Food with a visible face: Traceability and the public promotion of private governance in the Japanese food system

The years since 2000 have seen a constant stream of high-profile scandals relating to food safety and food labeling in Japan. One response of Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has been to promote food traceability as a mechanism to improve food safety and to provide reliable information to consumers about their food. MAFF’s main approach to traceability promotion, however, has not involved making traceability mandatory (as has been done in the EU) but encouraging private companies to adopt it. These actions constitute, I argue, an example of the public promotion of private governance. When viewed against the literature on the private governance of food safety and quality, MAFF’s traceability activities are surprising for three reasons: their forms and extent, the relative lack of interest the Ministry has shown in third-party certification, and the way MAFF has responded to concerns about the safety of imported food by focusing almost entirely on domestic traceability. I also argue, however, that looking at the literature from a Japanese perspective suggests that public encouragement is more central to the rise of private governance in the global agri-food system than is usually appreciated.     

面向治理的地理学发展刍议

“四个面向”（面向世界科技前沿、面向经济主战场、面向国家重大需求、面向人民生命健康）已成为新时代中国科学发展的指针。治理是一个反映“四个面向”的国际前沿研究领域,也是地理学和其他学科研究的焦点。围绕地理学如何应对治理这一关键问题,基于人地耦合的理念,系统梳理国内外地理学进行治理研究的轨迹与特点,从价值、思想、方法、技术4个维度发掘面向治理的地理学发展路径,紧密联系地理学发展动态及治理现代化的实践,从基础研究、平台建设、人才培育3个方面提出发展策略。提升中国地理学在国际治理研究中的影响力,促进地理学与其他学科的交叉融合,将自然与人文有机结合的理念应用于社会治理,增进居民福祉,并服务国家战略和区域可持续发展。     

“组织-贸易”视角下全球能源治理网络的基本结构及其边界重构

全球能源治理是当前能源话语权塑造的重要形式,其本质是能源利益主体间围绕多元能源议题而构建的关系网络。在以往相关研究中,各能源组织的架构、功能、绩效以及所产生的复杂影响占据了主要内容,而对于全球能源治理的整体结构以及内部关系却未能有进一步探索。本研究认为,能源组织与实际贸易存在交互关系,将二者相结合来进一步呈现和解释全球能源治理架构是有必要的。基于此,本研究以2019年为时间节点,收集主要能源组织的属性数据与各国之间的石油和天然气贸易数据,将国家间在能源治理组织的常态化合作关系与实际发生的能源贸易关系作为分析基础;并利用社会网络分析方法构建全球能源治理网络,探析其基本结构以及出现的“边界重构”现象。研究发现：(1)能源组织网络与能源贸易网络存在显著的结构性差异,在两种网络对比中,美国与俄罗斯均占据主导地位。(2)中国已经成为能源贸易大国,但在全球能源组织合作中不具优势,与传统能源利益集团之间缺乏正式的治理合作。(3)全球能源治理体系呈现出典型的“核心-边缘”结构,主要被划分为欧盟以及亚太-北美“社区”,其中OECD（经济合作与发展组织）国家占据“核心”地位;而以单一能源输出为主导功能的出...     

Water Flows Toward Power: Socioecological Degradation of Lake Urmia,Iran

Water is an invaluable resource, and equitable access to it is a fundamental human right. Disenfranchised groups often lose access to water resources because their interests are not well represented by decision makers. Excluding these groups from resource management policy often results in myopic decisions that contribute to further ecosystem damage. We describe the ecological degradation of Lake Urmia in Iran, which has recently experienced increased salinity and declining water quantity. The lake is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar site, and supports unique biodiversity in the region. The lake's decline is driven by the destruction of Zagros forests and the government's water policies, which diverted water to more politically connected agricultural land users, increasing social inequity and prompting more deforestation. The most straightforward restoration solution is to discontinue the diversions and allow critical inflows to recharge Lake Urmia, preserving the lake and wetlands for migratory birds, tourists, and local communities.     

Constraints and solutions for managing Pacific Island sea cucumber fisheries with an ecosystem approach

The ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) is a holistic paradigm that considers stocks of exploitable species, marine ecosystems and stakeholders. Management agencies must strike a balance between their capacity constraints and the requisites of management measures. Most small-scale sea cucumber fisheries of Pacific Islands have been plundered while others are being opened to commercial exploitation. Data from fishery managers and a regional workshop were used to assess the current problems, institutional constraints and solutions to the management of sea cucumber fisheries in 13 Pacific Island countries (PICs). Technical capacity was often strong for some management actions such as developing marine reserves but weak for others, such as enforcement. Using multi-disciplinary indicators, half of the fisheries were diagnosed by their managers as being overfished or depleted, despite evidence of optimistic bias. Fishery governance varied greatly among the PICs, and co-management frameworks were not typical of any cultural region. Management objectives were prioritised differently among managers but most highly ranked was to protect ecological resilience. The fishery managers proposed different sets of regulatory measures and various management actions, such as surveys to collect socio-economic and fishery-dependent data, support for local governance and strong enforcement – all widely under-practised. Pacific sea cucumber fisheries exemplify how the transition to an EAF by management institutions must involve reorganisation of their technical and human-resource capacities among management tasks. Levies on exports need to be internalised to fund improved management. Management agencies should consider a shift in resources from developing marine reserves, conducting underwater surveys and aquaculture-based restocking to strengthening enforcement capacity, stakeholder involvement and communication with fishers. In concert with these actions, short fishing seasons, shortlists of allowable species and tighter enforcement at export points may serve to turn the tide on boom-and-bust exploitation and safeguard biodiversity.     

Marine governance of European Seas: Introduction

This introduction explains the context and structure of a block of articles developed as part of the governance work packages of the FP7 project: “Options for Delivering Ecosystem-based Marine management” (ODEMM).     

Can existing institutions protect biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction? Experiences from two on-going processes

United Nations discussions on the governance of marine areas beyond national jurisdiction have questioned, but not yet reached a decision, on whether existing institutional agreements and structures are sufficient to meet global commitments to protect marine biodiversity, or if additional mechanisms may be required. This paper considers two very different efforts to protect marine biodiversity in these areas: (1) in the North-East Atlantic through the efforts of OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic; and (2) in the central Atlantic, through the efforts of the Sargasso Sea Alliance led by the Bermuda government. In each case, action has been strongly supported by non-governmental organisations and subsequent progress has hinged upon on-going dedicated efforts of “champion” governments to bring other States on board. This paper outlines the difficulties that they have faced, and consequently why they have been time-consuming, and are not yet completed. The paper then considers 10 common recommendations that can be drawn from the experiences of these two distinct initiatives, and their relevance to on-going UN deliberations.     

Disaster Risk Science Development and Disaster Risk Reduction Using Science and Technology

Based on a series of international conferences for establishing HFA2 framework, this paper analyzed key issues of frontier of disaster risk science, integrated disaster prevention and mitigation strategies and integrated disaster risk governance. The future direction of disaster risk science was comprehensively discussed according to the widely discussed Post 2015 Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA2). It was proposed to deepen the cognition of the complexity of disaster system in terms of recognizing the complexity of disaster system from the interaction among various elements of the system, recognizing the complexity of climate change risk from the regional characteristics and formation mechanism of the global climate change and recognizing the complexity of the catastrophe risk from the regional development levels and patterns. Furthermore, it was suggested to make integrated disaster risk reduction strategies and countermeasures from the perspective of the complexity of the disaster system, including the establishment of regional integrated disaster risk governance framework to face climate change, the establishment of integrated disaster risk governance system in multi-spatial scale, the establishment of disaster risk governance financial system integrating the insurance, bonds and lottery, the establishment of consilience mode in integrated risk governance considering multi-stakeholder and the establishment of modeling and simulation platform integrated disaster risk information services and disaster risk reduction strategies. Finally, it was pointed out that the assessment of disaster risk levels for different regions in multi spatial scale can provide robust scientific support for integrated disaster risk governance of the world and regions, industries and enterprises so as to improve response to global change and guarantee a global and regional sustainable development.     

中国超大城市户籍人口转化的实证研究

“十四五”时期到2030年,加快流动人口市民化是推进新型城镇化和实现共同富裕的关键。中国户籍人口城镇化率与常住人口城镇化率相差约18%,老龄化压力与劳动力市场缺口使大城市纷纷出台“抢人”政策,市民化程度亟待提升,焦点在北上广深等超大城市。超大城市每年户籍人口转化数相差很大,学界对此缺乏研究,使得城市每年能“化”多少户籍人口成为重要学术问题。本文结合自然和社会两个视角,选取简明指标,构建可能—满意度模型,测算4个超大城市年均户籍城镇化转化缺口,构建面板数据模型实证分析超大城市户籍缺口的主导因素。影响超大城市户籍人口转化的因素主要是医疗、教育和供水。城乡治理亟需转变被动和僵化的制度安排,实现弹性的常态化治理。     

星球绅士化理论前沿及其对中国城乡治理的启示

绅士化已经成为全球城乡发展研究的前沿问题。探究绅士化的理论及其对中国城乡治理的启示,对贯彻落实新型城镇化和乡村振兴的国家战略具有重要意义。通过理论分析和案例比较可见,星球绅士化突破了传统绅士化研究的本体论、认识论和方法论,全球北方与全球南方的差异凸显了中国绅士化研究的价值。结合中国独特的城乡关系、央地关系及其多尺度交互作用,可进行星球绅士化的理论创新。未来中国城乡治理应重视治理模式转型、区域战略转型和城乡关系转型,全球经验、区域差异、城乡融合是治理现代化转型的关键点。对绅士化现象须采取批判性的价值论立场,关注城乡中低收入者权利,为维护空间正义和实现共同富裕做出积极贡献。中国绅士化研究需要加强与国际的对话与对接,并提供本土化经验。