Why is integrating policy assessment so hard? A comparative analysis of the institutional capacities and constraints

Widely advocated as a means to make policy making more integrated, policy assessment remains weakly integrated in practice. But explanations for this shortfall, such as lack of staff training and resources, ignore more fundamental institutional factors. This paper identifies institutional capacities supporting and constraining attempts to make policy assessment more integrated. A comparative empirical analysis of functionally equivalent assessment systems in four European jurisdictions finds that there are wide-ranging institutional constraints upon integration. These include international policy commitments, the perception that assessment should support rather than determine policy, organisational traditions, and the sectorisation of policy making. This paper concludes by exploring the potential for altering these institutions to make policy assessment more integrated.     

The incidence of electromagnetic pollution on wild mammals: A new “poison” with a slow effect on nature?

A review on the effects of radiofrequency radiation from wireless telecommunications on living organisms and its possible impact on wild mammals are presented. Physical and technological characteristics of mobile telephone and phone masts, the scientific discoveries that are of interest in the study of their effects on the wildlife, action mechanisms on biological systems and experimental difficulties are described. Keeping in mind that electromagnetic pollution (in the microwave and radiofrequency range) is a possible source for decline of some mammal populations, it is of great importance to carry out studies on the effects of this new pollutant to wildlife. Some research types that could be useful to determine adverse health effects are proposed.     

A water network optimization using MATLAB—A case study

The methodology of mass and energy integration is widely applied for reduction of water consumption, which belongs to the area of mass integration, and is also energy integration problem if water is considered an energy source (cooling water and steam). This work presents a study of water-consumption reduction through optimization of the process superstructure. A petroleum refinery water network was analyzed and a solution is proposed to minimize the costs of fresh water and wastewater treatment. Three processes which use water, with three contaminants, were monitored and three potential treatment units are proposed. The procedure was based on relaxation of a non-convex non-linear programming problem into a mixed integer linear programming (MILP). The MILP model was further simplified using heuristic rules and solved by using MATLAB.     

Water security: Old concepts,new package,what value?

“Water security” has come to infiltrate prominent discourse in the international water and development community, and achieving it is often viewed as a new water sector target. Despite the elevated status that the concept has increasingly acquired, understandings of the term are murky and quantification is rare. To promote a more tangible understanding of the concept, this paper develops an index for evaluating water security at a country level. The index is comprised of indicators in five components considered to be critical to the concept: (i) basic needs; (ii) agricultural production; (iii) the environment; (iv) risk management; and (v) independence. Achieving water security in these components can be considered necessary but insufficient criteria to measure the achievement of security in related areas such as health, livelihoods, and industry. After populating indicators with data from Asia‐Pacific countries, results are interpreted and the viability of methods is discussed. This effort comprises an important first step for quantifying and assessing water security across countries, which should spur more concrete understanding of the term and discussion of its added value.     

Voluntary urban climate programmes: should city governments be involved and,if so,how?

It has been proposed that voluntary urban climate programmes overcome shortfalls in mandatory, top-down, state-led government interventions to address climate change risks. Such programmes seek commitments from households and firms to improve their environmental sustainability, but do not have the force of law. City governments are actively developing and implementing such programmes, seeking improved and accelerated urban climate action. There is little evidence, however, of whether their involvement positively affects voluntary programme performance. This article presents qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of 26 voluntary programmes from Australia, the Netherlands and the US, seeking to understand whether, and if so how, city governments affect the performance of voluntary urban climate programmes. The results will help to inform city governments about the roles they may play in urban climate governance.     

The diversification of the global mining equipment industry – Going new places?

This paper examines the profile of the global mining equipment supply industry, looking at the largest producers and consumers of mining equipment, tracking the changes in global flows of such equipment over the past decade. This paper shows that while the conventional producers of mining equipment (United States, Germany and Japan) have increased exports over the mining boom, the greater gain has been made by countries in the South (particularly China). The destination market for mining equipment has also begun to change, increasingly moving towards new mining sites (in Africa, East Asia and Latin America) and away from the traditional mining countries (Europe and North America). In SSA, China increasingly accounts for a rapidly growing share of mining equipment imports, but this trend is associated with the general increase in imports from China rather than China's resource specific engagement with SSA.     

Local environmental monitoring in Sweden: The need for a new strategy?

This paper discusses the present character of environmental monitoring in Swedish municipalities. We have found that local environmental monitoring in Sweden is insufficient. There is very little connection between monitoring activities and local environmental goals, and environmental goals have been established without considering information from the environmental monitoring. In practice, this means that local environmental monitoring has only a limited influence on political decisions and priorities in the municipalities. Our study also showed that local environmental monitoring was almost entirely focused on monitoring the state of the environment and showed a lack of flow-oriented information. There is a strong need to develop a unified strategy for local environmental monitoring to avoid sub-optimisations in local environmental management. A new strategy would, to a much higher degree, have to focus on monitoring diffuse sources of pollution and personal lifestyles. In this case, monitoring only the state of the environment would not be sufficient. It would have to include also the flows of materials through society, i.e. the whole metabolism of society, including biogeochemical as well as anthropogenic material flows.     

潮白河——沉寂的悲哀还是复活的喜悦?

当你走在满是荒沙的河道中想到的是什么?可能会是河道中为什么没有水吧。这也正是笔者在走访时心中同样的疑问。缺水、干涸、沙化、污染……潮白河之殇为谁之伤?她将面临的是沉寂的悲哀还是复活的喜悦?     

A tool for building community resilience? A case study of the Lewes Pound

In the last decade, “resilience” has gained increasing recognition as a theoretical framework for understanding and managing change in complex social–ecological systems. Resilience assessments are increasingly used to inform sustainability initiatives, strategies, and policies. The Lewes Pound represents a new complementary currency model in the UK, aiming to build community resilience. However, there have been no empirical studies to date assessing the socio-economic impacts of this model. This article addresses the need to understand how such currencies function by measuring whether the Lewes Pound is capable of building resilience. This is done by developing a novel framework for estimating economic, social, and environmental outcomes, which uses a mixed-methods approach. Findings suggest that complementary currencies can enhance social-ecological resilience through awareness-raising and changes in consumption. Although economic localisation – a key indicator – is lacking, there is evidence that the Lewes Pound has developed social interactions and changed consumption patterns of its users.     

A value proposition: Resource recovery from faecal sludge—Can it be the driver for improved sanitation?

There is currently a lack of access to affordable sanitation in urban areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This study evaluated the potential for resource recovery from innovative faecal sludge treatment processes to generate a profit that could help sustain the sanitation service chain. A total of 242 interviews were conducted in Accra, Ghana; Dakar, Senegal; and Kampala, Uganda to compare markets in different cultural and regional contexts. Products identified to have potential market value include dry sludge as a fuel for combustion, biogas from anaerobic digestion, protein derived from sludge processing as animal feed, sludge as a component in building materials, and sludge as a soil conditioner. The market demand and potential revenue varied from city to city based on factors such as sludge characteristics, existing markets, local and regional industrial sectors, subsidies, and locally available materials. Use as a soil conditioner, which has been the most common end use of treated sludge, was not as profitable as other end uses. These findings should help policy and decision makers of sanitation service provision to design financially viable management systems based on resource recovery options.     

消除营养物的生物处理—A/O

导言业已证明,废水中的氮和磷有助于湖泊和河流的富营养化。生物除氮技术已经得到了充分的发展和广泛的应用。化学沉淀法除磷是最普通的方法,一般地要消耗昂贵的化学药品和附产废污泥。空气产品和化学药品公司萨泰克(Satev)有限第一股份公司已经研制出特有的活性污泥法—A/O 系统,它既可以生物除磷,也能改变总氮控制。A/O 工艺过程产生一种密度大的污泥,改善了污泥的可沉降性能,并创造性地设计出条件来抑制引起污泥膨胀的好气生物的生长。     

Environment friendly alternatives to halogenated refrigerants—A review

In developing country like India, most of the vapor compression based refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump systems continue to run on halogenated refrigerants due to its excellent thermodynamic and thermo-physical properties apart from the low cost. However, the halogenated refrigerants have adverse environmental impacts such as ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP). Hence, it is necessary to look for alternative refrigerants to full fill the objectives of the international protocols (Montreal and Kyoto) and to satisfy the growing worldwide demand. This paper reviews the various experimental and theoretical studies carried out around the globe with environment friendly alternatives such as hydrocarbons (HC), hydroflurocarbons (HFC) and their mixtures, which are going to be the promising long-term alternatives. In addition, the technical difficulties of mixed refrigerants and future challenges of the alternatives are discussed. The problems pertaining to the usage of environment friendly refrigerants are also analyzed.     

Environmental Racism in the Sunbelt? A Cross-Cultural Analysis

/ Sociologist Robert Bullard challenged the prevailing paradigm of environmentalism as a consensual issue in the United States by developing the concept of environmental racism. As he claims, ethnic minorities have been put "at greater environmental risk" than has the Caucasian majority in most areas of the country. This study of the Tucson metropolitan area examines this proposition by utilizing data from several sources: interviews with elected officials and other opinion leaders, GIS-generated socioeconomic data, articles in the press, and a literature review. We conclude that Bullard's concept has validity for this metropolitan area but that there also exist widely divergent differences of opinion on the subject. We explain why this is so. We further conclude that the allegation of "environmental racism" made by the Hispanic community in the 1980s and 1990s has had a transformative effect on local politics.KEY WORDS: Environment; Racism; Tucson; Garbage dumps; County government; Pollution; Equity; Justice     

Protected area governance in Sweden: new modes of governance or business as usual?

This paper explores whether ambitions to open up the traditional Swedish model of top-down conservation methods to local influences are indicative of an actual transition in governance of Swedish national park policy (NPP), and examines whether such a shift entails an increase in local influence over local interests and needs. Methodologically, we analyse a combination of governance types and incorporate theoretical definitions of power and accountability. The establishment of new governance arrangements – where power is shared, interactions promoted and accountability is directed downwards – indicates that Sweden's NPP is undergoing a change in its mode of governance. This change also seems to include ceding some influence to local interests, and the possibility of combining conservation with the utilisation of certain natural resources. The results of our research also provide valuable insights into when the establishment of shared-governance arrangements are likely to succeed; in short, this seems more likely when there are established sectors sited in a robust legal framework and where strong international commitments potentially play a role. In conclusion, we contend that when seeking diversified governance arrangements it is not enough simply to take local practices and customs into consideration – they have to be strengthened.     

Tradeable hunting obligations--a new approach to regulating red deer numbers in the Scottish Highlands?

The population of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Scotland has doubled over the last 30 years and there is increasing concern among conservationists about the long-term impact of increased grazing on native woodlands and other sensitive nature conservation sites. Currently, the government relies on a voluntary approach to deer control, but landowners seem unable or unwilling to shoot sufficient numbers to meet cull targets. The aim of this paper is to examine alternatives to the 'voluntary approach' supported by insights from a mail questionnaire of landowners and recreational hunters. In principle, subsidies or taxation is possible but the Deer Commission for Scotland, the government agency responsible, has neither the necessary funding or the legislative power to introduce such a scheme. A tradable culling 'obligations' system on the other hand would build on the voluntary principle by allowing individual landowners to 'trade' culling obligations to neighbouring estates. Compared to traditional regulatory approaches, they are less bureaucratic and inefficient and have the potential to meet environmental targets at least cost as landowners can trade their culling obligation to another estate or hunting club should they wish to do so. Overall, the State's role would be restricted to setting the annual cull and the administration of the permit system for which a small charge could be levied per deer.