Ecological construction-An alternative developing way for developing countries

Based on case studies and experience of Chinese urban and rural development, the concept of ecological construction may be the feasible way for developing countries.     

Energy policy, planning and the environment in developing countries

MICROCOSM is a modified system dynamics model of the energy sector of a developing country, intended for energy analysis work of short duration in small, data-poor economies. It is also quite useful for quick survey use on a regional or national basis in more complex economies and assists in early identification of sectoral bottlenecks in major energy planning projects. Its other major application is in the teaching and training of energy planners and policy makers. MICROCOSM is an indicative planning tool for professionals in the energy-planning field. It does not present an optimal solution to balancing energy supply and demand, but is intended for circumstances where there are insufficient data to reach such conclusions. The purpose of this article is to explain the way in which the model works, as well as the equations upon which it is based. It concentrates on the conceptual basis and methodology, in order to assist the reader in understanding the model.     

Recent experiences and challenges in promoting cleaner production investments in developing countries

The paper presents on the experience of the first year of implementation of the UNEP project ‘Strategies and mechanisms for promoting cleaner production (CP) investments in developing countries’. An insight into the experience gained in two developing countries, Guatemala and Zimbabwe is given in separate cases.The paper attempts a preliminary—by no means exhaustive—analysis of the current status of CP awareness among the financial community in selected developing countries and the main barriers to funding CP from a financial sector perspective. The experience gained in five developing countries allows to better investigate the ways whereby the financial community could, and perhaps should, more effectively promote financing of CP, thus contributing to the spread of the CP concept and measures at the macro (government), medium (industry associations, chambers of commerce) and micro (enterprises) levels. In doing so, the paper indirectly emphasises the role of other key stakeholders.Suggestions and recommendations expressed in the paper have to be taken clearly with a pinch of salt, as each country in the developing world has its distinct economic, political, social and cultural features.     

Earth observations for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation in developing countries

In response to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process investigating the technical issues surrounding the ability to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation in developing countries, this paper reviews technical capabilities for monitoring deforestation and estimating emissions. Implementation of policies to reduce emissions from deforestation require effective deforestation monitoring systems that are reproducible, provide consistent results, meet standards for mapping accuracy, and can be implemented at the national level. Remotely sensed data supported by ground observations are key to effective monitoring. Capacity in developing countries for deforestation monitoring is well-advanced in a few countries and is a feasible goal in most others. Data sources exist to determine base periods in the 1990s as historical reference points. Forest degradation (e.g. from high impact logging and fragmentation) also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions but it is more technically challenging to measure than deforestation. Data on carbon stocks, which are needed to estimate emissions, cannot currently be observed directly over large areas with remote sensing. Guidelines for carbon accounting from deforestation exist and are available in approved Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and can be applied at national scales in the absence of forest inventory or other data. Key constraints for implementing programs to monitor greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation are international commitment of resources to increase capacity, coordination of observations to ensure pan-tropical coverage, access to free or low-cost data, and standard and consensual protocols for data interpretation and analysis.     

发达国家电力产业发展循环经济的经验

电力产业大力发展循环经济,对国家经济持续稳定的增长具有基础性、关键性、长期性的作用。详细介绍了发达国家电力产业在减少排放、控制污染、提高发电效率、推行清洁生产、探索建立循环经济工业园区及发展可再生能源发电等方面的经验和做法,为我国电力产业大力发展循环经济提供良好借鉴。     

Evaluating electricity sector reforms in Argentina: lessons for developing countries?

In Argentina, prior to the macroeconomic crisis of early 2002, power sector reforms had proven successful in delivering low electricity tariffs and increasing private investments. This had been achieved through the unbundling of electricity supply businesses and the introduction of competition, paying due attention to the lessons learned by forerunners in power sector reform, including neighbouring Chile. The reforms that had been implemented in Argentina were therefore deemed to have been a success. However, in the wake of the macroeconomic crisis and the devaluation of the peso, generators and gas suppliers found themselves in critical financial straights, which caused a halt to additional investment. The current challenge facing reforms in the Argentine power sector is to rebound from the financial ramifications of peso devaluation and to promote private investment. Given these basic facts, this paper traces the history of reforms in the Argentine electricity sector, assessing the progress that has been achieved and suggesting lessons for developing countries. It is often the case in developing countries that the unbundling of vertically integrated state-owned industries into privatised enterprises requires efforts to improve infrastructure as a prerequisite for the introduction of competitive practices. Bearing this in mind, this paper lays out measures that would be useful to consider for electricity sector reforms in developing countries from the following three perspectives: (1) Transition from a state-owned power companies to private enterprises; (2) Development of conditions required to promote infrastructure projects; and (3) Development of conditions for the establishment of a healthy and fair competitive environment, assuming that liberalisation is achieved once the conditions in (1) and (2) are met.     

亚洲发展中国家城市管理现状分析和思考

城市环境管理城市是特定意义的生态系统,人类与环境要在这一特定空间地域有机结合和对立统一。现代城市的发展,不仅要有效解决城市化过程所带来的种种矛盾,还要适应新技术革命和信息社会的多种挑战。城市环境管理是一项复杂而系统的社会工程,是国家市政管理中一个既广且大的课题,也是一个城市文明程度的重要标志,     

Cleaner production: an economical option for ISO certification in developing countries

Since its conception in early 1990s, cleaner production has helped thousands of businesses around the world in improving environmental performance and reducing risks to their staff. Developing countries, due to their economic, social and cultural limitations are slow to adapt to new ideas. Stresses of WTO and ISO certification are hitting the developing economies hard especially the export businesses. This article re-introduces the concept of cleaner production as a self-help tool as well as an economical pathway towards ISO certification. The objective is to motivate businesses anywhere to join the sustainable development trail. A simple step-by-step procedure to develop a cleaner production program is delineated. Cleaner production opportunities and how their exploration will lead to covering many requirements of the ISO14001:2004 certification is discussed. Cleaner production opportunities in the most common automotive industry are presented along with five case studies from Australia. Special attention is given to energy efficiency. A full section is devoted to equipment-specific cleaner production opportunities.     

Climate change and the growth of the livestock sector in developing countries

Livestock production systems will inevitably be affected as a result of changes in climate and climate variability, with impacts on peoples’ livelihoods. At the same time, livestock food chains are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture and livestock in particular will need to play a greater role than they have hitherto in reducing emissions in the future. Adaptation and mitigation may require significant changes in production technology and farming systems, which could affect productivity. Given what is currently known about the likely impacts on livestock systems, however, the costs of mitigating and adapting to climate change in the aggregate may not represent an enormous constraint to the growth of the global livestock sector, in its bid to meet increasing demand for livestock products. Different livestock systems have different capacities to adapt or to take on board the policy and regulatory changes that may be required in the future. Vulnerability of households dependent on livestock, particularly in the drier areas of developing countries, is likely to increase substantially, with concomitant impacts on poverty and inequity. The capacity of these systems to adapt and to yield up their carbon sequestration potential deserves considerable further study. Comprehensive frameworks need to be developed to assess impacts and trade-offs, in order to identify and target adaptation and mitigation options that are appropriate for specific contexts, and that can contribute to environmental sustainability as well as to poverty alleviation and economic development.     

Biofuels production in developing countries: assessing tradeoffs in welfare and food security

In light of the recent rise in global food prices, much of the literature on crop-based biofuel production focuses on the potential impacts on food security. Studies have identified linkages between the usage of feedstocks in biofuel production and international food price increases. In addition, these studies indicate that food prices are expected to continue to rise over the next decade in response to biofuel consumption targets adopted in the U.S. and E.U. Despite these indications, some countries for whom food security and poverty reduction are still an issue have initiated crop-based biofuel development and set forth national blending targets for energy use within the transportation sector. As a result, a broader examination of the tradeoffs concerning welfare and food security related to biofuel development merit consideration. Opportunities to generate income and expand agricultural production technology through biofuel development may provide welfare gains that can improve purchasing power and decrease vulnerability to price shocks for food and energy. In addition, biofuel production schemes that promote alternative energy sources for household uses can improve productivity and health, especially for women and children. To assist with the sector development that maximizes welfare gains, we suggest a number of key indicators that might be useful in constructing a typology that can be applied across countries to characterize their energy needs and better target the types of bioenergy uses that might be best suited for them. In addition, biofuel production models are reviewed and best-practices identified that can expand welfare gains for smallholders and the poor. Through these examples, we demonstrate a basis upon which policymakers might approach the prioritization of their national strategies towards developing renewable energy sources, such that they can have the maximum impact upon important goals of human welfare and development.     

Promoting energy efficiency financing and ESCOs in developing countries: mechanisms and barriers

Developing countries have tremendous potential to increase energy efficiency but face several barriers before the potential can be realised. A lack of access to appropriate financing mechanisms is one of the important barriers. Energy service companies (ESCOs), a market oriented mechanism to improve energy efficiency, had successful experiences in developed countries such as the USA and Canada, and developing countries such as South Korea. ESCOs are in nascent stage in many developing countries and face several barriers that include market, finance and institutional barriers, poor energy pricing policies, high transaction costs etc. Market development through active involvement of governments as a customer, information provider, and policy maker is required to promote ESCOs. Development of specialised energy efficiency financing windows in appropriate financial institutions, development of skills for energy efficiency project appraisal and design of specialised financial products are other measures to accelerate the diffusion of energy efficiency.     

Selected abstracts of the symposium onenvironmental protection and ecologyin developing countries

Nov. 1—4, 1989, Beijing, China River water chemistry in India-An overview V. Subramamian School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India. Based on extensive analyses of a very large number of samples, the average river water in India is more alkaline than the world average river water. The dominance of Na and Cl in Indian river shows their monsoon control. There are spatial and seasonal variations. The northern river are less saline than the southern rivers. The sediments covered by the Ganges-     

National greenhouse gas inventory capacity: An assessment of Asian developing countries

The transparency framework of the Paris Agreement (PA) will be elaborated from the existing arrangements under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Yet, the capacities of developing countries to regularly report national GHG inventories vary, and their needs for capacity building are closely linked with efforts and achievements of previous inventory preparation. The purpose of this study was to analyze the status and changes in the capacity of 37 developing countries in Asia by using a matrix of capacity-indicators. Indicators were composed for four assessment categories: (1) international engagement of a country in the GHG inventory-related process; (2) institutional capacity to produce a GHG inventory; (3) existing technical capacity available to develop a GHG inventory; and (4) actual technical capacity applied to produce a GHG inventory. The paper also analyzed the scale of international support and variations in meeting with capacity building needs. Eleven countries were identified as having low capacity over time, while 9 improved their capacity. Seventeen countries, including 7 countries with established capacity, continuously had relatively high capacity over time. International support was scarce in the majority of Asian developing countries with the most capacity building needs. Improvements in basic technical capacity available for GHG inventory preparation, such as statistics and the scientific expertise, were found to be a key necessity for countries to respond to the PA’s enhanced transparency framework. Based on these findings, the study recommended increasing support for improvements in basic technical capacity, especially in countries where existing capacity is low and support is limited. Such capacity building efforts are also beneficial for countries to form and implement nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and other economic and development policies.     

Meeting lifelong learning needs by distance teaching – Clean technology

The role of education and training is increasingly implicit, if not explicit, in environmental legislation and in management system standards. The consequence of these pressures is that organisations must develop their personnel for continuous improvement in environmental performance. Continuing professional development is a lifelong activity that can be supported by distance learning. Some approaches to this are described including various electronic resources, but all emphasise the broad range of issues that come into environmental decision making. The approaches also reflect the growth in corporate environmental reporting and the disclosure of environmental performance indicators. Performance measures of different media are outlined, while the efficiency, especially in relation to energy use, makes distance learning an application of cleaner production principles.     

Promoting energy efficiency financing and ESCOs in developing countries: experiences from Korean ESCO business

Promotion of ESCO business is one way of increasing energy efficiency. However, it has a lot of barriers and challenges to be successful. The Korean case is a good example to show the reason why economically viable energy savings measures cannot be implemented and how this can be corrected. Although financing is essential for promoting energy efficiency investment and ESCO business, it is not the most crucial barrier to overcome. Along with a financial barrier, an institutional barrier should also be lifted for energy efficiency investment. In this regard, the role of government as a market creator as well as a rule setter through removing barriers and mobilizing necessary capital needs to be emphasized.     

Rural energy transitions in developing countries: a case of the Uttam Urja initiative in India

In most developing countries, at the household level, traditional burning of biomass or use of inefficient technologies for domestic applications like lighting is common, triggering concerns related to fuel or technology switching. The paper focuses on opportunities to promote cleaner energy options through development of value chains delivering improved energy efficiency and access in developing countries. We discuss the example of Uttam Urja, a field project involving the dissemination of photovoltaic lighting technologies in rural areas of India. We focus on the challenges of introducing radical innovations into the residential energy sector in developing countries. For the purpose of this paper the Uttam Urja project is conceptualized as an ‘experiment’ and analysed using the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) framework. The paper emphasizes that to effect socio-technical transitions to clean energy options on the ground, it is desirable to focus on technology customization and innovative financing to cater to the needs and concerns of end users.     

环境污染的国际转移与城乡转移

从广义上考察了环境污染的国际转移与城乡转移,包括可见的和不可见的污染转移。分析了污染转移的不同途径,从环境质量需求和个人贴现率两个方面分析了污染转移的经济机制,以此为基础,探讨了防止污染转移的对策。     

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.     

Gold mining and the golden rule: a challenge for producers and consumers in developing countries

The environmental and social impact of gold mining is particularly acute and hence there has been a call on the part of numerous activists to reconsider the necessity of mining this metal when more supplies of gold are above than below ground. This is especially true since gold is eminently recyclable and is primarily used for ornamentation. However, the key issue with regard to the gold industry is that unlike most luxury commodities, the largest areas of gold consumption are found in impoverished developing countries. Cultural factors play an important role in gold consumption and Western anti-mining activists are often tepid on this issue to avoid being blamed for lack of sensitivity. Yet, if developing countries are to accuse developed countries of over-consumption and resulting environmental impacts, they must also evaluate their own consumption patterns of gold. This paper explores the ways in which this issue can be approached as an integrated societal concern. By following these measures, both developed and developing countries can avoid breaking the “golden rule” of personal accountability and reduce the potential for conflict.     

Development based climate change adaptation and mitigation—conceptual issues and lessons learned in studies in developing countries

This paper discusses the conceptual basis for linking development policies and climate change adaptation and mitigation and suggests an analytical approach that can be applied to studies in developing countries. The approach is centred on a broad set of policy evaluation criteria that merge traditional economic and sectoral goals and broader social issues related to health and income distribution. The approach is inspired by institutional economics and development paradigms that emphasise human wellbeing, resource access, empowerment, and the arrived freedoms. It is outlined how indicators of wellbeing can be used to assess policies that integrate development and climate change policy objectives, and this approach is discussed in comparison with other work that rather have been inspired by sustainable development aspects of manmade, natural, and social capital. The experiences and results from case studies of development and climate that have done a first attempt to use human wellbeing indicators are reported and discussed. The studies include work from India, China, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Senegal. A number of policy examples in the energy-, food-, and water sectors in these studies have shown up to demonstrate numerous linkages between development policies and climate change. Various analytical tools have been used in the studies including quantitative and qualitative scenario work as well as detailed micro-based analysis. The methodological conclusion that can be drawn from these studies, is that it is possible to apply wellbeing indicators to the more detailed policy assessment, but a link to more general national and regional scenario work is not yet established.