我国环境经济方面的能力建设与国际援助

本文论述了加强环境经济能力建设的背景、避免市场失灵及政府失灵的措施以及商业银行参与环保产业融资的经验。     

公民问责于矿业环境管制的路径选择

经济发展导致矿业环境受到污染和破坏的趋势得不到遏制,其中很大原因是没有发挥民众的力量.因矿业环境的公众产品属性而彰显市场失灵,必须通过政府管制以弥补市场的不足.但是政府因信息滞后和官员寻租等现象而导致政府失灵,必须通过民众参与以监督政府.民众问责是监督政府矿业环境管制的主要形式,责任政府是应当接受问责的政府.拓宽问责渠道、创新社会管理、健全法律制度等是矿业社区民众问责政府的改革方向.     

公众参与环境管理的模式创新及试点探讨

合理有序的公众参与可以有效弥补政府失灵和市场失灵,改变社会力量在环境保护中功能缺位和主体缺位的双重窘境。但目前中国公众参与环境管理存在法律法规不健全、公众参与环境管理的程度不高、组织体系不完善、民间组织发展缓慢、社区参与环境管理不足等问题。在此基础上,建议引入社区磋商小组这种创新型公众参与模式来充分调动基层广泛的公众力量来参与环境管理。介绍了社区磋商小组的模式设计、职能和特点,并对社区磋商小组的试点研究和效果进行总结。最后提出,社区磋商小组这一公众参与环境管理的模式在常州市雅浦村的示范效果和成功经验为进一步研究社区参与环境管理奠定了良好的基础,该模式在中国有着广泛的应用前景,但仍需在政策支持、资金保障和长效运行模式等方面展开进一步研究。     

环境污染的法律控制路径论说

市场失灵决定法律作为国家手段必须介入环境污染控制.无论是传统法还是针对具体环境污染问题而制定的单项环境法,都因其"滞后性和片面性",难以收到良好的控制效果.为有效应对环境问题,必须贯彻"事先预防、全面控制"的理念,制定以"计划性、综合性"为特点的环境基本法.鉴于环境基本法在各国控制环境污染的实践中成效显著,应坚持中国《环境保护法》的环境基本法定位,并随着环境问题的发展,不断完善之.     

苏北地区农业环境问题及管理方案的探讨

配合江苏省“碧海计划”和盐城市海洋经济绿色农业的发展，探讨了现阶段农业环境污染控制的直接政策管理、经济手段和人工生态工程处理三种方案，其中政策管理，如减少化肥农药的施用规定能减少污染，直接经济投入少，但是执行管理成本高，且政策见效慢；经济手段能减少污染，但环境目标达标不确定，且需要完善的市场环境，目前来说，本地区市场机制不完善，会出现“市场失灵”现象；人工湿地生态工程，前期投入大，但管理成本低，环境目标确定，但不能快速削减污染负荷。三种方案各有所长，在实际操作中，应针对不同区域的农业产业状况、方案时间迟度组合使用。     

彰显公平追求和谐——全面施行新修订的《水污染防治法》之哲学思考

新修订的《水污染防治法》,通篇洋溢着时代的气息和创新精神,为消除政府、市场“双失灵”的不良倾向,努力克服“地方保护主义”,引导市场客观地反映环境成本,宽严相济,刚柔并用,突出制度创新和机制创新,强调政府责任,主张公民权利,大幅度地提高了违法成本,强力推进了市场主体的外部不经济性内部化,旨在实现社会主义市场经济条件下的公平与和谐。当前,在“两高一低”（守法成本高,执法成本高,违法成本低）的态势之下,无疑必须严格执法,方能彰显公平,追求和谐。在严格执法的同时,应十分注重拓宽守法空间,拓宽创新空间,拓宽法律实施的有效空间,进一步强化政府责任,强化公众参与,调动方方面面保护环境的内在动力,以推动社会经济的全面、协调、可持续发展。     

酸性甲醛改性对花生壳吸附重金属离子的影响

花生壳的酸性甲醛改性对重金属离子的吸附有较大影响.改性过程使花生壳中一些含有羟基、羧基、芳香环、C-O和C-O-C键的混合物被脱除.改性后花生壳的等电点略有升高,而和羧基有关的表面负电荷量则明显降低.混合物的脱除使Pb2 的吸附量明显降低,Cr3 、Cu2 的吸附量改变不大.改性使羧基减少的同时也暴露了新的Cr3 、Cu2 的吸附位点.改性还有利于增加重金属离子在花生壳内孔中的传质速率,从而使吸附达到平衡的时间略有减少.     

SRT影响MBR污泥体系去除污染物动力学研究

利用Eckenfelder公式得出了MBR系统中不同污泥停留时间底物降解速率和氨氮的去除速率,结果表明在对数增长阶段和减数增长阶段,SRT为17 d时,对有机底物的降解速率和氨氮的去除速率都高于SRT为8、27、37和42 d的污泥系统对两者的去除,说明SRT对MBR污泥系统的活性有较大影响,确定排泥时间应综合考虑污泥活性、污泥产量和膜通量等因素.     

确定大气环境标准方法的探讨

对使用或生产我国尚无环境控制标准污染物质的企业如何管理．经对有关法规、资料的研究，推荐采用确定环境控制标准的方法，以控制这些污染物质的排放及其对环境的影响。     

生物法和化学法回收制革污泥中铬的对比研究

研究了嗜酸性硫杆菌(Thiobacillus)生物沥滤法和1:1硫酸化学沥滤法分离回收制革污泥中的铬.比较了嗜酸性硫杆菌生物沥滤法和化学沥滤法回收制革污泥铬过程中pH、氧化还原电位(ORP)、沉降比(SV)以及铬的沥滤率的变化.试验结果表明,pH是影响制革污泥中铬的沥滤率的关键因素.生物沥滤法在使污泥pH大幅度降低的同时,能很好地改善污泥的沉降性能,对铬的沥滤效果好于化学沥滤法.     

环境激素污染研究进展及污染防治

环境激素具有类雌激素活性 ,能对生物和人体的内分泌机能造成影响 ;环境激素污染可导致各种生物的生殖功能下降和生殖器免疫力降低 ,并引起各种生理异常。本文对国内外环境重金属激素和有机激素的研究进行了综述 ,并总结了防治环境激素污染的主要技术手段 ;指出环境激素致毒生物化学机理研究、环境激素在环境介质中的迁移 转化 积累的行为研究、环境激素容量分析以及环境激素物质的进一步筛选是国际环境科学领域的重要研究方向和前沿领域。     

Optimal restrictions on vehicle use for urban sustainability for Mexico City

This paper describes and develops the conditions that make the demand side policy of vehicle use restrictions part of a cost-effective set of environmental control policies. Mexico City's experience with vehicle use restrictions is described and its failure analysed. It is argued that Mexico City took a step in the right direction, but failed to make the restrictions flexible, thereby making the policy perverse. A programme of tradable vehicle use permits is presented and described that would provide the needed flexibility and promote urban sustainability.     

Paying for International Environmental Public Goods

Supply of international environmental public goods must meet certain conditions to be socially efficient, and several reasons explain why they are currently undersupplied. Diagnosis of the public goods failure associated with particular ecosystem services is critical to the development of the appropriate international response. There are two categories of international environmental public goods that are most likely to be undersupplied. One has an additive supply technology and the other has a weakest link supply technology. The degree to which the collective response should be targeted depends on the importance of supply from any one country. In principle, the solution for the undersupply lies in payments designed to compensate local providers for the additional costs they incur in meeting global demand. Targeted support may take the form of direct investment in supply (the Global Environment Facility model) or of payments for the benefits of supply (the Payments for Ecosystem Services model).     

The challenges of marine spatial planning in the Arctic: Results from the ACCESS programme

Marine spatial planning is increasingly used to manage the demands on marine areas, both spatially and temporally, where several different users may compete for resources or space, to ensure that development is as sustainable as possible. Diminishing sea-ice coverage in the Arctic will allow for potential increases in economic exploitation, and failure to plan for cross-sectoral management could have negative economic and environmental results. During the ACCESS programme, a marine spatial planning tool was developed for the Arctic, enabling the integrated study of human activities related to hydrocarbon exploitation, shipping and fisheries, and the possible environmental impacts, within the context of the next 30 years of climate change. In addition to areas under national jurisdiction, the Arctic Ocean contains a large area of high seas. Resources and ecosystems extend across political boundaries. We use three examples to highlight the need for transboundary planning and governance to be developed at a regional level.     

The Future of Baltic Sea Populations: Local Extinction or Evolutionary Rescue?

Environmental change challenges local and global survival of populations and species. In a species-poor environment like the Baltic Sea this is particularly critical as major ecosystem functions may be upheld by single species. A complex interplay between demographic and genetic characteristics of species and populations determines risks of local extinction, chances of re-establishment of lost populations, and tolerance to environmental changes by evolution of new adaptations. Recent studies show that Baltic populations of dominant marine species are locally adapted, have lost genetic variation and are relatively isolated. In addition, some have evolved unusually high degrees of clonality and others are representatives of endemic (unique) evolutionary lineages. We here suggest that a consequence of local adaptation, isolation and genetic endemism is an increased risk of failure in restoring extinct Baltic populations. Additionally, restricted availability of genetic variation owing to lost variation and isolation may negatively impact the potential for evolutionary rescue following environmental change.     

Power analysis as a reflexive scientific tool for interpretation and implementation of the precautionary principle in the European Union

The diversity of interpretation, the subsequent lack of implementation, and the enforcement of the precautionary principle have been important issues in the European environmental discourse for the past five years. The European Commission published a communication on the Commission's interpretation of the precautionary principle on February 2nd, 2000. However, the distinction between precaution and prevention is absent in the EU Commission's interpretation, resulting in the communication's lacking relevance for the precautionary principle. The important consequence of the precautionary concept in policy and decision-making is that it should not be based on an assumed certainty of the certainty of environmental knowledge--but rather on a certainty of the uncertainty of environmental knowledge. In other words, the regulation should, to a greater extent, be based on the management of uncertainty, and risk assessments should explicitly present and discuss related uncertainty and lack of knowledge. The management of uncertainty should be based on setting the acceptable level of risk of accepting a failure to reject the null hypothesis of no adverse effects (beta). This is done by setting the required power (1-beta) according to a socioeconomic cost-benefit analysis. Moreover, the acceptable ecological effect size (A) could also be set a priori which would have implications for the power of a study. Reversal of the burden of proof could be considered in order to resolve possible legal implications for the risk managers.     

Economic Analysis of Environmental Regulations: Lessons from VOC Standards for Paper Coating

Economic studies of proposed environmental regulations begin with estimates of compliance actions and their costs. The assumptions about compliance actions can be misleading. In economic studies pertaining to regulations for volatile organic compound emissions by Illinois paper coaters, three sources of shortcomings are particularly evident: 1) failure to appreciate linkages between regulations applying to closely allied industries; 2) emphasis on well-known technologies, despite strong evidence that they will be displaced; and 3) heavy reliance on EPA technical data, whether or not they fairly represent state or local conditions.     

Problems of Relating Atmospheric Analyses to Effects of Air Pollution on Agriculture

Relating of air pollution concentrations to effects on agriculture is hampered by deficiencies in present methods of atmospheric analysis and by inadequate knowledge about how various factors modify the effects. Analytical methods frequently lack sufficient sensitivity or specificity to determine accurately the substances involved. Typical examples include the difficulty of distinguishing among fluoride compounds with loidely differing phytotoxic activity, the serious interference from concomitant air pollutants with the usual methods of determining ozone, and the common failure or inability to detect short interval concentration extremes which may cause acute injury. The interrelationship of pollutant concentration and length of exposure in determining plant injury is poorly understood, as are the modifying effects of environmental conditions and age of tissue. The identity of some of the phytotoxic components of the urban photochemical pollution complex is still uncertain, making it difficult to select appropriate analytical methods. Caution should be exercised in using atmospheric analysis data to predict effects of air pollution on agriculture until these deficiencies in analytical methods and understanding of the problem are overcome.     

Using expectations of gain to bound the benefits from contaminated land remediation

Current risk-based decision-making techniques for prioritising contaminated land for clean-up have been criticized within Hungary for their failure to consider remediation benefits. A cost-benefit or risk-benefit approach is required to ensure that scarce resources for remediation are used efficiently. Problems arise because the credibility of non-market valuation information in Hungary is low, yet estimates of the value of non-market goods are required if cost-benefit approaches to decision-making are to be used effectively. This paper suggests using multiple techniques to bound 'true' values of non-market goods in order to enhance the potential use of environmental valuation information. A dichotomous-choice contingent valuation survey and a property-owner valuation survey were carried out in the vicinity of a hazardous waste site on the edge of Debrecen, Hungary. The aim of the study was to explore the potential for using these techniques to measure the benefits from contaminated site remediation in Hungary. The two surveys provide lower and upper bounds on expected benefits from clean-up aggregated results indicate that remediation benefits range from US$2.59 million to US$12.4 million.     

Impact of composting strategies on the treatment of soils contaminated with organic pollutants

Chemical pollution of the environment has become a major source of concern. Studies on degradation of organic compounds have shown that some microorganisms are extremely versatile at catabolizing recalcitrant molecules. By harnessing this catabolic potential, it is possible to bioremediate some chemically contaminated environmental systems. Composting matrices and composts are rich sources of xenobiotic-degrading microorganisms including bacteria, actinomycetes and lignolytic fungi, which can degrade pollutants to innocuous compounds such as carbon dioxide and water. These microorganisms can also biotransform pollutants into less toxic substances and/or lock up pollutants within the organic matrix, thereby reducing pollutant bioavailability. The success or failure of a composting/compost remediation strategy depends however on a number of factors, the most important of which are pollutant bioavailability and biodegradability. This review discusses the interactions of pollutants with soils; look critically at the clean up of soils contaminated with a variety of pollutants using various composting strategies and assess the feasibility of using composting technologies to bioremediate contaminated soil.