AN ECONOMIC OVERVIEW OF HAWAII'S WATER INSTITUTIONS1

ABSTRACT: The problem of allocating scarce water resources among competing uses and users over time in Hawaii is addressed within the context of analytical institutional economics. The nature of this problem has been, in recent years, highly complicated by important institutional changes that control operating decisions for water supply and water pollution. Whereas the imbalance in governmental initiatives regarding changes in the system of water rights (predominantly state) and environmental laws (predominantly federal) are based on U.S. constitutional provisions, the more fundamental roots of the crucial legal doctrines involved have been traced back to the common property concept. This suggests that the more promising opportunities for meeting the water policy challenges of the state are to be found in the historical common property system (ahupua'a) of Hawaii.     

INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS CRITERIA FOR WATER SUPPLY PLANNING1

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the selection and use of criteria for an institutional analysis of municipal water supply conducted in anchorage, Alaska. Although not universally acepted or used. evaluation criteria for most technical fields have been established either formally or informally. Cost-benefit rtios, cost-effectiveness, and environmental impacts are examples of technical evaluation criteria that can be quantified relatively easily (although poorly in some cases). The field of institutional analysis has evaluative criteria that are much less readily defined than those of technical fields, in part because many of the criteria are not quantifiable and in part because the area of the study is new.     

Mapping institutional work as a method for local strategy; learning from boom/bust dynamics in the Canadian west

We investigate the potential of mapping institutional work in communities as a method for both analyzing and formulating local development strategy. Twelve Canadian case communities experiencing dramatic ups and downs (‘boom and bust towns’) serve as the empirical base. Analytically, we find that institutional work for strategy takes on very diverse forms, some of them not described in the literature, and further identify a special class of institutional work associated with leadership. Normatively, we demonstrate that mapping institutional work can be a structured process of self-reflection underpinning strategy. For the Canadian case study, we find that lack of local autonomy is often a stumbling block for strategy. More broadly, we conclude that mapping institutional work for strategy works best when governance evolutions are grasped as context, and when strategy itself is understood in its complex, multifaceted nature: a narrative, a way of linking institutions, and an institution in itself.     

Energy cooperatives in Germany – an example of successful alternative economies?

ABSTRACT

Because of their democratic governance and value-driven approach cooperatives are often regarded as a prime example for alternative economies and contributing to (more) equitable economic development. Furthermore, they theoretically combine production and consumption and are often regionally-oriented. The recent boom of German renewable-energy cooperatives provides an interesting example of how cooperatives can also make an important contribution to sustainable development, here the German energy transition, and its social acceptance. The paper will first show how a specific regulatory environment supported this development and then analyse how German energy cooperatives cope with legal changes leading to less favourable institutional conditions. Based on a comprehensive survey, we examine whether they can, apart from their legal form, be regarded as alternative economies. Our analysis is guided by a set of criteria derived from Gibson-Graham’s diverse-economies framework, including voluntary and paid work, (origin of) borrowed capital, size and structure of membership, business goals and strategies, especially after the legal changes, as well as regional orientation. We will show how different categories of German energy cooperatives differ with regard to their business models, alternative-economy characteristics and coping strategies. The future development of energy cooperatives in Germany will very likely be as diverse as their recent history, thus illustrating the diversity of alternative-economy organisations as stipulated by Gibson-Graham. Most of them, however, deal with the new regulatory environment pro-actively and are developing business models, which are independent from public support and might lead to new cooperative strategies at the shifting interfaces between state, market and civil society.     

SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND WATER RESOURCES IN SOUTHERN NEVADA1

ABSTRACT The Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada has provided ample opportunity for mission oriented water resources research, and, to some extent, application of those research results. Past studies of the ground-water systems have resulted in the construction of a direct electrical analog, two digital simulation models, a Hele-Shaw fluid analog, a linear programming model, and two dynamic programming models. The work accomplished has dealt with the problems of groundwater management, waste water reclamation and artificial recharge, and conjunctive use water management. The current study is attempting to integrate previous results and new work into a detailed and realistic conjunctive use water resource management model to achieve system efficiency under more than one criteria. The research team is interdisciplinary in nature and encompasses the physical and social sciences.     

ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT: INDIA1

ABSTRACT India's multidimensional water development programs have contributed significantly to the promotion of the country's economic growth. Rapid growth of irrigation has substantially increased agricultural production. Hydro power generation has doubled during the last two decades, and this has accelerated industrialization and extended rural electrification. Minor irrigation has taken on a new importance in the Fourth Five Year Plan, signifying a departure from the earlier Plans. “Green Revolution” owes a large measure of its success to the availability of assured water supplies. Water development projects have also generated tremendous employment opportunities. Despite its pronounced impact on the economy, India's water planning strategy has some glaring weaknesses: the failure to incorporate “indirect benefits” in cost-benefit calculations; the under-utilization of water potential; and, the progressive increase in the cost of irrigating an acre of land. The prevailing institutional structure in India constitutes a major deterrent to the diffusion of the benefits of water development. There are stubborn psychological factors which render the adoption of innovative irrigation practices difficult. There is thus an overwhelming need to revamp India's institutional framework. On balance, however, water development in India has made its impact felt on India's myriads of villages. And from the arid “dust bowls” of India new life has emerged.     

减少环境污染排放的机制与控制政策

随着经济的快速发展,环境污染逐步恶化,成为可持续发展的"瓶颈"。落实科学发展观,减少和控制环境污染排放,必须剖析影响环境污染排放的主要因素及其作用机理。在分析经济发展和环保制度安排对环境污染排放影响机理的基础上,构建计量经济模型,用1999～2004年全国30个省、直辖市、自治区（不包括香港、澳门、台湾和西藏）的混合截面数据进行实证研究,分析导致我国现阶段环境污染恶化的主要因素。初步研究结果表明：经济活动水平、产业结构、城市化水平加剧了环境的污染,而环保投资和公众参与、规章制度及政府环境管理制度则是减少环境污染的重要变量。最后,提出运用综合管理手段、加快产业结构与布局调整、转变经济增长方式、实现环保制度创新等控制环境污染的政策建议。〖     

关于生活垃圾管理问卷调查的分析

调查问卷涵盖了生活垃圾管理的体制机制、手段方法和规划决策、监督管理、垃圾标准、垃圾分类、垃圾量控制等重要内容。通过对问卷调查的分析,表明被调查人员对生活垃圾管理具有相当的认知水平。对主要内容具有共识,同时对一些问题的看法还存在差异。     

Evaluating institutional fit for the conservation of threatened species

Recovery and conservation of threatened species require adequate institutional responses. We tested an approach to systematically identify and measure how an institutional framework acknowledges threats and required responses for the recovery of endangered species. We measured institutional functional fit with a drivers-pressure-state-impacts-response (DPSIR) model integrated with a quantitative text mining method and qualitative analysis of statutory instruments to examine regulatory responses that support the recovery of 2 endangered species native to Australia, the bridled nailtail wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata) and the Eastern Bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus). The key components of the DPSIR model were present in the institutional framework at statutory and operational levels, but some institutional gaps remained in the protection and recovery of the Eastern Bristlebird, including feral predator control, weed control, and grazing management in some locations. However, regulatory frameworks varied in their geographic scope and the application and implementation of many instruments remained optional. Quantitative text mining can be used to quickly navigate a large volume of regulatory documents, but challenges remain in selection of terms, queries of co-occurrence, and interpretation of word frequency counts. To inform policy, we recommend that quantitative assessments of institutional fit be complemented with qualitative analysis and interpreted in light of the sociopolitical and institutional context.     

China’s climate socialization and renewable energy coalition building

ABSTRACT

Against the backdrop of a heavy carbon lock-in energy structure, China has made considerable progress in renewable energy (RE) development and become a world leader in this area within a decade. Although existing research suggests that rapid RE growth is mainly due to the convergence of economic growth, green industry competition, and energy security concerns under a unique state-led model, they oversimplify the difficulty inherent in RE policy shifting supported by formerly weak pro-RE actors in China’s historical trajectory of a low-carbon transition. By exploring the interaction between international and domestic actors by means of a socialization-based coalition-building framework, this paper aims at analyzing how the capacity building of the RE coalition gets enhanced via institutional anchoring and resource reallocation in the climate socialization process and how the strengthened RE coalition has spurred transformation in China’s RE policy and the challenges they are confronted with.