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161. From Prior to Post: Legalising environmental violations?

Author:
Krithika A. Dinesh and Kanchi Kohli
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
Between March 15 2017 and June 15 2017, 207 projects that violated the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification applied for an environmental clearance. These applications have come as a result of a notification that the Environment Ministry had passed on March 14th 2017 which gives an opportunity to projects that have violated conditions of the EIA Notification to apply for a clearance within a period of six months, ie by September 15. This notification was passed despite much criticism of the draft notification that was issued on 10 May 2016. The CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program has analysed these applications to see what are the kind of geographical and sectorial spread of these violations and whether there are any trends emerging out of the applications that have come in till June 15. The Environment Ministry has already started looking at the applications through a Committee that has been set up for this. This Committee is headed by Dr SR Wate and had its first meeting on 22 June 2017. The Committee in its first meeting has examined ten applications. Out of these ten applications, the committee has already recommended seven for grant for a Terms of Reference subject to conditions. This working paper would be updated with the analysis of the applications that are coming in as well as the progress of these applications.
Topic:
Environment, Government, Natural Resources, Courts, and Legislation
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Asia

162. Paralegals for Environmental Justice (Version 2.0)

Author:
CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
Large parts of the world, irrespective of their level of economic development, are at the cusp of severe environmental crises. In these regions, the operations of extractive projects such as large scale plantations, mining and industrial development have negated or worsened the economic, social and physical well-being of communities in their neighbourhoods and beyond. Their robust national and regional laws and institutions for the protection and governance of the environment and natural resources have remained on paper and the non-compliance by governments and corporations has had profound effects on community livelihoods, health, access to land and quality of life. CPR-Namati's Practice Guide for Environment Justice Paralegals is a step in the direction of closing this environmental enforcement gap. The guide provides a methodology for community mobilisers, activists and citizens groups to shift their attention from stating the problem to getting grievances addressed by environmental institutions. The guide is based on four years of work done by the paralegals of CPR-Namati Environment Justice Program to assist affected communities file complaints and seek remedies in over 150 cases of non-compliance in India. We hope that this guide will help local organisations and community groups to address environmental conflicts and seek useful remedies for affected people.
Topic:
Development, Environment, Law, and Justice
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Asia

163. Water for Security

Author:
Peter Engelke
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Fletcher Security Review
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
In February 2017, California’s Oroville Dam threatened to collapse due to an unprecedented level of water in its reservoir. Faced with the possibility of calamity (Oroville Dam is the nation’s tallest at 770 feet), state officials evacuated 200,000 people from downstream areas.[1] The Oroville incident followed another high-profile water tragedy in the United States. In December 2015, Flint, Michigan Mayor Karen Weaver declared a state of emergency because lead contamination from Flint’s ancient water pipes poisoned the city’s water supply, making it unsafe to drink.[2] Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, and President Obama both followed with similar declarations. Flint sadly became a national symbol of incompetence, to some even proof of deliberate malfeasance by public officials. Despite remedies to fix the problem, Flint’s water remains unsafe, and the city’s residents continue to go about their lives drinking bottled water. These cases are more than just poignant demonstrations of the truism that water is life. They show that even in advanced societies, there is a fine line between water security and insecurity, between having and not having on-demand clean water in exactly the right quantities at precisely the right moment. In the United States, we are the beneficiaries of past investments in water infrastructure that have removed water insecurity from our lives. We believe that simply turning a tap provides clean, drinkable water as a free good of nature, as readily available to everyone as it is to us. Unfortunately, this assumption is not only untrue, it is dangerous to boot. A great many societies around the world are water insecure, meaning their inhabitants do not enjoy what Americans take as a given. As water is fundamental to public health, economic activity, energy and agricultural production, and countless other uses, the poor supply of water or disruption in that supply is a serious threat to domestic and international security...
Topic:
Security, Environment, Health, Water, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

164. Epidemiological Insurgency: Polio Persistence on the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border

Author:
Rand Quinn
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Fletcher Security Review
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
Despite a profound global impact over the first half of the twentieth century, polio is largely an afterthought throughout the developed world. Vaccines engineered in the late 1950s paved the way for a precipitous drop in global disease burden with the onset of the World Health Organization-led (WHO) Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) starting in 1988. Recent indicators of the program’s success include a declaration of eradication in India[1] and a teeteringly low infection rate in Nigeria;[2] two of the disease’s last bastions. This progress, however, has been notably stifled by the steady persistence of a wild poliovirus reservoir centered in northern Pakistan along the Afghanistan-Pakistan (Af-Pak) border. Throughout significant portions of recorded history this region’s volatility has been well-documented, including a currently sustained network for the training of terrorist fighters dating back to the period of the 1979 Afghan-Soviet War.[3] These networks serve to both attract fledgling radical jihadist recruits and supply fighters globally, markedly providing many of the transnational fighters taking part in the Syrian Civil War. Their movement in and out of the Af-Pak region has provided a major disease vector for poliovirus. The location of a terrorist network transit hub in by far the world’s largest remaining reservoir of wild poliovirus poses a major challenge for policymakers. Due to several factors, including a decline in healthcare infrastructure throughout the western world, the situation presents a legitimate epidemiological threat. However, the issue is more importantly an exemplar of the morphing nature of multidimensional threats, which are likely to become more prevalent in an era of globalization, failed states, and an inability to effectively address social issues amidst the threat of kinetic warfare...
Topic:
Security, Environment, Health, Terrorism, World Health Organization, Infectious Diseases, and Borders
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Asia, Middle East, and United States of America

165. Bird Flu — It’s What’s for Dinner: What Human Population Growth and Climate Change Mean for the Future of Avian Influenza Outbreaks

Author:
Nahid Bhadelia
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Fletcher Security Review
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
China is currently experiencing its fifth epidemic of “bird flu,” or avian influenza H7N9, since 2013 when it was first noted to cause human infections. The virus, which is mainly transmitted from poultry to humans, is also prone to limited human-to-human transmission. To date, there have been 1,258 human cases, with one-third of those cases (460) occurring during this year’s epidemic alone.[1] There are many “subtypes” of avian influenza circulating in birds around the world and most of these viruses cause limited or no human infections. However, two avian influenzas subtypes causing high human mortality have jumped from birds to humans in the last decade, H5N1 and then H7N9. The significant potential of this class of viruses to cause a human pandemic is a global public health concern, particularly because the conditions leading to the rise of these infections are becoming more favorable — for the viruses.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Health, and Infectious Diseases
Political Geography:
China, Asia, and Global Focus

166. THE INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND THE CLIMATE CHANGE NEGOTIATIONS: THE PARIS AGREEMENT CASE

Author:
İzzet Ari
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Department of International Relations, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
Abstract:
The year of 2015 was an important milestone in terms of new progresses in development and climate change areas. Adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement for climate change were two successful issues because of country-driven and comprehensive processes. SDGs which replaced to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), includes 17 goals and 169 targets. The Paris Agreement aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are significant direct and indirect interconnections between SDGs and the Paris Agreement. Due to negotiations of the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and SDGs continued in different platforms, both the Agreement and SDGs could not sufficiently provide input for each other. There is still room to ensure alignment between these two processes and outcomes while implementation, monitoring and reporting of the Paris Agreement and SDGs. In this paper, the key elements of the Paris Agreement, namely, adaptation, mitigation, finance, capacity building, technology transfer, cooperation and partnerships are determined, then these elements are tracked under the SDGs in order to analyze the connections and missing parts between SDGs and Paris Agreement. The findings present that the direct linkages between SDGs and Paris Agreement were not strong but, there are substantial and implicit interconnections among the Agreement and SDGs. Countries should nationalize their own SDGs targets and respective indicators in order to integrate climate change issue in their national development agenda. monitoring and reporting of the Paris Agreement and SDGs. In this paper, the key elements of the Paris Agreement, namely, adaptation, mitigation, finance, capacity building, technology transfer, cooperation and partnerships are determined, then these elements are tracked under the SDGs in order to analyze the connections and missing parts between SDGs and Paris Agreement. The findings present that the direct linkages between SDGs and Paris Agreement were not strong but, there are substantial and implicit interconnections among the Agreement and SDGs. Countries should nationalize their own SDGs targets and respective indicators in order to integrate climate change issue in their national development agenda. monitoring and reporting of the Paris Agreement and SDGs. In this paper, the key elements of the Paris Agreement, namely, adaptation, mitigation, finance, capacity building, technology transfer, cooperation and partnerships are determined, then these elements are tracked under the SDGs in order to analyze the connections and missing parts between SDGs and Paris Agreement. The findings present that the direct linkages between SDGs and Paris Agreement were not strong but, there are substantial and implicit interconnections among the Agreement and SDGs. Countries should nationalize their own SDGs targets and respective indicators in order to integrate climate change issue in their national development agenda. capacity building, technology transfer, cooperation and partnerships are determined, then these elements are tracked under the SDGs in order to analyze the connections and missing parts between SDGs and Paris Agreement. The findings present that the direct linkages between SDGs and Paris Agreement were not strong but, there are substantial and implicit interconnections among the Agreement and SDGs. Countries should nationalize their own SDGs targets and respective indicators in order to integrate climate change issue in their national development agenda. capacity building, technology transfer, cooperation and partnerships are determined, then these elements are tracked under the SDGs in order to analyze the connections and missing parts between SDGs and Paris Agreement. The findings present that the direct linkages between SDGs and Paris Agreement were not strong but, there are substantial and implicit interconnections among the Agreement and SDGs. Countries should nationalize their own SDGs targets and respective indicators in order to integrate climate change issue in their national development agenda. The findings present that the direct linkages between SDGs and Paris Agreement were not strong but, there are substantial and implicit interconnections among the Agreement and SDGs. Countries should nationalize their own SDGs targets and respective indicators in order to integrate climate change issue in their national development agenda. The findings present that the direct linkages between SDGs and Paris Agreement were not strong but, there are substantial and implicit interconnections among the Agreement and SDGs. Countries should nationalize their own SDGs targets and respective indicators in order to integrate climate change issue in their national development agenda.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Environment, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Global Focus

167. Footprints in Paradise: Ecotourism, Local Knowledge, and Nature Therapies in Okinawa

Author:
Andrea E. Murray
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berghahn Books
Abstract:
The economic imperative of sustainable tourism development frequently shapes life on small subtropical islands. In Okinawa, ecotourism promises to provide employment for a dwindling population of rural youth while preserving the natural environment and bolstering regional pride. Footprints in Paradise explores the transformation in community and sense of place as Okinawans come to view themselves through the lens of the visiting tourist consumer, and as their language, landscapes, and wildlife are reconstituted as treasured and vulnerable resources. The rediscovery and revaluing of local ecological knowledge strengthens Okinawan or Uchinaa cultural heritage, despite the controversial presence of US military bases amidst a hegemonic Japanese state.
Topic:
Environment, Imperialism, Tourism, and Local
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, Asia, and Okinawa

168. URBAN CONFLICTS IN NORTHERN AMAZON REGION: DISORDERED GROWTH OF WETLANDS/RESSACAS IN MACAPÁ

Author:
Bianca Moro de Carvalho
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:
Internationally recognized for its immense wealth of natural resources, the Brazilian Amazon Region and its enormous forest are characterized by significant urban conflicts. The growth of illegal settlements in Amazon cities is a sad reality that has transformed the region’s space. The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate part of my doctorate investigation in which I present the squatter-settlement development process (called favelização) of wetlands in the city of Macapá where there is intense occupation of environmental protection areas for precarious housing construction. Also by virtue of such phenomenon, the Federal University of Amapá, via its extension project called “Planning with the Community,” has been seeking to answer some questions relating to informal urbanization processes and their effects on communities living in ressaca areas.
Topic:
Environment, Urbanization, Conflict, and Settlements
Political Geography:
Brazil, South America, and Amazon Basin

169. Why We Urgently Need Water Policy Reforms

Author:
Mark Rosegrant and Claudia Ringler
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
Growing water scarcity and degradation pose rapidly growing challenges to global food security and human well-being. Policymakers contending with these problems face many obstacles, including the increasing cost of developing new water through constructing storage, conveyance and treatment infrastructure, including for desalination of sea water. Other obstacles include the growing degradation of soils in irrigated areas, expanding groundwater depletion, rapidly growing water pollution, and the overall deterioration of freshwater ecosystems. Unless important policy reforms are undertaken today, water scarcity and pollution will adversely affect most, if not all, livelihoods in the coming decades.
Topic:
Environment, Natural Resources, Water, Infrastructure, Reform, and Pollution
Political Geography:
Global Focus

170. Himalayan Impasse: How China Would Fight an Indian Border Conflict

Author:
Kevin McCauley
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
China Brief
Institution:
The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
At the end of August, Chinese and Indian troops both pulled back from the Doklam region in Bhutan after weeks of tense posturing. The face off began in June when Chinese construction crews accompanied by soldiers began building a road. The area is sensitive to Indian national interests not only because of its ally Bhutan, but also due to area’s proximity to a narrow corridor connecting eastern India with the rest of the country. Beijing repeatedly ratcheted up the messaging to India, including the release of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs legal justification of China’s territorial claims against India (China Daily, August 3, 2017). If the two sides decide to face off again, forces on both sides will need to contend with the difficult mountain terrain and complex weather conditions. To prepare for such a contingency, both India and China have invested significantly in units capable of mountain and high-altitude warfare. An examination of the Chinese Military’s doctrine and training of such units provides important insights into how such a conflict would be conducted.
Topic:
Environment, Military Strategy, Territorial Disputes, and Military Affairs
Political Geography:
China, India, Asia, and Himalayas