The Zhenhua Case: the emergence of civil environmental public interest litigation in China

In 2015, the All-China Environment Federation v Dezhou Jinghua Group Zhenhua Corporation Limited case was the first civil environmental public interest litigation (CEPIL) against air pollution in China. Constituting a milestone in the field of air pollution control in China, this case (i) confirms the eligibility of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to file civil public interest litigations; (ii) discusses remedies for the ecological destruction caused by air pollution; (iii) assesses the ecological and environmental damage using the ‘virtual restoration cost’ method; and (iv) uses public apology as an innovative way for Zhenhua to assume liability. By applying and interpreting several important rules under the Environmental Protection Law of China (EPLC) for the first time, this case sets an example for future CEPILs against air pollution in China.

Estimating network related risks: A methodology and an application in the transport sector

Networks such as transportation, water, and power are critical lifelines for society. Managers plan and execute interventions to guarantee the operational state of their networks under various circumstances, including after the occurrence of (natural) hazard events. Creating an intervention program demands knowing the probable direct and indirect consequences (i.e., risk) of the various hazard events that could occur in order to be able to mitigate their effects. This paper introduces a methodology to support network managers in the quantification of the risk related to their networks. The methodology is centered on the integration of the spatial and temporal attributes of the events that need to be modeled to estimate the risk. Furthermore, the methodology supports the inclusion of the uncertainty of these events and the propagation of these uncertainties throughout the risk modeling. The methodology is implemented through a modular simulation engine that supports the updating and swapping of models according to the needs of network managers. This work demonstrates the usefulness of the methodology and simulation engine through an application to estimate the potential impact of floods and mudflows on a road network located in Switzerland. The application includes the modeling of (i) multiple time-varying hazard events; (ii) their physical and functional effects on network objects (i.e., bridges and road sections); (iii) the functional interrelationships of the affected objects; (iv) the resulting probable consequences in terms of expected costs of restoration, cost of traffic changes, and duration of network disruption; and (v) the restoration of the network.

A Commentary on “Recovery from Catastrophe and Building Back Better (Takeuchi and Tanaka, 2016)” – Structure of Damage of Production Capital Stock on Normative Economic Process

In the field of disaster prevention, disaster loss is often classified into “direct loss” and “indirect loss.” As such, “total loss” is often calculated as a sum of “direct loss” and “indirect loss,” where “direct loss” is defined as a “loss of capital (assets) as a stock” and “indirect loss” is defined as “loss arising out of decline in postdisaster production as a flow.” However, the loss here is calculated twice. The calculation is incorrect if “indirect loss” refers to, in particular, the lost profit of a firm that has lost a production facility that is considered as a stock. The reason is that the “value of capital stock” is nothing but the present value of a product that the stock will produce in the future. Therefore, an “indirect loss” defined in the above manner corresponds to a decrease in stock value. Using a dynamic economic model, this article provides a basic structure, “value of loss in capital stock lost by a disaster” = “total decline of production after a disaster.” This article also presents a relational expression in consideration of the restoration cost of a production facility, and concludes that a more multifaceted and functional damage information system needs to be developed in the future.

Estimating the risk related to networks: a methodology and an application on a road network

Networks, such as transportation, water, and power, are critical lifelines to society. Managers plan and execute interventions to guarantee the operational state of their networks under various circumstances, including after the occurrence of (natural) hazard events. Creating an intervention program demands knowing the probable consequences (i.e., risk) of the various hazard events that could occur to be able to mitigate their effects. This paper introduces a methodology to support network managers in the quantification of the risk related to their networks. The method emphasizes the integration of the spatial and temporal attributes of the events that need to be modeled to estimate the risk. This work then demonstrates the usefulness of the methodology through its application to design and implement a risk assessment to estimate the potential impact of flood and mudflow events on a road network located in Switzerland. The example includes the modeling of (i) multiple hazard events, (ii) their physical and functional effects throughout the road network, (iii) the functional interrelationships of the affected objects in the network, (iv) the resulting probable consequences in terms of expected costs of restoration, cost of traffic changes, and duration of network disruption, and (v) the restoration of the network.

Model Penentuan Ukuran Batch Produksi dan Bufferstock untuk Sistem Produksi Mengalami Penurunan Kinerja dengan Mempertimbangkan Perubahan Order Awal

This study develops a model that involves information the preliminary order. At first, the manufacturer provides the preliminary order for the coming week (five days) varies from day to day and is received on Friday. Change in the preliminary order for a given day is announced one day before and this is viewed as it occurs randomly. Moreover, production systems experience performance degradation (deterioration). Status of the production process shifts from in control to out of control that is identified by the last inspection. Inspection is done by sampling. At the time of the status of out of control the probability of producing non-conforming system component that is charged to the restoration cost and warranty costs.This paper is looking for a solution for determining the production batch size and the buffer stock to reduce total cost. The decision variables are production run period (T) and buffer factor (m). Having obtained the variables T and m, then the variable production batch size (QT) and the buffer stock (BT) can be determined sequentially. Heuristic methods used are Silver-Meal (SM) and Least Unit Cost (LUC) to obtain a solution for each model. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the performance of the models. From the numerical results, it appears that LUC method is better than SM method.

Restoration of historical timber building: a Malaysian case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the most influential buildings elements in term of the cost for timber restoration works. Design/methodology/approach – The research employed the case studies methods with questionnaires surveys. Two case studies were chosen and questionnaire surveys were distributed to contractors and consultation companies. The cost was identified based on the elemental cost analysis of historic timber buildings. Findings – The restoration of historic timber buildings in Malaysia has grown rapidly, especially in the UNESCO world heritage sites, Melaka and Penang. Data obtained on the restorations of timber buildings show that the most influential elements were upper floors, roofs and walls. Termites’ invasions and the lack of building analysis were found to be the major issue in timber restoration works. In addition, the availability of timber material contributed significantly to the increase of cost for restoration works. Originality/value – The cost for every element was identified and was used as a reference for new restorations projects of historical, timber buildings. This paper also highlighted the causes for the problems and the factors affecting the cost of timber restoration works. These data are useful information, especially for surveyors and contractors who are involved in the restoration of historic timber buildings. Maintaining or replacing these elements with other material can help to minimise the restoration cost of timber buildings in Malaysia.