Adaptation Options Strategies for Hazards and Vulnerability Mitigation: An International Perspective

The broad objective of this special issue of Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change is to address some of the gaps in our knowledge and understanding of the policies, programs, and measures that might be applied to natural hazards and their impacts in an era of climate change. Given the global impacts of climate change and world-wide pattern of increasing losses from natural hazards we necessarily adopt an international perspective. The specific goals of the special issue are to: (a) encompass experiential aspects, emphasizing current practice of mitigation and its associated measures, and their results; and (b) explore primary or root causes of alarming shifts in human and economic costs of environmental extremes. Special emphasis is placed on how human activities are playing a key role in enhancing vulnerability to NTEE (nature-triggered environmental extremes), quite independently from the anthropogenic causes of climate change. The goals are also (c) to examine costs, risks, and benefits (of all kinds including social, political, ecological) of mitigation, and adjustment and adaptation measures; and (d) analyze policy implications of alternative measures. These components are expected to make significant contributions to policy considerations – formulation, implementation and evaluation. There is much uncertainty about the rate of climate change; however, the fact of increase of the atmospheric temperature in the last century is no longer a subject of scientific or policy debate. Due to such changes in the geophysical parameters, certain types of nature-triggered environmental extreme events are likely to continue to increase. How global warming will affect regional climates and pertinent variables is not well known, limiting our ability to predict consequential effects. This factor poses serious constraints against any straightforward policy decisions. Research findings of the work of this volume reaffirm that human dimensions, specifically our awareness and decision-making behavior, are powerful explanatory factors of increasing disaster losses. Disaster mitigation through addressing human, social, and physical vulnerability is one of the best means for contributing to ‘climate change adaptation plans’, and sustainable development goals. Recent lessons from various countries have depicted that the formulation of mitigation strategies cannot be exclusively top-down as it requires social, political, and cultural acceptance and sense of ownership. An interactive, participatory process, involving local communities, produces best expected outcomes concerning mitigation, preparedness, and recovery. An emerging consensus is that there is a need to move towards the ‘mission’ of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction which aims at building disaster resilient communities by promoting increased awareness of the importance of disaster reduction as an integral component of sustainable development, with the goal of reducing human, social, economic and environmental losses due to natural hazards and related technological and environmental disasters. Sharing of best practices and lessons globally is certain to produce more efficiency and understanding in policy and decision making.     

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change -     

A Framework for Monitoring and Evaluating Carbon Mitigation by Farm Forestry Projects: Example of a Demonstration Project in Chiapas,Mexico

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - In Mexico an estimated 4.5 × 106ha are available for farm forestry, while up to 6.1 × 106 ha could be saved from deforestation by...     

Global Climate Change Mitigation and Sustainable Forest Management — The Challenge of Monitoring and Verification

In this paper, sustainable forest management is discussed within the historical and theoretical framework of the sustainable development debate. The various criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management put forth by different, institutions are critically explored. Specific types of climate change mitigation policies/projects in the forest sector are identified and examined in the light of the general, criteria for sustainable forest management. Areas of compatibility and contradiction between the climate mitigation objectives and the minimum criteria for sustainable forest management are identified and discussed. Emphasis is put on the problems of monitoring and verifying carbon benefits associated with such projects given their impacts on pre-existing policy objectives on sustainable forest, management. The implications of such policy interactions on assignment of carbon credits from forest projects under Joint Implementation/Activities Implemented Jointly initiatives are discussed. The paper concludes that a comprehensive monitoring and verification regime must include an impact assessment on the criteria covered under other agreements such as the Biodiversity and/or Desertification Conventions. The actual carbon credit assigned to a specific project should at least take into account the negative impacts on the criteria for sustainable forest management. The value of the impacts and/or the procedure to evaluate them need to be established by interested parties such as the Councils of the respective Conventions.     

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change Editorial Policy Update

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change -     

全球可持续发展目标谈判分析和前景展望

全球可持续发展目标谈判的启动对未来全球发展具有重要战略意义。本文介绍了可持续发展目标的谈判进程、谈判中出现的焦点问题和一些目标内容,主要涉及气候变化、人权以及其他权利、法治和管理、资金和目标执行手段四个方面,并分析了可持续发展目标在今后发展议程中的谈判前景,以及中国在新一轮2015年后发展议程谈判中的相关策略。     

Economic Assessment of Mitigation Options for Enhancing and Maintaining Carbon Sink Capacity in Indonesia

Land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) projects may becomeeligible under Article 12 of the United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC) Kyoto Protocol's Clean DevelopmentMechanism (CDM). Some of the issues, which need to be addressed,include identifying the types of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation activitiesin LULUCF, which could be undertaken as CDM projects. Other issuesinvolve evaluating the mitigation potential and cost effectiveness of theactivities, as well as their likely socio-economic impacts and their influenceon the national carbon (C) stock. Three broad categories of mitigationactivities in LULUCF analyzed in this study include managing Cstorage, C conservation and carbon substitution. The C intensityof the activities was estimated to range from 37 to 218 Mg C per ha. The highest is in reforested land with slow growing species and the lowestin short-rotation plantations. At a real discount rate of 10%, investmentcosts required to implement the mitigation activities ranged from US$0.07 to 0.88 per Mg C, with life cycle costs ranging from US$ 0.07to 3.87 per Mg C, and benefits ranging from US$ –0.81 to 6.57 perMg C. Mitigation options with negative benefits are forest protection,reforestation, reduced impact logging and enhanced natural regeneration,while those with positive benefits are short rotation timber plantation, andbio-energy. Reforestation gave negative benefit since no revenue fromwood as trees are left in the forest for conservation, while Reduced ImpactLogging (RIL) and Enhanced Natural Regeneration (ENR)gave negative benefits because additional cost required to implement theoptions could not be compensated by the increase in round-hardwoodyield. Other factor is that the local price of round-hardwood is very low,i.e. US$ 160 per m³, while FOB price is between 250–400 US$ per m³. Total area available for implementing mitigationoptions (planting trees) in 1997 was 31 million hectares (× 10⁶ha) (about 40% are critical lands, 35% grasslands and 25%unproductive lands).Total area being considered for implementing the options under baseline,government-plans and mitigation scenarios in the period 2000–2030 is12.6, 16.3 and 23.6 × 10⁶ ha respectively. Furthermore, total area of production forest being considered for implementing reduced impactlogging and enrichment planting under the tree scenarios is 9, 26 and 16 × 10⁶ ha respectively, and that for forest protection is 2.1, 3.7, 3.1× 10⁶ ha respectively. The cumulative investment for implementingall mitigation activities in the three scenarios was estimated at 595, 892and 1026 million US$ respectively. National C stock under thebaseline scenario will continuously decline through 2030, while undergovernment-plans and mitigation scenarios the carbon stock increases. In2030, national C stock of the government and mitigation scenarios isalmost the same, 13% higher than that of baseline. However, the increasein national carbon stock in both scenarios could not offset carbon emissionsdue to deforestation.     

Mitigation Options for Enteric Methane Emissions from Dairy Animals: An Evaluation for Potential CDM Projects in India

Enteric fermentation in livestock is an important source of anthropogenic methane emission. India, with its large livestock population, is estimated to contribute 10.8 Tg of methane annually from this source. An evaluation of various methane mitigation options indicate that some of the available technologies like, diet supplementation with feed additive and molasses urea product are highly cost effective in reducing enteric methane emissions. The gross cost of methane abatement from use of feed additive monensin premix ranges from €0.6 to €1.8/ton CO₂ equivalent, for buffaloes and indigenous cows, respectively. The gross cost of enteric methane mitigation from supplementing molasses urea products and dietary manipulation through increased concentrate feeding is much higher. But, as the monetary value of the increased milk production on application of these technologies was higher than the annual cost of reduction strategy for buffaloes and crossbred cows, the net costs of the former mitigation option was negative for buffaloes (€-28.1/ton CO₂) and of the latter for crossbred cows (€-7.0/ton CO₂,). The availability of cost-effective technologies suggest that the methane mitigation projects under CDM, can be planned in the Indian dairy sector to the mutual benefit of countries with emission targets and India. The vast dairy animal population of India and resulting methane emissions provide good opportunity these countries to buy reasonable quantum of emission credits from projects in India. Such projects will work to the benefit to India by providing a tool for technology transfer to increase animal productivity and attract capital that assists in more prosperous and environmental friendly milk production in the country.     

民族旅游可持续发展与生态旅游理念

阐述了民族旅游开发对民族文化产生的负面影响及产生这些影响的原因，在辨证看待民族文化保护与研究民族旅游发展轨迹的基础上，探讨了民族旅游的可持续发展理念。通过与生态旅游的对比，认为两者的理念本质上是一致的。生态旅游的理念对民族旅游的可持续发展有着积极的指导意义。     

东北亚中亚区域可持续发展——首届“东北亚中亚区域可持续发展国际论坛”在北京举行

首届"东北亚中亚区域可持续发展国际论坛"在北京召开。与会专家围绕着"全球气候变化背景下东北亚和中亚区域可持续发展"主题展开充分讨论,并形成重要研究结论。来自中国、俄罗斯、蒙古国、乌兹别克斯坦和以色列等国20多个研究机构的7位科学院院士、9位研究所所长和200多位专家学者讨论认为,面对积极应对全球变化的国际态势,加强东北亚中亚可持续发展国际合作研究具有重大战略意义,并向东北亚和中亚地区各国政府和专家学者发出共同倡议。此次国际论坛对加强东北亚和中亚地区在全球变化背景下资源生态环境与可持续发展科学问题与规律的国际合作研究具有重要推动作用。     

东非维多利亚湖环境问题对策:原因和政策方案分析

维多利亚湖是一个国际性水域,为沿岸社区提供着很多极其重要的环境服务,在过去50多年的时间里,该湖泊受到周边人类各项相互关联的活动越来越显著的压力,例如过度捕捞、外来物种入侵、工业污染、富营养化和泥沙淤积等.本文分析了维多利亚湖过度捕捞和污染问题产生的根源,并提出了政策性建议,这些建议有助于修复和减轻该湖的环境退化问题.     

可持续发展:英中共同的挑战

能够在这里和大家探讨未来主要的挑战之一——可持续发展问题，我感到十分荣幸。因为在这个问题上我们需要多方面的合作。这种合作不仅仅限于政府和企业之间，还应该包括社区和个人。只有这样，才能确保人类和地球有一个美好的未来。     

浅论水资源保护与可持续发展的关系

水是生命的源泉。文章从水资源的概念入手,阐明了水资源是可持续发展的主要领域之一,同时也是保障实现可持续发展的重要条件。笔者从水资源污染防治,保护政策及管理体制等方面提出了水资源的保护措施。     

城市可持续发展与交通工具选用关系的思考

城市的发展与交通工具的选用密切相关,特别是汽车的发明与使用,支持了城市经济的发展;但是,汽车的过度使用带来了环境、占用土地和交通问题,影响了城市经济的持续发展。我国应在可持续发展战略思想的指导下,对交通工具优化选择、合理使用。对运载率高、成本低、与环境相协调的公共交通要提高其在城市交通总量中的分担率;对我国经济有拉动作用,但是其使用与能源、道路和停车场的占用密不可分的小汽车要限制其使用;对于亲环境的自行车要扬长避短地鼓励其向电动自行车方向发展。     

经济与环境协调与可持续发展的机制分析

人类社会经济飞速发展的同时带来了环境的持续恶化。经济发展与环境保护之间存在一种博弈的两难困境,人类必须制定一定的规则和机制来改变与脱离这种困境。推动全球绿色贸易是走出这种困境的一条可操作的途径,推动世界绿色贸易、提高环境保护技术整体能力是改变博弈结构的关键。可持续发展的概念的产生是对经济发展与环境保护的一种协调。另外推动环境正义的理念也是促使经济发展与环境保护之间合作的一种人文途径。     

论循环经济与可持续发展战略

可持续发展战略是中国发展道路的现实选择,而循环经济是资源--产品--再生资源的生态经济发展模式.通过分析社会、资源和环境的关系,探讨循环经济与可持续发展的内在联系,提出发展循环经济是实施可持续发展战略的有效途径,是经济发展步入良性轨道的载体,并提出发展循环经济的对策和建议,有效地发挥循环经济在国民经济发展中的作用.     

生态经济:可持续发展的必然选择

全球经济发展与生态系统平衡产生的冲突日益加剧。这表明,在走过20世纪的百年历程之后,全球经济与自然界的关系处于一种不稳定状态。只有调整全球经济,恢复经济和它所依赖的生态系统之间的稳定关系,建构生态与经济协调发展的新经济生态经济,才是实现可持续发展的必然选择。经过多年的发展,生态经济作为一种     

旅游业可持续发展的制度安排及其创新

可持续发展是当今世界的一大潮流,而旅游业可持续发展也越来越引起世人的关注和重视。要实现旅游业可持续发展,就必须有完善合理的制度安排。