Estimating the costs and benefits of soil conservation in Europe

Economics is about problems of choice. In erosion control, both public authorities and private land users are faced with such problems. What is the impact of erosion, both on-site and off-site, and to what extent can this impact be quantified? If we conceptualize this impact in terms of sustainability, how can we compare one type of effect against another? The former question can be answered only by natural scientists, the latter by economists and other social scientists. Weighing different aspects of sustainability requires value judgments, and economists are sometimes accused of having a jaundiced view of reality, wrongly supposing that decisions are based on rationality and denying the importance of emotion.However, let us assume that there is some mileage to be gained out of attempting to estimate the cost of erosion in an economic sense—which consists of converting the various effects into a common denominator: euros. If we can predict the impact of erosion control measures on erosion rates, we can know the benefit of these measures. The cost also needs to be calculated, not in terms of money but in terms of resources expended (which could have been used for other purposes) and in terms of possible negative impacts of erosion control (for instance, increased use of herbicides in reduced-tillage systems).There are important other considerations which economists may study. Firstly, there is the comparison of present versus future costs and benefits: how much can we sacrifice today for higher sustainability tomorrow?Secondly, there is the issue of private versus public costs and benefits: how do the goals of private land users differ from (those of?) the public good, how can this help us to predict land users’ behaviour, and what incentives would be appropriate to make them behave in such a way as to maximize the public good? Thirdly, how do we deal with uncertainty and risk?These problems loomed large in a study to support an extended impact assessment for the EU Soil Thematic Strategy, in 2005. Whereas much research has been done on erosion and its impact, much of this is on a small scale. The extent of the problem on a national, let alone a continental or a global scale, is still poorly known. The paper discusses how these problems were faced, which is not the same as saying they were resolved.     

五色草花坛的创新应用及发展前景

五色草是指大叶红(Alternanthera dentate'Rubiginosa')、小叶红(Alternanthera amoena.Voss)、绿草(Alternanthera bettzickiana.Nichols)、小叶黑(Alternanthera bettzickiana.Nichols)、白草(Sedum lineare.Thunb)等5种草的总称;五色草在哈尔滨市的栽培和应用已有近百年的历史,是哈尔滨市的园林品牌植物,是栽植花坛的特色花卉,近年来,五色草用于造型、拼字、标志、广告宣传等,更加时尚化地与现代雕塑、人文休闲空间相结合的大体量的景观建造,随着栽培技术和工程技术的不断进步,造型精美、制作工艺先进、主题丰富的五色草花坛应用会更加广泛,在城市绿化、美化中有着广阔的发展前景。     

试论林业经营的"生态利用"问题

林业经营的"生态利用"是一个新问题,是关系到林业能否全面发展的根本性问题。显然,这个问题比较复杂,与整个林业技术和经济科学都有密切关系。这里只是作为一个经营原则提出来,引起大家的讨论和研究,以促使林业经营逐步地实现这一根本性的转变,把人类的生存环境搞好,为我国人民提供充足的质好量多的木材和林副产品。这是社会主义制度优越性的具体体现,也是林业工作者的光荣责任。     

在土地开发整理项目中加强生态环境效益评价的探讨

研究目的 :分析生态效益评价在土地开发整理中的重要意义和实现“三效”评价统一的可能性。研究方法 :文献资料分析法。研究结果 :不同开发整理利用的土地 ,生态评价具体内容不同 ;将生态环境的评价指标分为两类 ;可以采用量化的方法实现“三效”评价的统一。研究结论 :在土地开发整理项目中要加强生态环境效益评价 ,并且要采用量化的方法实现“三效”统一。     

北方干旱与防旱保墒技术—对灌溉农业的反思

我国北方降水不足,存在着旱灾易于发生的自然条件。近些年来,黄河年年断流。许多地区地下水位下降,给片面依赖灌溉发展农业的指导思想敲响了警钟。北方地区的农业有近万年的历史,在漫长的历史时期中,我国人民主要是依靠传统的防旱保墒技术,而不是灌溉,来发展农业生产的。     

Inducing the adoption of emerging technologies for sustainable intensification of food and renewable energy production: insights from applied economics*

Emerging advances in sustainable intensification technologies have the potential to transform land use and crop management approaches in ways that can increase resource productivity and reduce adverse environmental impacts of agricultural production. This paper describes emerging technologies that can sustainably intensify food and renewable energy production. We apply the findings from studies examining the adoption of technologies with similar stylized features to provide insights about the incentives and barriers for the adoption of these emerging technologies. We also present a landscape-based systems approach, based on welfare economics, to go beyond relying on a positive approach to explain observed adoption decisions to examining normative questions about the optimal mix, level, and location of adoption of these technologies to achieve desired societal outcomes. We conclude with a discussion of the insights from applied economics for the design of policy incentives to achieve these outcomes.     

生态足迹在南充城市化进程中的应用

利用生态足迹理论和方法,根据南充市2004年统计年鉴数据,计算和分析了南充市在城市化进程中的生态足迹,结论是南充市的生态赤字达2.08hm2/cap,是四川省生态赤字的1.87倍,处于“地方不可持续—欠发展”状态,亟需改善。     

紫鹊界梯田景观资源与旅游开发

具有2000多年历史的湖南省新化县紫鹊界梯田,气势恢宏,景观奇特,文化内涵丰厚,有观赏、体验和教育等多方面的旅游价值;通过分析其旅游开发中不协调的因素,对紫鹊界梯田景观的旅游开发,提出了积极融入大桂林旅游经济圈、开发文化特色的旅游产业和原生态特色的旅游产品等对策措施。     

论稳健财政政策与林业生态建设

随着宏观经济环境的变化,从2005年起,我国财政政策的基调由“积极”转向了“稳健”,这使其投资方向、资金结构和管理方式必然发生新的改变。文章在分析林业生态建设与财政政策关系的基础上,侧重于从实施稳健财政政策对林业生态建设影响的角度,提出了加大直接投入力度,确定合理资金结构,支持建立林业风险保障体系和补偿机制等政策建议。     

Drainwater Management for Salinity Mitigation in Irrigated Agriculture

Salinity and drainage management options include source control, reuse, and evaporation ponds. This article identifies efficient strategies to maintain hydrologic balance in closed drainage basins and evaluates their impact on regional agricultural profits. Theoretical analysis suggests that economic efficiency requires acknowledgment of the nonseparability between water use and land value. Empirically, our solution involves a modest amount of source control, a substantial amount of reuse, and the elimination of evaporation ponds often associated with large environmental damages, while maintaining grower income. Various policy instruments and options are introduced and discussed, including a system of drainwater charges, marketable permits, and land retirement.