Local Environmental Management Research Articles

Neighborhood Impact Assessment an urban sustainability instrument

The Neighborhood Impact Assessment (NIA) [1]is an important instrument of the Brazilian Urban Policy enacted in the City Statute, Federal Law 10.257/2001. Considered by the national academic literature as a relevant instrument for local urban environmental management. However, in Brazil, the understanding that the environmental and the urban are part of the same context is not yet a reality within the local public administration sectors, with a deep disconnection of management and governance between the urban and environmental departments. The objective of this work was to analyze the application of NIA in medium-sized cities in the state of São Paulo and to evaluate its contribution to the local urban environmental management of these cities. We also intend to evaluate the NIA integration with other sectors of local public management such as the environment, urban mobility, social housing, etc. As a methodology, we used NIA Process Components, verifying the absence or presence in the urban laws of four (04) medium-sized cities in the state of São Paulo. We also interviewed civil servants from the environmental and urban sectors, supplementing information that was absent in laws and official documents. The results reveal that most municipalities do not have a specific law that regulates the NIA, and Master Plans, Land Use and Occupation Law regulate this instrument. Civil servants emphasize the weaknesses and strengths of the instruments. As potentialities of this instrument, they observed public participation, increased state control in environmentally sensitive areas, greater urban-environmental compensation mechanisms, and so on. Weaknesses signalize were: conflicts involving urban land subdivision, interference of the real estate market in the use and occupation of urban land, changes in the Master Plans by the city councilman aiming to meet the interests of private financial capital. The four cities, which are part of the Case Studies, have not yet effectively incorporated elements of climate change in their local governance. Issues related to social housing, expansion of slums, occupation of protected environmental areas by poor populations are still the most urgent priorities in these cities, as well as in many Latin American cities. The improvement and advancement of the articulation of the urban and environmental sectors in Brazilian cities must require thinking about better scientific methodological and governmental improvements.
 
 [1] Brazilian authors often use the terminology in English “Neighborhood Impact Study”. However, we chose to use “Neighborhood Impact Assessment” according to (Abiko & Barreiros, 2014) to facilitate the understanding of the instrument for the international audience, as it has similarities with the Impact Assessment. However, in Brazil, the NIA is known as the “Estudo de Impacto de Vizinhança”.

Prediction of PM2.5 concentration in Ulaanbaatar with deep learning models

Rapid socio-economic development and urbanization have led to an increasingly serious air pollution problem in Ulaanbaatar (UB), the capital of Mongolia. PM2.5 pollution has become the most pressing aspect of UB air pollution. Therefore, monitoring and predicting PM2.5 concentration in UB is of great significance for the health of the local people and environmental management. As of yet, very few studies have used models to predict PM2.5 concentrations in UB. Using data from 0:00 on June 1, 2018 to 23:00 on April 30, 2020, we proposed two deep learning models based on Bayesian optimized LSTM (Bayes-LSTM) and CNN-LSTM. We utilized hourly observed data including Himawari8 (H8) aerosol optical depth (AOD), meteorology, and PM2.5 concentration as input for prediction of PM2.5 concentrations. The correlation strengths between meteorology, AOD, and PM2.5 was analyzed using the grey correlation analysis method; the comparison of the performance improvement of the model by using the AOD input value was tested, and the performance of these models was evaluated using mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE). The prediction accuracies of Bayes-LSTM and CNN-LSTM deep learning models were both improved when AOD was included as an input parameter. Improvement of the prediction accuracy of the CNN-LSTM model was particularly enhanced in the non-heating season; in the heating season, the prediction accuracy of the Bayes-LSTM model slightly improved, while the prediction accuracy of the CNN-LSTM model slightly decreased. We propose two novel deep learning models for PM2.5 concentration prediction in UB, Bayes-LSTM, and CNN-LSTM deep learning models. Pioneering the use of AOD data from H8 and demonstrating the inclusion of AOD input data improves the performance of our two proposed deep learning models.

Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of NDVI in the Weihe River Basin and Its Correlation with Terrestrial Water Storage

The Weihe River Basin (WRB) of China is located in an arid and water-scarce semi-arid region with a fragile ecological environment, and it is meaningful to study the spatial and temporal changes in vegetation and terrestrial water storage changes in a small-scale inland basin. This study uses normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) time-variable gravity field models to derive changes in vegetation cover and water storage in the WRB from 2002 to 2020. Firstly, taking NDVI as the breakthrough point, the temporal and spatial characteristics of vegetation were analyzed by trend analysis method and F-test. Then, GRACE and GRACE-FO were used to derive water storage variations. Finally, the correlation between NDVI and water storage variations is discussed using the Pearson correlation analysis. The results show that the overall trend of NDVI is increasing, and the increasing trend is more evident before 2014, and after that, there is a significant fluctuation. The spatial distribution shows a large spatial variability, but the growing area still accounts for the majority, and the change varies by vegetation type, among which the cultivated vegetation is more influential. The overall change in terrestrial water storage showed a decreasing trend of −0.09 cm/yr, and also reflected a solid intra-annual regular cycle, i.e., reaching a trough from October to November and a peak from May to June each year. The correlation is 0.6 on the time scale, and there was a 3-month lag between NDVI and TWS. On the spatial scale, the percentage of areas with a negative correlation was about 95.4%, probably due to increased water consumption and evapotranspiration. The study’s results can help to understand the relationship between vegetation and water storage in the WRB and provide scientific support for local environmental management.

Unsupervised Change Detection around Subways Based on SAR Combined Difference Images

Prompt and precise acknowledgement of surface change around subways is of considerable significance in urban rail protection and local environmental management. Research has proven the considerable potential of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images for detecting such information; however, previous studies have mostly focused on change intensity using single Difference images (DIs), e.g., difference value DI (DVDI) and mean value DI (MVDI). With the aim of more accurate information with respect to surface changes around subways, in this study, we proposed a novel SAR detection method that involved three steps: (1) the calculation of three single DIs, (2) the combination of the single DIs and (3) the delineation of the changed area. Compared to existing detection methods, the proposed method represents three major improvements. First, both the intensity information and phase information were applied by combining the DVDI, MVDI and coherent difference images (CDIs). Secondly, a local energy weight (LEW) approach was proposed to combine single DIs instead of the normally used equal weights. Because the changed area often comprises continuous rather than discrete pixels, a combined DI with the LEW (“CoDI-LEW” hereafter) fully considers the attributes of adjacent pixels and enhances the signal-to-noise ratio of SAR images. Thirdly, the FCM algorithm, instead of the widely used threshold methods, was applied to distinguish changed areas from unchanged areas. An experimental comparison with several existing detection methods showed that the proposed method could delineate changed areas with higher accuracy in terms of both quality and quantity. Furthermore, it can effectively execute detection under diverse surface change conditions with good feasibility and applicability.

Impact of local environmental standards on water environmental carrying capacity in large water diversion project: A system dynamics analysis in Shandong, China

Large water diversion projects have extensive impact on the water systems in the receiving areas, where inevitable regional responses are aroused and alert to local environmental carrying capacity. To ensure the water quality of China's eastern South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP), Shandong Province had issued strict local wastewater discharge standards since 2006. However, some flexibility exists in the enforcement of local standards, which created uncertainty to the outcomes. A system dynamic (SD) model and Water Environmental Carrying Capacity (WECC) method were integrated to dynamically illustrate the interaction between the enforcement of the local standards and the performance of the regional water system. The WECC was calculated based on an indicator system representing the multi-dimensional impact of the local standards on the regional water system. The SD model was constructed to simulate and forecast the variations of those indicators of WECC. The SD-WECC model was trained and validated with yearly data from 2000 to 2020, then four scenarios with different levels of enforcement of local standards were illustrated. The results showed that overall WECC improves during period from 2000 to 2025, and that the SNWDP improves the balance of water supply and demand in Shandong in the long run in the three scenarios that have introduced the local standards. The adoption of the local standard helps the concentration of industrial Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) discharge to meet the discharging standards earlier by stimulating the investment in pollution control. Therefore, the flexibility in local water environment management enabled the local actors to pursue a balance between environmental protection and economic growth in a dynamic context with multi-objects for local development.

IMPLEMENTATION OF CONSTRUCTION SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN INDONESIA (CASE STUDY: BRIDGE REPLACEMENT IN BANGKA REGENCY, BANGKA BELITUNG PROVINCE)

The Construction Safety Management System is part of the construction work implementation management system to ensure the realization of construction safety, security, safety, health and sustainability standards which are technical guidelines for security, safety, construction workplace health and labor social protection and local environment and environmental management in the implementation of construction services. Safety targets or objects consist of the work environment, the project affected environment, the natural environment and the built environment. The analysis of the Construction Work Plan for Service Providers on Bridge Replacement Works in Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Province which is reviewed in this discussion is that the identification of the level of risk that has been stated in the Construction Work Plan Document for Bridge Replacement Works has been detailed and can be used as a reference in the implementation in the field. so that the fulfillment of security, safety, health and sustainability standards that ensure the safety of construction engineering, labor safety and health, public safety and environmental safety can be maintained. An assessment of the implementation of Construction Safety on Bridge Replacement Works by Service Users has been carried out, from the results of the assessment there are still things that need to be improved continuously. Implementation of Construction Safety on Bridge Replacement Work has been carried out in accordance with the mandate of the legislation, but it still needs to be continuously improved so as to get maximum results.

Empirical Evaluation of the Environmental Emergency Management Capability of Local Governments in China

Environmental emergency management is an important practical subject for local governments. Understanding the different dimensions of environmental emergency management capability is crucial for enabling a well-informed governance performance. Based on the crisis management 4R theory (comprising four stages: reduction, readiness, response and recovery), PPRR emergency management theory (emergency management is categorized into four stages: prevention, preparation, response and recovery), crisis life cycle theory and ISO 22320, this paper divided local government environmental emergency management capability into four dimensions of a dynamic pre–during–post process: preparedness, early warning, response and recovery. This paper applied a confirmatory factor analysis model to confirm the classification standards of the four capabilities, which are strongly correlated within environmental emergency management. We found that China’s local government environmental emergency management capability is generally at an upper-middle level, according to the empirical data. We also analyzed the regional differences in local government environmental emergency management capability across China and concluded that the environmental emergency management capability of local governments in the eastern region is higher than those in other regions. The capability levels in the central, western and northeastern regions are more similar to each other and show a decreasing distribution in the east–central–west–northeast region.

Spatially structured freshwater fish population dynamics at the River Basin District scale: Implication for environmental management and fish conservation

European Union environmental policy has created a unique regulatory framework to favour aquatic ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation across European countries. Identifying the spatial structure of freshwater fish population dynamics is crucial to define region-specific management and conservation planning. To implement evidence-driven management and conservation decisions at a regional scale we assessed spatial heterogeneity in common freshwater fish population dynamics in France with a focus on trends in River Basin Districts (RBDs).The abundance and biomass growth rates of 18 common European freshwater fish species were estimated with state-space models on 546 sites distributed across the 5 main RBDs sampled in France between 1990 and 2011. Anguilla anguilla, Rutilus rutilus, Salmo trutta fario and Esox spp. exhibited large scale decline in abundance and/or biomass in several RBDs. The other species showed spatial heterogeneity in population growth rates. The main declines were observed in the Adour-Garonne and Loire-Bretagne RBDs, where management and conservation measures are urgently needed to halt the erosion of freshwater fish populations. In each of the 5 investigated RBDs, our results highlight areas where most of the common species we studied exhibited negative population growth rates. Freshwater fish surveys provide the fundamental information necessary to inform the European environmental policies and local environmental management needed to restore freshwater biodiversity. The next steps are to identify the main drivers of freshwater biodiversity erosion in the areas where we demonstrated major declines and to define the most cost-effective restoration measures.

Collaborative agent-based modeling for managing shrub encroachment in an Afroalpine grassland

We co-designed an agent-based model of an Afroalpine grassland in Ethiopia that is experiencing unwanted shrub encroachment. The goal was to enable managers of a community conservation area to better understand the drivers of shrub encroachment and to test possible management actions for controlling shrubs. Due to limited site-specific data, we parameterized this model using insights from published literature, remote sensing, and expert opinion from scientists and local managers. We therefore sought to explore potential future scenarios rather than make highly accurate predictions, focusing on facilitating discussions and learning among the diverse co-management team. We evaluated three social-ecological scenarios with our model, examining: (1) the impact of changing precipitation regimes on vegetation, (2) whether changing the frequency of guassa grass harvests would improve the long-term sustainability of the grassland, and (3) whether the combination of grass harvest and shrub removal would affect shrub encroachment. We found that the model was highly sensitive to the amount of grass harvested each year for local use. Our results indicate that the guassa grass was more resilient than shrubs during persistent dry climatic conditions, whereas a reduction in only the early spring rains (known as the “belg”) resulted in considerable loss of grass biomass. While our modeling results lacked the quantitative specificity desired by managers, participants in the collaborative modeling process learned new approaches to planning and management of the conservation area and expanded their knowledge of the ecological complexity of the system. Several participants used the model as a boundary object, interpreting it in ways that reinforced their cultural values and goals for the conservation area. Our work highlights the lack of detailed scientific knowledge of Afroalpine ecosystems, and urges managers to reconnect with traditional ecological management of the conservation area in their pursuit of shrub encroachment solutions. The decline or absence of the belg rains is becoming increasingly common in the Ethiopian highlands, and our results underscore the need for more widespread understanding of how this changing climatic regime impacts local environmental management. This work lays a foundation for social-ecological research to improve both understanding and management of these highly threatened ecosystems.

Impacts of morphological change on coastal landscape dynamics in Monpura Island in the northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

Coastal morphological change and landscape dynamics have been creating a new window for taking immediate sustainable management strategies for coastal resources management. The dynamic nature of coastal morphological response includes erosion/accretion of landmass, development of an island by sedimentation, movement of the island, and change in geometry and shape. The objectives of the study illustrate morphological change, driver, and mechanism of morphological change, and the effects of morphological change on coastal landscape dynamics. The study also explores spatio-temporal landscape dynamics effects on coastal ecosystem services and livelihood pattern of the coastal community. The novelty of the present research is that how morphological change influence in response to landscape dynamics and its ecosystem services by exploring historical data including shoreline change, century scale erosion and accretion, stability of the islands since 1776 to 2021. In this study, historical maps (i.e., Rennell’s map in 1776 and Tassin map in 1840), Topographic Survey map (1943) and remotely sensed digital image (i.e., Landsat TM in 1990, 2000 and 2010, and Landsat OLI in 2021) have been used to quantify coastal geomorphological change and landscape dynamics through RS and GIS tools and techniques. The finding of the study showed remarkable change occurred in geomorphology of the Monpura Island over the period of 245 years. The spatial coverage of the island has been declined dramatically, which is quantified ∼2905 ha from 1776 to 2021. In the century scale from 1840 to 1943, erosion is observed higher than accretion, and the statistics showing that 8963.40 ha eroded along the east flank of Island. In the northern flank of the Island, Net Shoreline Movement (NSM) and the rate of shoreline movement which expressed by EPR showed highest and flowed by ∼4 km and -126.55 m/y toward landmass. During the epoch 1990–2021, because of morphological change and anthropogenic interventions, the crop land of the Island has been significantly declined by ∼38%, while the rivers and settlement spatial coverage have been increased by ∼768% and ∼153%, with an annual rate of change ∼25% and ∼5% respectively. These outcomes and prepared maps of the current research will be supportive for the local inhabitant, coastal morphologist, and environmental resources management manager, national and international policy advisor, government and non-movement stakeholder, researcher to observe coastal morpho-dynamics including shoreline dynamics, coastal erosion and accretion and its impacts on landscape and ecosystem services.

Local government environmental regulatory pressures and corporate environmental strategies: Evidence from natural resource accountability audits in China

AbstractIncorporating natural resource management and eco‐environmental responsibility into the local government assessment system would change the local governments' intensity of environmental regulation. However, it is unclear whether and how this change is reflected in the firms' environmental strategies. This paper empirically examines the effects and mechanisms of local government regulation on firms' environmental strategies using the quasi‐natural experimental context of the Leading Officials' Natural Resources Accountability Audit (NRAA) in China. The results show that after the implementation of the NRAA, heavily polluting firms are more likely to adopt a source prevention strategy than an end‐of‐pipe governance strategy to cope with the local government's environmental management pressure. Resource support from local governments and increasingly stringent environmental constraints are potential channels for the NRAA to induce firms to adopt a preventive environmental strategy. The environmental governance pressure transmitted to firms differs due to different promotion expectations of local governments. Thus, corporate environmental strategies are related to government promotion expectations. In addition, we apply the Porter hypothesis to the NRAA. Finally, we explore the governance boundaries of the NRAA for different regions, audit intensities, and firms. This paper clarifies the interaction logic between the local governments' environmental constraints and the enterprises' environmental governance behaviors after the implementation of China's pilot policy, enriching research on natural resource asset audits and environmental governance.

The burrowing crayfish Parastacus pugnax (Decapoda: Parastacidae) in the Semiarid Region of Chile: findings of a naturalized or threatened population?

ABSTRACT Parastacus pugnax is an endemic burrowing crayfish from the basins of the Mediterranean and Temperate Wet regions of Chile. For the first time, specimens were found incidentally in the Semiarid Region of Chile (Choapa River Basin). In these regions, hydrological changes derived from global warming and the intensive use of water for irrigation have resulted in highly fragmented habitats, where the effects of the dry season are exacerbated by periods of permanent drought. Unfortunately, in the Semiarid Region there are not regulatory measures for the conservation of the native biota. The aims of this study were to determine the spatial distribution patterns of P. pugnax in the Choapa River Basin (⁓31°S) to expand and contribute with updated knowledge about the distribution and natural history of this species highlighting local environmental management issues. Seasonal occurrence surveys were carried out at eight sites stratified by elevation in the lower, middle, and upper zones of this basin. This was complemented by semi-structured interviews within local prawn´s fisher. Parastacus pugnax was distributed across ⁓25 km in the lower and middle zone of the basin, and it is present in lentic and lotic environments. The occurrence of this excavator species in lotic environments is somehow unusual according to its ecology, which suggests that it is a primary facultative excavator, so a re-evaluation of its current ecological category (category 1; primary excavator) is necessary. According to the interviewees, P. pugnax corresponds to a naturalized species introduced by humans ⁓25–30 years ago for artisanal aquaculture in ponds. The wide altitudinal distribution of P. pugnax in the Choapa River Basin indicates the need to re-evaluate its distribution limits, which traditionally placed the Parastacidae family to the south of Aconcagua River Basin (⁓33°S). To understand the origin of the species in the Choapa River Basin, is clue to specify the phylogenetic structure and determinate whether the presence in the Semiarid Region is constrained to the Choapa River Basin or extends to other basins within this region.

Mapping the functional connectivity of ecosystem services supply across a regional landscape.

Sustainably managing multifunctional landscapes for production of multiple ecosystem services (ES) requires thorough understanding of the interactions between ES and the ecological processes that drive them. We build upon landscape connectivity theory to present a spatial approach for assessing functional connections between multiple ES at the landscape scale, and take a closer look at the concept of ES interactions by explicitly representing the mechanisms behind the relationships between ES. We demonstrate application of the approach using existing ES supply mapping data for plant agriculture, waterflow regulation, and landscape aesthetics and map the functional connectivity between them. We find that, when weights of all linkages were amalgamated, areas of high-value connectivity are revealed that are not present on any individual ES supply area or pairwise link maps, which suggests that the spatial focus of planning for optimal service provisioning may shift when functional relationships between several ES are considered. From water flow supply areas, our modeling maps several functional connections that operate over both short and long distances, which highlights the importance of managing ES flows both locally and across jurisdictions. We also found that different land use and land cover types than those associated with ES supply areas may be serving as critical corridors connecting interdependent ES. By providing spatial information on ES connectivity, our approach enables local and regional environmental planning and management to take full consideration of the complex, multi-scale interactions between ecological processes, land use and land cover, and ecosystem service supply on a landscape.

Evaluation of Rural Tourism Carrying Capacity Based on Ecological Footprint Model

The evaluation of the environmental carrying capacity of tourism resources has important guiding significance for the sustainable development of tourism. This study uses the ecological footprint index to construct the evaluation model of rural tourism environmental carrying capacity and quantitatively analyzes the impact of rural tourism ecological footprint on the environment, ecological pressure, and the maximum carrying capacity of tourists in Nanyang City (China) from 2011 to 2020, so as to provide a reference basis for local rural tourism planning and ecological environment management. The empirical analysis results show that (1) during the decade 2011–2020, the overall ecological footprint increased by 31.47%; however, the per capita ecological footprint showed a downward trend year by year; (2) in the ten years from 2011 to 2020, although the environmental carrying capacity was in surplus, it showed a downward trend year by year, and the ecological pressure index initially appeared; (3) taking the number of tourists in 2020 as the reference value, the prediction of the ecological pressure of rural tourism environment and the carrying capacity of tourists shows that although the ecological pressure is in a relatively safe state, it will show an unsafe state with the increase of the number of tourists. Based on the above results, it is suggested that local governments and tourism planning and management departments should pay full attention to the adverse impact of tourism development on the environment, strengthen the construction of green transportation, balance the development of tourism resources, scientifically control the number of tourists, improve tourists’ awareness of environmental protection, protect the ecological environment of Nanyang City, and realize the sustainable development of rural tourism.

Risk assessment and source apportionment of trace elements in multiple compartments in the lower reach of the Jinsha River, China

Studies on trace element (TE) pollution in abiotic matrices have typically focused on water, sediment, and soil, either separately or in pairs. The importance of multi-media connectivity has been ignored. This study analyzed the concentrations of 6 TEs in three connected environmental compartments of a 28-km section of the lower reach of the Jinsha River. The ecological risk posed by TEs was higher in soil than in sediment. The contribution of exposure pathways to human health risk were ranked as ingestion > dermal contact > inhalation. An improved regional environmental risk index (RERI) method was then developed to evaluate the comprehensive risk on both ecology and human health caused by TEs. The average RERI value was generally higher in the wet season (0.42) than in the dry (0.41) and dry-to-wet transition seasons (0.08) because of the combined effects of the high TE concentrations in riparian soil and the long exposure time. Source apportionment indicated that industrial activities, weathering of parent rock, and agricultural activities were possible sources of TEs in this region. The methods and results of this study could inform local environmental management and provide references for similar cases wherein multiple compartments of river systems should be considered.

Indigenous knowledge systems and biodiversity conservation on Mount Cameroon

ABSTRACT Indigenous People have always provided meanings to natural ecosystems, but knowledge on local environments and their management has been eroded. This study analyses indigenous knowledge systems practiced by the native people of Mount Cameroon and explores their role in biodiversity protection and local livelihoods. To achieve this objective, empirical data were collected from four villages in the study area by conducting focus group discussions, key informant interviews and participant observation. This paper reveals that the forests around Mount Cameroon are essential to the economic and socio-cultural lives of the indigenous population. Furthermore, local institutions play an important role in forest management, and sacred sites, libations, totems, taboos and traditional ceremonies are means through which Indigenous People contribute to biodiversity conservation. Also, conventional forest management regimes such as the village forest management committees have created a new elite class, tensions and conflicts, disregard and weakening of customary laws and institutions. This study augments knowledge on the interrelations between local livelihoods, natural resources and indigenous environmental management systems by depicting how the current loss of biodiversity is perceived to be related to the weakening and erosion of local knowledge.

The career characteristics of China’s prefectural environmental protection bureau heads with implication for the environmental governance

As the direct responsible cadre in China’s local environmental management, the role of environmental protection bureau head (EPBH) is both critical and embarrassing. However, the profile of this group of cadres is largely unknown. This paper makes the first attempt to delineate China’s prefectural EPBHs and find several distinct features. First, although advocated by the central authority, “be younger” has not been realized in the appointment of EPBH. On the contrary, older candidates have been more favored in recent years. Second, EPBH is primarily a political actor rather than professional actor. However, they have been bearing increasing political pressure due to professional task. Third, county governments and other prefectural departments are the most important sources of EPBH, while for general environmental officials, it is very hard to be promoted as EPBH. Fourth, the promotion chance of EPBH is relatively high and most of them have been promoted to county governments and other prefectural departments. Last, the number of EPBHs removed because of dereliction has increased notably, but only a small fraction was sanctioned for poor and fraud environmental supervision. Finally, corresponding suggestions are proposed to optimize the selection, appointment, and management of EPBH.

Promotion for Performance? The working incentive of Chinese provincial environmental agency heads in pollution reduction

Promotion is argued to be the primary working incentive for Chinese officials. Different from previous studies that focus on the provincial governors and party secretaries, this paper makes the first attempt to examine whether the career turnover of China’s provincial environmental agency heads (PEAHs) is affected by the environmental performance within their jurisdictions. The results show that the performance in reducing nationally targeted pollutants—i.e., sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and chemical oxygen demand (COD)—is not necessarily correlated with political turnover, which only depends on political factors such as the age when assuming office, tenure of the office, and if they are local people. Therefore, a lack of promotion incentive is found among China’s PEAHs in local environmental management. Their working incentive is straightforward top-down control, making them merely the implementers of economy-dominated local public policy. A more robust and transparent performance management system, to connect the provincial environmental performance with the PEAH’s political career, is supposed to be beneficial for China’s environmental management.

Promotion for Performance? The working incentive of Chinese provincial environmental agency heads in pollution reduction

Promotion is argued to be the primary working incentive for Chinese officials. Different from previous studies that focus on the provincial governors and party secretaries, this paper makes the first attempt to examine whether the career turnover of China's provincial environmental agency heads (PEAHs) is affected by the environmental performance within their jurisdictions. The results show that the performance in reducing nationally targeted pollutants—i.e., sulfur dioxide (SO2) and chemical oxygen demand (COD)—is not necessarily correlated with political turnover, which only depends on political factors such as the age when assuming office, tenure of the office, and if they are local people. Therefore, a lack of promotion incentive is found among China's PEAHs in local environmental management. Their working incentive is straightforward top-down control, making them merely the implementers of economy-dominated local public policy. A more robust and transparent performance management system, to connect the provincial environmental performance with the PEAH's political career, is supposed to be beneficial for China's environmental management.

Africa: Combating Desertification in Plans and Actions

The article raises the problem of desertification in Africa and the expansion of the largest African deserts. The essence of desertification is defined as the degradation of land areas suitable for agricultural activities, which is expressed in the deterioration of soil properties, salinization of ground water, reduction of biological productivity, loss of the ability of the ecosystem to recover. The author considers that the desertification is caused by the negative impact of anthropogenic activities, lack of water resources, deforestation, salinization of soils, degradation of pastures and land, and climate change. Examples of international contacts in combating desertification and of the activities of the local population in this direction are given. Among the harmful consequences of the expansion of the desert zone the author mentions negative changes in the way of life of the local population that has existed for centuries, the increase in the flow of forced migrants to regions with a milder climate, cities or outside their States. The problem of desertification came to the attention of the international community in the 1970s after the disastrous drought in the Sahel in the late 1960s and mid-1970s. The package of measures proposed to eliminate the consequences of droughts and fight the onset of sand primarily included humanitarian assistance. Measures to improve the local environmental management system, which required significant technical resources and material investments, were carried out partially. The results of numerous regional and international symposiums devoted to desertification issues are usually a statement of the existence of the problem itself and a resolution of a recommendatory nature. In addressing this issue, the governments of the African countries concerned rely on the assistance of the international community or individual states with highly qualified personnel and the necessary technical equipment. The main aspect of combating desertification is the development of international norms and rules that should reflect ways to restore soil fertility and contain scientific planning methods for the use of new agricultural land. Obstacles to the implementation of concrete measures to curb desertification include the economic weakness of the states concerned, the lack of clear environmental plans and reliance on national human resources.