Environmental impact assessment of infrastructure projects: a governance perspective

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been promoted as an instrument for preventive environmental management in construction projects, but its performance in safeguarding the environment through influencing project decision-making is questioned. This paper probes the underlying reasons from a governance perspective as an important supplement to the regulatory and technical perspectives. A framework, with process integration, professional governance, and public engagement being its key components, is proposed to analyze the governance arrangements that enable or inhibit the effective functioning of EIA, based on which a comparative study of three infrastructure projects in China, the United States and Finland was conducted. The results reveal that, while the level of process integration and public engagement of EIA determines the degree to which EIA influences project decisions, it is the professional governance that controls the accountability of EIA. The paper has implications on institutionally where efforts should be directed to improve the performance of EIA.     

Management of mountain areas in Norway and the persistence of local–national conflicts

We have investigated why conflicts linked to the distribution of power between governments and actors at the national and local levels concerning environmental management of mountain areas in Norway persist despite political intentions to strengthen local powers. We seek to explain this by analysing changes in policies, institutional frameworks, and regional contexts, and the local perceptions of these changes. Paradoxically, the national government's power has apparently been strengthened by new sectoral regulations and more stringent enforcement of the existing ones, increases in the number and extent of protected areas, and failures to act on intentions to devolve power. An additional factor spurring conflicts is the increased importance of tourism to mountain communities. To become more relevant to policies and development in mountain areas, future studies on multilevel governance must address multilevel politics, entire mountain areas, and the context of their development, rather than focusing on minor projects and protected areas.     

Bridging conceptual “silos”: bringing together health promotion and sustainability governance for practitioners at the landscape scale

Environmental health issues are examples of “wicked problems” that require cross-sectoral collaboration at the community level, yet health practitioners and environmental stakeholders find it challenging to see how and why they could be working together. Supportive organisations have been identified as the most vital enabler for individual professionals to participate actively in cross-sectoral initiatives. Ability to justify inter-professional cooperation makes it easier for practitioners to gain the necessary approvals within their institutional mandates. This paper introduces a new conceptual framework that bridges health promotion and sustainability governance to facilitate practical cross-sectoral collaboration that targets complex health-related environmental and social-ecological challenges. The proposed framework integrates six concrete overlapping themes linking health promotion and sustainability governance. The framework also highlights examples of areas where the fields could benefit from one another. Moreover, children's environmental health is proposed as a desirable overall outcome and an attractive venue for potential collaboration, because of its critical role in the public health and well-being of future generations. As a determinant of adult health, children's environmental health emphasises the vital interdependencies between health and the environment.     

Getting low-carbon governance right: learning from actors involved in Community Benefits

Interest in Community Benefits (CB) has increased over the past decade mainly due to the growing number of wind farms and related criticism. Because CB are a voluntary gesture by the developer, there is no standard practice or institutionalised approach for good governance of the benefits; every community has a different approach, tailored to local needs and depending on the stakeholders involved. Additionally, since CB are a rapidly emerging practice, little is known about their governance, what actors are involved and how affected communities participate in decision-making on renewable projects. Using the Farr wind farm in Scotland, one of the first to introduce CB, as a case study, this paper sheds light on the governance structures surrounding the set-up, management and allocation of funds. It also contributes to the emerging body of work regarding transparency and community participation in CB, and the extent to which these might facilitate a transition to a low-carbon future.     

The Role of Faith-based Organizations in Environmental Governance: the Case of Forestry in Solomon Islands

Faith-based organizations (FBOs) have played a significant role in environment-related forms of development and governance in Melanesia, including the Solomon Islands. Yet despite their centrality, there remain significant gaps in understandings of processes and outcomes associated with FBO engagement in environment-related development interventions. This paper addresses this gap by analysing the place of the Christian Fellowship Church (CFC), an indigenous FBO active in plantation forestry (and other activities) in the Western Province in the Solomon Islands. We find that the CFC possesses impressive income-generating potential and political networks; however this does not always translate into positive social, economic or environmental outcomes at the village level. While FBOs such as CFC are often championed as playing an important role in environmental governance in an under-resourced nation state, the reality is that they can fall well short in delivering appropriate outcomes for poor communities or the environment despite, and because of, their close ties to target communities.     

Implementing the EU Water Framework Directive in Norway: Bridging the Gap Between Water Management Networks and Elected Councils?

To handle the challenge of complex cross-sector and multilevel coordination in the implementation of the European Union Water Framework Directive, Norway has established multilevel governance networks. Observers have pointed to a risk of such governance arrangements being dominated by experts. This article studies the highly complex multilevel governance networks of water management in Norway, and unveils the importance of political anchorage of such governance networks at local and regional levels. The study finds evidence that political anchorage matters for further network achievements. Because the water governance networks are subordinated to the hierarchy of government, they need to ‘talk to' the system of hierarchical government in order to be effective. In this regard, it seems crucial that networks are politically anchored. Furthermore, the study unveils the important role of political leadership and network managers in ensuring political anchorage.     

联合国环境大会与全球环境治理

本文从议程设定、议题综合度、参与度及机构设置等方面对三次联合国全球环境大会的绩效进行考察,认为1992年环境与发展大会绩效最高,1972年人类环境会议次之,2002年世界可持续发展峰会最低.这也折射出"后约翰内斯堡时代"环境治理的艰巨性,主要表现在国际条约执行难、某些国家政治意愿的缺失及国际社会的"绿色疲惫"等方面.     

钢铁企业大气污染环保提升技术措施

针对2015年1月1日新《中华人民共和国环境保护法》和钢铁排放系列新标准(2012版)实施的新形势,指出了钢铁企业面临的五大考验,分析了大气污染物治理的技术现状,提出实现钢铁工业大气污染环保提升的技术措施。     

非营利性组织发展与我国政府治理

本文从非营利性组织与政府治理的关系出发,分析了非营利性组织在政府治理中的积极作用,并通过对非营利性组织存在的若干问题,提出了在完善我国政府治理过程中发展非营利性组织的政策建议。