Below-cost timber sales and the political marketplace

Political pressures exist to increase the economic efficiency of timber management and production on the national forests managed by the USDA Forest Service. There is growing belief both outside and within the Forest Service that current levels of timber production, and most particularly uneconomic timber production, should be reduced. Many argue that eliminating uneconomic timber management programs will both save money and reduce environmental degradation. This article traces the political evolution of the focus on economic efficiency in timber production and explores the political-institutional factors that are shaping the current policy debate. The below-cost issue is less about economic efficiency than it is about political advantage and alternative political visions of the societal role of the nation's national forests now and in the future.     

The Wild Kangaroo Industry: Developing the Potential for Sustainability

Wildlife resources the world over have long been subject to harvest and management. As wildlife uses have grown, so too have the need and desire to ensure their sustainability. This new context of sustainability presents opportunities to merge ecological, economic and social elements to foster development. This paper presents the management and harvesting of wild kangaroos as an example of the potentially sustainable use of a natural resource. Some comparisons are drawn between the use of other wild living resources, deer in Europe and crayfish in Western Australia. However, sustainability of kangaroo species and the industry is not just a matter of market economics and ecology, it must also be socially sustainable. The public policy instrument of a statutory advisory board with a marketing function is proposed in order to integrate the cultural and social aspects of kangaroo management with the economic and ecological aspects. Through such integration, full sustainability of a wild resource then might be achieved.     

Hamburgers and the Rainforest – a Review of Issues and Evidence

This paper examines the relationship between North American beef consumption and deforestation in South and Central America. Some writers have argued that consumption of hamburgers in North America, particularly hamburgers consumed in fast food restaurants, contributes to the depletion of the rainforest in South and Central America. We survey the published policy literature on the causes of rainforest depletion in the region. We also review the published estimates of the rate and extent of clearing of rainforest that has occurred in South and Central America since 1970. Finally, we review the data on beef imports and consumption in Canada and the United States in a effort to assess the importance of South and Central America as suppliers of beef to the North American market. We conclude that the relationship between beef consumption in North America should not be considered an important cause of forest depletion in South and Central America. Domestic policies and market forces in the countries where rainforests are located are the leading causes of rainforest depletion in this region. This lesson seems to have been lost on some popular and even some textbook writers on this subject. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Industry Response to the Challenge of Sustainability: The Case of the Canadian Nonferrous Mining Sector

/ The paper investigates how the Canadian nonferrous sector is tackling the challenge of sustainable development. Although there is no consensus as to what sustainable development means in practice for management in the sector, at least three dimensions must be taken into account: (1) metals are recyclable, the availability of this resource is not a concern for the foreseeable future; (2) the need to minimize environmental impacts of metals exploration, extraction, transformation, consumption, and recycling; and (3) production activities should not be socially or culturally disruptive. The nonferrous mining industry faces several environmental problems. Some of the most significant are acid mine drainage, sulfur emissions, recycling, and metals toxicity. The industry has developed a number of responses to address these specific concerns as well as other more general challenges. Six strategies are described and analyzed: (1) research and development, (2) an effort of consensus building among stakeholders known as the Whitehorse Mining Initiative, (3) international networking, (4) active involvement in the development of environmental management standards, (5) management reorganization and (6) voluntary agreements. The importance of external factors in the shaping of corporate environmental management practices is discussed, in particular the role of government. Progress has been achieved in three areas: (1) managerial practices and organization, (2) reducing the impacts of ongoing operations and (3) minimizing future liabilities, but two significant fields of conflict remain, namely mining in wilderness areas and projects on aboriginal lands.KEY WORDS: Canada; Environmental management; Minerals industry; Nonferrous metals; Sustainable development; Whitehorse Mining Initiative     

Forestry administration and policies in the Philippines

This article begins by summarizing the importance of the forestry sector in the Philippine economy It provides an overview of the multiplicity of Philippine governmental institutions involved in forestry in 1982 Then it discusses forestry laws in the country and concludes by examining fifteen critical forest policy issues: sustained yield management; area-specific logging bans; increased use of wood wastes; revision of forest charges; unprocessed log export ban; rationalization of the forest industry, acceleration of reforestation; protection of watersheds; recognition of the social dimensions of slash- and-burn agriculture; fuelwood supply; public land classification for forestry and agriculture, development of plantations for dendrothermal electricity; multiple-use management; preservation of mangrove areas, and improvements in administration and implementation.Research for this paper was supported by the East-West Center Environment and Policy Institute. The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Natural Resources Management Center of the Philippine Ministry of Natural Resources.     

Contemporary Western Rural USA Economic Composition: Potential Implications for Environmental Policy and Research

/ The rural West of the United States is considered strongly antienvironment. The traditional economic reliance of the area on natural resources has long explained this antienvironment stance. The region consistently elects federal officials who as a group consistently vote against environmental bills and seek to undo existing federal environmental regulation. These politicians defend their antienvironment actions based on their perception of the economic composition and interests of the region. Recent studies, however, have suggested that rural residents are increasingly concerned about environmental issues. These studies, however, lack a consistent theoretical basis. This article uses an alternative economic typing system to examine the economic composition of rural Idaho and suggests that the results found using the alternative typing system might provide a theoretical basis to explain why some studies are finding increased rural environmental support. The results show that rural Idaho is much more economically diverse using this alternative typing methodology compared to the outcomes of traditional USDA economic methodologies. The policy and research implications of these findings are examined.KEY WORDS: Rural; Environmental policy; Economic composition     

氟化工建设项目环境影响评价的核心内容

针对氟化工建设项目环境敏感程度较高、工艺流程复杂、污染物产生量多且处理难度高等工程特点,在分析氟化工行业发展趋势的基础上,以4种主要的氟化工中间产品和终端产品为对象,对国内外氟化工项目进行类比分析,研究了氟化工项目的行业政策导向、主要污染因素以及环境可靠性,将产业政策分析、污染产生及治理措施、选址合理性分析这3个方面总结为氟化工项目环境影响评价工作中应重点关注的核心内容。     

Forest law compliance and enforcement: the case of on-farm timber extraction in Ghana

The paper investigates law compliance in case of on-farm timber extraction in Ghana. It empirically investigates compliance with rules that (i) require timber operators to obtain prior and informed consent from the farmers, (ii) require timber operators to pay appropriate and timely compensation for crop damage caused by timber extraction and (iii) ban chainsaw lumbering. The study documents a low level of compliance in all three domains. Subsequently, the paper discusses the underlying causes for the observed low compliance. The low compliance level is attributed to a legislation, and enforcement, that provides huge financial incentives for non-compliance for both farmers and timber operators, and in the latter case both with and without legal permits. At the same time the regulation is perceived to violate their moral values. The paper underlines the interests of the political elite as decisive in shaping the current regulation and the way it is implemented on the ground. It asserts that eliciting compliance requires consideration of both the instrumental and normative perspectives; else it becomes illusive. The study thus challenges the typical response of governments in developing countries, who, supported by donor agencies, attempt to elicit compliance through enhanced law enforcement efforts. The results presented on the Ghana case suggest that such an approach is unlikely to elicit compliance.     

Social-environmental certification: Sustainable development and competitiveness in the mineral industry of the Brazilian Amazon

This article examines the relationship between increased metal mining and sustainable development in the eastern section of the Amazonian state of Pará in Brazil. Since the early 1980s, mining has grown rapidly in Pará and local mining operations have become global leaders in the production of iron, manganese, bauxite, aluminum, gold, copper and — in the near future — nickel. To stay in tune with global standards, these companies have committed themselves to the principles of sustainability and have obtained certification for both social and environmental aspects of their activities. The article looks into whether such certification is linked to sustainable development of the relatively poor regions where these companies operate. The main findings are that: (1) there is a visible association between certification and improved performance by the companies, but not with the development of nearby areas; and (2) social‐environmental certification processes place more emphasis on ecological variables than on social ones.     

Info-Gap Decision Theory for Assessing the Management of Catchments for Timber Production and Urban Water Supply

While previous studies have examined how forest management is influenced by the risk of fire, they rely on probabilistic estimates of the occurrence and impacts of fire. However, nonprobabilistic approaches are required for assessing the importance of fire risk when data are poor but risks are appreciable. We explore impacts of fire risk on forest management using as a case study a water catchment in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) (southeastern Australia). In this forested area, urban water supply and timber yields from exotic plantations are potential joint but also competing land uses. Our analyses were stimulated by extensive wildfires in early 2003 that burned much of the existing exotic pine plantation estate in the water catchment and the resulting need to explore the relative economic benefits of revegetating the catchment with exotic plantations or native vegetation. The current mean fire interval in the ACT is approximately 40 years, making the establishment of a pine plantation economically marginal at a 4% discount rate. However, the relative impact on water yield of revegetation with native species and pines is very uncertain, as is the risk of fire under climate change. We use info-gap decision theory to account for these nonprobabilistic sources of uncertainty, demonstrating that the decision that is most robust to uncertainty is highly sensitive to the cost of native revegetation. If costs of native revegetation are sufficiently small, this option is more robust to uncertainty than revegetation with a commercial pine plantation.     

Evaluation of the impact of forest reserves on harvesting costs and provincial revenues in ontario

The establishment of forest reserves for the benefit of other resources and other land uses in areas where timber harvesting is taking place constitutes a significant withdrawal of wood fiber annually in Ontario.This article reports on a case study carried out on a representative forest area in northern Ontario where the primary land use is timber extraction. The results projected to the whole province show that the direct cost to the provincial economy of removing these forest lands from timber production is of the order of $2.5 million annually.     

Marine Conservation and Accession: The Future for the Croatian Adriatic

The European Union (EU) is the world’s largest trading bloc and the most influential supra-national organisation in the region. The EU has been the goal for many eastern European States, for Croatia accession remains a priority and underpins many of its national policies. However, entry into the EU requires certain commitments and concessions. In October 2003 the Croatian parliament declared an ecological and fisheries protection zone in the Adriatic. Under pressure the zone was suspended, finally entering into force in March 2008 exempting EU States. There are other marine conflicts between Croatia and the EU, particularly the contested maritime border with Slovenia, and the development of the Croatian fishing fleet in opposition to the Common Fisheries Policy. Conversely, attempts to harmonise Croatian Nature Protection with the EU Habitats Directive, facilitated by pre-accession funding, has galvanised conservation policy. Since 2005 two marine protected areas have been declared, significantly increasing the marine ecosystem under protection. Finally, the development of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive is the latest EU attempt to integrate environmental policy in the maritime realm. This will have an effect not only on member States but neighbouring countries. For marine nature protection to be effective in the region the Adriatic Sea needs to be viewed as a mutually important shared and limited resource not a bargaining chip. Negotiations of the EU and Croatia have been watched closely by the other Balkan States and precedents set in this case have the potential to affect EU expansion to the East.     

运用价格杠杆，促进环境保护产业的发展

环境保护产业作为“朝阳产业”,正在成为新的经济增长点。应运用价格杠杆,在建设骨干企业集团、健全环境保护产品市场体系、排污收费制度、价格信息服务等方面,推动环保产业的发展     

四川省钢铁工业节能潜力研究

四川省钢铁工业综合能耗、各工序能耗与全国先进水平均有较大差距。节能潜力巨大。能耗高的原因首先是因为采用钒钛磁铁矿,该矿难选出、品位低、焦比高,且要增加一级提钒工序,能耗较高。其次是装备水平不高,设备大型化率不高;最后就是因为节能技术、技能装备普及率不高。大量资源未能实现回收利用。分析认为,应针对上述问题采取针对性的措施,可达到四川省钢铁工业大量节能的目的。     

中美环保产业对比分析研究

基于对中美两国环保产业的内涵、法律法规、经济政策及市场化发展情况等方面的比较和分析,探讨了中美两国环保产业发展中存在的异同点,针对我国环保产业发展中存在的不足提出了加快我国环保产业发展的政策建议。     

21世纪中国环保产业发展的思路

推进环保产业发展首先要提高全民族的环保意识和加强法制建设。尽快研究发展战略和产业政策,培育骨干企业、建立示范工程。     

长江经济带经济高质量发展差异性机理及对策分析

基于驱动力—压力—状态—影响—响应(DPSIR)模型,建立经济高质量发展系统作用机理分析框架和概念模型,运用结构方程模型对长江经济带上、中、下游三大区域经济高质量发展路径和关键因素进行探索。结果表明:①长江经济带下游地区作用机理为驱动力—压力—状态—影响—响应单向链式作用路径,资源消耗强度、贫困差异和生态环境质量为最关键因素。②长江经济带中游地区为驱动力—压力—状态和影响—响应跳跃式作用路径,产业结构为最关键因素。③长江经济带上游地区为状态—影响—响应的中断式作用路径,生态资源、科技创新和城市化为最关键因素。     

国际环境服务业发展政策及对我国的启示

综合研究了国外环境服务业发展较快国家的相关政策,分析了它们发展成熟的原因,提出适合于我国的相关政策及措施。     

产业融合与空间整合视角下的旅游经济区研究

旅游经济区是一个新的概念,在一些地方政府的区域经济规划中频繁出现,目前还未受到学术界的关注。当前我国旅游业进入了大众化、产业化发展的新阶段,既处于黄金发展期,又处于转变发展方式的关键时期。将旅游业研究纳入到区域经济地域空间,发挥旅游业对区域产业体系的融合和带动作用,发挥旅游业对区域经济空间结构的辐射与整合作用,进而催生出一种新的地域经济空间组合形式——旅游经济区。在产业融合与空间整合视角下,从内涵、规划原则、指标体系、评价方法等方面对旅游经济区进行了探讨。