To kill or not to kill—Practitioners’ opinions on invasive alien species management as a step towards enhancing control of biological invasions

The spread of invasive alien species (IAS) has become an increasingly important environmental, social and economic issue in almost all regions of the world. To have the capacity to effectively counter the effects of invasions, besides basic research on invasion processes and the ecological impacts of IAS, there is a need to get an information and better understanding of the effectiveness of biological control and its social acceptability. Conservation practitioners are a particular group of stakeholders as they act in the first line to undertake control actions again IAS spread. Yet, not many research was done to deliver quantitative, comprehensive information on practitioners’ knowledge and attitudes towards IAS. In this paper, we present a study from Poland—a country with relatively well preserved nature, yet currently facing the problem of biological invasions in the terrestrial and aquatic environments. We investigated nature conservation practitioners’ knowledge of biological invasions, their views on the principles and methods of IAS control, and their degree of acceptance of control methods. We conducted a survey among people professionally involved in nature conservation in Poland and collected 916 questionnaires (out of 3330 sent). Overall, we find that conservation practitioners in Poland accept the use of radical methods of control, yet they differ about the use of various types of control method, and about the various control methods application to various systematic groups. Also, the level of practitioners’ knowledge is rather limited—both in relation to correct identification of IAS, as well as to knowledge on legal regulations. We also highlight significant differences between decision-makers and professionals not perceiving themselves as decisive over IAS management. We show examples suggesting that nature conservation practitioners may not hold well-formed opinions on the principles and methods of dealing with alien species. This is surely an important deficit to overcome to enhance the effectiveness of IAS control.     

无废城市垃圾分类均衡推进的政策执行困境及对策

以“无废城市”试点之一的绍兴市为对象,选取诸暨市、上虞区、柯桥区、新昌县4个发展差异较大的区域,通过层次分析法评估区域分类成效,并基于“史密斯”政策执行模型剖析各区域分类工作均衡推进的政策执行制约因素,最终提出相应对策.研究发现分类工作成效上虞>诸暨>柯桥>新昌;针对政策可执行性、目标群体理解度,政策执行准确度以及经济政治环境制约因素,提出完善分类政策、提升执行效率、激发群众分类意识、经济政策协同等对策以构建“四流畅通”管理模式,促“无废城市”全域均衡推进.     

Climate change policy and water resources in the EU and Spain. A closer look into the Water Framework Directive

Climate change effects are becoming evident worldwide, with serious regional and local impacts. The European Union (EU) has launched and developed initiatives and policies that scratch the surface of water resources impacts. This article presents an introduction of the existing environmental policy and more concisely in the areas of climate change and the interactions with water resources. It also addresses main management tools, and plans linked to policies, recent updates on the Science–Policy Interface, highlighting major results from research and development projects. Establishing appropriate policies to tackle climate change impacts on water is essential given the cross-sectorial and flowing nature and the importance of water in all environmental, social and economic sectors. There are still some pending reviews and updates in the current EU policy and its implementation, as well as at the national level in Spain. This article identifies existing gaps, and provides recommendations on how and where reforms could take place and be applied by decision makers in the water policy sector.     

美国洛杉矶空气管理经验分析

过去35年间,洛杉矶的经济和人口持续增长、城市扩张,但是洛杉矶的空气污染水平得到了下降,在达到加利福利亚州和《清洁空气法》所规定的大气质量总体目标方面,有了长足的进步.期间起到重大作用的因素包括:①固定污染源和移动污染源气体污染物排放的控制技术和企业实践的巨大进步.②联邦、州和地区的清洁空气政策的发展.③强有力的专门负责清洁空气政策的监督和执行行政机构的设立.④公众压力.⑤从信任政府运用命令与控制手段到利用激励手段和市场手段完成许多政策目标(包括空气污染控制)的变革.同时,该地区的人口还在持续增长,经济继续繁荣扩张,意味着将产生更多的空气污染物,尤其是来自移动污染源的污染物.另外,在公众不太支持加强政府力量或增加税收的形势下,要求政策制定者解决空气污染的问题或大幅度改变洛杉矶居民的生活方式.     

Regional efforts to mitigate climate change in China: a multi-criteria assessment approach

The task of mitigating climate change is usually allocated through administrative regions in China. In order to put pressure on regions that perform poorly in mitigating climate changes and highlight regions with best-practice climate policies, this study explored a method to assess regional efforts on climate change mitigation at the sub-national level. A climate change mitigation index (CCMI) was developed with 15 objective indicators, which were divided into four categories, namely, emissions, efficiency, non-fossil energy, and climate policy. The indicators’ current level and recent development were measured for the first three categories. The index was applied to assess China’s provincial performance in climate protection based on the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. Empirical results show that the middle Yangtze River area and southern coastal area perform better than other areas in mitigating climate change. The average performance of the northwest area in China is the worst. In addition, climate change mitigation performance has a negative linear correlation with energy self-sufficiency ratio but does not have a significant linear correlation with social development level. Therefore, regional resource endowments had better be paid much more attention in terms of mitigating climate change because regions with good resource endowments in China tend to perform poorly.     

The implementation of Natura 2000 in forests: A trans- and interdisciplinary assessment of challenges and choices

Natura 2000 is the core of the EU's biodiversity conservation policy. 50% of the overall protected area under Natura 2000 is forest. Yet, comparatively little is known about the implementation of the policy in forests. Building on a rich set of social and natural science data, and an inter- and transdisciplinary discussion process involving scientists from different disciplines as well as EU, national and local stakeholders, this paper identifies five important challenges related to the implementation of Natura 2000 in forests: (1) the balancing of biodiversity conservation and timber production, (2) the integration of conservation (science) and local stakeholders’ demands, (3) climate change, (4) lacking and less effective funding, and (5) conflicts related to other sectoral policies. Subsequently, five possible pathways to tackle these challenges are proposed: (1) a learning approach through better communication and transparency, (2) a pathway emphasizing the role of conservation science in developing management strategies and responding to climate change, (3) an approach of better integrating Europe's citizens in the design and implementation of the policy, (4) an approach highlighting the necessity of an effective funding strategy, and (5) the vision to work towards an integrated European land use and conservation policy. In conclusion, we emphasize, on one hand, the distinct character of the five pathways but, on the other hand, underline that probably all of them need to be followed in order to make the implementation of Natura 2000 in Europe's forests a success story.     

行政等级与城市规模对生态福利绩效的影响研究

基于广义数据包络分析法（DEA）和随机抽样Bootstrap法,使用2015—2018年全国288个地级及以上城市的面板数据,研究行政等级、城市规模对生态福利绩效的影响,分析城市规模在行政等级影响生态福利绩效中的路径作用。结果表明：我国288个地级及以上城市的生态福利绩效水平整体均值不高,但随时间推移呈上升趋势且近年来增速逐渐加快;行政等级和城市规模均对生态福利绩效起显著正向影响,技术进步显著提升城市的生态福利绩效,外资依存度显著降低城市的生态福利绩效;城市规模是城市行政等级影响生态福利绩效的重要路径,行政等级越高,城市规模越大,生态福利绩效水平越高。基于以上结论,为协调经济、环境、社会实现可持续发展提出政策建议。     

农田保护经济补偿政策实施异质效应——基于DID模型的动态估计

论文以国内率先试点探索农田保护经济补偿政策的创新实践地区——成都和苏州为典型实证,基于2012和2015年两期农户动态跟踪调研数据,运用DID模型测量农田保护经济补偿政策实施异质效应及影响因素。结果表明：1）农田保护经济补偿政策的持续实施显著增加实践地区农民的政策满意度,激励农民参与农地流转,但对提升农民参与农田保护性耕作措施的作用较小。2）农田保护经济补偿政策实施成效具有显著异质性。2008年开始试点养老保障与农业补偿相结合的耕地保护基金政策的成都市,农户政策满意度的上升幅度相对较大。乡镇经济发达、长三角地区经济发展带重镇的苏州市,农户家庭生计多元,户均非农业收入占比达82.12%,较成都农户高2.66%,农地生计依赖较弱,补偿政策明显促进该区域农户参与农地流转,但农户农田保护积极性值却大幅下降。3）受访者的年龄、受教育水平、农田保护及功能认知、对农田保护政策关注程度、农业收入占比、家庭劳动力比例、调研村庄经济水平及受访村庄与最近城镇距离均会显著影响农田保护经济补偿政策实施成效。     

Conservation and sustainable use of crop wild relatives

Conservation of crop wild relatives (CWRs) is a complex interdisciplinary process that is being addressed by various national and international initiatives, including two Global Environment Facility projects (‘In situ Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives through Enhanced Information Management and Field Application’ and ‘Design, Testing and Evaluation of Best Practices for in situ Conservation of Economically Important Wild Species’), the European Community-funded project ‘European Crop Wild Relative Diversity Assessment and Conservation Forum (PGR Forum)’ and the European ‘In situ and On Farm Network’. The key issues that have arisen are: (1) the definition of what constitutes a CWR, (2) the need for national and regional information systems and a global system, (3) development and application of priority-determining mechanisms, (4) the incorporation of the conservation of CWRs into existing national, regional and international PGR programmes, (5) assessment of the effectiveness of conservation actions, (6) awareness of the importance of CWRs in agricultural development at local, national and international levels both for the scientific and lay communities and (7) policy development and legal framework. The above issues are illustrated by work on the conservation of a group of legumes known as grasspea chicklings, vetchlings, and horticultural ornamental peas (Lathyrus spp.) in their European and Mediterranean centre of diversity.     

Multilevel climate policy: the case of the European Union,Finland and Helsinki

Mitigation of climate change requires action at all the different levels, from the international to the national and the local levels. This contribution presents a case study of the city of Helsinki in Finland. An ex-post approach is used to follow the implementation of the EU directives to the national and further to the city level and to identify the relevant voluntary action taken in the city. We find that the coherence of national and city level policies is the highest in regulated areas, such as waste management and building regulation. Voluntary action is easily taken at local level in areas where co-benefits can be expected: e.g. energy conservation and biofuels for transportation. These voluntary actions can show the feasibility of certain measures which can later on be implemented at national or supranational level. We observe a clear contradiction between the EU and national renewable electricity targets and the nonaction at the city level: local conditions and private interests pose barriers to the implementation of a climate policy. We conclude that the coherence between policies at different levels develops over time and international requirements as well as local conditions can be drivers for it. Cities in particular play a role in mitigating climate change through removing barriers for the implementation of national and EU policies, and through moving forward with and promoting innovative voluntary measures, e.g. through international city networks.     

农田保护经济补偿政策的实施成效及影响因素分析-闵行区、张家港市和成都市的实证

以上海市闵行区、江苏省张家港市以及四川省成都市的6 个乡镇42 个村545 个农户为研究对象,分析典型地区试行农田保护经济补偿政策的实施成效及影响因素。研究表明：①农田保护补偿政策的经济激励措施一定程度上调动农民种田积极性,对促进粮食增产和提高农民收入等有一定成效,但保护责任附带的规划管制措施却相对减弱农民在维护农田设施、农田生产等公共物品投入方面的积极性;②政策实施成效具有显著的空间差异性,已制定实施计划、但农户尚未领取到补偿款项的江苏省张家港市金港镇和乐余镇的农民参与农田保护补偿政策的积极性最弱,而在全国最早实施耕地保护基金政策的四川省成都市永安镇、金桥镇和江源镇农民对政策成效的评价则相对较好;③区域因素中村庄位置以及农户个体因素中村干部经历、政策关注度等对政策成效有显著影响。建议通过多样化补偿模式,优先满足中低收入农户的经济补偿需求,激励农民农田利用与保护的积极性,提升农田生态环境质量。     

Politics as a struggle over definition — two case studies

In our modern society the production of material welfare causes new kinds of ecological problems. This paper investigates the decision-making process in two cases which are characterised by complex technology and dependence upon science. These cases have implementation on a local level, but are of wider interest. The consequences of the facilities are defined in different ways by different actors at different levels (the national, regional, and the local level). The question is what kind of problems that are generated in relation to these new kinds of ecological problems and how they are handled within present political structures. The findings raise questions about the problem of limited political accountability and tensions between different policy levels. By way of conclusion there is a need for new forms of political responsibility that can respond to the new types of problems that arise in our time.     

环境政策对企业绩效的影响

一个国家的环境政策是国家保护环境的大致方针,直接关系到这个国家的环境立法和环境管理,更直接影响到这个国家的整体环境状况,不同类型的环境政策对企业也产生了各方面的影响。本文研究环境政策的不同形式、内容、具体执行手段及其对企业的环境、经济绩效产生的影响。通过研究西方发达国家的成功环境政策,探讨我国环境政策中存在的不足与缺陷。最后根据不同管理手段的可行性,有效性及最终效果,联系我国具体国情,在符合可持续发展原则的同时,提出更为有效,对企业绩效具有正面刺激的环境政策建议。     

How much deforestation do protected areas avoid in tropical Andean landscapes?

For many decades, protected areas (PAs) have been considered by decision makers and conservation practitioners as one of the most common policies to promote biodiversity conservation. Diverse studies have assessed the impact of conservation policies at global and regional levels by comparing deforestation rates between PAs and unprotected areas. Most of these studies are based on conventional methods and could overestimate the avoided deforestation of PAs by omitting from their analyses the lack of randomness in the allocation of forest protection.We demonstrate that estimates of effectiveness can be substantially improved by controlling for biases along dimensions that are observable and testing the sensitivity of estimates of potential hidden biases. We used matching methods to evaluate the impact on deforestation of Ecuador's tropical Andean forest protected-area system between 1990 and 2008. We found that protection reduced deforestation in approximately 6% of the protected forests. These would have been deforested had they not been protected. Conventional approaches to estimate conservation impact, which fail to control for observable covariates correlated with both protection and deforestation, substantially overestimate avoided deforestation. Our conclusions are robust to potential hidden bias, as well as to changes in modeling assumptions. In addition, it is assumed that this research will help decision-making in the framework of international climate change mitigation policies, such as REDD+.     

区域资源产出率核算方法研究

资源产出率是科学评价循环经济发展水平的核心指标,国家及部分省已开展了相关研究.然而在市域及县域层面,资源产出率核算还缺乏统一的方法,制约了其应用.选择鹤壁市作为典型研究区域,基于物质流分析方法,重点探讨了采用测算方法对区域资源产出率进行核算.研究结果表明,测算方法利用常规公开统计数据,对市县域层面资源产出率进行核算基本可行,可为市县域资源产出率核算提供参考.     

Policy coherence in climate governance in Caribbean Small Island Developing States

Climate governance in Small Island developing States (SIDS) is a pressing priority to preserve livelihoods, biodiversity and ecosystems for the next generations. Understanding the dynamics of climate change policy integration is becoming more crucial as we try to measure the success of environmental governance efforts and chart new goals for sustainable development. At the international level, climate change policy has evolved from single issue to integrated approaches towards achieving sustainable development. New actors, new mechanisms and institutions of governance with greater fragmentation in governance across sectors and levels (Biermann and Pattberg, 2008) make integration of policy in the area of climate change governance even more of a challenge today. What is the Caribbean reality regarding policy coherence in climate change governance? Are the same climate change policy coherence frameworks useful or indeed applicable for environmental governance in developing states more generally and for SIDS in particular? What are the best triggers to achieve successful climate change policy integration in environmental governance—especially as the complex interconnectivity of new actors, institutions and mechanisms make the process of integration even more challenging? What facilitates and what hampers climate policy integration in the regional Caribbean context? This article reviews the debates around policy coherence for climate change governance, creates a framework to test or measure policy coherence and examines how relevant this has been to regional climate change governance processes in Commonwealth Caribbean States. The study found that though at the regional level, there is substantial recognition of the importance of and mechanics involved in climate policy coherence, this has not translated to policy coherence at the regional and national levels. There is a large degree of fragmentation in the application of climate policy in each Caribbean Island with no mechanism to breach the gap. Silos in public environmental governance architectures, unwillingness to share data, insufficient political will; unsustainable project-based funding and lack of accountability among actors are the main challenges to climate policy coherence. The findings fill a gap in the literature on the elements of climate policy coherence from a SIDS perspective.     

Indonesia’s forest conversion moratorium assessed with an agent-based model of Land-Use Change and Ecosystem Services (LUCES)

The Indonesian government recently confirmed its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to mitigate global climate change. A forest moratorium policy that protects forest and peatland is a significant part of the INDCs; however, its effectiveness is unclear in the face of complex land-use and land-cover change. This study aims to assess the dynamics of land-use change and ecosystem service supply as a function of local decision-making. We developed an agent-based model, Land-Use Change and Ecosystem Services (LUCES), and used it to explore the possible effects of the forest moratorium policy on the land-use decisions of private companies and communities. Our simulations for two districts in Central Kalimantan show that the current implementation of the forest moratorium policy is not effective in reducing forest conversion and carbon emissions. This is because companies continue to invest in converting secondary forest on mineral soils and the moratorium does not affect community decision-making. A policy that combines a forest moratorium with livelihood support and increases farm-gate prices of forest and agroforestry products could increase the local communities’ benefits from conservation. Forest and agroforestry areas that are profitable and competitive are more likely to be conserved and reduce potential carbon emission by about 36 %. The results for the two districts, with different pressures on local resources, suggest that appropriate additional measures require local fine-tuning. The LUCES model could be an ex ante tool to facilitate such fine-tuning and help the Indonesian government achieve its INDC goals as part of a wider sustainable development policy.     

面向实施的市级国土空间规划传导思路与技术方法

规划传导是保障国土空间规划实施的关键环节,从理念层面的治理转型、规则层面的事权匹配、空间层面的要素管理入手,对市级规划传导的技术思路与方法途径进行了研究。研究表明：空间规划具有的基础性、有限性和动态性等特征是规划传导的基础出发点,应建立起涵盖理念宽度、事权力度和要素精度的规划传导框架。在此基础上提出双向反馈、权责清单、刚弹结合、尺度容差、动态平衡等技术思路来分步推进规划传导,并以广州为例提出了规划传导实施层面的方法途径,为建立能用、管用、好用的规划传导政策规则和体制机制,为完善国土空间规划体系和推动规划有效实施提供研究支撑。     

Towards the harmonization of water-related policies for managing drought risks across the EU

Drought is recognized as a major issue in the EU, particularly in the Mediterranean region, posing risks to the environment as well as to local and regional economies. The EU policy on water management is continuously evolving, particularly in relation to water scarcity and drought. Starting with the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), which sets the general policy framework for water management across the EU, the EC Communication on Water Scarcity and Drought COM(2007) 414 final set the priorities for managing water scarcity and drought risks. Three follow-up reports (COM(2008) 875 final, COM(2010) 228 final and COM(2011) 133) highlighted achievements and yearly progress within the context of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, whereas guidance has further been provided through the issue of Technical Reports (e.g. the EC Water Scarcity Drafting Group Technical Report 2008–023 on Drought Management, Including agricultural, drought indicators and climate change aspects). The 2012 EU Water Review (“Blue Print for Safeguarding European Waters” will assess achievements and identify further requirements towards long-term sustainable water use across the EU. However, a harmonized approach on drought risk management at the EU level is still lacking, whereas drought risk in several countries and regions has not been yet fully integrated in water management and relevant sectoral policies.This paper focuses on a proposed paradigm shift from crisis to risk management, which is currently gaining ground as a means of reducing societal vulnerability to droughts. The paper underlines the importance of engaging into risk assessment and management practices and identifies policy gaps and requirements for further improvement of the drought management policy framework at all levels of governance: at the EU, at the national and at the river basin and regional levels.     

Trade-offs and performances of a range of alternative global climate architectures for post-2012

Quantitative assessments help to highlight the main features of climate policies by better identifying their strengths and weaknesses. In this study, we develop a grading system for assessing thirteen proposals for post-2012 climate policy. We believe that these proposals contain appropriate policy instruments which will be considered for discussions about how to design the post-2012 climate agreement. Our grades are based on four criteria: environmental effectiveness, cost effectiveness, distributional considerations and institutional feasibility. We analyze the grades with two complementary methods: principal component and cluster analysis. Our results entail three policy implications. Firstly, the higher the number of policy instruments a proposal comprises, the more difficult might be its implementation. Secondly, proposals which include a meaningful effort by the U.S. tend to fail in environmental effectiveness and institutional feasibility. Thirdly, we identify that the “first best” and the “second best” approaches belong to a stable policy group, and both may be considered as suitable candidates for post-2012 climate policy.