Probing the (in)compatibilities of social theory and policy relevance in Piers Blaikie’s political ecology

One of Piers Blaikie’s most important contributions to the development of political ecology is his critique of land and resource conservation policy in the global South. In this paper I trace the development of Blaikie’s ideas about the policy relevance of political ecology, focusing particularly on the challenges posed by the introduction of poststructural social theory into the field. I begin by revisiting Blaikie’s earlier critiques of environment and development policy. This will provide the departure point to explore how his thinking on the relationship of theory and policy and of academic and development practices has evolved in subsequent writings. I have invented two personas, “early Blaikie” and “late Blaikie”, to facilitate this task. Second, I want to probe some of the challenges that late Blaikie presents for doing political ecology research, to some extent by pitting early Blaikie against late Blaikie and letting them hash it out. Third, I turn to my own and others’ research and consultation experiences as a way to examine the possibilities for reconciling theoretically driven critiques with policy relevant research.     

Can cod farming affect cod fishing? A system evaluation of sustainability

The cod resources in the Barents Sea constitute the most important fisheries in Norway. In order to reduce resource allocation conflicts among different gear and vessel groups and to ensure profit for all participants throughout the value chain, the sector is thoroughly organized. The institutions established to ensure long-term sustainability, have been developed within the framework of a joint Norwegian–Russian fisheries management regime. However, due to a very high fishing mortality, the cod stock is now under severe pressure. In addition, a major part of the cod fisheries is highly seasonal and unable to be a stable supplier to neither the land-based industry nor demanding international markets. In parallel, cod farming is expected to become a new emerging industry, with potential to copy the success of farmed Atlantic salmon. Many actors within the cod fisheries fear the future competition from the growing cod farming sector. With reference to important attributes that characterize the cod fisheries and cod farming, this paper discusses how a future farming industry may affect the traditional cod fisheries. Moreover, we discuss how the fisheries may be forced to organize in the future to encounter the expected competition from cod farming.     

National ocean policy—new opportunities for Malaysian ocean development

Being a littoral state, Malaysian maritime sectors provide the basis for the growth and development of marine-related activities. As the country enters the new millennium along with the ‘2020 Vision’ which serves as the basic template against which the economic performance of these sectors should be judged, it poses a new challenge for Malaysia in developing these sectors. This paper attempts to address three basic issues: Firstly, is there any national ocean policy in place? Secondly, are the maritime sectors adequately organized to play an important role in achieving the objectives? Thirdly, what are the opportunities available in developing the ocean?It can be seen that existing policies to develop comprehensive ocean governance have not received the full attention they deserve. Organizational structures governing the ocean for implementing national policies are well in place but in a fragmented and uncoordinated fashion. As a result, sectoral and intersectoral management problems were created such as multiple-use conflicts, overlapping of jurisdiction and duplication of efforts. Environmental problems have also not been properly addressed. A few sectors have been identified as offering opportunities to further develop the Malaysian maritime areas. Among these are marine education and human resources development, marine tourism and the seafood industry.     

Incorporating Māori values into land management decision tools

ABSTRACT

Environmental sustainability and the long-term wellbeing of Māori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) are interdependent and degradation of landscapes risks the progressive degradation of Māori wellbeing. The present study developed an analysis framework based on Ki Uta Ki Tai (holistic-mountains to the sea- management philosophy advocated by Ngāi Tahu) for exploring relationships between landcover and Māori values to enable predictions of cultural values through space and time. We used this framework to predict how two Māori values (Overall Health and Cultural Land Use) have been altered as a result of landcover change between 2001–2012 in three Canterbury catchments. The area of native vegetation declined while exotic pasture increased between 2001–2012, and there were corresponding declines in both cultural health scores. These results suggest that the change in landcover has reduced the ability of the landscape to support Māori values. This framework for assessing changes in Māori values with respect to changing environmental conditions may identify opportunities for Māori to better engage in land use management decisions.     

北京建设世界城市模式与政策导向的初步研究

结合世界城市同经济增长、科技创新以及区域基础这间的关系，世界城市结构演化及其成长过程等的一般规律，在内外部环境综合分析基础上，提出北京建设世界城市的基本经济模式与空间结构模式。加大开放程度，推进产业价值链分工，提高高级生产者服务以及高科技产业在经济结构中的比重，积极吸引跨国公司总部与研发机构，增强对全球经济资源的配置能力，为基本经济模式；而在首都圈与环渤海地区形成合理的空间分工，以及改北京单中心结构为近、远程多中心圈域型结构，为基础空间结构模式，并进一步提出了北京建设世界城市的六大政策导向。     

近20年来我国区域发展政策及其效果的对比研究

在对近 2 0年来我国区域发展政策进行简要回顾的基础上 ,文中利用计量经济学模型方法和有关统计数据 ,对我国对外开放这一区域发展政策对东部沿海地区和中西部地区的经济发展作用进行了定量研究 ,首次从量的方面探讨了对外开放政策对东部和中西部地区经济发展的作用效果及其差异。通过计量经济模型模拟计算 ,2 0世纪 80年代初至 1 999年对外开放政策对我国东部沿海地区GDP的直接作用率达到 2 1 39% ,使其相应的GDP年增长速度由9 1 %提高到 1 0 2 4 % ,提高了 1 1 4个百分点。而对于我国中西部地区 ,由于对外开放较晚 ,对外开放政策的力度远不如东部沿海地区的大 ,从 90年代初期开始的沿江、沿边对外开放政策对我国中西部地区GDP的直接作用率为 4 2 4 % ,仅为前者的 2 0 %左右 ,使其相应的GDP年增长速度也仅由 8 96 %提高到 9 2 7% ,仅提高 0 31个百分点 ,两者的差距非常明显。     

北京市地质灾害状况及制定地质环境管理办法论证

论文从北京市自然地质背景和资源现状出发，根据目前资源开采中存在的地质环境问题、地质灾害程度以及地质环境发展趋势，论述了北京应尽快制定、颁布与实施地质环境管理办法的必要性、迫切性、可行性和相关依据。北京市主要有崩塌、滑坡、泥石流、地面沉降等地质灾害以及矿山环境污染，而针对这些问题开展的监测预报工作还很少。纵观北京市社会、经济及资源的利用与发展，已逐步显现出地质灾害、矿山环境等地质环境问题对社会经济发展带来的诸多困扰。目前地质灾害及地质环境管理的现状都显示出本市地质环境监测与预报工作还很薄弱，相应的法律、法规建设也不健全。因此，制定地质环境管理办法已迫在眉睫，应使地质环境管理有法可依，改善目前地质环境，保证北京市社会经济可持续发展。     

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IN RUSSIA AND ESTONIA*

ABSTRACT. The use of e-mail by a grassroots activist group that straddles the Estonian-Russian border transcends political boundaries and provides ready connections to people in distant places. Activists create a perceived space of resistance in a supportive network that is stretched across space. This network of concern, defined by the physical space in which these activists work and by the strong communicative connections among them, was created to overcome continued environmental mismanagement and remove cultural barriers to cooperation. E-mail communication has enabled an ongoing influence on environmental policy in Estonia and Russia. This circumstance of a collaborative e-mail network created by grassroots activists to aid political work is a testament to how communication technology has expanded for the purpose of strengthening previously silenced voices in a regional and political context.