Nature and Nature Values in Organic Agriculture. An Analysis of Contested Concepts and Values Among Different Actors in Organic Farming

The relationship between agriculture and nature is a central issue in the current agricultural debate. Organic Farming has ambitions and a special potential in relation to nature. Consideration for nature is part of the guiding principals of organic farming and many organic farmers are committed to protecting natural qualities. However, the issue of nature, landscape, and land use is not straightforward. Nature is an ambiguous concept that involves multiple interests and actors reaching far beyond farmers. The Danish research project Nature Quality in Organic Farming has investigated the relationship between nature and organic farming. This article will focus on an expert workshop held in connection with the project that investigates the way different actors conceptualize nature. Farmers, scientists, and non-governmental organizations came together to discuss their experiences of nature and expectations of organic agriculture. From this interaction, it was clear that nature is a contested notion. Different understandings of nature exist within the three groups and there is disagreement as to whether emphasis should be given to biological qualities, production values, or experiential and aesthetic perspectives. This complexity provides a challenge to organic farming as well as to the implementation of nature considerations in general. It illustrates an underlying battle for the right to define nature and nature quality and essentially decide what organic farmers should work towards. We argue that successful implementation requires organic farmers to carefully consider what expectations they wish to meet. Optimally it is dependent on a dialog between stakeholder interest groups that allows for multivocality and pluralism.     

绿色供应链与生态工业园区的比较研究

全面比较分析了绿色供应链和生态工业园区两种主流工业共生模式,得出两者在核心思想、形成机制、运行管理和评价体系四方面的异同。两者均为工业生态学与循环经济理论的工业实践,其主要技术支撑均为清洁生产、生命周期评价、生态化设计与系统集成。不同之处为:前者是自下而上形成的企业管理模式,核心企业起主导作用,运营成本高,系统稳定性高,主要对企业环境绩效开展评价;后者是以自上而下为主要形式开展的企业群落与社区结合的生态化实践,构建更为复杂,运营成本低,系统稳定性低,主要开展园区可持续发展度的综合评价。从而为进一步开展两者互补性有机结合的企业可持续发展研究提出了方向性建议。     

低碳供应链发展及运营新问题

资源短缺、环境恶化、全球气候变暖带来了低碳经济的快速发展,在该背景下,迫切需要将环境问题融合到供应链的研究和实践当中。首先对比传统的供应链内涵,提出低碳供应链的概念,然后简述低碳供应链发展的理论和实践基础,根据运营管理的研究目标构建了低碳供应链管理的整体研究框架,拟在政府规制和消费者对低碳产品需求的外部力量作用下,寻求企业及供应链运行的机理和规律,指出未来值得关注的研究方向,为供应链低碳化发展奠定理论基础。     

企业绿色供应链管理实践的阶段性及其特征研究

本文在总结绿色供应链管理(GSCM)的现有研究成果与实践经验的基础上,提出可将企业在推进GSCM的实践划分为4个阶段:生存需求阶段、初步合作阶段、源头绿色化阶段、自我价值实现阶段。设计了调查问卷,对165家国内企业在推进GSCM的实践情况进行了调研。研究结果表明:这些企业在GSCM方面尚处于初级阶段,具体表现为由"消极应对"向"有所策划和初步实践"过渡;这一阶段的主要实施手段包括"回收利用生产过程中产生的废料"、"要求供应商提供清洁环保的产品"、"为消费者提供产品相关的环境信息"、"推进清洁生产审核"等。通过该实证研究以期为政府有关部门制定促进可持续发展的相关政策提供参考。     

从供应链模式看校企合作的功能与约束条件

将企业供应链管理理论引入到职业教育研究,指出供应链能够降低校企合作的交易成本、机会成本和管理成本,而实现上述功能必须以树立集成化供应链管理观念、构建校企合作的激励与利益协调机制、搭建校企合作的网络信息平台、重组高职院校组织结构与流程为条件。     

基于低碳经济的煤炭企业供应链绩效评价

以煤炭企业供应链为研究对象,基于平衡记分法建立低碳经济下的煤炭供应链绩效评价体系.运用因子分析法对6家煤炭企业供应链绩效进行实证分析,得出低碳技术投入效果、煤炭营销能力、客户满意指标、企业社会责任等公共因子的比较分析结果,对煤炭企业供应链的综合绩效进行了评价,便于企业掌握供应链整体运营状况,为“高碳资源低碳利用”,实现煤炭产业的可持续发展提供参考.     

Effects of Land Use Changes on the Ecosystem Service Values of a Reclamation Farm in Northeast China

Intensive agricultural development can change land use, which can further affect regional ecosystem services and functions. With the rapid growth of the population and the national demand for food, the northeast of China, which is located in the high latitudes, has experienced four agricultural developments since the 1950s. The original wetlands of this area were developed for farmland. The evaluation of ecosystem services is conducted to reveal the ecosystem status and variable trends caused by land reclamation. The aim of this study is to provide scientific basis for environmental management and for the sustainable development of agriculture in Northeast China. With GIS-RS technology, a typical farm was chosen to analyze variations in the ecosystem service value in response to land use changes during the study period. The total ecosystem service value of the farm decreased from 7523.10 million Yuan in 1979 to 4023.59 million Yuan in 2009 with an annual rate of ?1.6?% due to the decreasing areas of woodland and wetland. The increased areas of cropland, water area and grassland partly offset the loss of the total value, but the loss was still greater than the compensation. Waste treatment and climate regulation were the top two service functions with high service values, contributing to approximately 50?% of the total service value. The spatial difference of the ecosystem service value also was analyzed. The wetlands located in the central and northeastern sections of the farm changed significantly. From the aspect of ecosystem service value, the wetland and water area should be conserved, as they have the highest value coefficients. The accuracy of the value coefficient, however, needs to be studied further in future research.     

Food Supply Chain Governance And Public Health Externalities: Upstream Policy Interventions And The UK State

Contemporary food supply chains are generating externalities with high economic and social costs, notably in public health terms through the rise in diet-related non-communicable disease. The UK State is developing policy strategies to tackle these public health problems alongside intergovernmental responses. However, the governance of food supply chains is conducted by, and across, both private and public spheres and within a multilevel framework. The realities of contemporary food governance are that private interests are key drivers of food supply chains and have institutionalized a great deal of standards-setting and quality, notably from their locations in the downstream and midstream sectors. The UK State is designing some downstream and some midstream interventions to ameliorate the public health impacts of current food consumption patterns in England. The UK State has not addressed upstream interventions towards public health diet at the primary food production and processing stages, although traditionally it has shaped agricultural policy. Within the realities of contemporary multilevel governance, the UK State must act within the contexts set by the international regimes of the Common Agricultural Policy and the World Trade Organization agreements, notably on agriculture. The potential for further upstream agricultural policy reform is considered as part of a wider policy approach to address the public health externalities issuing from contemporary food supply chains within this multilevel governance context.     

Application of the wilderness travel simulation model to the Appalachian Trail in Vermont

The wilderness travel simulation model estimates complex recreation use patterns in park and wilderness environments. The model was applied to a section of the Appalachian Trail in Vermont, a linear, long-distance, multiple-access trail system characteristic of the eastern United States. Many portions of the trail, including the study area, are now experiencing high use. The model estimated the average number of trail encounters per party day to be 3.3 and the average number of camp encounters per party night to be 2.3. Other measures of recreation use were also estimated that should prove useful to trail management and administration. Three trail management scenarios were tested, providing several preliminary insights to managers: the desirability of use redistributions as opposed to across-the-board reductions and needed emphasis on spatial use patterns and campsite encounters. Only minor modifications to the program were needed in applying the model to the trail environment and the model functioned accurately according to the validity tests performed.     

绿色旅游供应链管理视角下的绿道旅游开发模式研究

当前无论是政府、企业还是消费者,对绿道旅游消费方式存在着许多困惑与疑问。基于绿色旅游供应链的视角,把绿色旅游概念贯彻到绿道旅游开发中,建立政府行为博弈模型,通过模型分析政府行为激励以及求解最佳行为的均衡策略,探求各主体间有效的行为激励及作用。     

重大事件对不同类型游客入境旅游的影响及差异分析

根据1984-2011年相关数据,利用本底趋势线理论分析了我国台湾地区放宽台胞探亲限制政策、汪辜会谈、SARS、前奥运现象、金融海啸、甲型流感等重大事件对不同类型游客入境旅游的影响,结果发现观光休闲、探亲访友、家庭妇女、无职业人员等类型游客的环境敏感性较强,对各种重大事件都有较强的响应,会议商务、商人、官员、办事员、科学技术、服务类游客则相对稳定.     

电源软线弯曲试验分析

弯曲试验是在家用电器安全检验中一个基本的测试项目,本文主要从试验角度分析弯曲试验要求和不合格的主要原因.     

The Approaches to Energy Supply Management in Thailand

Thailand used 42% of its export earnings to pay the 1981 oil import bill of US$3 billion. The present difficult economic situation is caused by the country's increasing dependence on imported oil which has risen from 50% of total energy consumption in 1962 to 75% in 1981. Contributing factors include basic problems in energy consumption patterns, inadequate pricing structures and a lack of a clearly-defined responsibility over the country's energy management. To remedy the present situation the Government is embarking on a large-scale programme based on the utilization of natural gas, hydroelectric power, lignite and imported coal, which should reduce the share of imported oil in Thailand's total energy consumption to 38% in 1990. En 1981, la Thailande a consacré 42 pour cent du revenu de ses exportations à régler sa facture pétrolière qui s'est chiffrée à 3 milliards de dollars des Etats-Unis. Les difficultés de la situation économique actuelle sont le résultat de la dépendance croissante du pays à l'égard du brut d'importation qui représentait, en 1981, 70 pour cent de la consommation totale d'énergie contre 50 pour cent en 1962. Parmi les causes de cette situation, il faut citer les problèmes qui sont à la base des changements de structures de la consommation d'énergie, de mauvaises politiques de prix et l'absence d'une stratégie clairement établie en ce qui concerne la gestion des ressources énergétiques du pays. Pour remédier à cette situation, le gouvernement s'est lancé dans un programme à grande échelle basé sur l'utilisation du gaz naturel, de la force hydroélectrique, du lignite et du charbon d'importation qui devraient pouvoir réquire à 38%, en 1990, la part d'importation du pétrole d'origine érangère de la Thailande Tailandia utilizó el 42 porciento de su ingreso por exportación para pagar tres mil millones de dólares correspondiente a la importación de petróleo durante 1981. La dificultad presente es causada por la creciente dependencia en petróleo importado que ha aumentado del 50 porciento del consumo total de energía en 1962 al 75 porciento en 1981. Los factores que contribuyen a esta situatión son: problemas básicos en la estructura del consumo y de precios y la falta de una clara delimitación de responsabilidades en la administractión del sector de energía. Para remediar esta situación el Gobierno se ha embarcado en un programa de gran escala basado en la utilización de gas natural, energía hidroeléctrica, lignito y carbon importado lo cual deberá reducir al 38 porciento del consumo de 1990 la parte del petróleo importado.     

Community Capacity for Adaptation to Climate-Induced Water Shortages: Linking Institutional Complexity and Local Actors

There is growing concern for the capacity of urban and rural communities to manage current water shortages and to prepare for shortages that may accompany predicted changes in climate. In this paper, concepts relating to the notion of climate adaptation and particularly capacity building are used to elucidate several determinants of community-level capacity for water management. These concepts and criteria are then used to interpret empirically derived insights relating to local management of water shortages in Ontario, Canada. General determinants of water-related community capacity relate to upper tier political and institutional arrangements; the characteristics of, and relationships among, pertinent agencies, groups, or individuals involved in water management; and the adequacy of financial, human, information, and technical resources. The case analysis illustrates how general factors play out in local experience. The findings point to geographically specific factors that influence the effectiveness of management. Key factors include collaboration between water managers, clarification of agency roles and responsibilities, integration of water management and land-use planning, and recognition and participation of both urban and rural stakeholders, whose sensitivities to water shortages are spatially and temporally variable.     

基于收益共享契约的集群供应链合作创新研究

探讨了集群供应链企业的供应链协同决策.通过建立一个由集群中的制造商和供应商组成的两级供应链,分析了制造商的市场力量对制造商和供应商的R&D活动和收益共享契约的影响.结果表明,集群中制造商市场力量过大会降低制造商的创新动力而增加供应商的创新动力,同时双方签订的收益共享契约决定制造商给供应商支付数额的收益共享系数也会降低.     

The MTBE Threat to Our Water Supply: How to Detect and Remediate It

Methyl tertiary butyl ether, a gasoline additive once used to reduce air pollution, is now contaminating water sources around the United States. Monitoring for this chemical—and remediating it where it is found—should be an environmental priority. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Closing the Incentive Gap: The Role of Public and Private Actors in Governing Indonesia's Tuna Fisheries

Indonesia is one of the world's largest tuna producing countries, yet regulatory oversight remains weak and management is poor. Incentive-based approaches are a way to improve state-based resource management, but they often require strong government regulation. In this paper, we use principal–agent theory and the notion of the ‘incentive gap’ to explore how incentives could be brought to bear in Indonesia through a combination of private and public actors. With a shared fish stock like tuna, we argue that a double principal–agent problem emerges, where information, asymmetries between various players complicate management. We focus on the problems of adverse selection and moral hazard in three different tuna fisheries in Indonesia to identify the nature of the incentive gap, and comment on the mix of public and private actors currently engaged in tuna fishery governance towards reducing the gap. The double principal–agent problem is a useful yet underutilized framework to understand the dynamics of shared stocks management. In this first application to a developing country fishery, we conclude that information asymmetries cannot be overcome without the involvement of private actors, who are increasingly becoming important in aligning regional and global objectives with those of fishers themselves.     

Skier and Snowboarder Motivations and Knowledge Related to Voluntary Environmental Programs at an Alpine Ski Area

Many alpine ski areas have recently adopted voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) such as using recycling, renewable energy, and biofuels to help reduce their environmental impacts. Studies have addressed the performance of these VEPs in mitigating environmental impacts of this industry, but little is known about visitor awareness and perceptions of these programs. This article addresses this knowledge gap by exploring skier and snowboarder knowledge of VEPs at a ski area and the influence of these programs on their motivations to visit this area currently and behavioral intentions to visit again in the future. Data were obtained from an onsite survey at the Mt. Bachelor ski area in Oregon, USA (n = 429, 89.7% response rate). Few skiers and snowboarders were knowledgeable of VEPs at this area and fewer than 20% were motivated to visit on their current trip because of these programs. Other attributes such as scenery, snow conditions, and access were more important for influencing visitation. Up to 38% of skiers and snowboarders, however, intend to visit this ski area more often if it adopts and promotes more VEPs. Managers can use these results to inform communication and marketing of their environmental programs and performance to visitors. Additional implications for management and future research are discussed.     

The Establishment of Marine Protected Areas in Senegal: Untangling the Interactions Between International Institutions and National Actors

International institutions, understood as sets of rules contained in international agreements, are aimed at orienting national governments towards specific policy options. Nevertheless, they can determine a change in national policies and practices only if states are willing and capable of incorporating international obligations into their national legislations and ensuring their application and enforcement in areas that follow completely under national jurisdiction. The establishment of marine protected areas promoted by international agreements as a tool for the protection of marine resources represents an interesting case for revealing the complex interactions between international institutions and national actors. Particularly, the establishment of these areas in Senegal shows the salience of domestic constellations of actors who may support or undercut national commitments to international regimes: political elites, bureaucracies, the general public and target groups. By anchoring the empirical analysis to an actor-centred institutionalist perspective, the article explains how dynamic constellations of actors can distort the penetration of international objectives in the national policy framework. Different constellations of national actors can indeed bend international institutions at different moments: during the formulation of a new law in line with international obligations; in the definition of its implementation framework; and in the enforcement of national policies.