'The essays in this collection originated under the auspices of an international research program on "Social and Political Dimensions of Environmental Protection Programs and Projects in Developing Countries" ... sponsored by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development and supported financially by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss government's Agency for Development and Cooperation.' .. vii.
This study inquires into the dynamics of state-civil society relations within the context of policy making for the conservation and utilization of forest resources in Thailand and the Philippines.
The deterioration of forest resources and poor economic performance in the Philippines calls for a serious rethinking in economic policies addressing both environmental and economic objectives. In order to protect the Philippine forests, the government implemented the Master Plan for Forestry Development covering a 25-year period (i.e. 1991-2015). However, after 16 years of implementation, the Philippine forestry industry has experienced a further reduction in production and in areas devoted to old-growth forests. The annual allowable cut remains excessive as it was prior to 1990. This proves to be an important forestry policy instrument as the findings in this book suggest that the volume of timber or the rate of deforestation is directly affected by the annual allowable cut rather than by population growth and poverty. The recent economic literature suggests the possibility of attaining both macroeconomic growth and sustainability in natural resource use. To examine the economy-wide effects of the Master Plan and the plausibility of attaining sustainable growth, a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is developed with an appended forestry sub-model adopted from Dee (1991). The research found that given steady-state in forestry, the Dee model can serve as a simple representation of forest growth. However, in the context of positive environmental services and non-steady state growth in forestry, the Dee model might be inappropriate. Given the present land use arrangements in the Philippines, the book suggests that the country will meet both objectives of growth and conservation via a combination of a reduction in forestry discount rate and a uniform reduction in sectoral tariffs. Despite the positive effect of uniform tariff reduction on gross domestic product, employment in some sectors is negatively affected particularly that of farmers, fishers and foresters. This indicates the significance of reforestation as an employment generation tool, notwithstanding its benefits towards resource and soil conservation. In general, forest conservation can be achieved with minimal economic sacrifice. Therefore, depending on the capability of the Philippine government to enforce land use policies, a direct set-aside program (national parks) and the implementation of selective logging programs can assist in the regeneration and perpetuation of the Philippine forest. The aim of the book is to illustrate the application of computable general equilibrium (CGE) models in analysing environmental issues, specifically deforestation in countries with limited access to primary/secondary data. It is an outcome of a government funded research project on deforestation in developing economies. We hope that this book will appeal to policy makers, politicians, academics, government officials especially in developing countries, post-graduate students interested in applied general equilibrium research and the like. The book brings into light a state-of-the-art CGE model with empirical applications into forestry policies in a developing Asian economy. Hence the analytical methodology and the empirical policy analysis have a greater applicability to many countries in Asia and beyond where deforestation has become a critical dynamic issue. This book can also be used as a textbook, in advanced courses in economic modeling at graduate level in universities.
This work offers a detailed case study on the dynamics of forest use, degradation, and loss in Northeast Luzon, Philippines. Following an interdisciplinary approach, the study charts the degradation and loss of forest in this area between 1950 and 1990, as it relates to the social and political context of logging, forest migration, and changes in upland agriculture. Based on ten years of research, the author introduces us to the actions, livelihood options, and motives of all the principal group of actors.
Professor Max Krott, Director of the Institute of Forest Policy and Nature Conservation at the University of Göttingen, Germany, introduces the most important political players and stakeholders, including the forest owners, the general population, forest workers and employees, forest associations and administration, as well as the media. He illustrates the political and regulatory instruments using examples in current forest policy. Forest Policy Analysis places a special emphasis on the informal processes that are indispensable in understanding practical politics. References made to current English and German-language publications on forest policy studies enable further information to be found with concern to special issues.
Tropical forests are an undervalued asset in meeting the greatest global challenges of our time—averting climate change and promoting development. Despite their importance, tropical forests and their ecosystems are being destroyed at a high and even increasing rate in most forest-rich countries. The good news is that the science, economics, and politics are aligned to support a major international effort over the next five years to reverse tropical deforestation. Why Forests? Why Now? synthesizes the latest evidence on the importance of tropical forests in a way that is accessible to anyone interested in climate change and development and to readers already familiar with the problem of deforestation. It makes the case to decisionmakers in rich countries that rewarding developing countries for protecting their forests is urgent, affordable, and achievable.
Sovereignty-the authority of a state to wield ultimate power over its territory, its citizens, its institutions-is everywhere undergoing change as states respond in various ways to the challenges posed, from above and below. "Above" the state is the widening net of international institutions and treaties dealing with human rights, trade, investment, and monetary affairs; and "below" it are rising claims within states from long-resident groups discontented with the political order and from new migrants testing its authority. Sovereignty under Challenge deals with a range of such challenges and responses, analyzed in authoritative studies by leading scholars. The introductory chapter sets forth the theme that sovereignty is asserted clearly, but often unpredictably, when governments respond to challenge. It suggests ways of classifying these responses as variables that help explain the changing nature of sovereignty. Part 1, "The Citizen and the State," treats the rising tide of dual citizenship and the concerns this arouses in the United States; the work of national human rights commissions in Asia; and the challenge posed to the state by the Falungong movement in China. The two chapters in Part 2, "The Government as Decision-Maker," examine Japan's response to global warming and the problems of the World Health Organization in orchestrating collaboration among Southeast Asian states in implementing infectious disease control. Part 3, "Sovereignty and Culture," looks at conflicts engendered by outside change on indigenous economic, cultural, and legal institutions in India, Fiji, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The chapters in Part 4, "Sovereignty and the Economy," analyze the economic and cultural instability induced by Chinese migration to Russia's far east; the impact on state sovereignty brought about by transnational regulatory campaigns and social activism; the question of indigenous land rights in the Philippines; and the impact of transnational corporations on information technology in Asia. A concluding chapter offers a global assessment of the current status of state sovereignty.
