Delving into the “Institutional Black Box”: Revealing the Attributes of Sustainable Urban Water Management Regimes1

van de Meene, Susan J. and Rebekah R. Brown, 2009. Delving into the “Institutional Black Box”: Revealing the Attributes of Sustainable Urban Water Management Regimes. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 45(6):1448‐1464. Abstract: This paper is based on the proposition that the transition to sustainable urban water management has been hampered by the lack of insight into attributes of a sustainable urban water regime. Significant progress has been made in developing technical solutions to advance urban water practice, however it is the co‐evolution of the socio‐institutional and technical systems that enable a system‐wide transition. A systematic analysis of 81 empirical studies across a range of practice areas was undertaken to construct a schema of the sustainable urban water regime attributes. Attributes were identified and analyzed using a framework of nested management regime spheres: the administrative and regulatory system, inter‐organizational, intra‐organizational, and human resources spheres. The regime is likely to involve significant stakeholder involvement, collaborative inter‐organizational relationships, flexible and adaptive organizational cultures, and motivated and engaging employees. Comparison of the constructed sustainable and traditional regime attributes reveals that to realize sustainable urban water management in practice a substantial shift in governance is required. This difference emphasizes the critical need for explicitly supported strategies targeted at developing each management regime sphere to further enable change toward sustainable urban water management.     

制度压力对企业环境责任的影响——来自中国上市公司的证据

环境问题是社会各界广泛关注的焦点,而企业是造成环境污染的主体之一,也是环境制度压力的主要调控对象,如何引导和控制企业履行环境责任已成为一个亟须研究的重大议题。根据制度理论,以中国上市公司7459个观测值为基础,采用固定效应模型系统评估了制度压力对企业环境责任的影响,还引入企业环境战略、内部控制作为调节变量进行分析。研究结果表明：制度压力能显著促进企业环境责任的提升;企业环境战略、内部控制等因素正向调节了制度压力与企业环境责任的关系,并且制度压力对企业环境责任的影响在非国有企业、地方国有企业中更强。以上结论在一系列的稳健性检验、反事实检验之后依然成立。这些结论启发了企业管理者运用企业环境战略、内部控制等企业自身因素强化企业环境责任,同时为政府根据企业不同情况有针对性地制定环境政策提供了理论依据。     

How to work with petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers to reduce and eliminate contaminated site management and cleanup requirements

Petroleum hydrocarbon suppliers affect a mine's goals for environmental performance because of the extensive reach of petroleum hydrocarbon products into the mining and minerals product life cycle, their impact on operational efficiencies, cost, and mine viability, and their potential for leaving negative environmental as well as safety legacies. The supplied petroleum hydrocarbon life cycle is a framework that enables structured engagement between supplier and customer on a range of environmental performance issues because it is an example of input into the mining industry that affects the entire mining and minerals processing value chain. Engagement with suppliers in a proactive manner can be a risk management strategy. Questions for businesses to ask in relation to suppliers and their role in minimizing business risks and creating new value are offered.     

企业主体责任导向下排污许可制的制度内涵、法律价值和构建路径

构建以排污许可制为核心的固定污染源监管制度体系,具有丰富的制度内涵,在当前强化排污单位污染防治主体责任的政策目标下,对有效形成企业持证排污、政府依证监管格局,提升固定污染源污染防治的法治化水平,具有重要的法律价值。当前应以《排污许可管理条例》的制定为契机,以排污许可证整合企业污染防治义务,厘清政府和企业的权力义务边界,明确排污单位污染排放控制的责任范围,具体化监管要求,增强企业污染物排放管理的预期,激励和推动企业强化对自身排放行为的管理,主动承担环境治理主体责任,提升污染源监管制度效能。     

科尔沁沙地农牧交错区景观持续性研究

科尔沁沙地农牧交错区景观持续性的分析表明,在不同时间尺度上,景观多样性的持续性增加1.038(±0.033),而景观优势度持续性下降0.873(±0.112),说明在1958年固定沙丘地占主导地位的景观逐渐演化成流动沙丘、半固定沙丘、固定沙丘和农田相间分布、平分秋色的景观。在农牧业生产活动的影响下,景观格局的持续性在空间形状的变化上趋向复杂(景观分维数持续性为1.008),而其相邻性下降(景观修改分维数0.953)。斑块尺度上,不同时间尺度的分析显示,流动沙丘和半固定沙丘斑块面积持续性增加,而固定沙丘和农田斑块面积持续减少;从斑块格局的持续性来看,半固定沙丘地空间格局的持续性呈增加的趋势最明显,为1.038(±0.087),固定沙丘地空间格局的持续性呈减少的趋势最明显,为0.806(±0.032);40年来科尔沁沙地的农牧交错活动对斑块修改分维数的持续性影响是一致的,呈下降的趋势,说明该过程减少了景观中斑块间的相邻性。     

Overcoming Contradictions Between Growth and SustainabiUty： Institutional Innovation in the BRICS

The recent accelerated growth rates or efforts to emulate countries that have achieved a rapid pace of economic growth are widely acclaimed as means to uplift millions from poverty. In so doing, however, this rapid economic growth is most likely to coincide with unsustainable levels of consumption, place excessive pressure on life support systems and terrestrial sinks and foreshorten options for the future. Rather than pursuing the ＂Environmental Kuznets Curve＂ （EKC） hypothesis that higher income will bring with it the means to reduce the impacts of greater consumption, ecological economists assert that buying our way out of future scarcity with fast growth is indeed contradictory with sustainability. To better understand these contradictions and explore potential institutional innovations that may enable developing nations to better confront them （in effect, ＂tunneling under＂ the EKC）, this article refers to recent experience in the BRICS countries （Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa）. Beginning with a brief comparative summary of major development and environmental indicators, pressures on resources and society in each of the BRICS are discussed, followed by identification of institutional and policy frameworks each country has evolved to confront the challenges of growth and sustainability. The article closes with general conclusions for further research and information sharing among developing nations.     

中国西部地区可持续能力透视

本文基于目前可持续发展领域的研究成果,对中国区域,尤其是西部地区的可持续能力进行评估,从整体的高度诊断出西部地区可持续发展的制约因素和障碍,并就增强 事的可持续能力提出几点建议,以此为中开发决策奠定了一些理论基础。     

洞庭湖区水灾的可持续性防治探讨

90年代洞庭湖区大水灾不断,与50年代相比,雨情偏小、水情恶化、灾情放大。从若干基本关系的分析入手,诊断其变化、问题及成因,反思抗洪救灾实践,探讨水灾的可持续性防治对策：第一,要正确处理水沙关系,水沙兼治,治沙为本。为此,要建立长江上游地区和四水流域水土流失综合防治体系;加强和加快四水控制性水利工程体系建设;建立高洪水风险下的土地资源可持续利用模式。第二,要正确处理江湖、湖垸关系,南控北引,湖垸易位。为此,要建设三峡工程,三口建闸,四水建库,联合调度;要开辟荆南分洪道,行南北分流;有计划地向江汉平原和湖区低洼地区引洪放淤。第三,要正确处理堵疏关系,堵疏结合,以疏为主。为此,要抓紧制定河湖疏浚和河湖 治规划,重点是洪道清淤和河道扫障,同时加固大堤.四,要正确处理蓄洪与建设的关系,建立“蓄洪特区”,以加强安全设施建设。为此,要建立流域性蓄洪垸权威管理机构;及早研究蓄洪与建设中出现的新情况新问题,避免出现毁灭性后果。     

Computational energy estimation tools for machining operations during preliminary design

The aim of this paper is to develop computational machining energy estimation tools during the early design stage of product development. In the preliminary or embodiment design, a product's shape and materials are determined. At this stage, it is crucial for a designer to be able to compare alternative designs and materials based on many different criteria, such as cost, functionality, energy, etc. Automated tools for estimating energy consumption that could later be used to integrate with CAD/CAM systems are in demand. This study presents computational tools for estimating the energy consumption of machining operations during the early design phase. The computational tools utilize a preliminary computer representation of a product (CAD model), its material and candidate machining operations to automatically analyse and estimate a range of energy consumption during machining operations. Detailed steps for computing turning and milling energy consumption are presented. Case studies of both parts and assemblies were conducted to test the validity of the tools and to evaluate the performance of the tools. Environmental impacts such as carbon weight will also be estimated. The computation tools will assist users with little knowledge about energy computations to estimate energy consumption during the design stage. Such energy estimation can be used to redesign parts and assemblies, leading to the development of products with reduced machining energy. The computation tools are part of a larger research on estimating energy consumption throughout a product's life cycle.     

Alternatives to gas flaring: a multi-criteria decision approach applied to a case study in Russia

During recent years, the issue of gas flaring has become an increasingly relevant problem for the international community. The claim to more sustainable development offers a renewed prospective in the observation of gas flaring and emphasizes that recovering the associated gas could induce economic, environmental and social benefit. The true core of the issue, as is widely accepted, is not a lack of appropriate technologies, but in the number of criteria involved, which makes it difficult to identify a list of alternatives and connecting all the involved stakeholders in the negotiation process. The complexity of this problem can be mitigated using a decision-making method. The objective of the present work is to identify and formulate a supportive decision system based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Application of the model to a real case underlines the strengths and weaknesses of the model, leading to the conclusion that a selection of the most sustainable alternatives needs to be based on a number of criteria that need to be recognized and agreed amongst the stakeholders.