就业创造还是就业替代——OFDI对中国就业影响的区域差异研究

进入21世纪以来,中国对外直接投资规模迅猛增长,成为影响中国经济发展越来越重要的因素,是吸纳劳动力就业和提高劳动力素质的一条新途径。对外直接投资的母国就业效应随着时间和地区的不同主要表现为就业创造效应和就业替代效应。本文利用中国30个省份2003-2010年的面板数据,考察了对外直接投资对国内就业的影响,以及这种影响在各个地区之间的差异。结果表明,从全国范围来看,对外直接投资对就业的创造效应要大于替代效应。由于我国对外直接投资发展存在着区域非均衡性,使得各地区对外直接投资对就业的影响存在着差异,东部地区对外直接投资对就业的创造效应大于替代效应。中部地区两种效应大体相当,二者相抵后表现出不确定效应。而西部地区对外直接投资由于起步较晚,目前对就业的影响主要表现为替代作用。因此,政府在制定对外直接投资促进政策时,应该更为注重区域的分类和细化,引导我国对外直接投资的区域均衡发展,以改善区域就业结构。     

中国大气环境治理的新启示--来自武汉疫情管控期间的自然实验

在武汉疫情管控期间,企业经济活动和机动车活动水平明显大幅下降,大部分污染源基本停止排放,意味着在此期间全国各地区应该出现优良天气,但是事实上在我国部分地区却出现了严重雾霾天气,这种反预期现象引起人们的普遍关注,甚至怀疑我国大气环境治理是否存在失误。根据这种反预期现象,提出环境污染应当是由流量污染和存量污染共同决定的猜想。为验证这一猜想,分别假设了两种情况:第一种只有流量污染,第二种既有流量污染又有存量污染,并用武汉疫情管控前后的实际排放数据模拟得到空气质量状况,寻找雾霾形成的规律,然后与武汉疫情管控前后实际监测数据进行对比,确定反预期现象的原因。实际数据和模拟数据对比发现,实际情况与假设1不符,与假设2相符。据此认为,大气污染是由当期排放的污染与积累的存量污染共同决定。在此基础上,进一步分析存量污染造成的经济损失,分析表明:2007年被低估1.64亿元,到2017年被低估3.83亿元;在消散率为0.05、贴现率为0.01时,流量、存量和流量与存量损失的差额分别为6.5亿元、50.5亿元和44.0亿元,这意味着2007—2017年总的经济损失被低估44.0亿元。在消散率为0.3、贴现率为0.1时,流量、存量和流量与存量损失的差额分别为4.6亿元、10.5亿元和5.9亿元,这意味着2007—2017年总的经济损失被低估5.9亿元。研究发现,长期累积形成的存量污染是一个被忽视的大气污染源,从而解释了在武汉疫情管控期间低水平经济活动条件下仍然会出现重度大气污染的经验事实。其政策含义在于,制定反污染政策需要根据存量污染的特征进一步完善相关政策设计。     

Risk communication and sustainability science: lessons from the field

Sustainability science aims to help societies across the globe address the increased environmental and health crises and risks that range from poverty to climate change to health pandemics. With the increased magnitude and frequency of these large-scale risks to different societies, scientists and institutions have increasingly recognized the need for improved communication and collaboration among researchers, governments, businesses, and communities. This article argues that risk communication has fundamentally important contributions to make to sustainability science’s mission to create use-inspired, “actionable science” that can lead to solutions. Risk communication research can advance the mission of sustainability science to engage a wide range of stakeholders. This kind of engagement is especially important in the context of addressing sustainability problems that are characterized by high levels of uncertainty and complexity. We introduce three core tenets of risk communication research that are fundamental to advancing sustainability science. Risk communication specifically offers an increased understanding of how system feedbacks, human perceptions, and levels of uncertainty influence the study and design of solutions within social ecological systems.     

空气污染、空间外溢与公共健康——以中国珠江三角洲9个城市为例

空气污染对居民公共健康的影响,引起了人们高度的关注。但大多数学者研究从样本的独立性出发且不考虑内生性问题,忽视区域之间空间相关性,所得结论和政策建议需谨慎对待。为了弥补上述不足,本文基于Grossman中国宏观健康生产函数,选取2001—2014年中国广东省珠江三角洲9个城市作为样本,选择以PM_(10)和PM_(2.5)作为空气污染的代理指标,在充分考虑空间效应和严格假设检验的基础上选择合适的空间计量经济学模型,对此进行实证研究。主要研究结果显示:空气污染对居民的公共健康带来了负面影响,即PM_(10)和PM_(2.5)每增加1%,导致哮喘疾病和内科门诊等疾病人数不断上升,且影响都比较大,尤其是对哮喘疾病的影响分别为0.2236%和0.2272%。经济增长对公共健康均有显著的促进作用,影响最大;其它财政医疗支出、卫生技术人员和人口密度等要素对居民公共健康的影响较小。由于空气污染的负外部性,研究还发现,区域之间空气污染的"溢出效应"对领域居民公共健康存在显著的影响,说明忽视空间自相关性的存在,会使得空气污染对公众健康的估计产生偏差。从长期看,空气污染对本地居民公共健康的直接效应都显著为正,PM_(2.5)间接效应显著为负,但PM_(10)间接效应并不显著。因此,各级政府除了在源头上治理污染物的排放,提高公共健康水平外,还应该打破各自为阵的行政垄断,应该作为一个整体,实现跨区域环保合作,共同治理和制定公共卫生政策等。这对区域之间协同减排和保护居民公共健康具有重要的理论和现实意义。     

The impact of urban spatial structure on air pollution: empirical evidence from China

Environment, Development and Sustainability - For a long time, air pollution caused by unreasonable urban spatial structure and excessive urban sprawl has been a prominent environmental problem in...     

Phthalate metabolites in urine from China, and implications for human exposures

Phthalates are esters of phthalic acid and are mainly used as plasticizers (added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity). Humans are exposed to phthalates through several routes. Urinary phthalate metabolites can be used as biomarkers of human exposures to phthalates. In this study, 14 phthalate metabolites were analyzed in 183 urine samples collected in 2010 from Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Qiqihaer, China. Phthalate metabolites were found in all urine samples and their total concentrations ranged from 18.6 to 3160 ng/mL (median: 331 ng/mL). Mono-n-butyl phthalate (mBP) and mono-2-isobutyl phthalate (miBP) were the major metabolites found in urine, and their respective median concentrations were 61.2 and 51.7 ng/mL; concentrations of miBP were higher than the concentrations reported for other countries, to date. Based on the urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites, we estimated the daily intake rates in the Chinese population. The estimated daily intakes of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in China were 12.2, 3.8, and ~5 μg/kg bw/day, respectively. Thirty nine percent of the samples exceeded the tolerable daily intake of 10 μg/kg bw/day, proposed for DBP, by the European Food Safety Authority, but none of the estimated daily intake values exceeded the reference dose recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.     

Ecological distribution conflicts and sustainability: lessons from the post-socialist European semi-periphery

Understanding how ecological distribution conflicts (EDCs) have changed through the transition from socialism to capitalism in the European semi-periphery can provide valuable lessons for global efforts towards sustainability. This article traces the social, political and economic origins of EDCs, and evaluates the outcomes of the 74 most illustrative cases of such conflicts from five ex-Yugoslav countries reported in the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJatlas): Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. It analyses how the occurrence and characteristics of the conflicts changed through three distinct phases in the region’s history, i.e., the periods of Socialism (1945–1990), Transition (1991–2003), and EU-accession (2004–present), each characterised by different socio-metabolic, political and institutional profiles. The article also evaluates the level of environmental justice (EJ) in the region. The greatest diversity of conflicts were identified in the last phase, a period characterised by an increase in material and energy flows through a number of controversial projects, many of which arose as a result of ‘modernisation’. Fortunately, the resulting ‘unsustainabilities’ were immediately politicised by EJ movements, whose composition, demands and success differed in line with changing dominant political and institutional conditions. Currently, the EJ movements in ex-Yugoslavia are led by national NGOs, while urban movements embrace the broadest spectrum of socio-environmental issues. Timely mobilisation and support from local authorities have been crucial for the successful resolution of conflicts. However, EJ movements have proved impotent to resist projects deemed to be of national economic interest in contexts characterised by high levels of corruption and low political accountability. Stronger alliances among different movements would assure more EJ and lasting sustainability solutions in the region.     

中国能源强度变动的就业效应研究

能源强度反映了能源的利用效率,并且可以体现出一个国家及地区的经济发展水平、产业结构和技术进步的综合作用。本文在1995-2009年各省份数据的基础上,利用面板VAR模型脉冲响应函数和面板协整模型分析中国区域能源强度与就业之间的动态作用及其长期均衡关系。结果显示,能源强度与就业之间存在着长期均衡关系;能源强度对就业总量和就业变动率有着负向的冲击,能源强度的降低可以有效拉动中国就业的提高。各个省份之间的能源强度对于中国就业的影响存在显著的差异;影响作用由西向东呈现出梯度递增的趋势。因此,建议通过扩大经济增长的规模降低能源强度,提高就业水平;东部地区应侧重于提高能源利用效率及发展第三产业来增加就业,而中西部地区可以适度降低能源的消费总量,并不会对就业产生较大的冲击;另外,在政策制定和实施过程中,需要注意政策的时滞效应,通过优化工业布局,加强区域间的合作,实现能源强度变动与就业增加的良性互动。     

我国农村劳动力流动性就业计量问题研究

改革开放30年来,上亿农村劳动力实现了向城镇非农产业大规模转移,而我国沿袭至今的劳动就业统计制度突出的缺陷是将三部分人--在农村从事纯农的农民,在城镇从事非农工作但户口在农村的农民工,游移于乡城间"亦工亦农"的农村劳动力--排除于劳动统计计量之外.不解决这部分劳动力就业的统计计量的问题,则很难准确回答"中国的失业率究竟有多高?".为此,确定严格的、便于与国际接轨的劳动就业标准,从而构建我国统一的、规范的劳动就业市场至关重要.本文着重探讨了游移于农村与城市之间、就业岗位、就业时间不固定的农村劳动力就业、失业不充分的计量问题.作者在对国内外就业和失业定义和计量标准进行比较和评价基础上,结合我国实情提出了以法定劳动力年工时为核心的劳动力流动性就业的调查和计量方法,并通过调查案例证实了它的有效性与可行性.     

The relationship between socio-economic indicators and air pollution in England and Wales: implications for environmental justice

This paper investigates the distribution of three common air pollutants, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and fine particulates (PM₁₀), in England and Wales with respect to social class, ethnicity and population density. A multilevel model is used to demonstrate regional differences in the social distribution of pollution. The results show that, allowing for ethnicity and population density, there are different relationships between socio-economic status and exposure to air pollution within different regions in England and Wales. These differences suggest that national legislation introduced to reduce air pollution levels may give rise to environmental injustice, with geographical and social differences in the costs and benefits arising to the population due to such legislation. Received: 24 February 1999 / Accepted: 2 September 1999     

Ambient air pollution and children's lung function in China

ObjectiveTo describe the correlations between ambient air pollutants (TSP, SO₂, NO_x) and the level of children's lung function (FVC, FEV₁, MMEF) in China.MethodsWe collected the research articles on ambient air pollution and children's lung function published from 1985 to 2006 and selected 11 articles finally according to the following criteria: (1) Children between the age of 7 and 15 as objects; (2) Local air quality monitoring results were reported; (3) Strict quality control was taken when testing children's lung function; (4) The results were expressed by the average of measured value. Then we analyzed the correlation relationship between the level of ambient air pollutants and children's lung function and compared the effects of ambient air pollutants on children's lung function of boy and girl.ResultsThe selected articles included the results of 7 cities in China. Among them, the results of 6 cities' studies revealed that the levels of children's lung function were significantly lower in the areas with heavy ambient air pollution than those in the areas with light ambient air pollution. According to the articles, the average levels of TSP were at the range of 0.084 mg/m³–0.835 mg/m³, SO₂ were 0.013 mg/m³–0.929 mg/m³, NO_x were 0.044 mg/m³–0.229 mg/m³. Correlation analysis showed significant negative correlation between the levels of TSP and SO₂ and children's FVC and FEV₁, as well as the levels of NO_x and children's MMEF. The correlation coefficient was ? 0.797 (t = ? 4.384, P = 0.001) between TSP and FVC, ? 0.693 (t = ? 4.190, P < 0.001) between Ln (SO₂) and FVC, ? 0.886 (t = ? 5.392, P = 0.001) and ? 0.685 (t = ? 4.101, P = 0.001) between FEV₁ and TSP and Ln (SO₂), and ? 0.973 (t = ? 5.993, P = 0.027) between NO_xNO_x and MMEF, respectively. The results also suggested that the decreases of lung function for girl with the increasing of ambient air pollution were significantly greater for boy.ConclusionThe levels of ambient air TSP and SO₂ correlated with the damage of the big airway function of children, while NO_xNO_x affected the small airway function chiefly. Furthermore, lung function of girl was more susceptible to ambient air pollutants than boy.     

Occurrence of parabens in foodstuffs from China and its implications for human dietary exposure

Parabens are alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and are used as antimicrobial preservatives in a range of consumer products, including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and foodstuffs. Despite their widespread use, prior to this study, paraben concentrations in foodstuffs from China and human dietary exposure to these chemicals have been unknown. In this study, concentrations of six parabens were determined in 13 categories of food samples (n = 282), including cereals and cereal products, meat, fish and seafood, eggs, dairy products, bean products, fruits, vegetables, cookies, beverages, cooking oils, condiments, and others, collected from nine cities in China. Almost all (detection rate: 99%) food samples contained at least one of the parabens analyzed, and the total concentrations (ΣParabens; sum of six parabens) ranged from below limit of quantification (LOQ) to 2530 ng/g fresh weight, with an overall mean value of 39.3 ng/g. Methyl paraben (MeP), ethyl paraben (EtP), and propyl paraben (PrP) were the major paraben analogs found in foodstuffs, and these compounds accounted for 59%, 24%, and 10%, respectively, of ΣParaben concentrations. Although the mean concentrations of ΣParabens varied among different categories of food items (from 0.839 ng/g in beverages to 100 ng/g in vegetables), the concentrations were not statistically significant among the 13 food categories, including canned foodstuffs. Estimated daily intake (EDI) of parabens was based on the measured concentrations in foods and the corresponding daily food ingestion rates. The mean and 95th percentile values for EDI were 1010 and 3040 ng/kg body weight (bw)/day for adult men and 1060 and 3170 ng/kg bw/day for adult women, respectively.     

经济增长和环境规制对雾霾的区际影响差异

为探究不同省级区域雾霾、经济增长和环境规制之间的空间关联效应,本文提出针对雾霾的引力模型空间权重矩阵,并利用该矩阵建立了空间杜宾模型,分别对全国、西部、中部和东部省区的面板数据进行了空间计量检验。实证结果显示:全国雾霾的莫兰指数值显著,且取值介于0.367—0.460之间;雾霾"重心"呈现先向东南再向西北移动的趋势,移动距离为76 557 m;雾霾的莫兰指数值为东部省区最大,西部省区最小,中部省区介于二者之间。全国的雾霾与经济增长之间呈显著的"U"型曲线,而西部、中部和东部省区则呈倒"U"型曲线,其中中部省区的曲线最为陡峭,西部省区次之,东部省区最为平缓。环境规制每增加1%,只有西部和东部的雾霾相应减少,且各自相应下降0.009和0.010个百分点。西部和东部经济增长的溢出效应均显著,而环境规制的溢出效应不显著。研究结果表明:(1)雾霾在空间上表现出集聚的特点,全国和三个区域的雾霾都存在显著的正向空间溢出效应,这种空间依赖性在时间维度上大致呈加强的趋势;雾霾的空间相关性表现为东部省区最强,西部省区紧随其后,中部省区最低。(2)西部和东部省区部分省市还未过拐点,全国意义上的环境库茨涅兹假说是不存在的,或者是至少还未出现。(3)西部和东部环境规制效果较为理想,而中部省区的环境规制效果不佳;从全国总体来看,当前的环境规制整体上对雾霾并未起到有效的抑制作用。(4)东西部省区和中部省区经济增长对雾霾溢出效应分别表现为正向和反向;环境规制对雾霾的溢出效应并不显著。建议加强对雾霾的区域协同治理,重点推进西部和东部省区经济结构的转型升级,调整和完善西部、中部和东部省区的环境规制政策。     

经济发展与环境污染脱钩理论及EKC假说的关系——兼论中国地级城市的脱钩划分

脱钩理论与EKC假说,两者都描述了经济发展与环境污染之间的动态关系,其中,脱钩理论揭示了经济发展与环境压力是否同步变化的关联,而EKC假说先于脱钩理论出现,并阐述了环境污染随着经济发展水平呈现出的非线性关系。本研究基于脱钩理论与EKC假说的理论内涵,首先通过数理模型的推导,得到了二者的内在联系,并运用一阶差分GMM方法对此进行实证检验。基于数理分析和一阶差分GMM估计的实证结果显示,脱钩理论与EKC假说均呈现出先上升后下降的倒"U"型曲线特征,且相对脱钩与绝对脱钩的临界点正好对应于EKC的拐点。其次,结合二者的关联,本研究将人均GDP水平加入脱钩类型的判定标准,在传统脱钩状态分类的基础上,以EKC拐点处所对应的人均GDP水平,以及数值为0.8的脱钩弹性系数为两条分界线,进一步将城市的经济发展与环境污染脱钩关系类型划分为6种形态,分别为"高收入未脱钩"、"低收入未脱钩"、"低收入相对脱钩"、"高收入相对脱钩"、"低收入绝对脱钩"和"高收入绝对脱钩"。最后,本研究将理论部分所做的推导以及脱钩的象限划分应用于实际的城市脱钩案例研究中,并依据一阶差分GMM的回归结果,将中国271个地级城市的经济发展与污染排放的脱钩状态进行了归类。对2004—2013年中国271个地级城市的经验分析表明,近50%的城市尚处于"低收入未脱钩"和"低收入相对脱钩"状态,意味着中国地级城市发展不平衡,且城市内部的脱钩发展与经济发展不匹配问题突出,这些城市在未来的绿色脱钩建设过程中将长期面临着"保增长"和"促脱钩"的双重任务。     

中美大气污染的空间交互影响--来自国家和城市层面PM2.5的经验证据

准确识别中美大气污染的空间交互影响可以为两国在大气污染治理领域开展双边合作提供科学依据。以PM 2.5浓度表征大气污染程度,采用收敛交叉映射(Convergent Cross Mapping,CCM)方法,在采集伯克利地球发布的小时数据的基础上通过算数平均得到2018年1月1日至2018年12月31日的PM 2.5浓度日均数据,从国家和城市两个层面识别了中美大气污染的空间交互影响。研究发现,中美两国的大气污染是空间交互影响的。其中,国家层面,在CCM因果检验基础上的广义同步检验表明,在1%显著性水平上,大气污染仅存在由美国指向中国的单向因果关系。城市层面,中美两国10个样本城市之间理论上共存在50个可能的因果关系(5×5×2)。研究发现,在1%显著性水平上,美国城市指向中国城市的因果关系有12个,而中国城市指向美国城市的因果关系仅有5个。在影响强度上,美国城市的大气污染对中国城市的影响强度高于中国城市的大气污染对美国城市的影响强度,如重庆的大气污染对华盛顿的影响强度为0.21,而华盛顿的大气污染对重庆的影响强度为0.35。面对大气污染的空间交互影响,中美两国可通过积极开展联合科研攻关,厘清大气污染的传输路径及其驱动因素,进行污染物的联合监测与数据管理;通过共享大气污染治理技术和建立大气污染防治基金等方式,加强在大气污染治理领域的合作。一旦中美两国成功建立起大气污染双边合作治理体系,依靠两国的国际地位和国际影响力,必将吸引越来越多的国家参与进来共同行动,大气污染全球治理体系的构建将非常值得期待。     

Water, sanitation and sustainability: lessons from a community project

This paper captures the lessons learned from the implementation of water supply and sanitation interventions in Mayiwane community in the rural northeastern region of the Kingdom of Swaziland, relating to water system rehabilitation, water quantity and quality improvements, and the promotion of latrine construction. The issues examined include both the dimensions of implementation efficiency and project effectiveness: first identifying the inputs, activities and final outputs and, then, tracking the entire project cycle, from design to implementation and monitoring. To draw meaningful lessons for the sustainability of similar interventions, project evaluation involved extensive fieldwork, water sampling and testing, review of documentation, and interviews with community members and officials of governmental, civil society and collaborating external agencies. Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Government intervention in green industries: lessons from the wind turbine and the organic food industries in Denmark

Government intervention in green infant industries may be justified as a strategy to increase the provision of public goods. How should government policies be designed to promote such industries? One way to analyse this question is to compare government intervention in green infant industries in which it has been successful with green infant industries in which it has been less successful. The Danish government has intervened intensively in the wind turbine industry and organic farming sector mainly for environmental reasons since 1992 and 1987, respectively, but with very different impacts. While the electricity market share of wind energy reached 20% in 2007, organic food consumption lags behind with a food market share of approximately 8.5% in 2007. This paper compares the packages of policy instruments applied in the two industrial sectors and assesses whether differences in instrument choice may explain the significant differences in market shares. It is demonstrated that government intervention in the wind turbine industry has emphasized the use of policy instruments designed to increase demand for wind energy, whereas organic farming policy has put more emphasis on instruments motivating farmers to increase supply. This may be an important factor explaining variance in growth. Finally, the paper analyses whether the lessons from government policy aimed at promoting the wind turbine industry can be transferred to organic farming policy.     

A survey of parabens in commercial pharmaceuticals from China and its implications for human exposure

Parabens are widely used as antimicrobial preservatives during pharmaceutical production. However, little information is available regarding the occurrence of parabens in commercial pharmaceuticals and their implications for human exposure. In this study, six commonly used parabens were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with 100 commercial pharmaceuticals collected from China. Almost all of the pharmaceutical samples contained at least one kind of parabens with the detection frequency of 97%. The concentrations of Σ₆parabens (sum of the six parabens) ranged from below MDL to 1256 ng/g, with mean and median values of 94.8 and 119 ng/g, respectively. Methyl paraben (MeP), ethyl paraben (EtP) and propyl paraben (PrP) were the predominant compounds. Significant positive correlation was observed between concentrations of MeP and PrP, indicating their co-applications in pharmaceuticals. Levels of Σ₆parabens varied in different categories of pharmaceuticals and increased with their shelf lives. Based on the measured concentrations and daily ingestion rates of pharmaceuticals, the estimated daily intake (EDI) of parabens was calculated. The median values of EDI_{pharmaceutical} for male adults, female adults and children were 4.05, 4.75 and 9.73 ng/kg-bw/day, respectively, which were three orders of magnitude lower than those from foodstuffs and personal care products (PCPs). It was firstly reported that the total exposure dose was 0.326 mg/kg-bw/day via foodstuffs, PCPs, and pharmaceuticals for Chinese female adults.     

Regional patterns and controls of biomass in semiarid woodlands: lessons from the Northern Argentina Dry Chaco

Land use change, particularly in forested ecosystems, has a direct impact on the global carbon cycle. Consequently, the regional assessment of biomass and the understanding of its current spatial controls are research priorities for regional ecology and land use. Field data and satellite imagery were combined here to map woodlands and estimate their above-ground biomass (AGB) in the Dry Chaco ecoregion of northern Argentina. Allometric equations were used to derive AGB from diameter at breast height data collected at 50 samples during 2007. In order to generate the AGB regional map, this information was later associated with MODIS-Terra spectral data (NDVI) using the Random Forest (RF) method. Finally, AGB spatial patterns were associated with potential biophysical and human controlling factors through correlation and regression analyses. Results indicate that the use of RF and NDVI of the dry season derived from MODIS-Terra was suitable to map regional AGB, what makes this methodology applicable to other dry woodlands. The RF model used to map AGB showed a mean deviation of 2.9 % and a precision of 15 % for one prediction. At this regional scale of analysis, biophysical rather than human factors controlled AGB spatial patterns, in part because the region includes a wide range of environmental situations. Warmer conditions showed a higher biomass, suggesting an energetic limitation for AGB accumulation. However, human controls (distance to towns, cultivation, and roads) also conditioned AGB patterns, suggesting lower AGB values near cultivated areas. The relation between AGB and water availability was surprisingly weak, but partially obscured by the land use history and degradation due to extensive cattle ranching. We propose that a combination of environmental factor and land use affects the AGB regional patterns and promotes unexpected relationships with environmental factors. This work represents the first spatially explicit AGB (patterns and controls) analysis for an extensive subtropical dry woodland area (113,000 km²) and shows how biophysical and human factors co-control regional patterns.     

Towards better water governance in river basins: some lessons learned from the Volga

This article focuses on the problems of water governance at a river basin level, and on the role of institutional coordination, participation and partnerships between multiple stakeholders towards sustainable water management. Its approach presupposes that institutional capacity building, strengthening coordination between government institutions (vertical and horizontal), on the one hand, and broadening participation and consolidating partnerships between public, private and civil society actors, on the other hand, is among effective tools in integrated water resource management in river basins. It explores environmental challenges, problems, emerging trends and recent institutional innovations in the Volga basin in Russia—the largest river basin in Europe. Transfer and adaptation of good practices in good water governance between the EU and Russia are discussed. This article presents some research findings and lessons learned from practice by the EC international project ‘CABRI—Cooperation along a big river: Institutional coordination among stakeholders for environmental risk management in the Volga basin’, which is assessed as one of the selected success stories of the European research.’