A laboratory study of auctions for reducing non-point source pollution

Non-point source pollution, such as nutrient runoff to waterways from agricultural production, is an environmental problem that typically involves asymmetric information. Land use changes to reduce pollution incur opportunity costs that are privately known to landholders, but these changes provide environmental benefits that may be more accurately estimated by regulators. This paper reports a testbed laboratory experiment in which landholder/sellers in sealed-offer auctions compete to obtain part of a fixed budget allocated by the regulator to subsidize abatement. In one treatment the regulator reveals to landholders the environmental benefits estimated for their projects, and in another treatment the regulator conceals the potential projects’ “environmental quality.” The results show that sellers’ offers misrepresent their costs more for high-quality projects when quality is revealed, so total abatement is lower and seller profits are higher when landholders know their projects’ environmental benefits. This suggests that concealing this information may improve regulatory efficiency.     

农村环境质量区划的多元分析

本文提出了适合于农村环境质量区划的分区方法，即首先以主成分分析法分析农村环境质量问题，然后以多种聚类分析法取得一个初始分区系统，最后用判别分析法判别该初始分区系统中各区域单元的类型归属是否正确，对一些类型归属不恰当的作适当调整，最终得到农村环境质量分区系统。文章最后讨论了类型划分问题。     

Emission control policies under uncertainty

The paper deals with the problem of optimal environmental policy under uncertainty. Usually, when an environmental policy is considered, only the expected values of the parameters of the marginal benefit and marginal cost functions associated with the policy are known. Thus a relevant question is: In the presence of uncertainty, what is the optimal policy mean for achieving the environmental objective? The study addresses itself to the specific objective of improving air quality although the analysis is generally applicable. The policy means are emission taxes and emission quotas. It is shown that under uncertainty neither of these means is generally optimal, and that specific parameter values of the costs and benefits relations and their distributions determine the optimal policy for each situation.     

Personality and economic choices

There is substantial variation in individual preferences for public goods, yet much of that variation remains poorly understood. However, simple measures of personality can help to explain economic values and choices in a systematic way. In this paper, we examine the effects of personality on individual economic choices over public environmental goods. Based on three datasets from three separate stated preference studies, we use a hybrid choice econometric framework to examine the effects of personality on preferences for the status quo, changes in environmental quality, and costs of investing in environmental improvements. We find effects that are consistent across all datasets. Personality, a stable feature of an individual's character that is simple to measure, enriches explanations of why the demand for environmental goods varies across people, provides an indication of how different people are likely to react to the introduction of environmental policies, and explains substantial differences in Willingness to Pay.     

On estimating air pollution control benefits from land value studies

This paper deals with some unresolved issues in interpreting empirical property value/air pollution studies. A model is developed in which it is shown that in general regressions of property values on pollution variables do not identify the demand curve for clean air. However since the first derivative of the observed rent function is a locus of household equilibrium marginal willingnesses to pay, aggregate benefits can be calculated directly. The possibilities for obtaining approximate measures of aggregate benefits for nonmarginal changes in air quality are also discussed.     

我国土壤环境质量研究几个值得探讨的问题

针对当前我国土壤环境工作情况,讨论了土壤环境质量研究中3个值得探讨的问题:土壤污染定义、土壤环境质量标准修订和土壤污染防治法立法.关于土壤污染的定义,目前尚无一致的认识.笔者在综合国内外主要观点的基础上提出了土壤污染的定义,并建议建立基于风险评估的土壤环境质量标准体系,认为目前宜制订土壤环境质量目标值、土壤(分别有农业、居住、工业用地土壤)环境质量指导值和土壤污染危害临界值3类标准值,同时分别提出了初步的制订方法.制定土壤污染防治法是我国建立一套行之有效的土壤环境管理体系的需要,笔者在技术层面上讨论了土壤污染防治法的制定问题.     

An overview of systems analysis methods in delineating environmental quality indices

Environmental quality indices (EQIs) have been developed for a variety of purposes ranging from enforcement of environmental standards, to analysis of trends of environmental degradation or improvement, to scientific research. EQIs currently in use are not organized within an integrated framework and thus it has been difficult to analyze adequately complex, multidisciplinary, large-scale, global phenomena. In this paper we compare four different approaches to developing EQIs within a systems perspective. Our analysis suggests that: (1) non-linear regression models that represent an ecosystem's response to different impacts within a stress-response framework (method of response functions) are useful tools for analysis of environmental data; (2) non-equilibrium thermodynamics models based on the concept of exergy, which represents the free energy a system possesses in relation to its environment, provide a common basis for representing many aspects of ecosystem development and response to environmental impacts as a single measure; (3) diagram models based on the concept of emergy, which represents both environmental values and economic values with a single measure, provide a common basis for integrating economic development and environmental protection values into one index; and (4) complex systems simulation models based on general systems theory, which use the methodologies of systems analysis and simulation to identify, quantify, and interrelate EQIs within a dynamic systems context, provide explicit linkages between causes and effects (vertical integration) and identify cross-linkages among different environmental issues (horizontal integration).     

风景名胜区旅游环境适宜性分析--以中山陵园风景名胜区为例

根据适宜性分析方法,以中山陵园风景名胜区为例,提出了风景名胜区旅游环境适宜性分析的自然状况、环境感应和环境质量3方面8个评价因子,通过网格调查法,从单因子和多因子两方面评价了它的旅游环境适宜性。结果表明,景区内部生态环境优良,尤其是声环境、绿地覆盖率和大气质量,但水环境和垃圾问题不可忽视,同时大部分土地不宜再开发利用,景区外围局部和紫金山登山路径沿线生态环境相对较差。最后针对分析结果,提出通过土地置换、清洁生产、循环旅游等措施改善景区的旅游环境。     

中国环境基准理论与方法学研究进展及主要科学问题

环境基准是指环境介质中的环境要素对特定保护对象不产生不良或有害效应的最大限值,是环境标准制修订的科学依据。环境基准理论与方法学一直是国际环境科学和环境保护科学研究领域的前沿,也是国家环境管理的重大科技需求。本文在总结国际和我国环境基准研究成果的基础上,较为系统地阐述了环境基准的基本概况、理论方法学及重要进展。同时,结合学科特点和环境基准科技需求,综合分析了与环境基准理论方法学密切相关的系列关键科学问题。     

Application of function analysis to bathing areas in the Maltese Islands

On a small island such as Malta where many developers and policy makers place a large emphasis on social use and develoment values, which encourages recreational/industrial development, it is often hard to promote the monetary value of coastal conservation due to strong competition with the large tourism industry. An assessment of the ecological (conservation) and economic (use/development) values of four popular Maltese bathing areas (Mellieha, St. George’s, Ramla and Ghajn Tuffieha Bay) was carried out by evaluating their ability to provide a number of functions. This is dependent on the environments’ inherent characteristics within the context of locally applicable time and space functions. Function Analysis is an innovative technique able to provide a means for assessing changes in environmental quality of an area and evaluating the sustainability of applied management regimes. This paper is a first example of an application of the Functional Analysis approach in Malta. Local application of this technique indicates a need for additional refinement in application to coastal areas. Analysis showed that St. George’s, had the lowest conservation value, Ramla and Ghajn Tuffieha bay had the highest conservation values, Mellieha Bay had high conservation value and use/development potential. In this context, conservation value is understood to reflect values of biodiversity, information/knowledge and environmental quality.     

Environmental indicators as tools for the management of estuaries—Methodology and case study of the Tejo estuary

The need for a better management of estuaries requires an environmental characterization following a methodology that allows the comparison of distinct estuarine systems and the assessment of their evolution. The peculiar characteristics of estuaries, in particular their intrinsic variability, make this characterization difficult and there is no commonly accepted general methodology available. The approach followed in freshwater ecosystems is generally based on the concept of environmental indicators, but such a concept has not been developed for estuaries. Indeed, a different approach is needed here, due to the spatial heterogeneity and the different time scales associated with the processes that control water quality. This paper presents a proposal for a methodology that starts with observed values and uses a procedure to integrate these values in time and space in order to calculatesignificant values, upon whichnormalized indicators are built which take into account criteria based either on legal, scientific or heuristic concentration limits. A normalization is carried out in two steps: (1) application of a mathematical operator to theignificant values, (2) transformation using the concept ofpenalty curves. This methodology may be complemented with the definition ofquality classes, particularly appealing and useful, as tools to communicate with decision makers and the public in general. Water quality data pertaining to the Tejo estuary are used to test the methodology.     

农村环境质量区划原则及指标体系

目前工业“三废”对农村环境污染的发展趋势有所减缓，但乡镇工业对农村环境污染的比重仍在逐渐增大，污染势头继续增强。从整体上讲，农村环境质量继续恶化的趋势尚未得到有效的控制。为加强农村环境质量的管理，本文着重论述了农村环境质量区划应遵循的４条原则，以层次分析法为原理，从自然生态环境、人类开发强度、环境状况３个方面，提出由２８个指标组成的农村环境质量区划指标体系，该指标体系简便适用、易于操作，对不同层次、不同地区的具体区划具有指导意义。     

A set of associated statistical tests for spatial clustering

The purpose of this paper is to develop a set of associated statistical tests for spatial clustering. In particular, a set of three associated tests will be developed; these will correspond to the three types of tests set out by Besag and Newell (general tests, focused tests, and tests for the detection of clustering). The associated tests draw primarily, though not exclusively, upon existing tests and results. The principal contributions are based upon the score statistic for focused tests, which has been an important approach to testing for clustering around environmental hazards. The first contribution consists of the formulation of a global statistic for general tests that corresponds to focused score statistics, along with an assessment of the distribution of the statistic under the null hypothesis of no raised incidence. The local score statistics used for focused tests will have the property of summing to the global statistic used for the corresponding general test. Attention is also given to the maximum local score statistic for the “test for the detection of clustering”. The critical values of this statistic which are required for testing the null hypothesis are described. Application of the methods is made to leukemia data for central New York State.     

Using the paired comparison methodology to assess environmental values in the coastal zone of Ghana

Like many developing countries, Ghana is grappling with environmental issues, such as the degradation of coastal natural resources. In an attempt to ameliorate the current state of affairs, broad institutional arrangements and policy interventions have been put in place. However coastal natural resources are still being overexploited and the effects of this are felt more strongly by certain groups (such as women and the rural poor) than others. This has led to the argument pointing to an urgent need to include local resource users as active participants in environmental decision making and to incorporate their environmental values in the management of coastal natural resources. Using empirical data from women in two Ghanaian coastal communities, this paper highlights the importance of exploring how the environmental attitudes and values of women might be considered in the management of local coastal natural resources. It assesses effectiveness of the paired comparison methodology in this respects and how this method can be also used to prioritise their environmental concerns. The results show that in both areas respondents place the greatest importance on the coastal natural resources as sources of wealth creation and of food, values which are often described as being “anthropocentric”. The paper thus argues that having discovered that the ecological value placed on natural resources is low, initiatives that could win the support of people would be those that link the livelihood and wellbeing to coastal NRM. It emphasizes the fact that conservation cannot exist outside of people and social systems; nor will it succeed unless they are linked to the welfare of resource users.     

Valuing nature in a general equilibrium

We explore the consequences of modeling the demand for environmental quality improvements as a fully integrated part of a general equilibrium demand system in an applied general equilibrium (or CGE) analysis. Demand for non-market goods depends on a full range of relative prices as well as environmental outcomes. We simulate the effects of reducing two air pollutants to improve human health and three ecosystem services provided to households. The ecosystem services make non-separable contributions to household utility. We find that willingness to pay measures of use-based ecosystem services are impacted by changes in demand for complementary market goods. Demand for these goods shifts due to pollution reductions that enhance ecosystem services. Partial equilibrium estimates of these use values can be measured with substantial error if they fail to account for the general equilibrium adjustments caused by pollution. Over 300 calibrations of the model identify the model features important to these errors. We find that effects on ecosystem services associated with non-use values have important implications for the feedback effects on use related measures of economic tradeoffs. This is due to how our model integrates market and non-market effects, reflecting the non-market services importance to general equilibrium market outcomes.     

A simulation model of rhizome networks for Fallopia japonica (Japanese knotweed) in the United Kingdom

Fallopia japonica (Japanese knotweed) is an aggressively invasive herbaceous perennial that causes substantial economic and environmental damage in the United Kingdom (UK). As such, it is of considerable concern to councils, environmental groups, private landowners and property developers. We construct a 3D correlated random walk model of the development of the subterranean rhizome network for a single stand of F. japonica. The formulation of this model uses detailed knowledge of the morphology and physiology of the plant, both of which differ in the UK to that of its native habitat due to factors including a lack of predation and competition, longer growth seasons and favourable environmental conditions in the UK. Field data obtained as a part of this study are discussed and used in the model for parameterisation and validation. The simulation captures the field data well and predicts, for example, quadratic growth in time for the stand area. Furthermore, the role of a selection of parameters on long-term stand development are discussed, highlighting some key factors affecting vegetative spread rates.     

人为作用对土壤环境质量的影响及对策

人为作用引起的土壤环境变化是衡量和反映土壤资源与环境质量的标志,它与当前世界关注的全球变化和可持续发展密切相关。本文着重讨论近百年来土壤环境的变化以及未来土壤环境变化的新趋势。通过大量的数据,阐述由于人为作用,上地退化和水土污染问题日益严重。文章还进一步从气候变化、人口压力和大型工程建设等几方面对未来土壤环境的影响进行了预测。最后提出了防治土地退化、水土污染及提高土壤环境质量的对策。     

eChemPortal及其在我国重点环境管理危险化学品环境风险评估中的应用

危害性识别是化学品环境风险评估工作的重要基础,危害性数据的质量直接影响化学品环境风险评估工作的结果与结论。通过介绍经济合作与发展组织(OECD)eChemPortal近几年来的主要变化,以上海地区涉及的30种重点环境管理危险化学品为例,比较分析我国《危险化学品分类信息表》及eChemPortal引用的按照《欧盟物质和混合物的分类、标签和包装法规》的公开分类和标签目录(ECHA CL inventory)、日本政府全球化学品统一分类和标签分类结果(GHS-J)的差异。结果表明:eChemPortal作为OECD建立的全球化学物质信息门户,加入的数据库多数经过政府机构或同行评审,准确性和可靠性相对较高,目前已有32个数据库加入到该平台,其中32个数据库支持化学物质检索,4个数据库支持化学性质检索,2个数据库支持GHS检索,并且数据库的数量和功能还在持续增加;相对于国家安全监管总局的《危险化学品分类信息表》和ECHA CL inventory,GHS-J的危害性分类结果较为完善,而且多数分类结果提供了具体的分类数据基础信息,这对于分类结果的评估十分有用。上述研究表明我国政府监管部门有必要结合eChemPortal等权威的数据信息平台发布我国重点环境管理危险化学品环境风险评估推荐数据库,从而规范重点环境管理危险化学品环境风险评估过程并推动对化学品的有效环境监管。     

环境空气质量评价的普适指数公式及其应用

在适当设定空气污染物的“基准”值和用相对于“基准”值的空气污染物的：“相对”值情况下,采用S型曲线表示空气污染物对环境空气质量的危害程序,并应用遗传算法优化公式中的参数,得出了一个对多种空气污染物通用的环境空气质量评价的普数指数公式,借助于折衷激励功效函数将单项污染物分指数加权为综合指数,该公式形式简单,容易计算,评价结果精度较高,且具有可比性。