中亚五国跨界水资源开发利用与合作及其问题分析

中亚五国跨界河流众多,水资源开发利用问题十分复杂,大规模无序的水土资源开发利用引发的生态问题相当突出,回顾其开发利用中的冲突与合作,对找寻中亚水资源问题的解决之道具有重要的理论意义和实践价值。简要介绍了中亚五国之间主要跨界河流流域河流水系、径流量,阐述主要跨界河流域水资源开发利用,重点分析了各跨界河流取用水量与农业灌溉的演变关系以及中亚五国跨界河流开发利用的水资源危机与生态危机、冲突与合作。在深入揭示中亚五国跨界河流危机主要原因的基础上,对中亚五国跨界河流水资源纠纷和生态危机未来发展趋势进行了分析,探析了中亚五国跨界河流开发利用主要对策。     

Climate change and extreme weather events: can developing countries adapt?

Developing countries are vulnerable to extremes of normal climatic variability, and climate change is likely to increase the frequency and magnitude of some extreme weather events and disasters. Adaptation to climate change is dependent on current adaptive capacity and the development models that are being pursued by developing countries. Various frameworks are available for vulnerability and adaptation (V&A) assessments, and they have both advantages and limitations. Investments in developing countries are more focused on recovery from a disaster than on the creation of adaptive capacity. Extreme climatic events create a spiral of debt burden on developing countries. Increased capacity to manage extreme weather events can reduce the magnitude of economic, social and human damage and eventually, investments, in terms of borrowing money from the lending agencies. Vulnerability to extreme weather events, disaster management and adaptation must be part of long-term sustainable development planning in developing countries. Lending agencies and donors need to reform their investment policies in developing countries to focus more on capacity building instead of just investing in recovery operations and infrastructure development.     

中亚五国矿业权管理与投资环境

中亚五国矿产资源丰富,与中国有较强的互补性。近年来双方在矿产资源方面的合作不断扩大,该地区已经成为中国矿山企业"走出去"的重要选择地之一。本文就中亚五国矿业管理与投资环境进行概要的介绍和分析,为我国企业投资中亚矿业提供一定的参考。     

Groundwater assessment and management: implications and opportunities of globalization

The present and predicted increase in groundwater’s share of human freshwater withdrawals, its unprecedented importance for human activities globally, and the emerging threats from escalated and unplanned use and degradation, especially in the developing countries, point to the need for intensified efforts to cope with the imbalances. Despite these facts, there is little intervention by governments in developing countries. Sufficient knowledge, awareness and understanding of the groundwater resources and their proper management are missing in these countries, as well as in the international community. Links and trends are described, which highlight problem areas, such as water contamination, urbanization, and socio-economic factors related to groundwater management practices. Globalization provides novel opportunities for facilitating the process of acquiring and applying the necessary knowledge and can, and should, be further explored and developed. The likely benefits of this are: increase in convergence of understanding and approaches; the sharing of knowledge; and potentially wide-reaching, lasting, and scale-crossing networks. The international development and research community is in a particularly fortunate position to promote and facilitate such a process, which should go hand in hand with well focused and coordinated “on the ground” tasks, such as local networking, field investigations, capacity building, and advocacy activities.

中亚五国水资源及其开发利用评价

中亚五国地处欧亚大陆腹地,地理条件封闭,跨界河流众多,水资源形成区与消耗区严重不一致,水资源利用问题及矛盾十分突出,是全球跨界河流水资源开发利用与生态环境保护问题的典型代表,开展中亚水资源及其开发利用研究,对研究跨界河流及干旱区水资源可持续利用具有十分重要的借鉴意义。在介绍中亚五国及其主要河流概况,评价提出中亚五国地表、地下水资源量及其分布特点的基础上,阐述了中亚五国人口及城市化、经济发展与产业结构、耕地及其历史演变,分析了中亚五国的水资源开发利用现状,并对开发利用中存在的问题进行了综述总结。     

基于NOAA/AVHRR的中亚地区荒漠化动态变化监测

本文通过对影像特征的荒漠化解译,监测荒漠化土地面积和荒漠化程度,分析探讨1989年至2009年中亚地区荒漠化的变化趋势。结果表明本文所采用的监测方法,具有一定可靠性和实用性,能够对中亚地区进行快速地荒漠化的宏观实时监测。     

The importance of deliberation in valuing ecosystem services in developing countries—Evidence from the Solomon Islands

Monetary valuation of ecosystem services enables more accurate accounting of the environmental costs and benefits of policies, but this has rarely been applied in developing countries. In such contexts, there are particular methodological and epistemological challenges that require novel valuation methodologies. This paper introduces a new participatory, deliberative choice experiment approach conducted in the Solomon Islands. The research aimed to determine the value people placed on ecosystem services and whether participatory interventions to elicit deeper held values influenced the preferences expressed. Results found that the initial willingness to pay for a number of tropical forest ecosystem services amounted to 30% of household income. Following deliberative intervention exercises, key ecosystem services effectively became priceless as participants were unwilling to trade them off in the choice experiment scenarios, regardless of financial cost. The group based deliberative approach, combined with participatory interventions, also resulted in significant learning for participants. This included a more sophisticated view of ecological-cultural linkages, greater recognition of deeper held values, and greater awareness of the consequences of human actions for the environment. The use of a group-based participatory approach instead of a conventional individual survey helped to overcome many of the practical difficulties associated with valuation in developing countries. Given the impact of learning on valuation outcomes, participation and deliberation should be integrated into valuation of any complex good, both in developing and developed economies. However, such a methodology raises questions about how valuation can deal with unwillingness to trade-off key ecosystem services, which results in the breakdown of monetary valuation methods. Evaluation of the appropriateness of valuation processes and methodologies for assessing deeper held values and use of mixed-method approaches will be essential to ensure policies take into account the extent to which human life is dependent on ecosystem services.     

Determinants of CO2 emission for post-Soviet Union independent countries

This article analyses the determinants of CO₂ emission for 15 post-Soviet Union independent (PSI) countries given their recent transition to market-based economies and their relatively high levels of corruption. The direct and indirect effects of economic growth on CO₂ emission for the PSI countries are derived using a multiple-equation generalized method of moment (GMM) approach to account for simultaneity among corruption, growth and CO₂ emission. A linear relationship between gross domestic product (GDP) and CO₂ emission was observed from the analysis. Furthermore, GDP influences CO₂ emission directly, but also indirectly through its impact on corruption. Similarly, corruption affects CO₂ emission directly, as well as indirectly through its impact on GDP. Political democracy and economic freedom increase CO₂ emission indirectly through their impact on economic growth. Improved energy efficiency and the EU climate policy reduce CO₂ emission, while inflows of foreign direct investment tend to increase CO₂ emission.

Policy relevance

First, PSI countries need to invest more in efficient energy technologies to mitigate CO₂ emission levels significantly. Second, PSI policies aimed at reducing deforestation (thereby increasing population density) may help mitigate carbon emission. Third, PSI countries would be well served to recognize the detrimental effects of foreign direct investment before embarking on a misguided policy path that attracts such inflows at any cost.     

Assessing progress in MRV capacity development: experience with a scorecard approach

This article reports experiences gathered in 12 developing countries in Latin America and Africa with capacity development for national GHG inventory systems. The national systems and their ability to deliver on measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) requirements is assessed using a scorecard that covers the transparency, accuracy, completeness, consistency, and comparability of the GHG inventory as well as its institutional set-up and management aspects. The analysis shows that a quantitative assessment of GHG inventory systems with a scorecard is feasible and useful, and could commonly be used for tracking progress in MRV capacity development.

Policy relevance

A large number of capacity development initiatives are underway to advance national GHG inventory systems in developing countries, particularly in the land-use sector. These aim to promote the reliable MRV of GHG emissions and removals, which is expected to underpin developing countries’ contributions to global mitigation efforts, including through results-based payments. Although MRV is a cornerstone of climate change policy and despite widespread capacity gaps, there is little conclusive evidence about the effectiveness of such capacity development. This article relates the positive experience from one initiative, the Capacity Development for REDD+ project, which employed a novel, scorecard-based approach to results monitoring. Considerable progress is observed and provides reassurance regarding the soundness of development agencies’ significant investments in MRV. Disaggregating scores by countries and by underlying criteria also provides insights to prioritize further investments.     

Linkages between climate change and sustainable development

Abstract

Climate change does not yet feature prominently within the environmental or economic policy agendas of developing countries. Yet evidence shows that some of the most adverse effects of climate change will be in developing countries, where populations are most vulnerable and least likely to easily adapt to climate change, and that climate change will affect the potential for development in these countries. Some synergies already exist between climate change policies and the sustainable development agenda in developing countries, such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, transport and sustainable land-use policies. Despite limited attention from policy-makers to date, climate change policies could have significant ancillary benefits for the local environment. The reverse is also true as local and national policies to address congestion, air quality, access to energy services and energy diversity may also limit GHG emissions. Nevertheless there could be significant trade-offs associated with deeper levels of mitigation in some countries, for example where developing countries are dependent on indigenous coal and may be required to switch to cleaner yet more expensive fuels to limit emissions. The distributional impacts of such policies are an important determinant of their feasibility and need to be considered up-front. It follows that future agreements on mitigation and adaptation under the convention will need to recognise the diverse situations of developing countries with respect to their level of economic development, their vulnerability to climate change and their ability to adapt or mitigate. Recognition of how climate change is likely to influence other development priorities may be a first step toward building cost-effective strategies and integrated, institutional capacity in developing countries to respond to climate change. Opportunities may also exist in developing countries to use regional economic organisations to assist in the design of integrated responses and to exploit synergies between climate change and other policies such as those designed to combat desertification and preserve biodiversity.

© 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.