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Institutional Capacity (institutional + capacity)
Selected AbstractsTransboundary River Floods and Institutional Capacity,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 3 2009Marloes H.N. Bakker Abstract:, While transboundary flood events have become more frequent on a global scale the past two decades, they appear to be overlooked in the international river basin (IRB) cooperation and management arena. The present study therefore combined geopolitical measures with biophysical and socioeconomic variables in an attempt to identify the IRBs with adequate institutional capacity for management of transboundary floods. It also classified basins that would possibly benefit from enlarging the institutional capacity related to transboundary floods. Of the 279 known IRBs, only 78 were represented by a transboundary rivers institution. A mere eight of the 153 identified institutions had transboundary flooding listed as an issue in their mandate. Overall, 43 basins, where transboundary floods were frequent during the period 1985-2005, had no institutional capacity for IRBs. The average death and displacement tolls were found to be lower in the 37 basins with institutional capacity, even though these basins experienced twice as much transboundary floods with significant higher magnitudes than those in basins without institutional capacity. Overall, the results suggested that institutional capacity plays a role in the reduction of flood-related casualties and affected individuals. River basins such as the Juba-Shibeli, Han, Kura-Araks, Ma, Maritsa, Po, Coco/Segovia, Grijalva, Artibonite, Changuinola, Coatan Achute, and Orinoco experienced more than one transboundary river flood, but have not yet set up any institutions for such events, or signed any appropriate treaties focused on floods. These basins were therefore recommended to consider focusing attention on this apparent lack of institutional capacity when it comes to managing transboundary flood events. [source] Regulation of Technology Transfer to Developing Countries: The Relevance of Institutional Capacity,LAW & POLICY, Issue 1 2005KEVIN E. DAVIS This article revisits the debate over appropriate approaches to the regulation of technology transfer to developing countries. It begins by contrasting two stylized approaches, labeled for convenience the "New International Economic Order" model and the "Globalization" model, which have historically struggled for acceptance. It then explores the implications for the choice between these or alternative models of the fact that many developing countries presently lack the institutional capacity required to provide optimal regulation of technology transfer. Existing discussions appear either to assume that developing countries possess sufficient institutional capacity to design and implement sophisticated regulatory regimes, or to take the opposite approach and assume a drastic shortage of institutional capacity. Both approaches ignore the intermediate category of countries that do face constraints upon institutional capacity but are striving to overcome them. The analysis here is intended to demonstrate the general point that a country's present and future institutional capacity ought to be considered highly relevant to the design of central aspects of the regime that it uses to regulate technology transfer. The analysis is also designed to highlight the specific need for attention to the distinctive questions of regulatory design which arise in countries that are in the process of enhancing their institutional capacity in this and other regulatory contexts. [source] Water, Adaptation, and Property Rights on the Snake and Klamath Rivers,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 2 2007Richard A. Slaughter Abstract:, Water demand in a viable economy tends to be dynamic: it changes over time in response to growth, drought, and social policy. Institutional capacity to re-allocate water between users and uses under stress from multiple sources is a key concern. Climate change threatens to add to those stresses in snowmelt systems by changing the timing of runoff and possibly increasing the severity and duration of drought. This article examines Snake and Klamath River institutions for their ability to resolve conflict induced by demand growth, drought, and environmental constraints on water use. The study finds that private ownership of water rights has been a major positive factor in successful adaptation, by providing the basis for water marketing and by promoting the use of negotiation and markets rather than politics to resolve water conflict. [source] Corporate social and environmental responsibility in Asian countries and other geographical regionsCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2007C. Christopher Baughn Abstract This study examines two aspects of corporate social responsibility (social and environmental CSR) in 15 Asian countries. The performance of firms in these Asian countries on the two types of CSR is also assessed relative to country economic, political and social conditions, and compared with those of other regions (Western Europe, East/Central Europe, Australia/New Zealand, US/Canada, Middle East and Africa). Drawing from over 8700 surveys of firms in 104 countries, this study demonstrates substantial country and regional differences in CSR. Firms are embedded in different country contexts, with differing underlying institutional capacities. Strong revealed relationships between CSR and country economic, political and social contexts reflect the importance of a country's development of such institutional capacity to promote and support CSR practices. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Getting the Scale Right: A Comparison of Analytical Methods for Vulnerability Assessment and Household-level TargetingDISASTERS, Issue 2 2001Linda Stephen This paper introduces broad concepts of vulnerability, food security and famine. It argues that the concepts and theories driving development and implementation of vulnerability assessment tools are related to their utility. The review concludes that socio-geographic scale is a key issue, and challenge. It analyses three vulnerability assessment (VA) methods, using Ethiopia as a case study. Facing the challenges of vulnerability assessment and early warning requires providing accurate information at the required scale, useful for multiple decision-makers within realistic institutional capacities. [source] Environmental indicators of transition,ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2002Nobuko Ichikawa This paper uses a range of environmental indicators in order to assess the progress being made in addressing environmental transition challenges within the EBRD's 26 countries of operation. [In 2001, FR Yugoslavia joined the EBRD's member countries. As of February 2002, the EBRD's countries of operation are 27 countries.] The assessment is based on a survey carried out in summer 2000 among environment ministries in the region, which aimed to obtain information about economic/environmental interactions, environmental quality changes and developments in policy, institutional capacities and public participation. The paper evaluates the various national responses to the region's environmental problems. This includes an examination of environmental policy developments, frameworks for establishing environmental liability and systems of environmental funds. The final section looks at the development of public environmental initiatives and non-governmental organizations. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment. [source] Voices from the margins: Pacific ambassadors and the geopolitics of marginality at the United NationsASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 1 2009Karen E. McNamaraArticle first published online: 25 MAR 200 Abstract This paper captures some of the structural deficiencies within the United Nations' decision-making processes at its headquarters in New York. Ideas and methodological approaches from critical geopolitics are adopted here to examine semi-structured interviews held with Pacific ambassadors (n = 7) at the United Nations and bring new knowledge to an underexplored area. Results demonstrate that the institutional capacities of Pacific small island states hinder their ability to voice their concerns adequately at every United Nations' forum, while shifting imaginaries and a decline in popularity of issues has seen a drop in on-the-ground financial assistance for these states. In this way, this paper attempts to contribute to our understanding of the practice of international diplomacy within the United Nations. [source] The Northwest Forest Plan as a Model for Broad-Scale Ecosystem Management: a Social PerspectiveCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2006SUSAN CHARNLEY conservación y desarrollo; comunidades rurales; gestión forestal; monitoreo socioeconómico Abstract:,I evaluated the Northwest Forest Plan as a model for ecosystem management to achieve social and economic goals in communities located around federal forests in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. My assessment is based on the results of socioeconomic monitoring conducted to evaluate progress in achieving the plan's goals during its first 10 years. The assessment criteria I used related to economic development and social justice. The Northwest Forest Plan incorporated economic development and social justice goals in its design. Socioeconomic monitoring results indicate that plan implementation to achieve those goals met with mixed success, however. I hypothesize there are two important reasons the plan's socioeconomic goals were not fully met: some of the key assumptions underlying the implementation strategies were flawed and agency institutional capacity to achieve the goals was limited. To improve broad-scale ecosystem management in the future, decision makers should ensure that natural-resource management policies are socially acceptable; land-management agencies have the institutional capacity to achieve their management goals; and social and economic management goals (and the strategies for implementing them) are based on accurate assumptions about the relations between the resources being managed and well-being in local communities. One of the difficulties of incorporating economic development and social justice goals in conservation initiatives is finding ways to link conservation behavior and development activities. From a social perspective, the Northwest Forest Plan as a model for ecosystem management is perhaps most valuable in its attempt to link the biophysical and socioeconomic goals of forest management by creating high-quality jobs for residents of forest communities in forest stewardship and ecosystem management work, thereby contributing to conservation. Resumen:,Evalué el Plan Forestal del Noroeste como un modelo para la gestión de ecosistemas para alcanzar metas sociales y económicas en comunidades localizadas alrededor de bosques federales en el Pacífico Noroeste de E.U.A. Mi evaluación se basa en los resultados del monitoreo socioeconómico desarrollado para evaluar el progreso en el logro de las metas del plan durantes sus 10 primeros años. Los criterios de evaluación que utilicé se relacionan con el desarrollo económico y la justicia social. El diseño del Plan Forestal del Noroeste incorporó metas de desarrollo económico y de justicia social. Sin embargo, los resultados del monitoreo socioeconómico indican que éxito en la implementación del plan para alcanzar esas metas fue combinado. Postulé la hipótesis de que hay dos razones importantes por las que las metas socioeconómicas del plan no se cumplieron totalmente: algunas de las suposiciones clave en las estrategias de implementación fueron deficientes y la capacidad institucional de la agencia para alcanzar las metas era limitada. Para mejorar la gestión de ecosistemas a gran escala en el futuro, los tomadores de decisiones deberán asegurarse que las políticas de gestión de recursos naturales sean aceptables socialmente; que las agencias de gestión de tierras tengan la capacidad institucional para cumplir sus metas de gestión; y que las metas de gestión sociales y económicas (y las estrategias para su implementación) se basen en suposiciones precisas de las relaciones entre los recursos a gestionar y el bienestar de las comunidades locales. La manera de vincular comportamiento de conservación y actividades de desarrollo es una de las dificultades para la incorporación de metas de desarrollo económico y de justicia social en las iniciativas de conservación. Desde una perspectiva social, el Plan Forestal del Noroeste como modelo para la gestión de ecosistemas quizás es más valioso por su intento de vincular las metas biofísicas y socioeconómicas de la gestión forestal mediante la creación de empleos de alta calidad para residentes de las comunidades en labores de regulación y supervisión forestal y de gestión de ecosistemas, por lo tanto contribuye a la conservación. [source] Corporate social and environmental responsibility in Asian countries and other geographical regionsCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2007C. Christopher Baughn Abstract This study examines two aspects of corporate social responsibility (social and environmental CSR) in 15 Asian countries. The performance of firms in these Asian countries on the two types of CSR is also assessed relative to country economic, political and social conditions, and compared with those of other regions (Western Europe, East/Central Europe, Australia/New Zealand, US/Canada, Middle East and Africa). Drawing from over 8700 surveys of firms in 104 countries, this study demonstrates substantial country and regional differences in CSR. Firms are embedded in different country contexts, with differing underlying institutional capacities. Strong revealed relationships between CSR and country economic, political and social contexts reflect the importance of a country's development of such institutional capacity to promote and support CSR practices. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Sustainable development strategies in France: institutional settings, policy style and political discourseENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2004Joseph Szarka The sustainable development (SD) strategies of two successive French governments, led by Prime Ministers Jospin (1997,2002) and Raffarin (from 2002), are compared and analysed in relation to three debates: (i) the influence of institutional settings and levels of continuity between international, European and national policy frameworks; (ii) compatibility between SD policy frames, national policy style and institutional capacity and (iii) relationships between traditional political discourses and SD discourse. Difficulties in achieving a good ,fit' are identified in each of these areas, explanations are offered and implications for future developments outlined. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Transboundary River Floods and Institutional Capacity,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 3 2009Marloes H.N. Bakker Abstract:, While transboundary flood events have become more frequent on a global scale the past two decades, they appear to be overlooked in the international river basin (IRB) cooperation and management arena. The present study therefore combined geopolitical measures with biophysical and socioeconomic variables in an attempt to identify the IRBs with adequate institutional capacity for management of transboundary floods. It also classified basins that would possibly benefit from enlarging the institutional capacity related to transboundary floods. Of the 279 known IRBs, only 78 were represented by a transboundary rivers institution. A mere eight of the 153 identified institutions had transboundary flooding listed as an issue in their mandate. Overall, 43 basins, where transboundary floods were frequent during the period 1985-2005, had no institutional capacity for IRBs. The average death and displacement tolls were found to be lower in the 37 basins with institutional capacity, even though these basins experienced twice as much transboundary floods with significant higher magnitudes than those in basins without institutional capacity. Overall, the results suggested that institutional capacity plays a role in the reduction of flood-related casualties and affected individuals. River basins such as the Juba-Shibeli, Han, Kura-Araks, Ma, Maritsa, Po, Coco/Segovia, Grijalva, Artibonite, Changuinola, Coatan Achute, and Orinoco experienced more than one transboundary river flood, but have not yet set up any institutions for such events, or signed any appropriate treaties focused on floods. These basins were therefore recommended to consider focusing attention on this apparent lack of institutional capacity when it comes to managing transboundary flood events. [source] Regulation of Technology Transfer to Developing Countries: The Relevance of Institutional Capacity,LAW & POLICY, Issue 1 2005KEVIN E. DAVIS This article revisits the debate over appropriate approaches to the regulation of technology transfer to developing countries. It begins by contrasting two stylized approaches, labeled for convenience the "New International Economic Order" model and the "Globalization" model, which have historically struggled for acceptance. It then explores the implications for the choice between these or alternative models of the fact that many developing countries presently lack the institutional capacity required to provide optimal regulation of technology transfer. Existing discussions appear either to assume that developing countries possess sufficient institutional capacity to design and implement sophisticated regulatory regimes, or to take the opposite approach and assume a drastic shortage of institutional capacity. Both approaches ignore the intermediate category of countries that do face constraints upon institutional capacity but are striving to overcome them. The analysis here is intended to demonstrate the general point that a country's present and future institutional capacity ought to be considered highly relevant to the design of central aspects of the regime that it uses to regulate technology transfer. The analysis is also designed to highlight the specific need for attention to the distinctive questions of regulatory design which arise in countries that are in the process of enhancing their institutional capacity in this and other regulatory contexts. [source] The Rise of Criminal Background Screening in Rental HousingLAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 1 2008David Thacher This article investigates the recent rise of criminal background screening in rental housing as a case study of the diffusion of actuarial social control. That case study suggests that actuarial techniques have spread more widely through the crime prevention field than sociolegal scholars have recognized, replacing disciplinary efforts to diagnose and alter the behavior of individuals with actuarial efforts to identify and isolate high-risk groups. This actuarial strategy has proliferated not only because new discourses encouraged it but also because new institutional structures facilitated it. That conclusion illustrates the importance of structural (rather than cultural) factors in shaping society's response to crime,particularly the growing availability of the collective institutional capacity that actuarial social control requires. [source] Combating drought through preparednessNATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 4 2002Donald A. Wilhite Drought is a complex, slow,onset phenomenon that affects more people than any other natural hazard and results in serious economic, social, and environmental impacts. Although drought affects virtually all climatic regimes and has significant consequences in both developed and developing countries, its impacts are especially serious in developing countries where dryland agriculture predominates. The impacts of drought are often an indicator of unsustainable land and water management practices, and drought assistance or relief provided by governments and donors encourages land managers and others to continue these practices. This often results in a greater dependence on government and a decline in self,reliance. Moving from crisis to risk management will require the adoption of a new paradigm for land managers, governments, international and regional development organizations, and non,governmental organizations. This approach emphasizes preparedness, mitigation, and improved early warning systems (EWS) over emergency response and assistance measures. Article 10 of the Convention to Combat Desertification states that national action programmes should be established to identify the factors contributing to desertification and practical measures necessary to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought. In the past 10 years, there has been considerable recognition by governments of the need to develop drought preparedness plans and policies to reduce the impacts of drought. Unfortunately, progress in drought preparedness during the last decade has been slow because most nations lack the institutional capacity and human and financial resources necessary to develop comprehensive drought plans and policies. Recent commitments by governments and international organizations and new drought monitoring technologies and planning and mitigation methodologies are cause for optimism. The challenge is the implementation of these new technologies and methodologies. It is critical for governments that possess this experience to share it with others through regional and global networks. One way to accomplish this goal is to create a network of regional networks on drought preparedness to expedite the adoption of drought preparedness tools to lessen the hardships associated with severe and extended drought episodes. [source] The politics of bureau reform in sub-Saharan AfricaPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2006Janice L. Caulfield Abstract This article focuses on sub-Saharan Africa and its recent history of state sector decentralisation reforms. Over the last ten to fifteen years, new forms of state organisation have emerged reflecting a policy preference for bureau downsizing and devolution. These include semi-autonomous executive agencies, public,private partnerships in infrastructure development, partial privatisations of utilities and performance contracting arrangements between purchasers and providers. Reform policies are, however, heavily conditioned by bilateral and multilateral donors. The limited success of bureau reforms in the region has been explained by others as either a problem of institutional capacity or the absence of grassroots democracy. This article takes a different stance, arguing that reforms are highly political and resisted not only by politicians but also by an aware and sceptical public. A selection of case studies illustrates these reform trends and problems of implementation. The article also draws attention to intra-regional differences between a francophone West Africa and English speaking East Africa. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] From Cooperative to Opportunistic Federalism: Reflections on the Half-Century Anniversary of the Commission on Intergovernmental RelationsPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 5 2006Tim Conlan In 1955, the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations,the Kestnbaum Commission,embellished the intellectual framework of cooperative federalism and laid out a policy agenda for promoting it. Since then, our intergovernmental system has evolved from a predominantly cooperative federal,state,local system to one characterized by corrosive opportunistic behavior, greater policy prescriptiveness, eroding institutional capacity for intergovernmental analysis, and shifting paradigms of public management. These trends threaten to undermine effective intergovernmental relations and management. Recent developments, however, offer some promise for building new institutions of intergovernmental analysis, more effective paradigms of intergovernmental public management, and greater horizontal cooperation. [source] Anatomy of Autonomy: Assessing the Organizational Capacity and External Environment of the Autonomous Region in Muslim MindanaoASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 2 2009Benedict S. Jimenez Decentralization and autonomy can potentially increase public sector efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability, as well as fulfill a conflict-mitigating role. There is no guarantee, however, that decentralization, once implemented, would automatically produce the expected benefits. Using the case of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in the Philippines, this article explores the importance of organizational capacity and the cultural, political, and social conditions in the region to explain the performance of the autonomous government. The article concludes that for autonomy to work, the administrative and institutional capacity of the regional government should be revitalized and the current politico-administrative structure redesigned to accommodate local customs and practices and facilitate a consultative and collegial local governance arrangement. [source] | |||||||||||||