International targets and environmental policy integration: The 2010 Biodiversity Target and its impact on international policy and national implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean

International environmental policy has evolved from a focus on single issues to more integrated approaches under the framework of sustainable development. This transition has been accompanied by a growing use of targets among international organisations. Targets have long been used in industry and corporate planning, but some have questioned their relevance in the ambit of environmental and sustainable development policy. This paper addresses the question of whether international targets help advance environmental policy integration in international governance. It explores whether the international target of significantly reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2002, enabled co-ordination and coherence in international biodiversity governance. The effects of the Target on the cluster of biodiversity-related conventions and their implementation in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are examined. The analysis is based on official documents and interviews with secretariat officials, international experts and national focal points conducted between September 2011 and April 2012. A claim is made that the 2010 Biodiversity Target was, in essence, a conservation goal that did not fully honour the CBD's sustainable development mission. The Target triggered increased co-operation in the biodiversity cluster without bringing greater alignment of policies and implementation activities around the CBD's sustainability principles. The study suggests that, if targets are to advance EPI among international institutions, they need to be appropriated by relevant stakeholders and supported by implementation strategies that secure their continuous commitment.     

Analysis on the Feasibility and Pathway of Integrating Ecosystem Service into Climate Change Governance Solution

Climate change mitigation and adaptation based on the ecosystem services, used as the fundamental part of climate change strategy, can help make more cost effective and more sustainable climate change solutions. The article analyzed the necessity and the feasibility of combination of ecosystem service and climate change strategy, and put forward the way of cooperation between mitigation and adaptation through the ecosystem approach. Based on the above analysis, we reached the conclusion of taking the knowledge involved with ecosystem services into the efforts of tackling climate change timely and of achieving synergies by maintaining and improving a healthy ecosystem, which would not only just help ease the problems of climate change, but also bring in new opportunities and development space.     

生态系统服务权衡/协同研究进展与趋势展望

生态系统服务之间存在的此消彼长的权衡或彼此增益的协同关系,是生态系统服务管理研究的重要内容。科学理解生态系统服务权衡/协同的作用特征、表现形式、驱动机制和尺度效应,对于提升人类福祉和实现人类社会和生态系统的"双赢"有重要意义,也是当前生态经济学、环境经济学、地理学等众多学科的研究热点和前沿。在综合分析国内外相关文献的基础上,总结了生态系统服务权衡/协同研究的理论基础,评述了生态系统服务权衡/协同表现形式、驱动机制和尺度效应的国内外研究进展和不足,并进一步探讨和展望了未来生态系统服务权衡/协同研究的重要内容,包括生态系统服务分类和评估优化,服务之间相互作用的量化模型、与自然—人文复合系统之间的反馈机制和尺度效应。     

Assessing synergies and trade-offs of diverging Paris-compliant mitigation strategies with long-term SDG objectives

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement are the two transformative agendas, which set the benchmarks for nations to address urgent social, economic and environmental challenges. Aside from setting long-term goals, the pathways followed by nations will involve a series of synergies and trade-offs both between and within these agendas. Since it will not be possible to optimise across the 17 SDGs while simultaneously transitioning to low-carbon societies, it will be necessary to implement policies to address the most critical aspects of the agendas and understand the implications for the other dimensions. Here, we rely on a modelling exercise to analyse the long-term implications of a variety of Paris-compliant mitigation strategies suggested in the recent scientific literature on multiple dimensions of the SDG Agenda. The strategies included rely on technological solutions such as renewable energy deployment or carbon capture and storage, nature-based solutions such as afforestation and behavioural changes in the demand side. Results for a selection of energy-environment SDGs suggest that some mitigation pathways could have negative implications on food and water prices, forest cover and increase pressure on water resources depending on the strategy followed, while renewable energy shares, household energy costs, ambient air pollution and yield impacts could be improved simultaneously while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, results indicate that promoting changes in the demand side could be beneficial to limit potential trade-offs.