Institutional change in social-ecological systems: The evolution of grassland management in Inner Mongolia

Communities living in the grasslands of present day Inner Mongolia have experienced dramatic social, economic and ecological changes over the past millennium. More recently, these grasslands have undergone widespread degradation, raising concern for securing local herders' livelihoods. To understand these changes in ecological and welfare outcomes over long time scales, we define five broad periods of relative institutional stability over the past millennium, characterize social-ecological system during each period, and then assess major changes between these periods. Looking at changes in institutional contexts helps explain some of our outcomes of interest. We find that while much attention has been given to the change in grassland lease structures in China, the role of market integration and buffers against historically natural constraints on livestock production (e.g., protection from the winter months) have decoupled formerly tight local social-ecological links. This decoupling, along with weak land tenure security due to a complex and volatile policy landscape, suppresses local incentives for grassland conservation.     

生态系统服务权衡研究进展：从认知到决策

作为沟通自然生态系统与人类社会的重要桥梁,生态系统服务一直以来都是地理学、生态学等学科的研究前沿和热点。正确认知生态系统服务之间的关系,是开展多种生态系统服务可持续管理决策的前提,有助于人类福祉的全面提升。本文通过厘定生态系统服务权衡的概念内涵,梳理了生态系统服务权衡的空间、时间和可逆性特征,将多层次人类福祉的满足作为权衡的最终目标,视生态补偿为权衡决策的基本保障途径。生态系统服务权衡关系的识别依托于定量指标法和综合模型法,且权衡关系可能随时空尺度的推移发生改变;情景分析与多目标分析是生态系统服务权衡决策的有效手段。生态系统服务权衡多尺度关联、生态系统服务流与远程耦合、生态系统服务消费与生态补偿,成为当前生态系统服务权衡研究的重点方向。     

The Dominican Republic–Central American Free Trade Agreement’s Symbolic Nod to Environmental Protection: Legal Perspectives on the Citizen Submission Process

The Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) contains a chapter on the environment, ostensibly included to mitigate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) environmental oversights. The environment chapter created a citizen submission process designed to foster public participation in supporting each participating nation’s environmental laws. This article examines the outcomes to date of the citizen submission process, based on an analysis of the articles of the agreement and an examination of the rulings made on each case submitted under the citizen submission process. The analysis shows that CAFTA poses significant obstacles to citizen participation and has made minimal, if any, contributions to environmental law enforcement among the Parties to the agreement.     

哈大巨型城市带要素集聚程度与生态环境水平关系演变

基于耦合模型和象限图法,从整体和内部分异2个角度对2000~2012年哈大巨型城市带要素集聚程度与生态环境水平演变及其关系进行分析,结果表明：哈大巨型城市带要素集聚程度呈波动上升的演变特征,生态环境则“先波动上升,后缓慢下降”,城市带整体要素集聚程度与生态环境水平间关系趋于协调,产业结构演变、资源消耗水平、经济密度是导致城市带要素集聚程度与生态环境水平协调度提高的主要驱动因子,其中产业结构演变的影响作用更加明显。城市带内部要素集聚的“四城市”格局已经形成,呈现出“核心-边缘”结构,要素集聚程度与生态环境水平可分为高级协调、要素集聚滞后、低级协调、生态环境滞后4种类型。4个区域中心城市要素集聚程度与生态环境水平关系趋向不协调,中心城市周边地区主要向要素集聚滞后型转变,资源型城市和重工业城市要素集聚程度与生态环境水平多表现为低级协调。     

基于OWA的大理市土地生态安全评价研究

从自然生态环境角度出发,从自然因子、生态环境因子、景观因子3个层面选取16项评价指标建立大理市土地生态安全评价体系,并运用IDRISI软件中的MCE模块进行有序加权平均算子（OWA）多准则决策评价,得到不同决策风险系数下的大理市土地生态安全评价结果。结果显示,由于决策者风险态度不同,得到土地生态安全评价结果差异较大,在实际应用中,必须结合研究区的实际情况以及规划的目的选择不同的风险系数进行评价,才能得到更加真实有效的结果。     

基于可调功效函数容量耦合生态经济协调发展评价模型

依据功效函数和熵值赋权法的原理,改进min-max功效函数和熵值赋权法的计算基础,提出可调可比可预测的功效函数与基于均值功效的熵值赋权法;讨论生态经济协调发展的等级标准,阐明容量耦合系数模型与生态经济协调发展的评价算法;以精简评价指标和鄱阳湖生态经济建设战略思想为指导,建立生态经济协调发展评价指标体系。将生态经济协调发展评价的等级标准、模型算法和指标体系在江西省九江市庐山区加以实际应用,验证模型的适用性。     

生态红线区管理:英国科研专用区的历史脉络与经验借鉴

作为关键生态保护区域边界线,生态红线划定当前已经上升为中国国家层面战略部署,然而当前生态红线的研究尚处于探索阶段,对于如何针对红线区域具体设计法规保障、制定管理规则、限定开发行为等方面的研究较为匮乏。鉴于英国已经较为成熟的科研专用区相关保护管理的历史经验,梳理和定位了英国科研专用区的3个发展阶段,探讨了各个发展阶段的基本原则、管理机制和实施保障的演变过程,总结英国科研专用区的规划与管理经验,提出了完善法律保障与规程规范、实施统一监管和区域统筹、并行生态补偿与保护自住、签订标准化管理协议、加强公众参与与研讨机制、提升资金保障与使用效率等对我国生态红线区管理与保障的有益借鉴。     

城市土地集约利用与生态利用灰色关联分析

采用灰色关联分析的方法分析我国内陆31个省会城市的土地集约利用与土地生态利用之间的关系,为城市土地集约与生态协同利用提供依据和支撑。结果表明:综合容积率,单位土地面积职工数,路网密度,人均城市建设用地,地均二、三产值,地均固定资产投入等,均与土地生态利用综合水平之间存在着密切关系,但密切程度不同;与31个省会城市相比,东中西部3个区域的城市土地集约与生态利用关联程度呈现出不同的特点。     

当代生态经济的综合研究综述

可持续发展战略的规划设计需要生态经济学的综合研究思想。在总结国内外关于生态经济综合研究资料的基础上,系统总结了一门新兴学科——生态经济学的研究历程、研究内容和方法。生态经济学的综合研究,关键是将人类社会经济系统视为生态系统的一个子系统,认为人类社会的发展依赖于生态系统的支持。其研究是在微观层次上对经济系统和生态系统进行有机结合的具体尝试。从发展与环境之间关系的讨论入手,系统地分析总结了生态经济学与经济学、生态学以及其它学科之间的关系和作用,西方生态经济学早期和当代的研究状况和我国生态经济学的研究状况及进展,最后从可持续发展的定量衡量和生态经济模型的建立两方面介绍了目前流行的生态经济学研究方法。     

Quantitative Assessment of the Ecological Vulnerability of Baiyangdian Wetlands in the North China Plain

Quantitative assessment of vulnerability is a core aspect of wetland vulnerability research. Taking Baiyangdian (BYD) wetlands in the North China Plain as a study area and using the ‘cause-result’ model, 23 representative indicators from natural, social, sci-tech and economic elements were selected to construct an indicator system. A weight matrix was obtained by using the entropy weight method to calculate the weight value for each indicator. Based on the membership function in the fuzzy evaluation model, the membership degrees were determined to form a fuzzy relation matrix. Finally, the ecological vulnerability was quantitatively assessed based on the comprehensive evaluation index calculated by using a composite operator to combine the entropy weight matrix with the fuzzy relation matrix. The results showed that the ecological vulnerability levels of the BYD wetlands were comprehensively evaluated as Grade II, Grade Ⅲ, Grade IV, and Grade Ⅲ in 2010, 2011-2013, 2014, and 2015-2017, respectively. The ecological vulnerability of the BYD wetlands increased from low fragility in 2010 to general fragility in 2011-2013, and to high fragility in 2014, reflecting the fact that the wetland ecological condition was degenerating from 2010 to 2014. The ecological vulnerability status then turned back into general fragility during 2015-2017, indicating that the ecological situation of the BYD wetlands was starting to improve. However, the ecological status of the BYD wetlands on the whole is relatively less optimistic. The major factors affecting the ecological vulnerability of the BYD wetlands were found to be industrial smoke and dust emission, wetland water area, ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus, rate of industrial solid wastes disposed, GDP per capita, etc. This illustrates that it is a systematic project to regulate wetland vulnerability and to protect regional ecological security, which may offer researchers and policy-makers specific clues for concrete interventions.