Value reclamation from informal municipal solid waste management: green neoliberalism and inclusive development in Lagos,Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Lagos is undoubtedly the cultural capital and economic hub of the West African sub-region. The challenge of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in the megacity has remained intractable due partly to the increasing rate of population growth. While solid waste policy reforms, investments, and management practices in Lagos are in the upswing in the formal economy, the role of the informal economy in engendering sub-regional material linkages and livelihoods remain unexplored. Adopting a multi-stakeholder approach and data from interviews, this study critically examines how value reclamation from informal MSWM advances green neoliberalism and inclusive development. It shows that while informal transboundary trade of recyclable materials in the West African sub-region have previously been left out of analyses of MSWM in Lagos, the informal economy of waste and new investments in MSWM have neoliberal underpinnings beyond the megacity scale. The paper concludes that integrating the informal economy in framing MSWM policy in the megacity offers scope for evolving an inclusive development strategy while also enabling sustainable MSWM in the post-2015 era.     

民族地区优势产业振兴路径的三重维度——以广西百色芒果产业为例

民族地区受自然条件、市场和资金等因素影响,产业发展缓慢。从“深度”、“广度”和“融合度”三重维度出发,提升产业层次、培育品牌产业、延伸产业链、挖掘产业附加值、对接生态保护,实现乡村振兴,构建民族地区产业新模式。以百色芒果产业为例,从三重维度出发创新优势产业,总结实践贡献和理论成果,发挥其在西南少数民族地区的示范引领作用,为实现民族地区巩固脱贫攻坚效果和乡村振兴有机衔接做出积极贡献。     

Valuing biodiversity: reality or mirage?

The objective of this paper was to consider the social value ofbiological diversity and explore if this value could be expressedin terms of a unidimensional metric in money. Economics distinguishes between use-values and non-use-values, which are critically evaluated for valuing biodiversity. It is shown that these utility-based valuations have severe limitations as they treat species in isolation from their ecological contexts. In contrast, ecosystem ecology regards ecosystems as an integratednon-linear and nonconvex system in which ecosystem functions canbe understood as a four-component cycle; exploitation, accumulation of biomass, creative destruction and renewal. Withinsuch a cycle, ecosystems can be seen to have two properties: stability and resilience. A good proxy for resilience is the probability of extinction of species, and social value of biodiversity can be expressed as a partial ordering with thisprobability as an index. This approach is consistent with decision theory, of which social choice is an important component, pioneered by Arrow.     

The good life of creatures with dignity some comments on the swiss expert opinion

The notion of Dignity of Creatures has been voted into the Swiss Federal Constitution by a plebiscite. Philipp Balzer, Klaus-Peter Rippe, and Peter Schaber have given an expert opinion for the Swiss government to clarify the notion of Dignity of Creatures. According to them, by voting this notion into the Swiss constitution, the Swiss have chosen for a limited biocentric approach towards biotechnology. In such an approach genetic engineering of non-human beings is only allowed insofar that their own good is not impaired. It is, however, not clear when the good of a non-human being is impaired. I defend the position that — even if we confine ourselves to animals — their good goes beyond their well being.     

The Economic Value of Open Space: A Review and Synthesis

/ Communities increasingly face development pressures that can irreversibly alter open space lands. While the monetary costs and benefits of development are typically known, the corresponding values of natural lands are complex and difficult to measure. This paper reviews different concepts of economic value in relation to open space, describes methods for quantifying these values, and presents examples of each from published literature. Open space benefits accruing to citizens as market values or consumers' surplus include market and enhancement values, production values, natural systems value, use and nonuse values, and various intangible values. Economic impacts that open space lands have on local communities and economies include fiscal impacts on municipal budgets, expenditures from open space-related activities, and impacts from employment and tax revenues. These values are not universally present within a given community, nor are they quantitatively additive. However, a comprehensive consideration of the multiple values of open space will better inform community decisions about land conservation and development. KEY WORDS: Conservation; Economic value; Land use; Open space; Zoning     

土壤重金属镉标准值差异比较研究与建议

伴随我国工农业生产的快速发展,土壤污染物超标等问题逐年加剧,由土壤镉污染导致水稻出现"镉米"等食品安全事件频发,引起社会对土壤镉环境标准的广泛关注.建立土壤环境标准是开展土壤环境质量现状评价的基础,世界各国虽皆以镉对动植物和人体健康影响的最大允许值作为定值的基础依据,但定值方法、标准应用目标各有侧重,因而标准限值差异较大.通过对国内外土壤重金属镉标准限值和我国土壤镉背景值的研究,给出了全国各省级行政区域土壤表层镉背景含量范围值和部分土壤类型镉背景含量范围值;报告了我国现行土壤镉环境质量标准存在的突出问题,提出土壤环境质量标准中应设置土壤镉梯度标准限值、有效态与总量标准限值并存以及严格区分人为污染与高背景等建议.     

基于指标规范值的环境质量引力普适指数公式

为了建立物理意义明确、科学合理、计算简单和普适通用的环境质量评价模型,借鉴自然界普遍存在的万有引力现象和物理学中的规范对称性(不变性)原理,提出环境样本之间也存在类似万有引力的聚类相互作用引力,并在适当设定指标参照值和指标值的规范变换式及"参照级"样本基础上,定义了环境样本的"规范质量"和"规范坐标"的概念,进而分别建立了基于指标规范值的水环境质量和空气环境质量的引力普适指数公式.通过若干实例对公式的实用性进行了效果检验,结果表明,基于指标规范值的环境质量的引力普适指数公式具有形式简洁、规范统一、计算简便和普适通用的特点.     

水生态系统服务功能价值评估研究综述

随着人类认识的不断进步,水生态系统服务功能价值的分类及评估方法逐渐形成。专家们对湿地、湖泊、水库等生态系统的服务功能价值进行了评估。但评估方法尚不成熟,服务功能分类缺乏统一的标准,以瞬时静态评估为主,不能充分体现各个生态系统的特征和空间异质性。     

我国城镇居民可持续消费浅析

本文通过对可持续消费的背景以及相关理论的论述,在分析我国城镇居民可持续消费存在问题的基础上,构建了符合我国城镇居民可持续消费特点的指标体系,并讨论了我国城镇居民可持续消费的测度思路.     

通风温度对生活垃圾生物干化脱水的影响

以高含水率生活垃圾为研究对象,研究了不同的通风温度(室温、40℃低温、55℃中温、65℃高温)对生物干化的影响。结果表明,通风温度变化对堆体温度影响较小;高温通风(65℃)能有效地降低垃圾含水率,但不利于有机物的降解,产物的挥发性固体(VS)和可生物降解物质(BDM)值最高,稳定度最低;经过15 d的干化作用,4组反应器垃圾含水率显著降低,水分去除率分别为77.99%,79.37%,79.85%,79.47%;另外还伴随着厨余和纸张的降解;通风温度与热值提升呈正相关关系,各组出料的湿基低位热值分别为7 202 kJ/kg,9 276.4 kJ/kg,9 358.5 kJ/kg,10 064 kJ/kg,分别提高了72.2%,122.7%,123.7%,140.6%。