bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The role of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) in the negotiation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Authors: Ashe John W. , Van Lierop Robert , Cherian Anilla 
Published: October 2009

AbstractThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was signed by some 153 countries at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992, represented a singular triumph for the geographically dispersed group of island states and low‐lying coastal developing countries, located in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as in the Caribbean, South China and Mediterranean Seas, and known as the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). This article focuses on the goals of AOSIS during the negotiations leading up to the adoption of the UNFCCC. For the first time in the history of the United Nations, a group of small states, hitherto relegated to the sidelines, was able to develop a specific negotiating agenda addressing areas which are of overriding concern to them and succeeded in having those concerns incorporated in a legally binding Convention of historic importance. As this article reveals, AOSIS set itself 12 negotiating goals during the negotiating rounds leading up to the UNFCCC, and 10 of these 12 goals were realized.Nevertheless, AOSIS, whose member states are most vulnerable to the possible adverse effects of climate change, was particularly concerned about those provisions of the UNFCCC that were either watered‐down significantly, made largely meaningless or excluded altogether. These include: the absence of definite targets or specific timetables for the significant reduction of carbon dioxide by the industrialized countries of the North; the lack of permanent and clear financing arrangements in particular the lack of definitive financial provisions for adaptive response measures to the adverse impacts of climate change such as sea‐level rise; and the absence of a specific provision for the implementation of coastal zone management schemes for those countries most vulnerable to sea‐level rise.As the UNFCCC moves into the implementation phase, AOSIS should and must build on its past success. To do so, it will need to develop clearly defined initiatives aimed at strengthening the commitments for financing and insurance, and to seek inclusion of a provision to develop and finance coastal zone management schemes for the most vulnerable small states. While the article covers the AOSIS negotiating period up to and including the Earth Summit in June 1992, we nevertheless postulate some possible objectives which the AOSIS group might wish to consider in what is sure to be an intensive post‐Earth Summit phase of the UNFCCC, leading up to the first Conference of the Parties of that Convention.
The challenge of sustainable development in small island developing states: case study on tourism in the Caribbean
Authors: Pantin Dennis A. 
Published: October 2009

AbstractSmall island developing states (SIDS) in the Caribbean have long specialised in primary commodity exports, and traditional export sectors continue to be a major source of employment. The challenge of sustainable development for the Caribbean SIDS has two dimensions. The first is to adjust to the economic and social impact of the loss of preferential markets for traditional exports and of the dismantling of the ISI apparatus erected during the post‐World War II period. The second is to ensure that existing and new patterns of production and consumption comply with the criteria for sustainable development, which is here defined as environmental, socio‐cultural and economic sustainability.This article outlines the potential contribution of sustainable tourism to the larger goal of sustainable development in the SIDS in the Caribbean. It reviews current literature on sustainable development and sustainable tourism, particularly their application to the Caribbean SIDS, and evaluates the Caribbean tourism industry from the point of view of sustainable tourism. Conclusions are drawn and proposals made for a policy‐oriented agenda in support of the quest for sustainable tourism in the SIDS in the Caribbean.
Small island developing states and sustainable development of ocean resources
Authors: Mitchell Carlyle L. , Hinds Lennox O. 
Published: October 2009

AbstractBecause of their economic and environmental vulnerability, small island developing states (SIDS) have peculiar developmental problems that severely affect their ability to implement the measures necessary for attaining sustainable development as recommended in UNCED's Agenda 21. Although this has been recognised by the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), and although there has been international acceptance of a SIDS Programme of Action (POA), SIDS have not been the focus of adequate attention by international and donor agencies. As a result, progress toward implementing the POA has been disappointing. This study examines the question of how sustainable management and development of ocean resources can contribute significantly to the achievement of the objectives of the SIDS POA.
Environmental regulation of exploration and mining operations in Asian countries
Authors: Otto James , Naito Koh , Pring George (Rock) 
Published: October 2009

AbstractThis paper offers a new perspective on the environmental laws in Asian nations affecting the exploration, mining, and reclamation activities of the mineral resource industry: the perspective of the senior government officials in those countries, whose job is to enforce these new environmental laws. The article presents the results of a 1998 survey of national environmental officials in Asia conducted by the Colorado School of Mines and the Metal Mining Agency of Japan. Officials in 10 diverse countries—Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam—responded to a detailed questionnaire covering applicable laws, agencies, protected areas, covered mineral activities, financial assurance, environmental impact assessment, public involvement, environmental standards, permit and reclamation requirements.The survey confirms that Asian nations are part of the global trend towards national government regulatory structures that balance mineral development objectives with environmental considerations. The survey also shows developing regulatory systems (some embryonic, some more mature) utilizing a combination of mining and environmental acts, and often an ‘insider’ perspective of the national officials administering the laws. While that perspective is not without its biases (not least the rigor of enforcement), it may nevertheless be of use in company planning. The emerging regulatory picture contradicts the conventional notion that it is the ‘lower’ level of regulation in Asia that is attracting foreign direct investment in mining.
Rethinking the management of transboundary freshwater resources: a critical examination of modern international law and practice
Authors: Albert Jeffrey 
Published: October 2009

AbstractAvailable freshwater stocks are being depleted and impaired on a widespread basis, with acute shortages an increasingly frequent condition in arid climates. In transboundary basins, water scarcity and pollution compound interstate tension and contribute to human suffering and ecological damage. This article provides theoretical perspectives on shared freshwater disputes and on the evolution of the international law of shared water resources. It argues that the UN Convention on the Non‐Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (ratified by some countries, but not yet in force) is inadequate as a framework convention in terms of providing general obligations on the future parties or an institutional framework for future action. The paper suggests that three critical concepts be considered in future management of shared water resources: (1) the unitary character of watersheds (where the absence of extra‐basin diversions allows); (2) joint or “communitarian” watershed management; and (3) the relevance of international trade to alleviating regional food stress, resulting from local water scarcity. Finally, it proposes the establishment of an international advisory body on shared water disputes, modelled after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose role is codified in the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Land resources potential and sustainable land management: an overview
Authors: Koohafkan A. Parviz 
Published: October 2009

AbstractLand degradation continues to be a major threat to local and national food security. With limited potential to develop new land, any increase in agricultural production must be sought largely through the better use of land already under cultivation. Concerns for the global environment associated with agriculture worldwide have also increased in recent years and require more coordinated efforts at global and national levels with decentralisation of activities at the local level.This article presents an overview of land resources potential for food production, the processes and extent of land degradation and its economic and environmental costs and impacts, and highlights some macro‐economic policies and institutional measures for the prevention of land degradation and rehabilitation of degraded lands. A people‐centred programme is presented as a basis for decentralising activities for sustainable land use and land management. Finally, the need for better coordinated efforts of concerned UN, multinational agencies and NGOs for the implementation of Agenda 21 and related conventions is stressed.
Developing sustainable agricultural systems for small farmers in Latin America
Authors: Altieri Miguel A. 
Published: October 2009

AbstractThe great majority of farmers in Latin America are peasants who still farm small plots of land, usually in marginal environments utilizing traditional and subsistence methods. The contribution of the 16 million peasant units to regional food security is however substantial. Research has shown that peasant systems, which mostly rely on local resources and complex cropping patterns, are reasonably productive despite their small land endowments and low use of external inputs. Moreover analysis of NGO‐led agroecological initiatives show that traditional crop and animal systems can be adapted to increase productivity by biologically re‐structuring peasant farms which in turn leads to optimization of key agroecosystem processes (nutrient cycling, organic matter accumulation, biological pest regulation, etc.) and efficient use of labour and local resources. Examples of such grassroots projects are herein described to show that agroecological approaches can offer opportunities to substantially increase food production while preserving the natural resource base and empowering rural communities.
The promising spread of sustainable agriculture in Asia
Authors: Pretty Jules , Hine Rachel 
Published: October 2009

AbstractDespite great successes in increasing food production, Asia still faces enormous food security challenges. Most commentators agree that there will have to be increases in food production from existing agricultural land, but many are pessimistic about the future, judging likelihood of success on the basis of past performance of ‘modern’ agricultural development. Sustainable agriculture, though, offers entirely new opportunities, by emphasising the productive values of natural, social and human capital, all assets that Asian countries either have in abundance or that can be regenerated at relatively low financial cost.This paper sets out an assets‐based model of agricultural systems, together with a typology of eight approaches for sustainable agriculture improvements. In the 16 projects/initiatives spread across eight countries that are analysed, some 2.86 million households have substantially improved total food production on 4.93 million hectares, resulting in greatly improved household food security. Proportional yield increases are greatest in rainfed systems, but irrigated systems have seen small cereal yield increases combined with added production from additional productive system components (such as fish in rice, vegetables on dykes). The additional positive impacts on natural, social and human capital are also helping to build the assets base so as to sustain these improvements in the future.This analysis indicates that sustainable agriculture can deliver large increases in food production in Asia. But spreading these to much larger numbers of farm households will not be easy. It will require fundamental policy reform.
Land and water systems: managing the hydrological risk
Authors: Burke Jacob J. 
Published: October 2009

AbstractThe paper suggests that the expansion of irrigated agriculture in the 20th century has de‐coupled the water user from the inherent risk of exploiting both surface and groundwater resources. The apparent reliability of storage and conveyance infrastructure and the, relative cheapness and flexibility of groundwater exploitation offered by mechanised drilling and pumping have sheltered the end user from natural hydrological risk. The imperative for in‐field irrigation efficiency has been effectively removed since the physical and economic management of the resource is determined by command area authorities or, in the case of some groundwater pumping, by the performance of power utilities, who have no direct interest in integrated resource conservation. As a result, the resource base has been degraded, and in some cases irreparable damage has occurred. It is argued that the rigidity of the resource management in many irrigation systems is not attuned to the inherent variability of natural systems upon which they depend. Further, the paper argues that irrigation management systems can work toward sustainability by spreading risk equitably, and transparently, amongst the resource regulators, managers and users. This has to involve a much more flexible approach to natural resource management that is conditioned not only by natural parameters, but also by the socio‐economic settings. A range of examples highlights the variability and scale issues involved.
Mobilising social energy against environmental challenge: understanding the groundwater recharge movement in western India
Authors: Shah Tushaar 
Published: October 2009

AbstractThis paper explores a large‐scale and growing popular movement to augment groundwater recharge in the Saurashtra region of western India, an area that has been facing acute water scarcity and other associated problems. As a social phenomenon, the movement is at an early stage of its development. However, it is interesting to study it for many reasons. First, even a decade after it began, it is still growing in scale and following. Second, it is entirely spontaneous and internally driven, necessitating no public resources or support. Third, early indications are that its social and ecological impacts are beneficial and highly significant. Fourth, the movement was catalysed and spearheaded by spiritual and religious institutions, which made ingenious use of non‐economic messages and motivators in forging a new natural resource ethic based on a broad, collective rationality among movement members. It appears, however, that beyond a threshold, the movement acquired a logic and energy of its own which might fuel its future sustainability and growth. Finally, the movement has important lessons to offer because mobilising social energy on such a scale and intensity can perhaps be one of most effective responses to many of the environmental challenges the world faces today.
Collective action: an alternative institutional arrangement for reducing water pollution in an industrial estate in India
Authors: Misra Smita 
Published: October 2009

AbstractThis study explores the possibility of collective action as an alternative option for reducing water pollution for a cluster of small‐scale industries. A case study of the Nandesari Industrial Estate in Gujarat, India, demonstrates the roles played by different agents, such as affected parties, polluters, non‐governmental organizations, regulators and the court. The study empirically estimates the ‘benefits’ and ‘costs’ of water pollution abatement for a cluster of 250 small‐scale industries at Nandesari, and uses these estimates for a social cost‐benefit analysis. Benefits are estimated using the contingent valuation method, with a ‘willingness to accept’ format for the rural areas, and a ‘willingness to pay’ format for the urban area of the nearby Vadodara city. The article considers costs of command and control, market‐based solutions and the option of common effluent treatment as alternative scenarios. It discusses how collective action and joint abatement at a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) by the 250 industries efficiently comply with the State Pollution Control Board norms, which had not been possible for the factories acting individually over the last 20 years. Finally, a detailed social cost‐benefit analysis has been undertaken to estimate the net present social benefits with and without CETP. The cost‐benefit analysis shows the economic advantage and social desirability of ‘collective action’ (joint treatment with CETP institutional arrangement) for water pollution abatement with respect to all possible scenarios comprising shadow prices of investment, foreign exchange, unskilled labour and equity considerations.
Water rights and legal pluralism: four contexts for negotiation
Authors: Bruns Bryan Randolph , Meinzen‐Dick Ruth S. 
Published: October 2009

AbstractIncreasing water scarcity is increasing pressure on water management institutions, particularly in the area of water rights. A common response is to formalise water tenure, one of several options for securing access and resolving conflicts concerning water allocation. This article looks at four contexts where negotiation, self‐governance and concepts of legal pluralism may help improve water resource management. Existing users and potential new users need to negotiate before water resources are developed. Users can participate in forums with authority to solve basin management problems through self‐governance. Negotiated water transfers offer an alternative to water acquisition by expropriation.
The role of economic invisibility in development: veiling women's work in rural Pakistan
Authors: Carpenter Carol 
Published: October 2009

AbstractThe thesis in this article is that both women's work and its invisibility are essential to development, and at two levels: to the economy of rural households and to the wider development process. For rural households, the case of Pakistan suggests that the veils that conceal women's work shield a portion of household production from the risks and extractions inherent in their involvement with development. This shielded production depends on off‐farm natural resources of which the use is also veiled. For States and other development interests, the author suggests that women's work constitutes a subsidy which is intentionally invisible. The subsidy of women's labour is linked to a forest‐to‐farm subsidy. Women's invisible work, in other words, is not invisible because it is not seen, but because the process of economic development—for both rural households and States and other development actors—requires that it be hidden.
Wind energy technology development and diffusion: a case study of Inner Mongolia, China
Authors: Zhang Xiliang , Gu Shuhua , Liu Wenqiang , Gan Lin 
Published: October 2009

AbstractThis article reviews the spread of small household wind generators and the development of wind farms in Inner Mongolia, China with emphasis on policy and institutional perspectives. It analyzes the patterns of wind technology dissemination within social, economic, and environmental contexts. It also discusses international investment and technology transfer relating to wind energy technology. The economics of windfarm development are examined and the role of alternative policy instruments analyzed. Major constraints to wind technology development are identified and relevant policy recommendations suggested.
Designing tools to track health and well‐being in mining regions of India
Authors: Noronha Ligía 
Published: October 2009

AbstractThe objective of this article is to illustrate the use of a framework to design a set of tools to assess progress towards improved well‐being in a mining region. The framework uses an ecosystem approach to assess human well‐being and is sensitive to the needs, concerns, and interests of at least the major stakeholders: government, company and community. The framework seeks to be useful to stakeholders and to be of policy relevance. The article presents the proposed framework with illustrations from a case study in Goa, India. Mining in Goa has had both positive and negative impacts on the well‐being of local people. These impacts vary depending on the age of mining. In areas where mining is well established and active, the economic impacts are more positive. The social and environmental impacts are more negative in the regions where mining is new or is closing down. These characteristics generate their own set of issues of concern to stakeholders. Based on these issues, three types of tools to assess current well‐being and progress towards improved well‐being are suggested: (i) Indicators based on identified issues using the Pressure‐State‐Response (PSR) framework; (ii) A quality of life instrument, which can be developed either as an aggregate measure of well‐being or in a more limited way to capture the satisfaction of the community with their living conditions; (iii) A regional income accounting framework to assess whether the mining region is able to continue functioning into the indefinite future without being forced into a decline through the degradation of its key natural, social, and human assets and resources. The article suggests that if these tools are used regularly, an information system will emerge that will, over time, provide markers of what mining is doing to the region and to the local communities.