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4052. Resilience: Working with vulnerable farmers towards climate change adaptation and food security
- Author:
- Jules Siedenburg, Kimberly Pfeifer, and Kelly Hauser
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Worldwide, 1.7 billion small-scale farmers and pastoralists are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. They live on marginal rural lands characterised by conditions such as low rainfall, sloping terrain, fragile soils, and poor market access, primarily in Africa and Asia. Such farmers are vulnerable because their farms depend directly on rainfall and temperature, yet they often have little savings and few alternative options if their crops fail or livestock die.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Climate Change, and Food
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Asia
4053. Bolivia: Climate change, poverty and adaptation
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Bolivia is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change for six basic reasons: It is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and suffers from one of the worst patterns of inequality. Low-income groups in developing countries are the most exposed to climate change impacts. It is the country in South America with the highest percentage of indigenous people, where much of the poverty and inequality is concentrated. It is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world, with a wide variety of ecosystems that are vulnerable to different impacts from climate change. More than half of the country is Amazonian, with high levels of deforestation which adds to the vulnerability to flooding. Located in a climatically volatile region, it is one of the countries in the world most affected by 'natural' disasters in recent years. It is home to about twenty per cent of the world's tropical glaciers, which are retreating more quickly than predicted by many experts.
- Topic:
- Climate Change and Development
- Political Geography:
- South America, Latin America, Bolivia, and Amazon Basin
4054. Turkey's "Soft Power" Strategy: A New Vision for a Multi-Polar World
- Author:
- Cengiz Çandar
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- There is a lively debate centered on whether Turkey is undergoing an axis shift, meaning Turkey is drifting away from the Transatlantic system and heading towards the Middle East in the most acclaimed dailies and journals of the Western world. One may witness a flurry of commentaries, appraisals and op-ed articles published in these media outlets. Taking notice of the vibrant debate on Turkey's orientation in the international sphere, Turkey's leaders underlined Turkey's position with varying degrees of emphasis. Despite the statements of Turkey's policymakers, which argue against the idea of shift of axis, the debates over Turkey's identity and foreign policy orientation has not lost steam. The shift should not be attributed to Turkey's departure from its Western ties to be replaced by those with the East but rather, a shift of power as the inevitable outcome of the end of the Cold War and a fact of the new millennium.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Middle East
4055. Afghanistan: Elections and the Crisis of Governance
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- President Hamid Karzai's re-election on 2 November 2009, following widespread fraud in the 20 August presidential and provincial polls, has delivered a critical blow to his government's legitimacy. The deeply flawed polls have eroded public confidence in the electoral process and in the international community's commitment to the country's nascent democratic institutions. Concentration of power in the executive to the exclusion of the legislature and judiciary has also resulted in a fundamental breakdown in governance while strengthening the hand of the insurgency. To restore stability, vigorous constitutional reform under the aegis of a loya jirga must be undertaken; an impartial commission of inquiry into the flawed elections should be formed; the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) should be restructured to restore credibility; and prompt steps must be taken to strengthen institutions.
- Topic:
- Democratization, War, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
4056. Somaliland: A Way out of the Electoral Crisis
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The stalled electoral process has plunged Somaliland into a serious political crisis that presents yet another risk of destabilisation for the region. If its hard-won political stability collapses under the strain of brinkmanship and intransigence, clan leaders might remobilise militias, in effect ending its dream of independence. The political class must finally accept to uphold the region's constitution, abide by the electoral laws and adhere to interparty agreements such as the electoral code of conduct and memorandum of understanding signed on 25 September 2009, so as to contain the crisis and permit implementation of extensive electoral reforms. International partners and donors should keep a close watch on developments and sustain pressure for genuinely free and fair general elections in 2010.
- Topic:
- Political Violence and Democratization
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Somalia
4057. Combating illicit financial flows from poor countries. Estimating the possible gains
- Author:
- Jakob Vestergaard and Martin Højland
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- If the UN Millennium Development Goals are to be reached by 2015, development aid needs to be tripled – which is most unlikely. Instead, countries should unite in a concerted multilateral effort to combat illicit financial flows: for every dollar poor countries receive in development assistance, more than eight dollars are illegally transferred back to rich countries, most of it in order avoid local taxation. Effectively combating these illicit financial flows would generate more financial resources for development than foreign aid is likely to ever do – and help build a sustainable tax base in developing countries for the benefit of future development efforts.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Crime, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, Europe, London, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland, and Luxembourg
4058. Desde declaración hasta protección real. Biodiversidad y participación local en la gestión de cuatro áreas protegidas en nicaragua
- Author:
- Helle Munk Ravnborg
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- La imagen común de un área protegida es un bosque denso, no intervenido, con una alta diversidad de plantas y animales, y donde el objetivo de la protección es proteger la naturaleza de la (posible) intervención de los seres humanos. Sin embargo, en la realidad las áreas protegidas representan situaciones muy lejanas de esta imagen. A nivel mundial, 12 por ciento de la superficie está declarada área protegida (lista de áreas protegidas de la ONU – 2003), mientras que en Nicaragua este porcentaje llega a 22 por ciento (WRI, 2003). Como observan Haller y Galvin (2008), las 'áreas protegidas' son de hecho la mayor categoría de uso de suelo a nivel mundial. También los objetivos de la protección varían mucho de la imagen común. En la mayoría de las áreas protegidas vive gente, tanto en el mundo como en Nicaragua, y muchas veces el objetivo de la protección es proteger ecosistemas y paisajes que a lo largo del tiempo han sido producidos a través de una interacción específica entre la naturaleza y el ser humano y que prestan valores importantes estéticos, ecológicos y culturales, y que a menudo albergan una rica diversidad biológica (UICN y PNUMA, 2006).
- Topic:
- Environment
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
4059. Venezuela: Accelerating the Bolivarian Revolution
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- President Hugo Chávez's victory in the 15 February 2009 referendum, permitting indefinite re-election of all elected officials, marked an acceleration of his “Bolivarian revolution” and “socialism of the 21st century”. Chávez has since moved further away from the 1999 constitution, and his government has progressively abandoned core liberal democracy principles guaranteed under the Inter-American Democratic Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The executive has increased its power and provoked unrest internally by further politicising the armed forces and the oil sector, as well as exercising mounting influence over the electoral authorities, the legislative organs, the judiciary and other state entities. At the same time, Chávez's attempts to play a political role in other states in the region are producing discomfort abroad. The September 2010 legislative elections promise to further polarise an already seriously divided country, while unresolved social and mounting economic problems generate tensions that exacerbate the risk of political violence.
- Topic:
- Political Violence and Armed Struggle
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Venezuela
4060. Central Asia: Islamists in Prison
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The number of Islamists in Kyrgyz and Kazakh prisons is small but growing, in both size and political significance. Well-organised Islamist proselytisers, mostly imprisoned on charges of religious extremism, are consolidating their position within the informal structures of power behind prison walls. Incarcerating determined activists is providing them with the opportunity to extend their influence among convicts, at first inside prison and then on their release. Problems within jails in Central Asia have been known to seep outside the prison walls; the expansion of radical Islamist thought within prisons is likely to have serious consequences. The paradox of the situation is that, in private at least, political leaders in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are intensely aware that the best way to defeat extremism is to address woeful social and economic conditions, fight the systemic top-to-bottom corruption that besets all the region's regimes, and in the words of one regional leader, “give people a future”.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Islam, and Armed Struggle
- Political Geography:
- Central Asia, Asia, and Kyrgyzstan