A Cooperative Approach to Reduce Water Pollution Abatement Cost in an Interjurisdictional Lake Basin

A cooperative approach via transfer fee was developed to improve the cost‐effectiveness of water pollution control in interjurisdictional lake basin management in China. Different from the existing literature that studies water quality trading and pollution reduction at micro levels (i.e., focusing on enterprises and firms), this article explores cooperative pollution reduction strategies from a macro level, targeting multiple jurisdictional regions. The merits of this new approach include: (1) improving the cost‐effectiveness of pollution reduction by making use of the cost differentiation in pollution reduction between industries and municipal sewage plants, and between different administrative areas; (2) managing payments for ecosystem services by horizontal transfer payment; and (3) incorporating the concepts of game, cooperation, coordination, and watershed‐based management in implementation. For empirical demonstration, a bilevel optimization model was built and calibrated using the 2005 data of the Lake Tai basin to work out the optimal solutions for cooperative chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction. Results show that policies based on this new approach can significantly reduce the overall COD abatement costs for the basin as well as the individual jurisdictional regions compared to the current practice.     

全球跨界水合作的时空结构：领域变迁与尺度分异

在当前全球性淡水危机加剧、水冲突频发的背景下,跨界水合作成为化解水危机,实现国家间和平可持续发展的关键。利用跨界水条约数据,基于网络视角,从全球尺度、区域尺度与国家尺度对跨界水合作的时空结构进行研究。结论如下：（1）1820—2017年全球跨界水合作持续增多,覆盖范围明显扩大,合作领域从边界与水量向联合管理与水质保护转变,合作目的由以规管性为主导向规管性、程序性和原生性并进转变。多边合作与跨界地下水合作是当前全球跨界水合作的发展趋势。（2）同一时期五大洲跨界水合作发展进程与侧重领域存在较大差异;尽管全球跨界水合作网络涵盖的流域与国家日益增多,但其流域覆盖率仍较低。（3）1820—2017年全球跨界水合作网络大致经历了“网络形成—网络扩张—网络分化”三个阶段;欧洲国家间的跨界水合作联系相对较强,亚洲国家在跨界水合作网络中也愈发活跃,区域性与全球性并存是当前跨界水合作网络的重要特征。伴随着亚洲国家日益增长的跨界水合作需求,中国应充分发挥负责任的发展中大国的作用,加强与周边国家的跨界水合作,不断提升自身在全球跨界水资源合作领域的地位。     

中国与周边国家边境保护地跨境合作潜力分析

基于《全球跨界自然保护区名录》中涉及中国的16组名录中的10个国家87个保护地,分析其空间分布规律,应用德尔菲法和层次分析法,选取生态完整性、治理结构匹配、制度文化差异和空间距离交通4个层面的9个指标,建立中国与周边国家边境地区保护地跨境合作潜力指标体系,并进行验证。结果表明：黑龙江省与俄罗斯毗邻边境地区保护地分布最集中,喀喇昆仑山—喜马拉雅山脉地区生态系统完整性较好。通过评价结果遴选出中国（兴凯湖）—俄罗斯、中国（西双版纳）—老挝、中国（塔什库尔干）—巴基斯坦、中国（珠穆朗玛峰）—尼泊尔与印度、中国（长白山）—朝鲜与俄罗斯5组未来跨境合作潜力较高的地区,并针对跨境合作存在的难点提出建议措施。研究可为中国边境保护地跨境合作提供方法参考和借鉴依据。     

湄公河干流水电开发事前磋商机制

湄公河委员会是湄公河流域唯一的从事水资源开发管理的政府间国际组织,但其机构的制度有效性一直备受质疑。尤其是2003年订立的《通知、事前磋商和达成协定规程》在老挝沙耶武里水电站、栋沙宏水电站和北本水电站上相继应用后,不仅未能调和成员国在水资源开发问题上的利益分歧与矛盾,且规程本身也引起较大争议。随着湄公河干流水电开发的加速推进,中国参与次区域水资源开发治理的客观环境发生变化,迫切需要加强相关理论基础与实践研究,促进流域开发合作和可持续发展。为此,论文主要梳理了湄委会事前磋商机制的制度框架、管理机构及操作流程,在总结三次实践进展基础上,客观分析了该机制取得的成效和存在的问题,并提出补充注释说明文件、制定受益补偿条款、建立公众参与制度、完善事前磋商流程等四个方面改进建议。同时探讨了事前磋商机制对中国参与全流域合作的影响及有效应对策略,可为澜湄合作新机制下中国水资源开发合作政策的制定提供借鉴与启示。     

博弈视角下跨界河流水资源保护协作机制——以太湖流域太浦河为例

跨界河流水资源保护利益协调问题是流域水资源管理的难点。以太湖流域典型跨界河流太浦河为例,对比分析上下游水资源保护利益诉求,基于博弈理论,引入外部驱动（流域机构介入、激励约束政策）与内部均衡（生态补偿、断面水质考核）四种协调手段,探讨均衡太浦河上下游利益矛盾、激励上下游实现合作保护的协作机制。结果表明：（1）在引入协调手段的博弈模型中,实现了博弈系统向协作策略（达标,补偿）演化。（2）基于博弈分析结果,协作策略（达标,补偿）的实现与激励约束力度、补偿金额、水权、上游保护成本与效益等因素密切相关。（3）外部驱动机制有利于协调上下游河流功能定位需求差异,并调动上下游加强协作保护的积极性与主动性;内部均衡机制有利于弥补上游水权、产业发展等利益损失,并倒逼太浦河水质达标、保障下游取水安全。（4）构建的太浦河水资源保护协作机制,可为加快推进长三角一体化协同发展,建设流域“清水走廊”提供理论与决策支持参考。     

海滨生态旅游区域合作发展研究——以山东沿海地区为例

作为海滨旅游和生态旅游的有机结合,海滨生态旅游不仅是对海洋资源的合理利用,也是可持续发展理念在旅游业中的实践应用.以山东沿海地区为例,运用区域合作的相关原理构建了海滨生态旅游区域合作的动力机制和合作机制,从产品开发、市场开发、信息网络建设三个方面论证了实现路径,并从加强合作保障、促进利益协调和消除地区壁垒三个方面提出了对策.     

CONFLICT AND COOPERATION OVER INTERNATIONAL FRESHWATER RESOURCES: INDICATORS OF BASINS AT RISR1

ABSTRACT: In this paper we seek to identify historical indicators of international freshwater conflict and cooperation and to create a framework to identify and evaluate international river basins at potential risk for future conflict. We derived biophysical, socioeco‐nomic, and geopolitical variables at multiple spatial and temporal scales from GIS datasets of international basins and associated countries, and we tested these variables against a database of historical incidents of international water related cooperation and conflict from 1948 to 1999. International relations over freshwater resources were overwhelmingly cooperative and covered a wide range of issues, including water quantity, water quality, joint management, and hydropower. Conflictive relations tended to center on quantity and infrastructure. No single indicator—including climate, water stress, government type, and dependence on water for agriculture or energy—explained conflict/cooperation over water. Even indicators showing a significant correlation with water conflict, such as high population density, low per capita GDP, and overall unfriendly international relations, explained only a small percentage of data variability. The most promising sets of indicators for water conflict were those associated with rapid or extreme physical or institutional change within a basin (e.g., large dams or internationalization of a basin) and the key role of institutional mechanisms, such as freshwater treaties, in mitigating such conflict.     

Getting to the First Handshake: Enhancing Security by Initiating Cooperation in Transboundary River Basins

How does transboundary water cooperation begin at the initial stages, and how can third parties help to foster said cooperation? Many nations with transboundary waters do not cooperate or have ceased cooperation. Yet cooperation often prevails, resulting in 688 water‐related treaties signed from 1820 to 2007. We address the following: by which practices can development partners best design and implement cooperative projects at the state level to enhance basin water security in the earliest stages? This article identifies strategies for initiating cooperation and lessons drawn from reviewing select cases. We compiled from the Oregon State University Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database all transboundary water resources projects over the last decade with multinational participation. We selected 10 case studies that enhance water security that fit the following filtering criteria: (1) Funding exclusively/primarily from outside sources, (2) Including nonofficial stakeholders in project design/implementation, (3) Absence of formal relations around water resources between or among the riparian nations before the project was discussed, (4) Project design possibly enhancing hydropolitical relations. Findings suggest that to enhance water security, project designs should respect participating riparians' autonomies, create basin‐wide networks of scientists, allow for each partner to garner responsibility for project activities, and consult a diverse group of stakeholders.     

China’s Import of Wastes and Its Implications

The trade of wastes in the world has been increasing and China has become the largest importer of wastes. This paper examines the import trend of different wastes and finds out that the total import volume to China approved by the Chinese government keeps increasing and the illegal trade can not be banned despite repeated prohibitions; therefore, China is not only ＂a world factory＂, but actually ＂a global garbage dump＂. In order to well understand the implications of wastes import, this paper further analyzes the resource and environmental effects and risks of different wastes imports as well as the strong driving force of wastes imports. Based on these detailed analysis and solid data, policy recommendations are put forward to reduce the demand for raw materials, to further strengthen the inspection of and supervision over the international trade of the wastes that can be used as raw materials by using the life cycle analysis and risk analysis, to improve the environmental standards and strengthen the disposal capacity, to re-export the raw materials produced from the imported wastes, to develop the long-term planning for the import of wastes and to promote international cooperation.