’95会议采撷

r～～..1苎d霞罨园妒皤l:搿瓣一首次“全国社会发展科技工作会议”首次“全国社会发展科技工作会议”首次“全国社会发展科技工作会议”首次“全国社会发展科技工作会议”首次“全国社会发展科技工作会议”首次“全国社会发展科技工作会议”首次“全国社会发展科技工作会议”首次“全国社会发展科技工作会议”’95会议采撷@姚中杰     

Government drive,economic induction,and construction of food traceability systems:An empirical study based on supermarket samples from ’first-tier’ and ’Olympic’ cities in China

Food traceability systems are capable of overcoming or alleviating problems caused by incomplete and asymmetric information on food markets.This study conducts an empirical analysis using 308 supermarket samples from China’s Beijing,Guangzhou,and Qingdao to determine the factors that influence supermarket behavior when operating traceability systems.The results show that operating profits(generated from food traceability systems),scale of operation,level of economic development(of a city),and government subsidies will positively affect the decision of supermarkets to use traceability systems.At the same time,government policies promoting food traceability systems should have a long-term role.     

Integrated climate governance in regions? Assessing Catalonia’s performance using the ‘climate learning ladder’

While developing climate change policies, regional governments and agents may have different purposes, follow different strategies, and use different appraisal procedures than those of national governments or other regions within the same countries. Climate change adds an additional source of problematisation to the functioning of traditional nation-states structures, not only at the international level but also with regard to their relations with sub-national agencies. This paper tests this hypothesis by analysing the emergence of climate strategies and capacities in region of Catalonia, north-east Spain, through the use of a novel integrated assessment tool called the ‘climate learning ladder’ that looks at four main dimensions: (1) how perceptions on climate change have evolved in this region since the beginning of the 1990s, (2) what type of incentives or systems of sanctions have triggered climate action, (3) what specific options are available or have been developed, and (4) what new institutional arrangements have been put in place during this time. Results indicate that although in Catalonia distinctive climate appraising processes have been tried, new measures have been implemented and new institutions have been created, not much of a distinctive progress regarding Integrated Climate Governance (ICG) has been achieved. Furthermore, this research shows that so far the main incentives which triggered climate action and innovation have been largely exogenous to the region.     

On the Plaintiff’s Subject Qualification for Environmental Public Interest Litigation Instituted by People’s Procuratorates

Although it is not the main duty for the People’s Procuratorate to institute environmental public interest litigation proceedings, the existence of "reserve" prosecution right of plaintiff not only is beneficial to timely prevention and cure of environmental damage, but also contributes indispensable judicial supervision force to the environmental legality construction. In order to safeguard environmental public interests, many local prosecutorial organizations have practiced environmental public interests litigation. Since Chinese law has not made explicit stipulation on the function of the People’s Procuratorate instituting environmental public interest litigation, the plaintiff’s subject qualification for environmental public interest litigation instituted by the People’s Procuratorate is still in question. In order to propel the People’s Procuratorate to completely and fully exercise their power of supervision and prosecution, there shall be corresponding legislation that provides powerful guarantee for the People’s Procuratorate instituting environmental public interest litigation.     

Brazil’s Amazonian forest carbon: the key to Southern Amazonia’s significance for global climate

Southern Amazonia is the first region of Brazil’s Amazon area to be exposed to intensive conversion to agriculture and ranching. This conversion emits greenhouse gases from the carbon stock in the biomass and soils of the previous vegetation. Quantifying these carbon stocks is the first step in quantifying the impact on global warming from this conversion. This review is limited to information on Brazilian Amazonia’s carbon stocks. It indicates large amounts of carbon at risk of emission in both biomass and soils, as well as considerable uncertainty in estimates. Reducing uncertainty is a priority for research but the existence of uncertainty must not be used as an excuse for delaying measures to contain deforestation. The magnitude of carbon stocks is proportional to greenhouse gas emissions per hectare of deforestation and consequently to impact on global climate.

     

Climate Change Responsibility and China’s Endeavor

The problem of climate change is a global challenge.It is closely associated with social development and human survival,and it has a significant impact to all countries on energy development,economic competitiveness,technological innovation,and way of life.In recent years,with the rapid economic development in China,there is a rumor that the rapid growth of China’s carbon dioxide emission offset the efforts of the international community in reducing emissions,and China should bear the international responsibility corresponding to its significant role in greenhouse gas emission,which obviously are unfair and not objective.As this paper reveals,"China environment responsibility" that is the socalled "China environment threat" or theories,China has made a positive contribution to addressing the climate change in the past and China will still be the backbone on the protection of global climate in the future.     

Linking China’s emissions trading pilot schemes

All seven emissions trading pilots in China operate independently. One challenge facing most of them is the low inclusion thresholds for enterprises and the few total covered emissions, which negatively influences the effects of the emissions trading systems (ETSs). Some pilot sites, such as Guangdong, Hubei, Tianjin and Beijing, have indicated their willingness to link their schemes with others. ETS linking could expand scheme coverages and therefore help to reduce the overall costs of achieving the linked schemes’ emissions control targets. Linking could also help to address the issues of carbon leakage and reduce price fluctuations. The potential benefits and feasibility of linking different pilot systems are analyzed in this article. The seven pilot regions are at different stages of social and economic development, with significant differences in total emissions and emissions structures as well as carbon abatement potentials and costs. Through linking, more-developed regions such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, which are typically considered to face higher mitigation costs, will have the opportunity to achieve their emissions control targets by purchasing carbon units from less-developed regions, which will earn financial revenues from selling the units. To realize this win-win result, a series of policy and technical barriers at both the central government and pilot government levels needs to be overcome. Establishing a unified national emissions trading market would appear to be the ideal solution to these challenges, but it will take considerable time and will not be the short-term solution. In the absence of a unified national scheme, it is recommended that the central government encourage pilot schemes to link, that it develops corresponding national policies to support the linking efforts and that the pilot schemes that are intended to be linked coordinate on certain design elements. Based on the coordinating need, the major elements of an ETS can be divided into four categories: elements that need mutual recognition (cap setting and allowance allocation methods); elements that should be completely identical (compliance mechanisms, price containment measures, banking and borrowing rules, and offset mechanisms); technical elements that are preferably identical and easy to coordinate (MRV standards, technical registry standards); and elements that require no coordination (coverages and scopes).     

Circular Makerspaces: the founder’s view

Abstract

Makerspaces – open access design and fabrication workshops – provide new contexts for design practice through ‘distributed production’. The global community of makerspaces has evolved quickly and in turn, substantial hype is attributed to its potential for radical sustainable innovation. In this article, we explore this potential in the context of the new ‘circular economy’ agenda. We focus the research on the critical role of makerspace managers/founders who are recognised as gatekeepers to circular practices. The research method is action-led including expert interviews (academics and founders/managers) as well as two generative context-mapping workshops, run at selected makerspaces in collaboration with their founders/managers. We unearth everyday ‘how-to’ guidance to interweave circular practices within makerspaces from the outset by: fostering an enabling culture; building local connections; nurturing individual/community capacities; and stimulating practical know-how. However, while the research reveals immense opportunities to cultivate circular literacy from within makerspaces, the prospects to ask more profound questions about our economy, through makerspace practices, are found to be compromised by day-to-day concerns. The insights from this research can act as a starting point for future work in this emerging research area.     

The oil palm boom: socio-economic implications for Q’eqchi’ households in the Polochic valley,Guatemala

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) has become one of the most rapidly expanding crops in the world. Many countries have promoted its cultivation as part of a broader rural development strategy aimed at generating paid work and producing both export commodities and biofuels. However, oil palm expansion has often occurred at the expense of ecosystems and subsistence agriculture, and on lands riddled with tenure conflicts. In this article, we analyse the implications of the combined effect of labouring in oil palm plantations and land access on households, and we discuss how these implications affect human well-being in two indigenous communities of the Polochic valley, Guatemala. Combining participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and land-time budget analysis at household level, we reveal how oil palm cultivation increases incomes for plantation workers’ households, but decreases the productivity of maize cultivation, reduces the time that household members have available for other activities and, particularly, reduces women’s resting time. In contrast, households that focus more intensively on maize cultivation show higher degrees of food security and women can allocate more time to social activities. However, our results also show that maize consumption per capita has not decreased in households working in oil palm plantations since such crop is considered sacred by the Q’eqchi’ and plays a central role in their diet and culture. In conclusion, we argue that while working for an oil palm cultivation can increase specific elements of the basic material conditions for a good life, other aspects such as food security, health, freedom of choice, and social relationships can become deteriorated.     

Crossing technology and sustainability in cities’ development

This paper deals with sustainability in cities and the role technology plays in furthering sustainable results. Recently, many interventions have been implemented in cities to propose paths and models promoting the sustainability of cities from an overall perspective. Technologies are favouring the achievement of aims recalling the three spheres of sustainability as proposed by Arcadis (2017), namely “planet”, “profit”, and “people”. The ties between technology and the three spheres are investigated through a content analysis of reports issued by the 10 cities with the most significant advances in terms of becoming sustainable cities, as indicated in the Arcadis Report 2016. The results highlight technology as an element crossing sustainability, as processes and models in cities management and service provisions to citizens are significantly changing. New tools are innovating the processes addressing environmental issues, thus leading to cost efficiency and better economic conditions. Parallel to this, new models for city management and the provision of public services are addressing the need for a better quality of life for citizens and cities’ other stakeholders. Technology itself is thought of as sustainable because it should lead to efficiency and being efficient itself. A qualitative cluster analysis and a focus on excerpts from reports are proposed to highlight the ties between technologies and the elements representing key issues in managing and leading a city towards more sustainable conditions.     

Arctic cushion plants as fallout ‘monitors’

The internal distribution of fallout ¹³⁷Cs was determined for arctic cushion plants Dryas integrifolia, Silene acaulis and the bryophytes Rhacomitrium lanuginosum and Polytrichum juniperinum collected at various latitudes in the Canadian Arctic. The results indicate that these plants have functioned as biological monitors of radioactive fallout and it is suggested that analysis of the internal distribution of ¹³⁷Cs could serve as a model for other airborne contaminants.     

Depictions of sustainability in children’s books

Images in children’s books can leave a more lasting impression in young learners’ minds than text. Therefore, it is important for children’s books to use images as a teaching tool, especially regarding global issues such as environmental sustainability. This study examined how the images in nonfiction children’s books approach the topic of sustainability and whether these images support the overall goals of environmental education. We selected seven easy-to-access trade books which yielded 384 images for analysis. Two coders analyzed the images according to the following categories: (a) gender and age, (b) actions of people, (c) depictions of nature, (d) depictions of objects, (e) structures, and (f) habitation. Results show that nearly half of the images (48 %) depicted non-natural objects (16 %) or humans (31 %). One half of the images portrayed humans as consumers. Gender bias was evident, with 33 % of females portrayed as consumers and only 16 % of males portrayed as consumers. Similarly, 12 % of the images with males showed them engaged in recycling behavior, while only 4 % of the images showed females recycling. Of the 32 % of images depicting nature, individual plants rather than ecosystems were portrayed. Depictions of man-made systems predominated the images, a surprising finding. No images established the connection between consumerism and the depletion of natural resources or pollution, and further sustainable actions or lifestyles were not portrayed, implying that consumption is a societal norm. We conclude with recommendations for the use of images in children’s literature focusing on environmental education and sustainability.     

Citizens’ perception of the resilience of Australian cities

How well does the general public understand the concept of urban resilience? We address this question via an online survey of 500+ citizens living in three large Australian cities (Sydney, Melbourne and Perth). The majority of respondents claim not to know what urban resilience means. Of the remaining respondents, understanding ranges from poor to sophisticated. To circumvent this stated lack of understanding, we cast the concept of urban resilience into a more familiar framework consisting of risk and ability to cope with threats. This allows us to assess perceptions about what may challenge the resilience of Australian cities. Two concerns clearly emerge: (1) violence and social unrest and (2) environmental threats. Analysing a number of constructs from the social psychology literature reveals that these two concerns hold different cognitive signatures, whose understanding may facilitate discussion and communication within a public engagement process.     

China’s Import of Wastes and Its Implications

The trade of wastes in the world has been increasing and China has become the largest importer of wastes. This paper examines the import trend of different wastes and finds out that the total import volume to China approved by the Chinese government keeps increasing and the illegal trade can not be banned despite repeated prohibitions; therefore, China is not only ＂a world factory＂, but actually ＂a global garbage dump＂. In order to well understand the implications of wastes import, this paper further analyzes the resource and environmental effects and risks of different wastes imports as well as the strong driving force of wastes imports. Based on these detailed analysis and solid data, policy recommendations are put forward to reduce the demand for raw materials, to further strengthen the inspection of and supervision over the international trade of the wastes that can be used as raw materials by using the life cycle analysis and risk analysis, to improve the environmental standards and strengthen the disposal capacity, to re-export the raw materials produced from the imported wastes, to develop the long-term planning for the import of wastes and to promote international cooperation.     

Understanding India’s forest bureaucracy: a review

Forest administrators play a crucial role in translating conservation and development policies into action, yet policy reformers and scholars rarely examine how these administrators make decisions about the implementation of conservation and development policy in India. In this paper, I address this gap. I begin by developing a framework that draws on Western policy implementation studies and Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development framework and then apply this framework to a review of published studies that examine the role of forest officials in implementing public policies in India. The framework differentiates between formal and informal institutions and between institutions which are developed within an agency and those that are directed from outside the agency. I find that forester behavior varies significantly across space and time and has an important influence on the outcome of forestry programs. Innovations and excellent program implementation appear related to foresters’ desire to demonstrate professional efficacy. On the other hand, many failings can be traced either to external direction or to foresters developing internal institutions that are poorly suited to the problems they are tasked with solving. Existing research is limited in its geographic and temporal scope and leaves many questions unanswered, and thus, the review concludes with a brief outline of future research needs.     

Water resource governance in China’s regional cooperation

ABSTRACT

A series of water disputes and conflicts have gradually emerged between China and some neighboring countries after 2000, influencing China’s neighborhood relations. China increasingly realizes the importance and urgency of the water resource governance in the regional cooperation, but under complicated geopolitical context, China’s water resource governance must serve several important main functions in its regional cooperation. Overall, water resource governance is the demands of crisis management and conflict prevention, and also is a kind of positive factor that promotes sub-regional cooperation. From the perspective of the current situation, China should take more proactive attitude toward the water resource governance, expand the areas and stakeholders of the water resource governance, and thus promote the formulation of water resource governance strategy.     

Scientific understanding of stakeholders’ behavior in mining community

We attempt to understand, scientifically, how different members of the mining concession, impacted communities, and government authorities behave when a conflicting situation arises. The main purpose of our effort is to start developing a framework for the scientific modeling of stakeholders’ behavior, and we create a reality-driven generic scenario of conflict. We assume that the managers and superintendants of a mining operation currently envision a problem; one that tests the limits of the commitment of the company’s mission statement, and of the spectrum of actions taken which are embedded in the “culture” of the company’s corporate social responsibility. It is an “event” that highlights the nature of an overall problem that the company would like to predict and act proactively: the integration of scientific tools, sustainability, and cultural realities within a mining framework. We adapt an agent-based modeling approach and start with a theoretical understanding of certain social behavior, build a model, and simulate “what if” scenarios to understand its dynamics to gain a better insight of the complexity of a seemingly simple social system of interest.