Securing our energy future: three international perspectives on microgrids and distributed renewables as a path toward resilient communities

ABSTRACT

This paper will examine three diverse microgrid cases in the US, Canada, and the European Union. The paper will explore how microgrids can help build resilient communities, facilitate distributed renewable energy, and ultimately lead to a secure energy future. The cases will include both urban and remote settings and compare the social, legal, and policy lessons learned from these cases to advance microgrid policy for long-term community resilience.     

On the amount of counterpart assistance to be provided after natural disasters: from the perspective of indirect economic loss assessment

China’s counterpart assistance policy is of vital importance in providing guidance for emergency management and post-disaster reconstruction. However, the amount of assistance that partner provinces should provide as well as the criteria that partners should abide by in offering counterpart assistance remain a main challenge. The goal of this research is to fill this gap by proposing a new framework consisting of an interregional input–output (IRIO) model and a resilience index. Subsequently, the indirect economic loss is obtained by utilizing the index system of provincial economic resilience assessments, with measures of indirect economic loss developed from the IRIO. Furthermore, to examine the internal validity and systematic error, the reliability of the adopted models, the calculation methods, and the index systems are investigated. To assess the external validity of the proposed measures and resilience index of the framework, data from the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake are applied for estimating parameter values of the framework, and a follow-up investigation was conducted for examining the fairness and enhanced effectiveness of the new counterpart assistance criteria. In summary, this paper attempts to present some new ideas about the analysis of economic motivations of mutual aid and the improvement of the counterpart assistance policy.     

基于社会生态系统视角的长三角地级城市韧性度评价

为提升城市应对重大冲击和慢性压力的能力,提高城市的抗打击能力与恢复能力,以及城市对抗不确定风险的韧性程度,本文结合现实背景,以城市社会生态系统的视角,对2014年长三角地区16个地级城市韧性进行实证分析。采用GIS的空间分析和叠加功能方法,从生态环境、市政设施、经济和社会发展4个方面选取24个具体指标,对长三角地区16个地级城市韧性程度及其空间状态做出评价,并确定测度标准值。首先对构成城市韧性的4个因子:生态、市政设施工程、经济以及社会发展进行分析和数字化,得出各因子对城市韧性影响程度的栅格图层;其次对图层进行空间叠加,再得到长三角地区地级城市韧性度评价图。评价结果表明:(1)长三角地级城市韧性呈现"级差化"分布状态,总体呈现出中等韧性状态;(2)长三角地级城市韧性空间分异特征显著,其北翼城市比南翼城市韧性程度较高;(3)长三角地级城市经济、生态韧性在空间分布上相对集中,趋向协调均衡发展。通过城市韧性度分析,认为评价结果基本符合近年来长三角地区城市韧性发展的整体状况,可以在一定程度上增强城市社会生态系统对外界风险的适应能力,并在今后的城市发展调适过程中更具韧性,从而对不同时空尺度的城市韧性状态评价提供一种思路。     

Household-level preferences for mitigation of Prosopis juliflora invasion in the Afar region of Ethiopia: a contingent valuation

Prosopis juliflora, which is an alien tree species in Ethiopia, has invaded over 360,500 ha of land in the Afar region of the country and is threatening pastoral livelihoods. We conducted a contingent valuation study to assess rural households’ willingness to contribute in cash and labor to mitigate P. juliflora invasion in three districts of Afar. Results show that about 84% of the respondents prefer an intervention involving complete eradication of P. juliflora. The lower and upper bound median willingness to contribute to this intervention were 9.97 and 13.42 USD/household/year in cash and 30 and 43 days/household/year in labor. Off-farm income and P. juliflora invasion levels on pasturelands are among the factors affecting willingness to contribute to the mitigation of P. juliflora invasion. Incentives to local people and having a proper institutional setup that involves local culture and institutions are important for mobilizing people on a voluntary basis for mitigation of P. juliflora invasion.     

Comparative assessment of vulnerability of smallholder livestock farmers to climate change in North-West Ghana

ABSTRACT

This study examined the vulnerability of smallholder livestock farmers in North-West Ghana to climate change using data obtained from 200 livestock farmers obtained through the administration of a semi-structured questionnaire. The Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) approach was used to examine the levels of vulnerability. The study compared the vulnerability between the Nandom district and the Lawra district. The empirical results revealed that livestock farmers are more vulnerable to climatic extremes in the Nandom district than the Lawra district. The study highlights the critical role of the government regarding education and construction of water resources, among others.     

关于秦皇岛市科学发展中若干重要问题的探讨

按照国家统计局标准,秦皇岛市城市规模已达到大城市标准,应充分发挥辐射带动作用,加快城镇化步伐;抓住城市发展综合效益最佳期的机遇,促进可持续发展;坚持产业结构多元化,各产业协调发展。秦皇岛市生产总值在河北省属中上水平,在沿海开放城市中属落后水平,应尽快提高生产总值;秦皇岛市在科学发展中属比较先进水平,在民生发展方面属先进水平,其中生态方面优势明显,应进一步发挥生态优势,保护环境。秦皇岛市科技创新取得显著成绩,但任务艰巨,必须进一步实施创新驱动发展战略。     

Urban Transitions: On Urban Resilience and Human-Dominated Ecosystems

Urbanization is a global multidimensional process paired with increasing uncertainty due to climate change, migration of people, and changes in the capacity to sustain ecosystem services. This article lays a foundation for discussing transitions in urban governance, which enable cities to navigate change, build capacity to withstand shocks, and use experimentation and innovation in face of uncertainty. Using the three concrete case cities—New Orleans, Cape Town, and Phoenix—the article analyzes thresholds and cross-scale interactions, and expands the scale at which urban resilience has been discussed by integrating the idea from geography that cities form part of “system of cities” (i.e., they cannot be seen as single entities). Based on this, the article argues that urban governance need to harness social networks of urban innovation to sustain ecosystem services, while nurturing discourses that situate the city as part of regional ecosystems. The article broadens the discussion on urban resilience while challenging resilience theory when addressing human-dominated ecosystems. Practical examples of harnessing urban innovation are presented, paired with an agenda for research and policy.     

基于活力和恢复力的典型草原健康评价和群落退化分级研究

根据群落的不同退化演替状况和物种组成情况,随机选取19个位于锡林郭勒高原和呼伦贝尔高原的调查样地,进行典型草原健康评价和群落退化分级研究。结果表明,处在不同退化演替阶段的草原中的群落的优势种类型、活力和恢复力指数均存在很大差异,活力和恢复力指数不存在明显的相关性,这可能是由于活力指数表现的是植物的地上生物量,而恢复力指数表现的是植物的株/丛数,在株/丛数很多的情况下生物量可能很小;草原群落地上总生物量受放牧强度、刈割程度、围封时间、围封前群落状态和区域降水等因素的综合作用,使得各调查样地群落的活力指数差异显著;以中国科学院草原生态系统定位研究站1981年设置的围封的羊草+大针茅草原当时的状态作为参照系统,评价了呼伦贝尔高原和锡林郭勒高原典型草原的健康状况,并对其退化程度进行了量化分级,可为草原管理、植被恢复重建和生态系统健康评价提供参考。     

农户参与生态补偿行为意愿影响因素分析

长期以来,资源无限、环境无价的观念根深蒂固地存在于人们的思维中,也渗透在社会和经济活动的体制和政策中.随着生态环境破坏的加剧和生态系统服务功能的研究,使人们更为深入地认识到生态环境的价值.而"生态补偿"是促进生态环境保护的一种经济手段,农户参与生态补偿的意愿既受到主观因素和非主观因素的影响,也受到理性和非理性因素的作用,是多因素综合影响的结果,其中内部因素即家庭生计资本.本文以黑河流域中游为例,选取300户随杌样本,分析了农户参与生态补偿的意愿与生计资本的关系研究,结果表明:自然资本对农户参与生态补偿的意愿形成星负面影响作用,人力资本、物质资本、金融资本和社会资本对农户参与生态补偿的意愿形成正面影响作用.这说明,农户在市场经济条件下正在变得越来越理性,他们参与生态补偿的核心在于最大化地获取经济利益,政府要一方面尽可能地降低农户实施生态补偿后的各种风险因素,另一方面,要尽可能地提高农户承担生态补偿风险的能力.     

Realising a resilient and sustainable built environment: towards a strategic agenda for the United Kingdom

Recent natural and human-induced emergencies have highlighted the vulnerability of the built environment. Although most emergency events are not entirely unexpected, and the effects can be mitigated, emergency managers in the United Kingdom have not played a sufficiently proactive role in the mitigation of such events. If a resilient and sustainable built environment is to be achieved, emergency management should be more proactive and receive greater input from the stakeholders responsible for the planning, design, construction and operation of the built environment. This paper highlights the need for emergency management to take a more systematic approach to hazard mitigation by integrating more with professions from the construction sector. In particular, design changes may have to be considered, critical infrastructures must be protected, planning policies should be reviewed, and resilient and sustainable agendas adopted by all stakeholders.