Genetic engineering and the dignity of creatures

The Swiss expert report suggests that the inherent dignity of a living being be identified with its inherent value. But the phrase “inherent value of a living being” seems to connote two concepts of inherent value. One has a morally obligating character but is counterintuitive because of its egalitarianism. The other is one of non-moral value. It is more compatible with considered intuitions but insufficient for substantiating the expert report’s claim that human beings have moral duties towards animals and plants. The paper discusses these concepts. Consideration is then given to the problem of how discursive support can be generated for the expert report’s claim that human beings have the moral duty to abstain from impairing those functions and abilities of a non-human being that members of its species as a rule can practice.     

Human dignity and the dignity of creatures

In their report for the Swiss government on the notion of the dignity of creatures, Philipp Balzer, Klaus-Peter Rippe, and Peter Schaber analyze the relationship between human dignity and the dignity of creatures, taking them as two categorically different concepts. Human dignity is defined as the “moral right not to be humiliated,” whereas the dignity of creatures is taken to be “the inherent value of non-human living beings.” To my mind there is no need to draw a categorical distinction between the two concepts. Both notions could be brought together under an all-encompassing concept of the inherent value of living beings, humans and non-humans alike, a concept one could name “the dignity of living beings.” Indeed, this very notion underlies the position taken in the report, although this is not made explicit by the authors themselves. As the aim of the paper is only to clarify the concepts used, I do not go beyond this “internal” critique of their position, i.e., I don’t assess how the claims articulated via these concepts — the claim that humans and/or creatures have an inherent value consisting in a supposed intrinsic good — are to be justified, although I myself would be rather skeptical that this might be successfully done.     

Planning in the countryside

The author considers the present greater awareness of the needs of the countryside brought about through public debate of the issues involved. The nature of countryside policies is considered and recent developments described. The paper concludes that much more positive planning is being undertaken to conserve the countryside, whilst allowing rural development to take place.     

Untying a Lancastrian bundle: valuing ecosystems and ecosystem services for wetland mitigation

A utility-theoretic model indicates that mitigation prices for wetland ecosystems depend on preferences and technical knowledge. Empirical analysis found gaps in respondents' knowledge about such ecosystems. Valuing wetland types requires dealing with respondents' possible misinformation, by developing tools for informing respondents or by combining service-based valuations with valid technical data.     

Policy and planning in the dutch countryside: The role of regional innovation networks

This paper presents the results of a study on the functioning of regional innovation networks (RINs) in the Netherlands. RINs are designed to achieve sustainable and socially acceptable regional economic development. By focusing on inter-human processes, the study aimed to gain more and deeper insights into the nature, the workings, the potential and the limitations of RINs in processes of innovation. An important insight from the study concerns the role of governments in RINs. Although the intention of the central government was to experiment with a fully bottom-up process, all RINs were eager to involve the government at different levels, at different times and for different purposes.     

Applying choice experiments to valuing the different types of environmental issues in Japan

In this study, improvements of different types of environmental issues in Japan, (i) reduction of mortality risk due to exposure to suspended particulate matter (SPM), (ii) improvement of the water quality of an urban river, and (iii) protection of goshawks, were evaluated in monetary terms using choice experiments. It was found that the reduction of mortality risk and the improvement of the water quality were highly valued, while residents did not place high value on the protection of goshawks. However, scope sensitivity was not observed in the evaluation of each issue and the presence of moral satisfaction was revealed. Excluding the effect of lexicographic choices could partly solve the problem concerning scope sensitivity. The results suggested that non-scope sensitive values that were unrelated to or inconsistent with the level of environmental improvement could be estimated through choice experiments in this research.     

Estimating and valuing the carbon sequestered in softwood and hardwood trees, timber products and forest soils in Wales

Models of carbon storage in softwood and hardwood trees and forest soils and its emission from timber products and waste are developed and integrated with data on storage benefits to yield estimates of the value of the net carbon flux generated by afforestation. The long-term nature of the processes under consideration and the impact of varying the discount rate are explicitly incorporated within the model. A geographical information system (GIS) is used to apply carbon sequestration models to data on tree growth and soil type distribution for a large study area (the entire country of Wales). The major findings are: (1) all three elements under analysis (carbon sequestration in livewood, release from different products and waste, and storage or emission from soils) play a vital role in determining overall carbon flux; (2) woodland management has a substantial impact upon carbon storage in livewood however the choice of discount rate exerts the largest overall influence upon estimated carbon flux values; (3) timber growth rates (yield class) also have a major impact upon values; (4) tree species does affect storage values, however this is less important than the other factors listed above; (5) non-peat soils generally sequester relatively low levels of carbon. Planting upon peat soils can result in very substantial emissions of carbon which exceed the level of storage in livewood.The GIS is used to produce valuation maps which can be readily incorporated within cost-benefit analyses regarding optimal locations for conversion of land into forestry.     

Ranking without valuing in the face of major uncertainty--the case of the promotion of biodegradable lubricants

Major benefit uncertainties prevent monetary quantification of some environmental amenities. Replacing mineral lubricants with biodegradable substitutes is shown to be a case in point. However, it is possible to rank the social benefits of substituting mineral lubricants with regard to different applications and environments. As the private costs and benefits of substitution are mainly constant, only a policy that prioritizes full substitution in the applications with the greatest benefits can be efficient. It is shown that regulations requiring substitution in certain fields are likely to fulfil this criterion, while subsidies for production, processing, market introduction and research usually fail to meet the efficiency criterion.     

A framework for valuing the health benefits of improved bathing water quality in the River Irvine catchment

A simple model predicting bathing water concentrations of Escherichia coli from livestock in the Irvine catchment in SW Scotland has been adapted for intestinal enterococci (IE). This has been used to predict risk of bather illness by extrapolation of published data on bather IE exposure vs incidence of gastro-enteritis. Simulated reduction in the risk of illness by reduced faecal loading was multiplied by a willingness to pay for risk reduction to estimate the annual benefits of mitigation. Health benefits of reducing loading by 75% at Irvine Beach were estimated by a willingness to pay method to be about pound 276k pa. Estimated annualised costs of diffuse pollution mitigation measures across the catchment were higher (> pound 1m), and it is very unlikely that 75% mitigation is achievable with current stocking rates. Further work should explore the influence of uncertainty of model parameters, and use emerging epidemiological information on specific zoonotic pathogens such as E. coli O157 and Cryptosporidium. Other components of the value of clean water should also be included to obtain a complete estimate of the cost:benefit of mitigation.     

Property rights regimes and the management of resources

The property rights regime is an important link between the yield of a natural resource and the appropriation and maintenance incentives of its users. This paper discusses the theoretical background for this link and provides insights as to the function of the property rights regime, drawing from recent developments in the economics literature on optimal ownership patterns and the theory of repeated games. The performances of different resource ownership patterns are evaluated using the criterion of economic efficiency. The economic theory of property rights is based on the idea that, because contractual arrangements are bound to be incomplete, there is scope for opportunistic behaviour and therefore the resulting resource management is likely to be inefficient. Optimal resource ownership patterns are viewed as solutions to the problem of structuring private users' incentives in accordance with the socially desirable management of resources.     

Green exercise in the UK countryside: Effects on health and psychological well-being,and implications for policy and planning

There is evidence that contact with the natural environment and green space promotes good health. It is also well known that participation in regular physical activity generates physical and psychological health benefits. The authors have hypothesised that ‘green exercise’ will improve health and psychological well-being, yet few studies have quantified these effects. This study measured the effects of 10 green exercise case studies (including walking, cycling, horse-riding, fishing, canal-boating and conservation activities) in four regions of the UK on 263 participants. Even though these participants were generally an active and healthy group, it was found that green exercise led to a significant improvement in self-esteem and total mood disturbance (with anger-hostility, confusion-bewilderment, depression-dejection and tension-anxiety all improving post-activity). Self-esteem and mood were found not to be affected by the type, intensity or duration of the green exercise, as the results were similar for all 10 case studies. Thus all these activities generated mental health benefits, indicating the potential for a wider health and well-being dividend from green exercise. Green exercise thus has important implications for public and environmental health, and for a wide range of policy sectors.     

农村城镇化建设中的环境问题与对策研究

农村工业化、城镇化是农村实现现代化的必然选择,但是农村工业化、城镇化进程中生态环境问题日益严重,已经成为农村社会全面进步的限制因素。本文针对农村城镇化进程中出现的环境问题提出了相关对策与建议。     

The country parks programme and countryside conservation in Hong Kong

Summary Urban and agricultural developments in Hong Kong are intensive and spatially concentrated in a quarter of the land, leaving a sizeable area of hilly countryside with unrestricted access, relatively empty and unspoilt. Care for this common heritage, in the past, focused on afforestation of the denuded hillslopes especially in reservoir catchments. The remaining parts, covered by grasses and shrubs, hardly received attention. The rapid population growth, urban encroachment and unplanned recreational use, threatened to engulf and ruin the countryside from the 1960s. A country parks programme was initiated belatedly in 1972, and was rapidly accomplished, so that in 1979 40 percent of the land was designated. The parks are broadly divided into high-intensity recreation, low-intensity recreation, and conservation zones. The programme has been successful in encouraging informal outdoor recreation, but has also engendered environmental problems which contradict the principal conservation goal. The overuse of sites and footpaths causes soil and vegetation damage. Hill fires, ignited by, and widely dispersed litter, left by, irresponsible and careless visitors, are additional forces of degradation. Long-term management should aim at containing these problems and plan for the anticipated changing recreational demands in the future.Dr C. Y. Jim is a lecturer in biogeography and soil science at the Department of Geography and Geology, University of Hong Kong.     

论合理的房地产价格及其相应的政策措施

房地产价格的高低是人们生活水平高低的重要决定因素之一,一个国家的房地产价格应该保持在一个合理的区域内.讨论了合理的房地产价格区域,有针对性地提出把房地产价格控制在合理区域内的一些政策措施.     

Institutional reform in the Andean irrigation sector: Enabling policies for strengthening local rights and water management

For centuries, local and indigenous water rights and rules in the Andean region have been largely neglected and discriminated against. The process of undermining local communities’ water access and control rights continues up to today and not only is it headed by powerful local, national and international water‐use actors encroaching local rights — it is also a direct consequence of vertical State law and intervention practices, and the latest privatization policies. Recognition of and security for the diverse and dynamic local rights and management frameworks is crucial for improving rural livelihoods and even national food security in Andean countries. At the request of the Government of Ecuador — in which at that time the indigenous movement had its political participation — a research mission was organized to formulate a proposal for institutional reform, aiming at the strengthening of the national irrigation sector. In this article, some basic mission results are outlined and analyzed within the scope of four concepts (institutional viability, political democracy, equity, and water rights security), and practical elements for institutional reform are suggested, not only for the Ecuadorian irrigation sector but also other settings. The complementary roles of central Government, local governments and water user organizations in water resources management are emphasized as is the need to strengthen enabling legal and policy frameworks. The importance of translating constitutional recognition of local and indigenous rights and common property systems into practical procedures and institutional structures is also stressed.