The TRIPS Agreement and transfer of climate-change-related technologies to developing countries

Despite numerous international commitments to promote transfer of climate-change-related technologies to developing countries, such transfers are not occurring at a rate fast enough to aid these nations in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. The impact of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on transfer of these technologies is discussed through a detailed examination of relevant TRIPS provisions. The article also addresses options for improving technology transfer through exploitation of existing TRIPS flexibilities, modification of the Agreement, and other public and private legal and policy avenues.     

Green economy: Private sectors’ response to climate change

The focus of this paper is to present a discussion of the role of the private sector in response to the need for climate change adaptations. The study, which was conducted through a literature review, investigates the concept of the green economy and climate change, as well as businesses’ commitment to advance climate actions in ways that build resilience in vulnerable communities in developing countries. The paper calls on companies with national, regional, and/or global reach to adopt or develop strategies that improve resource efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce the loss of biodiversity. Businesses can accelerate this transition by aligning their investments with climate change adaptation opportunities, and thus, “green” the economy. In addition, green growth could be achieved through tactical public and private investments in mitigating climate change. The paper concludes that the private sector is a key sector in addressing the challenges of vulnerable communities, and it has much to contribute to the planning, development, and implementation of climate adaptation strategies, including sector‐specific expertise, technology, efficiency, financing, and entrepreneurship. Finally, some social conditions and environmental boundaries have been highlighted in this paper to attract the attention of business leaders who are trying to build initiatives and advance climate actions that will reduce socio‐community risks from climate change. Also, comprehensive initiatives and strategies have been recommended to private companies seeking to address climate vulnerabilities.     

Private and public interests in water and energy

Based on empirical evidence from developed, transition and developing countries, the article looks at how the introduction of private operators’ interests into the water supply/sanitation and energy sectors may conflict with public interests in socio‐economic, environmental and political dimensions. Case studies are used to illustrate the dynamics of these interactions, covering phenomena such as unsolicited proposals, misrepresentation and corruption; the exploitation of established positions by taking advantage of asymmetry of information and negotiating capacity in relation to public authorities; and exit from contracts or concessions when acceptable profitability cannot be attained. This experience indicates that the introduction of private companies into these sectors creates the permanent possibility of conflict between private and public interests. The services are too vital both socially and economically to rely on corporate self‐regulation, and countries lack effective capacity to regulate such corporations. The authors conclude that policies relying on corporate activity in these sectors are unnecessarily risky, and that policy development should focus on building strong public sector institutions to provide these services.     

Sustainable public/private partnerships for public service delivery

This article defines three kinds of public/private partnership, lists their potential benefits and explains common issues and problems in their operation with examples from developing countries. It then defines and discusses the concepts of social sustainability and financial sustainability in relation to public/private partnerships, and emphasizes the importance of applying sustainability criteria to each partner. It is argued that essentially the same criteria apply to non-profit NGOs as to for-profit firms, despite their differences in goals and values. The article concludes with some suggested strategies for effective international technical co-operation in the establishment of public/private partnerships.     

Public–Private Partnerships for Solid Waste Management Services

The increasing cost of municipal solid waste (MSW) management has led local governments in numerous countries to examine if this service is best provided by the public sector or can better be provided by the private sector. Public–private partnerships have emerged as a promising alternative to improve MSW management performance with privately owned enterprises often outperforming publicly owned ones. In Lebanon, several municipalities are transforming waste management services from a public service publicly provided into a public service privately contracted. In this context, a regulated private market for MSW management services is essential. The present study examines a recent experience of the private sector participation in MSW management in the Greater Beirut Area. The results of a field survey concerning public perception of solid waste management are presented. Analysis of alternatives for private sector involvement in waste management is considered and management approaches are outlined.     

Adaptation to Climate Change in Developing Countries

Adaptation to climate change is given increasing international attention as the confidence in climate change projections is getting higher. Developing countries have specific needs for adaptation due to high vulnerabilities, and they will in this way carry a great part of the global costs of climate change although the rising atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are mainly the responsibility of industrialized countries. This article provides a status of climate change adaptation in developing countries. An overview of observed and projected climate change is given, and recent literature on impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation are reviewed, including the emerging focus on mainstreaming of climate change and adaptation in development plans and programs. The article also serves as an introduction to the seven research articles of this special issue on climate change adaptation in developing countries. It is concluded that although many useful steps have been taken in the direction of ensuring adequate adaptation in developing countries, much work still remains to fully understand the drivers of past adaptation efforts, the need for future adaptation, and how to mainstream climate into general development policies.     

Making private capital flows to developing countries environmentally sustainable: the policy challenge

The 1990s have seen a dramatic shift in capital flows into the developing world. Despite pledges made at the 1992 UNCED Conference in Rio de Janeiro, official development aid has declined in real terms. At the same time, private direct investment and lending to developing countries has risen from $44 billion at the beginning of this decade to $256 billion in 1997, supporting a record economic boom in the developing world. Developing countries have become significant sources of capital, as well as hosts to transnational corporations.
Cases illustrating the negative impacts of large investments under environmentally lax conditions are contrasted with the rise of environmental screening of funds by commercial entities, such as banks, insurance companies and investors. Although the new inflows of foreign capital may have brought the spread of Western consumerism, this new economic potential has also contributed cutting-edge environmental technologies, that may assist developing countries leapfrog over the most damaging phases of industrialization.
The article discusses the role of public lending agencies, international organizations and NGOs in setting the investment climate that determines the effects of foreign capital on the natural resources base, communities and the environment. Various mechanisms for defining environmental standards are discussed, and a more active role for governments and the United Nations is advocated.     

Enhanced learning from multi-stakeholder partnerships: Lessons from the Enabling Rural Innovation in Africa programme

Despite increasing interest and support for multi‐stakeholder partnerships, empirical applications of participatory evaluation approaches to enhance learning from partnerships are either uncommon or undocumented. This paper draws lessons on the use of participatory self‐reflective approaches that facilitate structured learning on processes and outcomes of partnerships. Such practice is important to building partnerships, because it helps partners understand how they can develop more collaborative and responsive ways of managing partnerships. The paper is based on experience with the Enabling Rural Innovation (ERI) in Africa programme. Results highlight the dynamic process of partnership formation and the key elements that contribute to success. These include: (i) shared vision and complementarity, (ii) consistent support from senior leadership; (iii) evidence of institutional and individual benefits; (iv) investments in human and social capital; (v) joint resources mobilization. However, key challenges require coping with high staff turnover and over‐commitment, conflicting personalities and institutional differences, high transaction costs, and sustaining partnerships with the private business sector. The paper suggests that institutionalizing multi‐stakeholder partnerships requires participatory reflective practices that help structure and enhance learning, and incrementally help in building the capacity of research and development organisations to partner better and ultimately to innovate.     

Public-private partnerships for solid waste management services

The increasing cost of municipal solid waste (MSW) management has led local governments in numerous countries to examine if this service is best provided by the public sector or can better be provided by the private sector. Public-private partnerships have emerged as a promising alternative to improve MSW management performance with privately owned enterprises often outperforming publicly owned ones. In Lebanon, several municipalities are transforming waste management services from a public service publicly provided into a public service privately contracted. In this context, a regulated private market for MSW management services is essential. The present study examines a recent experience of the private sector participation in MSW management in the Greater Beirut Area. The results of a field survey concerning public perception of solid waste management are presented. Analysis of alternatives for private sector involvement in waste management is considered and management approaches are outlined.     

Technological Innovation and Developmental Strategies for Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resources in Developing Countries

Sustainable use and allocation of aquatic resources including water resources require implementation of ecologically appropriate technologies, efficient and relevant to local needs. Despite the numerous international agreements and provisions on transfer of technology, this has not been successfully achieved in developing countries. While reviewing some challenges to technological innovations and developments (TID), this paper analyzes five TID strategic approaches centered on grassroots technology development and provision of localized capacity for sustainable aquatic resources management. Three case studies provide examples of successful implementation of these strategies. Success requires the provision of localized capacity to manage technology through knowledge empowerment in rural communities situated within a framework of clear national priorities for technology development.     

Mass-burn refuse-to-energy technology: A united states case study

Summary As landfill sites reach capacity and are under environmental regulations to close, communities across America face solid waste disposal crises. The City of Baltimore, Maryland, after initially choosing an experimental technology which failed, turned to a proven mass-burn resource recovery system for solid waste disposal. Through a process called privatization, the City shielded itself from financial risk associated with the operation of the plant. Signal Environmental Systems owns and operates the refuse-to-energy facility, which features a mass-burn technology developed in Switzerland by Von Roll, Inc., and charges the City a service fee per ton of refuse processed.The success of the partnership between the public and private sectors for the provision of efficient and reliable solid waste disposal in the City and County of Baltimore can serve as a model for developing and implementing technologies to meet the many other challenges facing the country and the world as a whole.Alfred B. DelBello was at one time Lieutenant Governor of New York and County Executive of New York's Westchester County. As President and Chief Executive Officer of Signal Environmental Systems Inc., he describes a refuse-to-energy facility established by Signal in Baltimore, Maryland. Signal Environmental Systems are currently the largest provider of resource recovery plants in the USA, other contributors are Combustion Engineering, American Ref-Fuel and Ogden; with Foster Wheeler, Blount, and Dravo, being other significant participants.     

Assessment of public vs private MSW management: a case study

Public-private partnerships in urban environmental services have witnessed increased interest in recent years primarily to reform the weak performance of the public sector, reduce cost, improve efficiency, and ensure environmental protection. In this context, successful public-private partnerships require a thorough analysis of opportunities, a deliberate attention to process details, and a continuous examination of services to determine whether they are more effectively performed by the private sector. A comparative assessment of municipal solid waste collection services in the two largest cities in Lebanon where until recently municipal solid waste collection is private in one and public in the other is conducted. While quality of municipal solid waste collection improved, due to private sector participation, the corresponding cost did not, due to monopoly and an inadequate organizational plan defining a proper division of responsibilities between the private and the public sector.     

Addressing Declining Appropriations for Bureau of Reclamation Infrastructure: Policies Needed for Enabling Private Finance

Western water infrastructure was funded in the early and mid‐20th Century through federal financing through the Bureau of Reclamation. Over the past 30 years, federal financing has been less forthcoming, which has been commensurate with an increase in the need for financing rehabilitation and replacement of western irrigation infrastructure. As federal appropriations have declined, there has been increased interest in alternative approaches to infrastructure including public–private partnerships (P3s), loan guarantees, or title transfer of federal infrastructure. However, two of these approaches — P3s and loan guarantees — are precluded by existing federal budgetary policies, particularly Office of Management and Budget (OMB) scoring practices. If the OMB changed its policies for P3s or loan guarantees, private capital could play an important role in recapitalizing aging Reclamation infrastructure.     

Barriers and enablers to climate change adaptation in hierarchical governance systems: the case of Vietnam

Governments fulfil important roles in increasing the adaptive capacity of local communities to respond to climate change impacts, particularly in developing countries. Existing studies on how governments enable and constrain the ways in which local level communities learn and build their adaptive capacity, however, generally adopt network or market-oriented types of governance. However, the most vulnerable regions to climate change impact in the world are generally governed through hierarchical policy systems. This research aims to understand how the hierarchical policy system in Vietnam creates enables and/or constrains the policy capacity of policy actors to contribute to effective climate change adaptation. We conducted interviews (n?=?26) with key actors at multiple levels of government. Our findings show the importance of clear legal institutions, available financing for implementing policies, and the training of governmental staff, particularly at district and commune levels where the policy capacities are generally too low to deal with climate change impacts. We conclude that any efforts to support local actors (i.e. smallholder farmers) should include investments in policy capacity to ensure uptake and upscaling of adaptation actions more broadly.     

From climate change impacts to adaptation: A development perspective for India

India has good reasons to be concerned about climate change as it could adversely affect the achievement of vital national development goals related to socio‐economic development, human welfare, health, energy availability and use, and infrastructure. The paper attempts to develop a framework for integrated impact assessment and adaptation responses, using a recently built railroad coastal infrastructure asset in India as an example. The framework links climate change variables — temperature, rainfall, sea level rise, extreme events, and other secondary variables — and sustainable development variables — technology, institutions, economic, and other policies. The study indicates that sustainable development variables generally reduce the adverse impacts on the system due to climate change alone, except when they are inadequately applied. The paper concludes that development is a vital variable for integrated impact assessment. Well crafted developmental policies could result in a less‐GHG intensive future, enhanced adaptive capacities of communities and systems, and lower impacts due to climate change.     

Packaging waste and the polluter pays principle: a taxation solution

Packaging waste has become a focus for attention by policy‐makers in a number of countries. This article offers a simple policy measure — a packaging tax or levy — which serves the required aims of policy, namely: reducing waste at source; increasing the rate of recycling; and consistency with the polluter pays principle. The tax is illustrated in the context of beverage containers in the UK and Japan. The merits of the proposal are its simplicity and flexibility. The article suggests that the relevant environmental damages are captured by waste disposal costs and litter. Other life cycle impacts, such as emissions from energy use, could be included but only if there are not more efficient ways of regulating them.     

Building Trust in Natural Resource Management Within Local Communities: A Case Study of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

Communities neighboring federally protected natural areas regularly weigh the costs and benefits of the administering agency’s programs and policies. While most agencies integrate public opinion into decision making, efforts to standardize and formalize public involvement have left many local communities feeling marginalized, spurring acrimony and opposition. A significant body of research has examined barriers to effective public participation as well as strategies for relationship building in planning processes; many of which point to trust as a key factor. Trust is especially tenuous in local communities. This paper explores perceptions of trust, expectations for management, as well as constraints to building trust. In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 community members and USDA Forest Service personnel at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in northeastern Illinois. The interviews revealed that trust is perceived as important to effective management. Distinct expectations for management outcomes and processes emerged, including the values, knowledge, and capacity demonstrated in management decisions and actions and opportunities provided for communication, collaboration, and cooperation within the agency-community relationship. The case study identified several constraints to building trust, including competing values, knowledge gaps, limited community engagement, and staff turnover.     

Adapting to Climate Change on Western Public Lands: Addressing the Ecological Effects of Domestic, Wild, and Feral Ungulates

Climate change affects public land ecosystems and services throughout the American West and these effects are projected to intensify. Even if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, adaptation strategies for public lands are needed to reduce anthropogenic stressors of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and to help native species and ecosystems survive in an altered environment. Historical and contemporary livestock production—the most widespread and long-running commercial use of public lands—can alter vegetation, soils, hydrology, and wildlife species composition and abundances in ways that exacerbate the effects of climate change on these resources. Excess abundance of native ungulates (e.g., deer or elk) and feral horses and burros add to these impacts. Although many of these consequences have been studied for decades, the ongoing and impending effects of ungulates in a changing climate require new management strategies for limiting their threats to the long-term supply of ecosystem services on public lands. Removing or reducing livestock across large areas of public land would alleviate a widely recognized and long-term stressor and make these lands less susceptible to the effects of climate change. Where livestock use continues, or where significant densities of wild or feral ungulates occur, management should carefully document the ecological, social, and economic consequences (both costs and benefits) to better ensure management that minimizes ungulate impacts to plant and animal communities, soils, and water resources. Reestablishing apex predators in large, contiguous areas of public land may help mitigate any adverse ecological effects of wild ungulates.     

Refuting the paradigm of water services privatisation

The aim of this article is to question the fundamental assumptions behind privatisation and public–private partnerships. The article shows that instead of radically increasing private sector involvement, public sector reforms should be seriously considered. Public–private partnerships should be implemented so that the strengths of all the stakeholders may be fully utilised.     

Perspectives on corporate social responsibility in the chemical sector: A comparative analysis of the Mexican and South African cases

In recent years, the debate on corporate responsibility has shifted from a focus on environmental management towards a broader concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This article examines the chemical industry's approach to CSR from the perspective of two emerging economies: Mexico and South Africa. The global chemical industry was one of the first to respond to public concerns about environmental pollution, toxic waste and human health by adopting an industry‐wide code of practice, known as Responsible Care. This article examines the extent to which the chemical industry has responded to the broader debate on CSR. On the basis of a comparative case study, this article argues that the response to social issues by Mexican and South African chemical companies has tended to be limited to the ‘community awareness and emergency response’ (CAER) or community dialogue component of the international voluntary management framework, Responsible Care. Similarities and differences in regulatory and institutional conditions, as well as different levels of civil society engagement, reveal additional limitations for CSR, beyond that of the Responsible Care framework. This article argues that the socio‐political context influences the extent to which companies embrace CSR, especially in emerging economies, and highlights several challenges for the chemical industry in moving forward on CSR: credibility, stakeholder engagement, value‐chain accountability, disclosure and transparency. Reflecting on these challenges, the authors conclude by recommending a renewed focus on: (1) developing a broader set of CSR management practices beyond Responsible Care; (2) institutionalizing stronger accountability measures, such as reporting and verification; and (3) developing multi‐stakeholder partnerships that complement regulation and build public sector regulatory and guidance capacity.