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2016-07-30T13:08:24Z

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2016-06-30T13:42:05Z

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Wildlife Protected Area Conservation Strategy on Balanced Scorecard Perspectives

2016-01-01T11:10:12Z

By Nana Owusu-Ansah

Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission of Ghana

Naduono74@yahoo.co.uk

Citizens demand the public sector to provide services in timely and appropriate manner in the current knowledge economy (Galavan, Murray and Markides, 2008). Wildlife conservation strategy especially in countries which have signed unto the convention on biodiversity sustainability has been reformed to meet public demand (Larsen, 2006 and Schmidt-Soltau, 2003). The Wildlife Division of Ghana reformed its strategic management to deliver quality service and enhance public participation in conservation (Wildlife Division, 2000). A possible adaptation of wildlife conservation strategy by protected areas in Ghana on a balanced scorecard is the subject of this paper. The author is a wildlife protected area manager.

Protected Area Wildlife Conservation Strategy

Wildlife conservation is aimed at preserving nature for the greater benefit of society. It is for the dwindling benefits from the environment (Schmidt-Soltau, 2003) that informs conservation strategy. Conservation strategy spans across ecosystems, species and genes preservation. Wildlife conservation has led to the establishment of protected areas and also restricting wildlife utilization outside protected areas (Schmidt-Soltau and Brockington, 2007). Protected areas provide recreational, scientific and livelihood improvement benefits. Restriction strategies infringe peoples’ rights of access over wildlife utilization. Law enforcement on wildlife utilization is challenged by financial and human resources inadequacies especially in Africa (Jachmann, 2007). Strict law enforcement has been mixed with collaborative and sensitization strategies to achieve conservation objectives.

Conservation objectives in Ghana are taken from the mission statement of the Wildlife Division which reads “To work effectively with others to ensure sustainable management and development of Ghana’s wildlife and their habitats, so as to optimize their contribution to national socio-economic development (Wildlife Division, 2000)”. The need to work with others to achieve sustainability is necessitated by people’s uncooperative attitude (Larsen, 2006) and the inability of the Wildlife Division to enforce laws (Jachmann, 2007). Innovations to address these shortcomings are required. Figure one shows three prong strategic objectives in managing wildlife protected areas in Ghana.

Figure 1: Wildlife Conservation strategy. Source: Author

Adapting Wildlife Conservation Strategy on Balanced Scorecard

Nivan (2002) stated one of the advantages of the balanced scorecard is its flexibility to measure both financial and non-financial performance either in business or in the public sector. The balanced scorecard measures organization’s performance from four perspectives- customer, internal processes and practices, employee growth and learning and the financial metrics (Nivan). The main objective of wildlife conservation strategy is not to achieve high financial performance from consumptive utilization but from its non-consumptive intrinsic satisfaction.

Anti-poaching Patrol Objectives

Anti-poaching activities are to be both preventive and deterrent-requiring anti-poaching team members to work together. Anti-poaching patrols are initiated at patrol camps. A clear hierarchical structure makes the most senior employee at the camp the leader (Jachmann, 2007). Camps organize patrols, but park managers through their law enforcement officers initiate special patrols where employees are deployed to specific targets including reaching specific spots or spending a number of days on patrol. Patrolling enthusiasm and its effectiveness depends on the park manager generating hot spots (Gratton, 2007) among employees. Leadership role is to explain and relate mission statement of the Wildlife Division encouraging employees to cooperate among themselves and other stakeholders. Teamwork in anti-poaching patrols is equivalent to Gratton’s description of cooperative mindset needed for peer to peer working relationship to devise innovation.

Anti-poaching patrol effectiveness measurement is important to ensure employees meet effective patrol man days of 15 days per month (Jachmann, 2007). The current performance measurement is not linked to employee compensation which demotivates most employees to just meet the minimum patrol requirements. However, some park managers have instituted camp based league on performance to reward employees. Employees on patrol collect data on wildlife and illegal activities sighted. The illegal activities recordings are lag indicators (Nivan, 2002) providing previous poaching incidences records. These indicators however, inform park mangers on deployment initiatives. A balanced scorecard would emphasize on lead indicators including informants’ hints and sightings of keystone species (equivalent to Gratton’s, 2007 signature process) of the protected areas. Species sightings feed into recreational and research measures of wildlife conservation for customer satisfaction on a balanced scorecard.

Conservation Education Objectives

Wildlife conservation education is fashioned to tell the importance of conservation on human welfare and livelihoods. It also spells out the laws governing utilization and the penalties for flouting them. The targets for conservation education is society including employees, tourists and other stakeholders especially those who live near the resources. Special unit within protected areas undertakes this activity. Nivan (2002) recommended the use of various media in developing a balanced scorecard that would be accepted at the executive level cascading unto the lower ranks of the organization. Conservation education dissemination modes include mass media, community durbars, film shows, posters and signage to capture a larger audience.

Conservation education objective is to get support from society in a boundary spanning activity (Gratton, 2007) to generate conservation hot spots for collaboration. The education unit is to tell the Wildlife Division’s mission (Gratton; and Nivan, 2002) to catch on with employees and other stakeholders for effective conservation strategy. The park manager finds resources for the unit to carry its tasks and also takes feedback to inform management decisions.

Collaborative Resource Management Objectives

Due to past failure of sole application of stringent laws, collaborating with communities to manage wildlife is no longer an option, but a requirement for effective conservation strategy (Larsen, 2006). The objective is to have governance structures at the community level. It also links livelihoods to conservation through investments in enterprises like eco-tourism and collection of non-timber forest products (Wildlife Division, 2000). Other collaborative objectives include improving research on the unique aesthetic sites and species. The park manager’s role include collaborating with other law enforcement agencies including the Police and the Judiciary to ensure arrested poachers are prosecuted and sentence to deter others. The park manager seeks opportunity for investors to get conservation businesses in fringe communities.

Balanced scorecard Perspectives and Conservation Objectives

This section adapts wildlife conservation strategic objectives onto a balanced scorecard by integrating them into the four perspectives of finance, customer satisfaction, employee growth and learning and internal processes and practices. Nivan (2002) stated the four perspectives on the balanced scorecard must interlink with each other such that they will culminate in improving organizational performance. The park manager is the team leader for the balanced scorecard introduction in a protected area. He should champion the planning by leading and providing material resources needed to achieve organizational mission.

For example the protected area management anti-poaching activities can be planned on employee growth and learning perspectives. Again effective employee deployment for anti-poaching patrols can be assessed on the internal processes and practices perspective. Although implementation requires budgetary demands, its effectiveness should results in increase financial receipts from fees and charges from royalties, research and tourism. Table one shows a matrix of conservation strategy integrated into the four balanced scorecard perspectives (Nivan, 2002). Measures, targets and initiatives can be set from the objectives in the matrix.

Balanced Scorecard Perspectives

Protected Area Conservation Strategy

Anti-poaching patrol Management Objectives

Conservation Education Objectives

Collaborative Resource Management Objectives

Customer Satisfaction

-To conserve animal for tourism and research.

-To regulate wildlife trade.

-To ensure tourists and researchers’ safety.

-To promote species for tourism and research.

- To erect signage to educate customers.

-To educate on ecosystem functions and laws.

-To provide investment opportunities for businesses and not for profit organizations into wildlife conservation.

Internal Processes and Practices

-To improve rate of employee deployment.

-To detect poaching and counteract promptly.

-To effectively process poachers to court.

- To have database on wildlife species.

-To gather feedback from stakeholders for improvement.

-To present organizational principles and values to employees at all levels and other stakeholders.

-To provide platform for communities’ engagement.

-To create informant arrangements for effective anti-poaching patrol.

-To work with police and courts to enhance arrested poachers prosecution.

Employee Growth and Learning

-To measure employee patrol performance.

-To link compensation to patrol performance.

-To determine employee training needs.

-To develop and outsource training programmes for employee.

-To gather educational response feedback for continuous improvement.

-To support anti-poaching by using community governance structures.

-To get feedback on employee performance.

Financial Metrics

-To budget for anti-poaching activities.

-To increase revenue from tourists and fees.

-To publicize sites for increase tourist visit and research receipts.

-To budget for its activities.

-To increase revenue in rents and royalties from investors.

-To reduce operational cost through effective network of community governance.

Table 1: Balanced Score Card perspective on protected area strategy: Source; Author.

Conclusion

The balanced scorecard translates organizational vision to long term objectives that is operationalized into strategies (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). Wildlife conservation strategy on a balanced scorecard would measure beyond financial performance of protected areas in Ghana which is the core mandate and not revenue generation focus. The balanced scorecard as a management system, strategic management system and communication tool (Nivan, 2002) would present conservation strategy to employees and external stakeholders at the protected areas. Deep thinking and reflections to identify leverages (Gratton, 2007) in protected areas are required and park managers must provide leadership in its introduction.

References

Galavan, R. Murray, J. & Markides, C. (Eds.) (2008). Strategy, innovation and change: A challenge for management. Oxford University Press, New York.

Gratton, L. (2007). Hot spots why some teams, workplaces, and organizations buzz with energy-and others don’t. Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc. San Francisco.

Jachmann, H. (2007). Monitoring law enforcement performance in nine protected areas in Ghana. Biological Conservation: Science Direct. Retrieved from: www.Elsevier.com.

Kaplan, R.S. & Norton, D.P. (1996). Using the balanced scorecard as strategic management system. Harvard Business Review, Product 4126.

Larsen, P.B. (2006). Reconciling indigenous peoples and protected areas: Rights, governance and equitable cost and benefit sharing (Discussion Paper). IUCN: Gland. Retrieved from:http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_reconciling_ip_an_pa.r

Niven, P. R. (2002). Balanced score card step-by-step: Maximizing performance and

maintaining results. John Wiley & Sons, New York

Schmidt-Soltau, K. (2003). Conservation-related resettlement in Central Africa: Environmental and social risks. Development and Change 34 (3). pp.525–551. Institute of Social Studies, Oxford.

Schmidt-Soltau, K. & Brockington, D (2007). Protected areas resettlement: What scope for voluntary relocation. World Development 35, (12). pp. 2182–2202. doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.02.008

Wildlife Division (2000). Wildlife Division policy on collaborative community based

wildlife management. Author; Accra. Retrieved from: http://www.fcgh.org.

Educational Rehabilitation of Children of Farm Suicides by BJS

2015-11-16T12:32:14Z

"The emerging farmer suicide capital of India" isn't a qualifier which any region in the world would ever want to allude to itself. Sadly Marathwada, a historically backward region of Maharashtra has been a helpless witness, falling prey to a yet another vicious phenomenon of farmer suicides over last few years. It is no wonder then that Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana (BJS), a leading nonprofit organization with an extensive experience in disaster response has felt the urge to extend its maximum contribution to alleviate the woes of the bereaved families. The rapidly spreading problem of farmer suicides is nothing short of a disaster and BJS aims to address a potentially bigger problem emanating from this scenario in a manner which holds the promise of having a long lasting impact on the lives of the survivors of the suicide victims.

The loss of a loved one and especially an earning member always deals a cruel blow to the kith and kin of the victim. Matters become worse for the impoverished and the marginalized sections of the society; the economic impact of the tragedy gets compounded by the psychological impact on the traumatized family members. At such times children belonging to such families become the most vulnerable of the lot and nothing can prepare them enough for the multitude of challenges that come in the wake of such a tragedy. It is extremely crucial to provide a conducive psychosocial environment to such children in order to prevent them from succumbing to cycles of trauma, depression and loss of purpose in their early lives. The hard hitting reality of the loss of income and life often leaves very little choice for the surviving elders in the family, but to go out and work (especially for sugarcane cutting as in Marathwada)to keep the hearth running. Very often the children are left alone at home to fend for themselves. In the absence of proper care and timely attention to such children, myriad social problems could surface in the long run for them. Thus it is critical to constructively engage them and channelize their minds in the proper direction when tragedy strikes. Education is by far, the only means to shape the lives of such children and keep them from going astray.

It is with this intent and after looking at the grim picture of the Marathwada region, that the project of the educational rehabilitation of the children (boys and girls) from the households of farmers who have committed suicides across Beed, Latur and Osmanabad districts has been undertaken by BJS. BJS would do so by relocating the children, identified through a planned mechanism and moving them to its state-of-the-art Wagholi Educational Rehabilitation Centre (WERC) in Pune. WERC is a facility established by BJS specifically for such purpose since the 1993 Latur earthquake. BJS has a successful history and a proven track record of rehabilitating over 3000 disaster affected children since then.

BJS believes that for a crisis so acute, the intervention has to be long term and is therefore ready to invest close to a decade on every child who will thus be brought to WERC. This project will entail that the responsibility of the holistic education, food, accommodation, daily needs, counseling, healthcare and nutrition of all these children would be entirely borne by BJS from Std V- XII. We are hopeful that this project will bring a ray of hope in the lives of the families of these children as much as it will be a life changing experience for the children themselves.

About WERC

The Wagholi Educational Rehabilitation Centre (WERC), a sprawling 10 acre campus had been established to cater to the educational, psychological, social and other needs of around 1000 earthquake- hit children from Latur & Osmanabad in 1993. Over the years this facility has grown to be a learning ground for thousands of children from other disaster affected areas and also from the malnourished tribal belts of Melghat and Dahanu in Maharashtra. The vision is to integrate these children with the mainstream social scenario so that they are capable of contributing to the nation building process in future. This infrastructure consists of a residential facility along with a school from Std V-XII affiliated to the State Board and a senior college affiliated to the University of Pune. The premises also house the hostel staff quarters, a huge dining area, playground and sports facilities and a 24X7 medical centre.

Project Scope:

a) The children currently studying from Std V onwards would be moved to WERC. The reason behind this is that the WERC co-education school in Pune currently operates from Std V-XII.

b) The households that have been identified for this project belong to the districts of Beed, Latur and Osmanabad where suicides have occured between 1st Jan 2015-31st Oct 2015. These districts have been chosen primarily for the following reasons:

Latur & Osmanabad- BJS has a record of successful educational rehabilitation of 1000 earthquake affected children of Latur and Osmanabad who were brought to WERC, Pune in 1993 and went on to complete their schooling and higher education before settling down comfortably in their professional lives. These WERC alumni from Latur and Osmananbad, now regularly volunteer in several disaster response initiatives of BJS. Hence they would also serve as a strong guiding force for the new students being brought in from these districts and help boost the morale of the families.

Beed- BJS also commands a goodwill in Beed as it has been running a values education program 'Mulyavardhan' in around 350 Zilla Parishad schools of Beed district with the help of its own staff of 180 local teachers since 2009. Familiarity with the demographic landscape of Beed and a functional active local staff were important grounds for consideration of Beed as a project area.

BJS was also instrumental in the restoration of 115 water bodies within a span of one month from May-June 2013, one of the worst drought years in the history of Maharashtra. 20 lakh cubic meters of the fertile silt was excavated and spread over 2500 acres of farmlands to increase their productivity. As a part of that project, BJS had undertaken a detailed survey of the topography and the demography of the Beed district. This information was an added advantage during the planning of the current project.

Project Objectives

The project has been envisaged with multiple objectives in mind which cater to some immediate as well as several long term needs of the families of the victims:

providing a conducive psycho social environment to the children from the affected households through a well developed curriculum of WERC
sharing the responsibility with the affected families of the education and wellbeing of their children
nurturing attitudes and life skills in these children for creating productive and responsible members of the society
empowering children to be the change agents for bettering the socio-economic prospects of their own families by availing and leveraging the opportunities that good education can provide

Project Plan and Management

Against the prevailing backdrop, Shri Shantilal Muttha- founder BJS, conceptualized the entire project and a decision to go ahead was collectively taken by the BJS Prabandh Samiti on 25th October 2015. Moving with great alacrity in view of the growing urgency of the situation, a project management team was formed headed by BJS district office bearers in the respective districts and senior staff from Pune WERC as follows:

Pune WERC- Shri Ashok Pawar and Shri Salunkhe
Beed district- Shri Rajendra Munot and Shri Kishor Pagariya
Latur district- Shri Sunil Kocheta and Shri Kishor Jain
Osmanabad district-Shri Vijay Bedmuttha and Shri Sunil Dungerwal

That was followed by the formation of survey teams who were to conduct a detailed survey of the affected households. For the first time female surveyors were being sent out to be able to easily establish an emotional connect with the women survivors from the affected households who had lost their male member. 13 such teams were formed with each comprising a female teacher from the BJS Wagholi or Pimpri school, a local female Mulyavardhan teacher and 2-3 local BJS volunteers to assist in the logistic arrangements. A comprehensive training of the surveyor teams was held on 30th Oct at the BJS Head Office, Pune. The actual survey of around 450 households across the three districts culminated on 3rd November, the findings of which have been presented later. The children from Std V-Std XII will be brought to Pune on 21st November and their classes will commence on 23rd Nov.

After processing the formalities of school and hostel admissions by seeking the necessary permissions from the concerned authorities, the children will be provided specialized care in several ways for which the WERC school and hostel staff will be specially trained. Proper records of the health (physical and psychological) of every child will be maintained after a thorough check up followed by counseling sessions by seasoned psychologists and diet plans drawn up by nutritionists for the children. At WERC the children will also undergo a baseline assessment to gauge their academic levels and a remedial support will be provided for the children to catch up on the academic front.

All for Smiles

For the causes behind this agrarian crisis to cease to exist, it will take a concerted effort from a legislative, executive and social standpoint. However given the status quo, with this project BJS hopes to be the silver lining for every dark cloud that has descended upon these families. It is a determined attempt to save and secure the future of an entire generation in these villages for which a conscious effort is being made to provide a long term support to the children. For all those children who stand at the threshold of a new horizon BJS is eager to embrace them with open arms.

Reality of Indus Delta.

2014-04-19T23:09:05Z

Sea Intrusion and Condition of Mangroves Ecosystem at Keti Bunder.

Role of Institutions Towards Conservation of Mangroves Ecosystem.

From the Tibetan plateau to the Arabic sea the Indus River is primary source of fresh water and all along its 3000km course communities depends on it for their livelihood Area known as Keti Bunder or Karachi Port. In its final stages the Indus river spreads out into a fan shaped delta of meandering creeks and channels where over two million people depends on the region’s diverse and unique ecosystem. Unfortunately the delta has reached in crisis of up water reduced due to dams and agricultural purposes hence delta dependent coastal communities are facing much problems in fishing, forests and agriculture is main livelihood of the area.

Marine and coastal habitats Pakistan Sindh:

The coastline of pakistan is charactrized by a variety of habitats, Indus delta,thick mangroves forests,riverine forests,irrigated plains,fresh water and brackish wetlands,islands,bays,creeks,mudflats,salt marshes,estuaries,lagoons and beaches.

Pakistan’s mangrove Ecosystem:

The economic importance of mangroves in pakistan largely comes from the fishery resources that they harbor. An estimated 80% of the fish caught in coastal waters spend at least part of their life cycle as fry in the mangrove creeks, or depend on the food web within the mangrove ecosystem. Shrimp fishery is the major fish export of mangroves, accounting for 68% of the $100 million of the foreign exchange the country earns from fisheries exports. The mangroves swamps of the sindh coastal zone are extensive, covering 243,000 hectares compared with 7400 ha along the balochistan coast.

Here are some primary data concerned to this article, which I have gathered with (SDPI) Sustainable Development Policy Institute Islamabad.

Wwf-pakistan expert explained that, mangrove forest issues started from 1980. People used for their fuel, But now present status mostly Devi plant is used for fuel purposes instead of mangroves at keti bunder.

Mangroves are artificially planted on wrong side from east instead of west, where environmental threats hit the region’s natural and socio-economic infrastructure and devastate the people to vulnerable conditions. In 1999 cyclone had massively damaged the mangroves structures. In Keti bunder coastal area illegal activities occurred like, human smuggling, black business of drugs happens but major community is dependent upon the fish hunting and aquaculture in the region. Technical advisor-of marine ecosystem of wwf-pakistan Muhammad Moazzam khan said that; four species of mangroves forest is being studied now and four is out of study. People of the area have engaged in different kinds of activities and awareness programs of conservations of mangroves plant. Print and electronic media also encouraged the some advocacy programs by news and documentaries awareness programs about conservation.

Wwf-pakistan have taken the initiatives at keti bunder provided the flatterd boxes for fishes, actually the main misuse of money is fisher man himself over the community. Due to lack of education in area the psychologyof fisher man’s generation is not changing over there.

IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature, expert Tahir Qureshi shared his experience. About 350 hectors private plantations were farmed, due to sea intrusion from many years about three times community had migrated for their livelihood to balanced settlement other areas. Government department has no mutual coordination at all; the work of fedral section has no knowledge about the area under provincial department in sindh specially. If we have to say about the role of institutins to conservation of coastal ecosystem and mangroves forests, because we don’t have community participation, major stack holder is community.

Fisher folk forum Pakistan pff, Experts shared different form above opinion pff works on the protection of mangroves instead of plantations, they named mangroves the protected area coverd and stricts for law and enforcement by the forest department of sindh. Main function of mangroves is to resists the sea intrusion. Basic work pff has explained is community participation. It prefers protection and conservations of climate change instead of plantation and enhancements. Local coastal community has no options to cut forest for fuel, but they until use some where depends upon their surrounding environment.

Karachi DHA is a main threat towards mangroves conservation, by their development agenda’s in area or construction works. Local community is ready to participate in the conservation programs of international and national organizations, created interests to work safe the conservation process.

Sindh forest department has given their Expertise; coastal community is totally depends upon the hunting of fish, so they are least interested in plantation and conservation of coastal ecosystem. Ngo’s work is not sustainable for a long time, ngo’s work on short time period make plantations in projects they have but don’t sustain the forestation process for whole life of plant.

Rcommendations

Policies should be made accordingly, to conserve the mangrove forests for the future green peace on indus delta sindh pakistan.

Fresh water issues could be solved In addition to make strong socio-economic conditions over the indus delta community and their livlihoods.

Institutions can play great role in saving the mangrove forests and make fresh water policies at indus delta to, reduce the pressure of dams on upstream. It deprived the lower stream community living conditions.

Refrences.

www.mangrovesforthefuture.org

WWF-Pakistan Expert

IUCN Expert

Fisher Folk Forum Pakistan Expert

Sindh Forest Department

Montreal Protocol Approach To Climate Crisis

2013-04-25T10:58:33Z

The Montreal Protocol demonstrated that nations can come together to successfully design and implement effective environmental legislation. The general public did not originally accept the idea of a hole in the ozone layer – yet over time, it gradually became viewed as scientific fact, and action was taken. However a segments of the corporate elite are purposely confusing climate science due to the amount of investment in fossil fuels.

The key issue with the Montreal Protocol is that, unlike greenhouse gases (GHGs), the phasing out of harmful CFC gases did not require enormous investment or infrastructural changes.

CFCs were only used to manufacture aerosol sprays, foams and packing materials, solvents, and refrigerants. Research and patents by major corporations into cheaper and alternative substances were already well under way during the 1980’s.[1]

The limitation of a Montreal Protocol approach to GHGs is that there is no ‘political will’ to do it. Despite their action toward CFC, the Montreal Protocol lacked the political will to approach GHCs. Yet, public awareness of global warming has increased and people are more willing to use renewable sources of energy, eco-friendly products/technology and energy saving approaches. If the majority of interested stakeholders – including engaged citizens, organizations, and relevant NGOs - unified and demanded that corporations and governments commit themselves to the Montreal Protocol in the ICCR and subsequently phase out the production, utilization, consumption and disposal of GHGs, then we could succeed in reversing international trends.

Some corporations, and governments have already taken the lead. In Scandinavian countries there are now symbols such evergreen, falcon, and swans appearing on more packages – a marketing pre-requisite for a certain sector of the market. The markers signify certain standards of recycling, and efficient use of energy and materials by preventing delayed emissions. Following such a consumer atmosphere, it would be a marketing folly for the fossil fuel industries to continue to resist change. Fossil fuels are a finite resource expected to run out within the next fifty years. In fact, they need to diversify if they are going to survive the climate crisis.

“Business people must either dedicate themselves to transforming commerce to a restorative undertaking or march society to the undertaker.”[2] Yet once climate change becomes more noticeable, the scientific argument will be become more dominant within the mainstream consciousness. When this takes place the ICCR will change its limited ideas of emission reductions to a full phasing out of all GHGs substances. Those governments and corporations that adapt to the changing social environment will survive and prosper. Those that remain stuck in the old ways will become redundant.

Therefore what can be said for the future of our civilization if we do not act now?

[1]Richard G. Gann and Paul A. Reneke, Editors. ‘Proceedings of HOTWC-2002 12th Halon Options Technical Working Conference, Albuquerque,’ NM.’NIST Special Publication 984 (April 20 – May 2, 2002).

[2] Paul Hawken, The Ecology of Commerce (New York: Harper Collins, 1993) p2.

Opinions voiced by Global Minds do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Global Journal.

Africa’s Mineral Wealth: Eternally Cursed?

2013-03-27T11:22:33Z

Africa’s so-called ‘resource curse’ is a paradox that has endured. How is it that states enjoying a rich bounty in oil, gas or minerals can end up with worse economic growth and poorer development outcomes than many countries without this natural advantage? The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may be mineral-rich, for example, but it sits at the very bottom of the United Nations (UN) Human Development Index at 187th, while oilrich Nigeria accounted for a scandalous 11 percent of the world’s deaths in 2010 for children under five years old.

Much has been written about this phenomenon, whereby natural resources disrupt an economy and create incentives for wide-scale corruption and even conflict. The effects of the resource curse need not, however, be viewed as inevitable. Political choice is key. Botswana – a frequently cited example – used its mineral wealth to develop into a stable, middle-income country. More recent producers such as Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone appear to be making good governance decisions so far. It is an exciting moment for the region. Emerging markets, especially China, continue to ramp up demand for the continent’s commodities, offering a once in a millennium opportunity for African governments – whose resource endowments, after all, are finite – to lift millions of people out of poverty.

From Ghana in the west, to Uganda and Mozambique, African leaders have critical choices to make about how best to manage their countries’ non-renewable resources. The international community, big business and civil society must also assume responsibility. Transparency – essentially the transparency of contractual arrangements struck between governments and extractive industry companies – and accountability are critical. The most practical and credible form of becoming ‘transparent’ – a deceptively complex notion – is the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Being ‘EITI compliant’ means a government explains clearly and openly the revenues flowing from its extractive sector so that any party can see how much the country in question receives from oil, gas and mining companies.

So far, ten African governments have been judged compliant. In 2010, for instance, Nigeria became one of the first countries to achieve this status. Greater transparency around Nigeria’s oil accounts has placed a spotlight on deficiencies and corruption, while triggering vibrant public debate. This has not been sufficient in itself for Nigerians to benefit immediately. But it does mark the beginning of a process that will ultimately allow more citizens to share in their country’s oil revenues, worth more than $50 billion in 2011 alone. To date, 72 of the world’s largest oil, gas and mining corporations have chosen to become EITI supporting companies.

Despite resistance from some quarters, transparency has strong benefits for all stakeholders. Host governments win because when they make contracts available for critical analysis, the terms will inevitably improve. With little experience of the extractive sector until recently, many states have found it difficult to negotiate with major international companies enjoying decades of accumulated practical knowledge. Most deals have traditionally delivered unfair benefits to big business. When contracts are published online, however, observers have the opportunity to highlight inequitable financial deals or insufficient provision for the protection of the environment or human rights.

At the same time, private sector actors also win due to the way transparency builds trust and long-term stability. As oil, gas and minerals become harder to reach, projects increase in duration and become more expensive. In the process, this multiplies a project’s exposure to political risk. In Nigeria, failure to build trust with the Ogoni people led to theft, violence and pipeline damage. Contract transparency can be critical to building confidence at a local level.

Finally, the international community wins because long-term social and political stability means a secure supply of important commodities – essential to the smooth functioning of our global economy. Clearly, real life is more complex. Individual leaders or ministers do not always act in their government’s best interests. Some companies still win business by paying bribes. The international community may have more pressing priorities. And perhaps unsurprisingly, we still see resistance to greater openness and accountability.

The American Petroleum Institute, a United States (US) based lobby group, is pushing back against new regulations. Some G8 and G20 countries – such as Canada, Russia and Australia – could do more to enforce contract transparency. Most notably, by shepherding through legislation requiring companies headquartered in these jurisdictions to be more open about their offshore business activities. Similarly, some non-G20 countries – such as Switzerland – could likewise have a greater influence if they enforced higher levels of transparency from major commodity traders like Glencore and Trafigura.

But the situation is clearly shifting. Liberia’s 2009 EITI Act requires the public disclosure of all resources contracts, which are uploaded in full on a specially-created website. Sierra Leone, Sao Tome & Principe and Guinea have all embedded contract transparency requirements in oil or mining sector legislation. The DRC has made the country’s most important petroleum contracts publicly available. Meanwhile, executives at Rio Tinto and Newmont have spoken out in favor of contract disclosure. The International Council on Mining and Metals, which includes 17 of the largest mining companies globally, requires that its members “engage constructively in appropriate forums” to improve transparency. Recent regulation in the US and European Union is similarly cause for optimism.

Meanwhile, a host of related issues will also be critical if Africa’s diverse populations are to benefit from the continent’s latent resource wealth. Firstly, quality of contracts is key. The DRC received just €100,000 from mineral rights in 2006 – a tiny amount compared with the €760 million estimated value of its exports annually. Capacity to negotiate with major extractive companies may be critical to a country’s success. This is not just about having the best lawyers, but also about enjoying equal access to key information. For instance, do both sides have a joint understanding of the available geological data?

Equally, while business may be primarily interested in negotiating over revenues, a government must also consider the social and environmental impacts of an extractive project. How will a company manage pollution and waste? How will it clean up at the conclusion of the project? How will it take care of the local environment?

Secondly, economic diversification is a preferable route to job creation. Nigeria and Angola, sub-Saharan Africa’s two largest oil producers, have hardly made a dent in their poverty levels since beginning to produce substantial quantities of oil. More than half of Nigeria’s 160 million people still live on less than $2 per day. With the world’s fastest growing population from a regional perspective, Africa must generate jobs quickly in order to prevent youth unemployment from rising. Indeed, this may represent the most significant threat to political stability.

The oil, gas and mining sectors are notoriously poor when it comes to job creation. An offshore platform tapping deep-sea reserves will create few, if any, positions for locals. Only recently, protests were reported outside Rio Tinto’s QMM mineral sands operation in the south of Madagascar due to high local unemployment. The best way to convert natural resource wealth into jobs is to take the proceeds and invest in other, more labor-intensive industries such as agriculture or manufacturing.

Finally, governments must also figure out how else to benefit from natural resource projects underway on their territory. Is an oil company shipping food for its employees from London, or is it buying from local farmers? When a mining venture builds a railway to transport precious ore, can nearby populations use that infrastructure too? These and other issues will be discussed in a report to be prepared by the Africa Progress Panel, a ten-member group chaired by former UN Secretary- General, Kofi Annan. The report will contain a series of policy proposals on how Africa’s mineral wealth can better benefit current and future generations. Africa has many lessons to offer drawn from the experience of its oil, gas and mining sectors. There is no reason why the continent’s citizens should not capitalize on the value of these commodities. The resource curse should be a relic of the past.

By Caroline Kende-Robb, Executive Director, Africa Progress Panel

Climate Change Expedition Ready For The Atlantic

2013-03-26T15:25:18Z

Last October, the Deepwater Project, led by Nobel laureate Martin Beniston, was the winner of the first ever GLOBAL+5 Innovation Award. Thanks to support from the University of Geneva, the Dudley Wright Foundation and private donors, The Global Journal is proud to announce that PlanetSolar - the largest solar catamaran ever built – will set off at the beginning of April from La Ciocat in the south of France on its very first mission to conduct a unique three-month scientific expedition. Operating with zero carbon emissions, the boat will collect data along the relatively unexplored Gulf Stream, documenting the behavior of the ocean atmosphere interface and the current’s role as a climate regulator. Gerard d’Aboville, a veteran navigator and French adventurer of the North Pole, is the captain of the solar catamaran during the expedition. With its mission base in Geneva, The Global Journal spoke to Beniston ahead of PlanetSolar’s departure.

How did this project come about?

Everything started exactly a year ago with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s visit to Geneva, where he inaugurated the R20 – his association of regions to find technological solutions to climate questions. At the time, we thought that with the imminent return of PlanetSolar we could perhaps convince Schwarzenegger to come back as part of the Cannes Film Festival because the boat would have been in Cannes at that moment. Notwithstanding this idea to create media interest in the event, the University of Geneva was in any case already present in the mind of Schwarzenegger given he organized the R20 inauguration conference here.

Eventually, I was asked if we could finally do something scientific together and from this moment the idea was born to use the boat to measure the Gulf Stream in quite unique conditions as PlanetSolar operates with zero emissions. Usually, in the part of the atmosphere where such experiments take place, we cannot use measures free from entropic pollution. That is why we are certain we can obtain more accurate results using measures from natural origins uncontaminated by pollution.

Were the measures developed previously? And as a scientist, what kind of link do you expect to find between these measures and climatic changes?

The Gulf Stream has been a climate regulator for a long time, especially in the North Atlantic and more particularly in Europe. What is quite innovative is that on the one hand we will measure all the trajectories of the Gulf Stream – from Florida just beyond the point of Ibiza towards Europe. We will go further north into colder zones. At the same time we will measure physical, chemical and biological properties linked to the atmosphere of the ocean and this is really something totally new.

You have expeditions that have measured certain physical properties in certain places – others have measured chemical properties in other places. But in general, having a boat do this experiment is something that is extremely expensive and demanding. That is why the best-case scenario is to have a boat at your disposal for perhaps 15 days or three weeks to see if you can target something in particular. Then, you have all the liberty and all the time to see a process connected to the Gulf Stream but also all processes in other areas.

In terms of physical properties, there are quite standard measures such as temperature, humidity, pressure, wind-speed and direction in the atmosphere, but also thermal properties, salinity and density. What we will be looking for is to better understand the exchanges that occur between the surface layers of the ocean and the lowest layers of the atmosphere – what is happening there?

When we use all these mechanisms that modulate the climate on a larger scale, we can try to really understand the interface between the ocean and the atmosphere. We can have a better idea of the energy fluxes and aerosol fluxes, which consist of solid or liquid particles that are suspended in the atmosphere. They also play a direct or indirect role on climate change either from sunlight or their part in nucleus condensation, where mini particles make the process of condensation more efficient. So we know very little about what is going on. Why does the ocean like this quantity of aerosol in the atmosphere? So it will be interesting to see which part of the Gulf Stream likes which type of aerosol. Is it the sulfate aerosols or other aerosols that contain a biological signature?

Are you talking about evaporation of water?

No, it is more related to wind friction against the surface of the ocean that can lift up droplets. The waves that crash, however, release a very large quantity of aerosol. For instance, we estimate that around a third of sulfate aerosols are produced in mass when we burn carbon and petrol – which contain sulfur – and the ocean consumes 30 percent of all such sulfur aerosols from the atmosphere. These are immense quantities even independent of all human activity. We will try to see whether this is uniform in the ocean or whether there are zones emitting these types of sulfur aerosols that are more concentrated in the warm area of the Gulf Stream or in the cold area. We don’t know the answer in advance, but it would be interesting to quantify all of this to better understand the mechanisms of exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere.

Does this particular type of boat and scientific expedition pose any security problems?

For security I should direct you to the technician of Planetsolar. But in my view it doesn't pose any more security problems than a regular plane to the extent that this boat has proven itself during its world tour, sometimes in difficult weather. It was tested in a tropical storm and a monsoon between Australia and Asia, in the Philippines. It is an extremely stable boat with quite a particular catamaran technique where it attacks the waves – the buoys stay in the water even if the waves break underneath.

So for the team who are not necessarily seamen this will be quite a comfortable experience. In theory, I do not have any concerns about security in terms of the boat. We may have some other doubts about the boat because during its world tour it did not stay long between the two tropics of the equator where there is maximum sun. But according to the assessment by our partner Meteo-France, which has developed a routing program for the boat that can position it in accordance with optimal sun conditions – during storms for example, in the season in which we will navigate north of Iceland – it is completely feasible. There is no large risk – they doubt that we will break down because of a lack of sun.

We could potentially encounter delicate conditions in terms of a storm in the North Atlantic. Effectively, however, we are not going to encounter hyper-extreme conditions as if, for instance, we were trapped in the Antarctic ice. We will leave the Tropic of Cancer practically just at the polar circle with a change in the weather and behavior of the ocean. We will pass into an ocean just before the hurricane season in Florida – we hope – and we will pass through to the north of Iceland and in principle avoid Titanic-era icebergs.

What equipment do you need on board?

There are several types of instruments. There are the instruments that are submerged – the instruments that will measure the content of physicochemical oceanic properties, like temperature, salinity and density. We will make two stops per day in order to carry out surveys, at a depth of around 250-300 meters. We will survey morning and evening the deep layers of the ocean to see not only what is happening close to the surface, for example, but equally different points of depth that account for the basis of change in water mass. In addition, we have standard meterological measures that are part of the package provided by Meteo-France for the boat and we also have two instruments developed by the Physics Department here at the University of Geneva, which will measure solid aerosols. This is a commercial device.

We also have a device that was developed by the University to detect biological aerosols, bio-aerosols. This is an instrument that measures pollen in the atmosphere. Since these atmospheric pollens are a little bit similar in size to marine micro-organisms, we decided it is worth a try to use this instrument called the Box Corer in oceanic conditions. It is an instrument that collects the air hopefully containing all types of aerosols and is able to determine the types of micro-organisms and their abundance.

We also think we will be able to detect the biological signature of water mass transitions, for example warm or cold water masses. We have turbines that break away in the main area of the Gulf Stream, which start to twirl in the ocean. One of the roles of these turbines is to channel the heat but also trap phytoplankton, that is marine organisms. We think we can detect the presence, absence or abundance of these organisms with these atmospheric instruments, which coat the atmosphere.

When Politics and Disaster Collide

2013-01-23T08:07:03Z

Disasters Without Borders, John Hannigan, Polity Press, £13.95.

As international attention on natural disasters increases, John Hannigan examines the latest trend in international politics to resolve“borderless” issues. Conceived as a textbook reviewing contemporary debates, Disasters Without Borders presents a comprehensive account of the failures of diplomacy in the realm of disaster management. The book views the field through an intense politicosociological lens, from the emergence of Disaster Risk Reduction in the 1980s, to the recent integration of climate change debates into humanitarian relief strategies.

Disasters Without Borders provides a critical look at the political discourse of disasters as a thinly veiled disguise for hegemonic agendas. Hannigan’s text culminates with a presentation of two competing theoretical approaches that explain the diffusion of norms and ideas by non-state actors beyond a Realist perspective. In a rather anticlimactic fashion, however, he finds that both fall short, but does not present an alternative, leaving readers empty-handed.

The book concludes with the “SCPQ Configuration” (Securitization,Catastrophe Scenario Building and Modeling, Privatization, and Quantification) embodying the currentstate of disaster institutions. Overall, Disasters Without Borders is an enjoyable, easily accessible read, but lacks new insight into tackling the dismal failures of environmental cooperation.

- KC

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Global Mercury Agreement to Lift Health Threats from Lives of Millions World-Wide

2013-01-20T17:27:57Z

Photo: During the afternoon plenary with Naoko Ishii, GEF CEO and Chairperson; Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director; Tim Kasten, UNEP; INC Chair Fernando Lugris, Uruguay; Jacob Duer, INC Team Coordinator, UNEP; Masa Nagai, UNEP; and Nina Cromnier, Rapporteur, Sweden.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, delegates from nearly 140 nations clinched a deal on a global Mercury Convention aiming to regulate emissions and releases of a notorious heavy metal with significant health and environmental effects. Over 900 people including government delegates, civil society groups, profit and non-profit organisations took part in extensive negotiations on complex issues such as mercury-related health impacts.

Uruguayan Chair of negotiations Fernando Lugris emphasized the significance of this achievement in the post-Rio+20 world. The Minamata Convention on Mercury – named after a city in Japan where serious health damage occurred as a result of mercury pollution in the mid-20th Century – provides controls and reductions across a range of products, processes and industries where mercury is used, released or emitted. These range from batteries, lamps and cosmetics to the mining, cement and coal-fired power sectors. The new agreement also addresses the direct mining of mercury, export and import of the metal and safe storage of waste mercury.

The Convention is the outcome of a lengthy process that started in 2009 and will be open for signature at a diplomatic conference in Japan in October. UNEP representatives are confident that the 50 ratifications required for the Convention to come into force will be achieved within the next three to four years. Initial funding to fast track action until the new treaty comes into force has been pledged by Japan, Norway and Switzerland. Support for developing countries is also expected from the Global Environment Facility[1] once the convention is operational.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) which convened the negotiations in Geneva, said: “After complex and often all night sessions here in Geneva, nations have today laid the foundations for a global response to a pollutant whose notoriety has been recognized for well over a century.”

“Everyone in the world stands to benefit from the decisions taken this week in Geneva - in particular the workers and families of small-scale gold miners, the peoples of the Arctic and this generation of mothers and babies and the generations to come. I look forward to swift ratification of the Minamata Convention so that it comes into force as soon as possible,” he said.

Chair of negotiations Fernando Lugris emphasized that the Minamata Convention is not a soft law instrument but a legally binding agreement that will become part of international environmental law. Compliance will however depend on guidance and monitoring from the Conference of the Parties (COP) to be established once the Convention comes into force.

“This treaty will not bring immediate reductions of mercury emissions. It will need to be improved and strengthened, to make all fish safe to eat,” said David Lennett from the Natural Resources Defense Council representing the Zero Mercury Working Group a global coalition of environmental NGOs “Still, the treaty will phase out mercury in many products and we welcome it as a starting point.”

Ambassador Franz Perrez of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Switzerland said: “Switzerland, which initiated with Norway the negotiations for a mercury convention, is very pleased about this impressive success. It will help us to protect human health and the environment all over the world and is a proof that multilateralism can work when political will exists.”

The scope of the new treaty which puts in controls and also reduction measures in respect to mercury is as follows.

Products

Governments have agreed on a range of mercury containing products whose production, export and import will be banned by 2020.

These include:

Batteries, except for ‘button cell’ batteries used in implantable medical devices
Switches and relays
Certain types of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs)
Mercury in cold cathode fluorescent lamps and external electrode fluorescent lamps
Soaps and cosmetics

Certain kinds of non-electronic medical devices such as thermometers and blood pressure devices are also included for phase-out by 2020.

Governments approved exceptions for some large measuring devices where currently there are no mercury-free alternatives:

Vaccines where mercury is used as a preservative have been excluded from the treaty as have products used in religious or traditional activities

Delegates agreed to a phase-down of the use of dental fillings using mercury amalgam.

Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM)

The booming price of gold in recent years has triggered a significant growth in small-scale mining where mercury is used to separate gold from the ore-bearing rock.

Emissions and releases from such operations and from coal-fired power stations represent the biggest source of mercury pollution world-wide.

Workers and their families involved in small-scale gold mining are exposed to mercury pollution in several ways including through inhalation during the smelting.

Mercury is also being released into river systems from these small-scale operations where it can contaminate fish, the food chain and people downstream.

Governments agreed that the treaty will require countries to draw up strategies to reduce the amount of mercury used by small-scale miners.
Nations with artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations will draw up national plans within three years of the treaty entering into force to reduce and if possible eliminate the use of mercury in such operations
Public awareness campaigns and support for mercury-free alternatives will also be part of the plans

From Power Stations to Cement Factories

The new treaty will control mercury emissions and releases from various large industrial facilities ranging from coal-fired power stations and industrial boilers to certain kinds of smelters handling for example zinc and gold.

Waste incineration and cement clinker facilities are also on the list.

Nations agreed to install the Best Available Technologies on new power plants and facilities with plans to be drawn up to bring emissions down from existing ones.

The negotiations were initially looking to set thresholds on the size of plants or level of emissions to be controlled. But it was decided this week to defer this until the first Conference of the Parties (COP) after the conventions comes into force.

Notes

Background to the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to prepare a global legally binding instrument on mercury (INC5)

Global Mercury Assessment 2013

Time to Act

[1] http://www.thegef.org/gef/