The shadow of the past: environmental issues and institutional learning in EU enlargement processes

This paper compares the role of environmental issues in negotiating Spanish membership of the European Union (EU) with the ongoing enlargement talks with Central and Eastern European countries. The paper first argues that the EU has recognized a need to change the way in which it has traditionally managed environmental issues in enlargement processes. Second, the paper provides evidence of learning processes at the Community level that could have effected a change in Community approaches to enlargement in the environmental field. However, the paper shows that the fundamental principles and procedures applied in preparing for eastern enlargement match those used in previous enlargement rounds, resembling a largely technical exercise with exclusive focus on the applicants' ability to align with the acquis communautaire and the length of transition periods. The lack of sufficient adaptation or reform suggests that path dependence and institutional inertia have constrained the scope for innovations at the level of policy strategy and institutions, for which the shadow of the past has reinforced established patterns of institutional behaviour and practices. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MANAGING POLLUTION FROM SSI<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">s</Emphasis> – DESIGNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE INSTITUTION

The common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) are being propagated as the policy response to circumvent the pollution problem from the small-scale industries (SSIs), which abound in developing countries. The formation of the CETPs has been hailed as a collective action or co-operative solution to a common problem involving all the agents responsible for pollution. This paper investigated the desired criteria for designing an institution aimed at solving a common resource problem and factors ensuring the smooth functioning or sustainability of the institution. The design criteria and factors are then tested on a CETP set up in the Indian state of Haryana. The CETP, which was commissioned in 1997 had to be converted to a sewage treatment plant (STP) as the collective arrangement collapsed. The criteria used in the present analysis are that of Ostrom’s [Governing the Commons. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press, 1990] design principles, whereas the factors considered for sustainability are the one suggested by Rawls [A Theory of Justice. USA, Harvard University Press, 1971]. The analysis indicates that the Kundli CETP failed in both counts as neither all the design principles were met nor did the institution fulfil different sustainability criteria. The paper concludes with the lessons that can be learnt from Kundli’s failure. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

The Impact of Changes of Property Rights on Farmland Use： An Empirical Study of China during Transition

In China, farmland property rights characterized by the household-responsibility system （HRS） have been improved since the reform and opening-up. The rights of use, transfer and gain become more stable, authorized and complete. This paper firstly analyzes the impact on farmland productivity, which comes from the improvement of farmland property rights. Then, an economet-ric model is built to test the above analysis. It concludes that changes of property rights will affect farmland performance in China. In the end, some policy implications are explored for fur-ther reforms.     

Conservation and Aid: Designing More Effective Investments in Natural Resource Governance Reform

Abstract:  Biodiversity conservation outcomes are closely related to the rules and institutions governing resource use. Creating local incentives for conservation through more secure resource tenure is central to conservation outcomes on private and communal lands, where the preponderance of biodiversity occurs. Conservation efforts in sub-Saharan Africa are therefore centrally concerned with governance dynamics and institutional reform processes, such as the decentralization of property rights, and how best to achieve such reforms. Traditional mechanisms for financing conservation efforts in Africa rely heavily on funds channeled through multilateral and bilateral aid agencies. The history of development aid highlights a range of constraints these aid agencies face in terms of working toward more effective resource governance arrangements and promoting reforms. Government aid agencies possess incentives for promoting large-scale and short-term projects that maximize expenditure volumes and tend to define issues in technical rather than political terms. The history of development aid suggests that these and other characteristics of aid agencies impedes their ability to influence governance reform processes and that aid funding may discourage the adoption of reforms. Greater emphasis in African conservation financing needs to be placed on flexible, small-scale investments aligned to local interests and constituencies that prioritize innovation, learning, and experimentation. Additionally, more research is required that explores the linkages between conservation funding, donor decision-making processes, and governance reforms.     

Agricultural Biotechnology and the Future Benefits Argument

In the face of criticisms about the current generationof agricultural biotechnology products, some proponents ofagricultural biotechnology offer a ``future benefitsargument'(FBA), which is a utilitarian ethical argument thatattempts to justify continued R&D. This paper analyzes severallogical implications of the FBA. Among these are that acceptanceof the FBA implies (1) acceptance of a precautionary approach torisk, (2) the need for a more proportional and equitabledistribution of the benefits of agricultural biotechnology, andmost important, (3) the need to reorient and restructurebiotechnology R&D institutions (and the agriculturalbiotechnology community's values and attitudes) so that futurebenefits are indeed achieved through agricultural biotechnology.     

农村合作经济组织发展的制度分析

农村合作经济组织是将农民组织起来进入市场、参与竞争的桥梁和纽带,是新时期推动农村经济发展和提高农民收入的重要因素之一。在制度层面运用新制度经济学理论从实现土地规模经营、节约市场交易费用和维护农民利益等三方面分析了合作组织发育的需求诱致性动因;接着从制度环境状况、现有社会科学知识的积累、现存的制度安排、组织的制度变迁成本、非正式制度安排等外部制度供给方面以及产权和组织制度等组织内部制度方面分析了其存在的缺陷;最后提出了推动合作组织发展的政策建议：其一,只要是以“三农”服务为宗旨,政府在政策上都应允许和指导合作组织灵活地创新产权制度、因地制宜地进行多种形式的组织创新;其二,政府要力所能及地为合作组织提供一些制度服务。     

制度创新：依托武汉建设长江中游城市群

经过上千年的发育和发展,我国长江中游流域已形成了规模庞大的、以武汉为中心、经济联系紧密的城市群落的雏形。通过对长江中游城市群内部的分析以及与珠江三角洲、长江三角洲等发达区域的比较,阐明了其经济发展相对滞后 和城市群内部各城市间发展水平参差不齐的深层次制度性障碍,提供了诸如转变政府职能,建立跨行政地界的区域协调机构,城市土地制度改革和促进区域内小城镇发展等一系列以区域整体协调和持续发展为目标的制度创新的基本思路。在此基础上,提出了圈层梯度推进、建设以武汉为中心的长江中游城市群的发展战略。为实现我国东部地区产业向西部转移,推进西部大开发提供了重要的战略支点,从而促进全国经济全面持续快速发展。     

Birthing Sphere

This paper tells the story of the initiation and first year of Sphere. It traces the history of how the project was started and its relationship to other major events of that time, principally the multi-donor Rwanda evaluation. The paper describes how the basic structure of the Sphere standards was agreed upon and discusses why some sectors were eventually left out of the standards. Tensions and public disagreements between the agencies that created Sphere are discussed, along with the manner in which the chosen working processes contributed to the successful publication of the Sphere standards. We show how the process of policy formulation, which led up to the publication of the first edition of the Sphere standards, was as dependent upon the ability of the project team to work opportunistically as it was upon the application of agency principles. Finally the paper reflects upon the success of Sphere and lessons that can be learned from this early Sphere process.     

Industrial-waste management in developing countries: the case of Lebanon

This paper presents a critical assessment of the existing Lebanese industrial sector, namely the current status and classification of industrial establishments based on a comparative synthesis and analysis of recent nationwide surveys and studies pertaining to industrial-waste management. Characterisation of solid and liquid industrial wastes generated, including hazardous wastes, is presented together with current and projected waste loads, recycling opportunities, and export/import practices. Institutional capacity and needs pertaining to the enforcement of relevant environmental legislation, staffing and resources, monitoring schemes, and public participation are critically evaluated. Finally, realistic options for industrial-waste management in the context of country-specific institutional economic and technical limitations are outlined. The industrial sector in Lebanon consists of small-scale industries (84% employ less than 10 persons), primarily involved in light manufacturing (96%). These industries which are distributed among 41 ill-defined zones and deficient in appropriate physical infrastructure, generate solid, liquid, and hazardous waste estimated at 346,730 tons/year, 20,169,600 m3/year and between 3000 to 15,000 tons/year, respectively. Although the growth of this sector contributes significantly to the socio-economic development of the country (industry accounts for 17% of the gross domestic product), in the absence of a comprehensive environmental management plan, this expansion may not be sustained into the coming millennium. The anticipated expansion will inevitably amplify adverse environmental impacts associated with industrial activities due to rising waste volumes and improper waste handling and disposal practices. These impacts are further aggravated by a deficient institutional framework, a lack of adequate environmental laws, and lax enforcement of regulations governing industrial-waste management.     

VARIABILITY IN ADJUSTMENT PREFERENCES TO GROUNDWATER DEPLETION IN THE AMERICAN HIGH PLAINS1

ABSTRACT: This paper explores the adjustments and institutions that residents of the American High Plains prefer in coping with the depletion of the High Plains (Ogallaia) aquifer. The authors identify 48 possible adjustments and report on public preferences for them as determined from a mail survey of 956 respondents in 14 counties. For purposes of analysis, the adjustments are categorized into five groups: user practices, management policies, financial incentives and disincentives, technological fixes, and other. Preferences were also determined among five levels of government to enforce each of the adjustments. Adjustments associated with user conservation practices were generally most preferred while financial incentives and disincentives were least favored. Local groundwater management agencies were the most favored level of institution to administer conservation adjustments followed by the state, county, and federal levels. The most preferred option for 20 adjustments was that no agency should be involved. Respondents in agriculturally related occupations showed less support for water conservation laws and gave greater acceptance to the continuance of existing methods. Irrigators viewed the increasing cost of lifting water as a more serious problem than the depletion of groundwater.