Children in the environment: Forest day-care centers: Modern day care with historical antecedents

Some features of early child care are more prominent in Norway than in other countries, such as emphasis on the outdoor environment. Of general relevance and interest is the form of day care provided by forest day-care centers. Three ideas form the development of these centers placed in wild areas. First, throughout history, Norwegians have had a close attachment to nature and some parents want to provide their children with outdoor experiences at an early age. Second, urging children to play outdoors characterizes the image many parents have of a happy, healthy childhood. Third, provision of day care for children has always been restricted in western countries, forcing parents to invent types of service that can become part of an ecological system that promotes healthy development.The forest day-care centers developed recently represent a supplement to the wide typology of child care in the 21st century. The article outlines the connections between these ideas in general European and western history and Norwegian history and presents debate and decisions about a question dating from the last half of the 1980s. It concludes that the forest day-care centers are perhaps only a modern form of the original kindergarten concept, which started in Europe and America as gardens for children not gardens of children.     

Scale, technique and composition effects in the Mexican agricultural sector: the influence of NAFTA and the institutional environment

More than a decade after NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) entered into force, the environmental effects of agricultural trade liberalization in Mexico are still controversial, emerging, and not fully understood. This paper contributes to the literature that aims to explore trends in input use in the agricultural sector in Mexico during the post-NAFTA period among both commercial/industrial and traditional/rainfed farmers, and examines the influence of the national and multilateral institutional framework on these outcomes. We decompose the post-NAFTA agricultural production data into scale, technique and composition effects to estimate the impact that trade liberalization has had on the use of fertilizer and land use, two key agricultural inputs for which reliable aggregate data is available. We conclude that among commercial farmers patterns of crop type specialization and significant technological improvements have led to some declines in fertilizer use but they have been offset by growth in fertilizer use associated with growing agricultural output. Among traditional farmers increased output and specialization in land-intensive grain crops are contributing to an increase in land under cultivation and technological improvements show the potential, but not yet not the strength, to counteract these effects. We analyse the environmental institutional framework and rural development plans, observing that institutional weaknesses have, in several instances, reduced the environmental benefit of technique and composition effects. We conclude with recommendations about how the Mexican agricultural sector might reap the environmental benefits of international agricultural trade.     

Strengthening Green Global Governance in a Disparate World SocietyWould a World Environment Organisation Benefit the South?

The debate on the advantages and disadvantages of upgrading the United Nations Environment Programme to a 'world environment organisation' (WEO) has gained momentum in both academe and politics. This article contends that a WEO would further the interests especially of developing countries, because it would provide them, first, a high-level forum to unite their individual bargaining power against the major industrialised countries. Second, a WEO would assist Southern efforts to garner international support for environmental programmes in regions and sectors that are increasingly bypassed by economic globalisation. Third, a WEO would create a locus to politically institutionalise the influence of non-governmental lobbyists in a way that increases the balance of opinions and perspectives. The article then addresses special challenges and caveats for developing countries in the upcoming negotiation process, in particular whether an upgraded UNEP would address only 'global' issues, thus absolving the international community from assisting developing countries in mitigating the more pressing local environmental issues in the South; whether the new body would have powerful sanctioning mechanisms, which might disproportionally affect developing countries; and what decision-making procedures the new body would have.     

生态文明——人类发展的必然选择

生态文明作为人类文明的一种形式,是人类对传统工业文明进行理性反思的产物,是人类发展的必然选择.党的十六大将生态问题纳入基本国策,将生态文明建设列入全面建设小康社会的重要目标.建设生态文明是明智的选择,也是一项刻不容缓的任务.生态文明建设是一个复杂的综合性的工程,需要摈弃功利主义发展观,树立人与自然和谐发展的新观念,需要人们生态意识的培养与素质的提高,需要决策层的正确引导,需要法律、法规的约束等措施来实现.     

绿色税收:欧盟经验与东北之鉴

作为对外部性予以纠正的公共政策方式,绿色税收能够引导节约资源、合理利用环境、提高社会福利。德国、荷兰等欧盟国家在推动社会资源优化配置过程中,关注各方面利益的相互均衡,促进社会效率与公平协调发展;与此相适应,课税理念也得到了调整,并以税收制度变迁进一步推动了社会和谐发展。这些对中国东北地区经济转型都具有借鉴意义。     

可持续发展战略与我国环境资源立法的完善

可持续发展战略是联合国环境与发展大会确定的未来共同发展战略。我国《中国21世纪议程——中国21世纪人口、环境与发展白皮书》提出了可持续发展战略、对策及行动方案。我国虽然在环境资源方面立法基本建立了环境与资源法的法律体系,但是尚缺将可持续发展作为环境与资源立法的指导思想。因此本文针对目前我国环境与资源及立法存在的实际问题,提出以可持续发展作为环境与资源立法的指导思想,修改我国《宪法》、《环境保护法》及有关环境与资源的法律、法规,制订统一《自然资源保护法》、《环境污染税法》、《环境保护投资法》及《环境与资源教育法》,完善我国环境与资源立法体制。     

Enabling collaborative synthesis in multi-partner programmes

Multi-partner consortia have emerged as an important modality for knowledge generation to address complex sustainability challenges. Establishing effective multi-partner consortia involves significant investment. This article shares lessons from the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA), which aims to support policy and practice for climate change adaptation through a consortium model. Key lessons include the need to facilitate collaborative spaces to build trust and identify common interests, while accepting that this is not a guarantee of success; the importance of programmatic leadership to achieve synthesis; and the value of strategic planning in supporting motivation and alignment between partners.     

Investing in multi-stakeholder dialogue to address natural resource competition and conflict

How can multi-stakeholder dialogue help assess and address the roots of environmental resource competition and conflict? This article summarises the outcomes and lessons from action research in large lake systems in Uganda, Zambia, and Cambodia. Dialogues linking community groups, NGOs and government agencies have reduced local conflict, produced agreements with private investors, and influenced government priorities in ways that respond to the needs of marginalised fishing communities. The article details policy guidance in four areas: building stakeholder commitment, understanding the institutional and governance context, involving local groups in the policy reform process, and embracing adaptability in programme implementation.     

Changing knowledge and perceptions of African indigenous vegetables: the role of community-based nutritional outreach

African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have potential to sustainably address malnutrition, a growing problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Their consumption is however, limited by poor perceptions and lack of awareness of nutritional benefits. There is limited evidence of the effectiveness of community-focused information dissemination approaches in influencing participants’ perceptions and uptake of innovations in AIVs to address malnutrition. This article aims to fill this knowledge gap, using a case study focusing on pastoral communities in Monduli district in northern Tanzania. Target communities participated in a community-based nutritional outreach facilitated by the Good Seed Initiative (GSI), held at Monduli district hospital in September 2014. The results provide evidence of the achievements of the GSI intervention, and the effectiveness of alternative information dissemination approaches.     

The Malian fertiliser value chain post-subsidy: an analysis of its structure and performance

This article examines the structure of the Malian fertiliser value chain and its performance in the context of the national subsidy programme, drawing on a review of the literature, farm household survey, and interviews with fertiliser suppliers. It finds that participants in the subsidy programme use more fertiliser and have significantly higher yields. The number of wholesalers and retailers has risen, but procurement remains concentrated. Poor fertiliser quality is a recurrent problem. The high cost of the programme raises questions regarding its sustainability. Mixed performance reflects the need for better monitoring and evaluation, and transparency in the programme.