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Defying Victimhood: Women and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding

marc — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:05:51 +0000

Women are among the most competent, yet marginalized, unnoticed and underutilized actors in efforts to rebuild war-torn societies. Opportunities for sustainable peacebuilding are lost — and sustainable peace is at risk — when significant stakeholders in a society’s future peace and conflict architecture are excluded from efforts to heal the wounds of war and build a new society and a new state. The contributors to this book draw on comparative case studies and country studies from post-conflict contexts in different parts of world to offer their insights into frameworks for understanding women as both victims and peacebuilders, to trace the road that women take from victimhood to empowerment and to highlight the essential partnerships between women and children and how they contribute to survival and peace. Drawing particularly on African cases, the authors examine national and global efforts to right past wrongs as well as the roles of women in political and security institutions. They argue that, for women in post-conflict societies, “defying victimhood” means being an activist, peacebuilder and — above all — a full participant in post-war social, economic, political and security structures, access to which all too often has unjustly and unwisely been denied.

Albrecht Schnabel is a Senior Fellow in the Research Division of the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF).

Anara Tabyshalieva is an Assistant Professor of History at Marshall University and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Regional Studies (Kyrgyzstan).

Green Economy and Good Governance for Sustainable Development: Opportunities, Promises and Concerns

stephan — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 05:43:35 +0000

Much of the debate on green growth and environmental governance tends to be general in nature, and is often conceptual or limited to single disciplines. Even though recent discussions on these topics have benefited from the accumulation of empirical and theoretical knowledge over the last few decades, these discussions have not produced the kind of conceptual novelty and tools necessary to place the notion of a green economy within mainstream political, social and economic agendas. Furthermore, discussions on governance remain mostly in the international sphere with merely tenuous talk on governance at the national and sub-national levels – the levels at which implementation is key. The contributors to this book present the gap that can emerge between intentions and results when green initiatives are put into practice, and highlight the lack of discussion on important topics such as equity. This book includes in-depth discussion on and analysis of specific issues, such as oceans, cities and biodiversity, in order to bring forth solutions that are politically legitimate, socially acceptable and economically viable.

Green Economy and Good Governance for Sustainable Development takes stock of the achievements and obstacles towards sustainability over the last 20 years, and proposes new ideas and changes to create a more sustainable future. Students, academics and professionals interested in understanding the potential and limitations of the discussions on a green economy and good governance in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication are recommended to read this book.

About the Author

Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira is Assistant Director and Senior Research Fellow at the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS)

Part I: Green economy
Towards equity and sustainability in the “green economy,” Manu V. Mathai and Govindan Parayil
The political economy of green growth: Food, fuel and electricity in southern Africa, Danielle Resnick, Finn Tarp and James Thurlow
Learning for a green society: Towards sustainable consumption and production, Zinaida Fadeeva, Abel Barasa Atiti, Unnikrishnan Payyappallimana, Aurea Tanaka, Mario Tabucanon, Sachiko Yasuda and Kazuhiko Takemoto
Revitalizing socio-ecological production landscapes through greening the economy, Kaoru Ichikawa, Robert Blasiak and Aya Takatsuki
Governance challenges for promoting the green economy in Africa, Timothy Afful-Koomson
Geothermal energy and the Millennium Development Goals, Ingvar B. Fridleifsson
Enabling green economic transitions through biodiversity conservation: Potential and challenges, M. S. Suneetha and Alexandros Gasparatos

Part II: Governance
Visioning transformative sustainable development governance, Norichika Kanie
Oceans and sustainability: The governance of marine areas beyond national jurisdiction, Marjo Vierros, Anne McDonald and Salvatore Arico
The role of indigenous peoples in global environmental governance: Looking through the lens of climate change, Kirsty Galloway McLean, Sam Johnston and Ameyali Ramos Castillo
Global environmental health governance for sustainable development, Jamal Hisham Hashim and Zailina Hashim
Good governance in cities for promoting a greener economy, Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira, Aki Suwa, Osman Balaban, Christopher N. H. Doll, Ping Jiang, Magali Dreyfus, Raquel Moreno-Peñaranda, Puspita Dirgahayani and Erin Kennedy

Conclusion
Key issues and lessons learned for moving towards a greener economy and creating better governance for sustainable development, Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira

For information about UNU activities concerning Rio+20 and follow-ups

Reconciling Enemy States in Europe and Asia

stephan — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:57:21 +0000

Rebuilding the relationship between enemy states is not an easy path. Moreover, the term ‘reconciliation’ has until now has been ill-defined in international relations. What do we mean by ‘successfully reconciled’? Is it when national leaders shake hands on a red carpet or when economic interaction intensifies? Or is reconciliation only accomplished when citizens regain mutual respect? Drawing from sources in English, French, Korean, Italian, German and Japanese, Heo establishes a model that clarifies why certain countries reconcile while others do not. Discussing historical and contemporary cases ranging from Europe to Northeast Asia, she gives a unique insight into various means of arriving at a genuine reconciliation.

Business and Climate Policy: The Potentials and Pitfalls of Private Voluntary Programs

marc — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:48:45 +0000

Climate change has become one of the most important and challenging global policy fields. Attention has primarily focused on the successes and failures of states and intergovernmental organizations but many more actors are involved and contribute to solutions. Business, often seen as spurring climate change, harbours a lot of potential for problem solving. Today, a rich variety of private voluntary programs address climate change.

Private voluntary programs are private in the sense that they are initiated by and made up of businesses, voluntary in the sense that businesses are free to join or leave them, and programs in that a variety of formal rules, resources and bodies are often established to administer and evaluate the schemes.

Business and Climate Policy assesses the potentials and pitfalls of existing private voluntary programs. The contributors evaluate how effectively different programs meet public and private goals at the national and international levels, and across industries. The lessons learned presented in this book can help to design new programs and improve those in existence. Such lessons learned are relevant not only within climate policy, but also within the many other policy fields in which private voluntary programs are active.

About the Author

Karsten Ronit is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen.

Part II: Cross-sectoral and multisectoral programs
Private voluntary programs in environmental governance: Climate change and the financial sector, Jennifer Clapp and Jason Thistlethwaite
Private voluntary programs on climate change: US federal government as the sponsoring actor, Lily Hsueh and Aseem Prakash

Part III: Sectors .
The role of private voluntary climate programs affecting forests: Assessing their direct and intersecting effects, Laura Bozzi, Benjamin Cashore, Kelly Levin and Constance McDermott
Emerging private voluntary programs and climate change: The blind spots of the agrifood sector, Doris Fuchs and Frederike Boll
Climate change, private voluntary programs and the automobile industry, Tony Porter

Part IV: Conclusions
Private voluntary programs in climate policy: Potentials and pitfalls, Karsten Ronit

Public Works and Social Protection in Southern Africa: Do Public Works Work for the Poor?

shinya — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 02:35:41 +0000

Public Works Programmes (PWPs) are widely implemented throughout Asia, Latin America and Africa, often with funding from major international donor agencies. They are perceived to present a ‘win-win’ policy option, providing employment to the chronically poor while also creating assets for the state, and in this way offering a welfare transfer which is also a tangible economic investment.

The prevailing view among donors and government agencies with responsibility for social protection is that Public Works Programmes are preferable to other measures to assist unemployed people living in chronic poverty. But is this view in fact correct? This book critically explores the concept of the Public Works Programme (PWP) and interrogates its social protection performance in the context of chronic poverty. It reviews over 200 PWPs in eastern and southern Africa using original research drawn from extensive field analysis, interviews and survey work, and examines case studies of six international PWPs – in India, Argentina, Ireland, Ethiopia, Indonesia and the USA.

The author explores the function and limitations of PWPs, and outlines major programme choice and design issues, drawing lessons from the international context, and challenging the assumptions underlying these policy preferences, thus opening the way for more informed and appropriate policy selection. The book makes a case for a reconsideration of the function of PWPs in the current social protection discourse, and argues that the current PWP approach may not look so attractive from the beneficiary perspective.

This book is of interest to academics and students in development economics and sociology, policy-makers and -designers, and donor officials, such as World Bank and DFID.

About the Author

Anna McCord is a Research Fellow, Social Protection, at the Overseas Development Institute in London, and was previously Research Manager at the South African Labour and Development Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Introduction
What are public works programmes?
The social protection function of public works programmes
Evaluation of the social protection performance of public works programmes
The three vectors: Wage
The three vectors: Assets
The three vectors: Skills
Two South African case studies: Context, methodology and analytical overview
Assessing the incidence of the case study programmes
Labour market incidence and impact of the case study programmes
The impact of the case study programmes on multi-dimensional aspects of poverty
Conclusion: Re-evaluating the assumptions underlying public works programmes

Exorcising the Demons Within: Xenophobia, Violence and Statecraft in Contemporary South Africa

marc — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:25:05 +0000

On 11 May 2008, residents of Alexandra Township near Johannesburg turned violently on their neighbours, launching a string of attacks that, two weeks later, left 60 dead, dozens raped and over a hundred thousand displaced. Most of those killed were from beyond South Africa’s borders, but at least a third were citizens who, for reasons of ethnicity or political affiliation, failed to protect their space in the country’s urban core. Although not the most severe political violence in South Africa’s turbulent past, the 2008 attacks reflect an important moment in the country’s post-apartheid, post-authoritarian existence: a moment when the government’s legitimacy and the post-apartheid order were called into question. This xenophobic violence made evident cracks in the cohesion of law and society while helping to redefine both.

It is these events and subsequent consequences for the ordering of power, population and place that this book explores. Exorcising the Demons Within makes sense of recent antioutsider violence by situating it within an extended history of South African statecraft that both produced the conditions for the attacks and has been reshaped by it. Drawing on an interdiscip linary team of expert scholars and on new research, this is the first academic text to fully theorise the events that made global headlines in 2008.

By placing the demons within both migration and violent citizenship and in a longer historical perspective, this book succeeds in surpassing current interpretations of the 2008 violence against immigrants in the townships as just resulting from xenophobia. The authors masterfully show that the politics of statecraft – notably the African National Congress’ (ANC) language of multicultu ral dominance – inspired a fatal depolitisation of difference. The very coherence of this collection offers a challenging analysis of struggle over belonging and denial of difference that is of much broader relevance than South Africa alone.
—Peter Geschiere, Department of African Anthropology, University of Amsterdam

This book is critical of the policies, practices and politics of containment that continue to frame belonging in post-apartheid South Africa in an era of flexible mobility. The dominant logic of ever diminishing circles of inclusion informed by hierarchies of humanity within and between states is productive of the sort of narrow articulation of belonging that easily results in the rationalis ation of difference, demonisation, xenophobia and violence such as that of May 2008 – the key event that ties together this richly crafted, well documented and empiricall y grounded collection of essays.
—Francis B. Nyamnjoh, Department of Sociology, University of Cape Town

About the Editor

Loren B. Landau is director of the African Centre for Migration & Society at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Introduction: Exorcising the Demons Within: Xenophobia, Violence, and Statecraft in Contemporary South Africa by Loren Landau
Media Memory: A Critical Reconstruction of the May 2008 Violence byTamlyn Monson and Rebecca Arian
People, Space and Politics: An Exploration of Factors Explaining the 2008 Anti-Foreigner Violence in South Africa by Christine Fauvelle-Aymar and Aurelia Wa Kabwe-Segatti
Disorder in a Changing Society: Authority and the Micro-Politics of Violence by Jean Pierre Misago
Xenophobia’s local genesis: historical constructions of ‘insiders’/‘outsiders’ and the politics of exclusion in Alexandra Township by Noor Nieftagodien
Citizenship, Xenophobic Violence and Law’s Dark Side by Jonathan Klaaren
‘Separation Anxiety’: The Historical Origins of Xenophobia in the SAPS by Darshan Vigneswaran
Making the Law; Breaking the Law; Taking the Law into Our Own Hands: Sovereignty and Territorial Control in Three South African Settlements by Tamlyn Monson
From Defending Migrant Rights to New Political Subjectivities: Gauteng Migrants’ Organisations After May 2008 by Tara Polzer and Aurelia Wa Kabwe-Segatti
Postscript: Demons and Democracy: Positive Values and the Politics of Outsiderness in Contemporary South Africa by Loren Landau

Gender-Based Explosions: The Nexus between Muslim Masculinities, Jihadist Islamism and Terrorism

shinya — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 05:42:58 +0000

First colonized and now living under political oppression, experiencing peripatetic marginalization, feeling dejected, intimidated and humiliated, many Muslim men (in and outside Muslim countries) have no opportunities to prove themselves as “honourable” and/or practice “masculinity” in culturally-prescribed ways. Troubled and troublesome, many Muslim men use militant jihadist networks as outlets to achieve self-actualization and heroism. Terrorist networks, acting as surrogates to national liberation and anti authoritarian/occupation movements, complicate these dynamics further.

Maleeha Aslam argues that “gender” is a fundamental battleground on which Al Qaeda, the Taliban and their types have to be defeated. Issues of regressive radicalism, literalism, militancy and terrorism can only be solved through people-centred interventions. Therefore, relevant governments and civil society should promote an alternative culture of growth, self-expression and actualization for Muslim men. To achieve sustainable counterterrorism results, Aslam recommends underlining masculinities in Muslim contexts and expanding the scope of required interventions beyond those confined to Islam(ism), the opposing sects and ideological movements of which rarely agree. This book also includes empirical data from a pilot study conducted on Pakistani Muslim masculinities.

“Maleeha Aslam shines a clear and steady light on the murky, post-9/11 world of violent extremism. She helps us to penetrate the troubled and unsure existence of young Muslim males, who, at a loss for guidance, too often take refuge in the message of radical clerics.

Without understanding their context it will be virtually impossible to check the acts of terror that stem from their desperation and indoctrination. Aslam’s book is essential reading for all who seek to comprehend the morass from which terrorists emerge and the very nature of our world.”

—Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, School of International Service, American University, Washington D.C.

“This well-researched and morally engaged book is an important contribution to gender studies and to understanding the contemporary Muslim world. Maleeha Aslam has conducted careful and imaginative research, and has a powerful argument on the relevance of masculinity dynamics to Islamist militancy. Some of the findings are troubling; but by moving beyond the cliches of both Western ‘security’ thinking and conventional militancy, to a concern with the making of masculinities and the possibilities of change, this book offers a message of hope.”

—Raewyn Connell, author of Masculinities and Gender: In World Perspective

“This is a powerful and disturbing study of global jihadism that maintains that the roots of violence lie not in religious ideologies but in gender-based codes of honour that pre-date Islam. Focusing on Pakistan, it argues that ordinary Pakistanis are predisposed to terrorism by political and economic oppression that lead to expressions of outraged masculinity. In depicting men as victims of patriarchy, it suggests that only by providing Muslim men with alternative cultures of self-actualisation will we combat Islamist violence.”

—John Hutchinson, Reader in Nationalism, Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science

“This ground-breaking book presents new research which will undoubtedly stimulate much controversy. It opens up issues regarding men, gender and sexuality in Islamic societies and draws connections between how young men are raised and their recruitment into terrorist organizations. Focusing on Pakistan, the book is of relevance to Middle East studies, gender studies and issues of war and peace. A work of courage approached with integrity and solid research.”

—Amira Sonbol, Professor of Islamic History, Law and Society, Georgetown University, Doha Qatar campus

“From the vantage point of policy, it seems rare in these times that a feminist scholar can take on a subject as daunting and diverse as ‘Muslim Masculinities’ and treat that subject in such a thorough, generous and sympathetic manner. Maleeha Aslam’s Gender-based Explosions combines a detailed understanding of the motivations that lead men to join terrorist movements, the Islamic texts that are so often used to justify terrorist violence, and the feminist theory that has yet to find an appropriate foothold in much of the Muslim world. But it is her sensitive and probing interviews with Muslim men in Pakistan that separates this book from others. Aslam investigates the diverse ‘performativities’ of Muslim men, the ‘honor’ codes that drive some to commit grave violence, and the means – more and less legitimate – by which men seek to justify violent response based on external threats to their cultures, families and communities. But it is her trusting engagement with Pakistani men that both complicates stereotypes about who these men are and what actually motivates their action in the world, and portraits humane and nuanced faces to those who see ‘counter-terrorism’ as merely a strategy to pacify and/or nullify ‘the other’. While interrogating her own theoretical categories, Aslam reminds readers that a focus on how masculinities are constructed in the Muslim world can give us important clues on how to reach potential terrorists with new models for the Muslim man; but she also reminds us of the ways in which the policies of the non-Muslim world must dramatically shift to reduce incentives to violence among the men whose families and neighborhoods seem forever under siege.”

—Robert Zuber, Director, Global Action to Prevent War and Armed Conflict (UN Plaza) New York

About the Author

Maleeha Aslam is JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Peace and Security Programme at the United Nations University’s Institute for Sustainability and Peace), Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholar, and member of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge.

Part III: Pakistani masculinities and vulnerable social groups in the age of terror
Research setting: Contextualizing the pilot study on Pakistani masculinities
Self image, social expectations and pressures
Pakistani Muslim masculinities in the age of terror
Muslim masculinities, militant-jihadist Islamism and suicide terrorism
Islamism, terrorism and “the vulnerable” in society
Analysis of the pilot study

Conclusion

HIV/AIDS and the Security Sector in Africa

marc — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:35:49 +0000

Throughout recorded history, communicable diseases have devastated armies and weakened the capacity of state institutions to perform core security functions. The contemporary “securitization” of HIV/AIDS discourse is reminiscent of the age-old historical links of disease and security. This discourse has compelled many African countries to initiate policies aimed at addressing the impact of HIV/AIDS on their security sectors: the armed forces, police and prisons. These policies address a range of issues: the role of peacekeepers in the spread or control of HIV, public health (the need to control HIV) versus human rights (the right not to subject anybody to compulsory/ mandatory medical testing without his consent) dilemma, the gender dimensions of HIV in the armed forces, and the impact of HIV on the police and prisons.

HIV/AIDS and the Security Sector in Africa explores the dynamics of how the security sector of selected African states has responded, or is currently responding, to the complex and multi-faceted challenges of HIV/AIDS. The chapters are written by African practitioners including, in some cases, commissioned officers who are currently serving in the armed forces, medical officers and nurses working in the military, and African policy and academic experts. While this volume does not comprehensively address all aspects of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the security sector, the contributors nonetheless highlight the potentials and limits of existing HIV/AIDS policies in Africa’s security sector.

“This volume provides a forceful reminder of the considerable and ongoing impact of HIV on Africa’s security sector—and the impact of uniformed personnel on the epidemic.”
—Kent Buse, Senior Advisor to Executive Director, UNAIDS

“This book provides significant policy options for overcoming the devastation of HIV/AIDS in the security sector in Africa and beyond.”
—Rebecca Cook, Chair in International Human Rights Law, University of Toronto

“This book is a welcome addition to the often cited, but empirically thin, literature on the links between HIV/AIDS and security.”
—Kelley Lee, Director of Global Health, Simon Fraser University

“The book is without doubt a major contribution to the study of HIV/AIDS and the security sector in Africa.”
—Muna Ndulo, Professor of Law, Cornell University

“The book is a systematic study of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the military, peacekeeping forces, the police and correctional services.”
—Charles Ngwena, Professor of Law, University of the Free State

About the Editors

Obijiofor Aginam is Academic Officer and Head of Section for International Cooperation and Development in the United Nations University’s Institute for Sustainability and Peace, Tokyo, Japan. He is also Adjunct Research Professor of Law at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Martin R. Rupiya is currently Executive Director, African Public Policy and Research Institute (APPRI), Pretoria, South Africa. He was formerly manager of the Military and HIV/AIDS (MilAIDS) project, and Senior Researcher in the Defence Sector Programme at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Pretoria, South Africa.

HIV/AIDS and the South African National Defence Force: Anecdotal evidence from outside and within, Lindy Heinecken
Policy, security and outcomes: HIV/AIDS and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, Charles Bakahumura
The ECOWAS regional framework on HIV/AIDS and the military in West Africa, Ayodele Akenroye
HIV and the military: A Human Rights Impact Assessment of Nigeria’s Armed Forces HIV/AIDS Control Policy Guidelines, Babafemi Odunsi
Challenges to the regeneration of the armed forces: HIV/AIDS and its impact on the military life-cycle, Gerald Gwinji
A civil society perspective on the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force policy response to HIV/AIDS, Nathi Gumede

Part II: HIV/AIDS and peacekeeping in Africa

Culture and HIV/AIDS in African peacekeeping operations, Gwinyayi Albert Dzinesa
The African Union and the HIV/AIDS crisis: Harnessing alternative policy options, Olajide O. Akanji
The Zambia Defence Force: Considerations on peacekeeping and HIV/AIDS, Lawson F. Simapuka
A disorderly resolution of an organized conflict: The military dimension and the spread of HIV/AIDS in Sierra Leone, Olubowale Josiah Opeyemi

Part III: HIV/AIDS: Perspectives on the police and prisons

Policing against stigma and discrimination: HIV/AIDS in the Zambia Police Service, Charles M. Banda
HIV/AIDS in Cameroon: The policy response of the police, Polycarp Ngufor Forkum
Policy challenges on HIV/AIDS and prisons: Towards a southern African template, Martin R. Rupiya
HIV/AIDS among Cameroonian prison staff: Response to a deadly challenge, Tayou André Lucien

Part IV: HIV/AIDS: Gender and other emerging issues

HIV/AIDS and women in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces: A gender perspective, Getrude P. S. Mutasa
Rape and HIV/AIDS as weapons of war: Human rights and health issues in post-conflict societies, Obijiofor Aginam

The Hidden Alternative:Co-operative Values, Past, Present and Future

shinya — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:11:59 +0000

The proclamation by the United Nations that 2012 would be the International Year of Co-operatives represents a milestone in the history of the international co-operative movement. It reflects the growth and renewal of co-operatives globally during the past decade and a half, whether the focus is on financial co-operatives in Britain or producer co-operatives across Africa. Co-operatives have proved resilient in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008-9 compared to the investor led business and financial companies which have been found profoundly wanting, financially and morally. In the light of the recent global economic recession this publication seeks to challenge the hegemony of the investor led business model in economics and business studies, and needs to be promoted in relation to these debates.

The contributions to The Hidden Alternative demonstrate that co-operation offers a real and much needed alternative for the organisation of human economic and social affairs, one that should establish its place at the forefront of public and academic discussion and policy making.

The book includes chapters on education, fair trade, politics and governance, planning, and sustainability and on how co-operatives have coped with the global economic crisis. It will be attractive not only to students (undergraduate and postgraduate) and academics but to policy makers and co-operators, especially in the light of current political concerns to explore alternative models to the conventional public and private sectors.

About the Editors

Anthony Webster is Head of History in the School of Humanities and Social Science at Liverpool John Moores University. Alyson Brown is Reader in History in the Department of English and History at Edge Hill University. David Stewart is Senior Lecturer in History in the School of Education and Social Science at the University of Central Lancashire. John K. Walton is Ikerbasque Research Professor in the Department of Contemporary History at the University of the Basque Country, Bilbao. Linda Shaw is Vice Principal at The Co-operative College.

Introduction. Anthony Webster, Linda Shaw, David Stewart, John K. Walton and Alyson Brown
Co-operativism meets City Ethics: The 1997 Lanica take-over bid for CWS., John Wilson
Values and Vocation: Educating the Co-operative Workforce, 1918 – 1939, Keith Vernon
International Perspectives on Co-operative Education, Linda Shaw
Co-operative Education in Britain during the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries: Context, Identity and Learning, Tom Woodin
Beyond a Fair Price, Samantha Lacey
Negotiating Consumer and Producer Interests – A challenge for the Co-op and Fair Trade, Katarina Friberg
‘A Party within a Party’? The Co-operative Party-Labour Party Alliance and the Formation of the Social Democratic Party, 1974-81, David Stewart
The Creation of New Entities: Stakeholders and Shareholders in 19th century Italian Co- operatives, Patrizia Battlilani
Co-operatives and Nation-building in Post Apartheid South Africa: Contradictions and Challenges, Vishwas Satgar and Michelle Williams
Community, Individuality and Co-operation: The Centrality of Values, Ian MacPherson
An Alternative Co-operative Tradition: The Basque Co-operatives of Mondragón, Fernan do Molina and John K.Walton
‘A Co-operative of Intellectuals’: The Encounter between Co-operative Values and Urban Planning. An Italian Case Study, Marzia Maccaferri
Government to Governance: The Challenge of Co-operative Revival in India, L Vaswani
Minding the GAAP: Co-operative Responses to the Global Convergence of Accounting Standards and Practice, John Maddocks, Elizabeth Hicks, Alan Robb and Tom Webb
Resting on Laurels? Examining the Resilience of Co-operative Values in Times of Calm and Crisis, Jan Myers, John Maddocks and James Beecher
Shared Visions of Co-operation at a Time of Crisis: The Gung Ho Story in China’s Anti- Japanese Resistance, Ian Cook and Jenny Clegg
The Hidden Alternative: Conclusion, Ed Mayo

Satoyama–Satoumi Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes of Japan

marc — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 02:33:56 +0000

Satoyama is a Japanese term which describes mosaic landscapes of different types of ecosystem—secondary forests, farm lands, irrigation ponds and grasslands—along with human settlements managed to produce bundles of ecosystem services for human well-being. The concept of satoyama, long-standing traditions associated with land management practices that allow sustainable use of natural resources, has been extended to cover marine and coastal ecosystems—satoumi. These landscapes and seascapes have been rapidly changing and the ecosystem services they provide are under threat due to various social, economic, political and technological factors.

Satoyama–Satoumi Ecosystems and Human Well-Being presents the findings of the Japan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment (JSSA)—a study of the interaction between humans and satoyama–satoumi ecosystems in Japan and is written by the 200 plus authors, stakeholders and reviewers from Japan and elsewhere that make up the JSSA team. The study analyses changes which have occurred in satoyama–satoumi ecosystems over the last 50 years and identifies plausible future scenarios for the year 2050 taking into account various drivers such as government and economic policy, climate change, technology, and sociobehavioural responses. This provides a new approach to land-use planning that addresses not only economic development but also cultural values and ecological integrity. This book is a key reference text for development planners, postgraduate students, policymakers, scientists and others interested in the environment and development.

“This volume brings together an extraordinarily detailed evaluation of what has happened over the past half century to Japanese landscape mosaics, in the foothills and at the seashore, that are rich in physical, biological and cultural attributes and that have been managed as integrated systems in the past and that are now being abandoned. Using the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment conceptual framework, a strong case is made for the positive economic and non-economic values of the maintenance of these systems by new policies at the local as well as the national level.”

—Harold Mooney, Paul Achilles Professor of Environmental Biology, Stanford University

“Increasingly the health of our ecosystems holds the key to our human well-being. Satoyama and satoumi landscapes offer a practical illustration of the interaction between humans and nature, and are a very timely concept for the increasingly urbanized world. Extending lessons and experiences from the Japanese landscapes, this book will help government officials, diplomats, business and industries, academia, and civil society around the world make better decisions for a sustainable future.”

—A. H. Zakri, Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

“[Satoyama-Satoumi Ecosystems and Human Well-being] speaks to issues of local, national, and global relevance. In many ways, Satoyama and Satoumi landscapes represent a microcosm of Japan and, more broadly, of the challenges of envisioning sustainability in an interlinked world. The fascinating history of Satoyamas and Satoumis, brought to live in this timely assessment, offers a unique window to the transformation of Japanese society and environment during the last 50 years. This assessment offers an opportunity for readers to reflect on the Japan’s transforming relationship to the environment, its fast rate of urbanization, and the changing role of local knowledge in a period of intense inter-generational culture change. It will encourage readers to reflect more broadly on the multi-functional importance of rural and coastal landscapes to the future of urban areas, to food self-sufficiency and water security, and overall human well being.”

—Eduardo S. Brondizio, Professor and Chair, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University Bloomington.

“In my view, the Japan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment (JSSA) greatly elevates our understanding of how humans as an integrated part of nature may actively contribute to maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem functions in a production landscape. This assessment provides numerous examples of how humans interact with terrestrial-aquatic ecosystems (satoyama) and marine-coastal ecosystems (satoumi) in Japan over a period of 50 years and provide interesting scenarios for the future. I warmly recommend this assessment to anyone interested in a deeper understanding of a sustainable use and governance of ecosystems and building resilience in social-ecological systems.”

—Thomas Elmqvist, Professor, Department of Systems Ecology and Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University

“Satoyama landscapes account for approximately 60% of Ishikawa Prefecture’s land area. Satoyama and satoumi landscapes provide a valuable habitat for many creatures, where rich natural environment has been cultivated through people’s daily livelihoods. They also offer beautiful scenery and nurture local culture and traditions. This book provides scientific evidence that will help develop and act on the strategies needed to pass on our precious satoyama-satoumi heritage to future generations.”

—Masanori Tanimoto, Governor of Ishikawa, Japan.

About the Editors

Anantha Kumar Duraiappah is Executive Director of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP) and JSSA Science Assessment Panel Co-Chair. Koji Nakamura is Professor at Kanazawa University and JSSA Science Assessment Panel Co-Chair. Kazuhiko Takeuchi is Vice-Rector of the United Nations University and JSSA Board Co-Chair. Masataka Watanabe is Professor of Keio University and JSSA Board Co-Chair. Maiko Nishi is Scientific Assessment Coordinator at the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies and JSSA Coordinator.

The Japanese Satoyama and Satoumi Assessment: Objectives, focus and approach, Anantha Kumar Duraiappah and Koji Nakamura
Satoyama–satoumi and ecosystem services: A conceptual framework, Osamu Saito and Hideaki Shibata
What are the key drivers of change and current status of satoyama and satoumi? Toshiya Okuro, Takakazu Yumoto, Hiroyuki Matsuda and Naoki Hayashi
Why is change to satoyama and satoumi a concern? Takakazu Yumoto
What and how effective have been the main responses to address changes in satoyama and satoumi? Toshimori Takahashi
What are the futures of satoyama and satoumi? Shizuka Hashimoto
Conclusions, Kazuhiko Takeuchi, Masataka Watanabe and Maiko Nishi
Hokkaido cluster, Tetsuya Kondo and Taisuke Miyauchi
Tohoku cluster, Takaaki Koganezawa and Tohru Nakashizuka
Hokushinetsu cluster, Koji Nakamura and Shigeyuki Yamamoto
Kanto-Chubu cluster, Tatsuhiro Ohkubo and Satoru Sadohara
Western Japan cluster, Tomoya Akimichi and Yukihiro Morimoto
Western Japan cluster: Seto Inland Sea as satoumi, Osamu Matsuda

United Nations University » UNU Books

Defying Victimhood: Women and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding

Green Economy and Good Governance for Sustainable Development: Opportunities, Promises and Concerns

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Reconciling Enemy States in Europe and Asia

Business and Climate Policy: The Potentials and Pitfalls of Private Voluntary Programs

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Public Works and Social Protection in Southern Africa: Do Public Works Work for the Poor?

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Exorcising the Demons Within: Xenophobia, Violence and Statecraft in Contemporary South Africa

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Gender-Based Explosions: The Nexus between Muslim Masculinities, Jihadist Islamism and Terrorism

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HIV/AIDS and the Security Sector in Africa

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The Hidden Alternative:Co-operative Values, Past, Present and Future

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Satoyama–Satoumi Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes of Japan

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