capital formation and fiscal payment to the state. However, the industry continues to have adverse consequences on the lives of local community dwellers, most of whom are often unprepared to deal with these impacts. Often, new mining exploration takes place on land that provides land-based livelihood to many rural people. Ironically, compensation payments seem to worsen poverty in the mining communities and bring about the social conflicts. Hence, whilst communities are highly welcoming of mining companies during exploration, they become resentful during operation of the mine. Using two communities in the Asutifi District of Ghana as case studies, this paper presents a candid assessment of the changes that occur in respondents’ perception of mining during, before and after the inception of mining. It also examines the gender dimensions of the impacts of mining activities as well as the communities’ sources of information. Since public participation is an integral part of the environmental assessment process in Ghana, the paper concludes by recommending among others, precise channels of communication and dialogue before mining begins and during the operation of the mine, to increase awareness among community members.     

Sustaining livelihoods in face of groundwater depletion: a case study of Punjab, India

The study focuses on assessing the sustainable livelihoods of farmers in Indian Punjab focusing on the key aspects of cropping pattern, cost of cultivation, agricultural productivity and profitability amongst different classes of farmers at different levels of groundwater depletion. It further gives a comparative analysis of the proportionate gains the farmers avail from the government subsidies of electricity and procurement price and relates it to their coping mechanisms to sustain agriculture in future. The findings indicate to the fact that technology to extract groundwater, being capital intensive, gives greater accessibility to groundwater to large farmers who gain enormously from growing the remunerative but water-intensive rice crop. Electricity subsidy being not targeted is also misappropriated by the resource rich, water extraction machine owners. To cope with this resource depletion, the large farmers dig and deepen more tube-wells and the small and marginal farmers with little savings who are unable to invest in costly water extraction machines, buy water, shift to less profitable maize crop, lease out or sell their land.     

Research on the threshold effect of population aging on the industrial structure upgrading in China

This paper constructs coefficients of the integral and the internal structure upgrading in the secondary and tertiary industries, selects per capita real gross domestic product as a threshold variable and build panel threshold model according to inter-provincial panel data of China from 1998 to 2016. Results indicated that population aging has a double threshold effect on the integral industrial structure upgrading, whose influence increases first and then decreases, significantly promoting the upgrading process. As for internal structure, population aging has no significant threshold effect on the upgrading in the secondary industry, but exerts a single negative threshold effect in the tertiary industry. When economic development is under the threshold, its negative impact is greater. Further analysis also suggests that regional differences exist significantly in the threshold effect of population aging on the industrial structure upgrading.     

环境税条件下项目可进入与退出期权博弈分析

环境税是解决当前日趋严重的环境与经济发展冲突问题的有效手段之一,研究其如何影响投资者进入与退出项目的竞争策略是更好地制定环境税收政策的前提。与现有文献不同,本文应用期权博弈理论,构建煤电项目双寡头期权博弈模型,分进入和退出两种情况分析项目最优转换策略,并且定量分析环境税税率对最优转换临界值的影响。结果表明:环境税税率与最优转换临界值呈正比关系,即环境税率越低,项目越容易进入,并且更加难以退出;当存在竞争威胁时,投资者会加速进入与退出项目,当环境税强度逐渐变大时,将超过项目相互竞争的影响并起主要作用;在进入情况时存在等待、抢先进入和同时进入均衡,在退出情况时存在不退出、抢先退出和同时退出均衡,最后,分别给出各个均衡条件下环境税政策及影响,为政府制定环境税政策提供一种分析思路。     

Increasing the sustainability of a resource development: Aboriginal engagement and negotiated agreements

While the role Aboriginal people play in environmental governance programs are often underpinned by the Crown, Aboriginal peoples are ratifying negotiated agreements with mining proponents to ensure their issues and concerns are addressed. This paper examines Aboriginal participation in mine development to show how more inclusive social and environmental development models can support a more sustainable development. Through two complementary processes, negotiated agreements and environmental impact assessment, Aboriginal peoples are maximizing their benefits and minimizing the adverse impacts of a project to create a more sustainable resource development. Case study analysis of the Galore Creek Project in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, illustrates how environmental impact assessment and negotiated agreements can co-exist to positively contribute to a successful mineral development, and hence operationalize sustainability within this context.     

Management Model of Resources Equilibrium Distribution among Overlapping-Generations

The overlapping generation models the western scholars have designed from various perspectives to address different kinds of issues do not reflect Chinese emerging political and economic problems, and cannot be entirely and blindly applied to Chinese practical situation. In this paper the authors endeavor to incorporate some western scholars' research results into their own research findings to present overlapping generations model theory in a new perspective through establishing an overlapping generations theory on population including articulation of concepts and theorems of biological generation, economic generation and social generation and the overlapping periods in biological generation and two overlapping periods in economic generation among three generations. This management model with equilibrium distribution of resource wealth includes overlapping generations length model (6), equilibrium transfer model (θ) and a complete model on equilibrium distribution among generations (δ-θ). The model p     

社会产品价格对水价的敏感性——基于虚拟水贸易框架的分析

虚拟水贸易是缺水地区从社会经济系统层面解决水资源短缺问题的一种策略选择,但由于长期的低水价,致使很多国家和地区的现实经济模式与虚拟水贸易战略的预期相悖.文章基于水资源投入产出分析方法,构建虚拟水贸易理论框架下的水价敏感性模型,分析水价上涨对各产业产品价格带来的影响.模型结果显示,区域水价提升对各产业产品价格的影响不仅在于该产业直接用水成本的上升,同时也不得不承受其他产业成本上升带来的间接影响,并且这两种影响作用是累加的.宁夏数据的实证得出,水价上涨对农业产品价格的影响最为强烈,批发和零售贸易餐饮业次之,对服务业产品价格的影响最弱.因此,可通过制定合理的水价调整策略,激励水资源极度缺乏的地区实施虚拟水贸易战略,避免过分强调传统的重农发展模式,促进产业结构向先进制造业和服务业转变,实现有限水资源更为合理的利用模式,达到经济发展与水生态的和谐局面.     

On shadow prices for the measurement of sustainability

The objective of this research is to discuss the direction of the bias of the existing estimates of genuine savings (also known as adjusted net savings). Such estimates rely on observed prices and quantities of investment and natural resource extraction. This has two consequences: first, it causes an overestimation of the shadow price of productive natural resources; second, it leads to omitting the depreciation of environmental services and amenities. We use simple numerical models to determine the path of optimal development under different assumptions. We find that the existing estimates of genuine savings are likely to be biased upward for countries with high levels of pollution, and biased downward for natural resource extracting countries.     

Exposure of workers in mineral processing industries in Brazil

The mining, milling and processing of uranium and thorium bearing minerals may result in radiation doses to workers. A preliminary survey pilot program, that included six mines in Brazil (two coal mines, one niobium mine, one nickel mine, one gold mine and one phosphate mine), was launched in order to determine the need to control the radioactive exposure of the mine-workers. Our survey consisted of the collection and analysis of urine samples, complemented by feces and air samples. The concentrations of uranium, thorium and polonium were measured in these samples and compared to background data from family members of the workers living in the same dwelling and from residents from the general population of Rio de Janeiro. The results from the coal mines indicated that the inhalation of radon progeny may be a source of occupational exposure. The workers from the nickel, gold and phosphate mines that were visited do not require a program to control internal radiological doses. The niobium mine results showed that in some areas of the industry exposure to thorium and uranium might occur.     

Management Model of Resources Equilibrium Distribution among Overlapping-Generations

Abstract

The overlapping generation models the western scholars have designed from various perspectives to address different kinds of issues do not reflect Chinese emerging political and economic problems, and cannot be entirely and blindly applied to Chinese practical situation. In this paper the authors endeavor to incorporate some western scholars' research results into their own research findings to present overlapping generations model theory in a new perspective through establishing an overlapping generations theory on population including articulation of concepts and theorems of biological generation, economic generation and social generation and the overlapping periods in biological generation and two overlapping periods in economic generation among three generations. This management model with equilibrium distribution of resource wealth includes overlapping generations length model (δ), equilibrium transfer model (?) and a complete model on equilibrium distribution among generations (δ-?). The model provides quantitative basis for the creation of resource management system, and fills in a theoretical gap in this discipline in China. Besides, it furnishes a new methodology and manipulate tool for Chinese government to establish a comprehensive management information bank for many sectors such as economic trade, population, science and technology, education, human resource, natural resource and environment, agriculture, forestry, industry, mining and energy.     

南水北调东线水资源配置中的期权契约研究

针对南水北调东线实际和传统水资源配置方法的局限性。借鉴金融工程的理念。引入水期权契约作为市场机制下水资源配置的一种方式．用以提高干旱年水供给保证率、规避水价波动风脸，从而提高东线水资源使用价值。分析期权契约理论用于南水北调水资源配置的可行性。并根据东线受水区流域水资源供求缺口的影响因素分析．得出水价的均值回复特性。在上述分析基础上引入多次执行期权契约。考虑应用动态规划方法对期权价值进行求解。并通过算例分析验证了该方法的可行性．最后根据南水北调东线实际构建了水期权契约在东线的应用流程。     

Soil-plant-animal transfer models to improve soil protection guidelines: a case study from Portugal

Food chain models are essential tools to assess risks of soil contamination in view of product quality including fodder crops and animal products. Here we link soil to plant transfer (SPT) models for potentially toxic elements (PTEs) including As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, U and Zn with models describing accumulation in animal organs. Current EU standards for food products and acceptable daily intake levels (ADI) for humans were used as critical limits. The combined model is used to assess the impact of soil contamination on animal health, product quality and human health using data from 100 arable fields. Results indicate that 42 existing arable fields near industrial and mining sites are unsuitable for animal grazing in view of food safety due to elevated intake of Cd, Cu, Hg and Pb by cows and sheep. At 10 sites daily intake levels of As by cows exceeded threshold concentrations regarding the quality of animal products.The food chain model also was used inversely to derive soil threshold concentrations in view of EU fodder standards. Calculated threshold levels in soil for As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Hg and Zn appear to be in line with those proposed or used in other EU countries. As such the approach applied here can form a conceptual basis for a more harmonized risk assessment strategy regarding the protection of animal and human health.