双重环境规制下政府经济竞争对绿色高质量发展的影响

利用我国2008~2018年277个地级及以上城市面板数据,基于EBM模型与GML指数测度并分析绿色全要素生产率（GTFP）,在此基础上系统分析双重环境规制下政府经济竞争与GTFP间存在的非线性关系.结果发现：绿色技术进步是中国GTFP增长的主要引擎,但各地区的驱动力不尽相同;政府经济竞争对GTFP具有显著的抑制作用,并存在隐性规制的单门槛效应,但地区间存在差异,西部和东北地区存在隐性规制单门槛,而东部地区门槛效应不显著;外商直接投资和科技投入支出均造成辖区内GTFP损失,产业结构在一定程度上缓解了环境问题,但存在区域异质性.     

Identifying potential stakeholders for the management of Lower Mgeta and Upper Zigi water catchments of Tanzania,East Africa

Community participation in natural resources management is a basis for sustainable management of these resources. However, the question of which actors/assets within communities are more connected to the natural resources based on their knowledge, skills and talents is not well captured. This study, therefore, combines Asset Based Community Development approach and Bio-Cultural approach, to identify influential stakeholders in the utilization of catchment resources in Upper Zigi and Lower Mngeta catchments, in the United Republic of Tanzania. Participatory rural appraisal tools; participatory bio-physical resource mapping (PBRM) and participatory community asset mapping (PCAM) were used for data collection. Similar observations were made in both study sites, that, the most influential community assets were traditional healers, traditional dancers, hunters, Village Government, fishermen, farmers and family, and therefore, these most influential community assets should get involved in the management of catchment resources because they are true representatives of the community.     

Economic costs of protecting islands from invasive alien species

Biological invasions represent a key threat to insular systems and have pronounced impacts across environments and economies. The ecological impacts have received substantial focus, but the socioeconomic impacts are poorly synthesized across spatial and temporal scales. We used the InvaCost database, the most comprehensive assessment of published economic costs of invasive species, to assess economic impacts on islands worldwide. We analyzed socioeconomic costs across differing expenditure types and examined temporal trends across islands that differ in their political geography—island nation states, overseas territories, and islands of continental countries. Over US$36 billion in total costs (including damages and management) has occurred on islands from 1965 to 2020 due to invasive species’ impacts. Nation states incurred the greatest total and management costs, and islands of continental countries incurred costs of similar magnitude, both far higher than those in overseas territories. Damage-loss costs were significantly lower, but with qualitatively similar patterns across differing political geographies. The predominance of management spending differs from the pattern found for most countries examined and suggests important knowledge gaps in the extent of many damage-related socioeconomic impacts. Nation states spent the greatest proportion of their gross domestic products countering these costs, at least 1 order of magnitude higher than other locations. Most costs were borne by authorities and stakeholders, demonstrating the key role of governmental and nongovernmental bodies in addressing island invasions. Temporal trends revealed cost increases across all island types, potentially reflecting efforts to tackle invasive species at larger, more socially complex scales. Nevertheless, the already high total economic costs of island invasions substantiate the role of biosecurity in reducing and preventing invasive species arrivals to reduce strains on limited financial resources and avoid threats to sustainable development goals.     

Real-time irrigation diversion data delivery can benefit adaptive capacity in communal irrigation systems

There is a need to support applied, community-relevant hydrologic research within changing climate, population, and socioeconomic conditions to better inform water policy and management. We hypothesized that providing a rural agricultural community in a semiarid valley with the necessary monitoring tool to meet local water management needs would increase adaptive capacity within the context of long-term drought. Through a community science approach, researchers installed a telemetry monitoring system at participating acequia irrigation diversions that remotely sent water data to a web interface every 15 min. Two surveys distributed before and after web interface access targeted seven adaptive capacity indicators. After the first season of improved data accessibility, the following adaptive capacity indicators significantly increased: information diversity, cognitive social capital, leadership, and proactivity. Rather than focusing on the water savings aspect of real-time monitoring, this paper summarizes a novel water resources study that assessed the social impact of real-time irrigation water delivery monitoring on adaptive capacity. This study suggests that bridging the gap between community need and hydrologic research through community science, sociologic analysis, and stakeholder engagement provides significant benefits for communities facing water management challenges, further supporting problem-driven water resources research.     

软约束机制下的生态预算理论的问题及对策

在分权体制框架下,约束机制软化导致地方政府放大其自利性偏好,在一定程度上成为可持续发展的减项。表现为：在当前政府绩效考核的经济指标压力下扩大自然资源的投入;与资源消耗主体博弈的经济人行为导致不规范的环境资源分配,使环境目标和环境管理目标的实现呈现高成本特征;与中央政府相较的信息优势导致全局性的非理性资源的浪费等。生态预算是ICLEI参照财政预算的程序创建的促进环境资源有效配置和可持续管理的政府工具,其以强可持续发展为目标,采用实物指标度量环境资源在社会经济活动中的实际流量,强调约束支出控制,以保持环境资源全部价值在代内和代际间的平衡。我国在引进生态预算监督制约机制的路径选择及模式设计上,可能会出现因现实文化的惯性、双重代理机制、体制内监督等问题导致的生态预算约束软化,改进方向在于重视环境-经济-社会一体化考核的作用、确定合理的激励方式、由社会审计评价和监督生态预算执行,从而逐步走向制度完善的进程。     

Historical survey and the cultivation of a new culture regarding the ecology in China's Western Provinces

The Chinese leadership in recent years has clearly indicated that priority will be given to the development of the western provinces. In view of its under-developed economy, the relative poor education of the population and the extensive mode of development, environmental pollution and ecological damage in western China are more serious than in the east. In China's industrialization process in the modern era, the blind imitation of the initial stage of industrialization in the advanced countries and the total rejection of traditional Chinese cultural values have been particularly striking. Hence, the western provinces should adopt a mode of sustainable development based on establishment of an ecological culture. Environmentalists in China would like to concentrate on reforming the modes of production and the people's lifestyles through changing their views and values. They perceive this as the major commitment for building an ecological culture and promoting sustainable development. But large-scale and concentrated damage to the environment are very often the result of neglect and mistakes by government authorities and corporations. Pessimists worry that this millennium will signal the terminal stage for natural values; but there may be an alternative: a millennium of coordinated development, respecting the environment and based on adoption of a new ecological culture.     

Public attitudes and perceptions to the West-to-East Pipeline Project and ecosystem management in large project construction

Ecosystem management addresses transboundary, interdisciplinary and multiparty issues from an ecosystem perspective. In this regard, public participation of ecosystem management is particularly important for achieving a successful outcome. However, public attitudes and perceptions on ecosystem management in project construction are often ignored in the developing countries. Large project construction in China is booming, for example, oil/gasoline pipelines, water diversion projects, highway networks and high-speed railway networks. These projects may have important impacts on China's economy, as well as ecosystems. The perception of local people on these projects is crucial for their safe fulfilment. In this paper, the West-to-East Pipeline Project (WEPP), a large project in China built in 2004 to transport gas from the north-west to the south-east, was used as a case study to examine public participation and perceptions on ecosystem management. Field interviews were conducted in the summer of 2005 for data collection, and logistic regression models were used for data analysis. Modelling results show that public attitudes to WEPP construction are closely related to education, occupation and place of residence. Generally, interviewees with higher education and more involvement in WEPP have a positive attitude. However, local people have a poor understanding of ecological restoration and ecosystem management. For safe implementation of WEPP, some adjunct projects are required to improve the local economy and ecosystem functions, and different economic compensation schemes should be designed for stakeholders by region. Additionally, development strategies, such as offering part-time jobs, education and training to local farmers, are necessary to change attitudes and improve awareness on ecosystem management. It is also important to strengthen public participation in the early stages of project construction.     

Are we leaving the community out of rural community sustainability?

SUMMARY

The Rio Earth Summit and publication and distribution of Agenda 21 (UN, 1992) have generated much activity in many nations towards development and implementation of community indicators of sustainable development (SI). In recent years efforts at development and implementation of SI have intensified at regional and urban government levels, although fewer efforts are evident at a rural community level. In response to initial ad hoc efforts, methodologies for SI construction are currently being proposed, tested and refined. Within this evolutionary process, increasing recognition is being given to the critical need for, and importance of, ‘stakeholder’ involvement in SI development and implementation. This paper critically reviews these and related efforts from the perspective of rural communities in Canada. The argument is presented that the process of development and implementation of rural community-level SI can significantly benefit from development and implementation of a methodological approach in support of principles and practices of effective stakeholder involvement. It is further argued that development of SI must be stakeholder-driven, and that a pivotal element in the SI development process is the facilitation of information sharing. The paper concludes with a proposal for an approach to stakeholder participation and information sharing achieved through research, testing and refinement, and integration of these concepts within the process of rural community sustainable indicator development.     

Public involvement in the Red River Basin management decisions and preparedness for the next flood

Abstract

The focus of this study is public participation in the water resource and associated hazards management decision-making processes. It explores the importance, feasibility, and effectiveness of public participation in the flood management, decision-making process, with particular attention to the case of the Red River Basin of Manitoba, Canada. The nature and efficacy of public participation in the hearings conducted by the International Joint Commission (IJC) in the aftermath of the 1997 Red River flood are critically reviewed. The results of the analysis suggest that the IJC has been more sensitive to the views of the public and concerned stakeholders than the Red River Basin Task Force. The IJC incorporated a substantial portion of the opinions, suggestions, and concerns expressed by the public into the final recommendations produced by the commission for the Canadian and American federal governments. Public participation was an integral component of the IJC hearings, and was expected to contribute to flood preparedness in the future. The reasons for such accommodation of public and the stakeholders' views in decision-makingare primarily attributed to making the proposed projects and programs socio-economically and politically feasible. Because of their general characteristics, the lessons from the case of the Red River Basin could be used as an effective tool in other resource and environmental hazard management areas.