Soil erosion in developing countries: a socio-economic appraisal

Soil erosion is the single most important environmental degradation problem in the developing world. Despite the plethora of literature that exists on the incidence, causes and impacts of soil erosion, a concrete understanding of this complex problem is lacking. This paper examines the soil erosion problem in developing countries in order to understand the complex inter-relationships between population pressure, poverty and environmental-institutional dynamics. Two recent theoretical developments, namely Boserup's theory on population pressure, poverty and soil erosion and Lopez's theory on environmental and institutional dynamics have been reviewed. The analysis reveals that negative impacts of technical change, inappropriate government policies and poor institutions are largely responsible for the continued soil erosion in developing countries. On the other hand, potential for market-based approaches to mitigate the problem is also low due to the negative externalities involved. A deeper appreciation of institutional and environmental dynamics and policy reforms to strengthen weak institutions may help mitigate the problem.     

中国沿海开放地区工业污染控制的探讨

在环境保护工作由污染问题治现向清洁生产转变过程中，中国沿海开放地区、外资，合资、集体和个体企业在其工业结构中所占比重较大，且要求有良好投资环境，当前控制工业污染，须按社会主义市场经济规律征收资源费和排污费，同时要加强环境规划，建立环境管理系统，有效调工业污原杂源，为保证受损环境得以恢复，须加强环境建设和环境投资。     

市场经济体制下的环境保护工作初探

社会主义市场经济体制的建立，将对我国的环境保护工作产生深远的影响，市场经济体制下，会出现市场失灵与政府失灵，因而应坚持“经济靠市场，环保靠政府”。根据这一原则，对我国在市场经济体制下的环境保护工作进行了初步探讨。     

一种排污权初始分配结构设计框架

作为一种新型环境政策,排污权交易在美国已经成功地演进为总量控制型排污权交易,这被认为是最接近市场经济的环境管理手段。在国内,排污权交易也日益受到政府的重视。自1988年以来,中国的许多地方都先后试点了排污权交易,但多停留在补偿政策,很少有关于总量控制型排污权交易的尝试。在政策设计的技术层面,造成这种状况的一个主要原因是缺乏有效的排污权初始分配结构设计框架。为此,在区域清洁激励市场计划排污权初始分配结构的基础上,针对渐进式减排战略指导下的总量控制型排污权交易计划,分纵向结构设计和横向结构设计两部分,提出了一种具有通用性的排污权初始分配结构设计框架。这有助于合理进行排污权初始分配。