Digital Commons Network^™

International Environmental Law, David R. Downes, Joseph Dellapenna, Khouane Dittahovong, Joseph Freedman, Royal C. Gardner, Richard A. Horsch, David Hunter, Thomas Parker Redick, David M. Gravallese, Jeffrey M. Klein, Erica Thorson

David B. Hunter

No abstract provided.

Settler Colonial Strategies And Indigenous Resistance On The Great Lakes Lumber Frontier, Theodore Karamanski

Theodore J. Karamanski

The geographic and economic setting of the nineteenth century Upper Great Lakes region created unique challenges to American settler colonialism and encounters with the Indigenous people of this land of lakes and forests. Many Anishinaabeg bands responded creatively through the use of Christianity, education, and American law in an attempt to fortify their presence in the region. European Americans, who sought to appropriate the wealth of the Upper Midwest’s vast stands of hardwood and pine forests, only seldom needed to resort to guns to take control of the land. Instead of a war of conquest they entangled Anishinaabeg property owners …

Water Governance In Haiti: An Assessment Of Laws And Institutional Capacities, Ryan Stoa

Ryan B. Stoa

The Republic of Haiti struggles to sustainably manage its water resources. Public health is compromised by low levels of water supply, sanitation, and hygiene, and water resources are often contaminated and unsustainably allocated. While poor governance is often blamed for these shortcomings, the laws and institutions regulating water resources in Haiti are poorly understood, especially by the international community. This study brings together and analyzes Haitian water laws, assesses institutional capacities, and provides a case study of water management in northern Haiti in order to provide a more complete picture of the sector. Funded by the Inter-American Development Bank as …

Incentivizing Corporate America To Eradicate Transnational Bribery Worldwide: Federal Transparency And Voluntary Disclosure Under The Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, Peter Reilly

Peter R. Reilly

In 1977, it was discovered that hundreds of U.S. companies had spent hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to improve business overseas. In response, Congress passed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), thereby making it illegal to bribe foreign officials to obtain a business advantage. A major tension has emerged between the federal agencies charged with enforcing the FCPA (i.e., the DOJ and SEC), and the corporate entities trying to stay within the legal and regulatory bounds of the statute. Specifically, while the government appears to be trying to maximize discretion and flexibility in carrying out its enforcement duties, …

The Administrative Law Of Global Private-Public Regulation: The Case Of Forestry, Errol E. Meidinger

Errol Meidinger

An important ensemble of transnational, transgovernmental regulatory institutions has emerged in the forestry sector over the past decade. These forest certification programmes set global standards for proper forest management and apply them through institutionalized licensing and inspection programmes. Similar programmes are appearing in other sectors. Developed largely by environmental NGOs and industry associations rather than governments, forest certification programmes are nominally voluntary, but are becoming increasingly mandatory in practice. They are also gradually linking with government regulatory and management programmes in various ways, while remaining in tension both with each other and with government programmes. The overall regulatory system is …

Beyond Westphalia: Competitive Legalization In Emerging Transnational Regulatory Systems, Errol E. Meidinger

Errol Meidinger

Published as Chapter 7 in Law and Legalization in Transnational Relations, Christian Brütsch & Dirk Lehmkuhl, eds.

This paper analyzes several emerging transnational regulatory systems that engage, but are not centered on state legal systems. Driven primarily by civil society organizations, the new regulatory systems use conventional technical standard setting and certification techniques to establish market-leveraged, social and environmental regulatory programs. These programs resemble state regulatory programs in many important respects, and are increasingly legalized. Individual sectors generally have multiple regulatory programs that compete with, but also mimic and reinforce each other. While forestry is the most developed example, similar …

Limits To The Independent Anti-Corruption Commission Model Of Corruption Reform: Lessons From Indonesia, Leslie Gielow Jacobs, Benjamin B. Wagner

Leslie Gielow Jacobs

No abstract provided.

Retooling Law Enforcement To Investigate And Prosecute Entrenched Corruption: Key Criminal Procedure Reforms For Indonesia And Other Nations, Leslie Gielow Jacobs, Benjamin B. Wagner

Leslie Gielow Jacobs

No abstract provided.

Distinguishing Land Change From Natural Variability And Uncertainty In Central Mexico With Modis Evi, Trmm Precipitation, And Modis Lst Data, Zachary Christman, John Rogan, J. Ronald Eastman, B. L. Turner Ii

Zachary Christman

Precipitation and temperature enact variable influences on vegetation, impacting the type and condition of land cover, as well as the assessment of change over broad landscapes. Separating the influence of vegetative variability independent and discrete land cover change remains a major challenge to landscape change assessments. The heterogeneous Lerma-Chapala-Santiago watershed of central Mexico exemplifies both natural and anthropogenic forces enacting variability and change on the landscape. This study employed a time series of Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) composites from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer (MODIS) for 2001–2007 and per-pixel multiple linear regressions in order to model changes in EVI as …

Greener And Safer: Some Potential Choices For Interior Materials For Buildings Undergoing Construction Or Renovation, Nellie J. Brown

Nellie J. Brown, MS., C.I.H.

Executive Summary

What is good for the environment is not automatically safer for workers, but it should be possible to make choices to that are both “greener” and “safer”.

This guide aims to help you to be “greener and safer” by planning ahead – prevention through design by making good choices of materials. Sometimes choices are interconnected and may have multiple benefits. USCDC/NIOSH has piloted a program, in collaboration with OSHA, AIHA, and many others, called “prevention through design” (PtD). The concept of PtD can be defined as: Addressing occupational safety and health needs in the design process to prevent …

The Adjudication Of Historical Evidence: A Comment And And Elaboration On A Proposal By Justice Lebel, Shin Imai

Shin Imai

The appropriate forum and procedures for deciding whether Aboriginal and treaty rights exists has been troubling for courts. In the early years after the enactment of section 35, and today, in a significant number of cases, the issue was decided in criminal proceedings. Often charges were laid for hunting or fishing without a license, or out of season. Such was the case in R. v. Marshall and R. v. Bernard when the Supreme Court of Canada was required to consider an appeal of a conviction for a provincial offence related to logging. Justice LeBel mused about the appropriateness of criminal …

An Assessment Of South China Tiger Reintroduction Potential In Hupingshan And Houhe National Nature Reserves, China, Yiyuan Qin, Philip J. Nyhus, Courtney L. Larson, Charles J.W. Carroll, Jeff Muntifering, Thomas D. Dahmer, Lu Jun, Ronald L. Tilson

Philip J. Nyhus

Human-caused biodiversity loss is a global problem, large carnivores are particularly threatened, and the tiger (Panthera tigris) is among the world’s most endangered large carnivores. The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is the most critically endangered tiger subspecies and is considered functionally extinct in the wild. The government of China has expressed its intent to reintroduce a small population of South China tigers into a portion of their historic range as part of a larger goal to recover wild tiger populations in China. This would be the world’s first major tiger reintroduction program. A free-ranging population of 15–20 tigers …

Evaluating Heterogeneous Conservation Effects Of Forest Protection In Indonesia, Payal Shah, Kathy Baylis

Kathy Baylis

Taking Responsibility For Climate Change-Related Displacement: Article 8 Of The European Convention On Human Rights And The Proportionality Of Expelling ‘Climate Refugees’, Matthew Scott

Matthew Scott

Climate change is already contributing to the displacement of millions of people worldwide by increasing the frequency and intensity of adverse weather events. Faced with a ‘protection gap’ in the international legal framework, proposals for responding to the phenomenon overwhelmingly rely on the State to act, with limited discussion of the potential to develop the scope of protection through litigation. Recognising the potential for litigation to address immediate protection needs whilst also developing the scope of protection more broadly, this discussion paper advances an interpretation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights that would require a ‘fair …

Filipino Journalists Speak Out And Pay The Price, Eric Loo

Eric Loo

There's the shepherd, the flock and the sacristan. Together they drive the media machine with their paymaster, in the back seat brazenly directing the way through the back alleys of Philippine politics.' The 'shepherds' are former journalists turned media publicists. 'Shepherds' take care of reporters covering the election campaign trails - from arranging accommodation to providing food and 'night' entertainment. This can rake in as much as 40,000 pesos monthly (about US$729) for 'shepherding' a presidential election. That's equivalent to how much a broadsheet senior reporter earns in three months. Another story tells of editors pocketing P20,000 to P50,000 a …

Survival Ethics In The Real World: The Research University And Sustainable Development, George Middendorf

George Middendorf

Maritime Security Issues In An Arc Of Instability And Opportunity. Security Challenges, Quentin Hanich, Sam Bateman

Quentin Hanich

The Pacific Arc of islands and archipelagos to the north and east of Australia has been characterised both as an ‘arc of instability’ and as an ‘arc of opportunity’. It is the region from or through which a threat to Australia could most easily be posed, as well as an area providing opportunities for Australia to work on common interests with the ultimate objective of a more secure and stable region. Maritime issues are prominent among these common interests. This article identifies these issues and their relevance to Australia’s maritime strategy. It suggests measures Australia might take to exploit the …

Bridging Vs. Bonding Social Capital And The Management Of Common Pool Resources, Kathy Baylis, Yazhen Gong, Shun Wang

Kathy Baylis

Social capital can facilitate community governance, but not all social capital is alike. We distinguish bonding social capital (within a village) from bridging social capital (between villages), and we compare their effects on the management of a common pool resource. We develop a theoretical model and show that bonding social capital can improve common pool resource management, while the effect of bridging social capital is mixed. We test these findings using primary data from Yunnan, China on social capital and firewood collection on communal lands. We find that bonding social capital decreases the consumption of the common pool resource, and …

Market Mechanisms, Ecological Sustainability And Social Equity, Sharon Beder

Sharon Beder

In most cases the use of market mechanisms to protect the environment aim to maximise economic efficiency rather than environmental effectiveness or equity. The use of emissions trading to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is used as a case study to demonstrate this.

Do Our Conservation Programs Work? A Spatially Explicit Estimate Of Avoided Forest Loss, Jordi Honey-Roses, Kathy Baylis, Maria Isabel Ramirez

Kathy Baylis

China's Strategic Interests In Cambodia: Influence And Resources, Sophal Ear, Sigfrido Burgos

Sophal Ear

Special Journal Issue: "Perspectives On The Recent Past", Brent Fortenberry, Adrian Myers

Adrian Myers

No abstract provided.

A Viable "Sweatshop Free" Model? The Ilo's Better Factories Program And Labor Rights In Cambodia's Garment Industry, John A. Hall

John A. Hall

The International Labour Organization's (ILO' s) innovative program, Better Factories Cambodia ("Better Factories"), represents one of the more important attempts made by the international community to promote labor rights in a developing nation. The lessons Better Factories offers are significant for all stakeholders in the global labor market and suggest at least the outline of a practical blueprint for the future promotion of international labor standards globally. While the ILO's program in Cambodia has achieved notable success in reaching specific criteria, future ILO efforts elsewhere must be adjusted to reflect lessons learned in the Better Factories model. Specifically, future programs …

Multi-Agent Simulation Of Alternative Scenarios Of Collaborative Forest Management, Herry Purnomo, Yurdi Yasmi, Ravi Prabhu, Linda Yuliani, Hari Priyadi, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

International calls for sustainable development advocate that forest management should be carried out in a multi-stakeholder environment. The importance of community participation is acknowledged in theIndonesian Act No. 41 on Forestry (1999). However, it is not clear how to achieve this in areas already allocated to a concession holder. Current regulations offer little flexibility for concessionaires to develop site-specific management, or to involve local communities in forest management. The research reported here examines the application of simulation techniques to explore scenarios of sustainable forest management addressing those limitations. Several scenarios have been developed using multi-agent simulation to examine social and …

Crossing, Scott Abbott

Scott Abbott

No abstract provided.