Natural resource economics: Relevance in planning and management

This article provides an overview of natural resource economics. It begins with a summary of historical and current views on resource scarcity. It then discusses economic models for optimal management of non-renewable and renewable resources at the micro and macro levels and evaluates their usefulness in planning, management and policy making.     

制度创新：依托武汉建设长江中游城市群

经过上千年的发育和发展,我国长江中游流域已形成了规模庞大的、以武汉为中心、经济联系紧密的城市群落的雏形。通过对长江中游城市群内部的分析以及与珠江三角洲、长江三角洲等发达区域的比较,阐明了其经济发展相对滞后 和城市群内部各城市间发展水平参差不齐的深层次制度性障碍,提供了诸如转变政府职能,建立跨行政地界的区域协调机构,城市土地制度改革和促进区域内小城镇发展等一系列以区域整体协调和持续发展为目标的制度创新的基本思路。在此基础上,提出了圈层梯度推进、建设以武汉为中心的长江中游城市群的发展战略。为实现我国东部地区产业向西部转移,推进西部大开发提供了重要的战略支点,从而促进全国经济全面持续快速发展。     

Birthing Sphere

This paper tells the story of the initiation and first year of Sphere. It traces the history of how the project was started and its relationship to other major events of that time, principally the multi-donor Rwanda evaluation. The paper describes how the basic structure of the Sphere standards was agreed upon and discusses why some sectors were eventually left out of the standards. Tensions and public disagreements between the agencies that created Sphere are discussed, along with the manner in which the chosen working processes contributed to the successful publication of the Sphere standards. We show how the process of policy formulation, which led up to the publication of the first edition of the Sphere standards, was as dependent upon the ability of the project team to work opportunistically as it was upon the application of agency principles. Finally the paper reflects upon the success of Sphere and lessons that can be learned from this early Sphere process.     

Industrial-waste management in developing countries: the case of Lebanon

This paper presents a critical assessment of the existing Lebanese industrial sector, namely the current status and classification of industrial establishments based on a comparative synthesis and analysis of recent nationwide surveys and studies pertaining to industrial-waste management. Characterisation of solid and liquid industrial wastes generated, including hazardous wastes, is presented together with current and projected waste loads, recycling opportunities, and export/import practices. Institutional capacity and needs pertaining to the enforcement of relevant environmental legislation, staffing and resources, monitoring schemes, and public participation are critically evaluated. Finally, realistic options for industrial-waste management in the context of country-specific institutional economic and technical limitations are outlined. The industrial sector in Lebanon consists of small-scale industries (84% employ less than 10 persons), primarily involved in light manufacturing (96%). These industries which are distributed among 41 ill-defined zones and deficient in appropriate physical infrastructure, generate solid, liquid, and hazardous waste estimated at 346,730 tons/year, 20,169,600 m3/year and between 3000 to 15,000 tons/year, respectively. Although the growth of this sector contributes significantly to the socio-economic development of the country (industry accounts for 17% of the gross domestic product), in the absence of a comprehensive environmental management plan, this expansion may not be sustained into the coming millennium. The anticipated expansion will inevitably amplify adverse environmental impacts associated with industrial activities due to rising waste volumes and improper waste handling and disposal practices. These impacts are further aggravated by a deficient institutional framework, a lack of adequate environmental laws, and lax enforcement of regulations governing industrial-waste management.     

Coefficients of pollution: Interindustry linkage and pollution in Belgium

The paper briefly develops an approach toward using pollution coefficients from one country as an expedience for applying an environmental economic analysis to a separate, but similar country for which hard data may not be available.The Coefficients are defined based upon information available from the Netherlands and the United States in combination with input-output data available for Belgium. A combination of the various data results in a crude estimate of the direct and indirect pollution generation per unit activity in different sectors on a country-wide basis.     

灾害防御工程的费用和效益问题浅议

在分析现有的灾害防御工程费用效益计算方法的基础上，提出灾害防御工程应遵循从整个国家和社会的角度进行分析的原则，并对如何应用国民经济评价方法，以影子价格来衡量灾害防御工程项目对国民经济的真正影响作了初步的讨论。这对于正确评价和选择灾害防御工程方案有重要的理论和现实意义。     

钻井液环保性能评价与分析方法研究

通过对国内外与钻井液相关的环保标准、管理指南等规范性文件的调研,结合我国陆上油田清洁生产与环境保护的实际情况,提出将钻井液的环保性能评价项目分为生物毒性、生物降解性、重金属(总镉、总汞、总铅、总铬、总砷)、石油类和pH值等5类9项,并推荐了相应的评价分析方法。     

Assessing the economics of pre-fragmentation material recovery within the UK

The 2006 end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) directive target for the recycled and reused material content of an ELV has been undertaken using the current recovery infrastructure within the UK. The current expectation is that the conformance for the 2006 recycling target will be mainly achieved using existing post-fragmentation separation technologies rather than manually disassembling vehicles into their constituent materials. With the economic pressure of the current legislative targets weighing heavily on end-of-life stakeholders, and the further increase of recycling levels for 2015, it is important to understand “when” and “if” manual dismantling activities become economically viable within a dramatically changing vehicle recovery industry. This paper describes a method of costing the dismantling of specific makes and models of vehicle due for retirement in 2015, and discusses the economic implications of such practice and possible strategic directions for pre-fragmentation vehicle recovery.     

Barriers to Water Conservation in the Rio Grande Basin1

Abstract: The Rio Grande basin shares problems faced by many arid regions of the world: growing and competing demands for water and river flows and uses that are vulnerable to drought and climate change. In recent years legislation, administrative action, and other measures have emerged to encourage private investment in efficient agricultural water use. Nevertheless, several institutional barriers discourage irrigators from investing in water conservation measures. This article examines barriers to agricultural water conservation in the Rio Grande basin and identifies challenges and opportunities for promoting it. Several barriers to water conservation are identified: clouded titles, water transfer restrictions, illusory water savings, insecure rights to conserved water, shared carry‐over storage, interstate compacts, conservation attitudes, land tenure arrangements, and an uncertain duty of water. Based on data on water use and crop production costs, price is found to be a major factor influencing water conservation. A low water price discourages water conservation even if other institutions promote it. A high price of water encourages conservation even in the presence of other discouraging factors. In conclusion, water‐conserving policies can be more effectively implemented where water institutions and programs are designed to be compatible with water’s underlying economic scarcity.