MUNICIPAL UTILIZATION OF WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT: THE ONTARIO EXPERIENCE1

ABSTRACT: Managing the demand for municipal water supply has become a viable alternative or supplement to traditional supply management responses. Though senior governments in Canada are committed to the concept, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the level of use of the demand management concept and little promotion of water conservation. This paper assesses the extent of the use of this concept as it applies to municipal water supply across southern Ontario and examines factors that influence the variation in use of water conservation strategies. Information from 219 municipalities revealed that the concept is not in wide use in southern Ontario and that existing variation can be partially explained by the extent of problems experienced and the population size served by the municipal water supply system. Suggestions for increasing municipal use of the demand management concept are offered.     

Analysis of the Difference of the Basic Pension by Regions

Nowadays, the disparity of the basic pension in local regions of China can be described as follows: the low level of the unification of the basic pension systems, the large disparity of the level of the basic pension, and unfairness of the enterprises’ payment for the basic pension in different local regions in China. These have already brought many negative influences, which have greatly held back the development of the society and national economy. We should build the basic pension system in all local regions of China as a whole, which can cover all people and decrease the disparity in different local regions in China.     

The Economic and Environmental Outcomes of Microfinance Projects: An Indian Case Study

Microfinance projects now seek to achieve improvement in environmental quality in addition to poverty alleviation. Achievement of these goals may depend upon the economic and environmental impact of microfinance businesses. This study is a quantitative analysis of these outcomes for Ecodevelopment, an Indian microfinance project, which aims to prevent forest degradation by poverty alleviation. The study divides businesses into perishable goods, non-perishable goods, simple skills, and special skills and measures their economic outcome by two indicators, repayment percentage and continuity of businesses. The study examines the effect of loan amount on the economic outcome of businesses. To quantify the environmental outcome, it analyzes the use of firewood or fodder and release of pollutants by businesses. The results show that loan amount does not affect the economic outcome, special skills have best performance, and skills cause less pressure on forest resources. These results suggest the need for development of knowledge-intensive skills, involvement of institutions in the operations of business, and inclusive policies for protected area management.     

Governing climate change in Dutch cities: anchoring local climate strategies in organisation,policy and practical implementation

Although Dutch cities were among the forerunners in local climate policy, a systematic overview on climate mitigation and adaptation policy is still missing. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing 25 Dutch cities using indicators for the level of anchoring in policy, organisation and practical implementation as well as multi-level relations. Since Tilburg, Amsterdam, Den Haag and Rotterdam show a higher performance than other Dutch cities, these four cities are used as reference cities. The findings suggest that structural integration of climate mitigation and adaptation is limited in Dutch cities. The study points at three recent trends in local climate governance in the Netherlands: (i) decentralisation within municipal organisations, (ii) externalisation initiatives that place climate policy outside the municipal organisation and (iii) regionalisation with neighbouring municipalities and the provincial government.     

The convergence of alternative food networks within “rural development” initiatives: the case of the New Rural Reconstruction Movement in China†

Rural sociologists and geographers have conceptualised different rural development trajectories including “the agri-industrial model”, “the post-productivist model” and “the rural development model”. Alternative food networks (AFNs) are increasingly recognised as a “forerunner” and a critical component of the emerging “rural development model” in the West. Meanwhile, Marsden and Franklin [2013. Replacing neoliberalism: theoretical implications of the rise of local food movements. Local Environment, 18 (5), 636–641] pointed out that there is a “local trap” in the current conceptualisation of AFNs that overemphasises their local embeddedness and heterogeneity. This “local trap” marginalises AFNs and, therefore, hinders their potential for transforming the industrialised conventional food system. The convergence and scaling-up of fragmented AFNs have been recognised as important ways to address this marginalisation issue and thus have attracted considerable attention. However, current studies of the convergence of AFNs focus mainly on the role of food-centred organisations without recognising the role of the emerging “rural development” initiatives in the convergence of AFNs. Based on in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and analysis of secondary data, this paper uses the New Rural Reconstruction Movement (NRRM), an emerging alternative rural development movement in China, as an example to illustrate how the NRRM opens up a novel space for the convergence of AFNs. We argue that the interrelationship between AFNs and rural development is indeed reciprocal. The NRRM, following the “rural development” trajectory, functions as a hub for the convergence and scaling-up of various alternative food initiatives. Strategies for achieving convergence include constructing a “common ground” for these initiatives, establishing national alliances and organisations, sharing knowledge and exchanging personnel among them.     

长江山区航道剖面能见度分析及局地影响因素初探

为了分析三峡航道不同区域能见度基本特征,比较不同垂直剖面、沿江距离对局地能见度的影响,基于中国气象局沿江、剖面布设的12个能见度监测点近3 a观测资料,对比分析了三峡航道涪陵、万州、宜昌3组区域12个监测点的能见度时空分布特征,并对能见度的局地差异做了初步讨论。结果表明：涪陵区雾情对航运安全影响最大,万州和宜昌区其次。涪陵区和万州区雾日的月际变化趋势一致,5、6月和11、12月为大雾高发时期。不同剖面能见度的日变化分析表明早晨至上午时间为大雾高发时段,午后至傍晚前为大雾低发时段。通过能见度与局地因子的关系模型验证,三峡航道能见度局地差异大部分源于监测点的海拔高度及可能的水体影响等,同组区域内,高海拔点、临近水域点平均能见度明显偏低,雾情频次也相对较高     

农村环境治理中地方政府的职能研究

本文通过对地方政府在农村环境治理中的职能定位,以及地方政府在农村环境治理中职能失效的原因分析,依据农村环境保护的相关立法和实践,重新梳理和配置地方政府的农村环境管理职能,从而探索农村环境治理的真正出路。     

气象、本地光化学生成和外围传输对长沙市2018～2020年臭氧污染趋势变化影响的识别

针对湖南省臭氧(O₃)污染加剧但是相关的研究较为缺乏的现状,以长沙市为研究区域,基于观测数据,结合气象校正、基于经验的模型(EOF)和绝对得分受体模型(APCs),识别量化了2018～2020年气象、本地光化学生成和外围传输对O₃污染相对贡献的影响,分析了2018～2019年和2019～2020年O₃趋势变化的主控因素.结果表明,短期范围内,气象条件是O₃污染事件发生的重要诱发因素.对长沙市整体来说,在时间上,2018～2019年期间,气象和本地前体物排放影响作用的增强是O₃浓度升高的关键驱动因子.2019～2020年期间,气象、本地前体物排放和外围传输影响均呈现下降的趋势,是导致O₃浓度降低的重要影响因素.空间上,2018～2020年时间段,气象、本地前体物排放和外围传输主要影响区域分别为长沙市偏东、偏北和偏南部区域.其中,外围传输的作用持续减弱,2018～2019年期间,长沙市北部天然源排放水平的升高使得O₃浓度上升,南部区域NO...     

对及时出台新疆电磁辐射环境管理地方性法规必要性的探讨

从新疆电磁辐射环境现状出发,针对目前电磁辐射环境监管存在的问题及难点,结合我国其他省、市、自治区的地方立法情况,论述了及时出台新疆电磁辐射环境管理地方性法规的必要性.     

Imagined citizens and participation: Local Agenda 21 in two communities in Sweden and Austria

Abstract

Local Agenda 21 (LA21), which has its roots in the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, aims at fostering processes of sustainable development on a local level. In this article, we compare the LA21 processes of two cities, Helsingborg in Sweden and Vienna in Austria, to seek insight into the varying implementation approaches of common international political commitments. Our focus of analysis is on the social organisation of the two processes, the way local residents are integrated into LA21 work, and especially the political images of citizens—which we call ‘imagined citizens’—that different actor groups hold. The results of the study illustrate two almost diametrically opposed organisational forms of local sustainability governance, the Swedish process relying on a more expert-led, technocratic model of implementation and the Austrian process strongly building on deliberative forms of citizen participation.