Digital Commons Network^™

Urban Watershed Services For Improved Ecosystem Management And Risk Reduction, Assessment Methods And Policy Instruments: State Of The Art, Yaella Depietri, Lorenzo Guadagno, Margaretha Breil

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

Under scenarios of increasing unplanned urban expansion, environmental degradation and hazard exposure, the vulnerability of urban populations, especially of their poorer segments, needs to be tackled through integrated economic, social and environmental solutions. Basing our analysis on the concept of ecosystem services, we suggest that urban areas would benefit from a shift in perspective towards a more regional approach, which recognizes them as one of many interconnected elements that interact at the watershed level. By integrating an ecosystem approach into the management of water-related services, urban management policies can take a first step towards fostering an improvement of the health …

Good Vibrations: The Push For New Laws And Industry Practices In American Instrument Making, Patrick Genova

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Tipnis Conflict: Sovereignty, Development, And Indigenous Resistance In Bolivia, Stefanie Wickstrom

Political Science Faculty Scholarship

This paper introduces readers to conflict during the presidency of Juan Evo Morales Ayma over construction of a highway through the Isiboro Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park (TIPNIS) in Bolivia. The Morales government is pursuing the highway project that will facilitate local development tied to the capitalist world-system and serve as a segment of a transcontinental system giving Brazil access to ports on the Pacific Ocean, thereby making engagement in the capitalist world-economy by regional South American power blocs more profitable and enhancing Bolivia’s economic and political status internationally. This development is made possible by the exercise of state …

Temporal And Spatial Analysis Of Forest Management: A Case Study Of Kam Cha I, Thailand, Jeff Felardo

Economics ETDs

Optimal forest management strategies are needed to maximize welfare for both local and global forest users. This research will focus on spatial and temporal components within the framework of forest management policy. Particularly, payment for ecosystem services (PES) programs and their effect on forest management are considered. This research provides analysis of survey data, a theoretical forest management model, and of large GIS datasets. This dissertation demonstrates how to incorporate spatial and temporal components into the study of how a PES program could be implemented in Kam Cha i, Thailand. The results from the survey analysis demonstrate mixed attitudes towards …

Rights, Resources, And Rhetoric: Indigenous Peoples And The Inter-American Court, Thomas M. Antkowiak

University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Good Governance Practices By Local Organization In Forest Resource Management, Slamet Rosyadi

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

Centralized approach is no longer perceived as effective in managing natural resources such as the forest. In line with the good governance movement, practices of forest resource management have changed from one-bureaucratic show into partnership. Consequently, the concept of transparency, accountability, and broader public participations should be institutionalized to improve the sustainability of forest management. By using the experience of Banyumas’ forest communities as case studies, this research aims to examine the extent to which the practice of good governance in forest management develops and influences the sustainability of forest management. Since this study was been intended to reveal the …

Good Governance Practices By Local Organization In Forest Resource Management, Slamet Rosyadi

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

Centralized approach is no longer perceived as effective in managing natural resources such as the forest. In line with the good governance movement, practices of forest resource management have changed from one-bureaucratic show into partnership. Consequently, the concept of transparency, accountability, and broader public participations should be institutionalized to improve the sustainability of forest management. By using the experience of Banyumas’ forest communities as case studies, this research aims to examine the extent to which the practice of good governance in forest management develops and influences the sustainability of forest management. Since this study was been intended to reveal the …

Development Of Local-Based Mdgs & Arg Models On Poor Woman, Wanto Rivaie, Nuraini Asriati

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

This research studies the local-based MDGs and ARG models of poverty eradication efforts in border areas in West Borneo. The aim is to map the psycho-social economic dimensions and identify the behavior of poverty-stricken groups. Poverty in border areas is getting higher compared to other areas since they are strategically and geographically different in characteristics. The purpose of the study is to improve the policy and budgeting system of poverty eradication programs. A qualitative approach is used through the concept of planning and developing. The result shows that the high income of some people does not reduce the number of …

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 …

Ecology Of White-Cheeked Crested Gibbons In Laos, Julia Cleverly Ruppell

Dissertations and Theses

The endangered white-cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys), native to Laos, Vietnam, and perhaps China, remains little known and highly threatened. I studied seasonal variation in the diet, activity budget, and ranging behavior of three groups of white-cheeked crested gibbons in Nam Kading National Protected Area, Bolikhamxay Province, Laos, over 12 months in wet seasonal evergreen forest. Crested gibbons (Nomascus spp.) are speculated to be more folivorous than other gibbons, but this has never been confirmed because of the paucity of fieldwork on the genus. I studied diet in relation to forest seasonality to determine the contribution …

A Bird In The Binoculars: Understanding Birdwatchers' Potential To Contribute To Sustainable Development And Biological Conservation, Sheri Lynn Glowinski

Dissertations

The three studies comprising this research drew from local economic development and environmental sociology to understand aspects of human dynamics that influence the conservation of birds. Using survey data collected from birdwatchers visiting coastal Alabama, the first study examined the local economic impact of birdwatching tourism and the factors that participants deemed important with respect to their recreation. Birdwatchers spent $103,305 during the four month study period. The total annual economic impact of this recreation on the area was estimated at $937,470, producing a multiplier of 1.48 and the equivalent of 20.3 full time jobs. Infrastructural variables (parking, bathrooms, site …

The Collegian (2013-04-29), Joe Molina

UTB/TSC Archives - The Collegian

No abstract provided.

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

George Middendorf

Climate Change, Forests, And International Law: Redd's Descent Into Irrelevance, Annecoos Wiersema

Annecoos Wiersema

Forestry activities account for over 17% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2005, parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change have been negotiating a mechanism known as REDD – Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation – to provide an incentive for developing countries to reduce carbon emissions and limit deforestation at the same time. Many believe this mechanism will not only mitigate climate change but will also provide biodiversity and forests with the hard international law regime that has so far been missing. These commentators assume REDD will develop into this kind of hard international law regime. They …

Full Issue

Colby Magazine

Colby Magazine vol. 97, no. 3 (Fall 2008): full issue

From The Editor, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

No abstract provided.

Legality, Criminality And Agency Beyond The State: Forest Governance, Illegal Logging And Associated Trade, Lorraine Elliott

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

This paper examines the disconnect between the literature on and practice of legality verification (LV) in the forest sector and what would seem to be a logical extension into the literature on and responses to forest crime and, more specifically, transnational criminality associated with the trade in illegally logged timber. The apparently logical overlap between these two areas of endeavour arises because both are dealing with aspects of supply chains or chains of custody involving raw timber, forest products or timber products more generally. The disconnect, I suggest here, arises because of a lack of ‘joined up thinking’ between the …

Legality, Criminality And Agency Beyond The State: Forest Governance, Illegal Logging And Associated Trade, Lorraine Elliott

Transnational Business Governance Interactions Working Papers

This paper examines the disconnect between the literature on and practice of legality verification (LV) in the forest sector and what would seem to be a logical extension into the literature on and responses to forest crime and, more specifically, transnational criminality associated with trade in illegally logged timber. The apparently logical overlap between these two areas of endeavour arises because both are dealing with aspects of supply chains or chains of custody involving raw timber, forest products or timber products more generally. The disconnect, I suggest here, arises because of a lack of 'joined up thinking' between the two …

Challenges To China's Natural Resources Conservation And Biodiversity Legislation, Jason J. Czarnezki

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Despite China's legislative attempts to conserve its natural resources and in turn protect biodiversity, Chinese law in many aspects remains ineffective in pursuit of these goals due to struggles with implementation, enforcement, and insufficient public participation, as well as legislative prioritization of economic values over ecological ones. This Article provides an overview of biodiversity and conservation legislation in China, and suggests that China can improve this legislation by increasing the public's role in conservation efforts, increasing liability and enforcement mechanisms, and improving administrative coordination.

Diversity Of Plants And Animals In Mountain Systems In Tajikistan, Victor Roy Squires Dr, Neymatalo Safarov Dr

Victor Roy Squires Dr

Tajikistan, a landlocked country, is one of the world's centers of origin of cultivated plants and has a special role in the conservation of mountain biodiversity. The richness of biodiversity shows up at the genetic, species, population, and ecosystem levels. There are many relic and endemic species, with most of the components of biodiversity vulnerable to anthropogenic factors. Close cooperation across borders will be required for conservation of unique and threatened ecosystems in the Central Asian region. Proximate threats such as poaching, overfishing, illegal logging and overgrazing are causing irreversible damage to biodiversity in the Tajikistan hotspot. Threats stem from …

The Implementation Gap: What Causes Laws To Succeed Or Fail?, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

It is important to go behind the “paper systems” many countries and private sector actors have created to manufacture the appearance of commitments to responsible economic activity, environmental protection and social justice. This produces the need to penetrate the veils that mask governments’ “apparent compliance” with the terms of sustainable development, and to be honest about the inability of voluntary codes of practice to shape the behavior of business and government. Implementation requires effective systems to carry out the law and policy mandates. Laws and policies are often poorly designed or deliberately sabotaged in their creation, but in many instances …

Land Use And Vegetation Cover Dynamics In And Around Kagoma Forest Reserve In Tanzania, Nanjiva Nzunda, Pkt Munishi, Japhet Kashaigili, Geofrey Soka, Joel Monjare

Geofrey Soka

No abstract provided.

The Legal Aspects Of Connectivity Conservation: A Concept Paper, Barbara Lausche, Malcolm Farrier, Jonathan Verschuuren, Antonio G. M La Vina, Arie Trouwborst

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

This publication aims to advance conceptual thinking and legal understanding about important law and policy tools and options for supporting the connectivity of protected area systems. The legal research and analyses reflected in this paper span international, regional, national and local levels. A range of legal instruments existing in most national legal systems, from conservation and sustainable use laws to land use planning, development control, voluntary conservation and economic instruments are explored. The paper is intended to offer concrete ideas of existing and potential legal tools and approaches that countries can use immediately to initiate priority connectivity conservation actions and …

Co-Administration In The Zunils Regional Municipal Protected Area, Guatemala, Sandra De Urioste-Stone, William J. Mclaughlin, Nick Sanyal, Ella Inglebret, Karen Guilfoyle

Forest Resources Faculty Scholarship

Co-administration, as a joint protected area governance approach, has increased substantially around the world. In Guatemala, one of the most rapidly growing forms of co-administration is that of protected areas managed by municipal governments in conjunction with central government agencies. There are high expectations for these protected areas coadministered by municipalities to ensure local participation and strengthen the government’s ongoing decentralization and conservation processes. However, little research has been conducted on the outcomes of these types of arrangements. This study presents an in-depth understanding about the co-administration of the Regional Municipal Protected Area of Zunil, from the perspective of different …

Lawyers, Guns, And Money: The Bribery Problem And The U.K. Bribery Act, Lawrence J. Trautman, Kara Altenbaumer-Price

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Timber Talk, Vol. 51, No. 3, September 1, 2013

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Lumber Market News; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Green; Hardwood Lumber Price Trends—Kiln Dried; Timber Stumpage Prices; Nebraska Timber and Log Buyers Survey; Band Saw Blades For Green Wood; Illegal Logging Crackdown in Central and South America; Coming to Terms With Terms; International Trade in Wood Chips Seeing Steady Increases; Nebraska Forestry Spotlight; The Trading Post; How to Save Money Wtih a Wood Stove; Timber Sales

Ecotourism As A Tool For Conservation Of Coast Redwoods In Santa Cruz County, California, Chandana Rao

Master's Theses

According to the World Tourism Organization, ecotourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry, generating $300 billion in annual revenue. Ecotourism aims to control the damaging effects of conventional mass tourism and tries to overcome tourism's environmental and socio-cultural challenges. In an ideal situation, ecotourism can help conserve fragile biodiversity, build ties between parks and communities, and increase awareness of environmental issues; it also includes a profit impetus for businesses.

This research was conducted to evaluate the potential for developing ecotourism as a conservation tool in the four redwoods state parks of Santa Cruz County. The study assessed …

Rights, Resources And Rhetoric: Indigenous Peoples And The Inter-American Court, Tom Antkowiak

Faculty Articles

In 2012, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights handed down Sarayaku v. Ecuador, a crucial decision on indigenous rights. This article considers how the Sarayaku judgment impacts the Court’s case law on indigenous lands and resources, and evaluates that jurisprudence as a whole. Examining the cases, it becomes evident that the Tribunal now connects a number of key indigenous rights to the right to property, Article 21 of the American Convention on Human Rights. When traditional lands are involved, the right to property has become the Court’s structural basis for indigenous rights. For significant reasons, however, the right to property …

Madécasse: Competing With A 4x Fairtrade Business Model, Scott Marshall, Darrell Brown, Bex Sakarias, Min Cai

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Brett Beach and Tim McCollum, co-founders of Madécasse, spent two years as Peace Corps volunteers in Madagascar. During that time, they fell in love with the country and its people. Recognizing the need of the Malagasy for stable jobs and fair wages and the connection between poverty and environmental destruction, Brett and Tim discussed possibilities for a social enterprise in the country.

Madagascar presents a beautiful yet challenging place to operate a business. It has a wide range of flora and fauna, approximately 70% of which are found nowhere else on Earth and it produces coffee, vanilla, sugar, cotton, pepper, …