The medicinal and aromatic plants business of Uttarakhand: A mini review of challenges and directions for future research

The medicinal and aromatic plants resources of Uttarakhand, India offer significant opportunities of employment and livelihood for rural communities and contribute a large share in the medicinal and aromatic plants trade of India. With the growing trade of medicinal and aromatic plants resources in the global market, the medicinal and aromatic plants business of Uttarakhand is also continuously growing in terms of trade volume, value and market reach. But, considering the ecological importance as well as unregulated exploitations of these resources, the growing business activities in this sector appear incompatible to the sustainability agenda. Through a mini review, this study assesses the medicinal and aromatic plants sector of Uttarakhand and identifies key challenges that seem incompatible for resource and business sustainability and offers some prospective research directions essential for identifying pragmatic solutions to support sustainability in the sector. This review identifies nine key challenges to sustainability in Uttarakhandʼs medicinal and aromatic plants sector. It is therefore pertinent that future research focus on the prevailing challenges of the medicinal and aromatic plants sector of Uttarakhand to develop strategies for sustainable business prospects.     

推动环境信息披露能改善投资效率吗？

落实企业环境责任,推动环境信息披露,有利于推动结构调整和高质量发展。本文根据《环境信息公开办法（试行）》,对发布企业社会责任报告的上市公司环境信息披露进行刻画,基于Richardson投资期望模型对投资效率进行测度,分析环境信息披露对上市公司投资效率的影响。研究发现,环境信息披露能在一定程度上缓解投资不足,但对过度投资的影响并不显著,而且环境信息披露对投资不足的缓解作用在国有企业、两权分离度高等代理成本较高的企业中表现更为显著。本文因此提出推动环境信息披露的建议,一方面发挥政府作用,加大监管压力,确保企业环境责任的落实,健全环境治理企业责任体系;另一方面发挥市场的决定性作用,强化诱致企业披露环境信息的动力,让市场形成对环境信息披露的强需求,促使企业提升环境信息披露水平。     

可持续发展理论三项进展

过去10年间,可持续发展理论和实践都取得重大进展。在这些进展当中,本文辨识出3个核心的概念:地球系统观、生态文明思想、低碳经济概念,对这3个看起来没有直接关联的概念分析了其中十分密切的理论联系。地球系统观的发展深刻地改变了人类对自身和所处地球环境的认识,被称为"第二次哥白尼革命",从而强化了可持续发展理论的科学基础;生态文明思想从根本上颠覆了工业文明的思想基础,深化了可持续发展理论的哲学和伦理学内涵;低碳经济概念是全球应对气候变化过程中提出的新的理念,以提高能效、减少排放和发展可再生能源为特征的经济发展模式是可持续发展理论在实践的具体化,并具有可操作性。3个概念都突出了地球系统作为一个整体来研究、开发、利用和保护;同时也都强调了对地球表层这个自然与社会剧烈交互作用的生态圈和人类圈的理解必须运用全新的视角和多学科的研究方法。深入理解这3个概念的内涵及相互关系是把握可持续发展理论10年进展的关键。     

From mute to reflective: changing governmentality in St Petersburg and the priorities of Russian environmental planning

This paper analyses, by using a constructivist methodology, how sustainability is perceived by Russian urban and regional planners and how environmental planning is understood on a discursive level. The planning discourse, which was reconstructed primarily with the help of 14 thematic interviews undertaken in St Petersburg, is positioned on the axes of the triangle of planning contradictions. The analysis shows that the promoted planning paradigm – the interpretations about the priorities of environmental planning – stem from the expert-centred approach of the Soviet era, and poorly suits the changing governmentality of St Petersburg. Due to regime changes, a significant step from a mute to a reflective governmentality was taken in St Petersburg, but the professional planning discourse is in conflict with this context reality and prohibits a more sustainable planning standpoint from developing.     

林产品绿色政府采购内涵及衡量标准分析

林产品绿色政府采购是世界森林保护的新兴议题,一些发达国家已开始实施.分析了林产品绿色政府采购的内涵、合法性和可持续性标准的定义,以及在实践过程中的具体操作方法,认为林产品绿色政府采购虽然为解决森林可持续经营问题提供了新的思路,但是在实践中却可能导致负面效应,客观上成为发达国家新的木材贸易壁垒.     

Planning process influences on sustainability in Ohio township plans

This study examines planning process influences on plan sustainability scores for 46 township plans in Central Ohio, in the Midwestern Region of the United States. Townships face many similar development challenges as exurban communities along with cultures and economies which straddle urban and rural perspectives. The empirical analysis shows that participation breadth is positively related to sustainability scores, while the use of the sustainability concept in the planning process is negatively related to sustainability scores. Based on the findings, we suggest that communities preparing a comprehensive plan should encourage participation by a variety of groups in the planning process. Future research should examine the manner in which the sustainability concept is incorporated into the planning process to better assess its influence.     

Quantification of the influence of life cycle parameters on the total environmental impact of steel-framed buildings

Due to the increased urgency with which environmental issues are currently being prioritized, business sectors such as construction, that have been identified as one of the largest consumers of raw materials and energy, are actively involved in research aiming to optimize construction processes and products in terms of environmental impact. Although researchers have pointed out various issues and aspects of a construction project’s delivery process that can significantly affect its environmental impact, the extent to which these issues can influence the total environmental impact of the project is unclear. The current research aims to investigate and eventually quantify the influence of a number of such parameters, utilizing an existing steel-framed building as the basis for the necessary calculations. The conclusions drawn illustrate the actual extent of the influence of the examined life cycle parameters, while also offering specific insight in regard to the determination of criteria that can be used as the basis for recommendations for similar projects.     

企业环境责任评价体系及成果应用分析

随着环境保护部近年来众多环保举措的提出,企业的环境责任研究引起了学者和相关政府机构的重视。企业环境责任评价有利于提高企业环保意识和规范企业的环境行为,但目前仍缺乏相关机构对企业环境责任评价体系的独立研究和实践。本文通过对国内外企业环境责任的研究现状进行分析,引入了企业环境责任评价的必要性;在相关概念界定的基础上构建了企业环境责任评价指标体系,最后对评价成果的应用进行了探讨和研究。     

Post-Fordist transformation,the sustainability concept and social relations with nature: a case study of the Hamburg region

Following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the concept of sustainability in general and of urban sustainability in particular has become increasingly significant in the course of the 1990s. Even if the environmental problems of cities are far from being solved, one can interpret this development as a change in the relationship between society and nature on both a discursive and a material level. At the same time the transition from Fordism to post-Fordism has given rise to new forms of urban entrepreneurialism, with an absolute priority to economic competitiveness on the one hand and sharpened social conflicts on the other. Looking at the case of the Hamburg region, the article discusses the interaction of these processes. Contrary to the understanding of sustainability as a broadly accepted policy goal it conceptualizes sustainability as a terrain of conflict. As such, we will argue, the sustainability concept and the underlying change in social relations with nature contribute to containing the contradictions of capitalist societalization, which in the transition to post-Fordism have become more visible again. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

可持续发展理论的内涵认知——纪念联合国里约环发大会20周年

2012年是巴西里约联合国环境与发展大会20周年,回顾20年来世界各国发展所走过的路程,总结可持续发展战略的成功与不足,是制定未来世界健康发展路线图的历史要求。人们对可持续发展理论的内涵认知,经过了从生存到发展,再从发展到可持续发展的漫长过程。可持续发展被视作是一个自然—社会—经济复杂系统中的行为矢量,该矢量将导致国家或地区的发展朝向日趋合理、更为和谐的方向进化。可持续发展特别强调"整体的"、"内生的"和"综合的"内涵认知。可持续发展理论的"外部响应",是处理好"人与自然"之间的关系,这是可持续能力的"硬支撑";可持续发展战略的"内部响应",是处理好"人与人"之间的关系,这是可持续能力的"软支撑"。只有"当人类向自然的索取能够被人类向自然的回馈相平衡",只有"当人类对于当代的努力能够同对后代的贡献相平衡",只有"当人类为本区域发展的思考能够同时考虑到其它区域乃至全球利益时",可持续发展的实现才具备了坚实的基础。可持续发展揭示了"发展、协调、持续"的系统本质;可持续发展反映了"动力、质量、公平"的有机统一;可持续发展创建了"和谐、稳定、安全"的人文环境;可持续发展体现了"速度、数量、质量"的绿色运行。中国在未来不到10年的时间内,要全面实现小康社会的战略目标,达到经济更加发展、民主更加健全、科教更加发达、文化更加繁荣、生态更加良好、社会更加进步、精神更加富足,全民的生活质量更加提升,这就必然要求实现全面发展、协调发展、可持续发展,充分体现以人为本,促进人的自身完善,努力走出一条生产发展、生活富裕、生态良好的文明发展道路。论文提出了中国可持续发展战略的七大主题:始终保持经济的理性增长;全力提高经济增长的质量;满足"以人为本"的基本生存需求;调控人口的数量增长、提高人口素质;维持、扩大和保护自然的资源基础与生态容量;集中关注科技进步对于发展瓶颈的突破;始终调控环境与发展的平衡。