COPPER, TECHNOLOGY AND DEPENDENCE IN ZAIRE: TOWARDS THE DEMYSTIFICATION OF THE NEW WHITE MAGIC

In the past, the dependence of developing country producers of minerals was thought to be related to lack of capital and lack of personnel. At present, this dependence is maintained by the “new white magic” of technology. Examining the concrete case of copper in Zaire, this article deals with three broad aspects of technological dependence: in the provision of technical personnel for the mining enterprises, in the processing of minerals, and in marketing. In each case, it can be shown that the potential independence of Zaire is considerably greater than what has actually been achieved to date. Moreover, a major barrier to the achievement of more effective national control over the copper industry is the misperception on the part of Zaire of certain key aspects of the industry. A clearer view of the reality of the copper sector would show that national control can in fact be realized. Autrefois on pensait que la dépendence des pays en développement producteurs de minéraux était liée au manque de capitaux et de cadres. De nos jours, cet état de dépendance est alimenté par la “nouvelle magie blanche” de la technologie. En examinant le cas concret du cuivre au Zaïre cet article présente trois grandes lignes de cette dépendance technologique en matière de personnel technique des entreprises minières, de traitement des minéraux et de leur commercialisation. Dans chaque cas, on peut démontrer que les chances d'indépendance du Zaïre sont sensiblement plus élevées qu'elles ne l'ont été jusqu‘à présent. De plus, la perception erronée qu'a le Zaïre de certains aspects clefs de son industrie constitute un obstacle majeur à la réalisaton d'un contrôle national plus efficace de l'industrie du cuivre. Une vue plus claire des réalités du secteur du cuivre démontrerait qu'un contrôle national peut effectivement être mis en place. En el pasado se pensaba que la dependencia de los países en desarrollo productores de minerales estaba relacionado a la falta de capital y personal capacitado. Al presente esta dependencia se mantiene gracias a la “magia blanca de la tecnología.” Al examinar el caso concreto del cobre en Zaire, este artículo trata tres aspectos amplios de dependencia tecnológica: en el personal técnico de las compañías mineras, en el proceso de minerales y en el mercadéo. En cada caso se puede demostrar que el potencial para la independencia tecnológica de Zaire es considerablemente mayor que la que se ha alcanzado al presente. Sin embargo, la mayor barrera para obtener un control nacional más efectivo de la industria de cobre es la falsa percepción de parte de Zaire sobre ciertos aspectos claves de la industria. Una visión más clara de la realidad del sector cuprífero podría mostrar que su control nacional es posible de conseguir.     

Who counts,what counts: representation and accountability in water governance in the Upper Comoé sub‐basin,Burkina Faso

This article examines the unfolding of integrated water resource management (IWRM) reforms in southwest Burkina Faso, where water resources are subject to conflicting claims by a diversity of users. We first describe the establishment a local water user committee, showing how choices regarding composition and operations grant varying levels of recognition to different stakeholders. We then discuss the implications for key dimensions of decentralized governance, namely representation and accountability. In particular we focus on: (a) how the interplay of political agendas and policy disconnects shapes the committee's viability and credibility and (b) how tensions between techno‐scientific and local knowledge affect participation and transparency. We argue that in contexts defined by contentious politics and neo‐patrimonial practices, representativeness is better ensured by the direct inclusion of user groups rather than elected officials. Though limited discretionary power, information access, and technical capabilities of committee members inhibit accountability, rural producers uphold their claims through social mobilization and reliance on local knowledge. Recognizing the opportunities offered by the country's recent democratic turn, we formulate recommendations aimed at addressing structural drivers and enabling citizen agency in decentralized water governance. At the same time, further research is needed on local people's understandings of representation and accountability, to ensure that they are involved in institutional design and practices in ways that affirm what they value and what they know.     

"What Works Well; What Needs Improvement": Lessons in public consultation from British Columbia's resource planning processes

Resource planning and management in British Columbia, Canada, has been steadily moving towards more active public participation. While government agencies have long been required to consult the general public during the course of land or resource use planning, the 1990s brought in a period of more intense public involvement. In terms of resource planning, this led to the creation of several new planning processes. Given that there is now considerable experience with the Commission on Resources and Environment (CORE) and the Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) processes, it is time for an appraisal. In particular, the paper examines the public's perceptions of these processes with respect to 'what works well' and 'what needs improvement'. The results highlight a number of areas to which process designers and managers should direct attention. There are three key items of note. First, there are generally low levels of awareness by respondents of public consultation processes in their community. Second, there is a need for access to timely, relevant and readable information throughout the course of the process in order to keep participants and the public as up-to-date as possible. Finally, there must be greater clarity about the process itself, including mandates, participants and decision-making powers.     

Sub-national level of participation in international environmental cooperation: the role of Shiga Prefecture for Lake Biwa environment in Japan

From a state-centric view, sub-national level of participation at the international level can be only feasible if it is an active part of national policy. In the case of Shiga prefectural government's initiative for international lake-environmental cooperation, however, sub-national actors came to see themselves as direct players in the absence of national policy. This study examines under what conditions and in what ways such sub-national level of participation takes place by conducting a case study of Shiga's collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) over lake-environment risk reduction. The article finds that the process of Shiga's participation in transnational governance will have less chance of being duplicated effectively in other Japanese sub-national governments. Shiga's cooperation with the UNEP was primarily driven by the ad hoc bottom-up political mobilisation of the sub-national actors. In general, without institutionalised channels for sub-national governments to participate in the regional/international level, sub-national governments need to mobilise resources on such an ad hoc basis and only pioneering sub-national actors are capable of effectively engaged on unfamiliar territory with the formation process of transnational governance.     

The effects of community-based action for sustainability on participants' lifestyles

There has been increased interest in the role of community-based action in promoting sustainable lifestyles in recent years, but relatively limited evidence on the effects of such activity on participants' behaviours. In this paper, I present an evaluation of the effects of community-based action for sustainability on participants' lifestyles. I draw on extensive qualitative research to assess how much change participants of community sustainability projects report, what kinds of participants these projects attract and how the circumstances of these projects affect the changes that participants make. The main findings are that these initiatives have different effects on different people. Those who are new to sustainability and who are actively involved in cohesive groups, which are specifically targeting their lifestyles, are more likely to report substantial changes. I present a model to explain what change occurs, for which types of participants, in what circumstances as a result of community-based action.     

Regional Perspectives on Resource Policy: Implementing Sustainable Management in New Zealand

In 1991, New Zealand implemented new legislation to govern the management of natural resources and the environment. The Resource Management Act establishes sustainable management as the guiding principle for decisions in respect of the allocation and use of natural resources. The reform has also brought about the devolution of decision-making authority from central government to the local level. Underlying this shift to a 'bottom up' decision-making framework is the belief that it is communities of interest that should have the most direct voice in the allocation and use of natural resources. Regional policy statements will be amongst the most important mechanisms through which the principle of sustainable management will be implemented at the local scale. A sample of these policy documents is reviewed, with the aim to identify what specific regional interpretations are given to the principle of sustainable management, what particular resource management issues are considered to underpin the achievement of the principle and to identify what visions have been crafted for the future. An underlying objective was to identify whether characteristics of locality have influenced the interpretations of sustainable management.     

Green infrastructure and planning policy: a critical assessment

Advocates of the green infrastructure (GI) concept claim it offers a progressive planning approach that facilitates synergies between economic growth, environmental conservation and social development. Although widely endorsed by both planning practitioners and academics, little academic literature exists critically evaluating what GI entails or the potential implications of its institutionalisation within planning practice. This paper addresses this deficit by critically examining the interpretation and representation of the GI concept in planning policy. The paper first critically analyses international interpretations of GI. Following this, the particular attributes of GI's interpretation in the Republic of Ireland are investigated. The paper demonstrates how the emergence of GI in Ireland relates to broader debates on attempts to reconcile environmental concerns with development aspirations in planning policy. It is deduced that GI may represent an approach to planning policy formulation wherein habitat conservation initiatives are primarily designed and justified relative to the ecosystems services they are seen to provide to society. The paper also cautions against the risks posed by confining GI debates to the deliberations of technical specialist. The paper concludes by identifying some issues that may arise in the implementation of a GI approach and suggests ways to enhance the potential benefit of the concept's use in spatial planning.     

MINERALS OBJECTIVES, POLICIES AND STRATEGIES IN BOTSWANA — ANALYSIS AND LESSONS

This article examines the present status of the minerals industry in Botswana and the effectiveness of that country's policies on minerals development and the achievement of national development goals. Botswana's mineral production increased (in constant 1979 dollars) from less than $1 million per year in the late 1960s to $300 million in 1979 and is expected to more than double by the mid-1980s. The author analyses the country's regime of mineral rights, the role of the private sector, negotiation of mining agreements and the implementation of national mineral exploration strategies. Cet article étudie l'état actuel de l'industrie minière au Botswana et l'efficacité de la politique suivie par ce pays dans la mise en valeur des ressources minérales. La production minière du Botswana est passée de moins de 1 million de dollars des E.U. par an au début des années 60 à environ 300 millions de dollars en 1979 (en dollars constants de 1979). L'auteur analyse la réglementation minière du pays, le rôle du secteur privé, la négociation des contrats de production et la législation concernant les droits d'exploration. L'auteur étudie ensuite ces résultats dans le contexte du développement national considéré dans son ensemble. Este artículo examina el estado actual de la indústria minera en Botswana y la efectividad de las políticas de desarrollo minero del país. La producción minera de Botswana aumentó (en dólares constantes de 1970) de menos de un millón de dólares por año al comienzo de la década del sesenta a 300 millones de dólares en 1979. El autor analiza el régimen del derecho sobre minerales del país, el rol del sector privado, la negociación de los contratos de producción y la organización de los derechos de exploración. El autor luego examina estos resultados dentro del contexto del desarrollo nacional.     

Corporate environmental excellence and stewardship: Five critical tasks of top management

One of the most important challenges facing business is shaping the role of senior management in corporate environmental performance. In some leading companies, the CEO or chairman takes the initiative to carefully define his or her role because of a strong personal commitment, a keen grasp of the business incentives, in response to past problems, or because of a combination of these. In other companies, even where corporate policies genuinely support and promote corporate environmental, health, and safety programs, there may still be inaction or reluctance on the part of top management to participate or get involved. This management posture may work for a few more years, but no longer than that—and could quickly become a major detriment to any company's ongoing market success or viability. This article will focus on a strategy for getting top management involved in your company's programs and, where they are already involved, for sharing some insights we have gained from our work with a number of companies where top management has taken a strong role in environmental issues and has established precedence for what can work well.     

LEGAL ASPECTS OF MINING DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

This article discusses the legal criteria of a mining investment decision - the legal status of investments, fiscal regime and mining legislation. The importance of the security of tenure of mining titles and of the stability of the terms and conditions, as stated from the inception, is emphasized, and the concepts of state sovereignty, state ownership of mineral deposits and state participation in mining ventures are considered. The preference for legalistic solutions rather than ad hoc contracts is stated, and a brief review of the various types of mining agreements is given. Cet article analyse les critères juridiques de la decision concernant l'investissement minier: statut juridique des investissements, régime fiscal et legislation minière. L'importance de la sécurité de la concession minière et la garantie des clauses de contrats est mise en evidence. L'article considère également les concepts de souveraíneté de l'Etat, la propriété étatique des dépôts minéraux et la participation de l'Etat dans la recherche minérale. L'auteur indique sa préférence pour des solutions juridiques plutôt que des contrats particuliers et passe brièvement en revue les différents types d'accords miniers. Este artículo analiza los criterios legates empleados en la toma de decisiones sobre inversión minera: estado legal de la inversión, régimen fiscal y legislación minera. Se da énfasis a la importancia de la seguridad de posesión de los títulos mineros, la estabilidad de las condiciones iniciales de contrato y se consideran también los conceptos de soveranía del estado, propiedad estatal de los depósitos mineros y la participación del estado en la actividad minera. Se indica la preferencia por las soluciones a través de leyes en vez de contratos ad hoc y se revisan brevemente varios tipos de acuerdos mineros.     

Evaluating the Outcomes of Collaborative Modeling for Decision Support

Does collaborative modeling improve water resource management outcomes? How does collaborative modeling improve these outcomes? Does it always work? Under what conditions is collaborative modeling most appropriate? With support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Institute for Water Resources (IWR), researchers developed an evaluation framework to help address these questions. The framework links the effects of collaborative modeling on decision‐making processes with improvements in the extent to which resource management decisions, practices, and policies balance societal needs. Both practitioners' and participants' experiences suggest that under the right circumstances, collaborative modeling can generate these beneficial outcomes. Researchers developed performance measures and a survey to systematically capture these experiences and evaluate the outcomes of collaborative modeling processes. The survey can provide immediate feedback during a project to determine whether collaborative modeling is having the desired effect and whether course correction is warranted. Over the longer term, the systematic evaluation of collaborative modeling processes will help demonstrate in what ways and under what circumstances collaborative modeling is effective, inform and improve best practices, and raise awareness among water resource planners regarding the use of collaborative modeling for resource management decisions.     

Permitting a new mine: Insights from the community debate

When a mining company selects a site for development, the company begins a dialogue with the local community about receiving the necessary approvals for the mining permits. The dialogue focuses on how well the company can use science and technology to manage risk to the local environment, and on how much economic benefit will be gained by the local community for accepting the risk. A useful approach to better understand how the debate affects the outcome of the permitting effort is to use the method of “discourse communities and analysis”. This paper analyzes two efforts by Kennecott (Rio Tinto) and one by Exxon to develop base metal mine sites in the Upper Midwest of the USA. As the three case studies show, the local pro- and anti-mining discourse community members will not be changing their basic positions as the permitting of a new mine is debated. Accordingly, both communities are trying to convince undecided stakeholders rather than talking to each other. Both sides are using ever more sophisticated media methods to communicate their message to the undecided residents of the community. By winning the support of the majority of the undecided residents, political pressure can be used to sway the decision.     

Global warming and environmental production efficiency ranking of the Kyoto Protocol nations

This paper analyzes the United Nations Organization's Kyoto Protocol nations to address two questions. First, what are the environmental production efficiency rankings of these nations? Second, is there a relationship between a nation's ratification status and its environmental production efficiency ranking? Our findings suggest that the nations that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol are more likely to be environmentally production efficient as compared to the nations that have not ratified the Protocol.     

Politicisation and professional expertise in the policy of nature conservation

In this paper, the policy of nature conservation in Norway is analysed, with a particular focus on policy development during the last decade moving in the direction of multi-level governance. It is argued that the logic of policy making has shifted from what can be described as 'the politics of expertise' to a process of 'politicisation'. A process of politicisation can be observed both in terms of the nature of arguments being used, and in terms of who the dominant actors are. The subjects of analysis are issues taken up by the political parties in the Parliament, and the paper focuses on two controversial questions. One is about the localisation of conservation areas on private land and the state's liability for compensation. The other is the question of whether the management of conservation areas, and in particular national parks, should be under the control of local government or the state environmental bureaucracy. The analysis documents a process moving in the direction of more complex governance structure involving more actors and broader local participation challenging the role of the professional bureaucracy.     

Thinking Habits into Action: The role of knowledge and process in questioning household consumption practices

Despite occupying a central place in the sustainable development paradigm, calls for individuals in high-income countries to adopt patterns of sustainable consumption have failed to gain ground in the past decade. The low uptake of public messages that emphasise links between the environment and the home are caused by a plethora of 'barriers to action', which range from individual circumstances to public norms and structures. This article argues that in addition to these barriers, consideration of how individuals read and react to sustainable consumption information is important. Based on interviews with participants of a sustainable behaviour change programme called Action at Home, this article considers both how, and in what form, knowledge is mobilised when individuals rethink their personal practices. Using Giddens' structuration theory, a framework is presented. This framework emphasises the importance of 'known' or 'local' information, as well as discursive processes, in addressing individual consumption practices and argues that a 'cultural politics' of sustainable consumption needs to be factored into on-going academic and policy debates.     

Failing to Site Hazardous Waste Facilities Voluntarily: Implications for the Production of Sustainable Goods

A current approach to the process of siting hazardous waste facilities is to seek 'willing host' communities that will not oppose but rather voluntarily accept risky facilities. Voluntary siting strategies have been put forward as the solution to hazardous waste location problems, and there have indeed been a small number of siting successes achieved voluntarily. This paper argues that, despite claims about voluntary processes, there are indications that few 'willing host' sites will be found in response to the many that are proposed. Instead, it suggests that the limited success of siting attempts, voluntary or otherwise, signals a new phase in hazardous waste management, a shift in focus from where to site a facility to whether a good is worth producing at all if its wastes are not siteable. A characteristic of this phase is the growing influence that the disposal potential of the generated waste can have on future management decisions to produce a good. In practice, siting failure may be one of the critical turning points on the road to sustainable production. It can accomplish what technology and environmental assessments have generally been unable to do: foresee the sustainability of a good. In this way, siteability can be seen as one indicator of sustainable production. A good can be considered sustainable if the wastes associated with its production are siteable.     

Even International Summits Must Be Localised: A youth perspective on the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development

Max-Neef's theory of human-scale development (HSD) directs attention to an issues-based, locality specific agenda through self-identification of community issues by local people. This paper reports on a two-day HSD workshop run on the Gold Coast where an eclectic group of 20 participants worked through Max-Neef's framework to diagnose their communities' current reality, visualise what their community could be and discuss how to 'build bridges' between the current reality and their Utopian community. This work is part of a broader research programme looking at participatory community development.     

Maintaining your EMS: The stages of EMS development

Registering to ISO 14001 doesn't mean you're forever green. If you want an environmental management system (EMS) to keep moving your organization forward to improved environmental and business performance, you need to maintain and refine it. The first step toward doing so is understanding the stages that each EMS goes through on its way to full business integration. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Local hegemonies resisting a green shift and what to do about it: the introduction of a regional park in southern Norway

In the Lister region in the southern part of Norway, attempts are currently being made to facilitate for a green shift. The paper discusses two different approaches towards such a challenge. The first is procedural, where success or failure hinges on the methods applied in the effort to convince locals to incorporate climate considerations. The alternative is to reflect upon how a green ideology blends into pre-existing ideological elements in the region. It is claimed that an important reason for the failure so far to place the environment at the core of regional development, is that too much emphasis has been put on the first approach, on procedure and dialogue, whereas few efforts have been made to understand the structure of the discursive terrain in the region. What prevents a green shift has less to do with methods and is more connected to the dominance of a logic of economic growth and the fact that locals are confident that nature is already dealt with in a sensible manner. The conclusion is that we need to understand what people are concerned about and what prevents them to change, before we start telling them how to think and do development.     

Animal Rearing as a Contract?

Can animals, and especially cattle, be the subject ofmoral concern? Should we care about their well-being?Two competing ethical theories have addressed suchissues so far. A utilitarian theory which, inBentham's wake, extends moral consideration to everysentient being, and a theory of the rights orinterests of animals which follows Feinberg'sconceptions. This includes various positions rangingfrom the most radical (about animal liberation) tomore moderate ones (concerned with the well-being ofanimals). Notwithstanding their diversity, theseconceptions share some common flaws. First, as anextension of primarily anthropocentric theories (aboututility or rights) they still participate in the flawsof the original setting. Second, extending them tonon-human beings raises the problem of the borderwhich is to be drawn between what can be included inthe purview of moral consideration and what is leftoutside. Third, such theories are not able to distinguishbetween an ethics of wildlife and an ethics ofdomestic life, which too often leads to preposterousstatements. We would like to argue (i) that we should distinguishbetween environmental ethics (concerned withpopulations, species, biotic communities) and animalethics (where animals are taken into consideration individually);(ii) that individualist animal ethics are not relevantfor animal rearing; (iii) that animal rearing is a hierarchicalrelationship which rules are to be found in the fiction of a domesticcontract. Hence, we would like to construct a new conception ofthe ethics of the relation between men and the cattlethey breed based on the idea of a domestic contract.Our main assumption is Mary Midgleys's anthropologicalassumption, according to which human communities,since the Neolithic age, have always included variousanimals, so that relations of sociability have alwaysexisted between human beings and animals within thedomestic community (a mixed community). In order tospecify the hierarchical and non-egalitarian, butinclusive reciprocal obligations and relations insidesuch a community, we will elaborate on the notion ofa ``domestic contract'', an implicitly assumedidea traced back to Lucretius and whichwe will follow up to the physiocrats and Adam Smith.We will show that such an idea relies upon theassumption of communication between cattle farmer andanimals, of shared experience and exchanges betweenthe two parties. We will then show how modern factory,or battery animal farming, can be seen as unilaterallybreaking this domestic contract, forsaking ourduties towards domestic animals.