Collaborative Implementation for Ecological Restoration on US Public Lands: Implications for Legal Context,Accountability, and Adaptive Management

The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP), established in 2009, encourages collaborative landscape scale ecosystem restoration efforts on United States Forest Service (USFS) lands. Although the USFS employees have experience engaging in collaborative planning, CFLRP requires collaboration in implementation, a domain where little prior experience can be drawn on for guidance. The purpose of this research is to identify the ways in which CFLRP’s collaborative participants and agency personnel conceptualize how stakeholders can contribute to implementation on landscape scale restoration projects, and to build theory on dynamics of collaborative implementation in environmental management. This research uses a grounded theory methodology to explore collaborative implementation from the perspectives and experiences of participants in landscapes selected as part of the CFLRP in 2010. Interviewees characterized collaborative implementation as encompassing three different types of activities: prioritization, enhancing treatments, and multiparty monitoring. The paper describes examples of activities in each of these categories and then identifies ways in which collaborative implementation in the context of CFLRP (1) is both hindered and enabled by overlapping legal mandates about agency collaboration, (2) creates opportunities for expanded accountability through informal and relational means, and, (3) creates feedback loops at multiple temporal and spatial scales through which monitoring information, prioritization, and implementation actions shape restoration work both within and across projects throughout the landscape creating more robust opportunities for adaptive management.     

成都市生活垃圾分类治理政策执行研究——基于史密斯的政策执行过程模型

以成都市生活垃圾分类治理政策为研究对象,以史密斯的政策执行过程模型为理论基础,从政策制定、执行机构、目标群体和政策环境四大要素出发,对成都市相关政策执行情况进行逐一分析.并结合成都市实际情况,从完善政策内容,增强政策执行机构的执行力,调动目标群体积极性和优化政策执行环境4个方面提出相应的意见和建议,以期为推动成都市生活...     

Making Collaborative Watershed Management Work: The Confluence of State and Regional Initiatives

Initiatives in the Neponset, Ipswich, and Sudbury-Assabet-Concord watersheds highlight how watershed-scale innovation in engaging nongovernment participants is influenced, but not dominated, by the statewide program, the Massachusetts Watershed Initiative. The presence or absence of three elements—external support, process, and issue—and the order in which they occur, shape the viability of collaborative watershed-scale management initiatives. External support includes providing personnel or funding from outside an initiative. Process is the interaction among individuals undertaking watershed-wide policy development and/or implementation. An issue is an attention-requiring concern, vital to a watershed, that can most effectively be addressed by a coordinated strategy among different parties. A process generated by an issue is sustainable and amenable to enhancement through external support. The contribution of external support is most apparent when outside assistance is provided after an issue has crystallized into clear problem needs that can be addressed through specific research projects or implementation activities. Process is central in shaping issues, utilizing external support, and generating management results. The outcomes of voluntary processes in the three watershed initiatives highlight how the evolution of the Massachusetts Watershed Initiative leads to, and depends upon, the development of watershed-scale initiatives.     

Assessing the Institutional Effectiveness of State Environmental Agencies in Turkey

Improving the performance of the state environmental agencies (SEAs) necessitates an effective institutionalization of governmental environmental management functions. There are examples of successful and unsuccessful SEAs in several parts of the world. Analysis and assessment of these cases can deliver useful insights for institution builders. The objective of this article is the assessment of the institutional effectiveness of the SEAs in Turkey through the perceptions of the experts using the Delphi Technique. In this regard, a checklist is developed including 16 criteria and 123 subcriteria to measure the institutional effectiveness of the SEAs. Twenty-eight national and international experts have formed a Delphi panel and evaluated the national and local conditions. Results, based on the perceptions of the experts, indicate that the overall effectiveness of the SEAs is far less than satisfactory. Negative consensus has been reached over the effectiveness of 13 of the16 criteria and 95 of the123 subcriteria; however, no consensus has been achieved over the remainder of the parameters. The survey has also proven that the Delphi Technique can be effectively used for that purpose. Utilization of the checklist method is also useful in diagnosing the problematic components of the SEAs. It is recommended that this approach be used in similar cases elsewhere.     

A Framework to Evaluate Ecological and Social Outcomes of Collaborative Management: Lessons from Implementation with a Northern Arizona Collaborative Group

As collaborative groups gain popularity as an alternative means for addressing conflict over management of public lands, the need for methods to evaluate their effectiveness in achieving ecological and social goals increases. However, frameworks that examine both effectiveness of the collaborative process and its outcomes are poorly developed or altogether lacking. This paper presents and evaluates the utility of the holistic ecosystem health indicator (HEHI), a framework that integrates multiple ecological and socioeconomic criteria to evaluate management effectiveness of collaborative processes. Through the development and application of the HEHI to a collaborative in northern Arizona, the Diablo Trust, we present the opportunities and challenges in using this framework to evaluate the ecological and social outcomes of collaborative adaptive management. Baseline results from the first application of the HEHI are presented as an illustration of its potential as a co-adaptive management tool. We discuss lessons learned from the process of selecting indicators and potential issues to their long-term implementation. Finally, we provide recommendations for applying this framework to monitoring and adaptive management in the context of collaborative management.     

Economic Incentives to Conserve Wildlife on Private Lands: Analysis and Policy

Some believe that provision of private property rights in wildlife on private land provides a powerful economic incentive for nature conservation because it enables property owners to market such wildlife or its attributes. If such marketing is profitable, private landholders will conserve the wildlife concerned and its required habitat. But land is not always most profitably used for exploitation of wildlife, and many economic values of wildlife (such as non-use economic values) cannot be marketed. The mobility of some wildlife adds to the limitations of the private-property approach. While some species may be conserved by this approach, it is suboptimal as a single policy approach to nature conservation. Nevertheless, it is being experimented with, in the Northern Territory of Australia where landholders had a possibility of harvesting on their properties a quota of eggs and chicks of red-tailed black cockatoos for commercial sale. This scheme was expected to provide an incentive to private landholders to retain hollow trees essential for the nesting of these birds but failed. This case and others are analysed. Despite private-property failures, the long-term survival of some wildlife species depends on their ability to use private lands without severe harassment, either for their migration or to supplement their available resources, for example, the Asian elephant. Nature conservation on private land is often a useful, if not essential, supplement to conservation on public lands. Community and public incentives for such conservation are outlined.     

Overcoming the 'value-action gap' in environmental policy: Tensions between national policy and local experience

This paper is concerned with debates over the implementation of sustainability objectives. In particular, it focuses on policies that address the 'value-action gap' in environmental policy. Using evidence from the author's research connected with the UK Going for Green Sustainable Communities Project in Huntingdonshire, the paper highlights the tensions between national policies that are based on an 'information deficit' model of participation, and local research and experience that posits a more complex relationship between individuals and institutions. While this suggests the need to develop more differentiated policies based on the restructuring of socioeconomic and political institutions, the paper warns against knee-jerk calls for more local, community or public participation which simply replace one set of generalised appeals with another. The paper concludes that greater emphasis must be placed on the negotiation of partnerships that are more sensitive to local diversity, and which involve a more equitable distribution of responsibility between different environmental stakeholders.     

Potential Impacts of Highway Median Barriers on Wildlife: State of the Practice and Gap Analysis

Median barriers separate lanes of traffic moving in opposite directions on multilane highways. Such traffic safety devices can reduce head-on collisions but also have the potential to reduce landscape permeability by impeding wildlife movements across highways. Median barriers may also increase the risk of wildlife–vehicle collisions if an animal becomes trapped or confused amid barriers searching for a place to cross. A 2002 Transportation Research Board report highlighted the need to better understand the potential impacts of highway median barriers on wildlife. This lack of information can cause significant project delays and increase transportation project costs. This study represents the first attempt in North America to bring together information about highway median and roadside barriers and wildlife and provide preliminary guidelines to balance the needs of motorist safety and wildlife movements.     

Collaborative Watershed Planning in Washington State: Implementing the Watershed Planning Act

In 1998 the Washington State Legislature enacted the Watershed Planning Act, which encourages local governments to develop watershed plans using collaborative processes. Objectives of the statute are to address water resource and water quality issues, salmon habitat needs and to establish instream flows. This exploratory study sought to examine two aspects of how local governments are implementing the Act: challenges and benefits associated with collaborative watershed planning and the capacity of local governments to conduct collaborative watershed planning. Using documents and interview data from four cases, it was found that all planning groups experience similar challenges, although newer planning groups experienced more challenges than groups with previous planning experience. Challenges include issues surrounding the collaborative process, interagency co-ordination and trust. Local governments struggle with building capacity to plan, particularly in the areas of funding, technical expertise, incentives for participation, adequate time to conduct planning and questions regarding appropriate scale and scope of their planning efforts. Despite the challenges, collaborative watershed planning is well underway, with more than 37 planning units conducting planning under the Act.     

Trophic State in Voyageurs National Park Lakes before and after Implementation of a Revised Water‐Level Management Plan

We compiled Secchi depth, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll a (Chla) data from Voyageurs National Park lakes and compared datasets before and after a new water‐level management plan was implemented in January 2000. Average Secchi depth transparency improved (from 1.9 to 2.1 m, p = 0.020) between 1977‐1999 and 2000‐2011 in Kabetogama Lake for August samples only and remained unchanged in Rainy, Namakan, and Sand Point Lakes, and Black Bay in Rainy Lake. Average open‐water season Chla concentration decreased in Black Bay (from an average of 13 to 6.0 μg/l, p = 0.001) and Kabetogama Lake (from 9.9 to 6.2 μg/l, p = 0.006) between 1977‐1999 and 2000‐2011. Trophic state index decreased significantly in Black Bay from 59 to 51 (p = 0.006) and in Kabetogama Lake from 57 to 50 (p = 0.006) between 1977‐1999 and 2000‐2011. Trophic state indices based on Chla indicated that after 2000, Sand Point, Namakan, and Rainy Lakes remained oligotrophic, whereas eutrophication has decreased in Kabetogama Lake and Black Bay. Although nutrient inputs from inflows and internal sources are still sufficient to produce annual cyanobacterial blooms and may inhibit designated water uses, trophic state has decreased for Kabetogama Lake and Black Bay and there has been no decline in lake ecosystem health since the implementation of the revised water‐level management plan.     

Hunting, Livelihoods and Declining Wildlife in the Hponkanrazi Wildlife Sanctuary, North Myanmar

The Hponkanrazi Wildlife Sanctuary, North Myanmar and three contiguous protected areas, comprise some of the largest expanses of natural forest remaining in the region. Demand for wildlife products has resulted in unsustainable exploitation of commercially valuable species resulting in local extirpation of vulnerable species. Camera trap, track and sign, and questionnaire-based surveys were used to examine (a) wildlife species targeted by hunters, (b) the importance of wild meat for household consumption, and (c) the significance of hunting as a livelihood activity for resident villages. Certain commercially valuable species highly preferred by hunters were either completely absent from hunt records (tiger, musk deer and otter) or infrequently obtained during actual hunts (bear, pangolin). Species obtained by hunters were commonly occurring species such as muntjacs with low commercial value and not highly preferred by hunters. Fifty eight percent of respondents (n = 84) indicated trade, 27% listed subsistence use and 14% listed human-wildlife conflict as the main reason for hunting (n = 84). Average amount of wild meat consumed per month is not significantly higher during the hunting season compared to the planting season (paired t-test, P > 0.05). Throughout the year, the average amount of fish consumed per month was higher than livestock or wild meat (Friedman test, P < 0.0001). Hunting is driven largely by trade and wild meat, while not a critical source of food for a large number of families could potentially be an important, indirect source of access to food for hunting families. Findings and trends from this study are potentially useful in helping design effective conservation strategies to address globally prevalent problems of declining wildlife populations and dependent human communities. The study provides recommendations to reduce illegal hunting and protect vulnerable species by strengthening park management through enforcement, increasing the opportunity costs of poaching, establishing no-take zones and research to determine the economic significance of hunting for livelihoods.     

Riverine Threat Indices to Assess Watershed Condition and Identify Primary Management Capacity of Agriculture Natural Resource Management Agencies

Managers can improve conservation of lotic systems over large geographies if they have tools to assess total watershed conditions for individual stream segments and can identify segments where conservation practices are most likely to be successful (i.e., primary management capacity). The goal of this research was to develop a suite of threat indices to help agriculture resource management agencies select and prioritize watersheds across Missouri River basin in which to implement agriculture conservation practices. We quantified watershed percentages or densities of 17 threat metrics that represent major sources of ecological stress to stream communities into five threat indices: agriculture, urban, point-source pollution, infrastructure, and all non-agriculture threats. We identified stream segments where agriculture management agencies had primary management capacity. Agriculture watershed condition differed by ecoregion and considerable local variation was observed among stream segments in ecoregions of high agriculture threats. Stream segments with high non-agriculture threats were most concentrated near urban areas, but showed high local variability. 60 % of stream segments in the basin were classified as under U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) primary management capacity and most segments were in regions of high agricultural threats. NRCS primary management capacity was locally variable which highlights the importance of assessing total watershed condition for multiple threats. Our threat indices can be used by agriculture resource management agencies to prioritize conservation actions and investments based on: (a) relative severity of all threats, (b) relative severity of agricultural threats, and (c) and degree of primary management capacity.     

旅行社品牌经营中必须注意的几个问题--兼论安徽省旅行社的品牌经营

我国旅行社业正经历着激烈的市场竞争,许多旅行社开始注重打造品牌,但旅行社品牌经营现状令人堪忧.结合安徽省旅行社的实际,剖析了旅行社品牌经营状况,并就品牌经营过程中存在的问题和如何进行品牌经营提出了自己的看法,以期对旅行社经营管理者有一定的借鉴作用.     

碳中和愿景的实现路径与政策体系

习近平主席在第七十五届联合国大会上郑重承诺中国将努力争取2060年实现碳中和目标，为中国未来低碳转型促进经济高质量发展、生态文明建设指明了方向、明确了目标，也提振了全球应对气候变化的信心。作为排放量全球最大的发展中国家，在2030年前达峰后用三十年左右的时间很快地实现碳中和愿景，任务异常艰巨，但总体上排放路径必然呈现尽早达峰、稳中有降、快速降低、趋稳中和的过程。支撑碳中和的技术几乎涉及所有的产业和经济活动，从控制碳排放途径的角度可以分为高能效循环利用技术、零碳能源技术、负排放技术。政府、企业、个人在迈向碳中和愿景进程中具有至关重要而又各有侧重的作用，需要科学的政策体系以形成系统有效的激励机制，促进资本和人才朝着碳中和技术创新和市场化推广应用方向快速汇集。     

面向循环经济的信息服务协同管理平台研究

本研究面向循环经济企业、园区、政府和相关社会公众,以实现循环经济发展模式的小循环、中循环和社会大循环的融合为最终目标,以构建信息服务协同管理平台为主要途径,重点分析了平台建设的四方面必要性和三方面可行性。在此基础上,设计了平台的功能定位和体系架构。平台功能包括活动数据采集、活动数据不确定性分析与校准、企业绿色投入产出分析、循环经济效率指标评价、物质流与能量流可视化分析、园区循环经济协同度分析、宏观物质流分析和循环经济公共信息服务,平台的体系架构由交互层、逻辑层和数据层组成。     

India—Energy Supply Policy and Management

The sources of energy utilized in India range from nuclear power to non-commercial fuels such as agricultural wastes, which still meet some 45% of the country's total energy demand. India has to import 65% of the oil consumed, although it is self-sufficient with respect to all other forms of energy. While the author feels that in the long run energy supplies for India will have to come from new and renewable sources of energy, during the transition period (the next 20–30 years) energy demand can be met only by further development of domestic sources of coal, oil and hydroelectricity. Les sources énergétiques employées en Inde vont de l'énergie nucléaire jusqu'aux fuels non-commerciaux, tels que les déchets agricoles, lesquels entrent pour 45% environ dans la consommation d'énergie du pays. L'Inde doit importer 65 pour cent du pétrole qu'elle consomme, mais elle se suffit à elle-même pour ce qui concerne toutes les autres formes d'énergie. Bien que l'auteur pense, qu'à long terme, l'Inde doit faire appel pour satisfaire ses besoins à des sources nouvelles et renouvelables d'énergie, elle devra durant la période de transition (les prochaines 20 à 30 années) s'adresser au développement des sources domestiques que sont le charbon, le pétrole et la houille blanche. Las fuentes de energía utilizadas en la India incluyen desde energía nuclear hasta combustibles no comerciales, tales como residuos agrícolas, que cubren algo así como el 45 porciento de la demanda total de energía del país. La India tiene que importar el 65% del consumo de petróleo, pero éste es un país auto-abastecido con respecto a todas las otras formas de energía. El autor piensa que mientras a largo plazo el suministro de energía para la India debería provenir de fuentes nuevas y renovables, durante el periodo de transición (próximos 20–30 an?os) la demanda de energía solamente puede ser abastecida a través de un desarrollo de fuentes domésticas de carbón, petróleo e hidroelectricidad.     

Perverse Incentive Structure and Policy Implementation Gap in China's Local Environmental Politics

The obvious paradox within China's environmental politics is the big gap between the central government's policy and its implementation outcomes at local levels. Despite concerns about implementation at the local level, much about the role of central governments in China's local environmental politics is still poorly understood. This article examines how the incentive structure set by the central authorities affects the policy implementation gap at the local level. Drawing on fieldwork and document analysis, this article argues that the incentives set by the central government regarding environmental policy implementation at local levels are perversely structured, meaning that the central government provides much more incentive for local governments' non-implementation or poor implementation of its environmental policies than it provides for full implementation. The central government's failure to encourage—politically, financially, as well as morally—local government officials to appropriately implement environmental policies can partly explain the production of the policy implementation gap at the local level. This implementation gap cannot be overcome by efforts at the local level unless the central government takes significant measures to address the perverse incentive structure embedded in the overall structure of China's local environmental politics.