Comparative Analysis of Fiscal Sustainability of China and the US

The fiscal sustainability of China and the United States is of major concern globally. Based on comparative data analysis, this paper reveals that the government debt level of both countries is within the normal range. Robust growth prospects of both countries will also vigorously support their future mitigation of government debt level. Comparatively speaking, China＇s government debt level is healthy and, despite extensive concerns, even its local government debt is not very high. The assessment that China may encounter a crisis is not supported by evidence. Yet in the long run, both countries will face pressures from increased fiscal spending on elder care and healthcare stemming from an ageing population, which will threaten their fiscal sustainability. These challenges require both countries to speed up reforms of elder care and healthcare. Specifically, China needs to focus on elder care reforms and the US should attach more importance to healthcare reforms.

Problems and relevant strategies on natural forest protection in Changbai Mountain forest area

Changbai Mountain forest area is not only is a national timber base but also a green ecological defense for Songliao Plain of NE China. The Natural Forest Protection Project of this area has an important bearing on the social and economic sustainable development of Jilin Province or even the whole forest area in NE China. This paper summarized general conditions of natural forest in Changbai Mountain state-owned forest area and put forward six problems need to be urgently solved and five strategic suggestions on natural forest protection and sustainable management.

A Scalable Policy and SNMP Based Network Management Framework

Traditional SNMP-based network management can not deal with the task of managing large-scaled distributed network,while policy-based management is one of the effective solutions in network and distributed systems management.However,cross-vendor hardware compatibility is one of the limitations in policy-based management.Devices existing in current network mostly support SNMP rather than Common Open Policy Service(COPS)protocol.By analyzing traditional network management and policy-based network management,a scalable network management framework is proposed.It is combined with Internet Engineering Task Force(IETF)framework for policy-based management and SNMP-based network management.By interpreting and translating policy decision to SNMP message,policy can be executed in traditional SNMP-based device.

Rainwater harvesting in the challenge of droughts and climate change in semi-arid Brazil

Some successful experiences of rainwater harvesting in Brazil’s semi-arid region are shown how rural communities are living during the severe drought from 2011 to 2013 using technologies of rainwater harvesting for the household in agriculture livestock raising and the environment.Starting from the positive experiences principles of living in the challenge of droughts and climate change are elaborated and summarized into different guidelines for sustainable livelihood and production access to water and sufficient land area rainwater harvesting to provide water security to households and communities preservation recovering and management of drought-resistant vegetation emphases on raising of small and medium sized livestock and water and forage storage appropriate crop selection and sustainable extraction processing and marketing of crop products capacity building of the people. These principles contribute to preparing a national policy on living in harmony with the semi-arid climate. Rainwater harvesting is an important part of a package of measures which enables a sustainable livelihood in such a difficult environment.

Renewable energy-the path to sustainability

This orticle seeks to address come lingering debates within sustainability studies by revealing the connections between renewable energy consumption and sustainability.Using data from 30 OECD counties,examines the connections via regression and geospattal analysis.Findings from the quantitative analysis indicate that about 50% of the variation in Sustainability is accounted for by the degree of renewables Consumption. The geospatial analysis visuaUv illustrates the intimate connections between the two variables, Theoretically, renewable energy relates to sustainability in three dimensions. The first dimension is economic. Relying on traditional fassil fuels eventually will bring our economy to a stop. Renewable energies, however; are able to secure our energy supply into an indefinite future. The second dimension links to ethics. To leave an intact planet torture generations is a moral responsibity of our generation, The current energy supply system is built on depletion of natural resources, while the sources of renewable energy are vast and constantly replenished. Tire last dimension is ecologic. How to allocate a proper apportionment of the global biosphere between humankind and the other life on the earth is a critical issue related to sustainability. By using renewable energy, we can greatly reduce our impact on biodiversity and therefore strike a balance between humankind and other life. Overall the research suggests that developing renewables can and in many. cases does sustain a nation＇s economic growth while simultaneously protecting the environment. It is a win-win situation. This finding undoubtedly points out a practical and realistic path for sustainable development.

Bio-Economic Strategy to Combat Non-Point Pollution in China

While non-point pollution from agriculture has become an increasingly serious problem in China, some progress has been made in studying the causal biophysical processes. However, few studies have assessed the economic consequences of non-point pollution in China or the policy options that could be employed to combat it. In this work a sustainable strategy to control non-point pollution from crop production, which involved taxing excessive inputs of irrigation water and fertilizer, was proposed. The approach taken to assess these measures combined biophysical and economic models,having a trade-off between economic returns and an improved environment. A proven and practical spatially referenced water and nutrient management model was used to determine the quantities of excessive irrigation water and fertilizer for specific soil and land use. Also, a set of indicators were proposed for evaluating the effects of agricultural economic output and agricultural practices on the environment.

Roles of State Strategy of Adaptation to Climate Change in China

For the adverse impacts of climate change, China gov- ernment should place the problem of adaptation to climate change on the agenda. It is time to institute and implement a state adap- tive strategy to reduce the adverse impacts on economy, commu- nity and people's health and life by international cooperation and our own endeavor. A state strategy of adaptation to climate change should be closely linked with other current interrelated national strategies, and they should be supplemented and improved by each other. This paper discusses the roles of the state strategy of adaptation to climate change in the state climate change integra- tive strategy, the environmental protection strategy, and the sus- tainable development strategy in China. Furthermore, it proposes the main aims of the state adaptive strategy of China.

Coping with climate change and China's wind energy sustainable development

Greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of today's climate change. To address this problem, the world is in an era of new round energy transformation, and the existing energy structure is being reformed. In this paper, according to the Chinese government's action plan for coping with climate change, the China's wind energy sustainable development goals and development route are discussed, and the countermeasures and suggestions are put forward. Wind energy is currently a kind of important renewable energy with matured technology which can be scale-up developed and put into commercial application, and in this transformation, wind energy will play a key role with other non-fossil energy sources. The development and utilization of wind energy is a systematic project, which needs to be solved from the aspects of policy, technology and management. At present, China is in the stage of transferring from "large wind power country" to "strong wind power country", opportunities and challenges coexist, and the advantages of China's socialist system could be fully used, which can concentrate power to do big things and make contribution in the process of realizing global energy transformation.

Spatial-temporal Evolution Pattern of Agricultural Productivity in Northwestern Sichuan Plateau

Currently, the agricultural growth in developed countries mainly relies on the improvement of productivity, which is also the target for China. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to describe the spatial-temporal evolution pattern of agricultural productivity, to reveal changes in total factor productivity in 2ooo-2olo, and analyze the impact of these changes in northwestern Sichuan plateau, China. Using data envelopment analysis （DEA） and the Malmquist Index, an in-depth study was conducted on agricultural productivity and changes in total factor productivity of 31 counties in northwestern Sichuan plateau. Results indicated that： （1） geographically, counties with optimal efficiency were mainly located in the north of northwestern Sichuan plateau and those with the lowest efficiency, in the south; （2） relative to pure technical efficiency, scale efficiency was the dominant factor in determining agricultural productivity; （3） the redundancy rate of input factors in zolo was slightly lower than that in zooo, thereby indicating an improved utilization of input factors to a certain extent and a great potential for further improving such utilization; （4） during the 2ooo-2olo period, the agricultural total factor productivity had an average annual growth rate of 8.3%, but the growth rates in various regions differed widely; （5） technical progress was the dominant factor promoting the improvement of total factor oroductivitv inagriculture. The disparities in spatial distribution may be due to the differences of natural conditions, former level agricultural productivity between counties. The findings are valuable for the government to make sustainable development policies for agriculture and improving agricultural development in northwestern Sichuan plateau.

Practice and Research Progress on Ecosystem Conservation in Transboundary Areas

Many ecosystems extend across national or political boundaries. The consistent and effective protection of these ecosystems in transboundary areas(ETAs) is an important global research focus. Previous research on the protection of such areas can be categorized into seven themes: 1) ecological conservation of a single ETA; 2) investigation of the effects of a single conservation measure on a specific ETA; 3) determination of species-level effects due to ETA conservation; 4) comparison of the same protection measures between different ETAs; 5) introduction of a single conservation measure to a specific ETA; 6) understanding the relationship between conservation and sustainable development; and 7) generalization across multiple ETA conservation cases. The protection of ETAs involves various considerations, including funding support, demand and will for collaboration, community and public participation, historical and cultural factors, political backgrounds, uniqueness of biological resources, formulation of laws and regulations, founding of specialized administrative departments, non-governmental organizations, and fairness. Here, we briefly explain the research themes and considerations related to ETA conservation. The most important finding is that most major research themes do not focus on the challenges of ETA conservation. We use two nature reserves located between China and North Korea as examples to identify specific ways to improve ETA conservation on Changbai Mountains. The efficiency of ETA administration still remains low. The study of ETA conservation should focus on concrete regional information and aim to improve existing measures through the accumulation of experience.

Regulation of Private Security Companies and Equitable Policing in Nigeria

Private security companies through the services they provide complement the police in crime prevention, order maintenance, and general improvement of security in societies thereby contributing to sustainable national development In order to fully benefit from their contribution and prevent them from engaging in illegal activities, states formulate and enforce policies that seek to regulate their activities. This paper examines the regulation of private guards companies in Nigeria using Abuja as its empirical core. The main aim is to promote understanding of how the private security industry is regulated and evaluate the effectiveness of the existing regulatory policy. Data for the paper were generated from in-depth interviews with the NSCDC （Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps）, analysis of the policy for PSCs （private security companies）, and a review of the annual performance report of the regulatory agency. The results revealed that the current system of PSC regulation is characterized by a lack of specialty classification of private security licences, limited regulatory scope with a focus on licensing of companies, lack of uniform standards on training, and high cost/difficulties in obtaining operational license. The paper concludes that the current regulatory setup for PSCs in Nigeria is ineffective and unsustainable and recommends an urgent review of the legal framework to alien its provisions with global standards and practices in the private security industry.

Circular economy: from an institutional perspective

Circular economy （CE） has been put fonvard as an important environmental and resource strategy in China.Aiming at the high utilization rate of resources and reduction of pollutants,CE means to realize a shift of fundamental paradigm.With the mode of production and consumption from linear to recycling model,the promotion requires transdisciplinary researches which integrate technological,ecological,social-cultural and other sciences.The present study focuses on the implementation of circular economy from an institutional perspective.Institution acts as a crucial factor by providing incentives for technical innovation,leading investment orientation and determining policy effectiveness,etc.This paper mainly discusses about： firstly,the feature of institution,institutional changes and institutional innovation is articulated,together with eco-industrial park strategy,extended producer＇s responsibility and dematerialization principle as innovative institutional arrangements; secondly,as policy plays great role on institutional changing process,the mechanism of policy implementation is needed to be related; as a result,coevolution of institutions and policies is thus presented; at last,a pilot attempt is made to find out some operational avenues in accomplishment of CE through both theoretical and practical methodology,special resolutions are put forward after some projecting difficulties and dilemmas in China are described.

Management Accounting Problems and Perspectives in the Local Government of Estonia： An Analysis From the Viewpoint of Parsons＇ Paradigm

This case study focuses on the current and future needs of the management accounting within the Tallinn city government and their potential relationships with the sustainability reporting. This analysis is based on the study carried out within the city organizations in 2011. The questionnaire drawn up by the authors includes several questions about the current management accounting tools of the city and their development and support needs. The authors also add some questions related to the sustainability reporting, which is obligatory for the city as one of the members of the Aalborg Charter. The quantitative methodology was used. The authors＇ conclusion is that the level of the managerial accountability of the Estonian municipality is increasing and its sole economic focus is changing to a broader perspective. According to the findings of the study, the authors argue that both management accounting principles and sustainability principles are coming closer together. By using Talcott Parsons＇ adaptation, goal attainment, integration, and latency （AGIL） paradigm, the authors point out four critical components for implementing the sustainability reporting into a management accounting system. The results of this study highlight the role of values in the management accounting development, which is in harmony with the AGIL paradigm.

A techno-economic analysis of aquaculture business in Ogun State,Nigeria

Fish supplies 25% of the total protein source in developing countries. A techno-economic analysis was performed for developing a good business proposal for aquaculture loans to enhance aquaculture development in Nigeria. A case study of catfish Clarias gariepinus framing was conducted in Abeokuta North Local Government of Ogun State, Nigeria. The results show that the fixed cost is N18 338 per year, and the variable cost is N459 700 per year, accounting for the largest amount of the total; therefore, a profit of N43 289 per month can be made. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess any risk(s) that associated with unfavorable changes in government policy with particular reference to monetary policy. Positive net present value shows that the investment in fish farm is economically feasible and the net investment ratio is 3.52. Also, the benefit-cost ratio is 2.17. The internal rate of return (IRR) is 21% showing that the enterprise is able to offset the interest being charged on the loan. It is therefore worthwhile to invest into fish farm business in the study area. The study suggests that to better sustain the local aquaculture business, the government should create a good conducive environment to foster development of the fish farming. Government intervention is urgently needed to solve problems such as in traditional land tenure, grant credit facilities and subsidies, to enhance the aquacultural development in the country.

An Analysis of the Impact of Charging for Plastic Shopping Bags to Retailers in Japan

In accordance with a revision of the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law, there is an accelerating trend towards charging for plastic shopping bags （PSBs） in Japan for the purpose of reducing their discharge. The objectives of this research were to gauge, by means of a questionnaire survey, the opinions of retailers with regard to charging for PSBs, and to consider future directions for reducing the quantity of waste discharged. A questionnaire survey on charging for PSBs was conducted for retail stores in Shizuoka City. The survey was carried out in two phases. The results of the first phase （August to October 2008） showed that supermarkets were generally positive, while conversely other retailer types were negative. The results of the second phase （November to December, 2010）, targeting only supermarkets that had introduced charging after the first survey, showed that there was no major confusion and the shift proceeded relatively smoothly. In addition, the number of customers did not decline on account of charging, and the ratio of shoppers bringing their own reusable ＂eco bags＂ jumped dramatically. On these accounts, it is evident that charging for PSBs is an effective means of reducing usage of PSBs. The authors view it as important for the relevant governmental agencies to work towards promoting charging at retailers and simultaneously repeatedly explaining to consumers the necessity for charging.

Progress of photovoltaic technology in China

Chinese government has been devoting itself to the development of renewable energy sources. This paper describes the history, achievement and future trends of photovoltaie technology, and suggestions axe proposed for strengthening the research and development （R＆D） ability of China.

Policy Review and Outlook on China's Sustainable Development since 1992

The Road to Rio+20 is the journey of countries in the world pursuing the sustainable development.As the first country to release the national Agenda 21,China's experience and lessons are of great significance for both China itself and other countries.The paper reviews the progress made and problems remained in pursuing the sustainable development in China with regard to policy formulation,institutional arrangements,planning and management.In the past five years,the mandatory targets-driven approach,which focused on energy efficiency and key pollutants reduction,played a very important role and made China comprehensive outcomes for sustainability.In order to achieve the targets,China adopted an integrated policy package including legal,administrative,economic and technology instruments.During the 12th Five-Year Plan period(2011-2015),China will continue and strengthen the approach above and mainstream the transformation of economic development pattern through realizing the idea of green and low-carbon development.By summarizing policy trends in the world,the paper points out two directions,i.e.,integration approach and taking prioritized and concrete actions for a sustainable future beyond 2012.The paper also presents policy approaches and recommendations for sustainable development in the next 10 years in China.

Varieties of Igbo Dialect A Study of Some Communities in Old Aguata Local Government Area

The Igbo language has grown and developed to what is known as Standard Igbo （Igbo Izugbe） today. Series of efforts have gone into the modification and invention of words to ensure wider acceptability and intelligibility While this is a welcome idea, the tendency of the loss of communal identity in terms of the original local variety of the Igbo Language spoken by each community becomes very obvious. As Igbos can easily distinguish an Anambra man from an Imo man, it is also necessary that within Arlambra, one should be able to locate a particular town in the area through the spoken Igbo Language variety. This paper studies some of these local variants and advocates for a method of preserving such rich cultural heritage which are so valuable for posterity

Recycling economy development model and macroeconomic policy

To develop circular economy is an important way to implement sustainable development strategies. This paper discusses the theoretical origin of the circular economy, and clarifies the mechanism development of circular economy. Combined with the status quo of China＇s economic development, it analyzed the facing problems in the development of circular economy. Our country has carried on the positive exploration and practice in the use of the concept of circular economy to promote sustainable development, and China＇s circular economy is transferred from the start-up phase to promote the establishment of policy mechanisms. Circular economy strategy will also begin to implement in some of China＇s mega-cities. Faced with the arrival of the circular economy, we should look to a higher level up to explore how people should take effective measures to turn challenges into opportunities.

Quantitative Analysis of Influence Force of Shanghai Expo on GGDP

Quantitative study of the impact of Shanghai World Expo on green GDP （GGDP） is significant for deploying sustainable development policy in China. The formula of GGDP is： GGDP = GDP--the loss of natural resources environment relegation cost ＋ comprehensive utilized value of waste. Based on this, the study employed vector autoregressive （VAR） model to predict the value of GGDP and other economic variables on condition that there was no Shanghai World Expo. Then Influence of Expo is defined as the rate of increase of GGDP. The result demonstrated that Shanghai World Expo had accelerated the growth rate of GGDP vastly with the elimination of effect of Beijing Olympics. Additionally, the quantitative analysis between GGDP and other economic variables suggested GGDP would replace GDP to evaluate the development of economy. Finally, the paper proposed that incidents like World Expo can enhance the level of influence for a country and that post-impact of Shanghai Expo should continue to be used to promote GGDP and that GGDP should serve as one of the indicators in assessment of political achievement.