The Role of Foreign Direct Investment in Urban Environmental Management: Some Evidence from Hanoi, Vietnam

In recent years flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) to developing countries have rapidly been increasing. It is now an important contributor to the national economy and urban growth in scores of developing countries. Rapid urbanization in these countries is leading to many problems in the cities. Existing urban infrastructure and municipal services have been unable to cope with the increased demand arising from growing population and rapid economic growth. Consequently, the environment in these cities has deteriorated alarmingly. This paper assesses the role of FDI in urban environmental management (UEM) by analyzing the linkages between them for Hanoi City in Vietnam. The paper's analysis and findings are presented under three main themes: one, FDI, employment and income; two, FDI and environmental degradation; and three, potential of utilizing FDI for the provision of urban environmental infrastructure and services (UEI&S) in order to improve the urban environment. Both primary and secondary source data have been used. Policy implications of the research findings are drawn from the perspective of sustainable development.     

合理征收煤炭资源税的方法研究

本文在借鉴西方主要矿产国家资源有偿使用及征税办法的基础上，运用计量经济学原理，建立了各主要产煤矿区资本费用模型，对全国82个矿务局及所属402个矿井的煤炭资源进行了经济评价，提出了合理征收煤炭资源税及相关的政策建议。     

福州市城市生活垃圾管理体制与政策措施探讨

城市生活垃圾这个与城市“相伴生”的长期污染源,必须得到及时、科学、妥善的处理。福州市目前对城市生活垃圾的治理存在“重末端处理、轻源头控制”,在垃圾末端无害化上陷于被动,却缺少“清洁生产”的理念,“减量化、资源化”未得到应有的重视。本文针对福州市垃圾管理体制与政策上的弊端,强调垃圾的产生、收集、运输、处理等全过程实现全面的、综合的、封闭式管理,探讨法律、经济、管理三位一体的城市生活垃圾管理政策,保障城市可持续发展。     

环境侵权的公益诉讼研究

环境权是公民的法定权益，通过诉讼的途径和机制排除环境侵害是最为有效和可取的。本文正是在分析了环境侵权的种类及特点的基础上，对环境侵权提起公益诉讼进行了研究，并指出建立环境侵权公益诉讼制度的可行性和必要性。     

Species Specificity of the Cytogenetic Stability of Fish in a Eutrophic Water Body

The micronucleus test of peripheral blood erythrocytes was used to study cytogenetic stability in bream (Abramis brama L.), perch (Perca fluviatilis L.), roach (Rutilus rutilus L.), and pike (Esox lucius L.) from a eutrophic water body not affected by anthropogenic factors. The dependence of the rate of spontaneous micronucleus formation on fish age was estimated. The effect of natural variation in abiotic environmental factors on the cytogenetic stability of species was analyzed.     

Ecological tax reforms and environmental benefits in Italy and Sweden

The paper calculates the implications of including monetary measurements of environmental emission changes for the welfare impacts of ecological tax reforms in Italy and Sweden. Taxes on emissions of SO₂, NO_x and CO₂ are investigated. Country-specific computable equilibrium models are used for estimating net welfare changes of the introduction of these taxes, the incomes of which are used for reducing distorting labour taxes. The results indicate that the inclusion of environmental benefits reduces the costs of ecological tax reforms considerably for both countries, and may even turn into net welfare gains.     

Will Limits of the Earth's Resources Control Human Numbers?

The current world population is 6 billion people. Even if we adopted a worldwide policy resulting in only 2.1 children born per couple, more than 60 years would pass before the world population stabilized at approximately 12 billion. The reason stabilization would take more than 60 years is the population momentum – the young age distribution – of the world population. Natural resources are already severely limited, and there is emerging evidence that natural forces already starting to control human population numbers through malnutrition and other severe diseases. At present, more than 3 billion people worldwide are malnourished; grain production per capita has been declining since 1983; irrigation per capita has declined 12% during the past decade; cropland per capita has declined 20% during the past decade; fish production per capita has declined 7% during the past decade; per capita fertilizer supplies essential for food production have declined 23% during the past decade; loss of food to pests has not decreased below 50% since 1990; and pollution of water, air, and land has increased, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of humans suffering from serious, pollution-related diseases. Clearly, human numbers cannot continue to increase.     

环境经济学在中国的发展

本文讨论了环境经济学在中国的发展过程,并对新时期环境经济学面临的理论和现实问题进行了展望。在新的时期,环境经济学应更加注重以环境问题表现的社会利益结构和利益均衡的实证分析,并对满足可持续发展要求的宏观经济政策变革和微观环境管理提供理论支持。     

论建立和完善我国环境税

本文在重新认识税收作用、资源价值和税收优惠政策的基础上,提出了建立环境税、完善资源能源税、逐步实施费改税、公平税负与对等环境税附加的建议。     

Vietnamese Uplands: Environmental and Socio-Economic Perspective of Forest Land Allocation and Deforestation Process

Vietnam, in the ongoing transition to market economies, has to cope with high rural poverty and a dramatic process of forest loss and environment degradation, particularly in the mountainous regions. The government considers rural poverty as the main cause of environment degradation, associated with slash-and-burn cultivation and to an unclear definition of property rights on forest land. In 1993, the government launched a Forest Land Allocation programme aiming to lease forest lands to individual households and, on this basis, to solve food security problems, halt the increasing environment degradation and preserve the remaining forests.To evaluate the results of this land reform policy, two upland pilot communes have been intensively monitored. The environmental and economic impacts of the forest land reform allocation in the two study areas are presented, after providing a background on the Vietnamese situation of mountain zones. On the basis of these findings, it is discussed as to whether the current forest land allocation process may actually promote local development and natural resources conservation, and under what conditions. Deforestation problems must be tackled also with new macroeconomic policies (e.g. credit programmes to support sustainable agriculture practices) and social policy (e.g. reduction of demographic pressure), together with the reform of the State institutions (e.g. State Forest Enterprises) involved in management of the forest areas.