Adoption of erosion management practices in New Zealand

Soil erosion is a serious environmental threat to New Zealand’s agricultural sector. Economic costs of soil erosion are significant and the costs of adopting mitigation and management practices, given the targets set by environmetal policy, do not spread uniformly across space, economic activities and types of erosion processes. Management practices have been widely employed by farmers and promoted by several policy programs. Practices are not mutually exclusive and could be jointly adopted by comparing productivity gains against costs of implementation. However, research on the identification of the drivers of adoption is scarce in New Zealand. To identify the determinants of adoption of management practices in New Zealand farms, we combine novel survey information with data on climate and erosion in a multivariate probit framework. This framework allows identification of potential complementarity or substitution between management practices. We find significant and heterogeneous effects from erosion levels, temperature, wind velocity and primary land uses on the adoption of any of the practices. In addition, we also find significant complementarities between management practices. The results of this study are important because the complementarities relate to external effects of erosion mitigation which can help to promote public acceptability of mitigation policies.     

No‐take marine reserves and illegal fishing under imperfect enforcement

No‐take marine reserves have been increasingly advocated as an effective means of supporting marine ecosystems and conserving fisheries resources. A major problem that can hinder the effectiveness of no‐take reserves is the incidence of illegal fishing, which has created significant ecological and economic losses in global fisheries. We construct a bioeconomic model to explore the connection between the effects of no‐take reserves and illegal fishing activities in relation to the level of regulatory control of illegal activities in the reserve and fished areas. Our parameterised model shows that the effects of no‐take reserves on both the extent of illegal fishing and the fish biomass critically depend on illegal fishing regulations and the scale and patterns of fish dispersal. In a fishery where illegal fishing can only be partially controlled, increasing the size of the no‐take reserve may result in a lose‐lose situation in which the level of illegal fishing effort increases and the total biomass decreases. Our results further show that when the pattern of fish dispersal is density dependent, imposing a stricter control on illegal fishing in either reserves or fished areas increases the aggregate level of illegal fishing.     

中国鱼类水产品价格波动特征研究

水产品是居民饮食结构中重要的一个大类,深入分析水产品价格波动规律,对于保障居民生活稳定、调动渔民生产积极性以及为管理部门决策参考有着重要的现实意义。本文选取13个鱼类品种,基于2010年1月至2018年2月的周批发市场价格数据,运用GARCH、TGARCH、EGARCH等模型对其价格波动及非对称性进行分析。结果表明:鳊鱼和石斑鱼价格无显著的异方差效应;青鱼、草鱼、鲢鱼等11个水产品品种价格波动有显著的集聚性,但不具备高风险高回报的特征;大菱鲆价格波动没有表现出非对称性,青鱼、海鲈鱼等10个鱼类品种价格存在显著的非对称性效应,其中青鱼、海鲈鱼、大黄鱼价格下跌引发的市场波动比价格上涨引发的市场波动大;草鱼、鳙鱼、鲤鱼、罗非鱼、牙鲆价格上涨引发的市场波动比价格下跌引发的市场波动大。据此,本文提出建设水产品全产业链综合信息平台、构建水产品价格波动预警体系、创新渔业经营体制提高渔民组织化程度等相关政策建议。     

分子标记在渔业资源增殖放流中的应用

随着增殖放流种类及数量的增加,为评估增殖放流的效果,各种标志技术日渐发展成熟,DNA分子标记作为一种新型的标记手段,在国外的增殖放流中已经开始逐渐使用。本文将以分子标记在日本褐牙鲆增殖放流中的应用为例,阐述如何将分子标记成功地应用于增殖放流,以期为将分子标记技术成功引入中国的渔业资源增殖放流效果评估中提供基础理论依据。     

Beyond the community in participatory forest management: A governance network perspective

Governance of the environment and natural resources involves interests of multiple stakeholders at different scales. In community-based forest management, organisations outside of communities play important roles in achieving multiple social and ecological objectives. How and when these organisations play a role in the community-based forest management process remains a key question. We applied social network analysis to a case study in Indonesian Borneo to better understand the evolution of interactions between organisational actors, and with communities. NGOs featured most prominently in initiating the permit process, implementing management, and providing other support activities, while also being well-connected to donors and government actors. The network configurations indicated significant cooperation among organisations when initiating the community forest process, while bridging between village and organisational levels characterised all stages of the community forest process. While community-based forest management often evokes images of grassroots efforts and broad local capacity to manage forests, reality shows a more dynamic and heterogeneous picture and broader involvement of different actor types and motivations in Indonesia. These findings can be applied to other countries implementing and expanding their decentralised forest policies.     

Linking ecosystem services trade-offs,bundles and hotspot identification with cropland management in the coastal Hangzhou Bay area of China

Understanding the co-occurrence of multiple ecosystem services within farming systems and how they are associated across space are relatively new topics. Quantifying ecosystem services and their interactions as dependent on cropland management can help to formulate a more effective and sustainable land use management system. However, current academic efforts and cropland management practices based on the perspective of ecosystem services bundles and tradeoffs remain limited, especially in developing countries. This paper aimed to integrate ecosystem services into cropland protection and functional zoning. Taking Cixi County in the Hangzhou Bay area, China, as the case study area, five typical ecosystem services (food supply, carbon sequestration, hydrological regulation, soil fertility and recreation potential) delivered by croplands and their correlations were quantitatively assessed. The results demonstrated a heterogeneous spatial pattern of multiple ecosystem services and diverse interactions between them, which depended on regional specific conditions and agricultural activities. Further, we adopted the framework of ecosystem services bundles as a planning tool to support the spatial strategy of cropland management. Cropland protection priority and functional zoning were determined by hotspot analysis and clustering algorithms, respectively. The croplands in Cixi were classified into three protection grades and a zoning scheme comprising four functional types with policy guidelines was proposed based on the spatial cluster results. The integrative approach used in this study is applicable to supplement the current cropland management actions by incorporating the perspective of ecosystem services tradeoff and bundles.     

Profit Based Efficiency Measures,with an Application to Rice Production in Southern India

Using non‐parametric methods, we estimate the foregone rents due to credit, allocative, and technical inefficiencies of subsistence farmers in Southern India. The lost rents are estimated directly from the Nerlovian efficiency index, and the results suggest the largest foregone rents derive from allocative inefficiencies and then credit inefficiencies. Also, results suggest that farms without well access experience larger losses than those with well access. Econometric results suggest education, the presence of tank water management efforts, and well access influence the level of foregone rent due to allocative and Nerlovian inefficiencies. Educational activities and policies to encourage better management of tanks are considered important for lowering the foregone losses.     

Heterogeneous governance capabilities,reference emission levels and emissions from deforestation and degradation: A signaling model approach

Heterogeneous governance capabilities of developing countries are one of the major challenges to the effectiveness of REDD+ projects. Consequently, the effects of heterogeneous governance capability, and reference emission levels on emissions from deforestation and degradation under information asymmetry, are both theoretically and empirically analyzed by using two signaling models to interrogate the panel data during the period 2011–2015 from 13 partner developing countries involved in the UN-REDD Programme. Empirical results confirm that compensation payments based on heterogeneous governance capability can improve the incentive effectiveness of such compensation payments in REDD+ projects, thereby making developing countries more willing to reduce their emissions from deforestation and degradation. Furthermore, higher baseline targets for reducing emissions can lead to greater efforts to reduce emissions. Therefore, the heterogeneous governance capabilities of developing countries should be considered in calculating the level of compensation payment for future REDD+ projects. Instead of a uniform compensation payment for all developing countries, compensation payments should be distributed according to the heterogeneous governance capabilities of each of those developing countries.     

基于任务协同的房地登记数据整合模式研究

研究目的:针对当前不动产登记数据多源异构、数据量大等特点,探索一种以土地登记数据为基础,依据宗地管理单元(地籍区、地籍子区)从空间上对数据整合区域进行剖分、基于任务协同和不动产单元的房地登记数据整合方法,解决房地登记数据难以高效率、自动化、流程化整合的问题。研究方法:利用协同理论搭建房地登记数据整合框架,利用实证分析法验证提出的数据整合技术方法。研究结果:提出了基于任务协同的房地登记数据整合方法,构建了房地登记数据整合框架,解决了数据匹配、任务推送等关键问题,进行了基于徐州市房地登记数据的房地登记数据整合应用实践。研究结论:房地登记数据是不动产统一登记数据整合的难点,以宗地管理单元对数据整合区域进行剖分、基于任务协同和不动产单元的房地登记数据整合技术,能够高效实现房地登记数据集成,对构建房地登记数据整合长效机制具有重要意义。     

The connection between fisheries resources and spatial land use change: The case of two New England fish ports

This study examined interactions between targeted fish populations, aspects of the fishing industry and land use changes along two ports in New England. By tracking changes in land uses over a two-decade period using parcel level data and geographic information system (GIS) tools, we examined the relationship of changes in species biomass, landings and other fishing industry variables to community spatial change. Using logistic regression models we assessed the impacts on essential infrastructure for continued fishing industry activity. Our findings have implications for land use policy that should accompany efforts being made to rehabilitate fish stocks; it should ensure that current marine infrastructure will remain in place to support the fishing industry if and when species rebound. Our models show that in New Bedford Harbor, the larger of the two ports, increasing scallop biomass (considered a long-term factor) is associated with the increase of marine-related land uses. In Provincetown Harbor, short-term factors, such as value and volume of fish landings as well as stock sizes, influence land use change. These findings suggest that the smaller port (Provincetown) is more vulnerable to market conditions and therefore in need of greater land use controls to prevent the conversion of marine-related uses. We propose some directions for further research and present the methodology used as one that can be applied to research questions of a similar nature.     

Social capital,risk preference and adoption of improved farm land management practices in Ethiopia

Many developing countries grapple with high rates of farmland degradation and low agricultural productivity amidst increasing climate variability. Considerable efforts have been exerted to promote the diffusion of improved farmland management to address these challenges. Despite these efforts, adoption rates, especially of soil conservation and water harvesting technologies, are still low, which has been the subject of investigation in several studies in Ethiopia and elsewhere. Most studies on the adoption of these technologies, however, tend to focus on economic incentives only, paying little attention to the role of social capital. This article provides evidence of the effects of different dimensions of social capital on innovation adoption across households holding different levels of risk aversion. We address this issue by using cross section and panel data from Ethiopia. Results show that social capital plays a significant role in enhancing the adoption of improved farmland management practices. We also find evidence that the effect of social capital across households with heterogeneous risk taking behavior is different.     

Do crop purchase programs improve smallholder welfare? The case of Zambia's Food Reserve Agency

Government and parastatal crop purchase programs have regained popularity in sub-Saharan Africa, with many citing improving smallholder farmers’ welfare as a key goal. Yet there is limited empirical evidence on the topic. This paper analyzes the effects of the Zambian Food Reserve Agency's (FRA's) maize purchase activities on smallholder welfare. The FRA buys maize at a pan-territorial price that often exceeds market prices in surplus production areas. Using two household panel survey datasets spanning 15 years and exploiting variation in the scale of FRA activities over time, we employ fixed effects and control function approaches to estimate the effects of a smallholder household's maize sales to the FRA on its welfare, as well as the effects of more intense FRA maize purchase activity in a given district on the welfare of smallholder households in the district. Results suggest positive direct welfare effects on the minority of smallholders that sell to the FRA. We also find that, in the early years of the program, more intense FRA maize purchase activity in a district was associated with reductions in smallholder welfare, particularly among maize autarkic and net buying households. In later years, we find no evidence of such negative effects and some evidence of positive district-level effects on maize net buyers.     

Integrating local ecological services into intergovernmental fiscal transfers: The case of the ecological ICMS in Brazil

Local conservation efforts are often related to benefits at higher governmental levels. On the one hand, these efforts are strongly connected to local land-use decisions. On the other hand, activities such as sustainable water management or biodiversity conservation are associated with regional, national or even global public goods. Therefore, spatial externalities or spillovers exist, which—if not adequately compensated for—lead to an underprovision of the public goods and services concerned. This article investigates intergovernmental fiscal transfers as an innovative instrument for compensating local jurisdictions for the ecological goods and services they provide across local boundaries. From a public finance perspective, fiscal transfers are a suitable instrument for internalising spatial externalities. However, most federal states use this instrument predominantly for social and economic public sector functions rather than for ecological ones. This article investigates the case of the ecological “ICMS” that was first introduced by a few states in Brazil during the 1990s. Part of the revenue from this value-added tax is redistributed to the local level on the basis of ecological indicators. In this way, the state level uses fiscal transfers to compensate municipalities for the existence of protected areas and other ecological services provided within their territories. The Brazilian experience illustrates that such fiscal transfers can represent both a compensation for land-use restrictions and an incentive to value and engage in more conservation activities at the local level.     

Land governance as a precondition for decreasing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

This paper’s aim is to show that improvements in land governance in Brazil, and particularly in the Amazon region, have been the main pre-condition enabling reductions in deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Deforestation occurs primarily where property rights are not clearly established, and occurs mostly on land directly or indirectly under state responsibility. This paper also shows that land speculation plays an important role in deforestation. Based on these findings, it is evident that Brazil must improve its land governance in order to decrease rates of deforestation. The Brazilian government has adopted important new efforts to improve land administration, including improvements in the registration process and the Terra Legal program, which are addressing public land problems across large areas of the Amazon. The concluding section highlights how efforts to reduce deforestation will only be possible through more efficient land governance, especially in the Amazon region, and discusses the important role that participatory land governance may play in improving land use and land ownership through application of land taxes.     

Co-ordination of land exploitation,exploitable farmland reserves and national planning in China

Land exploitation, as an important strategy to mitigate farmland loss and stabilize grain production, has been adopted to compensate farmland loss due to rapid urbanization in China. Bounded by the limited capacity and obvious spatial variations of national farmland reserves, it is essential to arrange land exploitation activities timely and reasonably. In this study, we propose an indicator for the status of regional land exploitation, the Exploitation Degree, to facilitate an overview of land exploitation programs in China at both provincial and prefectural levels based on project data from 2006 to 2012. To further our understanding of the regional features of land exploitation activities, we employ the Lasso model to identify and quantitatively assess influencing factors on land exploitation. Our study shows that: (1) contemporary land exploitation practices in China are significantly inconsistent across exploitable farmland reserves. Some areas are greatly over-exploited and such irrational land exploitation has been persistent; (2) related national land plans designed to guide land exploitation efforts centered on resource-rich regions and critical areas do not function as intended. Therefore, we suggest that China⿿s land exploitation policy shall be improved by reconsidering the orientation of land exploitation policy, coordinating land exploitation activities with productivity improvements and eco-system protection, and enhancing the power and scope of the plans in controlling and guiding land resource management.     

Does land registration and certification boost farm productivity? Evidence from Ethiopia

According to economic theory, tenure security is an important determinant of agricultural investment and productivity. Land titling has been at the center stage of development efforts of many African countries to boost tenure security. We investigate the productivity impacts of the Ethiopian land registration and certification program, employing propensity score matching method in an effort to create a credible counterfactual. Consistent with theory, we find land registration and certification has robust positive effects on farm productivity. More tentatively, we identify the assurance effect as one probable channel for impact. Households with land certificates are more likely to adopt soil‐fertility management strategies on their plots than households without certificates.     

Livestock development planning in Uganda: Identification of areas of opportunity and challenge

Livestock are an important element of the livelihoods of many Ugandan households, and considerable efforts at economic development by the government of Uganda have focused on the livestock sector. However, these development efforts have suffered due to a lack of detailed data on the distribution of livestock in Uganda to guide the targeting of such programs. In this paper, we use data from the 2008 National Livestock Census to develop a better understanding of where in Uganda there might be potential for significant investment to intensify the production of livestock and, conversely, where there are important challenges that need to be addressed, such as conflicts between human populations and livestock. This analysis is done by developing a quantitative model to predict mean livestock stocking rates at sub-county level (n = 929) that uses population density, agroecological factors, and market access as explanatory variables. A mapping of model residuals approach is then used to identify areas in Uganda that are relatively understocked and those that are potentially overstocked. This information is used to suggest approaches to livestock development in both types of areas.     

Profit and equity trade‐offs in the management of small pelagic fisheries: the case of the Japanese sardine fishery*

The management of small pelagic fisheries is difficult due to environmental regime changes that generate multi‐decadal cyclic fluctuations in stock abundance. Lagged management responses to environmental factors can amplify the effects of fishing and may even result in stock collapse. In this paper, we develop an age‐structured bioeconomic model to explore the effectiveness of alternative management approaches for cyclically fluctuating small pelagic fish stocks. The fishery outcomes are evaluated against the overall profit of the fishery and the intertemporal distribution of fishing profits. The model is parameterised for the Japanese sardine fishery, once the largest fishery in Japan, which has experienced a prolonged period of stock collapse over the last 100 years. The results show that the duration of fishery collapse is mostly determined by the extent of cyclic fluctuations in the recruitment of immature sardines, but the effects of the fluctuations on the fishery are heightened by the cumulative impact of fishing. We further show that restricting fishing reduces the fishery’s overall profits, but smooths the intertemporal distribution of profits, resulting in greater intergenerational equity. This income smoothing effect is particularly pronounced when the stock exhibits high levels of cyclic fluctuations.     

事业单位固定资产管理中存在的问题及对策

事业单位的固定资产管理工作一直受计划经济管理模式的影响,在实务中暴露出的弊端也日趋明显。主要表现在:对固定资产不计提折旧的核算体系和方法不能准确地反映事业单位真实财务运营状况;固定资产计价标准过低,分散了单位对重要固定资产的管理;购置固定资产的资金来源缺乏,一定程度地挤占了单位基本经费和国家专项经费;非经营性资产转为经营性资产的管理工作比较混乱;固定资产的有效配置和重新分配不到位;重购建、轻管理等反映出目前多数事业单位内部资产管理制度缺位、管理水平低下、资产运营效率不高等普遍性的问题。     

Inducing private wildfire risk mitigation: Experimental investigation of measures on adjacent public lands

Increasing private wildfire risk mitigation is an important part of the larger forest restoration policy challenge. Data from an economic experiment are used to evaluate the effectiveness of providing fuel reductions on public land adjacent to private land to induce private wildfire risk mitigation. Results show evidence of “crowding out” where public spending can decrease the level of private risk mitigation. Findings also indicate that spending on private mitigation efforts increase when information about individual expenditures are made available and spending on public land fuel reductions are conditional upon a threshold level of private mitigation effort being achieved.