Perspectives on capacity building to guide policy and program development and delivery

This paper examines the perspectives of major interest groups on capacity development within the context of the significant contemporary global phenomenon of community-based decentralised governance at catchment scale. It focuses on providing empirical evidence to guide the development and implementation of policies and programs, especially those of governments. The research draws especially from regional governance experiences in Australia, as a country with advanced arrangements, and capacity building experiences in the sectors of health and risk and emergency management as informative arenas of learning. Twenty-two specific capacity building measures were presented in a discussion paper across human, social, institutional and economic dimensions. Perspectives were sought from regional, policy/research and Indigenous interest groups about applying these measures to enhance the effectiveness of the community-based Boards governing Australia's nation-wide network of 56 natural resource management (NRM) organisations. The research identifies a suite of specific measures and, in doing so, demonstrates the benefits of examining other sectors to inform capacity building in the NRM domain. The work highlights the need to better understand and account for differing interest group perspectives about capacity building issues, the application of specific measures, and the outcomes anticipated before developing and implementing policies and programs. While explored in the Australian context, these findings have application to decentralised governance arrangements in other countries.     

Advancing urban ecosystem governance in New York City: Shifting towards a unified perspective for conservation management

New York City’s extensive municipal park system is home to forests, wetlands, and grasslands that provide important ecological and social benefits to the city’s population. While efforts and programs exist to restore and protect these spaces, management recommendations are complex due to variable conditions in urban natural areas. To advance the management of urban natural areas, the first comprehensive ecological assessment was conducted through a collaborative effort across 4000 ha of natural areas within New York City parkland. Field and spatial data were collected and analyzed to identify the extent of forests, the types of forests, and their conditions. This approach will help guide decision-making and prioritization of natural area management at the regional level by developing unique quantitative targets for urban forests. This project serves as an example of collaboration between private and public institutions advancing the governance of urban natural areas to achieve citywide conservation and policy goals.     

中国新时代自然资源治理体系的理论构想

基于生态文明、高质量发展和国家治理新时代的战略需求,以及国内外自然资源治理发展趋势,对中国新时代自然资源治理的指导思想、基本理念、理论体系、基本原则和目标体系等进行系统解析,对包括调查勘查评估、统计监测核算、开发利用治理、保护修复治理、保障储备治理、市场交易治理、安全预警治理和国际合作治理等在内的中国新时代自然资源治理框架体系进行系统刻画,对包括公平正义制度、资产产权制度、节约集约制度、有偿使用制度、保护修复制度、市场交易制度、统计核算制度、多元储备制度、国际合作制度和治理监督制度在内的中国特色自然资源治理制度体系进行系统解构。研究结论与观点对于提高中国自然资源治理体系与能力现代化建设水平具有重要参考价值。     

REDD+ policy strategy in Cameroon: Actors,institutions and governance

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is receiving increasing political and scientific attention as a climate change mitigation approach. The government of Cameroon has expressed an interest in participating in REDD+, and national deliberation on a policy strategy has attracted interest from different actors in the forest sector. This paper analyses the challenges of designing a governance structure for a REDD+ strategy in Cameroon. Theoretically, the paper builds on the literature on governance structures for resource management, focusing analytically on the interactions between actor constellations (state and non-state) and institutions (formal and informal) to produce policy outcomes. The paper draws on documentation of REDD+ policy events, policy texts and 23 in-depth interviews with members from government, civil society, research organizations, development partners and the private sector. It argues that although the actors involved in REDD+ are, to an extent, polarized around different issues and priorities, they are nonetheless increasingly distributing roles and responsibilities among themselves. The institutional arrangements within the policy process include: (1) rule-making systems for engagement; (2) expanding existing coordination mechanisms; (3) national safeguard standards; and (4) building on existing forest governance initiatives. The paper concludes that the multiple benefits promised by REDD+, such as poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation and economic development, are critical for the legitimacy of the mechanism.     

Using adaptive governance to rethink the way science supports Australian drought policy

In this paper we show how ideas from a longstanding but little recognised literature on adaptive governance can be used to rethink the way science supports Australian drought policy. We compare and contrast alternative ways of using science to support policy in order to critique traditional commentary on Australian drought policy. We find that criticism from narrow disciplinary and institutional perspectives has provided few practical options for policy makers managing these complex and interacting goals. In contrast, ideas from a longstanding but little recognised literature on adaptive governance have potential to create innovative policy options for addressing the multiple interacting goals of Australian drought policy.From an adaptive governance perspective, the deep concern held by Australian society for rural communities affected by drought can be viewed as a common property resource that can be sustainably managed by governments in cooperation with rural communities. Managing drought assistance as a common property resource can be facilitated through nested and polycentric systems of governance similar to those that have already evolved in other arenas of natural resource management in Australia, such as Landcare groups and Catchment Management Authorities. Essential to delivering these options is the creation of flexible, regionally distributed scientific support for drought policy capable of integrating local knowledge and informing the livelihood outcomes of critical importance to governments and rural communities.     

Policy coherence in climate governance in Caribbean Small Island Developing States

Climate governance in Small Island developing States (SIDS) is a pressing priority to preserve livelihoods, biodiversity and ecosystems for the next generations. Understanding the dynamics of climate change policy integration is becoming more crucial as we try to measure the success of environmental governance efforts and chart new goals for sustainable development. At the international level, climate change policy has evolved from single issue to integrated approaches towards achieving sustainable development. New actors, new mechanisms and institutions of governance with greater fragmentation in governance across sectors and levels (Biermann and Pattberg, 2008) make integration of policy in the area of climate change governance even more of a challenge today. What is the Caribbean reality regarding policy coherence in climate change governance? Are the same climate change policy coherence frameworks useful or indeed applicable for environmental governance in developing states more generally and for SIDS in particular? What are the best triggers to achieve successful climate change policy integration in environmental governance—especially as the complex interconnectivity of new actors, institutions and mechanisms make the process of integration even more challenging? What facilitates and what hampers climate policy integration in the regional Caribbean context? This article reviews the debates around policy coherence for climate change governance, creates a framework to test or measure policy coherence and examines how relevant this has been to regional climate change governance processes in Commonwealth Caribbean States. The study found that though at the regional level, there is substantial recognition of the importance of and mechanics involved in climate policy coherence, this has not translated to policy coherence at the regional and national levels. There is a large degree of fragmentation in the application of climate policy in each Caribbean Island with no mechanism to breach the gap. Silos in public environmental governance architectures, unwillingness to share data, insufficient political will; unsustainable project-based funding and lack of accountability among actors are the main challenges to climate policy coherence. The findings fill a gap in the literature on the elements of climate policy coherence from a SIDS perspective.     

区域生态府际合作治理的碎片化困境及其出路

随着区域一体化程度的加深,我国环境问题逐渐超出特定的行政区划边界而演变为跨行政区环境问题,这需要地方政府间的横向合作以形成跨行政区环境治理,文章通过分析我国地方政府间在生态合作治理中产生的碎片化现象,包括合作理念碎片化、合作动力碎片化、组织结构碎片化以及合作程序碎片化,找到造成地方政府间合作碎片化的原因并给出相应的对策建议,建议包括加快培育地方政府间合作共赢的制度文化,加强地方政府合作的制度建设以及健全政府间合作的运行保障机制。     

Incentivizing REDD+: How developing countries are laying the groundwork for benefit-sharing

Benefit distribution plays a central role in incentivizing action in REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation and forest enhancement). Conceived as a global performance-based incentive mechanism to reduce land-use emissions in developing countries, REDD+ involves changes in resource governance by many actors at multiple scales, in order to minimize the climate impact of land-use activities or to maximize their contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A key governance issue for developing countries is how to incentivize action among stakeholders and the way countries design their benefit-sharing mechanisms (BSMs) is therefore seen as a critical factor in determining the success of REDD+ in the long term. This comprehensive research investigates up-to-date national level REDD+ planning documents to provide new evidence on how countries are planning to implement BSMs, including an analysis of common governance themes and where gaps exist. Our unique comparative study based on five country cases reveals that there is a lack of comprehensive participatory, transparent and accountable processes among country strategies and in particular, shortcomings in preparation for local and subnational governance, financial disbursement and dispute-resolution mechanisms. Furthermore, countries are making slow progress on land tenure and carbon rights reform. In fact, such ambiguous legislation on carbon benefits, coupled with weak institutional capacity and ineffective dispute-resolution mechanisms, may make it difficult for REDD+ stakeholders to participate fully in initiatives and receive a fair distribution of benefits. This research indicates that REDD+ actors including donors and national governments will need to further rethink strategies and policy frameworks to improve their BSMs and to guarantee effective, equitable and efficient REDD+ outcomes in the long term.     

Making water policy work in the United Kingdom: A case study of practical approaches to strengthening complex,multi-tiered systems of water governance

We propose a suite of actions for strengthening water governance in contexts with complex, multi-tiered arrangements. In doing so, we focus on the collective water policies and approaches of the United Kingdom (UK), including those of devolved governments, which confront a host of serious water-related challenges—from massive flooding of urban areas and agricultural lands, to pressure on aquifers from rising water demand and drought. Further complexity in addressing these challenges has emerged in the wake of the June 2016 vote to leave the European Union (EU), so-called ‘Brexit’, and the ensuing ‘separation process’ with uncertainties for institutional and governance arrangements to follow. We make ten proposals for improving and reinvigorating water policy in complex, multi-layered situations, and comment specifically on their application in the UK setting. These are: put in place a system-wide water policy; fully embrace community-led nested river basin planning and management; fully fund river basin planning and management; re-focus the policy framing; use best-available data and information; create conversational spaces and become a more water-literate society; mobilise people; support and sustain core community networks; underpin river basin plans with regulatory provisions and effective monitoring and enforcement; and address systemic institutional amnesia. Individually and collectively, we contend that these actions will have a marked effect on transforming the planning and management of water resources. A system-wide water policy that maintains and builds on the substantive biophysical and socio-economic benefits delivered through implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, together with the more recent Floods Directive, will galvanise stewardship of water in the UK. We urge more active engagement with and empowerment of the multiplicity of system ‘actors’, and highlight the role of non-government actors in a post-Brexit world as conduits for reaching out to and connecting directly with a wide range of water-related actors, especially across the EU. While attention to-date has focused on a plethora of specifically water-related projects, initiatives, plans and regulations, what is really needed is a systemic, long-term view of water resource management.     

基于演化博弈理论的雾霾治理中政府环境规制策略研究

高效、经济治理雾霾（重污染天气）已成为全社会共同行动目标.为验证中央政府制定的系统性激励政策能否有效规避传统环境规制失灵，选取中央政府及地方政府作为博弈模型参与方，将激励机制引入约束条件，建立了中央与地方政府、地方政府与企业的演化博弈模型，从最佳规制效果和规制强度两个维度构建了双方最佳规制策略.研究发现，各地政府在治理雾霾中，引入中央政府规制约束，分配治理成本和提供资金支持，是避免规制失灵的关键.此外，中央与地方应采取差异的规制策略:在中央政府层面，中央政府治理雾霾专项资金分配最优策略应是使资金量（F）与地方政府申报量（p）呈正相关，并且呈边际递减关系；地方政府对于企业的超排行为不应采取严罚的手段，随着企业超排量的加大，更好的规制手段不是加大惩罚力度，而是从更加合理的环境税费（t）以及降低企业边际减排成本[TC_p3'（p₃）]上着手.      

Wasting collaboration potential: A study in urban green space governance in a post-transition country

Most accounts of urban green space governance originate in cities where such initiatives have been successful. Meanwhile, there is too little information on cities where such initiatives develop with more difficulty. In order to overcome the problems that such cities face, their situations need to be studied more carefully to facilitate peer comparisons. This article provides an account of urban green space governance in three cities in Poland (Krakow, Lodz, Poznan), where environmental protection is still quite far down on the list of political priorities. With the use of a social network analysis we looked at the extent of relationships between different stakeholders and the roles of different actors within the network. The results indicate that the network's collaboration potential is barely used and that cross-sectoral collaboration is especially deficient. In particular, public institutions hold a relatively strong position and downplay the role of other actors. More collaboration is necessary and the potential bridging role of NGOs should be used to a larger extent. However, this requires more openness and trust within the network.     

减污降碳协同多元共治体系需求及构建探析

碳达峰、碳中和目标的提出标志着我国生态环境保护进入减污降碳协同治理新阶段,减污降碳协同增效成为促进经济社会发展全面低碳绿色转型的重要抓手. 面对经济社会高质量发展、空气质量改善与碳达峰、碳中和的多目标需求,仅依靠命令控制型手段为主的大气污染物治理措施将不足以实现减污降碳协同目标. 结果表明:构建“政府-科研机构-市场-社会组织”多元共治模式,通过命令控制与非命令控制的协同实现治理方式转变,从而提高减污降碳协同治理水平. 在顶层设计层面,综合考虑城市经济发展水平、空气污染程度及各行业污染控制措施的不同,因地制宜的制定差异化减污降碳政策;在科学研究方面,开展学科融合、部门协作的减污降碳协同治理科技研究,解决减污降碳协同增效措施评估以及科技数据、资源共享和研究成果落地等问题;在市场方面,将自愿减排交易和更多高排放行业配额交易纳入碳排放交易市场,加强与排污权、用能权、绿色电力等环境权益交易之间的协同,强化市场手段的减污降碳协同增效;在治理机制和手段方面,充分发挥社会组织纽带作用,利用数字化信息系统构建第三方环境信用平台,促进政府、企业、金融机构和公众等关键利益方形成有效沟通和良性互动. 研究表明,“政府-科研机构-市场-社会组织”多元共治模式能有效构建减污降碳协同增效的多元共治体系,充分发挥政府、科研机构、市场与社会组织的作用,解决碳达峰、碳中和目标下的减污降碳协同治理新需求.      

Harnessing the climate commons: an agent-based modelling approach to making reducing emission from deforestation and degradation (REDD)+work

Humans have created a worldwide tragedy through free access to the global common atmosphere. The Conference of the Parties (COP) on climate change increased political commitment to reduce emission from deforestation and degradation and to enhance carbon stocks (REDD+). However, government sectors, political actors, business groups, civil societies, tree growers and other interest groups at different levels may support or reject REDD+. The paper used Arena-Actor-Institution concept to understand REDD+and provides agent-based modeling approach to harnessing its processes. The model explores: (a) how providers are likely to decrease or increase carbon stocks on their landscapes under ‘business as usual’ institutions; (b) how they are likely to negotiate with potential buyers with regards to the involvement of brokers (governments or nongovernmental organizations); and (c) how altruism and collaboration can affect the affectivity of REDD+. The model was developed as a spatially explicit model to consider the complexity of REDD+target landscapes. The simulation results are examined against the 3E+criteria, i.e. effectiveness in carbon emission reduction, cost efficiency and equity among involved stakeholders and co-benefit of other activities. This study took the Jambi landscape in Indonesia as a case. The results explain how REDD+agreement areas increase with higher carbon prices, e.g. US$25 or US$35. However, the simulation also shows that even with low carbon prices GHG emissions will decrease if the altruism degree and collective actions of the actors increases. The paper describes institutional arrangements which would help to harness the global commons of climate change.     

Informational governance – A systematic literature review of governance for sustainability in the Information Age

The rapid developments in all kinds of new information technologies, information networks and social media are increasingly affecting societies around the world. The so termed Information Age not only influences social relationships, economy and science, but also governance. Against this background and in the specific field of sustainability, informational governance is an emerging concept. It addresses two interrelated processes: (1) new forms of governing through information, and (2) transformative changes in governance institutions due to the new information flows. The aim of this article is to gain more insights into ways in which the Information Age impacts sustainability, and to suggest a research agenda with relevance to the field of informational governance. A systematic literature review resulted in a selection of 39 articles, of which 23 and 16 articles were identified in two-parallel searches. The increased human interconnectedness through e-governance, self-organization, private governing and empowerments are identified as core informational governance trends dealing with sustainability in the Information Age, and essential to future research.     

A framework for evaluating flood risk governance

Calls to strengthen flood risk governance are echoed across Europe amidst a growing consensus that floods will increase in the future. Accompanying the pursuit of societal resilience, other normative agendas relating legitimacy (e.g. accountability and public participation), and resource efficiency, have become attached to discussions concerning flood risk governance. Whilst these represent goals against which ‘success’ is socially and politically judged, lacking from the literature is a coherent framework to operationalise these concepts and evaluate the degree to which these are achieved. Drawing from cross-disciplinary and cross-country research conducted within the EU project STAR-FLOOD, this paper presents a framework for evaluating the extent to which flood risk governance arrangements support societal resilience, and demonstrate efficiency and legitimacy. Through empirical research in England, this paper critically reflects on the value of this approach in terms of identifying entry points to strengthen governance in the pursuit of these goals.     

台湾新北市环境保护经验介绍及对南京的启示

新北市位于台湾本岛最北端,东北与基隆市为邻,东南接宜兰县,西邻桃园县,中间环绕台北市。新北地形以盆地、谷地为主。对比分析了南京市与新北市在社会经济、环境质量现状、环保体制机制方面的差异,介绍了新北市在在河川治理、空气质量改善、生活垃圾处理处置以及环保宣教等环保工作中的经验和做法,最后,对南京的环保工作提出了几点建议,以供决策参考。     

The changing winds of atmospheric environment policy

Atmospheric environmental policies have changed considerably over the last several decades. Clearly the relative importance of the various issues has changed over half a century, for example from smoke, sulphur dioxide and photochemical smog being the top priorities to greenhouse gases being the major priority.The traditional policy instrument to control emissions to the atmosphere has been command and control regulation. In many countries this was successful in reducing emissions from point sources, the first generation issues, and to a lesser extent, emissions from mobile and area sources, the second generation issues, although challenges remain in many jurisdictions. However once the simpler, easier, cheaper and obvious targets had been at least partially controlled this form of regulation became less effective. It has been complemented by other instruments including economic instruments, self-regulation, voluntarism and information instruments to address more complex issues including climate change, a third generation issue.Policy approaches to atmospheric environmental issues have become more complex. Policies that directly focus on atmospheric issues have been partially replaced by more integrated approaches that consider multimedia (water, land, etc.) and sustainability issues.Pressures from stakeholders for inclusion, greater transparency and better communication have grown and non-government stakeholders have become increasingly important participants in governance.The scale of the issues has evolved from a local to national, regional and global scales. Consequently the approaches to atmospheric environmental policy have also been amended. The international dimensions of atmospheric issues have grown in prominence and challenge governance and politics with pressures for international cooperation and harmonisation of policies. This is reducing the policy flexibility of national governments.Partially in response to these changes, to manage environmental risks and protect their brands, leaders in the corporate sector have generally found it beneficial to increase responsibility and accountability, including establishing corporate environmental policies, environmental management systems, risk management, sustainability reporting and other measures.This analysis clearly identifies that these changes are inter-related. Acting together they have transformed the way that atmospheric issues are governed in the last several decades in developed countries. Together they have led to governments in many developed countries vacating leadership roles and becoming increasingly managers of the policy process. As the leadership role of governments has been partially eroded, governments are more reliant on persuasion and diplomacy in their relations with stakeholders. As a consequence, governance arrangements have become more complex, multilevel and polycentric.     

国际环境执政理论研究进展透视

要想真正改善中国的环境条件,需要中国领导人和整个社会齐心合作,加强环境执政.在欧洲、日本和美国,环境执政手段正在发生变化.20世纪六七十年代起,国家政府开始积极致力于环境保护工作,是政策形成的初期阶段,而环境执政的主要特点是命令与控制的环境法规规范.这些法规一般技术性很强,关注特定污染物;虽然其过去在改善西方环境条件方面作出了重要贡献,人们还是日益认识到这种方式的局限性.因此,现在已开始采纳新的环境执政模式,其特点是多方利益相关者参与、决策过程更透明,重点从处理已发生的污染问题,向源头控制和更具预防性质的计划方式转变,也越来越重视以人类健康和生态系统的保护为目标的途径,而不再是简单减少某种污染物的排放水平.政府的成功取决于政府强化环境执政的种种步骤.     

Community knowledge in environmental health science: co-producing policy expertise

As lay publics demand a greater role in the environmental and health decision-making that impacts their lives, policy makers are being forced to find new ways of understanding and incorporating the expertise of professionals with the contextual intelligence that community residents possess. This paper highlights how co-producing science policy, where technical issues are not divorced from their social setting and a plurality of participants engage in everything from problem setting to decision-making, can contribute to more scientifically legitimate and publicly accountable decisions. Through a detailed case study utilizing participant observation, ethnographic field work, semi-structured interviews, and reviews of original documents, this paper highlights how residents in a low income, Latino immigrant neighborhood in New York City organized their knowledge to participate in and significantly alter a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency exposure assessment. This paper reveals both the contributions and limits of local knowledge in environmental health governance and how the co-production framework can contribute to more technically credible science and democratically accountable policy.     

鲁尔关税同盟矿区转型研究：多主体治理的经验借鉴

工业区转型一直备受关注,德国鲁尔区是其中最为典型的案例之一。选取鲁尔区关税同盟矿区为研究对象,基于实地考察和半结构式访谈,剖析其转型过程中的多主体参与机制,总结其治理框架发现：在多渠道的资金投入、矿区工业文化的保护与开发、建筑与环境的更新改造、日常运营与管理及社区生活与空间活化等方面,政府自上而下管理与适度放权相结合扮演支柱角色,社会公众在分担公共事务与参与公共生活过程中活化社会空间,市场主体的自身发展与矿区转型形成良性循环。三类主体活跃互动,其多主体协作治理的经验值得借鉴。我国在工业区转型过程中,政府可尝试脱离“全能包办”的思想,将部分职能释放予社会和市场,吸引其主动进入和发展,共同推动区域转型。