Public expenditure and the environmental management of Brazilian municipalities: a panel data model

Environmental expenditure can be classified as an indicator to measure the efforts of public agents with the environment. Cities and countries seek to understand the determinants of environmental spending over time. This research aims to analyze the variables that influence the environmental spending of Brazilian municipalities between the years 2012 and 2016. Thus, this research helps fill the gap on lack of longitudinal research that involves local contexts in relation to public municipal expenditures on the environment. The research method consists of the panel data model. Data were collected on the environmental expenditures of the municipalities and other variables of 4269 Brazilian municipalities, the collection generated 21,329 observations. The results showed that the municipalities of the state of Amapá had better relative expenditure averages, it was also observed that the municipalities in the Northeast region show the worst results. The municipality of Itamaracá, located in the state of Pernambuco, presented the best percentage of the country, 9.47% of the environmental expenditure in relation to total expenditure. Regarding the results of panel data, the variables revenue, population, density, GDP, and HDI presented significance in all models; the models estimated by fixed effects ensure the consistency of the parameters.     

中国水资源管理博弈特征分析

随着中国水资源匮乏和水污染态势日益严峻．建立一个面向效率和公平的水资源管理机制的需求日益凸现。本文在比较传统行政模式和市场模式下水权管理不同特征的基础上,分别从静态和动态两个角度．从水量和水质两个维度分析了两种模式下的水用户博弈特征。结果表明：政府管制会出现“政府失灵”。无法实现政府和水用户之间的激励相容;在完全市场机制配置情况下,由于个人和集体理性的不一致,会导致水资源被过度污染、治污的公共产品提供不足等“市场失灵”,基于不同模式下各自的利与弊,无论哪一种单纯的管理模式都不能满足水资源的可持续发展要求。认为中国水资源管理需要把水量和水质、政府管制与市场机制两种配置方式的优势相结合,提出了一种准市场水权交易机制分析框架。     

如何提高环境监管能力的探讨

针对如何提高环境监管能力的问题,文中介绍了环境监管部门的责任,分析了当前环境监管的现状,探讨了在环境监管中存在的主要问题,主要是在环境监管存在的问题、在环境问责制中存在的问题和在环境执法方面存在的问题,提出了对环境监管措施的建议,是如何提高对环境监管的力度、如何完善对环保政绩的考核和如何建立环境监管的舆论形式,为提高环境监管的能力进行了探究,以利于环境监管部门在环保工作中做出最大的贡献。     

从法学视角论地方政府环境质量负责制——兼评《环境保护法修正案草案》三审稿第六条第二款

环保法修正案三审稿,对政府环境责任予以高度关注,在总则中规定“地方各级人民政府对本行政区域的环境质量负责”,并规定相关配套制度保障落实该条款。通过对三审稿关于政府环境责任条款的分析、解读,可以明确地方政府环境质量负责制的含义,明晰该制度在总则中规定的意义。三审稿从地方政府行使环境职权和承担环境责任两方面对地方政府环境质量负责制予以制度保障和落实,但其制度保障仍不充分,仍需从制度自身完善、事前监督机制以及外部问责机制三个方面使地方政府环境质量负责制进一步落实,使地方政府环境质量负责制得到真正实施。     

西方环保民间组织的发展及借鉴研究

在西方,环保民间组织作为环境保护的一支新兴力量发展已日趋成熟。文章简要阐述了西方环保民间组织的发展演化过程及概况,重点分析了与政府合作、与企业科研机构合作、与其他组织合作、与媒体合作等四种运行模式,总结了网络化、多样化、专业化、经济独立及名人效应等众多特点。最后在借鉴国外的经验基础上,中国应立足实际,充分发挥环保NGO这一组织的作用,开辟解决环境问题的新途径。     

浅议环境经济手段在我国的应用

随着经济的快速发展，环境污染问题成为制约我国经济进一步发展的瓶颈之一，严重地阻碍着我国经济与社会可持续发展战略的实施。指出了环境污染问题的特征，分析了以行政干预为主的方法本身所造成的缺陷，提出必须运用适当的环境经济手段来促进环保事业的发展。同时提出了选择环境经济手段的思路，并对其理论渊源、现状和前景等方面进行了分析。     

燃气汽车的经济外部性分析及发展策略研究

从经济外部性的角度出发，对燃气汽车和燃油汽车进行了比较分析，论主下了燃油汽车具有负的外部性以及燃气汽车具有正的外部性。为解决外部性问题、促进燃气汽车发展，政府干预是必要的。     

退耕还林政策的激励机制缺陷

运用公共经济学中中央政府与地方职能划分的原则、土地竞租原理和产权经济学理论。分析了退耕还林中地方政府和农民承担的成本和收益损失。认为中央政府在退耕还林中忽视了地方政府的利益需求。不仅对地方政府在退耕还林中的生态贡献补偿不足。而且加重了地方政府的工作负担和财政负担。对地方政府缺乏激励；对农民的补偿较之于其在退耕还林中承担的直接成本、间接成本和林业经营的巨大风险。现有补偿数量不足。时间短；林地承包经营权限制性强、缺乏可交易性又使产权激励功能弱化。退耕还林要实现“退得下、稳得住、不返弹”的目标，必须加大对退耕还林地区地方政府和农民补偿额度。并建立长期、稳定、合理的生态补偿机制。     

Local energy governance in post-Fukushima Japan: a survey of citizen willingness to participate in local energy policy deliberations

Employing a social survey, this paper examines citizen attitudes towards local energy governance in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent nuclear power plant accident. The survey found that public comment and random sampling citizen deliberation led to a greater willingness to participate in discussions of municipal heating and power (energy) policy for a resilient community than did conventional citizen committee membership. The former mechanisms provided opportunities for individuals with considered viewpoints to participate in a public dialogue on energy and environment issues in post-disaster Japan. Respondents who did not have clear ideas about a roadmap for nuclear power generation showed a lower willingness to participate in local energy policy formulation processes.     

An Interpretive Approach to Developing Volunteer-based Coastal Monitoring Programmes

The concept of sustainable development has highlighted the need to involve those who use a natural resource in helping to manage and maintain it. This has prompted the development of monitoring programmes involving volunteers who collect scientific data on the state of the natural environment. This paper argues that interpretation theory and practice provide a sound basis for the design and implementation of volunteer-based coastal monitoring programmes. Integration of multiple interrelated objectives in programmes relies on sound ‘audience’ research, including planned evaluation procedures. Three case-studies are presented which serve to identify and highlight the benefits of broadening the primary scientific focus of monitoring programmes to include greater consideration of participant motivations, skills and knowledge in the design and delivery of programmes. Discussion in this paper focuses on coastal monitoring programmes but the stated benefits might also be expected when applying this approach to other natural resource monitoring programmes.