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Developing States (developing + states)
Selected AbstractsPatent Rights and Human Rights: Exploring their RelationshipsTHE JOURNAL OF WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Issue 2 2007Hans Morten Haugen The assessment of the relationship between patent rights and human rights has resulted in several tentative findings, such as by the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, that there are "apparent" or "actual or potential" conflicts. Also the World Intellectual Property Organization says that "conflicts may exist" between the two. This article, which is based on a Ph.D. dissertation on the right to food and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), analyzes the relationship between the two, based on an established understanding of conflict in international law, namely incompatible obligations. Also another level of conflict is introduced, namely conflict on the level of prescribed measures in one treaty which impedes the taking of measures prescribed by another treaty. Finally, the article assesses conflict on the level of impact. The findings are that strict legal conflict between the two is difficult to establish, but that there are serious concerns regarding their implementation. Developing states should make use of all the flexibilities that the TRIPS Agreement provides. [source] Critical considerations for future action during the second commitment period: A small islands' perspectiveNATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 2 2007Leonard Nurse Abstract If the objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is to be achieved, Parties must commit themselves to meeting meaningful long-term targets that, based on current knowledge, would minimize the possibility of irreversible climate change. Current indications are that a global mean temperature rise in excess of 2,3 °C would enhance the risk of destabilizing the climate system as we know it, and possibly lead to catastrophic change such as a shutdown of the deep ocean circulation, and the disintegration of the West Arctic Ice Sheet. Observations have shown that for many small island developing States (SIDS), life-sustaining ecosystems such as coral reefs, already living near the limit of thermal tolerance, are highly climate-sensitive, and can suffer severe damage from exposure to sea temperatures as low as 1 °C above the seasonal maximum. Other natural systems (e.g., mangroves) are similarly susceptible to relatively low temperature increases, coupled with small increments of sea level rise. Economic and social sectors, including agriculture and human health, face similar challenges from the likely impacts of projected climate change. In light of known thresholds, this paper presents the view that SIDS should seek support for a temperature cap not exceeding 1.5,2.0 °C above the pre-industrial mean. It is argued that a less stringent post-Kyoto target would frustrate achievement of the UNFCCC objective. The view is expressed that all countries which emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases should commit to binding reduction targets in the second commitment period, but that targets for developing countries should be less stringent than those agreed for developed countries. Such an arrangement would be faithful to the principles of equity and would ensure that the right of Parties to attain developed country status would not be abrogated. [source] Global Environmental Governance and the Challenge of Shadow States: The Impact of Illicit Sapphire Mining in MadagascarDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 5 2005Rosaleen Duffy The environment has become a key site of global governance because of its transboundary nature: forests, wildlife and oceans have all become central foci for networks of global governance which link international organizations, international financial institutions, states and non-governmental organizations. This article examines how contemporary forms of global governance can be challenged and even subverted. It uses the concept of shadow states introduced by William Reno to explore how invisible global networks flow through developing states, to show how they constitute important political and economic interest groups, and to assess what kinds of environmental impact they have. It explores how powerful these networks are, and whether they are able to challenge or subvert attempts to manage, control or govern the environment. The author provides an analysis of the ways in which the clandestine networks of shadow states impact on conservation initiatives in the developing world, focusing on the features of global environmental governance and the problems posed by illicit gem mining and trafficking in Madagascar. [source] THE ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITY OF CARIBBEAN ISLAND NATIONS,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2007Bryan J. Boruff ABSTRACT. Within the hazards- and disaster-research community consensus exists as to factors that magnify or attenuate the effects of extreme natural events on local places. But less agreement and understanding exist concerning the methods or techniques for comparing hazard vulnerability within or between places, especially small-island developing states. Using two Caribbean nations, Saint Vincent and Barbados, as study sites, we asked which island has the greater level of hazard vulnerability, and why. Results indicate that, although neither island has a large portion of its population living in extremely hazardous locations, Barbados has many more residents in risk-prone areas. The methods used in this research provide valuable tools for local emergency managers in assessing vulnerability, especially through the delineation of highly vulnerable hot spots. They can also help donor organizations interested in vulnerability reduction on islands use their resources more efficiently. [source] The Expansion of Global Governance into the Third World: Altruism, Realism, or Constructivism?INTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 1 2004Yakub Halabi This essay examines the expansion of global governance into developing countries. Its central thesis is that in the present era of globalization, competitiveness has become a major concern for developed countries, in particular, those facing tough competition from the developing states that have improved their terms of trade through state-led development strategies and have become major exporters of manufactured products. Developed countries seek the expansion of global governance in order to regulate the behavior of these developing states, thereby opening their economies to foreign investment and augmenting their wealth. Yet, a successful expansion of global governance requires the creation of internal institutions in the developing countries that may alter their political cultures. Given the unique problems of the developing states, this task cannot be achieved simply by internationalizing the countries in the Global South. This essay relies on the theory of social constructivism and contends that the creation of internal institutions compatible with global governance has been achieved only when developing countries have become convinced that global regulations will benefit them, not just the more developed states. [source] From ,Rogue' to ,Failed' States?POLITICS, Issue 3 2004The Fallacy of Short-termism This article deals with the growing policymaking interest in the condition of ,failed states' and the calls for increased intervention as a means of coping with international terrorism. It starts by highlighting the inordinate attention initially granted to the threat posed by ,rogue states' to the neglect of ,failed states'. Generally, it is argued that the prevalence of such notions has to be related to a persistence of Cold War discourse on statehood that revolves around binary oppositions of ,failed' versus ,successful' states. Specifically, the purveyors of this discourse are practitioners who focus on the supposed symptoms of state failure (international terrorism) rather than the conditions that permit such failure to occur. Here, an alternative approach to ,state failure' is advocated that is more cognisant of the realms of political economy and security constraining and enabling developing states and appreciative of different processes of state formation and modes of social organisation. [source] Climate change-induced migration in the Pacific Region: sudden crisis and long-term developments1THE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009JUSTIN T LOCKE With so many other social, economic and environmental factors at work establishing linear, causative relationships between anthropogenic climate change and population dynamics it has been difficult to pinpoint the specific human consequences of climate change on respective populations. Qualitative information was examined based on interviewees' testimonies and personal experience, as well as a descriptive analysis of population records, climate-change related impacts, and consequences of uneven development in the Republic of Kiribati and Tuvalu, two low-lying atoll nations in the Pacific region taken as examples to illustrate the issues involved. Strong evidence was found that recent influxes in population movements to urban central islands from rural outer islands experienced in these countries can be attributed to a combination of the adverse impacts of climate change and socioeconomic factors inherit in small island developing states. Moreover, internal migrants cannot be accommodated in their states of origin, putting pressure on local infrastructure and services. This, combined with a recent population boom, has led to a decline in human development indicators and a general livelihood decline. [source] | ||||||||||