Indigenous Studies Speaks to Environmental Management

This article describes the increasing connections between the fields of Indigenous studies and environmental management and examines some of the ways that an Indigenous studies perspective can guide thinking about environmental management. Indigenous groups have been involved in the management of environmental and natural resources on their lands since time immemorial. Indigenous groups have also become increasingly involved in Western practices of environmental management with the advent of co-management institutions, subsistence boards, traditional ecological knowledge forums, and environmental issues affecting Indigenous resources. Thus, it is an important time for scholarship that explores how Indigenous groups are both shaping and being affected by processes of environmental management. This article summarizes key findings and themes from eight papers situated at the intersection of these two fields of study and identify means by which environmental managers can better accommodate Indigenous rights and perspectives. It is the authors’ hope that increased dialog between Indigenous studies and environmental management can contribute to the building of sustainable and socially just environmental management practices.     

Development of a Methodology for Strategic Environmental Assessment: Application to the Assessment of Golf Course Installation Policy in Taiwan

Some countries, including Taiwan, have adopted strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to assess and modify proposed policies, plans, and programs (PPPs) in the planning phase for pursuing sustainable development. However, there were only some sketchy steps focusing on policy assessment in the system of Taiwan. This study aims to develop a methodology for SEA in Taiwan to enhance the effectiveness associated with PPPs. The proposed methodology comprises an SEA procedure involving PPP management and assessment in various phases, a sustainable assessment framework, and an SEA management system. The SEA procedure is devised based on the theoretical considerations by systems thinking and the regulative requirements in Taiwan. The positive and negative impacts on ecology, society, and economy are simultaneously considered in the planning (including policy generation and evaluation), implementation, and control phases of the procedure. This study used the analytic hierarchy process, Delphi technique, and systems analysis to develop a sustainable assessment framework. An SEA management system was built based on geographic information system software to process spatial, attribute, and satellite image data during the assessment procedure. The proposed methodology was applied in the SEA of golf course installation policy in 2001 as a case study, which was the first SEA in Taiwan. Most of the 82 existing golf courses in 2001 were installed on slope lands and caused a serious ecological impact. Assessment results indicated that 15 future golf courses installed on marginal lands (including buffer zones, remedied lands, and wastelands) were acceptable because the comprehensive environmental (ecological, social, and economic) assessment value was better based on environmental characteristics and management regulations of Taiwan. The SEA procedure in the planning phase for this policy was completed but the implementation phase of this policy was not begun because the related legislation procedure could not be arranged due to a few senators’ resistance. A self-review of the control phase was carried out in 2006 using this methodology. Installation permits for 12 courses on slope lands were terminated after 2001 and then 27 future courses could be installed on marginal lands. The assessment value of this policy using the data on ecological, social, and economic conditions from 2006 was higher than that using the data from 2001. The analytical results illustrate that the proposed methodology can be used to effectively and efficiently assist the related authorities for SEA.     

Environmental intervention: The monitoring paradigm

Summary Here, the author examines the management implications of a previously developed model of environmental control. A short account of the model is given, and its implications for an integrated environmental strategy are discussed. The need for a UK, national centre for environmental management, research, education and training is identified. An analytical system for investigating monitoring effort derived from the model is illustrated in use, by reference to the UK Monitoring Networks for Smoke and Sulphur Dioxide. The use of the model in providing the underlying theory for a systems approach to environmental management is demonstrated. The paper concludes by examining the implications of the model for education and training with special reference to technologists and professionals. Appropriate types of environmental education for such groups are considered. A curriculum generator is presented. Trevor Harvey trained as a microbiologist and subsequently specialised in pollution control. He was course organiser of “Environmental Pollution, Monitoring and Control”, an international course which was sponsored by Unesco, UNEP and WHO. This has become a prototype for training programmes in many countries.     

Housing growth,forests, and public lands in Northern Wisconsin from 1940 to 2000

Rural, forested areas throughout the United States are experiencing strong housing growth with potentially detrimental impacts on the environment. In this paper, we quantify housing growth in Northern Wisconsin over the last sixty years to determine if growth rates were higher near public lands, which may represent an important recreational amenity. We used data from the U.S. Census to produce decadal housing density estimates, “backcasts,” from 1940 to 2000 for northern Wisconsin to examine “rural sprawl” in northern Wisconsin and its relationship to forested areas and public lands. We integrated housing density estimates with the 1992/1993 National Land Cover Dataset to examine the relationship between rural sprawl and land cover, especially forests. Between 1940 and 2000, private land with <2 housing units/km² decreased from 47% to 21% of the total landscape. Most importantly, housing growth was concentrated along the boundaries of public lands. In 14 of the 19 counties that we studied, housing growth rates within 1 km of a public land boundary exceeded growth rates in the remainder of the county, and three of the five counties that did not exhibit this pattern, were the ones with the least amount of public land. Future growth can be expected in areas with abundant natural amenities, highlighting the critical need for additional research and effective natural resource management and regional planning to address these challenges.     

东北亚主要沿海国家海洋环境管理比较研究

海洋环境管理对于保护和保全海洋环境、推动海洋经济发展、构建生态文明具有重要意义。由于不同国家和地区的政治、经济、海洋战略和文化背景的差异,海洋环境管理的实施没有一个统一的标准模式,所解决的重点问题也不一样。这种多样性使得目前还没有一套通用的海洋环境管理评价体系。为此,本文以东北亚沿海各国为例,借鉴已有研究,从机构设置、法律体系和海洋环境状况三个方面出发,构建了包含定性和定量指标的海洋环境管理效果评价指标体系,在此基础上对东北亚沿海各国海洋环境管理效果进行定量评价与对比分析。结果表明,在机构设置和法律体系方面,日本领先于其他国家;在海洋环境管理方面,朝鲜较优;综合各方面后,日本表现最优,韩国、中国次之,朝鲜、俄罗斯较差。本研究提出的评价方法,可以较为客观地反映不同政治、经济和文化背景下国家在海洋环境管理方面的努力,可为我国审视自身不足、立足国情构建我国特色的海洋环境管理体制提供重要的方法指导和实践经验。     

Using expert judgments to understand spatial patterns of forest-based camping: a values-at-risk application

Fire management agencies in Canada are mandated with protecting multiple forest values from wildfire. Deciding where to reduce fire hazard and how to allocate resources and fire suppression efforts requires an understanding of the values-at-risk from wildfire. The protection of recreation infrastructure is often assumed to provide adequate protection of recreation values. We use an expert judgment approach to provide a spatial distribution of recreation values-at-risk in the forested eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountain region of Alberta, Canada. Data were collected in 2004 from 11 land managers responsible for public lands management and wildfire prevention in the region. Expert assessments showed that recreation values were not confined to areas with publicly funded infrastructure. Exploratory spatial analysis of the ratings identified hotspots and cold spots of recreation activity. Maps resulting from these efforts will provide guidance to fire managers in the prioritization of fire management activities.     

Urbanization and the Loss of Resource Lands in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

We made use of land cover maps, and land use change associated with urbanization, to provide estimates of the loss of natural resource lands (forest, agriculture, and wetland areas) across the 168,000 km² Chesapeake Bay watershed. We conducted extensive accuracy assessments of the satellite-derived maps, most of which were produced by us using widely available multitemporal Landsat imagery. The change in urbanization was derived from impervious surface area maps (the built environment) for 1990 and 2000, from which we estimated the loss of resource lands that occurred during this decade. Within the watershed, we observed a 61% increase in developed land (from 5,177 to 8,363 km²). Most of this new development (64%) occurred on agricultural and grasslands, whereas 33% occurred on forested land. Some smaller municipalities lost as much as 17% of their forest lands and 36% of their agricultural lands to development, although in the outlying counties losses ranged from 0% to 1.4% for forests and 0% to 2.6% for agriculture. Fast-growing urban areas surrounded by forested land experienced the most loss of forest to impervious surfaces. These estimates could be used for the monitoring of the impacts of development across the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and the approach has utility for other regions nationwide. In turn, the results and the approach can help jurisdictions set goals for resource land protection and acquisition that are consistent with regional restoration goals.     

Environmental strategies: A case study of systematic evaluation

A major problem facing environmental managers is the necessity to effectively evaluate management alternatives. Traditional environmental assessments have emphasized the use of economic analyses. These approaches are often deficient due to difficulty in assigning dollar values to environmental systems and to social amenities. A more flexible decisionmaking model has been developed to analyze management options for coping with beach erosion problems at the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area in New Jersey. This model is comprised of decision-making variables which are formulated from a combination of environmental and management criteria, and it has an accept-reject format in which the management options are analyzed in terms of the variables. Through logical ordering of the insertion of the variables into the model, stepwise elimination of alternatives is possible. A hierarchy of variables is determined through estimating work required to complete an assessment of the alternatives for each variable. The assessment requiring the least work is performed first so that the more difficult evaluation will be limited to fewer alternatives. The application of this approach is illustrated with a case study in which beach protection alternatives were evaluated for the United States National Park Service.Portions of this paper have been excerpted from Sherman and Garès (1978).     

Environmental flows for rivers and economic compensation for irrigators

Securing flows for environmental purposes from an already fully utilized river is an impossible task--unless users are either coerced into freeing up water, or offered incentives to do so. One sensible strategy for motivating users to liberate volumes is to offer them economic compensation. The right amount for that compensation then becomes a key environmental management issue. This paper analyses a proposal to restore and maintain ecosystems on a stretch of the Río Conchos in northern Mexico, downstream from a large irrigation district that consumes nearly all local flows. We present here estimates of environmental flow requirements for these ecosystems and compute compensation figures for irrigators. These figures are derived from crop-specific irrigation water productivities we statistically estimate from a large set of historical production and irrigation data obtained from the district. This work has general implications for river ecosystem management in water-stressed basins, particularly in terms of the design of fair and effective water sharing mechanisms.     

Status and management of watersheds in the Upper Pokhara Valley,Nepal

Contributing to the debate on the causes of Himalayan environmental degradation, the status and management of four watersheds in the Upper Pokhara Valley were studied using information available from land use analysis, household surveys conducted in 1989 and 1992, deliberations held with villagers, and field observations. Accordingly, areas under forests and grazing lands were found being depleted at relatively high rates between 1957 and 1978 due mainly to the government policy of increasing national revenue by expansion of agricultural lands, nationalization of forests, steadily growing population, and dwindling household economy. Despite the steady growth of population, this process had remarkably slackened since 1978, owing primarily to remaining forests being located in very, steep slopes and implementation of the community forestry program. Forests with relatively sparase tree density, however, and grazing lands in the vicinity of settlements have been undergoing degradation due to fuelwood and fodder collection and livestock grazing. In many instances, this is aggravated by weak resource management institutions. Being particularly aware of the economic implication of land degradation, farmers have adopted assorted land management practices. Still a substantial proportion ofbari lands in the hill slopes is vulnerable to accelerating degradation, as the arable cropping system is being practiced there as well. The perpetuation of the local subsistence economy is certain to lead, to a further deterioration of the socioeconomic and environmental conditions of watersheds. To facilitate environmental conservation and ecorestructuring for sustainable development, a broad watershed management strategy is outlined with focus on alleviating pressure on natural resources.     

Spatial Distribution of Water Supply in the Coterminous United States1

Abstract: Available water supply across the contiguous 48 states was estimated as precipitation minus evapotranspiration using data for the period 1953‐1994. Precipitation estimates were taken from the Parameter‐Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM). Evapotranspiration was estimated using two models, the Advection‐Aridity model and the Zhang model. The evapotranspiration models were calibrated using precipitation and runoff data for 655 hydrologically undisturbed basins, and then tested using estimates of natural runoff for the 18 water resource regions (WRR) of the 48 contiguous states. The final water supply coverage reflects a mixture of outputs from the two evapotranspiration models. Political, administrative, and land cover boundaries were mapped over the coverage of mean annual water supply. Across the entire study area, we find that 53% of the water supply originates on forested land, which covers only 29% of the surface area, and that 24% originates on federal lands, including 18% on national forests and grasslands alone. Forests and federal lands are even more important in the West (the 11 western contiguous states), where 65% of the water supply originates on forested land and 66% on federal lands, with national forests and grasslands contributing 51%.     

关于地方环保机构监测监察执法垂直管理制度改革重点任务的基本考虑

为顺利推进省以下环保机构监测监察执法垂直管理制度改革工作进程,本文围绕垂直管理制度改革的方向与主线,对涉及垂直管理改革的环保责任清单、环境监察、环境监测、环境执法、市(地)级派出县级环保分局和省级对市(地)级环保局的双重管理等六个方面的主要改革任务,从改革方案的基本考虑、基本方向和具体实施路径进行系统解读,为下一步试点省份实施垂直管理制度改革提供可操作性的政策指引。     

“Just Another Hoop to Jump Through?” Using Environmental Laws and Processes to Protect Indigenous Rights

Protection of culturally important indigenous landscapes has become an increasingly important component of environmental management processes, for both companies and individuals striving to comply with environmental regulations, and for indigenous groups seeking stronger laws to support site protection and cultural/human rights. Given that indigenous stewardship of culturally important sites, species, and practices continues to be threatened or prohibited on lands out of indigenous ownership, this paper examines whether or not indigenous people can meaningfully apply mainstream environmental management laws and processes to achieve protection of traditional sites and associated stewardship activities. While environmental laws can provide a “back door” to protect traditional sites and practices, they are not made for this purpose, and, as such, require specific amendments to become more useful for indigenous practitioners. Acknowledging thoughtful critiques of the cultural incommensurability of environmental law with indigenous environmental stewardship of sacred sites, I interrogate the ability of four specific environmental laws and processes—the Uniform Conservation Easement Act; the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act; the Pacific Stewardship Council land divestiture process; and Senate Bill 18 (CA-2004)—to protect culturally important landscapes and practices. I offer suggestions for improving these laws and processes to make them more applicable to indigenous stewardship of traditional landscapes.     

Environmental problem-solving: Psychosocial factors

This is a study of individual differences in environmental problem-solving, the probable roots of these differences, and their implications for the education of resource professionals. A group of student Resource Managers were required to elaborate their conception of a complex resource issue (Spruce Budworm management) and to generate some ideas on management policy. Of particular interest was the way in which subjects dealt with the psychosocial aspects of the problem. A structural and content analysis of responses indicated a predominance of relatively compartmentalized styles, a technological orientation, and a tendency to ignore psychosocial issues. A relationship between problem-solving behavior and personal (psychosocial) style was established which, in the context of other evidence, suggests that problem-solving behavior is influenced by more deep seated personality factors. The educational implication drawn was that problem-solving cannot be viewed simply as an intellectual-technical activity but one that involves, and requires the education of, the whole person.     

Managing Forests for Increased Regional Water Yield in the Southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain

With growing populations fueling increased groundwater abstraction and forecasts of greater water scarcity in the southeastern United States, identifying land management strategies that enhance water availability will be vital to maintaining hydrologic resources and protecting natural systems. Management of forested uplands for lower basal area, currently a priority for habitat improvement on public lands, may also increase water yield through decreased evapotranspiration (ET). To explore this hypothesis, we synthesized studies of precipitation and ET in coastal plain pine stands to develop a statistical model of water yield as a function of management strategy, stand structure, and ecosystem water use. This model allowed us to estimate changes in water yield in response to varying management strategies across spatial scales from the individual stand to a regional watershed. Results suggest that slash pine stands managed at lower basal areas can have up to 64% more cumulative water yield over a 25‐year rotation compared to systems managed for high‐density timber production, with the greatest increases in stands also managed for recurrent understory fire. Although there are important uncertainties in the magnitude of additional water yield and its final destination (i.e., surface water bodies vs. groundwater), this analysis highlights the potential for management activities on public and private timber lands to partially offset increasing demand on surface and groundwater resources.     

Environmental Justice in Indian Country: Dumpsite Remediation on the Swinomish Indian Reservation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines environmental justice as the “fair treatment for people of all races, cultures, and incomes, regarding the development of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” The last decade has focused considerable national attention on the environmental pollution inequity that persists among the nation’s poorest communities. Despite these environmental justice efforts, poor communities continue to face adverse environmental conditions. For the more than 550 Native American communities, the struggle to attain environmental justice is more than a matter of enforcing national laws equitably; it is also a matter of a federal trust duty for the protection of Indian lands and natural resources, honoring a promise that Native American homelands would forever be sustainable. Equally important is the federal promise to assist tribes in managing their reservation environments under their reserved powers of self-government, an attribute that most distinguishes tribes from other communities. The PM Northwest, Inc. (PMNW) dumpsite is located within the boundaries of the Swinomish Indian Reservation in Washington State. Between approximately 1958 and 1970, PMNW contracted with local oil refineries to dispose of hazardous wastes from their operations at the reservation dumpsite. Almost two decades would pass before the Swinomish tribe was able to persuade EPA that a cleanup action under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was warranted. This article reviews the enduring struggle to achieve Indian environmental justice in the Swinomish homeland, a process that was dependent upon the development of the tribe’s political and environmental management capacity as well as EPA’s eventual acknowledgement that Indian environmental justice is integrally linked to its federal trust responsibility.     

Environmental management in Mainland China

Summary The author was a consultant, assigned from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to provide technical assistance to China's environmental pollution research and control. His assignment in China from September 1 through October 8, 1983 was filled with visits and meetings at key research institutes, universities, and regulatory agencies in the cities of Beijing (Peiking), Shanghai, Hangchow, Zhuji and Zhiaxing (Fig. 1). Trips to famous historical sites and scenic points in and around those cities were squeezed in between the heavily scheduled meetings. Dr Shen was born and educated in China through college. This is a report of his first trip back to his homeland since he left 35 years ago. His ability to communicate with the Chinese professionals and social strata in their native tongue provided him with a greater advantage in understanding the current status of China's environmental sciences and technology in preventing air, water, and land pollution. His contribution lies not only in the technical transfer of environmental sciences and engineering, but also in strengthening the ties of cooperation and communication between American and Chinese professionals. Dr Shen is a senior research scientist with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and an adjunct faculty member of the Division of Environmental Sciences, Columbia University.     

环保新常态下环境保护综合名录工作的定位与重点探究

本文分析总结了环保新常态下面临的环保新形势,对环境管理转型提出的新要求,认为在环境管理模式由污染控制导向向质量改善导向转变,环境管理思路由注重行政许可、事前审批、指标分配向注重事中事后监管、市场自治、社会共治转变的背景下,现有环境管理制度体系整体与政策手段个体的覆盖主体、切入界面、作用机制、内在逻辑等基础理论问题需要再审视,制度架构顶层设计和分工体系需要再完善。在此背景和趋势下,本文从理论和实践两个层面深入探析了名录工具和产品主体在环境管理中的特性与作用,认为产品是市场经济条件下同时承载功能流、价值流和资源环境流的流通载体,也是制定差别化环境监管政策与市场监管政策、建立跨主体环境成本合理分担机制的最恰当主体,以此为基础,清晰界定了环境管理系统化、科学化、法制化、精细化、信息化转型要求下环保综合名录的本质特征、基本定位和潜力方向,并提出了综合名录工作下一阶段的重点任务。     

Environmental management systems and sustainable development

The idea of sustainable development was first brought to widespread attention as a global issue; however, it is increasingly being applied at more local levels down to that of individual companies. This raises the potential danger that sustainable development will come to be predominantly identified with the preservation of the organisation involved. A likely outcome is that management decision-making will tip the balance too far in favour of people-centred interests as against environmental interests. An initial step in preventing this is to make any bias in the balance of interests transparent to management. To do this, a model of sustainability is set up in terms that provide a context for the implementation of a quality based environmental management system such as that specified by the International Standard, ISO 14001. In response to inherent uncertainty, a precautionary approach is adopted. The implications of this model for the structuring of critical environmental management system elements are then discussed and a way to generate an indicator of bias proposed. The content of an audit, which would measure the extent to which an organisation has a management system competent to measure and monitor this bias, is also discussed and proposed as another useful indicator.     

城市环境总体规划的空间管控体系研究——以贵阳城市环境总体规划为例

环境空间管控和环境空间规划是我国城市空间规划体系中的短板,我国亟需建立起一套城市环境空间管控体系,来参与城市空间规划体系的建立,进而彻底扭转城市环境污染被动治理的尴尬局面。构建覆盖城市各领域的环境空间管控体系是城市环境总体规划的主要任务。本文梳理了我国环境空间管控发展现状和问题,从城市环境总体规划的角度,在城市层面构建了由环境功能区划、以生态保护红线为核心的严格管控区以及环境承载调控等手段组成的环境空间管控体系,并以贵阳城市环境总体规划为案例,进行了环境空间管控体系的构建。最后提出了实施城市环境总体规划空间管控的政策建议,保障空间管控体系能够落地和发挥作用。