Separate waste collection in Italy: the role of socio-cultural factors and targets set by law

The aim of this paper was twofold: on the one hand, we analyse the results achieved in terms of percentages of separate collection in Italy by testing the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in improving the separate collection process; and on the other hand, we investigate on some of the factors, related to the sociocultural local context, that could explain the different impacts of the law in the three macro-areas considered (North, Central and South Italy). To this purpose, an econometric analysis on the Italian regions for the 1996–2013 period is performed, comparing the period before (1996–2006) and after (2006–2013) the date of entry into force of the new law. The results show the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in promoting separate collection, although a regional difference in terms of separate collection rate is observed. Northern regions proved to be more dynamic and reactive to the above-mentioned legislation, while Central and especially Southern regions achieved poorer results in moving to higher separate waste collection rates. Finally, our work provides evidence on some local factors that may have hampered an effective policy implementation in Southern regions, among them, the presence of criminal activities and the lack of citizen participation in politics.     

Land degradation,economic growth and structural change: evidences from Italy

The present study investigates the relationship between land degradation and the evolution of the productive structure in Italy during the last 50 years (1960–2010). The objectives of the study are twofold: (i) to present and discuss an original analysis of the income–environment relationship in an economic-convergent and environmental–divergent country and (ii) to evaluate the impact of the (changing) productive structure and selected socio-demographic characteristics on the level of land vulnerability. The econometric analysis indicates that the relationship between GDP and land degradation across Italian provinces is completely reverted once we move from a cross-sectional analysis to panel estimates. While economic and environmental disparities between provinces go in the same direction, with richer provinces having lower levels of LD, over time the growth process increases LD with the economic structure acting as a significant variable.     

生活垃圾分类收集引发的全民教育中的环境教育思考

在介绍国内外环境教育发展概况的基础上,探讨我国将垃圾分类收集融入环境教育的必要性与可行性。基于垃圾分类收集的特点和难点,提出应结合生活垃圾分类收集工作,将多层次的学校环境教育和全方位的社会环境教育融合实施的措施。     

Land institution of China: overall framework,structural evolution,and regulation intensity

China’s land institution can be defined broadly or narrowly. By examining the broad definition of the land institution, we found that there were prerequisite, complementary, and substitutional relationships among the various systems. These relationships were verified through discussion of the structural evolution of each system. Based on these relationships, three methods for quantification were used to measure the regulation intensity and intra-provincial differences in each system among 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China in 2014. The statistics analysis shows that provinces used to pursue outstanding performances in land institution but few provinces could outperform the other provinces in all types of systems. The statistics results also indicate that the provinces which executed land institution earlier often hold significant advantages in institutional innovations but it is still not clear whether they can maintain the advantages. This study recommends that the Chinese government should improve the overall framework of regional land institution based on land systems’ relationships and evolutionary patterns. Furthermore, the government should optimize the spatial distribution of regional land institution based on the intra-provincial differences in land-regulation intensity.     

中国固体废物管理政策变迁逻辑与完善路径

系统梳理固体废物管理政策的变迁逻辑,研究固体废物管理政策的聚焦内容和发展趋向,有助于明晰固体废物管理政策完善路径。研究立足于已颁布的固体废物管理政策,运用统计方法分析固体废物管理政策的文本结构和内容,找出中国固体废物管理政策变迁的内在逻辑;紧密结合当前“无废城市”建设的政策需求,提出政策优化完善路径。研究发现:固体废物管理政策文本类型多元、效力级别多样,政策框架体系逐步优化完善;固体废物管理政策热点具有鲜明的时代发展烙印和动态演变特征,政策涉及的领域越来越广,政策内容更具针对性和全面性,政策执行更具指向性和可操作性;无害化、减量化、资源化,污染防治、监督管理、二次污染、回收利用、循环经济等是政策关注焦点;政府从宏观层面强化顶层设计,以政策引导规范为主,注重政策协同、技术支撑、治理水平提升等助推无害化、减量化、资源化目标实现;固体废物管理政策实施的工具手段多元化、要素支撑多样化,固体废物管理的技术支撑关注度逐步提升、管理模式与治理路径已进入适应性转型。立足现实需要,固体废物管理的市场化政策与激励机制不足,适用性技术关注度不高,综合管理水平和治理能力亟待提升。结合国外“无废城市”建设的理论研究、实践行动和政策举措,从固体废物生命周期管理政策、技术范式政策、主体协同政策、引导激励政策及法律法规政策等方面提出中国“无废城市”建设的政策完善路径方向。     

Researching Visual Environmental Communication

In 2008, we published a journal paper arguing that while scholarly work on media representations of environmental issues had made substantial progress in textual analysis, there had been much less work on visual representations. This special edition has a number of aims in this respect. It seeks to mark out where there has been progress since 2008, and the papers in this collection represent some of the fresh and exciting high quality scholarly work now emerging on an expanding number of topics and using different methods. We argue that we need to think more openly about what we mean by “the visual.” We begin by placing research into visual representations of the environment into the wider trajectory of visual studies research. We then proceed to review key trends in visual environmental communication research and to delineate core dimensions, contexts and sites of visual analysis.     

Climate change,sustainable water management and institutional adaptation in rural sub-Saharan Africa

Much current work on climate adaptation options vis-à-vis water management in rural sub-Saharan Africa has tended to focus more on technological and infrastructural alternatives and less on institutional alternatives. Yet, vulnerability to climate variability and change in these contexts is a function not just of biophysical outcomes but also of institutional factors that can vary significantly at relatively finer scales. This paper seeks to contribute towards closing this gap by examining institutional options for sustainable water management in rural SSA in the context of climate change and variability. It explores challenges for transforming water-related institutions and puts forward institutional alternatives towards adapting to increasingly complex conditions created by climate change and variability. The paper suggests revisiting the Integrated Water Resources Management approach which has dominated water institutional debates and reforms in Africa over the recent past, towards actively adopting resilience and adaptive management lenses in crafting water institutional development initiatives.     

Municipal solid waste management, source-separated waste and stakeholder’s attitude: a Contingent Valuation Study

Recognition of the social costs associated with traditional practices of urban waste management in India led to the formulation of Municipal Waste Management and Handling rules (2000). However, compliance with the proposed collection and disposal involves higher commitment in terms of both time and money on the part of the residents, local bodies as well as the state and central government. In this context, information about the value of the environmental improvements conferred upon the city dwellers would be important from the planner’s perspective. Given the non-market characteristic of waste disposal services, we infer about beneficiaries’ perceived demand for the proposed service by means of Double-Bounded Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation Survey conducted in the Bally Municipality in the district of Howrah, West Bengal. We estimate the average WTP by controlling for anchoring bias and use the annualized value of cost to examine the feasibility of the proposed system.     

A discourse-analytical perspective on sustainability assessment: interpreting sustainable development in practice

Sustainable development is a ubiquitously used concept in public decision-making: it refers to an ideal vision of global society where human development and environmental quality go hand in hand. Logically, any decision-supporting process aiming at facilitating and steering society toward a sustainable future then seems desirable. Assessing the sustainability of policy decisions is, however, influenced by what sustainable development is believed to entail, as different discourses coexist under the umbrella of the sustainable development meta-discourse. This paper proposes a typology of sustainable development discourses, and, subsequently, applies a discourse-analytical lens on two practical cases of sustainability assessment in different institutional and geographical contexts (in Belgium and in Benin). The results indicate that sustainability assessments tend to be influenced mainly by the consensual ‘sustainable development as integration’ discourse, while also providing a forum for dialogue between different discourses. The results shed light on context-specific discursive and institutional dynamics for the development and application of sustainability assessment. Acknowledging these dynamics as well as sustainable development’s inherent interpretational limits can lead to an improved use of sustainable development as a decision-guiding strategy.     

The development and unraveling of marine resource co-management in the Pemba Channel,Zanzibar: institutions,governance, and the politics of scale

Marine resource management programs face conflicting mandates: to scale-up marine conservation efforts to cover larger areas and meet national and international conservation targets, while simultaneously to downscale and decentralize management authority to resource users and local communities. These conflicting goals create tensions in marine resource management. This paper explores these tensions by presenting and evaluating the outcomes of a fisheries co-management program on the island of Pemba, Tanzania, where institutions and scale were configured and reconfigured under externally funded programs to improve marine conservation through co-management. The initial institutional arrangements for co-management supported a functioning system to protect marine resources, ensure fishermen’s access, and distribute tourism revenues. However, a subsequent push to scale-up marine management reconfigured institutional arrangements and power in a more hierarchical and potentially weaker system. With the expansion of the co-management program, protected area coverage, financial resources, and the number of community organizations created for fisheries co-management expanded tremendously; however, community participation in marine management decreased, and the fishermen’s association previously involved in co-management dissolved. Several factors contributed to this outcome: inadequate time to solidify co-management institutions and arrangements, diverse resource users inexperienced with local management, a sudden and substantial new source of funding, and political pressures to restructure marine management. Rather than focusing primarily on expanding coverage and devolving authority, it is important to adapt co-management arrangements to the local contexts in which they operate.     

中国海洋生态保护制度的演进逻辑、互补需求及改革路径

海洋生态问题本质上是制度问题。中国海洋生态保护制度经历了从无到有、从少到多的发展过程,但多种复杂制度之间是否能够形成治理合力,制度缺失、制度无效和制度冲突等问题是否存在,尚有待进一步解答。为此,文章在梳理中国海洋生态保护制度演进逻辑的基础上,基于制度互补视角挖掘现有制度的互补空间,探究查缺补漏、规范修正和协调统筹的制度改革路径,以期推动海洋生态保护制度“从多到优”的有效过渡。中国海洋生态保护制度的演进可分为初步建立、稳步推进和改革转型三个阶段,呈现出从陆海分割到陆海一体化治理、从政府单一主体监管到多元主体协同治理、从标准规范到法律保障的趋势特征。制度需求引致与制度供给滞后、制度成本制约与制度收益驱动之间的联动关系是推动海洋生态保护制度演进的内在动因。海洋生态保护是一项跨区域、跨部门的复杂系统性工程,不同生态保护制度之间的联动耦合至关重要。立足制度互补理论视角,中国海洋生态保护制度在保护主体、保护手段和保护过程三个层面均存在较大的互补需求,其中保护主体单一的问题主要因制度缺失导致,保护手段的低效主要受到制度适应性不足的影响,而保护过程的割裂主要反映了制度不协调、不匹配的矛盾。基于此,未来中国海洋生态保护制度的补充应围绕政府职责梳理和多元主体参与建设,制度的修正重点在于进一步完善市场激励、信息公开等非政府机制,制度的协调则要实现立足事前、事中和事后全过程,推动政策工具的有效衔接配合。     

Recent patterns of production for the main cereal grains: implications for food security in China

China’s large population and deteriorating environment have created great concern related to the sustainability of food production, especially since details related to this topic remain poorly studied. Thus, an integrated analysis of both crop yield and cultivated area is essential for gaining a better understanding of cereal grain production in China and for making corresponding policies designed to achieve food security. In this study, we adopt trend analysis of both provincial yield and cultivated area to assess the subsequent provincial-level cereal production sustainability between 1980 and 2011 with the goal of providing a better understanding of regional agricultural development. The results indicate that while maize shows the most promise for yield improvement, rice and wheat production is experiencing substantial yield stagnation among most provinces across mainland China. In addition, the trends in spatial patterns are prominently different from those of yields. The sizes of the main rice- and wheat-growing areas in China have declined greatly, suggesting that the related production of these cereals should attract more attention from land management planners and farmers. Specifically, the south-eastern coastal provinces have largely failed to sustain both crop yield and area, while the north-eastern provinces have witnessed thriving agricultural production during the last three decades. Moreover, we find that cereal production in China is significantly affected by governmental policies related to the agricultural sector. Thus, this analysis of food production in China will help policymakers to better understand how the potential implications of food security in China may be applicable to countries worldwide.     

Measuring the environmental impact of waste flow management in Brazilian apartment buildings

As biodegradable material represents approximately 70% of household waste in Brazil, any strategy to divert appreciable waste quantities from landfills of necessity has to include valorization and recycling of this material. A societal change of attitude is required to perceive this challenge. Experiments in an urban apartment building are described that produced this change of attitude with a success factor of 80%. Divided waste collection was implemented that separated at the source biodegradable from inert material. Correct collection, handling and display procedures were established. Composting of biodegradable material was carried out under the rooftop of the building as an alternative to using it as animal feed. Half of the inert material entered the reverse logistics chain and was also diverted from the landfill. Waste related material flow through the building is completely quantified, food intake and waste production are related, diversion of both biodegradable and inert waste components from the landfill is measured and the composting process is described. The landfill diversion stands at 61%, mass reduction through the composting process is 80% and matured compost is returned to residents for use in flower cages. The system has been operational for two years and stands out as a precedent in successful decentralized household waste management supported by material flow analysis. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

产业生态化水平的测度及其影响因素研究

近年来,产业生态化转型发展成为一个重要的热点问题。构建产业生态化水平评价指标体系,运用因子分析法对我国各省(直辖市、自治区)的产业生态化水平进行测度,并对此进行静态和动态分析,最后运用断尾回归方法找出影响我国产业生态化水平的主要因素。实证结果表明:我国产业生态化水平可以划分为领先区、发达区、中等区和落后区4大类型,各省区产业生态化水平虽都有所提高,但差距显著,影响产业生态化水平的主要因素有人均GDP、产业结构、环境污染治理投资额、RD经费投入、工业固体废物产生量以及工业固体废物综合利用率。据此从产业系统内部和外部两个方面提出加快产业生态化转型发展的对策建议。     

基于效果-效率-适应性的养殖废弃物资源化利用管理模式评价框架构建及初步应用

由于产业发展正处于转型阶段,我国畜禽养殖污染治理中的管理问题比技术问题更加突出,选择适宜的组织管理模式尤其重要。融合了效果分析、效率评价和适应性分析,尝试构建一个养殖废弃物资源化利用管理模式综合评价框架,并选择太湖流域4个不同类型的典型案例进行方法例证。研究表明,传统的养殖企业主导型管理模式应用于小型、分散养殖废弃物资源化利用时面临着经济效率低、适应性差难题;农村废弃物处理中心、种植企业和有机肥企业的参与可以改善小型、分散养殖废弃物资源化利用的经济效率;综合考虑效果、效率与适应性,种植企业、有机肥企业主导型模式的适宜推广范围更广。应根据不同地区种植-养殖产业关系、污染治理需求、经济发展水平与政府投入能力等,灵活组合应用不同管理模式。     

人口增长、收入水平与城市环境

伴随着我国城镇化进程的不断加快,城市环境污染问题备受关注。本文以城镇居民生活垃圾污染行为为起点,通过比较居民与政府目标函数,首先从理论上做出判断,城镇人口数量增加以及居民生活质量提高均会导致城市生活垃圾数量增长,从而对城市环境产生影响。随后,进一步采取Panel data的分析方法,以我国2004-2008年省级面板数据为样本,从城市生活垃圾污染的角度对我国城镇人口增长、居民收入水平与城市环境间的关系进行计量检验。结果显示:我国城市生活垃圾产生数量分别与城镇人口增长、居民收入水平间存在着长期正向协整关系,即在我国城镇化水平和居民生活质量不断提升的背景下,城市生活垃圾数量的增长以及对城市环境的污染存在着内在必然性;另外,我国城市生活垃圾数量的自发增长对平均增长的偏离逐年下降,可见,存在政策、制度、行为等外生因素抑制我国城市生活垃圾数量的增长。最后,文章从生活垃圾控制和处理的角度,就改善我国城市环境和促进城市环境可持续发展提出了简要的政策建议。     

长江中下游流域农村环境质量变化及影响因素研究

基于长江中下游流域6省17县市467家农户在2005~2010年期间关于农村环境对比变化的调查数据,构建了现代化进程中农村环境质量变化及影响因素的差分方程模型,并对近5年长江流域农村环境变化现状及其影响因素进行深入分析。结果表明,（1）我国长江中下游流域的农村环境质量下降变化出现了明显加快总趋势。其中长江中游流域地区农村环境质量下降变化明显比长江下游流域地区下降的变化幅度大,但长江中下游地区农业生产环境有显著好转。（2）长江中游和下游流域农村环境质量变化影响因素既有同质性也有差异性。其中同质性表现都对自然资源过度开发和人们环保意识弱。差异性体现长江中游地区影响环境变化的主要因素是城市化和农业现代化进程加快造成环境质量快速下降,而长江下游农村地区主要是人口压力大,工业化程度和城乡一体化程度高,农村地区面对生活排放和工业排放的叠加影响,从而造成环境质量的下降。研究结论对实现我国工业化、城市化和农业现代化同步发展的“十二·五”规划目标具有实际意义     

Solid waste management in Bogotá: the role of recycling associations as investigated through SWOT analysis

In emerging economies, recycling provides an opportunity for cities to increase the lifespan of sanitary landfills, to reduce the costs of solid waste management, to decrease environmental problems from waste treatment by reincorporating waste into the productive cycle and to protect and develop the livelihoods of citizens who work as informal waste pickers. However, few studies have analysed the possibilities of and strategies for integrating the formal and informal sectors in solid waste management for the benefit of both. This integration is the key, especially in developing countries, to understanding how the recycling population can develop a business despite their social and economic limitations. The aim of this study was to perform a strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) analysis of three recycling associations in Bogotá with the aim of examining and understanding the recycling situation from the perspective of members of the informal sector in their transition to becoming authorised waste providers. This issue has rarely been studied in the context of developing countries. The data used in the analysis are derived from multiple sources, including a literature review, Bogota’s recycling database, focus group meetings, governmental reports, national laws and regulations and interviews with key stakeholders. The results of this study show that as the primary stakeholders, the formal and informal waste management sectors can identify the internal and external conditions of recycling in Bogotá. Several strategies were designed based on the SWOT analysis. The participation of recycling associations is important in the design and application of waste policy, the consolidation of recycling through an effective business model, promotional programmes for social inclusion and the development of new transformation processes and technologies to valorise recycling materials. In conclusion, recycling associations can become authorised waste providers through a profitable business that increases recycling rates to create a productive process from waste during the generation of new materials and to decrease environmental problems while improving the welfare and living conditions of recyclers. These findings are important for Bogotá to advance and promote recycling as a key strategy for integrated sustainable waste management in the city.     

Identifying municipal solid waste management opportunities in Al-Bayda City,Libya

In Libya, municipal solid waste management is one of the services provided by the authorities to keep the county clean. This study was conducted in the City of Al-Bayda, located in the eastern part of Libya, as there have been several major problems facing the city in dealing with solid waste management. One of these problems is the generation, collection, handling, transportation, recycling, and disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW). This study has identified that the ongoing disposal of MSW to poorly engineered “dump sites” on the outskirts of the city is unsustainable and will not meet the demands of the growing population and increasing urbanization currently experienced within Al-Bayda. Factors impacting the decision-making and operational processes of MSW include lack of resources and services that significantly affect the disposal of waste, an inadequate number of waste collection containers making the distance to these containers for many households excessive, and thus leading to an increasing likelihood of dumping solid waste in open areas and roadsides. The study recommends that the city government of Al-Bayda should identify synergies and increase partnership-working arrangements with the private sector to ensure efficient management of MSW within the city area.     

Ecological and Economic System Health Assessment Based on Fuzzy Set Pair Analysis: A Case Study of Northwest Region,China

Abstract

Due to the increasingly serious environmental pollution and destruction, especially humans’ unreasonable activities, the ecological and economic system (EES) issues of Northwest region in China have attracted more and more attention of the researchers. Aiming at evaluating its ecological and economic system health, a multi-objective evaluation framework called Pressure- State-Response (PSR) was established to describe the ecological and economic health situations. Meanwhile, an integrative set pair model combining set pair analysis (SPA) and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) was proposed to assess the ecological and economic system. Then the EES status of five northwest provinces (Shanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang) of Northwest region in China was evaluated during 1985 to 2009. The EES development trends of five provinces are obtained. In general, the health values of five provinces showed a rising trend. The health values of five provinces grew rapidly during 1985 to 2000. After 2000, the health values of five provinces still followed the present growth trend, but the growth is relatively smooth. The results show that the method proposed is effective for assessing the health of ecological and economic system.