Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) is an incentive-based program established in Canada to pay farmers for their voluntary delivery of ecosystem services (ES). All seven ALUS programs across the country were examined...Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) is an incentive-based program established in Canada to pay farmers for their voluntary delivery of ecosystem services (ES). All seven ALUS programs across the country were examined using a standardized case-study approach based on site visits, reading internal documents, attending program meetings, and engaging in semi-structured interviews with program administrators, participating farmers, and advisory board members. Direct content analysis was used to highlight recurrent themes and emerging lessons in relation to the salient particulars of program physical location, administration framework, delivery of ES, and development and receipt by communities. Our three major findings are: 1) Overall, ALUS has been judged by participants to be a very successful program, whose strength is that it is completely voluntary, non-permanent, and readily adaptable to each location’s environmental conditions, economic funding base, and cultural milieu. 2) One serious shortcoming of all ALUS programs is a general lack of quantifiable data on their ability to increase ES. Instead, environmental benefits are either assumed or based on the idea that the areal extent of enrolled land is the sole measure of its environmental worth. 3) It may be that the social impact of ALUS is its greatest success. In this regard, for farmers, it is the process of engaging in land-use decision making and the recognition of their role as environmental stewards that is a bigger motivation for participating in an ALUS program than the modest financial incentives which they receive.展开更多
Drawing upon a Natural Resource-Based View(NRBV),this paper aims to propose a quantitative model that could be used to investigate whether Lean Manufacturing(LM)practices/tools can improve the three aspects of corpora...Drawing upon a Natural Resource-Based View(NRBV),this paper aims to propose a quantitative model that could be used to investigate whether Lean Manufacturing(LM)practices/tools can improve the three aspects of corporate sustainability performance(economic,environmental,and social).This paper is based on a theoretical study to develop a new model by reviewing the literature and proposing new ideas according to the Natural Resource-Based View(NRBV).Reviewing the literature showed that there is a significant association between LM practices/tools implementation and the improvement on three aspects of corporate sustainability performance(economic,environmental,and social).This paper provides insights to manufacturing managers about the ability of LM practices to reduce cost of operations and maximize the value provided to customers.Further,it highlighted the importance of LM practices implementation to manage organizations’activities responsibly in terms of their environmental,social,and economic effects.By proposing such a quantitative model according to a NRBV,this study contributes to a broader understanding of how LM practices affect three pillars of sustainability.展开更多
There is a need to find a comprehensive approach focusing on the conflicts between economical growth and environmental protection. Chinese scholars advocate a comprehensive ecosystem viewpoint named social-economic-na...There is a need to find a comprehensive approach focusing on the conflicts between economical growth and environmental protection. Chinese scholars advocate a comprehensive ecosystem viewpoint named social-economic-natural complex ecosystem(SENCE). The kernel of the concept lies in the hierarchical structure of SENCE, through which methods from ecological network can be useful to the compound system. The author gives a schema depicting its structure, following a made analysis to help understand the reliance of economy on ecosystem. It is obvious that more actions should be done to strive for sustainable development.展开更多
At present,the whole country is fully implementing rural revitalization strategy and actively promoting rural ecosystems development in China.From the perspective of ecology and agroecology,the main functions of rural...At present,the whole country is fully implementing rural revitalization strategy and actively promoting rural ecosystems development in China.From the perspective of ecology and agroecology,the main functions of rural ecosystem in China,the current outstanding problems,and the corresponding countermeasures and measures are discussed in the paper,in order to provide references for promoting the implementation of the strategy of rural revitalization and the sustainable development of rural ecosystem.China’s rural ecosystem has multi-functions such as carrying population,improving environment,providing products,increasing income,expanding employment and tourism,inheriting culture,popularizing science and technology,educating people,training talents,and providing places for the aged urban residents.Currently,there are still many problems and challenges in rural ecosystem in China,such as ecological destruction,waste of resources,environmental pollution,natural disasters,economic poverty,backward science and education,laggard culture and medical care,lack of public services,bad social morality,loss of villagers and disappearance of villages.In order to promote implementation of rural revitalization strategy and to promote sustainable development of rural ecosystems in China,the following measures should be taken based on the principles of integrating “tri-benefits”(economic,ecological and social benefits),gradual progress,comprehensive governance,adaptation to local conditions and long-term efforts and success.Eventually,the following measures are suggested:① enhancing awareness;② planning well;③ improving environment;④ optimizing ecological structure;⑤ improving ecological functions;⑥ improving ecological conditions;⑦ strengthening public services;⑧ improving laws and regulations;⑨ improving great investment;⑩ accelerating personnel training.展开更多
文摘Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) is an incentive-based program established in Canada to pay farmers for their voluntary delivery of ecosystem services (ES). All seven ALUS programs across the country were examined using a standardized case-study approach based on site visits, reading internal documents, attending program meetings, and engaging in semi-structured interviews with program administrators, participating farmers, and advisory board members. Direct content analysis was used to highlight recurrent themes and emerging lessons in relation to the salient particulars of program physical location, administration framework, delivery of ES, and development and receipt by communities. Our three major findings are: 1) Overall, ALUS has been judged by participants to be a very successful program, whose strength is that it is completely voluntary, non-permanent, and readily adaptable to each location’s environmental conditions, economic funding base, and cultural milieu. 2) One serious shortcoming of all ALUS programs is a general lack of quantifiable data on their ability to increase ES. Instead, environmental benefits are either assumed or based on the idea that the areal extent of enrolled land is the sole measure of its environmental worth. 3) It may be that the social impact of ALUS is its greatest success. In this regard, for farmers, it is the process of engaging in land-use decision making and the recognition of their role as environmental stewards that is a bigger motivation for participating in an ALUS program than the modest financial incentives which they receive.
文摘Drawing upon a Natural Resource-Based View(NRBV),this paper aims to propose a quantitative model that could be used to investigate whether Lean Manufacturing(LM)practices/tools can improve the three aspects of corporate sustainability performance(economic,environmental,and social).This paper is based on a theoretical study to develop a new model by reviewing the literature and proposing new ideas according to the Natural Resource-Based View(NRBV).Reviewing the literature showed that there is a significant association between LM practices/tools implementation and the improvement on three aspects of corporate sustainability performance(economic,environmental,and social).This paper provides insights to manufacturing managers about the ability of LM practices to reduce cost of operations and maximize the value provided to customers.Further,it highlighted the importance of LM practices implementation to manage organizations’activities responsibly in terms of their environmental,social,and economic effects.By proposing such a quantitative model according to a NRBV,this study contributes to a broader understanding of how LM practices affect three pillars of sustainability.
文摘There is a need to find a comprehensive approach focusing on the conflicts between economical growth and environmental protection. Chinese scholars advocate a comprehensive ecosystem viewpoint named social-economic-natural complex ecosystem(SENCE). The kernel of the concept lies in the hierarchical structure of SENCE, through which methods from ecological network can be useful to the compound system. The author gives a schema depicting its structure, following a made analysis to help understand the reliance of economy on ecosystem. It is obvious that more actions should be done to strive for sustainable development.
基金Sponsored by National Key Research and Development Project(2016YFD0300208)National Natural Science Foundation of China(41661070)+2 种基金Consulting Research Project of Chinese Academy of Engineering(2017-XZ-28)Key Research and Development Project of Jiangxi Province(20161BBF60058)Soft Science Research Program in Jiangxi Province(20133BBA10005)
文摘At present,the whole country is fully implementing rural revitalization strategy and actively promoting rural ecosystems development in China.From the perspective of ecology and agroecology,the main functions of rural ecosystem in China,the current outstanding problems,and the corresponding countermeasures and measures are discussed in the paper,in order to provide references for promoting the implementation of the strategy of rural revitalization and the sustainable development of rural ecosystem.China’s rural ecosystem has multi-functions such as carrying population,improving environment,providing products,increasing income,expanding employment and tourism,inheriting culture,popularizing science and technology,educating people,training talents,and providing places for the aged urban residents.Currently,there are still many problems and challenges in rural ecosystem in China,such as ecological destruction,waste of resources,environmental pollution,natural disasters,economic poverty,backward science and education,laggard culture and medical care,lack of public services,bad social morality,loss of villagers and disappearance of villages.In order to promote implementation of rural revitalization strategy and to promote sustainable development of rural ecosystems in China,the following measures should be taken based on the principles of integrating “tri-benefits”(economic,ecological and social benefits),gradual progress,comprehensive governance,adaptation to local conditions and long-term efforts and success.Eventually,the following measures are suggested:① enhancing awareness;② planning well;③ improving environment;④ optimizing ecological structure;⑤ improving ecological functions;⑥ improving ecological conditions;⑦ strengthening public services;⑧ improving laws and regulations;⑨ improving great investment;⑩ accelerating personnel training.