Corporate Ethics in the Era of Globalization: The Promise and Peril of International Environmental Standards

The growing assumption thattransnational corporations (TNCs) will apply``best practice' and ``international standards'in their operations in developing countries hasseldom been checked against close observationof corporate behavior. In this article, Ipresent a case study, based on field research,of one voluntary initiative to useinternational standards and best practice forenvironmental protection in the AmazonRainforest, by a US-based oil company,Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) in Ecuador. The moststriking finding is that the company refuses todisclose the precise standards that apply toits operations. This, and the refusal todisclose other important environmentalinformation, make it impossible to verifyindependently Oxy's claims of environmentalexcellence, or assess the effectiveness of theinitiative. At the same time, Oxy uses theinvocation of international standards to wrapitself in a veneer of corporate responsibility;reassure government officials and localresidents; cultivate confusion about standardsand practices that apply to the operations;deflect meaningful oversight and transparency;and arbitrarily legitimize norms that have beendefined by special interests. In short,international standards offer great promise forneeded environmental improvements; but can alsobe used to impede, rather than advance,corporate responsibility and the development ofeffective environmental law at the nationallevel. These findings suggest that for theapplication of international standards to bemeaningful, the international community needsto move beyond statements of principle anddevelop mechanisms that can be used toevaluate, verify, and monitor independentlyenvironmental claims by TNCs.     

环境监管法律关系理论解析与立法完善

环境监管不同于环境管理。环境监管强调的是监督和管理的结合,二者不可偏废。而相应的对环境监管法律关系的理解也不能仅仅局限于管理的角度。要厘清我国环境监管法律关系,就要从主体、主体的权利与义务和客体等构成要素入手深入剖析,进而对我国环境监管立法完善进行有益的拓展。     

矿业环境相邻关系立法初探

矿业环境相邻关系的界定是相应环境产权私人化的途径。由矿业环境相邻权与矿业成员环境权双向对接组成的环境相邻关系,通过法律来约束矿山企业的环境相邻权和激励相邻对方的成员环境权而共同保护矿业环境。矿山企业一方给相邻对方合理施加容忍义务,相邻对方应当容忍非实质性的或当地通行的影响。成员环境权的保护,是基于物权而行使消除危险、排除妨害和恢复原状的请求权,基于债权而行使侵害赔偿请求权。     

What makes for good and bad neighbours? An emerging research agenda in the study of Chinese environmental politics

Tackling China’s grave environmental problems increasingly turns on questions of sub-national interjurisdictional relations. What are the conditions under which neighbouring localities cooperate in stewardship of the natural environment? What factors give rise to interjurisdictional conflict such as pollution spillovers? Through a combination of empirical and theoretical reflections, a research agenda to better understand these issues is outlined. First, China’s recent innovative approaches to the promotion of interjurisdictional cooperation are examined. An in-depth case study of interjurisdictional ecological protection ‘redline’ zones underscores the difficulties of inculcating environmental neighbourliness between local governments. Yet, a precise diagnosis of the problem remains elusive because too little is known about the underlying drivers of interjurisdictional relations in China. An analytical framework that draws insight from contemporary China studies and comparative environmental governance scholarship is offered for the study of interjurisdictional environmental relations in China.     

A Missed Opportunity?: NOAA’s Use of Social Media to Communicate Climate Science

In the current media landscape, organizations often communicate about science directly with publics through online channels rather than relying on journalist gatekeepers. Online platforms present organizations with the opportunity to participate in two-way communication in order to increase engagement with science. The present study examined how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) utilizes social media to interact with publics. Results suggest that NOAA does not fully utilize the dialogic potential of social media, which could enhance both the public’s science literacy and trust in science regarding climate change specifically. This study informs how public relations theory may complement science communication theory and practice as deficit model-thinking transitions to contemporary approaches for public engagement with science.     

基于环境库兹涅茨模型的经济与环境关系分析

环境与经济协调关系的研究可以定性地反映区域环境与经济发展的综合实力水平。以河南省为例,运用环境库兹涅茨曲线法分别对河南省"十五"十一五"环境与经济协调发展水平进行定性评价,得出河南省"十一五"较"十五"期间更为协调。并通过比较衡量河南省2个时期总体环境与经济的发展状况,分析目前环境与经济发展之间存在的问题,借以明确环境与经济协调发展走向和持续协调的对策。     

Governance of environmental risk: new approaches to managing stakeholder involvement

Disputes concerning industrial legacies such as the disposal of toxic wastes illustrate changing pressures on corporations and governments. Business and governments are now confronted with managing the expectations of a society increasingly aware of the social and environmental impacts and risks associated with economic development and demanding more equitable distribution and democratic management of such risks. The closed managerialist decision-making of the powerful bureaucracies and corporations of the industrial era is informed by traditional management theory which cannot provide a framework for the adequate governance of these risks. Recent socio-political theories have conceptualised some key themes that must be addressed in a more fitting approach to governance. We identify more recent management and governance theory which addresses these themes and develop a process-based approach to governance of environmental disputes that allows for the evolving nature of stakeholder relations in a highly complex multiple stakeholder arena.     

利益相关者视角下的旅游资源安全问题研究

基于旅游资源安全的不同利益相关者的纬度,从其实践和威胁因素的研究出发,从政府、旅游企业、旅游资源经营者、社区、旅游者以及其他利益相关者等几个方面分析利益相关者与旅游资源安全的关系;探讨旅游资源安全管理的制度需求;认为旅游资源安全的利益相关者可分为核心层、战略层、外围层等3个层次。虽然威胁旅游资源安全的因素有很多,但旅游资源安全管理的重点仍然是处理好与核心层的利益相关者的关系。     

运用证据权重与确定性系数合成模型进行钉螺-环境因子的空间关系研究

钉螺是血吸虫唯一中间宿主,研究钉螺与孳生环境因子的空间关系对采取有效的查螺、灭螺措施有重要的科学和社会价值。以鄱阳湖恒湖农场茶叶港草洲为研究对象,应用证据权重法与确定性系数法合成模型研究植物南荻、苔草、藜蒿、土壤温度、土壤湿度、导电率、海拔高程7个证据因子与"钉螺出现与否"的空间关系。结果表明:研究区内一定范围内高程的增加易于钉螺孳生;钉螺在湿度相对较大(大于0.35%(m~3/m~3))的环境中分布较少;苔草丰度过大(高于4 368 cm~3/m2)过小(低于1 457 cm~3/m2)都不利于钉螺孳生;钉螺较易孳生在南荻丰度较大(高于2 745 cm~3/m2)的区域;电导率较高(高于0.07 m S/cm)区域钉螺较少;土壤温度在16~20℃范围利于钉螺孳生。在模型预测结果图中,占研究区总面积13.7%的极高易发区的较小范围内预测到82%的钉螺空间分布,评价曲线的曲线下面积高达88.7%,说明模型的预测成功率很高,表明该模型适合研究区域钉螺孳生与其影响因子之间的空间关系。     

Trophic specificity of theRana arvalis population from the eastern ural radioactive trace in relation to the state of the soil mesofauna

Studies on the population ofRana arvalis Nilss. frogs performed in the radioactively contaminated area near Lake Berdanish in 1993 revealed a number of features indicating that the contents of nutrients in the organisms of adults and juveniles is low. The analysis of simultaneously collected data on food supply to this population showed that the structure of food chains in the study area is simplified and the diversity and biomass of soil invertebrates (the main food for amphibians) are sharply reduced. These factors account for food deficiency, which manifests itself in a low level of stomach filling and individual energy reserves of the frogs and is reflected in their population characteristics.