Agricultural sustainability: concepts, principles and evidence

Concerns about sustainability in agricultural systems centre on the need to develop technologies and practices that do not have adverse effects on environmental goods and services, are accessible to and effective for farmers, and lead to improvements in food productivity. Despite great progress in agricultural productivity in the past half-century, with crop and livestock productivity strongly driven by increased use of fertilizers, irrigation water, agricultural machinery, pesticides and land, it would be over-optimistic to assume that these relationships will remain linear in the future. New approaches are needed that will integrate biological and ecological processes into food production, minimize the use of those non-renewable inputs that cause harm to the environment or to the health of farmers and consumers, make productive use of the knowledge and skills of farmers, so substituting human capital for costly external inputs, and make productive use of people's collective capacities to work together to solve common agricultural and natural resource problems, such as for pest, watershed, irrigation, forest and credit management. These principles help to build important capital assets for agricultural systems: natural; social; human; physical; and financial capital. Improving natural capital is a central aim, and dividends can come from making the best use of the genotypes of crops and animals and the ecological conditions under which they are grown or raised. Agricultural sustainability suggests a focus on both genotype improvements through the full range of modern biological approaches and improved understanding of the benefits of ecological and agronomic management, manipulation and redesign. The ecological management of agroecosystems that addresses energy flows, nutrient cycling, population-regulating mechanisms and system resilience can lead to the redesign of agriculture at a landscape scale. Sustainable agriculture outcomes can be positive for food productivity, reduced pesticide use and carbon balances. Significant challenges, however, remain to develop national and international policies to support the wider emergence of more sustainable forms of agricultural production across both industrialized and developing countries.     

农户生计资本与沙漠化逆转趋势的关系——以宁夏盐池县为例

探索禁牧政策背景下农户生计资本与生计结果关系,对提升农户生计和沙漠化逆转的可持续水平具有重要意义。以农牧交错带上典型的沙漠化逆转区宁夏盐池县为例,基于SLA可持续生计框架和实地调研数据,定量评估了农户生计资本与沙漠化逆转趋势,运用灰色关联法和二元Logistic模型探讨了两者间的关系和影响。结果表明:(1)盐池县农户的生计资本存量仅处于维持基本生活需求阶段,金融资本和社会资本储量较低,存在明显的属性差异,各乡镇间差异较小;(2)农户对沙漠化逆转的响应主要表现在生态政策、适应行为、环保意识、环保行为和环境感知5个方面,存在显著的属性差异和空间差异,63.76%的受访户倾向于沙漠化逆转可持续;(3)农户生计资本与沙漠化逆转趋势之间存在较强的关联关系,人力资本和金融资本对沙漠化逆转可持续起负向作用,而物质资本、自然资本和社会资本则呈正向影响;(4)金融资本、社会资本和人力资本是影响沙漠化逆转可持续的关键因素,是今后该县农户生计资本更新与发展、可持续生计能力形成的关键点和突破点。     

Scientific and societal considerations in selecting assessment endpoints for environmental decision making

It is sometimes argued that, from an ecological point of view, population-, community-, and ecosystem-level endpoints are more relevant than individual-level endpoints for assessing the risks posed by human activities to the sustainability of natural resources. Yet society values amenities provided by natural resources that are not necessarily evaluated or protected by assessment tools that focus on higher levels of biological organization. For example, human-caused stressors can adversely affect recreational opportunities that are valued by society even in the absence of detectable population-level reductions in biota. If protective measures are not initiated until effects at higher levels of biological organization are apparent, natural resources that are ecologically important or highly valued by the public may not be adequately protected. Thus, environmental decision makers should consider both scientific and societal factors in selecting endpoints for ecological risk assessments. At the same time, it is important to clearly distinguish the role of scientists, which is to evaluate ecological effects, from the role of policy makers, which is to determine how to address the uncertainty in scientific assessment in making environmental decisions and to judge what effects are adverse based on societal values and policy goals.     

Study on the long-term and short-term effects of globalization and population aging on ecological footprint in OECD countries

Population aging has become a global phenomenon. Whereas, the ecological consequences of population aging are rarely addressed in current research. In this context, this study contributes to the existing literature by providing new empirical evidence on how population aging along with globalization, economic growth, energy consumption, natural resource rent, and human capital affect ecological footprint for selected 27 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries during 1970–2017. This study utilizes an advanced econometric approach, Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator for empirical estimation, that allows heterogeneity in the slope parameters and dependencies across countries. The long-term results disclose that globalization (overall) decreases the ecological footprint. On the other hand, financial and political globalization poses a favorable impact on environmental quality, while economic and social globalization is found to increase environmental degradation. Population aging has a statistically significant negative effect on the ecological footprint, but its non-linear term increases the ecological footprint. Additionally, economic growth, energy consumption, and natural resource rent exacerbate environmental deterioration. In contrast, human capital decreases ecological footprint. Based on the empirical results, important policy implications have been provided.     

Institutions to sustain ecological and social systems

Summary The foundation for a sustainable future is the continuation of ecological processes and functions across landscapes dominated by human activity; whether hunter-gathering, agriculture, pastoralism, suburban living, commercial and industrial centres or wilderness recreation. However, actions to sustain ecological systems, flows and functions must be integrated across the human dimensions of regional landscapes. Such regions encompass natural areas, human living places and a mosaic of other land uses. Institutional change is required to develop new organizational forms, adjust policies and develop adaptive capacity to demonstrate restoration and maintenance of all forms of social, economic and ecological capital. No matter where on the globe, future sustainability will depend on the system of resource governance that mediates the relationship between the society and the economy and, in contrast, the continuation of ecosystem functional processes. The present article examines the forms of capital, social and institutional change that need to be considered to make progress towards sustainable futures. The discussion further considers the spatial management context in which these interweaved social, ecological and economic processes take place.
Key words ecological, forms of capital, governance, institutions, landscape, social.     

The use of ecological integrity indicators within the natural capital index framework: The ecological and economic value of the remnant natural capital of México

In this paper, the ecological integrity hierarchy framework (EIHF) and the natural capital index framework (NCI) are integrated as decision-making tools for evaluating the natural capital of Mexico. Two hierarchy-levels of ecological integrity indicators are used to estimate the quality and quantity of the natural capital, the amount of ecological degradation and ecological sustainability. After human transformation, the extent still considered as “natural” in the country is ∼67%; while the amount of human transformed areas is ∼33%, which gives a total estimate of NCI = 0.334; i.e., only ∼33.4% of the national capital remains available, while ∼33% is ecologically degraded. Furthermore, the critical natural capital; i.e., the legacy for future generations that remains in the country is only ∼12%. The total estimated value of the current natural capital in Mexico is ∼$457.1 billion/yr, which is ∼435 times greater than the national GDP ($1.051 billion in 2010). The cost of maintaining the degradation of the natural capital is ∼$144.6 billion/yr (∼138 times greater than national GDP in 2010). The potential value of the natural capital after restoration would be ∼$602 billion/yr. Valuing the natural capital can be helpful for strategic environmental evaluations and useful for spatial decision support systems that evaluate natural capital as a decision-making tool.     

生态系统服务与居民收入的耦合关系及影响因素——以丽江拉市海流域为例

生态保护与社会经济发展的耦合关系极大地影响当地可持续性能力。以丽江拉市海流域为例,研究一个流域内生态系统服务与居民收入的耦合关系及其影响因素。文章运用In VEST模型和实地调研访谈方法计算流域内各自然村2015年生态系统服务供给数量和农民人均总收入,引入耦合协调度定量化衡量二者的耦合关系,并通过相关分析,探究流域内差异化的生计方式和生计资本对生态系统服务与居民收入耦合关系的影响。研究结果表明:(1)生态系统服务的供给存在空间差异,流域内水源涵养、土壤保持、森林固碳服务集中在流域上游;(2)流域内自然村间的生态系统服务与居民收入的耦合关系存在空间差异和一定的规律,湖泊东面的自然村能够通过特定的生计方式,获取生态系统的产品供给和文化服务所带来的收益,总体呈现较优的耦合协调关系;(3)当地居民的生计方式中,生态旅游与耦合关系具有显著正相关关系,而外出务工与耦合关系具有显著的负相关关系。尽管外出务工对于直接提高当地居民收入的促进作用较小,但其可能通过"智力回流"的方式提高了当地居民开展新型生计的能力。自然资本中人均耕地面积等可利用的自然资本与耦合关系显著正相关。金融、人力、社会资本的相关性尽管不显著,但其系数符号表明,该类生计资本的存量可能对促进生态系统服务与居民收入的耦合协调有积极作用。基础设施中的路网密度与耦合协调度呈显著负相关,在具有生态脆弱性、重要性的区域建设公路时需谨慎评估对生态系统结构和功能的影响。     

生态创新系统功能、过程和可持续评估

不同国家生态创新水平有高低,生态创新系统有差异。生态创新系统是由一系列参与者通过相互作用形成的网络,目的是推动有助于生态环境和社会经济协调发展的知识和技术的生产、传播和应用。为比较不同国家生态创新系统的发展状况和可持续性,分析不同国家生态创新系统的优势和不足,提出生态创新系统两步评估法和整体分析框架。把生态创新系统的功能和过程结合起来,对生态创新系统的发展水平进行评价。重点关注系统的长期发展,即系统可持续性。基于资本的角度,包括知识、经济、人力和社会资本,建立生态创新系统可持续评估模型,考察相关资本存量、流量和风险因素。根据创新系统理论、文献回顾和国际研究比较,遴选出30个关键指标,构建涵盖2个指标矩阵的综合评价指标体系。采用主成分分析和综合评价方法,对不同国家生态创新系统的功能-过程和可持续性分别进行评价。研究表明,法国、德国、韩国、西班牙和挪威生态创新系统的功能-过程表现最强,韩国、德国、奥地利、挪威、捷克生态创新系统的可持续性表现最强。根据生态创新系统的现状和可持续性,主要生态创新国家可以分为四种类型,据此采用不同发展策略。如韩国系统现状水平和可持续性都较高,属于生态创新先进国。...     

禁牧政策背景下宁夏盐池县农民生活满意度影响因素

为了改善北方农牧交错区退化的草原,国家从21世纪初开始实施了禁牧政策,政策实施以后,北方农牧交错区农民的生产生活都受到很大的影响。对该地区农民主观幸福感的影响因素进行研究,尤其是研究收入和禁牧政策的感知对主观幸福感的影响,可以为后续政策实施和改善提供理论支持,并为营造幸福生活、建立幸福乡村提供更多依据。基于此本文以典型北方农牧交错区宁夏自治区盐池县为例,通过调查问卷数据,采用OLS回归模型和分位数回归模型分析了农民生活满意度的影响因素。结果表明：（1）自评价的相对收入、自评价的收支状况、禁牧政策满意度、禁牧政策对收入的影响、参加社会活动的频率和环境满意度对生活满意度有显著的正向影响。（2）自评价的相对收入、自评价的收支状况和禁牧政策满意度的正向影响随农民生活满意度分位点的提高而降低,而禁牧政策的收入影响只对中分位点农民的生活满意度起到显著的正向影响。参加活动的频率对低生活满意度分位点农民的正向影响不显著,而环境满意度只在高分位点对农民的生活满意度有显著的正向影响。（3）较高的生活满意度可以使农村居民更支持和愿意参与到生态政策中去。所以,有必要继续完善现有生态补偿政策,在继续保护和改善北方农牧交错区生态环境的同时,提高北方农牧交错区农村居民的主观幸福感,促进社会的可持续发展。     

Rural Poor Economies and Foreign Investors: An Opportunity or a Risk?

In the current age of commercial and financial openness, remote and poor local economies are becoming increasingly exposed to inflows of external capital. The new investors - enjoying lower credit constraints than local dwellers - might play a propulsive role in local development. At the same time, inflows of external capital can have negative impacts on local natural resource-dependent activities. We analyze a two-sector model where both sectors damage the environment, but only that of domestic producers relies on natural resources. We assess under which conditions the coexistence of the two sectors is compatible with sustainability, defined as convergence to a stationary state characterized by a positive stock of the natural resource. Moreover, we find that capital inflows can be stimulated by an increase in the pollution intensity of incoming activities, but also in the pollution intensity of the domestic sector; in both cases, capital inflows generate environmental degradation and a decrease in welfare for the local population. Finally, we show that a reduction in the cost of capital for external investors and the consequent capital inflows have the effect to increase wages, local investments and welfare of the local populations only if the environmental impact of the external sector is relatively low with respect to that of local activities. Otherwise, an unexpected scenario characterized by a reduction in domestic capital accumulation and the impoverishment of local agents can occur.     

禁牧政策下宁夏盐池县农户适应策略及其影响因素

禁牧政策下农户的适应策略是农户为了应对外界干预而做出的各种适应性改变,生计变化是其中最重要的部分。通过实地调查获得研究数据,对比分析禁牧初期和禁牧10a农户生计模式、养殖及种植方面的变化,并以农户的生计资本作为自变量,运用有序多分类和二项的Logistic回归模型分析农户适应策略(农户生计多样性、养殖规模及养殖方式)变化的影响因素。研究得出:1与禁牧初期相比,当前农户的适应策略主要表现为农户生计模式具有初步非农化倾向,生计多样性增加,大部分农户养殖规模减小或不变,农户生产结构有所调整,粮食作物种植面积增加,而经济作物种植面积减小,单只羊的养殖成本增加。2农户生计资本水平对其适应策略具有重要影响,农户生计多样性变化的主要影响因素有人力资本、金融资本和社会资本;影响农户养殖规模变化的主要有自然资本、物质资本、金融资本和社会资本,而影响农户养殖模式选择的主要是物质资本和金融资本因素。     

自然资本流变及其对生态系统服务价值的演变路径

生态系统服务价值化是将生态系统惠益于人类社会的价值进行量化,以评估生态系统服务状态,便于生态系统监测和管理。自然资本是生态系统服务的来源,结合自然资本视角进行生态系统服务价值化,其成果有利于提高生态系统保护政策制定的精准性和统筹力,有利于创新生态系统服务评估方法。通过梳理自然资本概念的缘起与发展过程,认为自然资本经历了"同义指代"、"边界明晰"、"多领域交汇"和"隐喻多义"四个阶段逐步丰富的过程。当今针对自然资本研究的三种主流视角,即将自然资本视为"产生经济价值的资产"、"产生服务流的存量"和"金融资本"为生态系统服务的价值化提供了多种途径。生态系统服务价值化的过程要体现可持续发展的基本目标,保证自然资本的稳定,维持人类社会代际公平。以此为前提,鼓励生态系统价值化视角的多样性。价值化途径应关注生态系统服务的时空动态变化、多种服务协同作用和供需权衡。生态系统服务价值化是自然资本金融杠杆化的推手,应警惕有可能带来的金融风险和生态风险。     

基于改进生态足迹三维模型的自然资本利用特征分析-选取11个国家为数据源

自然资本利用评估是可持续发展量化领域的重要课题。生态足迹三维模型首次实现了流量资本与存量资本的分类测度,为更全面、准确地反映人类利用自然资本的状况提供了可行的途径。从探讨模型缺陷入手,通过细致追踪各地类载体上的流量资本与存量资本变化,克服了地类间赤字转移问题,明确了适用于区域尺度和地类尺度的足迹广度、足迹深度和三维足迹等指标的计算方法。运用改进后的模型,分析了1999—2008年全球11个国家自然资本利用的时空变化特征。结果表明:在过去10年自然资本利用的国际格局中,美国、法国和德国(后6年)为流量资本与存量资本双高型;印度(前2年)为双低型;英国、德国(前4年)、意大利、日本、印度(后8年)和中国为流量资本低、存量资本高型;加拿大、巴西和俄罗斯为流量资本高、存量资本低型。研究表明:各国的自然资本利用状况是自然资源禀赋与社会经济发展水平共同作用的结果,发达国家的自然资本利用强度总体仍显著高于发展中国家;流量资本占用与存量资本消耗之间存在负相关性,资源富足型国家的人均区域足迹广度一般较高,区域足迹深度相对较低,资源贫乏型国家则相反。针对研究存在的局限性提出了进一步改进的优先方向。     

Reinforcing the Ecosystem Services Perspective: The Temporal Component

Founded upon sustainability science, the ecosystem services concept is increasingly defined by an economic valuation approach to natural capital. This latter-day addition risks subsuming the central message of the ecosystem services concept: that humanity is reliant upon the natural world. Three arenas of inappropriate application of the economic valuation approach to ecosystem services are detailed, these are defined as ecological, social-natural, and socioeconomic problems. Each problematic arena suggests the primary shortcoming of the economic valuation approach: it lacks an incorporation of the temporal component. More clearly incorporating the natural conditions and processes which compose and maintain human benefits into the ecosystem services concept will more fully reflect contemporary economics and sustainability science. The framework of Social-ecological Systems (SES) theory provides a broad foundation for the economic valuation of ecosystem services. Emphasizing the importance of human and environmental change, SES theory encapsulates a needed awareness of the dynamic interactions which compose ecosystem services.     

中国县域森林生态安全指数——基于5省15个试点县的经验数据

生态安全与国防安全、经济安全、金融安全等已具有同等重要的战略地位,并成为未来社会经济安全的主要约束。森林作为陆地生态系统的主体,其安全程度将影响地球的生态平衡,并决定人类社会经济的可持续发展和未来资源的永续利用。基于森林生态系统与人类社会系统交互的内在机理,从森林生态的自身状态(生态状态指数ECI)与人类活动产生的压力(生态压力指数EPI)两个视角全面考量森林生态系统的安全程度,在此基础上提出森林生态安全状态—压力框架模型,最终设计了森林生态安全指数(ESI)的方法体系。为验证森林生态安全指数理论,本研究选取了5省15个县为森林生态安全评价试点县域,对其1999—2013年森林生态安全状况进行评价,以期为县域森林生态安全评价以及在空间和时间维度上的对比研究提供帮助。     

中国人均灰水生态足迹变化驱动效应测度及时空分异

将传统灰水足迹和水生态足迹方法相结合,运用扩展的Kaya恒等式和LMDI指数分解方法对中国各省市的人均灰水生态足迹变化的驱动因素进行测度分析,充分考虑了资本和劳动力因素,选取经济活度效应,资本深化效应,资本效率效应,足迹强度效应,环境效率效应5个效应对人均灰水生态足迹变化的影响,结合ISODATA聚类模型对各效应进行空间聚类,从而分析各效应的空间特征。结果显示:中国人均灰水生态足迹产出变化是这5种因素共同作用的结果,资本深化效应和经济活度效应具有增量效应特点,而环境效率效应、足迹强度效应、资本效率效应呈减量效应特点;在各驱动效应的的强弱对比中,资本深化效应和足迹强度效应的特征较为明显。经济发展带动了科技进步也使得用水效率不断提高是足迹强度效应呈减量效应的主要原因;而工业化阶段经济向资本密集型转变是资本效率下降的主要原因。研究对中国灰水生态变化与资本要素之间的关系进行了探讨,对环保政策的调整及水资源可持续利用研究具有一定的参考价值。     

The emergy ecological footprint for small fish farm in China

Mariculture, especially cage aquaculture remains a growing, vibrant and important production sector for high protein food in coastal regions in China. A quantitative evaluation of the mariculture system is an essential step to documenting its’ sustainability. The method of emergy ecological footprint is applied to evaluate the environmental sustainability of an offshore small fish farm (Great Marine fish farm, GMFF) in the East China Sea. All input needed to support fish farming were accounted and converted into biological space, to estimate the natural capital demand for the rearing process in terms of global hectares. The emergy ecological footprint of GMFF was 1953.19 ha, meaning that nearly 2000 ha of ecologically productive lands were needed to support the fish framing. The largest component of emergy ecological footprint was forage (1183.64 ha), which took up 60.60% of the total footprint; the second and third largest footprint components were fingerlings and fuel. In a word, emergy ecological footprint can serve as a practical and meaningful tool for comparing and monitoring the environmental impact of fish farming. The strong dependence of external contributions of exploiting the wild fish resources affects strongly the level of environmental sustainability of fish farming.     

中国典型生态脆弱区生态化学计量学研究进展

在人类活动和自然环境变化的相互作用下,生态脆弱区生态系统随之变迁,荒漠化、盐碱化、水土流失、植被生产力下降等是生态脆弱区面临的重要问题。生态化学计量学作为当前多学科交叉研究的热点领域,强调从生态系统能量与元素平衡角度,揭示元素生物地球化学循环和生态系统对环境变化的调控机制。为了促进对生态脆弱区碳（C）、氮（N）、磷（P）生态化学计量的深入理解,本文重点总结了近年来有关我国典型生态脆弱区植物、凋落物、土壤和土壤微生物量C、N、P生态化学计量及其对环境变化响应的研究成果,并展望未来研究方向,以期促进生态化学计量学的发展和生态脆弱区生态保护与恢复研究。研究表明,植物-凋落物-土壤-土壤微生物系统C、N、P化学计量具有较强相关性,并受土壤因子、气候因子、生物因子和人类活动的显著影响。在生态脆弱区,我国北方荒漠及荒漠化地区由于较高的N∶P比值易受P限制,而青藏高原脆弱区、西南岩溶石漠化地区和黄土高原脆弱区等生态脆弱区更易受N限制;随着植被恢复,养分限制逐渐由N限制向P限制转变。生态脆弱区相对较低的养分含量和C∶N∶P比值或许可在一定程度上解释植被生产力较低的原因,而具有较高N、P化学计量内稳性的植物在贫瘠环境中具有较强竞争力和更高稳定性。今后可加强多尺度、不同生态系统植物-凋落物-土壤-土壤微生物系统生态化学计量和长期、多因子交互控制实验的研究。     

Ecological restoration: A new frontier for nature conservation and economics

Ecological restoration is still perceived by many conservationists, and the majority of economists, as a diversion, a delusion, and – far worse – a waste of money. In this paper we point out that restoration is in fact complementary not only to nature conservation but also to sustainable, equitable socio-economic development. This is because restoring and augmenting the natural capital base generates jobs and improves livelihoods and the quality of life of all in the economy.

In developing countries, where most biodiversity hotspots occur, both conservation of nature and the restoration of degraded ecosystems will find local support only if they are clearly linked to socio-economic development. Conversely, sound socio-economic development in the environmentally damaged portions of those countries undoubtedly will require ecological restoration of the natural capital base. Nature conservation, ecological restoration, and sustainable economic development policies should therefore be planned, budgeted and executed conjointly.     

海洋生态资本概念与属性界定

海洋生态资源是人类社会经济发展的基础,对其进行资本化界定是对其进行价值评估和资本化管理的前提。基于自然资本和生态系统服务两大理论,结合国内外学者对"自然资本"、"生态资本"等概念的界定和认识,考虑海洋生态系统的特性,提出了海洋生态资本的概念,认为海洋生态资本是能够直接或间接作用于人类社会经济生产、提供有用的产品流或服务流的海洋生态资源。海洋生态资本的价值是指海洋生态资本的存量价值及其产生的收益流价值,包括各类海洋生态资源的现存量价值及其组成海洋生态系统整体而产生的生态系统服务价值。比较了海洋生态资本与海洋生态系统服务、生态资产、自然资本、海洋资源等概念的异同,进而探讨了海洋生态资本的一般属性及其特殊属性。