NEGOTIATING SCIENCE AND VALUES WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN THE ILLINOIS RIVER BASIN1

ABSTRACT: Current research in the Illinois River Basin is designed to develop and test a policy formulation protocol that will foster watershed management policy that is fully legitimated (i.e., policy that is technically effective, economically efficient, administratively implementable, politically feasible, and socially acceptable). This paper describes the results of the initial baseline impact assessment that includes physical, biological, economic, legal, and social systems as well as the development of a watershed management decision support system that is used to integrate technical information and analyses, and to facilitate policy maker and stakeholder negotiation workshops. Numerically modeled and visually simulated environmental impacts serve as the basis for developing alternative policy maker scenarios for prospective watershed management policies. These scenarios, which will be subjected to stakeholder review and negotiation, will undergo iterative review and amendment by policy makers and stakeholder groups to produce a recommended watershed management policy that satisfies all five substantive legitimation criteria. Preliminary results from the baseline social impact assessment indicate that fully legitimated policy is indeed obtainable.     

DEVOLUTION OF BUREAU OF RECLAMATION CONSTRUCTED WATER FACILITIES1

ABSTRACT: Recent years have seen an accelerating trend toward devolution and privatization of water supply and distribution infrastructure. This paper discusses and analyzes the experience to date of the federal Bureau of Reclamation's efforts to title transfer to non federal entities. The paper also discusses the concepts of federalism and devolution in the context of Reclamation's title transfer activities.     

BRINGING DOWN OUR DAMS: TRENDS IN AMERICAN DAM REMOVAL RATIONALES1

ABSTRACT: Over 76,000 dams have been constructed on American rivers to provide services such as flood protection, water storage, hydroelectric power, and navigation. Although most dams continue to provide sufficient benefits to retain the structure, dam removal is becoming increasingly common. This study involved the construction of a dam removal database to analyze spatial and temporal trends in dam removal. The data included information on 417 cases of dismantled American dams, 153 with known rationales for removal. Database analysis indicated that the leading purposes for dismantling structures are safety concerns and interest in environmental restoration. There is substantial geographic variability in dam removal rationales, with California leading in razing dams for environmental purposes, and Wisconsin leading in economic and safety rationales. States with substantial removals tend to have programs that support and fund dam razing. Although removals for safety reasons have been increasing steadily in the past three decades, environmental removals made a rather dramatic and sudden entry into the dam removal arena in the 1990s. Analysis of spatial and temporal trends in dam razing are of particular significance given the likely increase in dam removals in the 21st Century.     

THE STRUCTURE AND PRACTICE OF WATER QUALITY TRADING MARKETS1

ABSTRACT: The use of transferable discharge permits in water pollution, what we will call water quality trading (WQT), is rapidly growing in the U.S. This paper reviews the current status of WQT nationally and discusses the structures of the markets that have been formed. Four main structures are observed in such markets: exchanges, bilateral negotiations, clearinghouses, and sole source offsets. The goals of a WQT program are environmental quality and cost effectiveness. In designing a WQT market, policy makers are constrained by legal restrictions and the physical characteristics of the pollution problem. The choices that must be made include how trading will be authorized, monitored and enforced. How these questions are answered will help determine both the extent to which these goals are achieved, and the market structures that can arise. After discussing the characteristics of different market structures, we evaluate how this framework applies in the case of California's Grassland Drainage Area Tradable Loads Program.     

供应链战略联盟的风险问题研究

供应链战略联盟是指供应链上两个或两个以上的企业 ,为了实现资源共享、风险共担、优势互补等特定的战略目标 ,在保持自身独立性的条件下 ,而建立的较为稳定的合作伙伴关系。供应链战略联盟的合作伙伴在享受共赢的好处时 ,也要承担风险。笔者分析了 3类供应链战略联盟的风险 ;应用SWOT法确定风险发生的领域和影响状况 ;提出建立动态合同和增加敏捷信任以有效防范风险。     

Swiss Market for Meat from Animal-Friendly Production – Responses of Public and Private Actors in Switzerland

Animal welfare is an importantsocietal issue in Switzerland. Policy makershave responded with a strict legislation onanimal protection and with two programs topromote animal friendly husbandry. Alsoprivate actors in the meat industry initiatedprograms for animal friendly meat productionto meet consumers' expectations. Labeled meathas a market share of over 20%. Depending onthe stakeholders responsible for the labels,their objectives vary. While retailers want toattract consumers with meat produced in ananimal friendly and environmentally compatiblemanner and with products of consistently goodsensory quality, producers want to keep marketshares and increase their revenues.     

Securing water for people, crops, and ecosystems: New mindset and new priorities

A fundamentally new approach to water and human development will be needed during this new century if we are to secure sufficient freshwater to meet the needs of some 9 billion people while at the same time protecting the critical ecosystem services upon which the human economy depends. Signs of unsustainable water use — including falling water tables, shrinking lakes, and the drying up of rivers and streams — are widespread and spreading. In many regions, greater modification and appropriation of freshwater systems for human purposes will yield greater costs than benefits and create the risk of irreversible losses of species and ecosystem services. A new mindset is needed to guide water use and management in this new century, one that views the human water economy as a subset of nature's water economy. Living within nature's limits will require that societies satisfy the basic needs of people and ecosystems before non-essential water demands are met. It will require on the order of a doubling of water productivity. And it will require stronger institutions to encourage equitable sharing of water to alleviate tensions within and between countries.     

Food Health Policies and Ethics: Lay Perspectives on Functional Foods

Functional foods are a challenge tofood health policies, since they questioncentral ideas in the way that food healthpolicies have been developed over the lastdecades. Driven by market actors instead ofpublic authorities and focusing on the role ofsingle foods and single constituents in foodsfor health, they contrast traditional wisdombehind nutrition policies that emphasize therole of the diet as a whole for health.Sociological literature about food in everydaylife shows that technical rationality co-existswith other food related rationalities, such aspractical and economic rationalities, socialand relational rationalities, and symbolicrationalities that influence citizens' ordinaryeating habits. An examination of lay views onexpert knowledge about food and health showthat skepticism exists with respect to thebasis of and balance of expert advice. Critical points with respect to how functionalfoods may influence routines in the populationswith relevance for public health include thefact, that they promote a way of thinking offood and health that is in conflict withwell-established practical ways of ensuring abalanced diet.     

An evaluation of landfill disposal of asbestos-containing waste and geothermal residues within a risk-assessment framework

 The public perception of risks related to waste disposal facilities appears to reflect general societal anxieties and fears, which may not have a reasonable basis. A three-tier risk assessment study was therefore conducted to evaluate the landfill disposal of asbestos-containing waste (ACW) and geothermal residues. From the tier-1 analysis, the dominant asbestiform phase was identified as chrysotile, that is tightly bound in the matrix of calcite, while arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead were identified as the chemicals of potential concern associated with geothermal residues. From the tier-2 analysis, none of the possible exposure pathways associated with the landfill disposal of ACW was found to be potentially significant. On the other hand, there were potentially significant pathways associated with landfill disposal of geothermal residues because of the considerable potential pollution impact of leachate on soil and groundwater quality. From the tier-3 analysis, the health risk associated with landfill disposal of geothermal residues was found to be time-dependent, since the contributions to risk from water-dependent and water-independent pathways occur at different times, as indicated by RESRAD–Chem simulations. Component pathway analyses were performed to identify critical exposure pathways. The results from model sensitivity analysis have identified the input parameters that have the most influence on the time of peak risk, and the cancer risk associated with water-dependent and water-independent pathways. Received: July 9, 2002 / Accepted: October 17, 2002     

USE OF THE DELPHI METHOD IN RESOLVING COMPLEX WATER RESOURCES ISSUES1

ABSTRACT: The tri‐state river basins, shared by Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, are being modeled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help facilitate agreement in an acrimonious water dispute among these different state governments. Modeling of such basin reservoir operations requires parallel understanding of several river system components: hydropower production, flood control, municipal and industrial water use, navigation, and reservoir fisheries requirements. The Delphi method, using repetitive surveying of experts, was applied to determine fisheries' water and lake‐level requirements on 25 reservoirs in these interstate basins. The Delphi technique allowed the needs and requirements of fish populations to be brought into the modeling effort on equal footing with other water supply and demand components. When the subject matter is concisely defined and limited, this technique can rapidly assess expert opinion on any natural resource issue, and even move expert opinion toward greater agreement.