Impact of a moral hazard problem in the Joint Forest Management Programme: a study from forest‐dependent households in West Bengal

This study seeks to explore the impact of a moral hazard problem in the Joint Forest Management (JFM) programme between the government and forest fringe communities of a province in West Bengal, India. It suggests that if there is no incentive plan for the poor, it is hard for the government to monitor their actions. The poor tend to take welfare subsidies and yet harvest optimally. A good incentive fee dependent on their work (output) is required for livelihood sustenance of poor people and sustainability of forest resources.     

重点生态区位商品林生态补偿利益相关者演化博弈研究

根据演化博弈理论,构建动态演化博弈模型,探讨重点生态区位商品林生态补偿过程中各利益主体在有限理性条件下的利益驱动、决策行为和依据以及主体间交互作用下的演化稳定策略,分析在不同情境下影响林农和地方政府演化博弈均衡的因素。研究结果表明:两大博弈主体的策略选择和策略演化方向依赖于初始状态及其演化路径,并与博弈矩阵的参数有关;地方政府的行为决策直接影响生态补偿项目的可持续性;作为项目的直接实施主体,林农的积极性与响应度直接影响生态补偿项目的实施效果。因此,应该建立健全生态补偿,完善生态环境保护激励机制,构建政府主导、林农参与的环境保护工作机制。     

科尔沁沙地退耕还林还草的生态效应分析——以通辽市奈曼旗为例

利用2000年、2002年和2004年三期遥感影像获得奈曼旗土地利用数据,并对各土地利用类型的相对生态价值进行模糊赋值,进而对其退耕还林还草的生态效益进行综合评价.研究结果表明:近5年奈曼旗退耕还林还草力度较大,退耕19620.16hm2,还林18578.37hm2,还草1041.79hm2,旗整体生态效应提高了2.8个百分点,退耕还林还草的贡献率达到28.17%,退耕还林还草生态效应显著.     

陕北黄土丘陵区退耕还林中政府职能与农户利益协调机制研究

陕北黄土丘陵区生态环境恶化、水土流失严重,退耕还林对于本地区农民脱贫致富及生态文明建设至关重要。文章在对陕北黄土丘陵区五百多户退耕还林农户调研的基础上,基于提升农户收入水平以及实现生态效益的目标,运用生态补偿理论、资源环境价值理论、产业链理论等对于退耕还林进程中政府职能与农户利益不协调存在的主要问题进行了深入研究,指出退耕还林进程中政府政策不够合理或者政府职能缺失造成退耕农户经济利益受到严重影响,甚至影响到农户的生计问题。文章指出完善政府职能对于保障退耕农户利益以及实现政府目标的重要意义,进一步构建了陕北黄土丘陵区退耕还林中中央政府、地方政府的职能与农户利益的协调机制,具体从完善退耕还林生态补偿机制、完善退耕还林政策、优化经济林产业结构和延长产业链等方面阐释了政府职能与农户利益的协调关系以及实现机制。     

A new market for an old food: the U.S. demand for olive oil

While U.S. consumption of olive oil has tripled over the past two decades, nearly all olive oil continues to be imported. Estimation of a demand system using monthly import data reveals that the income elasticity for virgin oils sourced from EU is above one, but demand for nonvirgin oils is income‐inelastic. The demand for olive oil as a single product is price‐inelastic. Differentiated by product characteristic and origin, olive oils are highly substitutable with each other but not with other vegetable oils. News about the health and culinary benefits of olive oil and the spread of Mediterranean diet contribute significantly to the rising demand.     

对中国集体林区产权改革诸问题的认识

集体林产权改革必须尊重历史,尊重广大基本群众对土地和民生的基本诉求,切实维护他们对土地基本的权力,核心是公平,而不是效率,效率上的改革企图只能在局部成功。应当清醒地认识到这次改革目标是有限的。为此提出了4点建议:(1)尽快彻底取消林业税费。(2)加强林业产权制度、基层森林管理模式、利益分配机制的综合研究和试验。(3)林业部门主动放弃“森林”和“环境”等主导名词,而代替为“林农”、“林业”和“林区”“三林问题”新的话语。寻求少数林区作为改革试点,探索林区社会福利事业生成路径和管理模式,用以购买农民的森林所有权和林地的使用权,探索集体林区森林国有化改革的道路。(4)寻求多样化、有弹性的林业改革发展道路。     

Biodiversity conservation discourses. A case study on scientists and government authorities in Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve,Mexico

Aiming to explore the relationship between natural protected areas operation and how conservation is logically described, this paper analyzes the discourses that government authorities and scientists developed on conservation and social participation in Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve. Our results indicate that conservation is understood as the intent to keep nature with the lowest possible level of human interference, as its main strategies are: to eliminate inhabitant's unawareness about nature and to reinforce environmental legislation and inspection. Social participation was acknowledged as essential in reserve management, but local inhabitants, even when recognized as important actors, were excluded from the reserve co-administration scheme and mainly regarded as the beneficiaries of already designed projects. In order to achieve SHBR environmental and social goals, it is necessary to modify authorities’ comprehension of social participation toward a process that supports social change by empowering NPA inhabitants and transforming them into political actors.     

森林绿色核算中环境服务估价方法综述和比较

综述和比较了国内外森林绿色核算中的环境服务估价方法。指出:森林环境服务实际上是指森林的间接效益,主要包括森林生态效益和社会效益。联合国等在综合环境经济核算体系中推荐的森林环境服务估价方法主要为基于成本的估价法和基于损害/受益的估价法。不同的方法估算相同的环境服务项目,结果相差几倍到几十倍不等。因此,对于森林环境服务估价来说,选择科学的估价方法非常重要,并建议我国应采用联合国等推荐的方法进行环境服务估价。     

三明市集体林产权制度变迁研究

论文客观记录了三明市20余年集体林产权制度改革的历程。分析了在农村改革初期南方集体林区的林业改革背景下,三明市从分户经营改革及转变到林业股东会制度改革的效果和推动力;论文又分析了从林业股东会的整顿到农户和个人自主经营制度的建立过程中,支持集体林集中经营制度力量的消散和市场配置资源力量的增长过程。论文证实了约束条件的改变是三明市出现不同的集体林产权制度安排的规律。     

Exploring dietary guidelines based on ecological and nutritional values: A comparison of six dietary patterns

The objective of this study was to explore the synergies between nutritionally healthy and ecologically sustainable diets. The aim was to explore the possibilities for future integrated dietary guidelines that support consumers to make informed dietary choices based on both ecological and nutritional values. We developed a score system for health and sustainability. Subsequently, we tested six different diets: current average Dutch, official ’recommended’ Dutch, semi-vegetarian, vegetarian, vegan and Mediterranean. For the sustainability rating, we used the Life Cycle Assessment, measuring the impacts on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and land use (LU). For the health rating, we used ten nutritional indicators. By comparing the overall scores we found that the consumption of meat, dairy products, extras, such as snacks, sweets, pastries, and beverages, in that order, are largely responsible for low sustainability scores. Simultaneously, these food groups contribute to low health scores. We developed a matrix that illustrates that the health and sustainability scores of all six diets go largely hand in hand. Fig. 1 provides a visualisation of the position of the six diets in the full health and sustainability spectrum. This matrix with scores can be considered a first step in the development of a tool to measure both sustainability and health issues of specific food patterns. In selecting the diets, we examined two directions: health focus diets and the animal protein reduction diets. The Mediterranean diet is generally the health focus option with a high sustainability score. We conclude that guidelines oriented in between the two directions (i.e., semi- and pesco-vegetarian) are the option with the optimal synergy between health and sustainability.