Municipal Sector Research Articles

Il fondo di solidarietà 2017: effetti e sostenibilità per i comuni italiani

The Municipal Solidarity Fund (MSF) performs the role of equalizing instrument for the municipal sector. Being of a purely horizontal nature, it implies a strong pact between contributory and beneficiary municipal administrations. This paper aims to deepen the redistributive effects of the MSF and its impact on the financial sustainability of municipal budgets. The evidence shows that some types of municipalities are more disadvantaged by the MSF 2017; moreover, the simulation to 2021, when there will be the final implementation of the new equalization system, shows that in some cases the increase in the negative impact of equalization in relation to the own fiscal revenue will make difficult to sustain the contribution to the Fund by many administrations. Lastly, a solidarity threshold is proposed to make the equalization levy more sustainable.

Industrial Waste as Part of Coal–Water Slurry Fuels

Industrialized regions of the world are actively polluting the environment. In this research, we consider one of the developed industrial regions, Siberia (Russia), as an example. The paper presents typical volumes of annually stored waste, in particular, waste of oil production and a refinery (76 800 tons), liquid and watered waste of the municipal sector (167 875 tons), and food waste (5906 tons). The parameters of ignition and combustion of such wastes are studied in the compositions of coal–water slurry fuels with petrochemicals. The experimental results demonstrate that most of the wastes in the industrial region under study have high potential (according to environmental, economic, and energy criteria) as additives to fuels. In particular, a comprehensive comparative analysis shows that the ignition delay time for fuel slurries with waste can be reduced by 10–60%; the minimum ignition temperature, by 10–45 °C; and concentrations of NOx and SO2 emissions, by 5–50%. The combustion heat of composite fu...

Парадоксы государственного и муниципального финансового контроля

<span>В интервью известного аудитора, заместителя Председателя Комиссии по вопросам методологии Совета контрольно-счетных органов при Счетной палате Российской Федерации, Азата Валеева поднимаются вопросы совершенствования организации внешнего и внутреннего финансового контроля в государственном и муниципальном секторе. Автор вскрывает ряд парадоксальных противоречий в деятельности органов финансового контроля, предлагает пути решения некоторых наболевших проблем, основываясь на международном и богатом собственном опыте в сфере государственного аудита.</span>

Influential parameters on natural weathering under harsh climatic conditions of mechanically recycled plastic film specimens

In this work, real life reclaimed plastic solid waste (PSW) secured from the municipal sector was mechanically recycled and compounded with virgin linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). The compounding of the plastic film samples utilised the means of extrusion and blown filming to produce various formulations of the blends containing up to 100% (by weight) of the PSW in the examined specimens. The film samples were compared to market products used in the State of Kuwait where PSW accumulation presents a major obstacle. Natural weathering under arid and harsh climatic conditions was also performed to determine the degradation extent of the film samples. Haze (%), light transmission (%) and the total change in colour (ΔE) were measured as indicators to the degradation profile of the polymeric materials, in addition to tensile pull mechanical properties. Properties were noted to deteriorate as a function of weathering time and waste content. Statistical analysis was also performed on the properties measured and climatic conditions including airborne pollutants levels. The abundance of the secondary airborne pollutant (ozone) was determined to be a significant variable on the studied properties. This can be attributed to induced photo-oxidation the polymeric matrix is subjected to under such climatic conditions which increases oxygen diffusion throughout the polymeric matrix. Future development of the recycled blends studied in this work can be a route for the decrease of associated environmental stressors with virgin plastic resin conversion.

Life cycle assessment of the French municipal solid waste incineration sector

This study aims at assessing the environmental performances of the French MSW incineration sector in a life cycle perspective, considering nine midpoint impact categories. It is the first application of the WILCI tool, dedicated to the LCA of MSW incineration in the French situation (Beylot et al., 2017). The model is primarily based on operational data relative to 90 plants, representing 73% of the total mass of MSW annually incinerated in France. Regarding seven impact categories out of the nine under study, incineration of MSW in France provides a benefit (that is, a “negative” impact). The uncertainty analysis confirms the relatively large degree of confidence of this conclusion regarding acidification and particulate matter, but in the meantime highlights the remaining uncertainty regarding most other impact categories. Energy recovery is responsible for the main share of the total environmental impacts and benefits of MSW incineration in France. Moreover, this study confirms the importance of technology differentiation in the LCA of MSW incineration. The predominance, in the French incineration sector, of energy recovery as CHP, and of SCR for NOx abatement, results in the global environmental benefits calculated per tonne of average MSW incinerated. Finally, this study addresses the contribution of each waste fraction to the total impacts and benefits of MSW incineration. It identifies several fractions whose contributions to impacts and benefits are not in line with their share in the composition of MSW incinerated.

Ecological effect assessment based on the DPSIR model of a polluted urban river during restoration: A case study of the Nanfei River, China

Urban rivers play an important role in the sustainable development of cities. With increasing attention being given to the implementation of urban river restoration, a more integral and reliable method to evaluate the ecological effect (restoration effect, i.e., effect of restoration on both biodiversity and ecosystem services) of the restoration practice is needed. To fill this gap, a comprehensive assessment index system, based on the “driving forces-pressures-state-impacts-responses” (DPSIR) model was established to holistically evaluate the overall ecological effect of a polluted urban river (the Nanfei River) during restoration. Our results revealed that the greatest influence on the river ecosystem came from: cultivated areas, gross domestic product, ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and total phosphorus (TP) emissions from large-scale aquaculture, non-point rainfall runoff, and municipal sectors. In addition, the river restoration implementation positively influenced the polluted urban river ecosystem. During our study period, a trend of parallel increase between biodiversity and ecosystem services was existed, and an approximate positive relationship between ecosystem services and restoration age was found. However, the detailed relationship patterns between biodiversity, ecosystem services and restoration age should be revealed by long-term monitoring. Overall, the method proposed in our study would improve the understanding of restoration practice, and provide guidance for future restoration practice assessment.

Strategic environmental assessment in Swedish municipal planning. Trends and challenges

More than a decade after the implementation of the EU Directive on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) into Swedish legislation, a comprehensive study has been conducted to analyze the development of SEA practice in municipal planning. The analysis was based on a nationwide mapping of SEA in Swedish municipal comprehensive plans and municipal sector plans, such as energy plans and waste plans, which were adopted in the period 2004–2014. The mapping was used for obtaining evidence of, and explanations for, the extent to which SEAs have been carried out and to enable an identification of the presence of alternatives and specified purposes of the plan. In this paper, the result of the analysis of the development of SEA practice is presented, which shows that municipal comprehensive plans had an SEA to an increasingly greater extent, up to on average 90% for the period 2010–2014. For waste plans and energy plans, corresponding figures for the same period were significantly lower. In addition, the result shows a decreasing trend between 2006 and 2014 regarding the proportion of SEAs that included more than one plan alternative. The use of a zero alternative, however, increased from 2006 to 2014. A regression analysis was conducted to identify determinants that explain the variation in the degree to which screening and SEAs were conducted. The findings of the study show that a systematic mapping of SEA practice provides empirical basis for the development of policy measures to enhance the use of SEAs in municipal planning. Furthermore, it is argued that strengthening the link between alternatives and the purposes of the plan may foster a more strategic thinking when identifying reasonable alternatives on how to promote sustainable development within the planning. Moreover, it is argued that mandatory SEA should be considered in municipal comprehensive and sector planning.

Temporal and geographic drivers of biomass residues in California

Expanding bioenergy conversion and composting of organics can enable a near-term transition away from the landfilling, burning, and mismanagement of biomass residues. Strategic development of transportation, storage, and conversion infrastructure to enable this expansion requires detailed information on patterns and drivers of waste biomass production, quality, and geography that are currently lacking. This analysis contributes new geographic and temporal data on biomass residue availability for the state of California. Biomass residues are characterized for the year 2014 at the county- and month-scales for the agriculture, municipal, and forestry sectors in California, with values collected or estimated from numerous publications, databases, industry surveys, and methodologies. We present methods for developing supply scenarios out to the year 2050 that reflect anticipated changes in key environmental, market, and policy drivers. Our results suggest that biomass residue production could grow 16% by 2050 to 71 million tonnes of dry-matter per year, and that the co-processing of diverse high-moisture residue sources and storage of seasonally available low-moisture residues is needed to ensure adequate steady supply to bioenergy and composting facilities. Additional research and better reporting on organic waste management is needed to bound uncertainties regarding the response of residue production to market trends and recycling policies, and the influence of agricultural practices, plant selection, and climate impacts on residue yields.

Water Sector Assumptions for the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways in an Integrated Modeling Framework

AbstractThe Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) were developed without explicit assumptions for the future of the water sector; therefore, projections of future water demands based on the SSPs often lack a treatment of water technology assumptions that is consistent with the SSP storylines. This study has developed a set of qualitative and quantitative assumptions for future water sector technological advancements in the agricultural, electricity, manufacturing, and municipal sectors within the SSPs and then applied the resulting scenarios to an integrated assessment model to permit analysis of future water demand in a water‐constrained world. These scenarios are then compared to another set that excludes the adoption of water‐efficient technologies. Water demand impacts of individual SSP assumption categories are analyzed to determine scenario‐by‐scenario changes. By 2100, global annual water demands range from 3,560 to 6,600 km3. The results show that (1) technological change in the water sector can act to reduce water demand in a water limited world by up to 32% in 2100 in the SSP scenarios, (2) the most sustainable scenario produces end‐of‐century water withdrawals lower than 2010 values, (3) low‐income regions will likely be one of the largest drivers of future water demands and exhibit the greatest sensitivity to highly‐efficient water technologies, and (4) nonwater sector SSP assumptions have significant and differing impacts on demands across SSP scenarios that act to alter global water demands.

USE OF DECUPLING POLICIES TO ADDRESS THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES OF WATER RESOURCES IN EGYPT

Water scarcity and unequal geographic distribution of this important resource may be one of the most important environmental challenges affecting the sustainability of water resources. Especially, where water resources are scarce and the rate of its withdrawal is higher than the rate of replenishment through the hydrological cycle.There is a definite risk of depletion, leading to unsustainable use of water resources. Therefore the decoupling of water resources from economic growth is the key of sustainable development, especially for Egypt,in light of the current problems that have become increasingly complicated regarding to water resources.Decoupling refers to the economy's ability to grow without a corresponding increase in environmental pressure. This means, decoupling Natural Resource Use and Environmental Impacts from Economic Growth.This paper provides an overview of how decoupling policies contribute to the water sector. Through a number of interviews done with water resources'experts who emphasize the necessity of using these new policies when managing water resources. The paper also describes some technological solutions that can contribute to the implementation of water decoupling policy in the agricultural, industrial and municipal sectors. It also provides some achievements of some countries regarding the decoupling of water resources and economic this policyisconsidering one of the components of the integrated approach that can be used in water resources management in Egypt.

Right-sizing as a strategy for allocating fishing effort in a defined marine ecosystem: A Philippines case study

Over the last four decades in the Philippines, a range of management tools such as marine protected area (MPA) establishment and coastal resources management (CRM) that includes localized species-specific management, marine habitat rehabilitation, and organizing communities for increased participation in planning and decision-making have led to improvements of marine habitats and fish stocks in areas where such tools were applied. In spite of these management advances, fishers particularly in the municipal fisheries sector continue to observe declines in either the quantity or quality of their catch, and attribute this not only to the continued use of highly efficient and ecologically destructive fishing gears, but also, the unregulated numbers of fishers and gears within municipal waters. Recognizing this as a pivotal challenge, the USAID-funded Ecosystems Improved for Sustainable Fisheries (ECOFISH) Project developed a process for the right-sizing of fishing effort as a potential application of the ecosystems approach to fisheries management (EAFM) to directly address the issue of unregulated fishing effort in Philippine municipal fisheries. The objective is to determine via a participatory process a configuration of fishing effort that can be sustainably supported by the ecosystem, and at the same time, can provide adequate fish catches to support the livelihood needs of fishers in a defined marine key biodiversity area (MKBA). The ecosystem and livelihood tradeoffs are investigated using the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) modeling and simulation tool. The entire process adopts a multi-stakeholder set-up that featured highly participatory learning activities, consensus-building negotiations between local government units (LGUs), and science-based decision-making workshops. All in all, it consists of strategically tailored yet adaptive sessions to effectively engage stakeholders in understanding the concept of fishing effort right-sizing, to acquaint participants with the basic biological and ecological principles governing the fisheries, and subsequently, to raise the participants' confidence in the decision-making and negotiation processes. The consensus-based MKBA-wide fishing effort targets considered both the system-scale and the diverse localized management priority objectives of the different user representatives. Across the 8 ECOFISH MKBAs, improving equity in the access of fisheries resource benefits emerged as a principal priority objective. Improving the ecosystem structure as evidenced by large, predatory fishes and minimizing fisher displacement outweighed maximizing catch and incomes as overriding priorities in the decision-making. The project envisions that the consensus-based fishing effort allocation will ultimately serve as basis for the regulated issuance of fisheries licenses by the respective LGUs and for the right-sizing process to serve as a model for determining fishing effort allocation options in other municipal fisheries systems in the country.

¿Por qué Teocelo sí pudo? Un análisis de los factores de éxito del Programa de Gestión Integral de Residuos

La presente investigación analiza los factores que han incidido en el éxito de la implementación del programa de gestión integral de residuos sólidos urbanos en el municipio de Teocelo (2001-2017) desde la Teoría del Comportamiento Planificado (TCP). Metodológicamente se abordó desde un enfoque cualitativo, con la aplicación de entrevistas. Los resultados muestran los principales factores que influyeron en la participación de la ciudadanía en el programa municipal y confirman la pertinencia de la TCP para explicar el caso específico que hemos analizado, pero con matizaciones: desde una perspectiva no sólo individual sino también colectiva y con la presencia de una compleja red de elementos cognitivos y emocionales que influyen en el comportamiento de los sujetos del grupo de estudio. Se concluye con la importancia de la necesaria vinculación de participación social y el liderazgo del sector público en materia ambiental para llevar a cabo políticas públicas municipales eficientes.

Intertemporal diversification of sub-sovereign debt

This paper presents a comprehensive empirical analysis of the debt maturity structure of the Swedish municipal sector. The Swedish municipal debt portfolio is characterized by a short maturity structure and an asset-liability mismatch that poses potentially severe roll-over risk. The 2008–2009 financial crisis manifested as a liquidity shock to the sector that highlighted the dangers of short-term funding strategies in conjunction with low levels of intertemporal diversification. In this study we analyze to what extent this led to a change of intertemporal diversification. Based on a unique contract-level monthly data set of municipal loans issued by Kommuninvest of Sweden from January 1997 to June 2016, we construct and estimate a range of dispersion and moment measures to capture the change of various distributional characteristics of the maturity structure. These measures are used as dependent variables in fixed-effects models together with a number of control variables to estimate the effect of the debt-crisis liquidity shock. The main finding is that the crisis did affect the diversification, but not in a persistent way. A possible explanation is that the municipalities found that Kommuninvest through jointly guaranteed lending was able to function as a lender of last resort and thereby mitigates the roll-over risk. It is also found that fiscal and financial properties such as debt-to-tax base ratio, tax base volatility and per capita income are associated with the characteristics of the debt maturity structure of Swedish municipalities, as well as macroeconomic factors such as the term structure of interest rates.

Dynamical demand response method

In this paper authors suggest method of dynamic demand response to consumers of the municipal sector. The electrical grid scheme with adjustments for the application of the dynamic demand response method is described. Results of simulation on Matlab/Simulink are given. Moreover advantages of the met

МЕТОДИЧЕСКИЙ ПОДХОД К ВЫБОРУ ПЕРВООЧЕРЕДНЫХ МЕРОПРИЯТИЙ В СИСТЕМАХ КОММУНАЛЬНОЙ ТЕПЛОЭНЕРГЕТИКИ НА ПРИМЕРЕ ИРКУТСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

PURPOSE. The paper describes a two-stage approach to the selection of the territories for the implementation of high priority measures to improve energy efficiency in the regional municipal heat supply systems. METHODS. The current state of the Irkutsk region municipal heat supply sector was subjected to the analytical studies and ranking. Using a two-level methodical approach oriented to the main criterial indicators of area operation efficiency the territories for the implementation of high priority measures in the municipal heat supply systems were determined. RESULTS AND THEIR DISCUSSION. The regional municipal heat supply sector is characterized, the problems are analyzed and the tasks for their elimination are set. A methodical approach is proposed allowing to identify the most troubled territories for the implementation of necessary measures to improve the situation. Indicators, which are quite sensitive for consumers and the budget including tariffs, subsidies, fuel costs and others, are used as criteria. The paper proposes promising directions of modernization and efficiency improvement of the systems within which high priority measures are planned to be implemented in order to ensure the optimal operation and development of the municipal heat supply sector of the region under investigation. CONCLUSIONS. In accordance with the tasks for ensuring high efficiency level of municipal heat supply sector operation in the region the main development directions for the communal heat supply sector have been formulated with the focus on the innovative transformations.

Opportunities for application of BECCS in the Australian power sector

Australia has committed to meeting its international obligations to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions including transitioning toward decarbonising its emission-intense energy sector. However, it is facing the dual problems of increasing electricity cost and decreasing energy security. One of the potential contributions to reducing its emission while supplying reliable power is deployment of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). BECCS is a carbon removal technology that offers permanent net removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere together with the prospect of negative emissions.The present study was undertaken to assess the potential contribution of BECCS to achieving long term decarbonising of the Australian energy sector. This study considers the availability of sustainable bioenergy resources and the economic viability and environmental impacts of BECCS. In order to avoid the ecological uncertainties and social challenges of dedicated energy crops, this study focuses on organic waste from the municipal, agricultural, and forestry sectors. Based on the quantity of biomass resources available, BECCS options in Australia have the potential to remove a total of 25 million tonne CO2/year from the atmosphere as negative emissions by 2050. In addition, BECCS systems could supply Australia with up to 13.7 terawatt-hours of renewable power by mid-century which is around 3.6% of expected gross electricity generation in 2050. Deployment of BECCS as a reliable supplier of electricity would potentially enhance the flexibility and diversity of Australia’s energy portfolio and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, deployment of BECCS as a carbon negative strategy will require strong policy support.

Development and prospects of standardization in the German municipal wastewater sector

Given the significance of wastewater treatment and disposal for society and the economy together with the omnipresence of standards in the sector, we studied the development and prospects of the rules governing standardization in the German municipal wastewater sector. We thereby provide a detailed description of sector-specific committee-based standardization and significantly contribute to the understanding of this complex arena.We find that the German Association for Water Wastewater and Waste (DWA) has significantly improved its rules on standardization over time by aligning them closer to the generally accepted superordinate standardization principles. However, by focusing on theoretical findings of committee decision-making and committee composition, we argue that there is still scope for improvement with respect to rule reading and rule compliance. We show that the incentives at work in standardization committees are manifold, whereas the representation of the different stakeholder groups needs' remains unbalanced. Due to vested interests and potential strategic behavior of the various agents involved in standardization rule compliance does not necessarily happen naturally. To this end, we claim that the implementation of monitoring mechanisms can be a significant contribution to the institutional design of standardization and briefly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different schemes. Finally, we show that there is ample need for future research on the optimal design of such a scheme.Even though the analysis relates specifically to the DWA our claims apply to a wide range of standards development organizations.

Not just “sweet old ladies” – Challenges in voluntary work in the municipal long-term care services

Introduction: The Norwegian government is addressing the need for increased voluntary work in the municipal care sector. Several reforms over the last decades have transferred important care tasks to the municipalities, as it is a political aim for people to live longer in their own homes. Despite important structural changes in the provision of public care services, less attention has been devoted to the investigation of how voluntary work interacts with the overall development of care tasks within municipal care services. This paper aims to discover how the contribution of volunteers matches the current needs of service recipients and the daily work of professional staff and, additionally, to discover what level of volunteer competence and qualifications are considered necessary when cooperating with staff.Method: Eight case studies addressing opportunities and barriers to voluntary work in long-term care were carried out. Our study included participants from both voluntary organisations and long-term care.Results: Volunteers were considered to fill important functions and gaps by providing social support, offering activities and by communicating with the service recipients. However, the poor health of service recipients risked putting undue strain on volunteers. Volunteers need to have personal qualifications, such as good observation and communication skills, in order to function well and be useful in their role as volunteers.Discussion: Care is seen as a complex task requiring time, effort, and technical and social skills. Relational care is not easily distinguished from the overall care needs of service recipients. Service recipients in the municipalities are seen as increasingly frail and have complex health needs. With the expected increase in the number of elderly with dementia in the future, we may need to question whether volunteers are equipped to take on such advanced health problems.

THE MANAGEMENT MECHANISM IMPROVEMENT ISTHE BASIS FOR THE MUNICIPAL AGROINDUSTRIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT

Branch management functions are determined by production process content and differ in goals and objectives. It provides the implementation mechanism and certain form within the framework. They provide for an implementation mechanism and a certain form, within which their organizational and economic isolation takes place. Common (universal) and branch (specific) management functions are interrelated and this interconnection reveal the content of any management process in the sub-sector. Totality of management functions serve to realise production and financial goals of an economic unit. The article presents the municipal agroindustrial sector directions of development on the basis of functional interaction of the state, economic management and local administration. Certain relation were identified at the microeconomic level, where agroindustrial management functions are formed by the levels starting from agrarian organization to local administration, as well as the municipal administration horizontal structure in the agrouindustrial sector, which may include other form of legal entity's incorporations such as Joint-stock companies, cooperatives, partnership and etc.

A framework for incorporating implementation indicators of corporate governance for municipalities in South Africa

PurposeThis paper aims to develop a framework for incorporating implementation indicators of corporate governance for municipalities in South Africa. In South Africa, there is a corporate governance framework (King III report) that is regarded as a seminal work applicable to both the public and private sectors. Despite its existence, municipalities still struggle to provide services to the citizens due to poor implementation. The poor corporate governance implementation in municipalities led to several issues such as loss of credibility for local government, little interests from investors to invest in municipalities, service delivery protests from communities, maladministration and unexpected change of leadership in municipalities without succession planning in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducted literature review to demonstrate the need for a framework to implement corporate governance in South Africa.FindingsIt is evident from the study that the municipal sector could improve its performance and practices of corporate governance, if the underpinning framework is adopted and implemented as a sector framework. The integration of governance elements during the development of the municipal sector integrated development plan (IDP) will facilitate a coherent base for good governance implementation practices.Research limitations/implicationsThis research would go a long way in bringing out the anomalies that paralyse municipalities, the root causes of inefficiency and possible ways to rectify them.Practical implicationsThis study offers a framework that can help the local government sector to improve on service delivery. Implementation of the framework can also assist municipalities in obtaining clean audits from the supreme audit institutions in their respective countries.Social implicationsThe study has a huge social impact as it would help municipal officials take notice of the issues raised and act accordingly thus improving the life of citizenry.Originality/valueThis study adds value to the existing theoretical and conceptual issues that form the ongoing discourse on the implementation of corporate governance in local government, especially in South Africa, as the country is characteristic by corruption and maladministration.