The monitoring,Evaluation, reporting,verification, and certification of energy-efficiency projects

In this paper, we present an overview of guidelinesdeveloped for the monitoring, evaluation, reporting,verification, and certification (MERVC) ofenergy-efficiency projects for climate changemitigation. The monitoring and evaluation ofenergy-efficiency projects is needed to determine moreaccurately their impact on greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions and other attributes, and to ensure that theglobal climate is protected and that countryobligations are met. Reporting, verification andcertification will be needed for addressing therequirements of the Kyoto Protocol. While the cost ofmonitoring and evaluation of energy-efficiencyprojects is expected to be about 5–10% of a project'sbudget, the actual cost of monitoring and evaluationwill vary depending on many factors, including thelevel of precision required for measuring energy andGHG reductions, type of project, and amount of fundingavailable.     

The Power of Bioenergy‐Related Standards to Protect Biodiversity

Abstract: The sustainable production of bioenergy is vital to avoiding negative impacts on environmental goods such as climate, soil, water, and especially biodiversity. We propose three key issues that should be addressed in any biodiversity risk‐mitigation strategy: conservation of areas of significant biodiversity value; mitigation of negative effects related to indirect land‐use change; and promotion of agricultural practices with few negative impacts on biodiversity. Focusing on biodiversity concerns, we compared principles and criteria set to address biodiversity and other environmental and social issues in seven standards (defined here as commodity‐based standards or roundtables, or relevant European legislation): five voluntary initiatives related to bioenergy feedstocks, the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (United Kingdom), and the European Renewable Energy Source Directive. Conservation of areas of significant biodiversity value was fairly well covered by these standards. Nevertheless, mitigation of negative impacts related to indirect land‐use change was underrepresented. Although the EU directive, with its bonus system for the use of degraded land and a subquota system for noncrop biofuels, offered the most robust standards to mitigate potential negative effects, all of the standards fell short in promoting agricultural practices with low negative impacts on biodiversity. We strongly recommend that each standard be benchmarked against related standards, as we have done here, and that efforts should be made to strengthen the elements that are weak or missing. This would be a significant step toward achieving a bioenergy industry that safeguards Earth's living heritage.     

中国台湾地区对社会第三方环境检测机构的管理与启示

介绍了中国台湾地区对社会第三方环境检测机构的管理历程与资质认定办法,并借鉴其日常监管方式,提出了完善法律制度,实现行业主管部门的监管,建立质量管理体系,提升第三方机构的能力水平,强调以预防为主的动态管理,促进环境检测市场良性发展等建议。     

Governing sustainability: examining audits and compliance in a third-party-certified organic shrimp farming project in rural Indonesia

Drawing on a case study of an organic shrimp project in Indonesia, this paper provides a preliminary assessment of the use of third-party certification (TPC) to make shrimp aquaculture more environmentally sustainable in a rural setting in Indonesia. Specifically, I examine three processes of TPC: (1) the development of standards, (2) the communication of standards, and (3) the enforcement of standards. My research indicates that TPC is based on technoscientific norms and values and Western ideas of rationality. Thus, implementing TPC in rural settings in the global South may pose additional difficulties, resulting from cultural and structural differences. Consequently, TPC may not be able to be successfully implemented everywhere in the world, especially in the rural South, in its current form.     

生态旅游与可持续旅游环境认证研究

旅游认证与生态标识是热点话题,同时也是较新的话题。首先对世界范围内的生态旅游与可持续旅游环境认证体系的进展进行了分析,并介绍了当今世界范围内主要的生态旅游与可持续旅游环境认证体系;其次对生态旅游与可持续旅游环境认证体系普遍遵循的认证过程进行了分析,呼吁我国尽快出台相关法律、法规以构建一套适合我国国情的生态旅游与可持续旅游环境认证体系,并培育出具有国际知名度的旅游生态标识。     

Diffusion of ISO 14001 environmental management systems in China: rethinking on stakeholders’ roles

Since the release of ISO 14001 in 1996, China has witnessed a surge in the number of ISO 14001 certification. As an international environmental standard, ISO 14001 has two basic functions: one is playing as an environmental management instrument, while the other as a signal of firms’ better environmental performance to stakeholders. Based on the stakeholder theory, we have examined the effects of community, regulatory and some organizational stakeholders on the diffusion of ISO 14001 certification at Chinese provincial levels. Using a panel data of ISO 14001 certification from each province for the period of 2004-2008 in China, empirical evidence of such relations is found. The finding reveals that signaling to foreign customers and community stakeholders plays a dominant role in encouraging diffusion of ISO 14001 certification. However, as an important organizational stakeholder, foreign investors have shown no significant effect on the diffusion of ISO 14001 in China.     

实施中国环境标志计划,促进相关行业节能减排

通过对中国环境标志计划由来和发展以及环境标志定义的介绍,阐述了中国环境标志标准遵循的原则、框架及标准类别,介绍了中国环境标志认证制度和模式,分析了中国环境标志计划的实施对相关行业节能减排的促进作用,说明了中国环境标志计划已成为国家推动节能减排和循环经济战略的重要手段。     

Implementing Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management in a Decentralized Setting: Italy as a Case Study

The study explored the sub-national implementation of the Pan-European Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for Sustainable Forest Management in Italy, based on the statistical analysis of answers to a questionnaire provided by representatives of the Italian sub-national forest administrations. The questionnaire explored the implementation of C&I in five applications and through the analytical lenses of ‘suitability of C&I to sub-national contexts’ and ‘adaptability of administrations to C&I’. The analysis of suitability and adaptability made it possible to identify and compare challenges in, and successful experiences with, the implementation of C&I, which were then used to formulate recommendations aimed at encouraging implementation and promoting academic and policy debate. The study reveals that C&I were implemented to a moderate extent. This level of implementation was determined most of all by the suitability of C&I to the Italian sub-national contexts, and less by the adaptability of administrations. Recommendations to foster implementation of and dialogue on C&I include the need for Italian sub-national administrations to transpose the Pan-European C&I into sub-national sets tailored to local circumstances by, for example, modifying existing C&I or integrating these into new customized indicator sets.     

Effects of Coffee Management on Deforestation Rates and Forest Integrity

Knowledge about how forest margins are utilized can be crucial for a general understanding of changes in forest cover, forest structure, and biodiversity across landscapes. We studied forest‐agriculture transitions in southwestern Ethiopia and hypothesized that the presence of coffee (Coffea arabica)decreases deforestation rates because of coffee's importance to local economies and its widespread occurrence in forests and forest margins. Using satellite images and elevation data, we compared changes in forest cover over 37 years (1973–2010) across elevations in 2 forest‐agriculture mosaic landscapes (1100 km² around Bonga and 3000 km² in Goma‐Gera). In the field in the Bonga area, we determined coffee cover and forest structure in 40 forest margins that differed in time since deforestation. Both the absolute and relative deforestation rates were lower at coffee‐growing elevations compared with at higher elevations (?10/20% vs. ?40/50% comparing relative rates at 1800 m asl and 2300–2500 m asl, respectively). Within the coffee‐growing elevation, the proportion of sites with high coffee cover (>20%) was significantly higher in stable margins (42% of sites that had been in the same location for the entire period) than in recently changed margins (0% of sites where expansion of annual crops had changed the margin). Disturbance level and forest structure did not differ between sites with 30% or 3% coffee. However, a growing body of literature on gradients of coffee management in Ethiopia reports coffee's negative effects on abundances of forest‐specialist species. Even if the presence of coffee slows down the conversion of forest to annual‐crop agriculture, there is a risk that an intensification of coffee management will still threaten forest biodiversity, including the genetic diversity of wild coffee. Conservation policy for Ethiopian forests thus needs to develop strategies that acknowledge that forests without coffee production may have higher deforestation risks than forests with coffee production and that forests with coffee production often have lower biodiversity value. Efectos de la Administración Cafetalera sobre las Tasas de Deforestación y la Integridad de los Bosques     

Sustainability indicators for environmental performance and sustainability assessment of the productions of four fine Italian wines

Increased awareness of the importance of environmental protection and the introduction of international standards like ISO 14001 stimulated development of environmental sustainability indicators as a means to measure systems environmental performance. Here, a thermodynamic approach, emergy analysis (Odum, 1988) was used to obtain sustainability indicators able to analyse and quantify the productive and ecological performance of four famous Italian wine productions: Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Nobile di Montepulciano, and Barbera d'hti. The application to agricultural production was motivated by the growing need for productive and environmentally sound development in modern agriculture, in which the resource base, the environment, is preserved. The choice of wines, more precisely, grape production, is due to their importance for Italian agriculture and the economy. All the wines demonstrated a good long-term environmental sustainability, especially in view of their high quality and in comparison with the average Italian wine production. Emergy analysis proved a powerful tool for assessing environmental performance of these systems, and its use could easily be extended to other wine productions to obtain a form of environmental performance classification of this product. Systematic use of emergy analysis to assess environmental performance of different processes and products, not necessarily in agriculture, could be useful for environmental certification.