Local Dirt,Global Dreams: Mining investment and land use change in Arizona

A central problematic for researchers working at the interface of economic and environmental change is the development of research designs and methodologies that can satisfactorily link economic processes of global reach (such as direct investment) to environmental change at local and regional scales. This article reviews recent efforts to couple economic and environmental change and finds that relatively little effort has been made to use the direct investment process as a means of linking industrial restructuring to land use change. The article argues that direct investment, when conceptualised as a political-economic process involving the assemblage of a package of rights (to land, water, pollution permits etc), can be an effective vehicle for tracing through the impacts of industrial restructuring on local environments. To develop this analytical approach, an empirical case of mineral investment in the Gila Valley of eastern Arizona is presented. The case study identifies the acquisition of land and water rights as central strategic issues for mineral firms seeking to make investment, and traces through the impact of these acquisition strategies on existing patterns of land ownership and land use.     

Human Rights Against Land Grabbing? A Reflection on Norms,Policies, and Power

Large-scale transnational land acquisition of agricultural land in the global south by rich corporations or countries raises challenging normative questions. In this article, the author critically examines and advocates a human rights approach to these questions. Mutually reinforcing, policies, governance and practice promote equitable and secure land tenure that in turn, strengthens other human rights, such as to employment, livelihood and food. Human rights therefore provide standards for evaluating processes and outcomes of transnational land acquisitions and, thus, for determining whether they are ethically unacceptable land grabs. A variety of recent policy initiatives on the issue have evoked human rights, most centrally through the consultation and negotiation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests concluded in 2012. However, a case of transnational land appropriation illustrates weak host and investor state enforcement of human rights, leaving the parties to in interaction with local groups in charge of protecting human rights. Generally, we have so far seen limited direct application of human rights by states in their governance of transnational land acquisition. Normative responses to transnational land acquisition—codes of conduct, principles of responsible agricultural investment or voluntary guidelines—do not in themselves secure necessary action and change. Applying human rights approaches one must therefore also analyze the material conditions, power relations and political processes that determine whether and how women and men can secure the human rights accountability of the corporations and governments that promote large-scale, transnational land acquisition in the global south.

     

Harnessing the bonanza: economic liberalization and capacity building in the mineral sector

Over the past decade many developing and transition economies have liberalized their investment regimes for mining and privatized formerly state-owned mineral assets. In response, these economies have witnessed increased foreign investment in exploration and development, growth in the number and diversity of mineral projects, and the opening up of new channels for harnessing increased economic and social benefits from development in the minerals sector. The restructuring of fiscal and regulatory regimes to encourage foreign investment, and the associated influx of mining capital, technology and skills, is transforming traditional relationships between mining firms, local communities and the government. This transformation necessitates a re-evaluation of the most effective policy approaches to capture increased economic and social benefits from mineral production. This article considers effective mechanisms for improving the capacity of developing and transition countries to maximize the economic and social benefits of mineral production. Common challenges associated with minerals economies are reviewed. Consideration is given to the opportunities for harnessing foreign direct investment and the possibilities for creating new partnerships between local communities, industry, government, and multilateral development agencies through social investment projects. The article concludes with a series of recommendations for the design and implementation of policy approaches towards harnessing mineral production for economic and social benefit following the liberalization of investment regimes for mining.     

Economic and financial aspects of mine closure

Today, mine reclamation is a key component to a successful mine plan. Most of the industrialized nations have recognized the need to make mining activities relatively environmentally friendly, if they want to continue to benefit from the economic gains from mineral resource development. Countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa are leaders in the field and have implemented relatively sophisticated legislation to ensure environmentally correct mine closure. These countries rely on a combination of strict control strategies and economic penalties to ensure compliance. Yet, from the firm's perspective, reclamation activities are counterproductive as they cut into profits. In order to attract economic development and earn much needed economic capital, most of the rest of the world, particularly the developing countries, lack effective mine closure legislation. The traditional command and control type of legislation that is sometimes used is either vague and therefore avoided, or not enforced appropriately, resulting in an undesirable level of environmental degradation. With the use of case studies from Brazil, this article shows that direct controls are effective in some instances and not in others. It proposes that economic and financial tools may be more effective than the traditional direct controls in getting firms to comply with environmental standards, particularly in developing countries where environmental compliance is more difficult to achieve. It explains the use of performance bonding as one type of economic incentive that has proven to be an effective environmental policy in mine planning and closure. The authors additionally push beyond the typical style of performance bonds to introduce a flexible bonding and insurance system that allows governments to maintain strict environmental standards but limits firms financial exposure during the mining process. Such a system learns from the successes of the industrialized countries that use performance bonding and is sensitive to the needs of developing nations to attract investment yet maintain environmental integrity.     

Economic and social effects analysis of mineral development in China and policy implications

Mineral development has contributed greatly to China's economic and social development. Many challenges remain, however, including environmental pollution and resource waste in practice, as well as a dearth of systematic theoretical research. The goal of this study is to analyze the economic and social effects of various mineral developments in China from diversified perspectives, so as to provide the basis for the formulation of China's mineral development policy. The input–output effects, industrial linkage effects and income distribution effects of different mining industries are quantitatively analyzed by adopting basic hypotheses of input–output economics, industrial linkage model and income distribution antitheses based on the latest available official data from China Statistical Yearbook from 2004 to 2010 and the 2007 Input–Output Table of China. The empirical results obtained in this study indicate that all mineral development industries, especially coal mining and washing, and petroleum and natural gas extraction industries, have given a strong impetus to the increase of China's fixed asset investment and GDP. Moreover, they have provided a large number of jobs, thereby alleviating ongoing employment pressure, and they have also played a positive role in promoting China's technology investment. The analysis of industrial linkages demonstrates that mining industries are basic to the national economy and produce a significant impetus to its downstream industries, but create weak pull effects in terms of national economic development. From the perspective of income distribution, mining industries play an important role in increasing China's fiscal revenue and per capital income. Hence, China's mineral development policy should (1) encourage additional investment in technology for exploration and development to insure sufficient supply and expand the input effects; (2) attract additional talent to work in remote regions; (3) optimize the industrial structure and promote the industrial transformation in resource regions; (4) adjust the interest distribution between the central and local governments to enable the local regions to become more self-sufficient; and (5) enhance the legal environment so that companies can more readily undertake their social responsibilities voluntarily.     

CULTURAL EVOLUTION AND WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE SALINAS RIVER VALLEY1

ABSTRACT: This article reports the findings of a case study of a major California water management district's effort to change its management approach. The following key findings and factors have influenced the Salinas basin management plan (BMP) and its progress: (1) the Salinas Valley is an economy dominated by highly sophisticated irrigated agriculture dependent on ground water; (2) a persistent pattern of agricultural overdraft of ground water has hurt growers primarily in the north end of the valley via induced saline intrusion of irrigation wells; (3) a complex set of water institutions, property and water rights, and land lease practices offer little incentive for good stewardship of land and water; and (4) the BMP approach initially may have intensified tension among growers and between growers and other water user groups. Water rules and practices in the Salinas Valley and Monterey County have evolved through a long historical process of adaptations. Therefore, any significant changes in local water use practices need to be understood in terms of cultural change, that is, changes in deeply held values, beliefs, and assumptions. We believe the BMP and the MCWRA are succeeding when evaluated from this evolutionary perspective. The fact that both still exist relatively intact testifies that they are working, albeit slowly.     

Migrant land rights reception and 'clearing to claim' in sub-Saharan Africa: A deforestation example from southern Zambia

The relationship between migration and deforestation in the developing world continues to receive significant attention. However beyond direct population increase, the precise mechanisms that operate within the intersection of migrant/host land rights remain largely unexamined. Where migrants are provided with land and rights by the State and/or local communities, how such rights are perceived by the migrants is of primary importance in their interaction with land resources, and in aggregate it impacts the development opportunities and environmental repercussions of migration. The authors analyze the operative aspects of land rights reception (as opposed to provision) by migrant populations, and the relationship between this reception and deforestation. The article examines a case in Zambia to analyze how tenurial constructs, emerging from the way rights are perceived by migrants, lead to the continued clearing of areas much larger than needed for cultivation, even when the arrangement appears counter‐productive in terms of land rights provision and labour allocation. While valuable policy efforts have focused on providing resource rights to migrants, how such rights are received and the relationship of this reception to resource management needs greater policy attention.     

Modeling the Driving Forces of the Land Use and Land Cover Changes Along the Upper Yangtze River of China

Induced by high population density, rapid but uneven economic growth, and historic resource exploitation, China’s upper Yangtze basin has witnessed remarkable changes in land use and cover, which have resulted in severe environmental consequences, such as flooding, soil erosion, and habitat loss. This article examines the causes of land use and land cover change (LUCC) along the Jinsha River, one primary section of the upper Yangtze, aiming to better understand the human impact on the dynamic LUCC process and to support necessary policy actions for more sustainable land use and environmental protection. Using a repeated cross-sectional dataset covering 31 counties over four time periods from 1975 to 2000, we develop a fractional logit model to empirically determine the effects of socioeconomic and institutional factors on changes for cropland, forestland, and grassland. It is shown that population expansion, food self-sufficiency, and better market access drove cropland expansion, while industrial development contributed significantly to the increase of forestland and the decrease of other land uses. Similarly, stable tenure had a positive effect on forest protection. Moreover, past land use decisions were less significantly influenced by distorted market signals. We believe that these and other findings carry important policy implications.     

What are the implications of human rights for minerals taxation?

This article examines the relationship between a state's taxation of mineral revenues and the human rights obligation to use ‘maximum available resources’ to further citizens' welfare. These both have implications for understanding the other but there has been little attention to their interaction.Contemporary (economic and policy) approaches to mineral taxation revolve around economic rent and providing a ‘neutral’ economic environment that does not influence investment decisions. There is no reference to human rights obligations—these are just part of the state's general responsibilities for which it can legitimately raise taxes. Taxation analysis largely ignores whether the state wants money to ensure there is adequate food for the population, or instead to stage the Miss Universe pageant.Human rights has relevance for the state's management of resources. The requirement for states to apply ‘maximum available resources’ to fulfil human rights suggests that mineral extraction (and taxation) should occur as fast as possible to be applied for the human rights of the current population A more considered analysis weighs against such a literal interpretation. Nevertheless, the requirement of using ‘maximum available resources’ to fulfil human rights has important implications for mineral taxation.     

Sustaining local values through river basin governance: community-based initiatives in Australia's Murray–Darling basin

Australia's Murray–Darling basin (MDB) water plan is an ambitious attempt to balance ecological, social and economic benefits, where a key aspect of the reform process has been recovery of water for environmental use. This paper focuses on a set of initiatives established by a local non-governmental organisation and an Indigenous community designed to engage with local values and priorities and incorporate them into this complex river basin governance system. Contrary to expectations that local and basin-scale interests and outcomes will diverge, the case studies reveal the ability for local groups to collaboratively manage both land and water resources to achieve locally important outcomes, and contribute to basin-scale outcomes. The analysis also highlights a progressive style of community-based environmental management for water management that utilises multiple institutional arrangements and planning pathways to protect the values that are important to local communities, and to nest those values within the broader effort to sustainably manage the basin's water resources.     

Rapid land use change threatens provisioning ecosystem services in miombo woodlands

Rural communities in sub‐Saharan Africa rely upon provisioning ecosystem services (ES) to support their livelihoods, yet in areas where rapid land use change is occurring the relationship between environmental change, provisioning ES availability and livelihoods is not fully understood. This relationship is explored here within a typical rural miombo woodland landscape in south‐west Tanzania, which is undergoing rapid land use change due to expanding tobacco cultivation. The types of provisioning ES used, who uses them, changes in their availability, and the possible future impacts of these changes were explored using a mixed‐method approach. Our findings identify 19 provisioning ES used by households regardless of economic status. Firewood, building materials, and fresh water are used by almost all households, and these are perceived to be declining in availability. Households identified this as a negative environmental impact of land use change and that provisioning ES loss would be ‘bad’ for their households. Given the multi‐purpose nature of miombo woodlands, an adaptive co‐management approach, which can achieve multiple objectives through encouraging participation, learning, and empowerment of local communities, could be an appropriate strategy to achieve sustainable land use management and maintain the provision of ES within miombo woodland landscapes of sub‐Saharan Africa.     

Institutional reform in the Andean irrigation sector: Enabling policies for strengthening local rights and water management

For centuries, local and indigenous water rights and rules in the Andean region have been largely neglected and discriminated against. The process of undermining local communities’ water access and control rights continues up to today and not only is it headed by powerful local, national and international water‐use actors encroaching local rights — it is also a direct consequence of vertical State law and intervention practices, and the latest privatization policies. Recognition of and security for the diverse and dynamic local rights and management frameworks is crucial for improving rural livelihoods and even national food security in Andean countries. At the request of the Government of Ecuador — in which at that time the indigenous movement had its political participation — a research mission was organized to formulate a proposal for institutional reform, aiming at the strengthening of the national irrigation sector. In this article, some basic mission results are outlined and analyzed within the scope of four concepts (institutional viability, political democracy, equity, and water rights security), and practical elements for institutional reform are suggested, not only for the Ecuadorian irrigation sector but also other settings. The complementary roles of central Government, local governments and water user organizations in water resources management are emphasized as is the need to strengthen enabling legal and policy frameworks. The importance of translating constitutional recognition of local and indigenous rights and common property systems into practical procedures and institutional structures is also stressed.     

新疆“十五”至“十一五”期间影响工业固废产生及排放的主要社会经济因素分析

采用灰色关联分析,找出了影响工业固废量的主要社会经济因素,认为第二产业是影响工业固废的主要因素。第二产业结构比重加大,工业固废量增加。从减少工业固废的角度来看,调整产业结构已是当务之急;环境污染治理投资与工业固废因子关联度最小,说明环保投资已远不能满足环境治理的实际需要,需加大环保投资。     

Mining and sustainable development: considerations for minerals supply

Sustainable development involves meeting the needs of human societies while maintaining viable biological and physical Earth systems. The needs include minerals: metals, fuels, industrial and construction materials. There will continue to be considerable demand for virgin mineral resources, even if levels of recycling and efficiency of use are optimal, and rates of population growth and globalisation decrease significantly. This article aims to stimulate debate on strategic issues for minerals supply. While the world has considerable stocks of mineral resources overall, international considerations of the environmental and social aspects of sustainable development are beginning to result in limitations on where mining will be conducted and what types of deposits will be mined. Current and emerging trends favour large mines in parts of the world where mining can be conducted within acceptable limits of environmental and social impact. Finding new deposits that meet such criteria will be all the more challenging given a disturbing global decline in the rate of discovery of major economic resources over the last decade, and the decreasing land area available for exploration and mining.
To attract responsible exploration and mining, governments of mining nations will need to provide: regional-scale geo-scientific datasets as required to attract and guide future generations of exploration; resource access through multiple and sequential land use regimes, and frameworks for dealing with indigenous peoples' issues; and arrangements for consideration of mining proposals and regulation of mines that ensure responsible management of environmental and social issues.
The minerals industry will need to continue to pursue advances in technologies for exploration, mining, processing, waste management and rehabilitation, and in public reporting of environmental and social performance.     

Development of Indicators to Assess Economic Vulnerabilities to Changes in Ecosystem Services: Case Study of Counties in Maryland,USA

We develop indicators showing the relative environmental burdens that human activities place on locales for a given level of economic benefits. The main purpose is to develop tools that allow us to examine the potential vulnerabilities within economies to changes in resource conditions. The indicators of pollution emission or resource consumption per job can be used to identify potential challenges to resource and industry managers and to compare areas in terms of their ability to adapt to change. For example, if a large number of area jobs are dependent on abundant water, this indicates a vulnerability to a reduction in water availability for industrial use. We develop a case study for 23 counties and 1 city in Maryland to examine the usefulness and limitations of the indicators. Our case study demonstrates that the indicators provide an informative view into patterns of local economic activity and use of an area’s environmental goods and services. In contrast to patterns for total environmental burdens (e.g., total SO₂ emissions) that are typically reported, the rates of environmental burden per job are not simply correlated with high or low economic output. Thus, the indicators represent distinct patterns of environmental burdens per job that reflect reliance on environmental services. The indicators have some limitations when used at this fine scale because they can misrepresent conditions in counties in which economic sectors are dominated by one or a few businesses. For this reason, the indicators are best used as a regional screening tool.     

Barriers to Water Conservation in the Rio Grande Basin1

Abstract: The Rio Grande basin shares problems faced by many arid regions of the world: growing and competing demands for water and river flows and uses that are vulnerable to drought and climate change. In recent years legislation, administrative action, and other measures have emerged to encourage private investment in efficient agricultural water use. Nevertheless, several institutional barriers discourage irrigators from investing in water conservation measures. This article examines barriers to agricultural water conservation in the Rio Grande basin and identifies challenges and opportunities for promoting it. Several barriers to water conservation are identified: clouded titles, water transfer restrictions, illusory water savings, insecure rights to conserved water, shared carry‐over storage, interstate compacts, conservation attitudes, land tenure arrangements, and an uncertain duty of water. Based on data on water use and crop production costs, price is found to be a major factor influencing water conservation. A low water price discourages water conservation even if other institutions promote it. A high price of water encourages conservation even in the presence of other discouraging factors. In conclusion, water‐conserving policies can be more effectively implemented where water institutions and programs are designed to be compatible with water’s underlying economic scarcity.     

SEWER AND WATER PRICING AND INVESTMENT POLICIES TO IMPLEMENT URBAN GROWTH POLICY1

ABSTRACT. The article proposes the use of certain water and sewer extension pricing and investment policies. Such policies would complement an urban growth policy designed to guide the location and timing of growth in urbanizing areas. Proposed pricing policies are based upon marginal cost principles. The types of pricing policies discussed include benefit assessments, connection fees, and user charges. Proposed investment policies deal with the division of financing responsiblities between the public and private sectors. Discussion of each proposal explains the economic influence of the proposed policies upon key decision makers in the land development process. The application of proposed pricing and investment policies in the case study communities is mixed. In Knoxville, Tennessee, where pricing and investment policies reflect the proposed policies, no urban growth policy exists. In Lexington, Kentucky, mixed pricing and investment policies do not complement what is a relatively good urban growth policy. In Greensboro, North Carolina, reasonably effective pricing and investment policies complement other policies which provide some guidance to the urban growth pattern. It is hoped that the article will increase the recognition of utility pricing and investment policies as one means of implementing urban growth policy.     

TREATING WATER INSTITUTIONS AS ENDOGENOUS VARIABLES: DEMONSTRATION OF A CONCEPTUAL MODEL1

ABSTRACT: Institutional innovation is central to many water resource problems. (In this context “institutions” refers to the laws and regulations governing water allocation and use.) Yet, typically, economic analyses treat institutions as exogenous and fixed. Unfortunately, this conventional assumption does not allow economists to address many modern problems. This paper develops an economic framework in which institutions are treated as endogenous. The model accounts for (1) factors that stimulate calls for formal institutional change, (2) the role of interest groups in policymaking, and (3) actual institutional change as it impacts choice domains and thus economic performance. The model is compared to a specific case of change in Colorado's water institutions, namely, instream water rights legislation in the 1970's. The empirical evidence is generally consistent with model hypotheses. The model promises to be useful to scholars and policymakers interested in institutional innovation.     

Optimal Land Use Management for Soil Erosion Control by Using an Interval-Parameter Fuzzy Two-Stage Stochastic Programming Approach

Soil erosion is one of the most serious environmental and public health problems, and such land degradation can be effectively mitigated through performing land use transitions across a watershed. Optimal land use management can thus provide a way to reduce soil erosion while achieving the maximum net benefit. However, optimized land use allocation schemes are not always successful since uncertainties pertaining to soil erosion control are not well presented. This study applied an interval-parameter fuzzy two-stage stochastic programming approach to generate optimal land use planning strategies for soil erosion control based on an inexact optimization framework, in which various uncertainties were reflected. The modeling approach can incorporate predefined soil erosion control policies, and address inherent system uncertainties expressed as discrete intervals, fuzzy sets, and probability distributions. The developed model was demonstrated through a case study in the Xiangxi River watershed, China’s Three Gorges Reservoir region. Land use transformations were employed as decision variables, and based on these, the land use change dynamics were yielded for a 15-year planning horizon. Finally, the maximum net economic benefit with an interval value of [1.197, 6.311] × 10⁹ $ was obtained as well as corresponding land use allocations in the three planning periods. Also, the resulting soil erosion amount was found to be decreased and controlled at a tolerable level over the watershed. Thus, results confirm that the developed model is a useful tool for implementing land use management as not only does it allow local decision makers to optimize land use allocation, but can also help to answer how to accomplish land use changes.     

Economic liberalisation, innovation, and technology transfer: opportunities for cleaner production in the minerals industry

The liberalisation of investment regimes for mining over the past decade is encouraging an inflow of foreign investment for mining and mineral processing projects in developing and former centrally-planned economies. This new investment is occurring at a time of technological change within the international mining industry as market and regulatory pressures lead the most dynamic firms to invest in the development or acquisition of new technologies and management practices. The effective transfer and assimilation of these technologies enable mining companies to combine gains in productivity with improvements in environmental management. Joint ventures and other strategic alliances between inwardly investing firms and the newly privatised or remnant state-owned mining enterprises may provide an effective vehicle for the transfer of the techniques for more productive and cleaner operations. Specific examples of innovative process and remediation technologies are analysed and it is suggested that the ability of innovative technologies to improve competitiveness and sustain best-practice environmental management in the recipient is linked to the transfer and effective acquisition of the capacity to manage the complex processes of technological and organisational change. The paper closes with some recommendations for further research directed towards a systematic examination of this hypothesis.