社会协同视角下村级治理的理念及路径选择——基于广东省云浮市的实证研究

社会协同是一种有效的治理模式,以社会协同为依托,加强和创新社会管理成为时代的主旋律。近年来,广东省云浮市以农村综合改革为背景,创新乡村社会管理理念,积极探索社会协同参与机制,取得了初步成效,但也存在不少问题。当前,村级治理中实现社会协同应该坚持与时俱进、以人为本、多元共治、责任分担等理念,选择和抓好权力协同、信息协同、资源协同、制度协同等方面的路径。     

机关运行经费基金化管理的战略构想

政府机关事务的高绩效管理是维护政府高效有序运行的关键,更是实现政府职能、促进社会经济发展、维护社会稳定和提升政府公信力的重要保障。许多先发国家如美国、英国等对机关运行实行了价值化管理改革,以基金作为撬动政府机关运行资金的杠杆,达到了机关服务高效优质、规范有序、监督有效和战略明确的目标。中国机关事务运行正处于由传统的事务性实物管理向现代化的价值治理转变的关键期,借鉴英美等国的基金管理和运行经验对于中国建立机关运行普遍服务基金制度,提高政府效能,实现国家治理体系和治理能力现代化具有重要意义。     

Environmental protection or subversion in mining? Planning challenges,perspectives and actors at the largest gold deposit in Europe

The gold ores in Roşia Montană have been intensely mined for the last two thousand years, as this mining district was one of the richest gold deposits in the Apuseni Mountains (the so-called Golden Quadrangle of Romania). Itis currently considered the largest gold deposit in Europe. Up until a few decades ago, gold mines had a relatively predictable path, which began with exploration and ended with abandonment. This has since changed, once the impact of abusive past or current exploitation methods and technologies has been deemed unacceptable by the state and the public. With its millennia-old history of mining, Roșia Montană raises the intriguing question of what does the future hold for different actors in a situation that is clearly unsustainable, but which may be continued through environmental rehabilitation, or even a larger mine. We address the question for this particular mine by drawing on a worldwide database of similar cases contained in the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas). We consider three scenarios, namely: 1) continued degradation with no intervention; 2) approval of large-scale mining, due to international arbitration; 3) environmental rehabilitation. These capture the most plausible future scenarios of the Roșia Montană case and, by relating them to the relevant transnational environmental justice context, we aim at assessing their implications for different actors and also the extent to which they are illustrative for the fate of other mines worldwide. Mine closure and the rehabilitation of the environment, regardless how distant they may seem at the beginning of the prospection and extraction stage, are imminent in the mine life cycle and a mandatory step of the environmental management process. We conclude by suggesting under which governance regimes each scenario is likely to unfold and what implications can be drawn for public policy.     

Landslide risk perception survey in Angra dos Reis (Rio de Janeiro,southeastern Brazil): A contribution to support planning of non structural measures

The increasing magnitude and frequency of landslide-related disasters exposes weaknesses in disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy. One of the underlying reasons is that DRR policies tend to focus only on the physical aspects of the problem (i.e. mass movement processes) while neglecting the level of vulnerability of exposed populations to landslide threats, which affects the types and magnitude of adverse consequences. This neglect is a typical symptom of the remoteness that can exist between public administrators and local communities and undermines the implementation of participatory risk management. Certain dimensions of vulnerability depend on how communities relate to the issue of disasters based on their intuitive or rational judgment, i.e. their perception of risk. This paper seeks to shed light on the need for an understanding of risk perception based on the findings from a survey of residents in the city of Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to be taken into account in aiming at a more efficient landslide risk management policy. The survey was carried out through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with residents of three typical hillside communities in this municipality. In general, the study found that residents will often weigh landslide risks against other threats and opportunities existing where they live. It also found that community members find it difficult to see themselves as agents of change in the environment where they live and in mitigating landslide risks, and that better communication is needed between the government agencies involved in risk management and local residents.     

Challenging the obsession with local level institutions in country ownership of climate change adaptation

Working with local level actors to enable country ownership is applauded within the multilateral climate finance landscape. However, are emerging adaptation interventions equitable by reflecting the priorities of local level vulnerable populations? This research sought to find out whether the engagement of local institutions in projects that seek to achieve country ownership enabled local level vulnerable groups to participate in and influence adaptation decision-making processes and outcomes, thereby enabling them to have a voice in local level adaptation. It used a case study of a Global Environmental Facility-managed coastal adaptation project in Tanzania, which sought to restore and protect mangroves to enable adaptation to sea level rise. Data was generated from 13 Focus Group Discussions and survey questionnaires administered to 629 individuals in three locations on the mainland of Tanzania and in Zanzibar. The findings indicate that community-based organizations were used to facilitate the implementation of project activities at the community level. However, participation spaces created in the project and facilitated by these local institutions were exclusionary and failed to enable vulnerable community groups to have a voice on mangrove restoration and protection. Use of these local institutions altered local level power relations and disempowered other pre-existing and (in)formal local resource management institutions. Community members questioned legitimacy of actions implemented by these local institutions. These findings suggest that working with local level stakeholders to generate country ownership does not automatically guarantee that actions will address the needs of local vulnerable groups. Multilateral climate finance institutions should acknowledge these risks and implement measures to address them.     

What lies beneath: Climate change,land expropriation,and zaï agroecological innovations by smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana

Large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) are increasing in Ghana amid a weak legal and regulatory framework. This paper explores the impacts of this phenomenon on farmer innovations under recurrent environmental changes. Using a case study of zaï, an indigenous innovative farming practice, the paper makes two interrelated arguments. Firstly, it shows that the pervasive enclosures coerced by the Ghanaian state undermine how indigenous knowledge could be proactively deployed for climate risk management. Secondly, LSLAs produce a social barrier to climate change adaptation, as they lead to heightened uncertainty and apprehension among farmers, which affects decisions on climate risk management. More specifically, land expropriation is an example of how adaptation could be hindered by governance, institutions, and policy at the extra-local scale, including not only existing land use laws, but also the constitutional guarantee of private property. The evidence supporting these arguments come from survey data on 619 plots, 70 in-depth interviews, village-level transect walks, and participant observations. Overall, the paper contributes to emerging debates at the interface of land use policy, climate justice, and sustainable adaptation. Theoretically, it also contributes to understanding State-society relations, as well as the political economy of eminent domain, often justified through discourses of “public benefits.”     

Adaptive responses to landscape changes from onshore wind energy development in the Republic of Ireland

Covering 26 years of Irish onshore wind energy development, this article tracks patterns in landscape changes from wind farm construction and identifies adaptive responses in public policy and by stakeholder groups. Wind farms face well-documented challenges with social acceptance due to landscape changes; however, little research has examined interactions between landscape change and social adaptations over the long-term. This article systematically reviews 20 policy documents, undertakes spatio-temporal linear modeling of 212 wind farms using 9 landscape change metrics, and analyzes 5 stakeholder group interviews on adaptive responses to landscape changes. Upward trends occur in turbine height, impact accumulation, placement in agricultural landscapes, construction delays, and new farms built per year. Downward trends occur in the number of turbines per farm, visual disruption of protected areas, and placement in wetlands. Key patterns in stakeholder groups’ adaptations include conflicting interpretations of landscape amenities and evolution, and expanded community outreach, networking, and public participation after exposure to infrastructure. Stakeholders adapt to existing infrastructure separately from adapting strategies to respond to new wind farms. Overall, a mutual relationship emerges wherein landscape changes from wind farms respond to policies and stakeholder activities, while policies and stakeholder groups adapt to the physical realities of landscape change.     

Pernicious pests and public perceptions: Wilding conifers in Aotearoa New Zealand

With significant favourable natural resources, New Zealand has excellent growing conditions for certain exotic conifer species. Although these species have been used for erosion control, and commercial and shelter/amenity plantings for many decades, they do have a high propensity to spread into undesirable locations around the country through natural means. These wilding conifers have become pests. Over the years, these pests have been controlled by landowners, government and community members using various methods, including mechanical and chemical means. Further, new ways of control have also been proposed, including the use of fire, genetics and other technologies. In this paper we examine survey and follow-up focus group data to understand public acceptance of these control methods. Overall, mechanical and selective chemical means were most accepted, while widespread chemical spraying and novel or alternative methods were less acceptable. The survey results and focus group discussions highlight the local, contextual nature of the challenges and opportunities.     

On the direct and indirect effects of the Great East Japan earthquake on self rated health through social connections: Mediation analysis

The Great East Japan Earthquake created health hazards for many people. Using Panel Data gathered in Iwanuma city, Japan, at two points in time (in 2010 before the quake, and in 2013 after the quake), we found that the high degree of housing damage negatively affected victims’ self rated health (SRH) (direct effect), and decreased the levels of their social connections, which in turn also had a harmful effect on their SRH (indirect effect). We also found that although the direct impacts of earthquakes disappear relatively quickly, the harmful indirect effects associated with a decrease in social connections are slower to dissipate. We conducted a first-difference two-step GMM estimation to consider the possible problem of endogeneity. The results support the above conclusion, and show that in the short-term, the indirect impacts of the earthquake accounted for 55 % of all the impacts experienced.     

From elite capture to marginalization of the poorest: a new social exclusion in anti-poverty programmes in China

Based on a case study of state-directed aid resources in anti-poverty programmes, we detected a new phenomenon of social exclusion in China. In a period of several years, a shift is observed from elite capture to marginalization of the poorest. This phenomenon occurs under the administrative pressure from the authoritarian state and the morbid democratic mechanism. Contemporary structural changes in economic and social culture also make it difficult for marginal people to escape from this predicament. From a social structural transformation point of view, we suggest that the marginalization of the poorest should be seriously taken into consideration in rural development programmes and policies.