National laws and policies can enable or confound adaptive governance: Examples from South African national parks

There is growing appreciation that protected areas, like all social-ecological systems (SES), are inherently complex and face an unpredictable future under the influence of global environmental change. Adaptive management is the accepted approach for managing complex SES to ensure their resilience, but unless it is supported by a governance system that is itself adaptive it has little chance of success. Scholars have identified certain principles conducive to adaptive governance. Environmental legislation, an important component of the governance system, is often misaligned with these principles. In this paper we assess adaptive governance principles with regard to legislation governing South Africa’s national parks. This assessment indicates that, to enable adaptive governance and adaptive management, legislation should (1) be co-produced by policy-makers, policy implementers and users of protected area ecosystem services; (2) commit and empower management agencies to apply the principles of adaptive governance and adaptive management, particularly in the collaborative development of management plans; (3) commit agencies to review management plans and allow flexibility to adapt plans; (4) ensure that the temporal and spatial scales of the governance system match those of the SES being managed; (5) anticipate change and avoid assumptions of system stability and predictability; and (6) provide for flexible financing mechanisms, so that funds can be prioritised and timed to meet the unpredictable demands of complex systems.     

长江口九段沙湿地自然保护的探讨

九段沙是长江口新生沙岛，在调研其湿地生态环境和自然演变趋势基础上，尽快设立九段沙自然保护区已是各方共识，但对其而言，一方面已有大型工程的影响，另一方面滩地的冲蚀可能使高级群落－芦苇的分布面积减少，因此提出，在保护湿地初期建造，低堤不至于影响湿地的自然演变过程，而有利于保护高级群落和局部高潮滩的增速。     

Area protection in Antarctica: How can conservation and scientific research goals be managed compatibly?

The footprint of human activities within Antarctica is increasing, making it essential to consider whether current conservation/protection of environmental and scientific values is adequate. The Antarctic protected area network has developed largely without any clear strategy, despite scientific attempts to promote protection of representative habitats. Many Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) Management Plans do not state clearly if conservation or science is the priority objective. This is problematic as science and conservation may have conflicting management requirements, i.e. visitation may benefit science, but harm conservation values. We examined recent estimated mean annual levels of visitation to ASPAs. On average, ASPAs protecting scientific research interests were visited twice as often as ASPAs conserving Antarctic habitat and biological communities. However, ASPAs protecting both science and conserving habitat were visited three times as often as ASPAs conserving habitat alone. Examination of visitation data showed that the proportion of visitors entering ASPAs for science, environmental management and/or education and tourism purposes, did not reflect the primary reason for designation, i.e. for science and/or conservation. One third of APSAs designated since the Environmental Protocol entered into force (1998) did not describe clearly the main reason for designation. Policy makers should consider (i) for all Management Plans stating unambiguously the reason an area has ASPA designation, e.g. either to protect habitat/environmental values or scientific research, in accordance with adopted guidance, (ii) designating new protected areas where visitation is kept to an absolute minimum to ensure the long-term conservation of Antarctic species and habitats without local human impacts (possibly located far from areas of human activity), and (iii) encouraging the use of zoning in ASPAs to help facilitate the current and future requirements of different scientific disciplines.     

环境权与自然资源权的关系及其合并问题研究

从环境权与自然资源权的标的－环境与自然资源－的对比分析入手，对环境权与自然资源权的联系与区别进行了探讨，证明了环境权与自然资源权是两个相对独立而不是绝对独立的部门法权。     

集成化水资源管理模式探讨

文章在简单介绍美国，加拿大，英国和日本４年国家水资源管理概况的基础上，从集成管理的立法保障，集成的内容和范围以及反映集成化管理思想的机构设置等角度全面总结了了这几个国家的集成管理经验，最后得了了几点结论。     

Environmental management in Brazil: is it a completely competitive priority?

Current studies indicate a need to integrate environmental management with manufacturing strategy, including topics like cross-functional integration, environmental impact, and waste reduction. Nevertheless, such studies are relatively rare, existing still a need for research in specific regional contexts. At the same time, the results found are not unanimous. Due to these gaps, the objective of this article is to analyze if environmental management can be considered a new competitive priority for manufacturing enterprises located in Brazil. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with Brazilian companies certified by ISO 14001. Sixty-five valid questionnaires were analyzed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The first conclusion is that environmental management presents a preventive approach in the sample analyzed, focused on eco-efficiency, what potentially do not to create a competitive advantage. This preventive approach inhibits environmental management from being regarded as a new competitive manufacturing priority, in the full sense as defined by the literature. Another important result is that environmental management, although following a preventive focus, may influence positively the four manufacturing priorities: cost, quality, flexibility and delivery.     

基于利益相关者理论对环评公众参与方法的研究

针对目前我国环评公众参与工作过程中存在公参范围界定不够清晰、公参主体不够分明、公众参与方法存在技术上的空白等典型性问题。文章基于利益相关者理论,并依据《中华人民共和国环境影响评价法》、《环境影响评价公众参与暂行办法》等相关法律法规要求,确定建设项目环境影响评价的公众参与范围、主体和方法,借助利益相关者理论分析环境影响评价中各相关者的关系,提出切实可行的公众参与方法,为环境影响评价工作的进一步完善提供理论依据与技术支撑。     

人口统计学变量对环境保护公众参与意识的影响实证研究

采用问卷调查和数理统计等研究方法,研究了人口统计学变量在环境保护公众参与意识上的差异,以及与环境保护公众参与各个变量之间的相关性。结果表明:居民的年龄在公众环保行为和环保政策满意度上呈现显著性差异,居民的职业在环境保护认知、公众环保行为环保政策满意度上呈现显著性差异,居民的受教育程度在环境保护认知、个人环保习惯、公众环保行为、环保政策满意度上呈现显著性差异。婚姻状况与公众环保行为、环保政策满意度之间存在显著性负相关,年龄与环境保护认知之间存在显著性正相关,与环境政策满意度、环境表现满意度之间出现显著性的负相关性,职业与环境保护认知、个人环保习惯、公众环保行为之间存在显著性正相关性,与环保政策满意度、环保表现满意度之间存在显著性负相关。     

基于CVM的城市环境价值评价研究——以中国34个城市为例

随着城市经济的增长,人们生活水平的提高,城市环境也受到了严重的破坏。近些年来,区域环境事件层出不穷,城市环境问题越来越受到社会各界的关注。对城市环境价值进行评价,可以反映城市环境管理的公众参与度,有利于生态文明城市的建设。文章运用条件价值评估法(CVM)对中国各大城市进行了支付意愿的计算,量化并对比分析了各大城市居民的环境支付意愿,最后给出了城市环境管理中公众参与的一些建议。     

环境保护中的公众参与制度分析

环境保护公众参与环节在环境保护理论与实践中具有十分重要的地位,要使环境保护得到有效实施必须要坚持公众参与制度。本文从环境保护公众参与的概念出发,在探讨公众参与原则的理论基础的前提下,论述了环境保护中的公众参与的必要性,通过我国环境保护公众参与制度的缺陷的分析,就如何建立完善的环境保护中的公众参与机制提出对策建议,以期完善我国公众参与环境保护的有效性。     

Fisheries management: integrating societal preference, decision analysis, and ecological risk assessment

Fisheries management is the practice of analyzing and selecting options to maintain or alter the structure, dynamics, and interaction of habitat, aquatic biota, and man to achieve human goals and objectives. The theory of fisheries management is: managers or decision makers attempt to maximize renewable `output' from an aquatic resource by choosing from among a set of decision options and applying a set of actions that generate an array of outputs. Outputs may be defined as a tangible catch, a fishing experience, an existence value, or anything else produced or supported by renewable aquatic resources. Overall output is always a mix of tangible and intangible elements. However defined, management goals and objectives are essential components of fisheries management or any other field of renewable natural resource management. Reaching consensus on management goals and objectives has never been a simple task. Beyond the broad and often conflicting goals of an agency, managers must decide who should set specific management objectives — agency personnel, the public, or a combination of the two. Historically, rhetoric aside, fisheries managers in North America nearly always have consulted with professionals in governmental roles to set management objectives. In a strongly pluralistic society, this often resulted in protracted political and legal conflict. Increasingly, there are calls for use of risk assessment to help solve such ecological policy and management problems commonly encountered in fisheries management. The basic concepts of ecological risk assessment may be simple, but the jargon and details are not. Risk assessment (and similar analytical tools) is a concept that has evoked strong reactions whenever it has been used. In spite of the difficulties of defining problems and setting management objectives for complex ecological policy questions, use of risk assessment to help solve ecological problems is widely supported. Ecological risk assessment will be most useful (and objective) in political deliberations when the policy debate revolves around largely technical concerns. To the extent that risk assessment forces policy debate and disagreement toward fundamental differences rather than superficial ones, it will be useful in decision making.     

建设项目环境影响评价公众参与过程中常见的问题分析

结合建设项目环境影响报告书评审过程中公众参与章节出现的问题,总结实际工作过程中的公众参与章节以及评价过程中的公众参与工作程序、调查内容、调查对象、调查方式、专题编制等方面所存在的问题;针对这些问题提出相应的解决对策和措施,指导环评工作者在日常工作中如何避免出现类似问题和更有效的进行公众参与,并更好的发挥环境影响评价过程中公众参与的作用。针对目前环境影响评价公众参与制度、效果等问题提出了相关意见。     

自然风光（景观）价值评价方法研究

本文针对环境影响评价中自然风光(景观)等资源评价的不足,提出了风光价值评价方法,并结合工作实际予以应用,从而使对风光资源的环境影响评价由定性向定量过渡,为环境决策提供更为科学的依据。     

移动通信基站项目EIA公众参与原则与方案设计

结合电磁辐射类项目特点及难点,阐述公众参与的环境知情权、环境参与权和环境司法请求权3原则。围绕原则梳理公众关心的主要问题,制订出信息公示内容及公众参与方案,并对公众参与制度提出合理建议,对开展移动通信基站项目公众参与具有理论指导和现实意义     

规划环境影响评价中公众参与有效性的探讨

公众参与在规划环境影响评价中具有重要的意义。目前环境影响评价中公众参与中存在许多不足，严重影响了公众参与的有效性，在提高规划环境影响评价中公众参与制度的有效性、信息发布的有效性、参与对象的有效性、参与方法的有效性以及结论有效性等方面提出了建议。     

Marginalization by collaboration: Environmental justice as a third party in and beyond CALFED

Governance and planning of ecosystem and water management within the California Bay-Delta, a critical component of California's water economy, have been characterized by a range of innovations in collaboration and conflict resolution. Despite legal mandates to incorporate environmental justice, the California Bay-Delta Authority's (CBDA) policy-development process and the subsequent Delta Vision process have systematically marginalized the role of environmental justice in California's water policy. We suggest that environmental justice in Bay-Delta planning can be understood as a “third party” with a tenuous seat at the CALFED water management table. As such environmental justice is a useful lens through which to assess the state's broader commitments and capacities relative to equity as a planning principal and outcome. We interpret the fate of environmental justice within Bay-Delta planning as indicative of the inherent tensions between systems based on increasing market dominance and state legitimation and the values of environmental justice based on distributive, procedural, and cognitive justice. We construct a model of marginalization and environmental injustice in collaborative planning to illustrate these tensions. We draw upon experiences of members of the Environmental Justice Sub-Committee of CBDA's Bay Delta Public Advisory Committee, as well as interviews with other key environmental justice interests, and a comprehensive review of internal and public CBDA documents relating to the environmental justice program including budgets and program plans, and ethnographic field work. We conclude that by learning from the mistakes of Bay-Delta planning, a positive model of collaborative, environmental justice-based planning for water and ecosystem management is possible.