The Role of Foreign Direct Investment in Urban Environmental Management: Some Evidence from Hanoi, Vietnam

In recent years flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) to developing countries have rapidly been increasing. It is now an important contributor to the national economy and urban growth in scores of developing countries. Rapid urbanization in these countries is leading to many problems in the cities. Existing urban infrastructure and municipal services have been unable to cope with the increased demand arising from growing population and rapid economic growth. Consequently, the environment in these cities has deteriorated alarmingly. This paper assesses the role of FDI in urban environmental management (UEM) by analyzing the linkages between them for Hanoi City in Vietnam. The paper's analysis and findings are presented under three main themes: one, FDI, employment and income; two, FDI and environmental degradation; and three, potential of utilizing FDI for the provision of urban environmental infrastructure and services (UEI&S) in order to improve the urban environment. Both primary and secondary source data have been used. Policy implications of the research findings are drawn from the perspective of sustainable development.     

大型基础设施项目生态环境影响评价

研究了我国大型基础设施建设项目的生态环境影响评价问题.通过对区域形态的分析以及我国生态环境评价现状的阐述,说明现阶段我国在大型基础设施建设项目的评价存在一定的不足;同时,给出了一种切实可行的评价方法,即先建立评价指标体系,而后建立模糊综合评判模型.     

城市环境基础设施信托投资模式分析

本文分析了利用产业信托投资城市环境基础设施的可行性和现实性，并做出一个环境基础设施信托投资方案的结构设计。     

2008年我国环境保护投资总体特征分析

立足于环保投资数据库,从投资构成、空间分布和行业分布3个方面对我国环保投资进行综合分析。2008年,全国环保投资增幅持续保持较快增长,环保投资弹性系数为1.9,环保投资增速大大超过经济增速,"三同时"项目成为拉动环保投资的主要驱动力。引入了环保投资平衡度的概念,在此基础上对各地区环保投资的合理性进行了初步分析。重点行业环保投资方面,工业治污设施运行费用远远大于同期固定资产投资,一定程度上说明了应对治污运行费用来源给予充分重视,采取措施确保稳定可靠的资金渠道。     

山海关区农村生态环境状况及保护对策

从山海关区农村生态环境现状出发,客观分析了农村生态环境存在的水体污染、土壤污染、水土流失等问题,以及影响农村生态环境的主要因素,如污水和垃圾的无组织排放、化肥和农药的不合理使用、基础设施差、监管缺位等,提出应从环保体制、环保意识、基础设施建设、自然资源保护、污染防治、强化监管等方面采取切实可行的措施,保护农村生态环境。     

环保基础设施建设引入BOT机制的探讨

本文结合博兴县污水处理厂实行BOT融资模式,有的放矢的探讨了环保基础设施建 设引入BOT机制的积极作用与风险。     

城市基础设施与社会经济协调发展的定量评价方法与应用

研究了城市基础设施与社会经济协调发展的定量评价方法 ,提出衡量协调发展的定量指标及计算方法 ,并依据此方法对郑州市基础设施与社会经济协调发展状况进行评价。     

Assessment of semi-natural habitats and landscape features on Irish farmland: New insights to inform EU Common Agricultural Policy implementation

Concerns over the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in farmland have prompted the development of agri-environment policy measures aimed at reducing farming pressure and maintaining semi-natural habitats in farmed landscapes. However, further knowledge is needed to guarantee successful agri-environment measures implementation. The current study assessed the quantity and the quality of semi-natural habitats in farms across a gradient of farming intensities in two contrasting regions in Ireland. Policy protection seemed fundamental for semi-natural habitats preservation. Habitats not protected by agricultural policy relied on extensive farming and are in danger of disappearing if they are intensified or abandoned. Due to the lack of policy incentives for habitat quality, no correlations were found between farming intensity and share of semi-natural habitats with habitat quality. Therefore, extensive farming and retention of habitats alone may not reverse the decline of farmland quality and biodiverisity and, thus, measures incentivising the environmental quality may be more successful.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01344-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Hydromorphological and socio-cultural assessment of urban rivers to promote nature-based solutions in Jarabacoa,Dominican Republic

In Latin America and the Caribbean, river restoration projects are increasing, but many lack strategic planning and monitoring. We tested the applicability of a rapid visual social–ecological stream assessment method for restoration planning, complemented by a citizen survey on perceptions and uses of blue and green infrastructure. We applied the method at three urban streams in Jarabacoa (Dominican Republic) to identify and prioritize preferred areas for nature-based solutions. The method provides spatially explicit information for strategic river restoration planning, and its efficiency makes it suitable for use in data-poor contexts. It identifies well-preserved, moderately altered, and critically impaired areas regarding their hydromorphological and socio-cultural conditions, as well as demands on green and blue infrastructure. The transferability of the method can be improved by defining reference states for assessing the hydromorphology of tropical rivers, refining socio-cultural parameters to better address river services and widespread urban challenges, and balancing trade-offs between ecological and social restoration goals.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01565-3.     

Beyond ‘trees are good’: Disservices,management costs,and tradeoffs in urban forestry

The provision of ecosystem services is a prominent rationale for urban greening, and there is a prevailing mantra that ‘trees are good’. However, understanding how urban trees contribute to sustainability must also consider disservices. In this perspective article, we discuss recent research on ecosystem disservices of urban trees, including infrastructure conflicts, health and safety impacts, aesthetic issues, and environmentally detrimental consequences, as well as management costs related to ecological disturbances and risk management. We also discuss tradeoffs regarding species selection and local conservation concerns, as well as the central role of human perception in the interpretation of ecosystem services and disservices, particularly the uncritical assertion that ‘everybody loves trees’. Urban forestry decision-making that fails to account for disservices can have unintended negative consequences for communities. Further research is needed regarding life cycle assessments, stakeholder decision-making, return-on-investment, and framings of services and disservices in urban forestry.