Investment and the Policy Process in Conservation Monitoring

Despite decades of discussion and implementation, conservation monitoring remains a challenge. Many current solutions in the literature focus on improving the science or making more structured decisions. These insights are important but incomplete in accounting for the politics and economics of the conservation decisions informed by monitoring. Our novel depiction of the monitoring enterprise unifies insights from multiple disciplines (conservation, operations research, economics, and policy) and highlights many underappreciated factors that affect the expected benefits of monitoring. For example, there must be a strong link between the specific needs of decision makers and information gathering. Furthermore, the involvement of stakeholders other than scientists and research managers means that new information may not be interpreted and acted upon as expected. While answering calls for sharply delineated objectives will clearly add focus to monitoring efforts, for practical reasons, high‐level goals may purposefully be left vague, to facilitate other necessary steps in the policy process. We use the expanded depiction of the monitoring process to highlight problems of cooperation and conflict. We critique calls to invest in monitoring for the greater good by arguing that incentives are typically lacking. Although the benefits of learning accrued within a project (e.g., improving management) provide incentives for investing in some monitoring, it is unrealistic, in general, to expect managers to add potentially costly measures to generate shared benefits. In the traditional linear model of the role of science in policy decisions, monitoring reduces uncertainty and decision makers are rational, unbiased consumers of the science. However, conservation actions increasingly involve social conflict. Drawing insights from political science, we argue that in high‐conflict situations, it is necessary to address the conflict prior to monitoring. Las Inversiones y el Proceso de Políticas en el Monitoreo de la Conservación Sanchirico et al.     

跨国农业土地权属交易及相关国际规则制定动向

持续的农业投资是确保世界粮食安全的根本措施。随着全球粮价走高,农业投资再次升温,与此伴随的跨国土地权属交易以及相应国际规则的制定问题成为全球粮食安全治理的重大问题。本文通过分析跨国农业土地权属交易现状和相关国际规则的制定动向来洞察跨国农业投资的最新动态,为中国参与国际农业经济活动提供参考依据。研究显示,在新一轮的农业投资热潮中,投资主体依然是美国、欧盟和日本等传统农业投资国,新兴国家的投资规模较小但却备受国际社会关注。新的投资活动中出现了一些侵害当地居民土地权属权利的现象,跨国农业土地权属交易面临诸多争议。为了促进农业投资的有序进行,以联合国粮农组织为核心的国际机构着力进行农业土地权属治理和交易规则的制定,并在经过长时间的国际磋商之后形成了《国家粮食安全范围内土地、渔业及森林权属负责任治理自愿准则》。另外一部相关规则《促进农业和粮食系统负责任投资原则》还在磋商之中。两套规则解决的是一个问题的两个方面,前一个针对的是国内土地权属治理的制度安排,后一个则针对具体的农业投资活动。其目标都是要强化发展中国家的土地权属治理,保护农民尤其是小规模农户的权属权利,以实现更为全面的粮食安全。新的土地权属交易国际规则的出台抬高了农业投资的准入门槛,但也为农业投资营造更为良好的制度和法律环境,降低农业投资的不确定性。在此背景下,中国农业企业"走出去"要做出适当调整,以顺应新的投资环境。     

论中国再生资源与国际大循环关联研究

中国制造和出口大国的地位,使得大量的资源随着产品流向国外,形成了资源外流的常态。原生资源的严重枯竭,更是雪上加霜,仅出不进,中国工业必然严重失血。另一方面,发达国家工业化起步早,经济发展速度快,生活消费长期处于高水平,因而消耗了大量资源,同时产生大量废弃物资。因此,积极开辟国际再生资源渠道,使再生资源产业走向国际大循环,有序开展进口再生资源园区运营,加强国际科技与智力合作,是新时期循环经济建设的需要。     

对外开放背景下中国粮食安全形势研判与战略选择

中美地缘政治竞争加剧,新冠肺炎疫情、极端天气气候等不确定性事件频发,依托两种资源两个市场的国家粮食安全策略面临新的挑战。结合统计数据与文献观点,分析了新时期中国粮食安全面临的主要问题,研究了农业开放保障粮食安全的主要效用,探索了扩大对外开放背景下我国粮食安全的保障思路。结果表明：（1）中国粮食安全取得了显著成就,但也存在粮食供应的经济与资源环境代价巨大、粮食稳定供应与获取的风险加大等问题,需要在开放条件下创新粮食安全实现路径。（2）农业对外开放可影响粮食供应、获取、利用与稳定性,当前对外开放促进了国家粮食供应,但尚未实现稳定的食物安全、有竞争力的食物安全。农业对外开放仍有广泛的互惠共赢基础,同时也面临更大的不确定性,考验我国粮食领域应对全球化“危”“机”的治理能力。（3）国家粮食安全治理对于保障粮食安全至关重要,建议采取凸显产能的粮食自给战略、全产业链的食物安全战略与高水平的农业对外开放战略,确保粮食安全落实落地。     

国际贸易“碳中和”研究热点领域及其动向

碳中和是世界各国面临的共同问题。经济全球化与贸易自由化背景下国际贸易总量快速增长,伴随着深度国际分工与产业转移,贸易产品的生产者与消费者在陆表形成严重的空间位移。利用文献计量软件CiteSpace分析国际贸易主题下碳中和相关文献,揭示国际贸易“碳中和”研究动向。研究发现：（1）温室气体在全球范围时空演变,使跨区域、多尺度的全球碳治理变得更加复杂,发达国家将高污染与低价值链产业转移至各发展中国家,以生产者责任划分的碳核算原则不再适用于国际贸易合作。（2）进出口贸易逐渐成为新兴经济体经济发展动力,全球碳治理应转向新兴经济体与区域一体化,全球气候政策设计应遵守国际碳市场公平性底线,不断优化碳排放量核算体系,完善碳会计方法,模拟全球碳减排预期效果。重点提高产业部门碳减排意识和产业清洁技术及能源利用效率,利用多种手段改变生态系统的增汇减碳能力。新兴经济体在承接发达国家技术援助同时,应重点关注本国能源产业,发展可再生能源产业,提高能源的利用效率,并运用经济政策与金融工具促进本国的气候变化投融资产业发展。全球碳治理应更加注重公平性与国家间的经济发展、环境资源差异,利用多样的碳治理工具与协商合作方式,促使更多国家参与全球化或区域一体化的碳治理模式。（3）中国亟待通过国内多产业、多部门的增汇减排与国际碳减排、碳中和实践,健全碳市场机制,提高碳治理水平,为国际碳治理合作提供“最大公约数”。     

澜湄水资源合作机制

水资源合作是澜湄合作的五大优先方向,是各国重点打造的旗舰领域。本文分析了澜沧江—湄公河流域现有水资源合作机制的现状,梳理了澜湄水资源合作机制的框架和合作进展,并在此基础上归纳总结了澜湄水资源合作机制合作层次高、领域广、全流域参与等优势。结合澜湄水资源合作机制现阶段合作情况,提出加强水资源工作组与其他工作组沟通协调,设立专项水资源行动计划专项基金和加强澜湄水资源合作智库建设,完善和加强澜湄合作机制,发挥新型平台作用的几点建议。     

The Making of Local Agenda 21: An interview with Jeb Brugmann

In the overlaps between the academic and policy fields of disability and the environment lie a myriad of issues, both complementary and conflicting, which have to date received little attention. This paper aims to draw together the small amount of literature – both academic and non-academic – which has addressed such issues and begins to map both the nature and extent of the overlaps. It discusses key themes that have emerged from the literature analysed and points to a number of areas and issues which may well benefit from further research. In particular, it highlights the invisibility of disabled people, and the consequences which arise, in many areas of environmental concern.     

“Community in Bloom”: local participation of community gardens in urban Singapore

Community gardens offer a space that allows facilitation of leisure activities, encourages interaction within different factions in a community and helps forge a sense of belonging towards the overall community. Using the case study of “Community in Bloom” (CIB) programme initiated by the National Parks Board of Singapore, this article highlights how such community gardens are also viewed by some as exclusionary spaces due to their close links with government apparatus. More broadly, it argues that a constrained civic activism not only affects the extent to which these gardens can forge communal bonds, but they also challenge their integral spirit. Despite promising signs of politically opening up in the early 2000s, the soft authoritarianism of the Singaporean state continues to be wary of non-governmental sanctioned community projects and civic activism. This attitude may prove to be resilient in the foreseeable future, thereby preventing the “CIB” programme from truly blossoming.     

气候变化国际谈判进展及其核心问题

本文简要介绍了目前对气候变化问题的科学认识及其可能产生的影响以及气候变化国际谈判的进展情况 ,分析气候变化问题背后蕴含的政治、经济、科技、环境和外交斗争 ,概要阐述气候变化问题的本质。     

国际投资风险防范分析与策略

国际投风险的防范是国际投资中一个十分重要的问题。本文分析了国际投资风险的内涵，论述了国际投资风险分析的主要内容，指出了国际投资风险防范的基本策略和投资者风险自我防范策略。