The Role of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in␣Promoting the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in Africa

This article outlines some of the latest developments and opportunities for development finance institutions¹ (DFIs) to become directly supportive of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM²) in Africa. In striving to make development financing more environmentally friendly and sustainable, DFIs can play a key role in promoting the CDM on the African continent by providing monetary incentives through their project financing activities; encouraging and facilitating partnerships in support of sustainable development, particularly with reference to the CDM, and; providing technical advice and support to clients with regard to project design, planning and implementation. DFIs have traditionally focused on financing infrastructure and poverty alleviation projects. However, the emergence of the CDM has brought about a shift towards investments in services and products that reduce carbon dioxide emissions and encourage investments in environmentally friendly technologies. This can be ascribed in part to the development of a “carbon market” under the auspices of the Kyoto Protocol that took effect in February 2005. The carbon market and emerging carbon funds are some of the main drivers enabling DFIs to play an increasingly important role in promoting the CDM in Africa.     

Institutional Responses to Climate Change: the Case of the Alaska Transportation System

Institutions managing the Alaska road,rail, airport, and marine highwaytransportation system and the pipelinecorridor are evaluated for reactions toevidence of climate change. Long-termclimate warming is not a formal criterionin the decisional process of the stateDepartment of Transportation and PublicFacilities for road and airport projects,which have a short (15–25 year) life span,but is taken into account for bridgeconstruction (50–75 year life). Short- tomid-term climate effects are considered inareas with discontinuous permafrost andaffect routing, roadbed construction, andmaintenance decisions. National standardsare amended with Alaska-specific practicesfor unique cold-weather conditions.The Federal/State Joint Pipeline Office(JPO), responsible for monitoring ofpipeline safety under the federal lease andstate grant, in 2001 developed additionalstipulations to mitigate permafrost thawingand slope instability, including a `watchlist' of 200 wobbling VSMs on theTrans-Alaska Pipeline. This action appearsmore responsive to climate change effectsthan that of any other arctic institutionstudied. It can be attributed to thespecific authority of the JPO to monitorgeotechnical conditions at present and inthe future.In general, agencies tended to adoptincremental responses to evidence ofclimate change.     

高校内部审计与质量控制

内部审计工作是一种组织内部的独立客观的监督和评价活动，它通过审查和评价经营活动及内部控制的适当性、合法性和有效性来促进组织目标的实现．近年来，内部审计在加强高校经济管理、促进提高效益等方面发挥着越来越大的作用，这在客观上对内涵建设（质量控制）提出了新的要求．本文运用质量控制理论，针对目前高校内部审计工作现状，围绕高校内部审计质量控制问题进行了分析和探讨．     

Exploring the relationship between climate change and violent conflict

ABSTRACT

Does climate change lead to violent conflict? This article reviews the existing literature connecting climatic conditions to conflict. It finds that the existing literature has not detected a robust and general effect from climate to conflict onset. Moreover, there exists scientific agreement that climatic changes can contribute to conflict under some conditions and through certain pathways. In particular, the recent literature offers considerable suggestive evidence that climatic changes can lead to conflict in countries and/or regions, which are dependent on agriculture, host politically excluded groups, and have ineffective institutions. Future research should focus not only on understanding of the pathways and contexts in which climatic changes are most likely to increase or exacerbate the risk of conflict but also work to understand the mechanisms by which climate variability and change might cause conflict.     

加强环境监测第三方检测机构质量管理方法研究

第三方检测机构的监测质量直接关系到监测数据的有效性,在使用正常的质控手段外,还可以采用要求强制参与能力验证,对现场监测开展飞行检查,跟踪样品分析的质控过程,对实验室进行现场符合性检查,对质量体系运行考核,跟踪质量管理计划的落实情况等质管手段加强对第三方检测机构的质量控制与管理,规范检测市场,树立质量第一的价值观,使一批技术和管理先进、检测能力雄厚的第三方检测机构成为政府公共检测事业的补充和帮手。     

Wildlife and wildlife management in Tanzania

Tanzania, arguably mainland Africa's most important nation for conservation, is losing habitat and natural resources rapidly. Moving away from a charcoal energy base and developing sustainable finance mechanisms for natural forests are critical to slowing persistent deforestation. Addressing governance and capacity deficits, including law enforcement, technical skills, and funding, across parts of the wildlife sector are key to effective wildlife protection. These changes could occur in tandem with bringing new models of natural resource management into play that include capacity building, corporate payment for ecosystem services, empowering nongovernmental organizations in law enforcement, greater private‐sector involvement, and novel community conservation strategies. The future of Tanzania's wildlife looks uncertain—as epitomized by the current elephant crisis—unless the country confronts issues of governance, embraces innovation, and fosters greater collaboration with the international community.     

Natural resource use,income and dependence among San and Mier communities bordering Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park,southern Kalahari,South Africa

Contemporary strategies for natural resource management espouse the need to integrate local people and their livelihood needs into biodiversity conservation projects to achieve sustainable ‘development and ecological integrity’. Valuation of natural resource use provides empirical evidence and conceptual arguments of local people's dependence on these resources, which could be factored into biodiversity conservation planning. Based on household surveys and key informant interviews, this study looked at the contribution of dryland natural resources to the livelihoods of two culturally different but neighbouring communities, the San and Mier, bordering Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. Overall, natural resources represented an important livelihood source for the San, contributing on an average 32% of total annual income, compared to 9% for the Mier. Fuelwood was the predominant contributor to natural resource incomes in both cases. Income quintile analysis showed that dependence on natural resources decreased moving to higher income groups for Mier households, but increased with income for San households. Well-off households still derived higher total income from natural resources; often from the more lucrative sources of such income, notably from fuelwood sales. Contextual factors such as culture and social institutions, among others, influenced access to, and consequently the use of, particular resources and the value of these to households. Sustainable natural resource management interventions should consider these disparities in patterns of natural resource dependence among different income groups.     

职业安全培训与教育存在问题及控制对策研究

安全培训是企业安全生产的一项重要的基础性工作,为提高员工安全生产技能、强化安全防范意识、切实提高安全培训效果,围绕企业中的安全培训问题,以对安全培训现状的概述为基础,通过对新员工,接触新设备、新工艺、新技术的员工,从事特种作业的员工等3类特殊群体的安全培训问题深入分析,最后提出意见对策。     

Creating local institutional arrangements for sustainable wetland socio-ecological systems: lessons from the ‘Striking a Balance’ project in Malawi

Wetland socio-ecological systems provide livelihood benefits for many poor people throughout the developing world, yet their sustainable development requires local utilisation strategies that balance both environmental and development outcomes. Community-based local institutional arrangements that mediate peoples’ relationships with their environment and facilitate adaptive co-management offer one means of achieving this, and increasingly many NGOs and development practitioners have sought to integrate local institutional capacity building into development projects. In the context of wider academic debates surrounding the long-term sustainability of externally facilitated local institutions, this article draws on the experiences of the three-year Striking a Balance (SAB) project in Malawi which sought to embed sustainable wetland management practices within community-based local institutional arrangements. Drawing on field data collected through participatory methods at three project sites some 5 years after the cessation of project activities, we examine the extent to which SAB’s local institutional capacity building has been successful, and from this draw some lessons for externally driven project interventions which seek win-win outcomes for people and the environment. With reference to Elinor Ostrom’s design principles for long-enduring common property resource institutions, we suggest that the observed declining effectiveness of SAB’s local institutions can be attributed to issues of stakeholder inclusiveness and representations; their sustainability was arguably compromised from their inception on account of them being nested within pre-existing, externally driven village ‘clubs’ whose membership and decision-making was not congruent with all the wetland stakeholders within the community.     

WATER ADMINISTRATION IN ENGLAND AND WALES IMPACTS OF REORGANIZATION1

ABSTRACT: Water management in England and Wales has undergone a major transformation in the past three decades, and especially under the 1963 and 1973 legislation. It has witnessed a shift from local to national responsibility, an integration of functions, and a move towards the incorporation of economic principles into water policies. For some observers the new legislation appeared to be “pioneering” and “farsighted.” There is little doubt it has resulted in many beneficial changes. But not all the goals have been achieved. Modifications of the 1973 legislation are already in prospect. This article reviews the progress to date and comments on the problems now to be faced.