Early socio-political and environmental consequences of the Prestige oil spill in Galicia

The controversial form in which the oil industry is run has once more caused a huge disaster--this one affecting the Galician coastal environment and economy. Oil-spill clean-up operations have been managed in Europe with some success but with considerable economic, environmental and social costs. The oil industry often avoids fully or even partially compensating those affected. The lack of both political will and political power has let the culprit (the oil industry) off the hook. This paper considers the spill of the Prestige to assess whether the balance of power between affected people and the oil industry can be changed. The paper examines the growing awareness of environmental issues among ordinary people in Spain, through the massive involvement of volunteers concerned with the damage done to the environment and to the livelihoods of fishing communities in Galicia. To understand these growing public concerns and the strength of opinion, the paper examines the details of the decisions taken by the central Spanish and local governments and the way these have informed the clean-up operations, the character of the oil companies involved and the feeling of impotence in the face of such disasters. The conclusion here is that the operations of the oil industry should be tightly regulated through EU legislation, and that this can come about as a result of organised political pressure from those affected by the oil spill, from the mass of volunteers, as well as from public opinion at large.     

Indirect assessment of economic damages from the Prestige oil spill: consequences for liability and risk prevention

The social losses arising from the Prestige oil spill exceed the compensation granted under the IOPC (International Oil Pollution Compensation) system, with losses estimated at 15 times more than the applicable limit of compensations. This is far above the level of costs for which those responsible for hydrocarbons spills are liable. The highest market losses correspond to sectors of extraction, elaboration and commercialisation of seafood. However, damages to non-commercial natural resources could constitute an outstanding group of losses for which further primary data are needed: these losses would only be compensable under the current system by means of a refund for cleaning and restoration costs. Results show that, in Europe, the responsibility for oil spills in maritime transport is limited and unclear. The consequence of this is net social losses from recurrent oil spills and internationally accepted incentives for risky strategies in the marine transport of hydrocarbons.     

The Tasman Spirit oil spill: implications for regulatory change in Pakistan

An oil spill in July 2003 from the tanker Tasman Spirit attracted considerable public and media attention in Pakistan. This paper focuses on the experience of a developing country such as Pakistan in dealing with a major oil spill and its impact on bringing about change in the national regulatory framework. A major outcome has been the ratification of the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1992, which came into force in March 2006 in Pakistan. The convention provides a compensation mechanism for victims incurring oil pollution damages from maritime casualties involving oil laden ships. Several additional changes are still required to improve the country's ability to cope with marine oil spills. These include the development of a comprehensive domestic regulatory framework, implementation of an effective contingency plan, and capacity building of all relevant agencies.     

基于验证性因素分析的台风风暴潮灾害经济损失影响因子优化分析

建立客观有效的指标体系是精准估算台风风暴潮灾害经济损失的途径之一。本文以广东省为案例研究区,用验证性因素分析方法对影响灾害经济损失的危险性、脆弱性、抗灾能力3类风险要素进行指标甄别遴选,并将研究区按照经济发展条件分为3个时段,分别分析不同时段内各个风险要素指标的变化。研究表明,对于不同时段,各风险要素的影响指标变化不大,但与风险要素的关联程度会有差异。与传统的指标体系构建相比,本文结合历史案例构建备选指标更具有事实依据,并且利用验证性因素分析方法进行指标遴选,排除了人为主观因素的干扰,增强了指标与研究对象的关联度,减少了指标冗余,使得结果更具有合理性、科学性,为指标体系的研究提供了一个新的思路。     

The plight of some of the poorest of the poor: vulnerabilities of fishing families on Kutubdia Island,Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

Globally, fisheries are important economic resources and support many coastal communities, but the people that rely on fishing experience a range of environmental hazards. This research surveyed 300 fishing households on Kutubdia Island, Bangladesh, regarding their fishing activities and the conditions and perceptions of risk while fishing at sea. This is an artisanal fishery of small boats used for day trips, and larger but still simple boats used for multi-day trips farther offshore. Many households (62%) reported sickness or health problems while at sea. Medicine or first aid kits are carried by only 35% of the boats. Hazards encountered at sea included bad weather (69%), pirates (60%), unfriendly encounters with larger boats (20%), and engine failure (13%). The 300 households reported that 109 fishers had been lost at sea during the past 21 years. From this we estimate an annual death rate of 1335 per 100,000 fishers here, making it among the most dangerous in the world. Bangladesh needs a regulatory framework for its fisheries to include environmental, economic, political, cultural, and social components. Such a regulatory arrangement would support the Kutubdia fishers and should be incorporated into Bangladesh’s national policy for achieving its sustainability goals.     

The 2006 war and its inter-temporal economic impact on agriculture in Lebanon

The July 2006 war waged by Israel on Lebanon caused an estimated USD 1 billion of direct (financial) damage to infrastructure. However, it generated also significant indirect (economic/inter-temporal) costs. One sector that suffered considerably in this respect was agriculture, the main source of income for 30–40 per cent of Lebanese. This paper's main objective is to develop a methodology to estimate the total—direct and indirect—cost of the war to agricultural crop production, using an area of south Lebanon as a focal point. The indirect loss assessment viewed inter-temporal reductions in crop production values as the opportunity cost of not working fields due to the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Various crops were evaluated for two scenarios (50 and 100 per cent damage due to UXO) over UXO-clearance periods of five and 10 years. The results indicate that any damage estimates that include only direct losses will under-estimate total losses by 80 and 87 per cent for the five- and 10-year periods, respectively.     

The impact of the Gulf crisis on Qatar's humanitarian sector

The 2017 Gulf crisis is one of the most challenging episodes faced by Qatar since its independence in 1971, with major economic, social, and political impacts on the Arab Gulf nation. Its economic prognosis has been brought into doubt, the map of regional alliances has been redrawn, and any prospects of deeper regional integration have been dashed. This paper analyses the little-documented impact of the crisis on Qatar's humanitarian sector, which has unfolded as the small, gas-rich emirate has striven to become a major humanitarian donor. It concludes that while there have been disruptions to humanitarian operations and regional coordination, the Gulf crisis has triggered and in some cases accelerated already intended reforms across the Qatari humanitarian sector. In the long term, the reorganisation and adaptation implemented to weather the storm of the crisis may help Qatar to emerge from the crisis with a more sustainable and resilient humanitarian sector.     

黄河三角洲风暴潮灾害及其对滨海湿地的影响

黄河三角洲是中国重要的滨海湿地分布区，也是中国风暴潮易发区。该区的风暴潮有温带气旋型与热带台风型两种，以温带风暴潮为主。近年来，重大风暴潮的发生有频率增加、危害加重的趋势。风暴潮对滨海湿地的影响是广泛而深远的，主要表现为淹没滨海低地、加速海岸蚀退、破坏地表结构、毁坏湿地植被、加剧海水入侵等，使滨海湿地不断损失退化，生态环境恶化。     

The Spanish toxic oil syndrome: Some explanations for the pathology and an appraisal of the similarities with other episodes of food adulteration

In 1981 in Madrid, a new disease was identified, and attributed to the fraudulent sale of adulterated, industrial-quality oil as olive oil. The competing hypotheses for the clinical symptoms and tissue changes are reviewed but it is also important to note the general similarities between this epidemic and those other incidents where food adulteration has presented an acute hazard.