长江经济带土地开发均衡度及限度评价研究

基于长江经济带11个省市2005~2015年土地变更调查数据,从土地开发均衡度和土地开发限度两方面对该地区的土地开发强度进行综合评价。研究表明:(1)长江经济带各省市土地均衡度呈现两极分化,东部和西部地区土地开发失衡,中部地区土地开发相对均衡;(2)长江经济带整体土地开发限度为5.58%,11省市均超过或临近极限值,未来需建立集约型土地开发模式;(3)长江经济带不同地区的土地开发强度差异显著,呈现出下游高上游低,东部高集聚的空间格局。因此,应参考各省市土地开发限度对规划进行修编;增强土地供给能力,为建设用地紧张地区挖掘新的开发潜力;建立跨区域的土地开发体制等,通过完善政策法规促进土地的合理开发利用。     

Evaluating the eco-environment benefit of land reclamation in the dump of an opencast coal mine

Land reclamation significantly affects the ecological and environmental conditions of mining areas. However, quantifying the exact effects is difficult because of the lack of reliable data. The estimation of eco-environment benefit contributes to clarify the ecological and environmental changes caused by land reclamation and to provide useful information for policy-makers concerned with sustainable development. The aim of this study is to investigate variations in eco-environment benefit in response to land use changes during land reclamation. The West dump, one of the earliest regions to implement ecological restoration in Liaoning Province, is selected as the study area. The widely used methods for eco-environment benefits based on the land use change were proposed and applied to the West dump in 2004, 2009, and 2014. The total eco-environment benefits in study areas were 0.98 million dollars in 2004, 1.39 million dollars in 2009, and 1.43 million dollars in 2014, with an increase of 0.41 million dollars from 2004 to 2009 mainly because of the increasing areas of artificial woodland and reclaimed cropland. The combined eco-environment benefits of artificial woodland, improved grassland, and reclaimed cropland were over 90% of the total benefits. Soil formation and protection, biodiversity protection, and gas regulation were the top three functions with high eco-environment benefits, contributing about half of the total eco-environment benefits. The results suggest that future studies estimating eco-environment benefits should pay more attention to ecosystems in fragile ecological regions where various human interferences happen frequently. All of the abovementioned results made the techniques of estimation of the eco-environment benefit of land reclamation are more meaningful in guiding the future exploitation and reclamation of mining areas.     

Ecosystem services in infrastructure planning – a case study of the projected deepening of the Lower Weser river in Germany

We consider how ecosystem services can be incorporated into water infrastructure planning by studying the projected deepening of the Lower Weser river channel in Germany. We recalculate the project's benefit–cost ratio by integrating the monetary value of changes in different ecosystem services, as follows: (1) the restoration costs of a mitigation measure for a loss in fresh water supply for agricultural production in the estuary region, (2) the costs of a loss in habitat services, transferring the willingness to pay from a contingent valuation study to the area assessed in the environmental impact assessment, and (3) the benefits of emissions savings induced by more efficient shipping, taking a marginal abatement cost approach. We find that including monetary values for ecosystem service changes leads to a substantial drop in the benefit–cost ratio. On this basis, we argue for a reform of the standard cost–benefit analysis to facilitate more complete welfare assessments.     

Reducing carbon emissions in Portugal: the relative roles of fossil fuel prices,energy efficiency,and carbon taxation

We assess the role of fossil fuel prices, energy efficiency, and carbon taxation in achieving climate policy goals using a dynamic general-equilibrium model of the Portuguese economy. Given the forecasts for international fossil fuel prices, improving energy efficiency and implementing a new carbon tax have significantly different economic and budgetary effects. Greater energy efficiency reduces emissions and has a positive economic effect, but increases public and foreign debt. A carbon tax reduces emissions at a cost for the economy, but leads to positive effects on public and foreign debt. Thus, it is important to pursue both strategies. We estimate that under the reference-price scenario, a steady energy efficiency gain of 2%–2.5% per year and a carbon tax of at least 35 € per tCO₂ are needed to achieve the stated goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 by an amount equivalent to 40% of the emissions in 1990. These views were fully integrated in a proposal presented by the Commission for Environmental Tax Reform to the Portuguese Government in September 2014, and then discussed in Parliament in November 2014, before enacting a new carbon tax on 1 January 2015.     

Unexpected threat from conservation to endangered species: reflections from the front-line staff on sea turtle conservation

This study described the paradox created by the efforts of a conservation organization, which caused an emerging threat to the survival of an endangered species, as well as proposed recommendations to mitigate this paradox. In-depth interviews were conducted to investigate the problems encountered during the implementation of conservation practices by green sea turtle conservation workers (volunteers) in Lanyu, Taiwan. The staff believed that the implementation of the green sea turtle conservation measures violated the traditional cultural beliefs of the local residents (Tao/Yami ethnic group), which caused resentment by the residents towards the organization. Consequently, the residents did not cooperate with the organization and even discouraged conservation activities. In addition, green sea turtle ecotourism promoted by the conservation organization in recent years violated local customs of not having contact with green sea turtles or entering their habitats.     

An Open Source GIS‐Based Decision Support System for Watershed Evaluation of Best Management Practices

Economic costs, water quantity/quality benefits, and cost effectiveness of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) at a watershed scale are increasingly examined using integrated economic‐hydrologic models. However, these models are typically complex and not user‐friendly for examining the effects of various BMP scenarios. In this study, an open source geographic information system (GIS)‐based decision support system (DSS), named the watershed evaluation of BMPs (WEBs), was developed for creating BMP scenarios and simulating economic costs and water quantity/quality benefits at farm field, subbasin, and watershed scales. This DSS or WEBs interface integrated a farm economic model, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), and an optimization model within Whitebox Geospatial Analysis Tools (GAT), an open source GIS software. The DSS was applied to the 14.3‐km² Gully Creek watershed, a coastal watershed in southern Ontario, Canada that drains directly into Lake Huron. BMPs that were evaluated included conservation tillage, nutrient management, cover crop, and water and sediment control basins. In addition to assessing economic costs, water quantity/quality benefits, and cost effectiveness of BMPs, the DSS can be also used to examine prioritized BMP types/locations and corresponding economic and water quantity/quality tradeoffs in the study watershed based on environmental targets or budget constraints. Further developments of the DSS including interface transfer to other watersheds are also discussed. Editor's note : This paper is part of the featured series on SWAT Applications for Emerging Hydrologic and Water Quality Challenges. See the February 2017 issue for the introduction and background to the series.     

“It's easy to throw rocks at a corporation”: wind energy development and distributive justice in Canada

In places like Canada, fast-paced wind turbine development combined with policy that limits local decision-making power has resulted in strong opposition to specific projects. Some studies suggest that anti-wind sentiment is tied to inadequate financial benefits – especially sharing at the local level. Thus, ideas of distributive economic justice have received traction, particularly in the form of praise for community-based development models. This paper reports on the findings from a mixed-methods study concerning preferred distributive justice elements in rural communities in Ontario (technocratic-based model) and Nova Scotia (community-based model) living with turbines. Residents’ perceptions of economic benefits are nuanced, but unlike other studies, this empirical work shows that both the fair distribution and the amount of local benefits are important predictors of project support. Yet, concerns around the fair distribution of benefits dominate in a regression on the adequacy of those benefits. A variety of interview and survey findings further point to the strength of traditional, profit-sharing community-based models for distributing benefits, but also more novel ideas including lowered electricity bills and tax rebates in areas home to turbines.     

浅议突发环境事件直接经济损失评估工作方法

直接经济损失评估作为确定突发环境事件级别、事故追责、刑事判罚、行政处罚的重要依据,是突发环境事件环境损害评估的一项重要工作内容。由于工作起步较晚,它目前存在缺少规范有效的工作制度、缺少工作标准依据和工作细则等问题,给评估工作造成困难。本文结合实际工作经验,讨论评估工作程序和基本方法,包括基础数据收集方法、数据整理方法、数据审核原则以及财产和生态损害评估的量化原则,设计出一套数据调查和整理表格,提出了设备、材料、人工、行政等费用的具体审核标准,并对直接经济损失评估工作的开展提出对策建议。     

安徽省经济发展与生态环境耦合协调评价与趋势预测

本文遵循客观、科学、综合原则,运用熵值赋权法,对经济与生态环境系统进行了评价;采用动态耦合模型及剪刀差分析方法对经济发展与生态环境系统耦合协调状况进行了考察;借助Excel 2003软件,通过作散点图,比较拟合优度分析方法,对两者的协调前景进行了预测。结果表明:①经济发展与生态环境系统综合指数分别由2005年的0.2934、0.4198跃升至2015年的0.6236、0.4198,经济发展系统升幅明显高于生态环境系统。②2005—2015年,经济发展与生态环境系统动态耦合度均值为-6.95°,整体处于由低级协调向协调演进状态,而两者间演化速度夹角由2005年的18.56°扩展至2015年的82.4°。③若按既有惯性发展模式,2020年经济发展与生态环境系统耦合度将达155.74°,预期处于极限发展状态。基于研究结果,本文提出了相应的应对策略,可为新常态下安徽省制定经济与生态文明融动发展政策提供决策参考。     

关于构建企业环境守法引导机制框架的思考

当前我国经济发展步入新常态阶段,经济发展速度减慢,部分企业资金缩紧,难免出现逃避监管、偷排漏排等现象。在这种形势下,只有转变对企业的传统监管模式,从单纯的行政执法向行政执法与守法激励相结合模式转变,建立企业环境守法引导机制,才能更好、更快地促进企业自觉调整结构,创新技术,发展绿色产业,从而实现环境效益、经济效益和社会效益共赢。本研究基于环境规制、利益相关者以及企业社会责任等理论基础,提出构建企业环境守法引导机制的基本框架由行政监管、经济激励、企业自律和社会监督等四个方面构成,并分析目前我国企业环境守法引导机制建设存在不完善问题,建议从完善行政监管执法机制、健全经济激励政策、加强企业环保意识培养、完善社会监督机制等方面间接和直接引导企业环境守法。