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101. Local stakeholders' use of forest reserves in Kasyoha-Kitomi forest landscape, Uganda and Nguru south forest landscape, Tanzania

Author:
Kim Raben, Michael Kidoido, David Loserian, Johnson Nyingi, and Zarupa Akello
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
Tropical forests are characterised by stakeholders with multiple and often conflicting interests. This paper identifies and analyses local stakeholders in the Participatory Environmental Management (PEMA) programme in the Kasyoha-Kitomi forest landscape in Uganda and the South Nguru forest landscape in Tanzania. The overall objective of the PEMA programme is to pilot and promote an approach to the management of natural resources in two high-biodiversity Forest Reserves and surrounding landscapes that reconciles the conservation and development interests of multiple stakeholders at local, national and international levels. The Danish Institute for International Studies had as one of its task to carry out an analysis of local stakeholders i.e. the rural people in the forest landscapes, who directly or indirectly benefit from services provided by the forests. The image of stakeholders and interests in forest management is complex and stakeholder analysis provides a means to start understanding it. Based on the stakeholder identification methodology (Ravnborg and Westermann 2002) the paper investigates stakeholders and the interdependencies among them with regard to the management of natural resources. Point of departure is taken in individuals’ interests, and previous and current uses of services provided by the Kasyoha-Kitomi Forest Reserve and Nguru South Forest Reserve are documented. These services are for instance the provision of agricultural land, wood products, NTFP, hunting, fishing, grazing and the less tangible services such as climate regulation, water quantity and quality. Where possible, interests are distinguished according to social groups. It is concluded that local inhabitants’ stakes in the forest reserves are determined by their access to technology, capital, markets, skills, as well as their locality, gender, age, ethnicity and (lack of) alternative livelihood strategies. In addition, the context of inter-related demographic and socio-economic processes that influence patterns of resource use and determine (and change) local inhabitants’ interests in and use of the forests are described and conflicting interests and interdependencies identified. The stakeholder analysis provides a start to understanding the complex picture of interests attached to the forests and the potential for involving local stakeholders in the PEMA programme. The paper concludes, among other things, that activities such as cultivation within the forest reserves, labouring in logging activities, collection of material for thatch and sambu oil seeds are mainly the interests of the poor local inhabitants. Findings from both forest landscapes show that NTFP such as weaving and thatch material constitute important sources of income for the local inhabitants including the poor and should thus be considered when negotiating use rights to resources in the forest reserve. In general, it is recommended that profound attention is given in the PEMA programme to improving the local stakeholders’ access rights to the forest reserves and not just meet the interests of more powerful non-local stakeholders
Topic:
Economics and Environment
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, Tanzania, and Southeast Asia

102. Fostering Regional Integration: Peer Review in Southeast Asia

Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:
The Southeast Asian region has shown remarkable economic dynamism. Economic growth has been robust, and trade and investment flows have been soaring as a result of increasing international division of labour.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

103. Is China an economic threat to Southeast Asia?

Author:
John Ravenhill
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Australian National University Department of International Relations
Abstract:
China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) caused widespread concern that it would gain market share at the expense of other economies in East Asia, especially the lower-income ASEAN economies. Economic modelling done by the World Bank and others appeared to substantiate these fears; the conclusions of these studies caused further consternation among politicians and academic commentators in Southeast Asia who believed that China's success in the 1990s in attracting foreign direct investment had come at ASEAN's expense.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and World Bank
Political Geography:
China, Asia, and Southeast Asia

104. The Determinants of Loan Contracts to Business Firms: Empirical Evidence from a Private Bank in Vietnam

Author:
Robert Lensink and Pham Thi Thu Trà
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This paper deals with loan contracting from a private bank in Vietnam. We focus on the main loan contract features that the bank uses in lending to business firms, namely loan maturity, collateral and loan interest rate. Based upon the simultaneous equation model of Dennis et al. (2000) and the bank's loan contracting policies, we examine the possible interdependency of the three different loan contract terms. Also, we try to determine which firm characteristics and exogenous factors are relevant for loan contracts. We find strong interdependencies between these contract terms with significant bi-directional relationships between collateral and loan maturity, loan rate and loan maturity, and a uni-directional relationship between loan rate and collateral. The conflicting signs within the collateral–loan maturity relationship and the loan interest rate–loan maturity relationship can be explained by our hypothesis that the choice for a certain loan maturity is primarily determined by borrowers' behaviors, whereas the loan rate and the collateral requirements are primarily determined by banks policies. In addition, our results support the relevance of firm quality, agency costs of debt and relationship lending in loan contract design.
Topic:
Economics and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
Vietnam and Southeast Asia

105. Cambodia Blazes A New Path To Economic Growth and Job Creation

Author:
Sandra Polaski
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
A UNIQUE AND SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL POLICY EXPERIMENT has been under way in Cambodia for the last six years. In the country's export apparel factories, working conditions and labor rights are monitored by inspectors from the International Labor Organization (ILO), an international public organization. The results of the inspections are published in credible, highly transparent reports that describe in detail whether the factories are in compliance with national labor laws and internationally agreed basic labor rights. These reports are published on the Internet, and a range of Cambodian and international actors use them. The U.S. government uses the reports as a key input for decisions under an innovative scheme that allows Cambodian firms to sell more apparel in the U.S. market if they improve working conditions and respect workers' rights. Private retail apparel firms that buy from Cambodian factories also use the reports. These buyers, conscious of their brand reputations, use the reliable information they find in the reports to steer orders toward compliant factories and away from noncompliant ones.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States, Cambodia, and Southeast Asia

106. Piracy in Southeast Asia New Trends, Issues and Responses

Author:
Catherine Zara Raymond
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
Piracy has plagued the region of Southeast Asia for many centuries and continues to do so to the present day. Despite increased efforts by the regional countries to reduce the problem, pirate attacks take place on an alarmingly regular basis in what are some of the world's most strategically important waterways. This paper will examine the phenomenon of piracy in Southeast Asia, in particular that which occurs in and around the waters of Indonesia and the Straits of Malacca. The trends which have emerged in recent years will be highlighted; specifically the types of attacks which take place, the different groups carrying out the attacks, the equipment they use and their targeting patterns. The study will then examine the causes of piracy, its impact and finally the responses of the region's states to the problem.
Topic:
Crime, Economics, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

107. India's energy needs

Author:
Nick Hordern
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
India's exploding demand for energy is confronting New Delhi with two important dilemmas, one internal and one external. India's internal dilemma is that to satisfy its energy needs, India must not only expand but also renovate its energy sector, a huge task. Moreover, New Delhi must balance accelerating the necessary reform of this sector with the need to avoid alienating important domestic constituencies. The external dilemma derives from the fact that India will only be able to meet part of its increased energy demand from its own domestic resources, and therefore will be increasingly forced to rely on energy imports. India is trying to secure its energy supplies in a hostile geo-political climate, since New Delhi's parlous relations with its neighbours make energy cooperation difficult. The resultant fears regarding the vulnerability of India's external sources of energy chime with a core principle of New Delhi's political culture, swadeshi (self-sufficiency), whose influence, while waning, retains its potency. Concerns regarding energy security are particularly prevalent in the case of oil, where India's dependence on imports is becoming acute. The proximity of the Persian Gulf to India's industrialised northwest makes it the main source of growing oil imports. But this in turn increases India's reliance on the unstable Gulf. In order to reduce this risk New Delhi will seek out oil from new energy provinces in the Atlantic Basin, Sudan, Russia and South East Asia. It will also turn to a new energy source - gas - and more imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be one result. India's energy needs have implications for Australia. India's growing demand for energy will see coal continue to dominate the energy mix, and as a result India's demand for imported coking coal, including from Australia, is also set to grow. At the same time, India's quest for diversity of supply means that at least some of India's increased LNG imports are likely to be Australian.
Topic:
Economics, Energy Policy, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Russia, Sudan, India, Asia, New Delhi, Australia, and Southeast Asia

108. Challenges for a Post-Election Philippines

Author:
Catherine E. Dalpino
Publication Date:
05-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The outcome of national elections in the Philippines on May 10 is still to be determined. For the past three years, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has governed as an appointed head of state in the wake of President Joseph Estrada's forced resignation on corruption charges. Her administration inherited a country in crisis, and it began the critical process of economic stabilization and growth. Economic indicators in the past two years have shown modest progress. In this interim period, the Philippines has been a steadfast ally of the United States in the war against terrorism. These fragile gains could be imperiled if the Philippines does not complete the electoral process in an expeditious and credible manner. Whatever the outcome of the polls, the winner will have little time to lose in addressing a number of short- and long-term problems in the Philippines.
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia

109. The mysteries of Vietnamese "socialist democracy". Evolution of the people's assemblies and of the legal system since the launch of the Dôi moi

Author:
Matthieu Salomon
Publication Date:
05-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI)
Abstract:
Since the 1980s – and, more symbolically, since the 6th Communist party Congress - Vietnam has been engaged in reform, which is referred to as "dôi moi", i.e. renewal. While their aim is, first and foremost, to change the rules governing economic activity, these reforms have, since the 1990s, also been associated with political, institutional and legal change. Influenced, on the one hand, by endogenous constraints arising out of the necessary adaptation of the politico-legal environment and of the evolution of the power-legitimation processes and, on the other hand, by exogenous constraints born of the desire for integration into the international community and economy, the discourse of the Vietnamese authorities and the country's fundamental political texts have both been modified. It seems undeniable that, despite its weightiness and areas of permanence, the Vietnamese politico-legal system is, de facto, slowly evolving and becoming "normalised". The intention here is not to suggest that Vietnam is undergoing a "democratic transition" bringing it closer to a western model of reference. The aim of the regime may be defined thus: "to consolidate the single-party system while satisfying the demands for modernisation". By means of an analysis of the system of people's assemblies elected by the population and of the legal - i.e. juridical and judicial - system, this study attempts to provide an insight into the regime's capacity for politico-legal innovation and, notably, into its capacity to structure new arenas for debate. It examines the complex evolutions which have affected the rules and players of this too-often-neglected aspect of a changing Vietnam.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

110. Commune-Level Estimation of Poverty Measures and its Application in Cambodia

Author:
Tomoki Fujii
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
In this study, we combined the Cambodian socioeconomic survey for 1997 and the country's population census of 1998 to produce poverty measures at the commune-level in Cambodia using the small-area estimation technique developed by Elbers, Lanjouw and Lanjouw. While there are a number of communes for which the standard errors associated with the estimates are too high, we found that they are on average small enough to be useful. We illustrate the application of poverty maps with reference to education programmes.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Cambodia and Southeast Asia