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42. Escaping the Vicious Cycle of Poverty: Towards Universal Access to Energy
- Author:
- Glada Lahn, Arno Behrens, Jorge Núñez Ferrer, Eike Dreblow, Mathilde Carraro, and Sebastian Veit
- Publication Date:
- 03-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Despite the continuous efforts of developing countries and the international community to reduce energy poverty, some 2.7 billion people around the world still rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating and 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity. Over 80% of the energy poor live in rural areas and roughly two thirds in sub-Saharan Africa and India. While fossil fuels will inevitably play a major role in expanding on-grid energy supply, this study shows that renewable energy sources – and especially small decentralised solutions – have huge potential for providing reliable, sustainable and affordable energy services for the poor, particularly in rural areas of developing countries. Many challenges remain, including financing, capacity-building, technology transfer and governance reforms. A careful assessment of the environmental impacts of renewable energy technologies, particularly those on water, is an important prerequisite for donor finance. With the right design, energy access projects can also bring a host of developmental co-benefits. It should be possible for international initiatives including the UN's Year of Sustainable Energy for All and the EU's partnership with Africa to build on the rich experience and lessons learned from pilot projects over the last two decades in order to optimise donor effectiveness in this area.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Poverty, Science and Technology, United Nations, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, and India
43. Liberia: Time for Much-Delayed Reconciliation and Reform
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Despite marked improvements, numerous grievances that plunged Liberia into bloody wars from 1989 until President Charles Taylor left in August 2003 (originally for exile in Nigeria) remain evident: a polarised society and political system; corruption, nepotism and impunity; a dishevelled security sector; youth unemployment; and gaps and inconsistencies in the electoral law. The November 2011 election was the country's second successful postwar voting exercise but exposed its deep fault lines. The re-elected president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, needs to use her relatively weak mandate to focus on reconciling a divided nation.
- Topic:
- Security, Democratization, Poverty, Natural Resources, Fragile/Failed State, Youth Culture, Governance, and Law Enforcement
- Political Geography:
- Africa
44. Resource mobilisation and fundraising in basic schools: A case study of Copperbelt and North-Western province
- Author:
- Malunga Syacumpi
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR)
- Abstract:
- Like many other countries, Zambia removed a major barrier to access to primary education when it abolished user fees for Grades 1–7 in 2002. The resulting fall in basic schools’ income, however, has not been relieved by adequate government resources trickling down through the complex school funding system. In an attempt to address their funding problems, some schools have adopted fundraising ventures as a way of supplementing government resources. The successes and practicability of implementation of such ventures remain to be seen. There is a lack of information about the adequacy of such measures and no institutional framework to guide their implementation. This study explores the range of resource mobilisation and fundraising activities adopted by basic schools. It looks into how basic schools are raising funds and how these funds are being utilised based on a sample of 30 basic schools (15 each from Copperbelt and North-Western provinces). The research was conducted through questionnaires with head teachers and school accountants/bursars as well as interviews conducted at the provincial and district level.
- Topic:
- Development, Education, Natural Resources, Infrastructure, and Mobility
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Zambia
45. Oil for Uganda – or Ugandans? Can Cash Transfers Prevent the Resource Curse?
- Author:
- Alan Gelb and Stephanie Majerowicz
- Publication Date:
- 07-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- In 2009, commercially exploitable reserves of oil were found in the Albertine Lakes Basin in Uganda. Along with a number of new oil exporters, Uganda now faces the challenge of using the new resources to advance its development agenda, while avoiding the corrosive effects oil often has on governance. This paper considers the tradeoffs and potential impact of alternative uses of the oil rent. It argues that alternative approaches towards absorbing rents should be judged from two perspectives – the direct impact on growth and living standards, and the indirect effect on governance. The Ugandan authorities favor using the oil revenues to build much-needed infrastructure; while this could have very large benefits, evidence of Uganda's already deteriorating governance and mounting corruption raise questions about its capacity to wisely invest the oil revenues. This paper considers an alternative—distributing oil rents to the population through cash transfers—as a potential tool to mitigate some of the governance risks associated with oil revenues by giving Ugandan citizens a stake in their own resource wealth, and considers the strengths and limitations of such an approach.
- Topic:
- Oil, Natural Resources, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Uganda and Africa
46. From Compliance to Practice: Mining Companies and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo
- Author:
- Jana Hönk and Tanja A. Börzel
- Publication Date:
- 10-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- Transnational institutions increasingly commit multinational companies to human rights and social standards on a voluntary basis. Our paper investigates the security practices of multinational companies and whether these comply with the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. Analysing the case of mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo we evaluate the impact of the Principles on local security practices and critically analyse the effects of these practices. We argue that one needs to go beyond compliance studies, which focus on the implementation of formal programs (output) and rule-consistent behaviour (outcome), in order to evaluate corporate governance contributions. We therefore develop a conceptual framework that looks at companies' local security practices, including non-compliant practices, and their effects on local security. Our approach leads to a more differentiated evaluation of the effects of voluntary standards and the potential for corporate governance contributions than much of the literature on business and governance does.
- Topic:
- Security, Human Rights, Natural Resources, and Labor Issues
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo
47. Conflict Minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Aligning Trade and Security Interventions
- Author:
- Ruben de Koning
- Publication Date:
- 06-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
- Abstract:
- Mineral resources have played a crucial role in fuelling protracted armed conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Resource revenues obtained by looting, illegal levies and more sophisticated entrepreneurial involvement help foreign rebels and Congolese militia to finance violence and to withstand military defeat and pressure to lay down arms. However, the regular armed forces are becoming equally involved in illegal exploitation of mineral extraction and trade. The thirst for resource revenues spurs rivalry between regular army units and undermines effective command and control.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Armed Struggle, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo
48. From Compliance to Practice: Mining Companies and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo
- Author:
- Jana Hönk and Tanja A. Börzel
- Publication Date:
- 10-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
- Abstract:
- Transnational institutions increasingly commit multinational companies to human rights and social standards on a voluntary basis. Our paper investigates the security practices of multinational companies and whether these comply with the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. Analysing the case of mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo we evaluate the impact of the Principles on local security practices and critically analyse the effects of these practices. We argue that one needs to go beyond compliance studies, which focus on the implementation of formal programs (output) and rule-consistent behaviour (outcome), in order to evaluate corporate governance contributions. We therefore develop a conceptual framework that looks at companies' local security practices, including non-compliant practices, and their effects on local security. Our approach leads to a more differentiated evaluation of the effects of voluntary standards and the potential for corporate governance contributions than much of the literature on business and governance does.
- Topic:
- Security, Human Rights, Natural Resources, and Neoimperialism
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo
49. South Sudan on the Eve of Independence. Assessing the Viability of the World's Newest State
- Author:
- Berenika Stefanska
- Publication Date:
- 07-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Polish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- On 9 July 2011, South Sudan will declare its independence from the Republic of Sudan. The independence comes after 22 years of civil war, which ended in 2005 thanks to an internationally brokered Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The treaty was signed by President Omar al-Bashir and the late John Garang, head of the rebel Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM). It included provisions for a referendum in January 2011 in the 10 southern states to determine their political future. People in the south voted overwhelmingly (98.7%) for independence. The result of the referendum was recognised by the northern ruling National Congress Party (NCP). Most countries already have stated their intention to recognise the Republic of South Sudan.
- Topic:
- Development, Natural Resources, Governance, and Self Determination
- Political Geography:
- Africa
50. A missed opportunity: Mining for sustainable development
- Author:
- France Bourgouin
- Publication Date:
- 01-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Donors and NGOs are missing an opportunity: they should be helping to turn large-scale commercial mining activities into sustainable development for poor countries that are rich in minerals. Instead of shying away, they should engage their development expertise and technical assistance and join forces with mining companies and local governments. This would help increase the spill-over of economic gains into local societies in a just and sustainable manner.
- Topic:
- Development, Poverty, Natural Resources, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Africa