The Sustainable Development Goals and REDD+: assessing institutional interactions and the pursuit of synergies

This paper analyzes potential synergies between two recent sustainable development initiatives, namely the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), a climate mitigation mechanism negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The paper elaborates a conceptual framework based on institutional interactions and distinguishes core, complementary, and supplementary synergies that may be realized between the SDGs and REDD+. Potential synergies are analyzed at the global level, as well as within two national-level contexts: Indonesia, with its long-standing REDD+ programme, and Myanmar, which is in the early stages of implementing REDD+. Both are now also engaging nationally with the SDG implementation process. Our research draws on literature review and document analysis, direct observations of global policy processes relating to REDD+ and SDGs, as well as extensive engagement (of one author) at national level in Indonesia and Myanmar. Our analysis reveals that there are currently significant opportunities to pursue synergies in the implementation of these international initiatives at the national level, although pro-active interaction management is necessary, especially to achieve complementary synergies.     

包容性发展与经济法的耦合

包容性发展与排徐性发展或歧视性发展相对,它的本质就是指全体社会成员都能平等地参与社会发展的过程,公平地共享社会发展的权利、机会和成果的一种发展.包容性发展包括社会包容、经济包容、政治包容、文化包容等多个方面.包容性发展与经济法的本质、理念和价值有着密切的联系,是天然耦合的,包容性发展是经济法本质的核心要求,与经济法理念内在统一,是经济法价值的重要体现.实现包容性发展,离不开经济法治保障,因为建立健康有序的市场秩序是包容性发展的基础,而法治的宏观调控是包容性发展的保障.     

Council of Europe/UNEP,Pan‐European biological and landscape diversity strategy,Invasive Alien Species

Abstract

The notion of sustainable development has become, over the last fifteen years, an integral part of international environmental law and policy. It is recognition that environmental issues do not exist in a vacuum, but rather arc part of much wider structural issues involving both economic and social dimensions. However, does this concern for sustainable development now mean that protecting the natural environment is no longer about ecological conservation per se, but rather is simply abour ensuring an adequate environment to maintain economic development? And if so, what of those environments where the economic value is a secondary consideration? Or where human activity has a disproportionate effect? Can sustainable development be interpreted in a way that reconciles these seemingly opposite demands? This paper examines these issues from the perspective of the 1991 Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. It will suggest that sustainable development is a broader concept than one that simply requires an instrumental approach to environmental protection. In fact, the paper will conclude that sustainable development is a relatively meaningless notion if it docs not also contain a strong element of environmental conservation, and not only in such ecologically important areas as Antarctica.     

生态法治元论

迈向生态文明不仅是政策的主观选择,更是社会发展的客观必然。人与生境的现实紧张表现为错综复杂的社会关系,在空间性、时间性、主体间性、行为间性四个维度呈现出相互交织的矛盾样态。调整复杂的矛盾关系、建设生态文明,要求法治的因应变迁。生态法治相较于人本法治的质性迈进突出反映在作为法治基本范式的"权利"在内涵方面的拓展和外延方面的丰富。生态法治因之呈现出统筹性、前瞻性与科学性三个典型特性。在规约建构方面,生态法治要求完备性立法和多层次建制。在运行实施中,必须强力施治,反哺法律权威;创新机制,诱致自我实施,并通过伦理文化的辅助导正行为。     

Are older deafblind people being left behind? A narrative review of literature on deafblindness through the lens of the United Nations Principles for Older People

Underpinned by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRDP), Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the international goal to ‘leave no one behind’. However, the World Federation of the Deafblind have argued that deafblind people have been excluded from international welfare and disability development programmes. Despite making up the majority of the deafblind population, it appears that older deafblind people are particularly invisible. The paper builds on the earlier work of others, which translated the UN Principles for Older Persons into the language of older visually impaired adults, by using them here as the lens for a narrative review of the literature on older deafblind people. It argues that existing research demonstrates that older deafblind people are not only being ‘left behind’ in benefitting from implementation of the UN Principles, but also that the focus of the UN Principles themselves risks maintaining or enhancing their exclusion. Further research and policy development with older deafblind people is required to ensure that international and national social welfare policies and provision are not nugatory to the older deafblind population.     

Breaking the mold: a new type of multilateral sustainable development negotiation

Participants in the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were reminded time and again that there is no model for the process to develop the SDGs. They resolved to not repeat the closed process used to develop the Millennium Development Goals, but the OWG began work when failures to reach consensus and fatigue with multilateral environmental negotiations dominated delegates’ minds, rather than examples of successfully negotiated outcomes. The OWG Co-Chairs were faced with the daunting task of guiding delegates’ efforts to develop a proposed set of crisp SDGs and targets that all could agree to, and thus, had to accomplish the following goals: (1) reduce delegation rigidity, both of individual Member States and within coalitions; (2) maximize the sense of participation, transparency, and ownership to get the most buy-in at the end; and (3) develop a sense of trust that would change the relationship between Member States. To do this, the OWG Co-Chairs broke the mold of UN multilateral negotiations that Member States and observers had become familiar with and created a different approach. This article examines how the OWG accomplished these goals and overcame the shortcomings of other multilateral negotiating processes on sustainable development to produce a widely supported consensus outcome at a time when governments have struggled to achieve agreement in many multilateral negotiation tracks.     

Land-based negative emissions: risks for climate mitigation and impacts on sustainable development

This paper focuses on the risks associated with “negative emissions” technologies (NETs) for drawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and storing it in land-based sinks or underground. Modelled mitigation pathways for 1.5 °C assume NETs that range as high as 1000 Gt CO₂. We argue that this is two to three times greater than the amount of land-based NETs that can be realistically assumed, given critical social objectives and ecological constraints. Embarking on a pathway that assumes unrealistically large amounts of future NETs could lead society to set near-term targets that are too lenient and thus greatly overshoot the carbon budget, without a way to undo the damage. Pathways consistent with 1.5 °C that rely on smaller amounts of NETs, however, could prove viable. This paper presents a framework for assessing the risks associated with negative emissions in the context of equity and sustainable development. To do this, we identify three types of risks in counting on NETs: (1) that NETs will not ultimately prove feasible; (2) that their large-scale deployment involves unacceptable ecological and social impacts; and (3) that NETs prove less effective than hoped, due to irreversible climate impacts, or reversal of stored carbon. We highlight the technical issues that need to be resolved and—more importantly—the value judgements that need to be made, to identify the realistic potential for land-based NETs consistent with social and environmental goals. Given the critical normative issues at stake, these are decisions that should be made within an open, transparent, democratic process. As input, we offer here an indicative assessment of the realistic potential for land-based NETs, based on a precautionary assessment of the risks to their future effectiveness and a provisional assessment of the extent to which they are in conflict with sustainable development goals related to land, food and climate.     

THE IMPACT OF RACIALLY INCLUSIVE SCHOOLING ON ADULT INCARCERATION RATES AMONG U.S. COHORTS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS AND WHITES SINCE 1930*

Despite the substantial body of research on the psychological and social effects of racial segregation in schools on African Americans, few studies have considered the possibility that more racially inclusive schools might reduce the risk of extremely negative adult life experiences such as incarceration. Yet such a connection is made plausible by research linking black racial isolation in schools to variables that are often associated with incarceration rates, including concentrated poverty, and low educational and occupational aspirations and attainment. In this paper, we apply methods first developed by labor economists to assess the impact of racial inclusiveness in schools on individual incarceration rates for 5‐year cohorts of African Americans and whites born since 1930. We find strong support for the conclusion that blacks educated in states where a higher proportion of their classmates were white experienced significantly lower incarceration rates as adults. Moreover, our analysis suggests that the effects of racial inclusiveness on black incarceration rates have grown stronger over time. These longitudinal effects are consistent with the argument that the educational climate of predominantly black schools has deteriorated in more recent decades.     

竞争中立对我国国有企业的影响及法制应对

竞争中立政策的实施能够有效促进国有企业与民营企业之间的公平竞争,在优化社会资源配置的同时,提升国有企业自身的经营效益。目前我国国有企业在经营中仍享受着诸多的不当竞争优势,对此,应在结合域外制度经验的基础上,以竞争中立政策的适用主体与范围为切入点,依据竞争中立政策的基本要求,以政府职能分离规则、防止交叉补贴规则、透明度规则以及合理豁免规则为基本导向,对我国当前的相关法律制度进行检讨和完善。竞争中立政策要求我们必须立足于当前经济发展的实际,积极参与国际谈判,争取话语权,为今后我国国有企业乃至整个社会经济的健康、持续发展创造良好的市场环境和法制保障。     

The role of discourses in governing forests to combat climate change

Reducing emissions from forest degradation and deforestation, conserving and enhancing forest carbon stocks, and sustainably managing forests (REDD+) has emerged as one of the most anticipated climate change mitigation tools. This paper aims to understand and identify the underlying discourses that have dominated the emergence of REDD+, by identifying the key story lines in the policy and academic debates on REDD+. As such, this paper takes a step away from the “fine-tuning” of policy recommendations and instead studies REDD+ from a more theoretical approach with the intent to provide a critical analysis of the ideational structures that shape the policies that have emerged around REDD+. The analysis shows that ecological modernization and its accompanying story lines constitute a dominant notion of REDD+ as being able to manage the complexities of forest in a synergetic way, combining cost-efficient and effective mitigation with sustainable development. The paper also identifies the critical counter discourse of civic environmentalism, which criticizes this notion of REDD+ and instead promotes issues such as equity, the importance of local knowledge, and the participatory process. It argues that reducing deforestation involves trade-offs between economic, ecological, and social dimensions, also arguing that REDD+ fits overwhelmingly with the interest of the global North.     

The Multiplicity of Taxpayer Identities and Their Implications for Tax Ethics

It is argued that many social factors (ethics, norms, legitimacy) affecting tax compliance derive their meaning and potency from taxpayers' identities—the way they position themselves socially, relative to other taxpayers and the tax authority. Based on survey data from 965 Australians, the present study investigates taxpayers' identities at three different levels of inclusiveness (personal, subgroup, and national identity) and their implications for tax-ethical attitudes. An inclusive identity in terms of one's nation was related to attitudes most conducive to tax compliance. It is concluded that the concept of identity is key to responsive regulation.     

环境治理和可持续发展：中国环境法的成就、问题和展望

本文阐明了中国环境法60年的发展概况、所取得的成就、所存在的主要问题以及今後的发展方向。主张在环境立法内容方面,加强有关环境治理、环境善治、公民环境权、环境民主、公秉参与、环境知情权、环境公益诉讼、政府环境责任及政府环境责任问责制方面的立法：在环境法学研究方面提出：促进研究范式从“主、客二分”到“主、客一体”的转变;促进环境法上的人的模式从经济人模式、主体人模式向生态人模式转变。认为环境法治理建设应该以可持续发展为目标,以生态文明为方向,以环境法治为灵魂,以维护环境正义公平为宗旨,以环境安全为前提,以人与自然和谐相处为核心,以环境民主为手段,以追求环境效益和环境效率为激励机制,以健全综合生态系统管理和环境“善治”机制为导向,充分发挥环境法律调整人与自然关系的作用,使其成为建设环境友好社会、资源节约型社会和生态文明社会的法律保障。环境法学应该研究生态化方法和综合生态系统管理理论,促进环境法向生态法转变,促进环境法律制度的生态化．     

论经济可持续发展中政府的生态责任

随着经济的发展,人们越来越清醒地认识到以污染环境和破坏生态来换取一时经济繁荣的矛盾日益突出,如果不尽快解决好这个矛盾,经济的可持续发展就会受到严重制约。面临环境污染、资源浪费、水土流失、土地沙漠化等生态环境恶化问题以及由此产生的“生态贫困——经济落后——环境退化”的PPE恶性循环怪圈,政府应当担当起经济可持续发展中的生态责任来。本文先分析了制约我国经济可持续发展的生态问题,然后在此基础上论述了政府在经济可持续发展中的生态责任。     

国际贸易中的人权问题——以发展权为视角

发展权是当代人权的核心内容,目前的主要问题是发展中国家的发展问题.国际贸易中劳工标准、产品质量标准、环境保护标准以及药品价格等的确立不仅影响发展中国家许多有关个人的经济、社会和文化权利的实现,而且还影响发展中国家以环境权、可持续发展等为内容的集体人权的发展.国际贸易应坚持非歧视原则,促进发展权的实现.     

The moderating role of financial development in the globalization-sustainable development nexus in some selected African Countries

Economic Change and Restructuring - This study examines the effects of the different dimensions of globalization on sustainable development with the moderating role of financial development in the...     

Social disorganization, marriage, and reported crime: A spatial econometrics examination of family formation and criminal offending

It has long been documented that “marriage matters” for a variety of reasons. Furthermore, there has been considerable debate over the causal relationship between marriage and a number of its associated correlates, most often related to social processes of health behaviors, criminal involvement, and achievement. While most research associated with marriage and crime is concerned with the individual, little is understood concerning the ecological effect of marriage rates. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the F.B.I.'s Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR), this study tests such relationships through the implementation of spatially-centered analytic approaches concerning the potential independent effects of marriage rates within a social disorganization context. It is important to understand such aggregate level effects in the face of the existing literature, which relies heavily on relational associations and is subject to ecological fallacy. Analytic techniques incorporate Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) and spatial regression.     

Bahamas: procedural law

This article investigates the legal basis for the implementation of sustainable development in Nigeria. It analyzes several contemporary challenges of sustainable development in Nigeria as well as the obstacles hindering the effective implementation of sustainable development in Nigeria. The article suggests several legal and policy strategies that will enhance the implementation of sustainable development in Nigeria and emphasizes the need for legal and policy measures that will stimulate the participation of citizens in the implementation of sustainable development.     

THE RIGHT TO EQUAL DEVELOPMENT AND ITS PRACTICE MODELS IN CHINA

As a holistic right, the right to equal development emphasizes equity of opportunities for development in economic, social, cultural and political fields among subjects of present and future generations at different regions. Right to equal development may receive theoretical support from ideas of social solidarity, global justice, inclusive growth and traditional culture of China. China engages in the realization of the right to equal development in five models, namely cooperation among local governments, interaction between public power and private rights, sustainable development, holistic development and government intervention.     

包容的价值取向与包容性增长的融合途径探析

包容的价值取向作为一种价值导向和发展观,在人的发展和社会主义核心价值体系建设中发挥着越来越大的作用,包容性增长是包容的价值取向在经济领域的投射。但随着经济社会的发展,包容性增长中重视效率和效益的问题被放大,掩盖了其所蕴含的社会包容性发展问题。因此,用包容性发展的概念取代包容性增长的概念,并实现包容的价值取向与包容性增长的融合便成为重要的研究课题。本文在论述二者融合的必要性的基础上,探讨了二者融合的途径,以期用二者的融合促进人与社会的包容以及人的和谐发展、全面发展。     

后小康时代我国相对贫困治理的挑战与应对

在全面消除绝对贫困后,我国的贫困治理已转向相对贫困.当前,我国的国际方位、发展方位、社会主要矛盾发生了历史性变化,相对贫困治理也面临着相对贫困人群瞄准难、相对贫困扶持精准供给难、"能力贫困"及"精神贫困"韧性大、碎片化与系统化矛盾调和难等挑战.后小康时代,应构建相对贫困治理长效机制,织密多维动态识别、政策统筹衔接、持续...