Sustainable development: the challenge of implementation

This paper focuses on efforts to produce an operational definition of the concept of ‘sustainable development’ as articulated by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). ‘Sustainability’ has become an increasingly significant environmental issue; the problems in articulating a workable concept will differ among nations and international organizations attempting to define the term. Additionally, the term encompasses the varied fields of ecology, philosophy, and economics; every discipline imparts its own bias. Various definitions are provided and the significance and difficulty of developing an operational definition of Sustainable development is discussed. For example, sustainable development has become a ‘needs'-oriented term, an entitlement that priority should be given to the needs of the world's poor. Some argue that living standards which go beyond the basic minimum are sustainable only if consumption standards everywhere have regard for long-term sustainability. Scientifically, sustainability involves replicability and regeneration through an unforeseeable future. When prices reflect social cost and there are no externalities, optimal choices will be made between present and future consumption. Much of the debate involving sustainability involves deep-rooted fears or phobias, e.g. resource depletion, ‘energy crises’ and ‘timber crises’.     

地方政府工业用地低价出让行为经济合理性分析——基于广东省地级市层面的实证研究

以广东省为例,利用2007-2012 年地级市层面的面板数据,采用面板数据因果检验及回归分析等方法,实证分析了地方政府工业用地低价出让财政激励的内在逻辑。同时,从财务和价值两个维度,对地方政府工业用地低价出让行为的经济合理性进行了判断。研究结果表明:① 地方政府工业用地低价出让具备引资功能,通过土地要素换资本要素的方式能够获取投资的流入;② 资本净流入对地方政府税收和商住用地出让金增长具有明显的正向作用,投资引入将导致地方政府预算内、外财政收入的增长;③ 工业用地低价出让行为普遍具有财务上的合理性,并非不惜成本的非理性竞争;④ 工业用地低价出让行为不具备价值上的合理性,价值损失可视为地方政府以土地要素换资本要素这种引资竞争方式的成本。基于研究结论,论文建议为纠正地方政府工业用地低价出让行为可从两方面入手:一是调整中央-地方政府间的财权-事权结构;二是改变以财政收入增速的相对绩效为重点的政绩考核方式。     

POLICY OBJECTWES AND ECONOMIC INCENTWES FOR CONTROLLING AGRICULTURAL SOURCES OF NONPOINT POLLUTION1

In this paper, we review the physical characteristics of agricultural non point pollution and discuss the implications for setting appropriate pollution control objectives and designing incentive-based pollution control policies. First, we discuss that policy objectives must be designed carefully to ensure positive economic net benefits can be expected from pollution control. Next, we review several classes of incentives and recommend the use of design-based incentives (i.e., incentives based on variable input use, management practices, and land use) for controlling non point pollution. Cost-effectiveness requires that incentives elicit three types of responses from farmers: (1) use variable inputs at appropriate levels, (2) adopt appropriate management practices, and (3) make appropriate land use decisions at the extensive margin of production. If a set of incentives fails to induce the correct responses, the resulting runoff levels and hence ambient pollution levels and damages will be too large relative to policy goals. A review of existing programs suggests that greater program coordination and improved targeting of incentives are needed for further water quality improvements. Alternatively, properly designed market-based systems may be effective alternatives. These systems would reduce overall pollution control costs by allowing markets to allocate point source and non point source control costs more efficiently.     

PROTECTING BEIJLNG'S MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY THROUGH WATERSHED MANAGEMEN AN ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT1

ABSTRACT: Watersheds above the Miyun reservoir, a principal source of surface water for Beijing, are designated to be managed for water production, but under the principle of multiple use. Because of the scarcity of arable land, these watersheds cannot be managed only for drinking water. Efforts are under way to reduce sediment delivery, improve the quality of water entering Miyun reservoir, and improve the welfare of watershed inhabitants. An economic appraisal of a watershed management project for the 3,298‐ha Shixia watershed above the Miyun reservoir, indicates a 24 percent economic rate of return on the investment made in the project. The net present value (NPV) of the project, calculated at a discount rate of 10 percent, is approximately US$3.49 million. Sensitivity analyses indicate that a doubling of labor costs lowers the NPV to US$2.07 million and a 10 percent decrease in benefits lowered the NPV to US$2.87. It is concluded that the implementation of conservation practices on the Shixia Demonstration Watershed represent an economically efficient use of resources.     

生态环境对经济系统贡献的相对价值评估研究

用经济价值度量单位定量评估生态环境对经济社会的贡献,使之便于与普通经济要素比较,从而促进资源和环境利用方式符合可持续发展要求,是通过交叉学科研究生态环境问题的一个基本目标. 然而,目前的评估研究多从微观支付意愿出发直接估算区域乃至国家尺度上的生态系统服务价值总量,省略了利益相关者群体的中间规模层次,因此限制了这些评价对于可持续发展的理论和政策分析的参考意义. 本文从一般意义上探讨了准公共品类型环境产品和服务的潜在供需的构成和对应函数,概述了通过市场模拟估算其价值的环境经济学逻辑,并讨论了不完善模型和数据支持下评价的相对有效性,以及这种相对经济价值评估的理论和实践意义.     

城乡污染转移的利益悖论及对策研究

污染从城市向农村的转移加剧了农村生态环境问题,已经成为制约农村经济发展的主要瓶颈之一。城乡污染转移是城乡经济主体为实现自身利益相互博弈的结果,本质是一个政治经济学问题。本文利用政治经济学研究方法,分别剖析了城乡家庭、企业和政府的利益诉求及其在污染问题中的行为选择,解释了城乡污染转移的可能性和必然性,在此基础上进一步研究了污染转移所导致的利益悖论,并对悖论形成的深层原因进行挖掘,进而提出城乡污染协同治理的政策建议。研究表明,城乡污染转移表面上看是经济主体利益最大化的理性选择:农村家庭受经济发展水平、信息获取能力和政策影响能力的限制,更注重短期经济利益而忽略长期环境利益;乡镇企业和污染企业对经济利益的追逐加快了城乡污染转移;地方政府为实现当地区域利益所采取的重城市轻乡村战略和政府之间的利益冲突也为污染转移提供了助力。事实上,城乡污染转移违背了经济发展的一般规律,形成污染转移的利益悖论:转移到农村的污染危害农业生产、进而损害城乡人力资本,有悖于长期经济增长;加剧农村生态资源退化、扩大城乡差距,有悖于区域协调发展;污染转移是城市对农村、当代人对后代人环境容量的剥削,有悖于环境的公平。认为:经济主体长期利益和短期利益的矛盾、城乡区域利益和整体利益的冲突以及制度供给不足和制度监管缺位是造成污染转移悖论的深层原因。在此基础上,提出了化解污染转移悖论的对策建议:统筹规划,实现长期利益和短期利益的统一;整合城乡,促进区域利益和整体利益协同;强化制度创新,完善制度供给;完善制度监管,提高执行效率;促进技术创新,减少污染排放。     

Buy Me a River: Purchasing Water Rights to Restore River Flows in the Western USA

In recent decades, public and private environmental entities have been purchasing or leasing water rights across the Western United States (U.S.) in efforts to restore river flows and aquatic ecosystems. The need to pay for flow restoration arises from the fact that state governments did not begin to reserve water for instream purposes until the 1970s, long after water rights had become over‐appropriated and flows were substantially depleted in most rivers. As a consequence, flow depletion has become the leading cause of fish endangerment in the U.S., including the imperilment of two‐thirds of all native fish species in the Colorado River system. This paper takes stock of the progress made in buying water for the environment, specifically by reviewing and analyzing more than 50 transactions executed by public and private entities and the sources of funding underpinning these transactions. We conclude that nongovernmental actors — such as environmental organizations and state water trusts — are integral to regional efforts to restore river flows; these nongovernmental actors executed more than two‐thirds of the transactions we documented. However, we also conclude that the long‐term success of these nongovernmental actors depends upon the availability of sustained public funding that enables them to build capacity and engage in the large number of transactions needed to restore flows across each state.     

A City Wide Assessment of the Financial Benefits of Rainwater Harvesting in Mexico City

We assess the potential financial benefits of rooftop rainwater harvesting (RWH) in Mexico City from the perspective of property owners and entrepreneurs. A bottom‐up approach was followed by evaluating RWH at individual buildings and aggregating the results to a borough/city level. We consider sector‐specific water demands, potable and nonpotable uses, and user‐specific water tariffs. We find that RWH is economically most beneficial for nondomestic users rather than for small domestic users, who are often the target of RWH interventions. Based on a net present value analysis, a potable RWH system is not favored for most domestic users under the current subsidized municipal water tariff structure. Our analysis only considers capital and maintenance expenses, and not other benefits related to increased access to water and reliability, or social benefits from a switch to a RWH system. If the initial capital expense for RWH is partly financed by transferring the water subsidy to an entrepreneur, then RWH becomes financially attractive for a wide range of domestic users. To improve water access in Mexico City, RWH is attractive in the most marginalized boroughs where water use is currently lower and precipitation is higher. For domestic users relying on trucked water, RWH can have great financial benefits. Our approach provides quantitative data with high spatial specificity, highlighting the places and types of users that would benefit most from RWH.     

排污税能够提高环境质量吗

排污收费制度是我国主要的环境政策工具之一。然而,自1982年这一制度正式建立实施以来,经过2003年的制度改良,始终未能解决征收成本高、使用效率低、寻租行为盛行的问题,这一系列的问题导致该制度的减排效果不佳。因此,近年来,排污费改排污税的改革提上议事日程。这一改革是否能够收到设计者们预期的效果?为从理论上回答这些问题,从中国现实出发,借鉴环境库兹涅茨曲线的研究方法,通过设计一个包含政府征收排污税行为和政府污染治理技术投资行为的经济系统,考察动态条件下排污税对环境质量的长期影响,以及征收排污税对厂商行为和消费者行为的长期影响。根据本文的分析,单一的征收排污税并不一定能够改善环境质量,不一定能够促进环境库兹涅茨曲线拐点的出现,也不能减少企业污染物排放;同时,排污税降低了资本积累速度和经济增长速度,但对消费者消费路径的影响是不明确的。最后,本文建议,政府应投资于污染治理技术的改进能够持续的减少最终污染物排放,达到改善环境质量的目的。     

Valuing Improvements in The Water Rights System in South Africa: A Contingent Ranking Approach1

Speelman, Stijn, Stefano Farolfi, Aymen Frija, and Guido Van Huylenbroeck, 2010. Valuing Improvements in the Water Rights System in South Africa: A Contingent Ranking Approach. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(6):1133–1144. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00480.x Abstract: In the context of increasing water scarcity, understanding is growing that irrigation water rights are important and that a lack of an effective water rights system constitutes a major reason for inefficient water management. This study carried out a contingent ranking experiment to study how smallholder irrigators in South Africa would value potential changes in water rights. Three specific dimensions of water rights, relevant for the South African case, are considered: duration, quality of title, and transferability. Results indicate that smallholder irrigators are prepared to pay considerably higher water prices if improvements are made in the water rights system. This implies that the proposed interventions in the water rights system would improve the efficiency and productivity of the small-scale irrigation sector. The increased willingness to pay could furthermore also assist the South African government to reach the objective of increased cost recovery.