Tools for integrating environmental objectives into policy and practice: What works where?

An abundance of approaches, strategies, and instruments – in short: tools – have been developed that intend to stimulate or facilitate the integration of a variety of environmental objectives into development planning, na- tional or regional sectoral policies, international agreements, business strategies, etc. These tools include legally mandatory procedures, such as Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment; more voluntary tools such as environmental indicators developed by scientists and planning tools; green budgeting, etc. A relatively underexplored question is what integration tool fits what particular purposes and contexts, in short: “what works where?”. This paper intends to contribute to answering this question, by first pro- viding conceptual clarity about what integration entails, by suggesting and illustrating a classification of integra- tion tools, and finally by summarising some of the lessons learned about how and why integration tools are (not) used and with what outcomes, particularly in terms of promoting the integration of environmental objectives

Efficient Pricing in Transport

The Gap between Theory and PracticeMany transport economists agree on the need for ‘efficient pricing’ in transport, as this would improve allocative efficiency and raise social welfare. Although the principle of efficient pricing is gaining ground in many countries, up to now it has been applied only rarely because of strong social resistance. But how can so many people be opposed to a principle which aims to increase social welfare? In this paper, I explore the major reasons underlying this paradox and examine the validity of arguments for and against efficient pricing. It appears that most arguments against efficient pricing can be refuted easily. However, everything stands or falls on the basic assumption that efficient pricing will increase social welfare, the validity of which appears to be practically impossible to prove. The main cause of this difficulty is the lack of complete information on the welfare effects of efficient pricing.

The propagation of statistical errors in covariant density functional theory: ground state observables and single-particle properties

Statistical errors in ground state observables and single-particle properties of spherical even-even nuclei and their propagation to the limits of nuclear landscape have been investigated in covariant density functional theory (CDFT) for the first time. In this study we consider only covariant energy density functionals with non-linear density dependency. Statistical errors for binding energies and neutron skins significantly increase on approaching two-neutron drip line. On the contrary, such a trend does not exist for statistical errors in charge radii and two-neutron separation energies. The absolute and relative energies of the single-particle states in the vicinity of the Fermi level are characterized by low statistical errors ($\sigma(e_i)\sim 0.1$ MeV). Statistical errors in the predictions of spin-orbit splittings are rather small. Statistical errors in physical observables are substantially smaller than related systematic uncertainties. Thus, at the present level of the development of theory, theoretical uncertainties at nuclear limits are dominated by systematic ones. Statistical errors in the description of physical observables related to the ground state and single-particle degrees of freedom are typically substantially lower in CDFT as compared with Skyrme density functional theory. The correlations between the model parameters are studied in detail. The parametric correlations are especially pronounced for the $g_2$ and $g_3$ parameters which are responsible for the density dependence of the model. The accounting of this fact potentially allows to reduce the number of free parameters of non-linear meson coupling model from six to five.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Physical Review C, referee suggestions are taken into accoun

Діяльність І. Муфтій-заде в органах земського самоврядування (кін. XIX – поч. XX ст.)

В статье анализируется плодотворная работа И.Муфтий-заде в Евпаторийской земской Управе. Автор рассматривает следующую проблему: роль и место Исмаила Муфтий-заде в решении важнейших вопросов благоустройства Евпатории в конце XIX – нач. XX в. Цель исследования: на конкретных примерах определить вклад отдельных исторических личностей в историю Крымского региона.У статті аналізується плідна робота І. Муфтій-заде у Євпаторійській повітовій земській управі. Автор розглядає таку проблему: роль і місце Ісмаїла Муфтій-заде у вирішенні важливих питань стосовно благоустрою Євпаторії в кін. XIX – поч. XX ст. Мета дослідження: на конкретних прикладах з’ясувати внесок окремих історичних особистостей в історію Кримського регіону.The article throws light on the resultative activity of Ismail Myphty-zade’s in the Eupatorian Land Committee. To define the position and role of Ismail Myphty-zade in solving of sound questions of the town planning and organization of public services in the end of XIX– beginning of XX centuries is a sphere of the author’s interests. The golef the investigation is to point out the role of separate historical individuals on the concrete examples in the Crimean region history

Unlearning in sustainability transitions: Insight from two Dutch community-supported agriculture farms

The importance of double-loop learning and associated unlearning for sustainability transitions is increasingly recognised; however, a clear conceptualisation and empirical focus on unlearning is lacking. This paper combines conceptualisations of unlearning in organisation, business and management theory (‘organizational unlearning’) with postcolonial and feminist approaches to teaching and education (‘pedagogical unlearning’) to provide a richer understanding of unlearning in sustainability transitions. Empirical evidence was obtained through qualitative documentation of the conversion to solidarity payment in two Dutch community-supported agriculture (CSA) farms. Solidarity payment increases access to the CSA for low-income members and fosters solidarity with farmers to secure fairer income. Our results indicate the generative function of unlearning during processes of change as well as the strategic and pedagogical relevance of unlearning for this specific case. We conclude with the added value of an approach to sustainability transitions that is equipped for capturing the entangled processes of unlearning and learning

Local narratives of change as an entry point for building urban climate resilience

Cities face increasing risks due to climate change, and many cities are actively working towards increasing their climate resilience. Climate change-induced risks and interventions to reduce these risks do not only impact urban risk management systems and infrastructures, but also people's daily lives. In order to build public support for climate adaptation and resilience-building and stimulate collaboration between authorities and citizens, it is necessary that adaptation and resilience-building are locally meaningful. Thus, interventions should be rooted in citizens’ concerns and aspirations for their city. Urban policymakers and researchers have started the search for better citizen participation in adaptation. However, tools to connect the relatively strategic and long-term notions of adaptation to a gradually changing climate held by planners and scientists with how citizens experience today's climate and weather remain elusive. This paper investigates the use of ‘narratives of change’ as an approach to elicit perceptions of past, present and future weather, water, and climate, and how these relate to citizens’ desired futures. We tested this by eliciting and comparing narratives of change from authorities and from citizens in the Dutch city of Dordrecht. Our analysis of the process showed that historical events, embedded in local memory and identity, have a surprisingly strong impact on how climate change is perceived and acted upon today. This contributes to an awareness and sense of urgency of some climate risks (e.g. flood risks). However, it also shifts attention away from other risks (e.g. intensified heat stress). The analysis highlighted commonalities, like shared concerns about climate change and desires to collaborate, but also differences in how climate change, impacts, and action are conceptualized. There are possibilities for collaboration and mutual learning, as well as areas of potential disagreement and conflict. We conclude that narratives are a useful tool to better connect the governance of climate adaptation with peoples’ daily experience of climate risks and climate resilience, thereby potentially increasing public support for and participation in resilience-building.</p

Policy mixes for mainstreaming urban nature-based solutions: An analysis of six European countries and the European Union

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are multifunctional and cost-effective innovations delivering urban sustainability, but they are not yet mainstream in urban development. This can be explained by persistent structural conditions in the urban infrastructure regime, resulting in barriers such as lack of collaborative governance, inadequate knowledge and limited funding availability. In this paper we argue that (supra)national governments could play an important role in breaking down these barriers by employing policy instruments and strategically combining these into policy mixes targeting multiple regime structures. By means of an empirical analysis across six European countries and the European Union (EU), we provide an overview of regulatory, financial and soft (supra)national policy instruments supporting urban NBS mainstreaming and how these are combined in policy mixes across cases. In addition, we investigate policy mix comprehensiveness by mapping the extent to which these target each of the relevant urban infrastructure regime structures underpinning barriers to urban NBS mainstreaming. We demonstrate that, with the exception of the EU, none of the studied cases employs a fully comprehensive policy mix. We conclude that by strategically adopting policy instruments with the aim of crafting a comprehensive policy mix, obstacles in pathways to urban NBS mainstreaming could be overcome

Community capacity for social enterprise development : Empirical evidence from community forest enterprises (CFEs) in Cameroon

With increasing forest devolution globally, community forest enterprises (CFEs) are emerging as potential options for local development based on forest resources. CFEs trade to meet their economic, social, and environmental goals; however, empirical studies have highlighted capacity deficiencies as key drawbacks to their development. Knowledge of what these capacity gaps are is low. This paper uses a systematic framework to explore capacity and deficiencies in capacity and the relation between the two within CFEs in Cameroon. Using the contextualised organisational capacity theory in combination with asset-based mobilisation theory, data was gathered from 31 CFEs based on focus group discussions. Principal component analysis and descriptive statistics were used to evaluate community capacity at individual, organisational (CFE), and network levels. Pearson correlation tests were used to explore the relationships between different domains of community capacity. The results indicate that community members and development practitioners agree that communities are weak in creating partnerships, networking, and resource mobilisation. The participatory community evaluation highlights major capacity gaps in infrastructure, members' skills and knowledge, and sense of community. This confirms that capacity gaps were larger at the individual and social network level, while organisational capacity scored higher except for a sense of community and resource mobilization. Although the community capacities at the individual level are generally low, these capacities correlate strongly with organisational capacity. The potential of the CFEs to meet objectives depends a lot on the capacities of individual members and networking capacity, indicating that these should be prioritised in development efforts, which should involve multiple stakeholders, with policy support and participation by the entire community