Global Governance

The time has come to unpackage the environment. In the three and a half decades since environmental problems first began to command public attention, they have moved from the periphery to stage center. No longer discussed only at gatherings of the converted, environmental issues are part of centrist political campaigns, the subject of major international conferences, a factor in trade negotiations and an element in the strategic plans of multinational corporations. While this attention has led to some notable successes, actions have fallen well short of needs.

What are the gaps in the analysis of environment, conflict, and cooperation (ECC) linkages, and how can applied research fill them? This chapter identifies ten methodological, analytical, and substantive opportunities for future research, and five areas in which focused analysis could bolster policymaking.

Alexander Carius and Geoffrey D. Dabelko analyze gaps in institutional responses to environment and conflict. They propose a dialogue on best practices and innovative institutional efforts that will help researchers and policymakers move beyond reacting to symptoms of environment and security linkages and towards learning from interventions that bolster confidence and cooperation rather than instability.

Marc Levy and Patrick Philippe Meier recommend that assessments and early warning systems integrate environmental variables more completely and effectively. The authors assert that the international system has little capacity to monitor and assess conflict and cooperation on environmental issues.

PECS News Issue 7 contents include:

Burning the Bridge to the 21st Century: The End of the Era of Integrated Conferences? - Frederick A.B. Meyerson

Report From Johannesburg: Wither Population, Environmental Change, and Security? - Geoff Dabelko

HIV/AIDS in the Ranks: Responding to AIDS in African Militaries (Event Summary)

The World’s Water: Crisis and Opportunity in the New Century with Peter Gleick (Event Summary)

An Integral Approach to Implementing Population-Environment Programs in the Andes Region of Peru - Besem Obenson

PECS News Issue 6 contents include:

The Road to Johannesburg: Setting the Agenda for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Event Summary)

Does Population Matter? New Research on Population Change and Economic Development (Event Summary)

U.S. Foreign Policy and Global Health: Addressing Issues of Humanitarian Aid and Political Instability (Event Summary)

Supporting Livelihood and Food Security in Coastal Philippine Communities through Population-Environment Programming - Robert Layng

Potential and unnecessary conflicts loom between the international trade rules in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the international environmental rules in the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). These two important bodies of international law have different objectives and have evolved separately, without regard to one another. They also operate in very different ways.

Multilateral trade negotiations that started two years ago in Doha stalled on September 14, 2003, in Cancun, Mexico. This impasse raises serious questions of whether or not trade can become an engine to boost development in the world’s poorest countries. Success in these negotiations is critical for the world’s least-developed countries. What is not understood is that successfully meeting the least-developed countries’ demands is also important to the United States and other developed countries.

Published in Johannesburg, South Africa in February, 2001

Contents:
-Forward by Steven Friedman
-"The Urban Impact", Mary Crewe and Karen Michael
-"The Role and Capacity of Local Government", Maria Elena Ducci and Sibongiseni Dhlomo
-"The Role of National Government in Supporting Local Government", Gugu Molloi and Samson James Opolot
-"The Way Forward", Cathy Mbeki, Rebecca Black and Shan Naidu
-Wrap-up, Earl Kessler
-Closing Remarks, Gilbert Khadiagala

Read more about this publication here.