碳强度约束对城乡居民福利水平的影响:基于CGE模型的分析

中国政府承诺到2030年单位国内生产总值的CO_2排放比2005年下降60%~65%,基于碳强度约束的行政型减排措施是中国应对气候变化的主要手段之一,分析碳强度约束对城乡居民福利水平的影响,是碳减排机制设计的重要内容。本文构建31个部门的经济-能源-碳排放动态CGE模型,模拟2012—2030年在碳强度约束和非化石能源比重提高的情景下,城乡居民福利水平、消费结构以及CO_2排放等指标相比基准情景的变化情况。结果表明:(1)城乡居民收入无显著变化,生活总消费略有下降。其中,农村居民生活总消费的降幅超过城镇居民。(2)居民能源消费和CO_2排放大幅下降,农村居民的降幅超过城镇居民。(3)居民对煤炭、成品油和天然气的消费大幅降低,电力消费显著上升,部分资本密集型商品的消费小幅增加。其中,城乡居民的煤炭消费降幅最大,农村居民对成品油和天然气的消费降幅远超城镇居民,对电力、专用设备、通用设备、金属制品等商品的消费涨幅超过城镇居民。(4)碳强度约束使城乡居民福利小幅下降。其中,农村居民的福利等价变化降幅超过城镇居民。根据实证结果,得出以下结论:一是碳强度约束对居民生活减排起到积极作用;二是这一政策使城乡居民福利小幅下降,但不会对居民生活产生强烈冲击;三是对农村居民能源消费的负向影响超过城镇居民。总体而言,政府在碳强度约束政策的基础上,首先,应增加对农村居民的转移支付,提高农村居民收入增幅,缩小城乡居民收入差距;其次,增加农村清洁能源的供给;再次,提高对农村居民使用清洁能源的补贴力度,从而降低应对气候变化政策对农村居民的负向影响。     

天然气消费替代效应与中国能源转型安全

基于能源设备产能资本弹性-粘性特征,解构了产能投资、设备资产动态演变过程;建立能源替代系统动力学模型,揭示了我国天然气消费替代带来的能源供应安全冲击和能源设备资产搁浅的形成机理;模拟分析2019—2050年天然气替代下能源消费结构、供应安全和产能设备资产搁浅变化,提出了保障我国能源转型安全的能源结构优化路径。研究结果表明:(1)我国煤炭和石油产能资本存量过高,使市场形成了对传统化石能源消费的路径依赖,是天然气替代和能源清洁化转型的资本阻力,这也决定了采用天然气替代实现能源结构转型将是一个长期、渐进过程。(2)维持现有碳价(50元/t)和天然气溢价(-11 472元/toe)不变,到2050年我国天然气消费占比12%左右,以煤炭和石油消费为主的能源结构未得到根本性改观。(3)提高碳价、降低天然气溢价可以加大天然气对煤炭和石油的替代、强化电力等清洁能源消费的市场导向,但这是以降低能源供应安全和传统化石能源资产搁浅为代价的。(4)天然气替代的政策应该遵循能源产能资本弹性-粘性对能源结构优化路径的资本成本约束。为有效降低传统化石能源资产搁浅程度,且提高能源供应安全水平,我国可采取三种优化方案:天然气溢价降低60%;溢价降低从20%逐步增至60%;碳价从100元/t逐渐提高到600元/t,同时溢价降低从20%逐步增至60%。到2050年,这三种方案均可提高天然气消费占比到20%左右,降低煤炭和石油消费占比至60%以下。(5)保障我国能源转型安全需要加大碳市场和天然气市场改革与建设力度,充分发挥价格机制对能源消费和产能设备投资的市场调节作用;加强政府对能源市场投资的宏观调控,逐步减少煤炭和石油产能投资,增加天然气和电力等清洁能源产能投资。     

煤炭资源税调整测算模型及其效应研究

煤炭资源税调整是实现节能减排、推动低碳经济重要的价格调控手段,全球金融危机与我国经济回暖给煤炭资源税调整提供了有利时机.本文基于我国实际情况构建了中国能源CGE模型,测算了从价征收不同煤炭资源税税率的影响效应,结果表明:随着煤炭资源税税率的逐步提升,煤炭需求量减少幅度大干GDP减少幅度,能有效降低单位GDP煤耗.并且对CPI的影响较小.从行业影响来看,价格受影响最大的是电力、热力的生产和供应业,燃气生产和供应业;产出受影响最大的行业依次是燃气生产和供应业,电力、热力的生产和供应业,金属冶炼及压延加工业,化学工业四个行业.受影响较大的行业均是节能减排重点行业.建议政府应将目前的资源税费合并,成为资源税从价计征,提高税率,并对资源税实施专款专用,提高能源利用效率.并根据测算结果提出煤炭资源税调整与补贴投资相结合的政策建议.     

中国经济发展与能源消费及碳排放解耦分析

随着经济快速发展,我国的能源供给和生态环境面临着双重压力,为实现经济与环境双赢,应使经济增长与能源消费及二氧化碳排放之间的耦合关系"解耦",走出一条绿色、低碳的可持续发展道路。我国经济增长与能源消费、能源消费与二氧化碳排放的解耦具有重要的现实意义,既是建设"两型社会"的要求也是科学发展的必然选择,更是实现"生态文明"和"美丽中国"的主要途径。本文在研究发达国家经济发展与能源消费、能源消费与二氧化碳排放解耦规律的基础上,回顾了我国过往30多年的经济发展、能源消费和二氧化碳排放历程,提出我国未来发展的三种情景假设,即惯性情景、低碳情景和2度情景。研究认为,惯性情景是一种高碳发展情景,既不可能实现也不允许发生;2度情景的实现有较大难度,是进一步努力的方向;我国应按照低碳情景模式发展。我国未来能源发展路径应在科学供给满足合理需求前提下,按照科学产能实施国内能源生产,加强能源消费总量控制,特别是煤和石油等高碳化石能源使用量,改善能源消费结构。能源生产要低碳、清洁,能源消费要节能优先、绿色高效。降低单位GDP能源消费量,控制人均能源消费量增长;降低单位能源消费产生的温室气体量,控制人均排放量。如按假设的低碳情景发展,中国发展进入新常态,GDP预期增速虽有所下降,但经济总量仍保持良好增长态势,2020年后我国经济增长与能源消费开始呈现逐步解耦的趋势,中国煤炭和石油消费量在2030年前达到峰值,我国经济增长与高碳能源(煤炭和石油)消费将在2030年前解耦;至2050年,我国能源消费趋于饱和,增量接近零,而经济总量继续增长,中国经济发展与能源消费接近绝对解耦;中国二氧化碳排放峰值将于2030年(或之前)到达,能源消费与二氧化碳排放在2030年(或之前)实现绝对解耦。     

中国能源CO_2排放峰值方案及政策建议北大核心CSCDCSSCI

能源活动贡献了CO2排放总量的主要部分。2014年11月,我国政府通过《中美气候变化联合声明》,首次正式提出于2030年左右实现CO2排放峰值,显然,未来时期我国CO2排放总量的峰值取决于能源活动CO2排放的峰值,能源活动CO2排放量又取决于能源消费总量和结构,而能源消费总量和结构又从根本上取决于经济、产业、人口发展和资源环境约束及宏观能源经济财税政策设计。鉴于经济、产业、人口发展、资源环境约束及能源经济政策制度设计对能源消费总量结构、CO2排放的复杂影响机制,本文基于能流图和能源供应消费成本最小化原理,构建跨期能源系统优化和碳排放模型IESOCEM作为定量研究工具,从"新常态"下我国2015-2050年经济、产业、人口等宏观指标预期发展水平出发,预测出能源服务需求量,并考虑已有能源政策目标的硬性约束,对未来时期能源消费总量结构及CO2排放量进行测算得出如下经济可行的峰值方案:一次能源消费总量将从2015年的39.1亿tce逐步增长到2050年的62.65亿tce,年度能源消费总量的增速逐步趋缓,从2015年的年度同比增速1.8%逐步降低到2050年度的0.6%;煤炭占一次能源消费总量比重将从64%持续降低到45%,石油占比从17%下降到8%,天然气占比从7%上升到11%,非化石能源占比将从12%上升到36%;能源活动CO2排放量经历先较快增长达到峰值后缓慢下降的趋势,从2015年的80.1亿t增长到2030的93.5亿t,2015-2030年平均每年增加排放0.89亿t CO2,并在2030年达到峰值,此后CO2排放开始缓慢下降,逐步下降到2050年的91.5亿t,2031-2050年平均每年减少排放0.1亿t。将我国能源活动CO2排放峰值方案与2013年能源消费及CO2排放实际情况进行对比分析的基础上,本文提出了我国能源活动CO2排放2030年达到峰值的政策建议:一是鼓励推广采用公私合作模式,吸引民间资本投入可再生能源基础设施建设,大力开发和利用可再生能源,促使可再生能源在未来能源消费增量中占绝对优势,同时加快可再生能源对化石能源消费存量的替代;二是由我国发起成立天然气进口国家联盟组织,增强天然气进口议价权,积极进口利用海外天然气资源,鼓励民间资本投入,加快国内天然气管网和储气设施建设;三是改革完善资源税、环境保护税、消费税制度,从宏观财税制度设计上加快推动能源资源利用的集约低碳转型。     

中国能源CO_2排放峰值方案及政策建议

能源活动贡献了CO2排放总量的主要部分。2014年11月,我国政府通过《中美气候变化联合声明》,首次正式提出于2030年左右实现CO2排放峰值,显然,未来时期我国CO2排放总量的峰值取决于能源活动CO2排放的峰值,能源活动CO2排放量又取决于能源消费总量和结构,而能源消费总量和结构又从根本上取决于经济、产业、人口发展和资源环境约束及宏观能源经济财税政策设计。鉴于经济、产业、人口发展、资源环境约束及能源经济政策制度设计对能源消费总量结构、CO2排放的复杂影响机制,本文基于能流图和能源供应消费成本最小化原理,构建跨期能源系统优化和碳排放模型IESOCEM作为定量研究工具,从"新常态"下我国2015-2050年经济、产业、人口等宏观指标预期发展水平出发,预测出能源服务需求量,并考虑已有能源政策目标的硬性约束,对未来时期能源消费总量结构及CO2排放量进行测算得出如下经济可行的峰值方案:一次能源消费总量将从2015年的39.1亿tce逐步增长到2050年的62.65亿tce,年度能源消费总量的增速逐步趋缓,从2015年的年度同比增速1.8%逐步降低到2050年度的0.6%;煤炭占一次能源消费总量比重将从64%持续降低到45%,石油占比从17%下降到8%,天然气占比从7%上升到11%,非化石能源占比将从12%上升到36%;能源活动CO2排放量经历先较快增长达到峰值后缓慢下降的趋势,从2015年的80.1亿t增长到2030的93.5亿t,2015-2030年平均每年增加排放0.89亿t CO2,并在2030年达到峰值,此后CO2排放开始缓慢下降,逐步下降到2050年的91.5亿t,2031-2050年平均每年减少排放0.1亿t。将我国能源活动CO2排放峰值方案与2013年能源消费及CO2排放实际情况进行对比分析的基础上,本文提出了我国能源活动CO2排放2030年达到峰值的政策建议:一是鼓励推广采用公私合作模式,吸引民间资本投入可再生能源基础设施建设,大力开发和利用可再生能源,促使可再生能源在未来能源消费增量中占绝对优势,同时加快可再生能源对化石能源消费存量的替代;二是由我国发起成立天然气进口国家联盟组织,增强天然气进口议价权,积极进口利用海外天然气资源,鼓励民间资本投入,加快国内天然气管网和储气设施建设;三是改革完善资源税、环境保护税、消费税制度,从宏观财税制度设计上加快推动能源资源利用的集约低碳转型。     

地缘政治动荡对中国能源环境的全局经济影响及其对策

乌克兰危机正深刻影响着全球能源供应形势。由于中国较高的油气对外依存度,地缘政治的不确定性对中国能源安全特别是油气的供应和经济安全有重大影响,油气进口的供应短缺会对中国社会经济及能源环境造成怎样的冲击？为此,该研究采用可计算一般均衡模型,刻画了进口供应中断和价格管制行为,从全局经济角度评估不同程度的油气进口供应短缺对中国社会经济和能源环境的影响,并设计了两套包括强化上游开发和发展可再生电力的配套措施。结果表明：(1)油气进口供应短缺会对中国GDP和城乡居民福利带来负面影响,且中断程度越强所造成的负面冲击越大。(2)从能源消费端来看,煤炭受GDP损失和能源替代的叠加影响,总体需求相对稳定;石油需求出现大幅下降;而天然气得益于国内大幅增产和价格管制,其需求降幅不大。从能源生产端来看,GDP损失使得能源需求下降,导致电力生产下降;煤炭生产受GDP损失及对能源替代的叠加作用,总体变化不大;而油气生产受价格抬高和供应中断的刺激,产量大幅上升。(3)油气进口供应中断有助于减少碳排放,同时也有较明显的协同减排效果。(4)强化上游开发和发展可再生电力均有助于减缓油气进口供应短缺对社会经济带来的负面冲击。...     

碳交易的“能源-经济-环境”影响及碳价合理区间测算

构造纳入碳交易模块以及在生产模块CES函数中纳入碳排放成本的四层嵌套宏观经济CGE模型,采用2007年投入产出数据构造了社会核算矩阵(SAM),用以分析和评价不同总量减排目标情景下,碳价引入对宏观和产业部门层面经济产出、能源消费和碳减排的影响,以及相应合理的碳价水平,得到结论:①在宏观层面上,碳价越高,碳减排效果越显著,GDP损失越大,能源消费越少。综合考虑宏观经济损失和减排效果,确定了各情景下的最优碳价以及合理碳价区间,其中,在减排目标为10%时,碳市场能接受幅度更大的价格波动(6.9-35€/tC)冲击,宏观经济损失相对小,引入碳市场是最好的选择;参考Kaya等式的因素分解,说明碳价所引致的总碳减排效果,主要来自于能源强度效应和技术进步效应;引入碳价,不仅能够降低能源消费,还会引致能源消费结构向低碳方向调整,煤炭消费明显下降。②在产业部门层面,各产业部门特别是能源部门经济产出水平降低,但总体产业结构影响不大;对部门能源消费产生的主要影响是,能源部门和交通运输部门的能源消费总量显著下降;将部门合成能源单位利用成本分解为能源自身价格变动和碳排放成本两部分,得出合成能源单位利用成本变动主要由碳排放成本引起的结论;进一步,能源密集型部门的碳排放成本较高,同时实现的减排率也相对较高,但减排效果仍不充分,建议采取能源资源税和交通燃油税等激励政策,保持必要的能源市场价格水平,同时促进煤炭和交通领域的减排。     

中国城乡居民消费隐含的碳排放对比分析

可持续消费研究是产业生态学的重要内容.居民消费包括城镇居民消费和农村居民消费.本研究首先采用综合生命周期分析方法(Hybrid LCA)核算 1997、2002和2007三年的居民消费隐含的二氧化碳排放总量,发现2007年的碳排放量已经达到18.01亿吨.城镇居民消费已经成为居民消费的主要组成部分,到2007年城镇居民消费的碳排放量达到总量的76.44%.采用结构分解分析(SDA)方法对影响居民消费碳排放量变化的五项驱动因素进行分析,发现排放强度因子是"减缓"居民消费碳排放量增加的主要力量,而人均消费水平因子是推动碳排放量迅速增加的主要因素.同时,发现居民消费结构的变迁对碳排量的增加有一定促进作用.在未来应该通过持续降低能耗强度和加快研发低碳能源技术,来持续降低碳排放强度.另外,要充分挖掘居民生活方式和消费行为的减排潜力,引导消费结构,提倡适度消费,促进居民消费模式向低碳方向转变.     

中国人口年龄结构变动对能源消费的影响研究——基于省际动态面板数据的GMM分析

人的生产者和消费者的双重身份以及人口结构的动态变化使得人口因素对能源消费的影响极其复杂,不同年龄结构的人口对能源消费会产生不同影响。文章通过将反映人口年龄结构变动的少儿抚养比、老年抚养比和总抚养比3个指标引入扩展的STIRPAT模型,基于我国30个省市区1996-2013年的面板数据,利用GMM法对我国人口年龄结构变动对能源消费的影响进行了实证分析,结果表明:少儿抚养比、总抚养比、前期能源消费、经济增长、居民消费等因素对我国能源消费均具有显著影响,老年抚养比对能源消费的影响暂时不显著,但随着人口老龄化的加剧其影响会逐步显现;少儿抚养比和总抚养比与能源消费反方向变动;前期能源消费对当期能源消费存在显著正影响;经济增长和居民消费与能源消费同方向变动;在所有影响能源消费的因素中,前期能源消费的作用最大,少儿抚养比和总抚养比变动对能源消费的影响已超过经济增长,正逐步成为影响能源消费的主要因素。基于此,文章提出应将人口年龄结构因素纳入相关政策视野,适时调整完善人口政策,根据人口年龄结构变动特征不断优化能源消费结构,加快促进经济增长方式转变,大力发展节能技术,逐步提高能源利用率等相关政策建议,以促进我国人口、资源、环境和经济社会的可持续发展。     

Ethnosciences––A step towards the integration of scientific and indigenous forms of knowledge in the management of natural resources for the future

Integration of indigenous knowledge and ethnoscientific approaches into contemporary frameworks for conservation and sustainable management of natural resources will become increasingly important in policies on an international and national level, both in countries that are industrialised and those that have a developing status. We set the scene on how this can be done by exploring the key conditions and dimensions of a dialogue between ȁ8ontologiesȁ9 and the roles, which ethnosciences could play in this process. First, the roles of ethnosciences in the context of sustainable development were analysed, placing emphasis on the implications arising when western sciences aspire to relate to indigenous forms of␣knowledge. Secondly, the contributions of ethnosciences to such an ȁ8inter- ontological dialogueȁ9 were explored, based on an ethnoecological study of the encounter of sciences and indigenous knowledge in the Andes of Bolivia, and reviewed experiences from mangrove systems in Kenya, India and Sri Lanka, and from case-studies in other ecosystems world-wide, incl. Australia, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Nepal, Niger, Philippines, Senegal, South-Africa and Tanzania.     

Paradoxical ozone associations could be due to methyl nitrite from combustion of methyl ethers or esters in engine fuels

We review studies of the effects of low ambient ozone concentrations on morbidity that found a negative coefficient for ozone concentration. We call this a Paradoxical Ozone Association (POA). All studies were in regions with methyl ether in gasoline. All but one study carefully controlled for the effects of other criterion pollutants, so the phenomenon cannot be attributed to them. One was in southern California in mid-summer when ozone levels are highest. Because ozone is created by sunlight, the most plausible explanation for a POA would be an ambient pollutant that is rapidly destroyed by sunlight, such as methyl nitrite (MN). A previously published model of engine exhaust chemistry suggested methyl ether in the fuel will create MN in the exhaust. MN is known to be highly toxic, and closely related alkyl nitrites are known to induce respiratory sensitivity in humans. Support for the interpretation comes from many studies, including three linking asthma symptoms to methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and the observation that a POA has not been seen in regions without ether in gasoline. We also note that studies in southern California show a historical trend from more significant to less significant ozone-health associations. The timing of those changes is consistent with the known timing of the introduction of gasoline oxygenated with MTBE in that region.     

湘鄂赣农业资源与专业化区域化方向

湘鄂赣地理位置优越,农业资源丰富,稻谷、茶叶、麻类、棉花、油料、柑桔和淡水产品、禽蛋、肉类等在我国居有重要的地位,因此,大力发展三省农业生产,对我国人民实现小康生活具有战略意义。今后,要加速专业化区域化进程。我们找出生产潜力所在:改造低产田、低产园、低产水面;开发“三高”技术;开垦荒地、荒山、荒水;适当提高复种指数。通过建设,三省主要农产品将自给有余,还可满足国内外市场的需要。努力方向:高效农业开发——综合农业开发,吨粮田开发,玉米带开发,饲料稻开发,山区开发;合理布局农业生产;深化农业商品基地建设,发展综合利用,搞活商品流通;全面提高农业现代化水平,加强农业社会服务体系。     

Latitudinal variation in size of freshwater pulmonate mollusks (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Pulmonata) in Western Siberia

The size of shells in some freshwater pulmonate mollusk species abundant in Western Siberia (Lymnaea fragilis, L. terebra, Planorbis planorbis, and Anisus leucostoma) is relatively large in the south and decreases in the north. It is supposed that this phenomenon is explained by the fact that the season with conditions allowing the growth of mollusks is shorter in the north than in the south of Western Siberia.     

Prognosis of the spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystems by means of universal kriging

The use of quantitative data for constructing prognostic maps of the dynamics of ecosystem degradation and restoration by nonlinear simulation methods is a topical field of landscape ecology. This method of dynamic cartography is based on fiberwise comparison of data on the state of Chernye Zemli (the Kalmyk Republic, Russia) in different years and the detailed analysis of the period on which the prognosis was based. For this purpose, materials of repeated aerial and satellite photography obtained during a long period (1954–1993) were used. Comparison of maps characterizing the dynamics of Chernye Zemli between 1958 and 1993 allows prognostic electronic maps for the next 10–15 years (with a five-year interval) to be drawn and land prognosis for the next 20–30 years (1998–2023) to be obtained. Deceased     

Distributions of personal VOC exposures: a population-based analysis

Information regarding the distribution of volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations and exposures is scarce, and there have been few, if any, studies using population-based samples from which representative estimates can be derived. This study characterizes distributions of personal exposures to ten different VOCs in the U.S. measured in the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Personal VOC exposures were collected for 669 individuals over 2-3 days, and measurements were weighted to derive national-level statistics. Four common exposure sources were identified using factor analyses: gasoline vapor and vehicle exhaust, methyl tert-butyl ether (MBTE) as a gasoline additive, tap water disinfection products, and household cleaning products. Benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylenes chloroform, and tetrachloroethene were fit to log-normal distributions with reasonably good agreement to observations. 1,4-Dichlorobenzene and trichloroethene were fit to Pareto distributions, and MTBE to Weibull distribution, but agreement was poor. However, distributions that attempt to match all of the VOC exposure data can lead to incorrect conclusions regarding the level and frequency of the higher exposures. Maximum Gumbel distributions gave generally good fits to extrema, however, they could not fully represent the highest exposures of the NHANES measurements. The analysis suggests that complete models for the distribution of VOC exposures require an approach that combines standard and extreme value distributions, and that carefully identifies outliers. This is the first study to provide national-level and representative statistics regarding the VOC exposures, and its results have important implications for risk assessment and probabilistic analyses.     

Long-term increase in climatic dryness in the East-Mediterranean as evidenced for the island of Samos

The Eastern Mediterranean region is among the regions which were predicted to become drier under IPCC climate scenarios. Here, we document a gradual reduction of rainfall and tree growth and the loss of rural springs during the last decades of the twentieth century. Years with severe drought are associated with very low tree growth (dendrochronology) and dry falling of springs as evidenced by interviews with local stakeholders. The paper discusses the consequences of accelerating drought on natural vegetation and agriculture and points at the interaction with fire dynamics and economy, both likely to enhance the drought effect.     

Geographic Variation in the Seasonal Reproductive Strategy of the Mite Varroa jacobsoni in the Honeybee Nest

Variation in the reproduction of Varroa jacobsoni mite was studied in relation to the expansion of the range of its parasitism on the honeybee. Geographic differences in the seasonal dynamics of mite reproduction in the nests of bee families were revealed. Variation in the sex ratio of mites and the factors inhibiting their reproduction at the northern boundary of the honeybee range are considered. The forms of parthenogenetic reproduction in V. jacobsoni are discussed.     

Comparative analysis of the effect of predator odor on morphological and physiological parameters of adult male Campbell hamsters (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phodopus campbelli</Emphasis>) and dwarf hamsters (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phodopus sungorus</Emphasis>)

The effect of long-term exposure to natural excretions of the European polecat on the morphological parameters and hormonal status of adult male Campbell hamsters (Phodopus campbelli) and dwarf hamsters (Ph. sungorus) was studied. Exposure to volatile components of natural excreta of a potential predator did not have any significant effect on hamsters. The combined influence of volatile and nonvolatile components of the polecat’s excretions caused physiological stress in Ph. campbelli, while in Ph. sungorus, on the contrary, an increase in thymus weight and the plasma testosterone level was recorded.     

How Do Groups Solve Local Commons Dilemmas? Lessons from Experimental Economics in the Field

The use of experimental settings to observe human behaviour in a controlled environment of incentives, rules and institutions, has been widely used by the behavioural sciences for sometime now, particularly by psychology and economics. In most cases the subjects are college students recruited for one to two hour decision making exercises in which, depending on their choices, they earn cash averaging US$ 20. In such exercises players face a set of feasible actions, rules and incentives (payoffs) involving different forms of social exchange with other people, and that in most cases involve some kind of externalities with incomplete contracts, such as in the case of common-pool resources situations. Depending on the ecological and institutional settings, the resource users face a set of feasible levels of extraction, a set of rules regarding the control or monitoring of individual use, and sometimes ways of imposing material or non-material costs or rewards to those breaking or following the rules. We brought the experimental lab to the field and invited about two hundred users of natural resources in three Colombian rural villages to participate in such decision making exercises and through these and other research instruments we learned about the ways they solve - or fail to - tragedies of the commons with different social institutions. Further, bringing the lab to the field allowed us to explore some of the limitations of existing models about human behaviour and its consequences for designing policies for conserving ecosystems and improving social welfare.