A Quantitative Method for Estimating Probable Public Costs of Hurricanes

/ A method is presented for estimating probable public costs resulting from damage caused by hurricanes, measured as local government expenditures approved for reimbursement under the Stafford Act Section 406 Public Assistance Program. The method employs a multivariate model developed through multiple regression analysis of an array of independent variables that measure meteorological, socioeconomic, and physical conditions related to the landfall of hurricanes within a local government jurisdiction. From the regression analysis we chose a log-log (base 10) model that explains 74% of the variance in the expenditure data using population and wind speed as predictors. We illustrate application of the method for a local jurisdiction-Lee County, Florida, USA. The results show that potential public costs range from $4.7 million for a category 1 hurricane with winds of 137 kilometers per hour (85 miles per hour) to $130 million for a category 5 hurricane with winds of 265 kilometers per hour (165 miles per hour). Based on these figures, we estimate expected annual public costs of $2.3 million. These cost estimates: (1) provide useful guidance for anticipating the magnitude of the federal, state, and local expenditures that would be required for the array of possible hurricanes that could affect that jurisdiction; (2) allow policy makers to assess the implications of alternative federal and state policies for providing public assistance to jurisdictions that experience hurricane damage; and (3) provide information needed to develop a contingency fund or other financial mechanism for assuring that the community has sufficient funds available to meet its obligations. KEY WORDS: Hurricane; Public costs; Local government; Disaster recovery; Disaster response; Florida; Stafford Act     

Ohio's Balanced Growth Program: a case study of collaboration for planning and policy design

This paper describes the collaborative planning process for a new landscape planning programme in Ohio that seeks to influence land urbanisation patterns through joint local land use decision making on a watershed basis. The programme was developed through a collaborative process by a state agency-appointed task force that included agency staff and a wide range of stakeholders. The paper describes the process in terms of the collaborative mechanisms, the participants, the programmatic outputs, and the social and organisational outcomes that set the foundation for enhanced watershed quality through better land use decision-making practices. Key collaborations formed during the process were inter-agency collaborations, a non-profit organisation that partnered with the agencies, and that of state agencies with local governments to develop watershed-based land use plans. A most critical outcome was creation of a learning community, through an exploratory research process that used multiple methods of data gathering and consensus-building deliberation. The paper is based on a review of published documents and plans, meeting minutes, participant observation of committee and workgroup meetings and interactive research.     

地方煤矿安全生产政府监管的失效及对策

在分析地方煤矿安全生产形势的基础上,探讨加强政府监管的必要性,指出政府监管的失效是矿难事故发生的深层次原因。基于公共选择的"经济人"假设理论,从地方煤矿监管中涉及的中央政府、地方政府、煤矿企业和煤矿工人等多方利益主体的博弈角度分析政府监管失效的根本原因;根据地方煤矿安全政府监管的实情,提出构建多方利益主体的政府监管体系、运行机制和具体路径选择。该研究成果对提高政府监管执行力,减少地方煤矿事故频发具有一定的理论指导和实践参考价值。     

Coastal zone management – between politics and law: new guidelines for differentiated management of the shore zone in Norway

Norway has more than 100,000?km of coastline and associated shore zone. The shore zone is an attractive area for development and infrastructure on the one hand, and recreation and protection of biological diversity on the other. The Norwegian Planning and Building Act contains a general ban on any building in the area between the ordinary high water mark and up to 100?m inland from the shoreline. Exemptions can be granted, however, by the competent municipality through land planning and individual decisions. The importance attached to leaving the shore zone untouched varies from region to region. There are large geographical differences in terms of biodiversity, cultural heritage, landscape, development, development pressure, migration and depopulation, and commercial activity, as well as public access to the coastal areas and the ocean. Since 2011, the entire Norwegian shore zone became subject to guidelines that regulate a geographical differentiation of management and a more severe protection of central areas. This article analyses key aspects of the Norwegian shore zone regulation.     

论生态文明政府及其建设

建设生态文明是一项具有重大现实意义和深远历史意义的国家战略。政府作为国家机构的重要组成部分和法定的环境"守护神",理应在生态文明建设中发挥独特的作用。鉴于政府具有行政主体和机关法人的双重人格,相应地,其在生态文明建设中亦应担负双重角色,即生态文明建设的推动者和生态文明建设的示范者。据此,提出以"生态文明政府"作为政府在生态文明建设中双重角色有机统一体的政策理论;并将其界定为,既依法履行其作为生态文明建设推动者的责任,又切实担负起其作为生态文明建设示范者的义务,使所辖地区达到生产发展、生活富裕、生态良好的"三生"共赢状态的政府。作为生态文明建设的推动者,政府一方面要发挥自身的优势,推动权力机关、审判机关、法律监督机关按照各自的职能和职责,参与生态文明法制建设;另一方面还要充分运用各种政策手段,推动相对人投身生态文明建设。作为生态文明建设示范者,政府应当率先树立生态文明理念,在摈弃与生态文明理念相抵触的不良行为的同时,从绿色政府采购、绿色建筑、绿色办公、绿色出行等方面践行生态文明,对公众起到引领作用,促使生态文明理念成为社会的主流价值观。在打造生态文明建设示范者方面,美国联邦政府开展的绿色政府行动计划,在规范建设和实施体制等方面,具有很好的借鉴意义。根据我国的国情,建议从顶层设计入手,按照自上而下的方式,循序渐进推动生态文明政府建设,并将实施绩效向社会公布。这既是对生态文明政府建设的监督,也是对全社会最好的生态文明宣传教育。总之,建设生态文明政府,要以提升政府的生态文明建设能力为出发点,以促进全社会形成"尊重自然、顺应自然、保护自然"的生态文明理念为落脚点。只有建设生态文明政府,才能建成生态文明社会。     

公共产品供给民营化背景下的政府规制研究

20世纪90年代开始,我国启动了公用事业市场化改革,民营资本特别是外资流向自来水供给、污水处理、城市生活垃圾收集与处理、燃气供应等行业。私人部门的介入激活了公共产品供给市场,有利于社会福利的增进,但也招致了诸多问题。公共产品供给民营化,并不意味着政府的完全退出,政府始终负有向社会公众提供公共产品或服务的原始责任,民营化只是在提供的形式上完成了向私人部门的转移,政府应完成从公共产品直接提供者向规制者的角色转换。本文以城市生活垃圾产业为例,进行了系统的分析。认为有效的规制应建立在真实的规制环境上,在城市生活垃圾产业民营化的规制中,面临着现有规制者与合约方一体、规制机构与企业信息不对称、政府部门承诺有限等规制约束。基于目前的规制环境,我国城市生活垃圾产业在推进民营化的同时,应建立起独立的规制机构,加强监管,逐步纵向一体民营化以降低交易成本,在合约中采用指数化价格分享企业租金。     

作业场所职业危害监管信息管理系统开发

根据我国职业危害实际情况,提出基于企业、县、市、省、国家监管部门的5级分布式数据存储架构,并使用网络数据库进行实现;设计了监管信息系统的功能模块,其中包括:职业危害基础数据模块、数据管理模块、监督检查信息模块、地理信息模块、辅助决策模块、专家咨询模块、事故调查处理信息、通信与数据同步模块、信息系统培训模块等;软件基于3层B/W/S模式,使用ASP,.net后台技术来开发,实现了WEB对数据库的访问和相互信息交流;该系统在现场进行了试用,获得满意的效果。     

Avoiding the presumptive policy errors of intergovernmental environmental planning programmes: a case analysis of urban stormwater management planning

This social research aims to identify and examine the implementation presumptions of intergovernmental environmental planning programmes and how to improve their effectiveness in future practice. It contrasts and explains the organisational dynamics and implementation responses of municipalities that succeeded and failed in realising the objective of such a programme. The research involved a qualitative multiple-case comparison between four high- and four low-performing municipalities implementing a stormwater programme within metropolitan Sydney, Australia. These two organisational types substantially differed in corporate expertise, environmental leadership, extended relational activity, and overall disposition to learning and ownership of local environmental issues. The paper identified five presumptions underpinning the programme design which privileged the high-performing organisations, but did little to garner commitment and develop capacity among the low-performing group. These implementation insights not only provide guideposts for intergovernmental programme design, but also reveal how policy design can undermine policy intent if empathy to local organisational dynamics is lacking.     

Multi-indicator assessment of water environment in government environmental auditing

This study focused on a multi-indicator assessment methodology for governmental environmental auditing of water protection programs. The environmental status of Wuli Lake in China was assessed using the global indicators （driver-status-response） developed by the Commission on Sustainable Development, and four additional indicators proposed by the author： water quality, pollution load, aquatic ecosystem status, and lake sediment deposition. Various hydrological, chemical, biological and environmental parameters were used to estimate the values of the indicators for assessment of environmental status of the lake based on time series data sets for twenty years. The indicators proposed can be customized to meeting the needs for particular assessment of water protection programs. This method can be used to evaluate the performance of national environmental protection programs and provide technical support for environmental auditors.     

新型城镇化进程中地方政府环境治理行为研究

环境污染已经成为困扰中国城市可持续发展和新型城镇化建设的重要问题。在新型城镇化的进程中,地方政府的治理策略面临着从以经济增长为中心向经济增长与环境治理并重的转型困境。在这一转型背景下,本文认为,地方政府的环境治理行为主要包含三个方面的内容:地方政府自身的环境治理行为、地方政府与地方政府之间的协作治理行为、地方政府与民众的环境协作治理行为。每一种地方政府环境治理行为都会受到不同因素的激励或制约。本文通过对官员晋升锦标赛、短任期制与官吏分途的分析,环境治理合作的群集型网络和松散型网络的探讨,以及对邻避抗争与公民参与的分析,提出地方政府自身环境治理行为的选择受到地方官员的晋升锦标赛、短任期制与官吏分途的影响;地方政府间的环境协作治理行为受到彼此权衡合作风险与收益结果的制约;地方政府与民众的环境协作治理行为受到地方政府与民众环境风险信息沟通情况和协商缓解机制建立与否等因素的影响。基于此,本文提出需要在构建与地方官员治理动机相兼容的激励机制、地方政府间高度集群型协作契约的签订与执行,以及民众对地方环保政策的参与机制和邻避冲突的缓解机制等方面进行改革,从而更有效地推进地方政府的环境治理。