More than Biodiversity: The Socio-economic Impact of Implementing Biodiversity Action Plans in the UK

Biodiversity action plans (BAPs), which are designed to protect and enhance wildlife, can also provide additional benefits to the local economy in terms of job creation and income generation. This paper considers the socio-economic benefits of implementing the BAP for species-rich hedges in Devon. It identifies employment and income generation for hedge contractors, farm labour, trainers, suppliers, processors of hedge products and the tourist industry as a result of 1 million expenditure on hedge restoration work to meet BAP targets. Using data from a survey of hedgerow contractors and key informants in related industries a multiplier analysis identified that funding for hedge restoration can have significant employment and income generation impacts on the local economy. In particular, this multiplier effect is enhanced because both hedge contractors and materials are largely sourced locally.     

Combining Landscape-Level Conservation Planning and Biodiversity Offset Programs: A Case Study

Habitat loss is major factor in the endangerment and extinction of species around the world. One promising strategy to balance continued habitat loss and biodiversity conservation is that of biodiversity offsets. However, a major concern with offset programs is their consistency with landscape-level conservation goals. While merging offset polices and landscape-level conservation planning is thought to provide advantages over a traditional disconnected approach, few such landscape-level conservation-offset plans have been designed and implemented, so the effectiveness of such a strategy remains uncertain. In this study, we quantitatively assess the conservation impact of combining landscape-level conservation planning and biodiversity offset programs by comparing regions of San Diego County, USA with the combined approach to regions with only an offset program. This comparison is generally very difficult due to a variety of complicating factors. We overcome these complications and quantify the benefits to rare and threatened species of implementing a combined approach by assessing the amount of each species’ predicted distribution, and the number of documented locations, conserved in comparison to the same metric for areas with an offset policy alone. We found that adoption of the combined approach has increased conservation for many rare species, often 5–10 times more than in the comparison area, and that conservation has been focused in the areas most important for these species. The level of conservation achieved reduces uncertainty that these species will persist in the region into the future. This San Diego County example demonstrates the potential benefits of combining landscape-level conservation planning and biodiversity offset programs.     

Environmental Planning, Biodiversity and the Development Process: The Case of Hong Kong''s Chinese White Dolphins

Hong Kong has enjoyed more than 20 years of almost uninterrupted economic growth and the territory is widely recognized as one of the most successful of the newly industrializing economies. Economic success has, however, brought with it a variety of environmental problems including deterioration of air and water bodies and the loss of terrestrial and marine habitats. Environmental degradation also poses a serious threat to local biodiversity. Despite its stated commitment to environmental protection, the Hong Kong Government is still strongly growth-oriented and the territory's environmental institutions and policies often seem ineffective in resolving the conflicts that arise between development and the environment. To illustrate some of the contradictions inherent in Hong Kong's current approach to environmental and conservation issues, this paper focuses on the controversy surrounding the fate of the local population of the Indo-Pacific humped-back dolphin, or, as it is locally known, the Chinese white dolphin (Sousa chinensis). The dolphin's habitat has been disrupted by major development projects, marine pollution and fishing and shipping activity. It is possible that the species will be extinct in Hong Kong waters by the beginning of the next century. The paper examines the background to the controversy that has arisen surrounding the future of the dolphins and evaluates the Government's attempts to develop a conservation strategy to protect them. The preferred option—the creation of a dolphin sanctuary within a designated marine park area—has been strongly criticized by some local marine biologists and conservationists as being inadequate and inappropriate. The failure to address effectively the problems faced by the Chinese white dolphin may be attributed to the lack of an overall conservation strategy in Hong Kong, shortcomings in the territory's environmental impact assessment system and limited local scientific knowledge concerning the dolphin population.     

Afforestation Planning and Biodiversity Conservation: Predicting Effects on Habitat Functionality in Lithuania

Habitat re-creation is one of the multiple faces of biodiversity restoration and encompasses the attempts to reconstruct an ecosystem on severely disturbed sites with little left to restore. Afforestation of abandoned or marginal agricultural land is an important tool for the re-creation of forest ecosystems and re-establishment of functional habitat networks for the maintenance of biodiversity. This study was performed in the context of the Danish-Lithuanian project ‘Afforestation of abandoned agricultural land based on sustainable land use planning and environmentally sound forest management’. The study assessed how habitat re-creation as designed in alternative afforestation plans for two administrative regions in Lithuania will affect the functionality of the landscapes for bird species of conservation concern. Spatial analysis of the forest cover was performed under existing and proposed conditions using general landscape ecological principles concerning core and edge habitats as well as nearest-neighbour metrics. The results show that the use of general criteria may result in proportionally negative changes in the availability of some forest habitats relative to changes in total forest cover, thus leading to less significant improvements in the habitats of many naturally occurring (and even protected) species compared to what would be expected from changes in forest cover alone. To solve this dilemma it is suggested that the requirements of focal species and quantitative conservation objectives should be considered in a spatially explicit – each main forest type. It is concluded that to ensure functionality of habitat networks, knowledge and experience from the fields of landscape ecology and conservation biology should be more commonly incorporated into afforestation planning.     

“十四五”时期中国应对气候变化的区域行动：规划、问题与对策

“十四五”时期是我国应对气候变化的重要机遇期,生态环境部要求将应对气候变化目标任务全面融入生态环境保护规划,而国家和地方相关政策设计尚处于起步阶段。在理论方法方面,已有研究多关注国家层面应对气候变化整体进展及在不同领域的布局情况。各地区针对具体领域的规划目标、行动部署等各有侧重,但区域视角下研究仍比较缺乏。地方生态环境规划是地方生态环境部门履责的重要依据,本文构建了地方应对气候变化规划内容的分析框架,对28个省级行政区（未包含山西、贵州、西藏以及香港、澳门和台湾）“十四五”生态环境规划中应对气候变化政策进行分析,系统梳理各地区减缓和适应气候变化的重点举措,总结完善制度体系、开展试点示范等方面的主要做法;在分析各地区面临问题和挑战的基础上,提出了“十四五”时期加强应对气候变化工作的对策建议。本研究有助于弥补应对气候变化区域研究的不足,可为构建央地协调整合的应对气候变化政策体系、完善地方应对气候变化制度措施提供科学参考。     

Hydropower,adaptive management,and Biodiversity

Adaptive management is a policy framework within which an iterative process of decision making is followed based on the observed responses to and effectiveness of previous decisions. The use of adaptive management allows science-based research and monitoring of natural resource and ecological community responses, in conjunction with societal values and goals, to guide decisions concerning man's activities. The adaptive management process has been proposed for application to hydropower operations at Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, a situation that requires complex balancing of natural resources requirements and competing human uses. This example is representative of the general increase in public interest in the operation of hydropower facilities and possible effects on downstream natural resources and of the growing conflicts between uses and users of river-based resources. This paper describes the adaptive management process, using the Glen Canyon Dam example, and discusses ways to make the process work effectively in managing downstream natural resources and biodiversity.     

Forcing the Pace of Biodiversity Action: a force-field analysis of conservation effort at the 'landscape scale'

Biodiversity planners increasingly recognise the need for delivering action on a 'wider countryside', rather than on a purely site-centred, basis. Ecological processes often take place at the 'landscape scale' and are not sufficiently accommodated within reserves, and a failure to reflect this in biodiversity planning has been one of the contributors to species and habitat decline. However, there are generally few powers to enforce compliance with spatial rural land-use strategies, and biodiversity plans at the landscape scale must rely heavily on incentives, advice and goodwill. Not surprisingly, this results in a substantial gap between policy and implementation. One way of analysing the causes of, and potential solutions to, implementation failure is to examine the barriers to plan uptake. This paper addresses barriers to biodiversity action in three case-study areas in terms of 'force fields', depicting the nature and strength of negative and positive influences on land managers and conservation staff. It is concluded that a clearer understanding of the nature of 'barriers' can lead to improved targeting on potential 'bridges' to a better future.     

Biodiversity values for alternative management regimes in remote UK coniferous forests: an iterative bidding polychotomous choice approach

The overwhelming majority of commercial forestry in the UK comprises blanket non-native coniferous species with low biodiversity levels. The UK government is committed under the Rio Principles and Helsinki Guidelines to conserve and enhance biodiversity in British forests and woodlands. This paper assesses the passive use value of biodiversity in remote non-visited coniferous forests, and the costs of diversification and restructuring. Focus groups were employed to aid the design and framing of the study. An iterative bidding polychotomous choice format was used to elicit willingness-to-pay values for different biodiversity standards and management options. Whilst, passive use benefits exceeded costs for biodiversity conservation, considerable ambivalence in choice occurred between different levels of biodiversity. The policy relevance of the results are discussed, and compared to the practical implementation measures for biodiversity being adopted by the Forestry Commission.     

Climate Change and Planning and Consultation for the UK Aviation White Paper

This note discusses environmental aspects of the planning and consultation process undertaken for the UK aviation White Paper. The process as a whole has involved some three years of forecasting and assessment of the operational, economic and environmental implications of some 28 options for airport expansion at 14 UK locations. Unconstrained passenger demand forecasts have been used as a basis for the planning and consultation, and a mitigation approach to environment has predominated. This is inadequate, given the climate impacts of the forecast aviation expansion. Greenhouse gas emissions reduction should be a high priority in transport infrastructure planning, not the subject of post-hoc analysis.     

生物多样性、生态平衡与人类可持续发展

生物多样性是由生物及其生存环境共同构成的综合资源,经自然长期演化而来,它不仅地球生物圈的重要组成部分,也是人类赖以生存和发展的宝贵财富。提出将生物多样性保护纳入国家国土资源开发以及全球经济发展与合作规划中。     

Community-based Environmental Planning: Operational Dilemmas,Planning Principles and Possible Remedies

The operational dilemmas and challenges associated with the practice of community-based environmental planning (CBEP) are examined. The paper examines the frequently invoked ‘bottom-up’ versus ‘top-down’ dichotomy and argues that environmental governance is more complex, dynamic and multi-scalar than this simple dichotomy implies. The paper identifies six key problems with the CBEP approach: (i) the conceptualization of ‘community’ which poorly accounts for difference; (ii) problems of inequality; (iii) the organizational capacity and efficacy of community groups; (iv) the scale of CBEP; (v) the types of knowledge utilized by communities in environmental management; and (vi) the potential for parochial concerns to dominate the priorities and agenda of community organizations. The paper analyses each of these issues, identifies planning principles that may aid resolution, and suggests possible remedies.     

欧盟通过"欧洲有机食品与有机农业行动计划"

2004年6月10日,欧盟委员会通过了“欧洲有机食品与有机农业行动计划”。该计划提出应该在3个主要领域付诸实施21条具体的政策措施。这3个主要领域是:信息与促进、通过农村发展计划提供财政支持、改进标准和进口/检验要求。该计划预计将于2005年正式出台,这将对世界各国有机农业的发展产生很大的影响。“行动计划”强调指出,有机农业有助于实现欧盟共同农业政策2003年改革方案所提出的一个目标,即生产对环境友好、高质量的农产品。“行动计划”强烈建议各成员国要充分利用农村发展计划来支持有机农业的发展。明确有机农业生产方法和对整个有…     

Joint implementation: Biodiversity and greenhouse gas offsets

One of the most pressing environmental issues today is the possibility that projected increases in global emissions of greenhouse gases from increased deforestation, development, and fossil-fuel combustion could significantly alter global climate patterns. Under the terms of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed in Rio de Janeiro during the June 1992 Earth Summit, the United States and other industrialized countries committed to balancing greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels in the year 2000. Included in the treaty is a provision titled Joint Implementation, whereby industrialized countries assist developing countries in jointly modifying long-term emission trends, either through emission reductions or by protecting and enhancing greenhouse gas sinks (carbon sequestration). The US Climate Action Plan, signed by President Clinton in 1993, calls for voluntary climate change mitigation measures by various sectors, and the action plan included a new program, the US Initiative on Joint Implementation. Wisconsin Electric decided to invest in a Jl project because its concept encourages creative, cost-effective solutions to environmental problems through partnering, international cooperation, and innovation. The project chosen, a forest preservation and management effort in Belize, will sequester more than five million tons of carbon dioxide over a 40-year period, will become economically selfsustaining after ten years, and will have substantial biodiversity benefits.     

EIA-Learning from Experience: Changes in the Quality of Environmental Impact Statements for UK Planning Projects

This paper draws on a research report recently produced (1996) by the authors for the UK Department of the Environment. The principal aim of the research was to establish clearly what changes, if any, there have been in the quality of Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) since the inception of mandatory EIA in 1988, and to explain reasons for the changes. The paper provides a critique of the meaning of 'quality' in an area such as this. Quality relates both to the EIS and to the EIA process. EIS quality can be assessed against various review frameworks in a structured and systematic way; quality can also be assessed according to the perspective of the individual participant in the EIA process. The findings of both macro and micro studies of quality are discussed. The macro study uses a range of review frameworks (minimum regulatory requirements, an EU framework, and comprehensive frameworks developed by EIA academics at UK universities, including Oxford Brookes University) for a large sample of EISs. The micro study uses a structured questionnaire of the participants (local planning officers, developers, consultants and others) involved in a smaller set of detailed case studies. The findings reveal that there has been a learning from experience and an improvementin quality, but they also highlight a number of problems in the EIA process. The paper outlines some of the determinants of the changes in quality, and concludes with recommendations for developments in EIA in response to particular issues raised. These recommendations are set in the context of European Commission amendments to the EC EIA Directive.     

The Fat of the Land: Linking American Food Overconsumption, Obesity, and Biodiversity Loss

Americans’ excessive consumption of food harms their health and quality of life and also causes direct and indirect environmental degradation, through habitat loss and increased pollution from agricultural fertilizers and pesticides. We show here that reducing food consumption (and eating less meat) could improve Americans’ health and well-being while facilitating environmental benefits ranging from establishing new national parks and protected areas to allowing more earth-friendly farming and ranching techniques. We conclude by considering various public policy initiatives to lower per capita caloric intake and excessive meat consumption, and to translate this temperate behavior into substantial environmental protection.     

The Potential of Public Participation Geographic Information Systems in UK Environmental Planning: Appraisals by Active Publics

The paper draws on an empirical study of two workshops in which the issues that arise from the use of geographic information systems (GIS) as a planning tool in public participation settings were explored by local residents who take an active interest in local planning matters in their London borough. The paper demonstrates how issues concerned with the democratization of GIS and public participation GIS (PPGIS) informed the structure and conduct of the workshops and the qualitative analysis of the workshop discussions. Key themes raised by participants included: the potential of PPGIS as a means of extending knowledge networks; issues of data ownership and the responsiveness of data providers to public concerns; and the role that institutional norms and practices play in democratizing information availability and the transparency of the decision-making process. The paper concludes that the potential of PPGIS as a planning tool cannot be separated from public concerns about the legitimacy of the planning process or local government.