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Challenge and Change: The Impact of International Intervention on Human Resource and
Organizational Capacity within Tuvalu NGOs
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Emma Tappin, Senior Lecturer
in Rural Affairs and Environment |
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Harper Adams University
College, Newport, Shropshire, UK |
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Abstract |
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The paper reports findings
from research on changes in the organisational capacity of non-governmental
organisations in Tuvalu, South Pacific, between 2000 and 2003.
The research is part of a 10 year study examining perceptions
of NGO workers in relation to activities aimed at increasing
individual and organisational capacities. |
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Tuvalu is a small island
state with a population of 11,000. The NGO sector is regarded
as key to mobilizing awareness in issues such as the environment
and health. Current international intervention in the form of
an EU funded capacity building programme aims to assist NGOs
in their development. |
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The research provides an
insight into the structure of, and changes in, the NGO sector
in Tuvalu. It examines issues of developing human resource capacity
within the NGO sector and the challenges facing umbrella bodies
engaging in such activities in small island settings. Interviews
(24) were conducted in 2000 and 2003 with NGO workers and government
officials. Data was gathered on the capacity levels of NGOs and
the impact of international intervention to increase capacity
over a two year period. |
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Patterns emerged of contrasting
perceptions of NGO and government employees. Whilst government
perception with respect to NGO activity has moved in a positive
direction, NGO self perception has made less progress in the
light of international intervention programmes. The reasons for
this differential will be considered alongside both the extent
to which greater self reliance is achieved through such intervention
programs in small island states and the role of an NGO umbrella
body in enabling this change. |
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South-South Cooperation For Island Peoples?
Integrating Civil Society for the Sustainable Cooperation of Small Island Developing States
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Liam Campling, PhD Student |
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Department of Development
Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University
of London, UK |
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Abstract |
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Drawing upon critical theory in the scholarly literature on International Relations,
the paper demonstrates that the contemporary emphases of the small island developing
state (SIDS) concept has evolved to reflect broader power relations in the international
political economy. Conceptualisations of SIDS have moved from an emphasis on
socio-economic development in the 1970s, to geopolitical security in the 1980s,
to economic and environmental vulnerability in the 1990s with the Barbados Programme
of Action, and to (it seems) the inclusion of a vulnerability to terror in the
2000s. Drawing upon these fluctuations in the SIDS concept, the next section
of the paper pro-offers both conceptual and policy-orientated (i.e. institutional)
critiques of the perceived contemporary vulnerabilities of SIDS. Following from
this it is argued that, despite the perceived force of the critics of the SIDS
concept, structural constraints to SIDS development remain, particularly in relation
to their permanent geographical isolation and concomitant extreme economic vulnerabilities. |
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The paper then provides historical and contemporary examples of other forms and
conceptions of South-South cooperation, drawing out their strengths and weaknesses.
Based upon this analysis, the paper assesses the strategic options open to the
SIDS interstate grouping in the contemporary international political economy.
It is argued that a genuine SIDS ‘common front’ is essential in creating
effective lobbying platforms in the international community and that only through
genuine tripartite cooperation can this be achieved in a sustainable, and thus
realistic, form. That is, there is a pressing need to create ongoing linkages
beyond intermittent state-level negotiations to include the creative inputs and
interests/concerns of island peoples. It is concluded that only through genuine
civil society ownership of the SIDS concept, can sustainable interstate collaboration
be achieved. |
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Migration and Conflict in Small Island Developing States
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Oliver Brown, (Programme
Coordinator) and Alec Crawford (Researcher) |
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International Institute
for Sustainable Development (IISD), Geneva, Switzerland |
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Abstract |
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The links between migration
and conflict are complex. Sometimes a cause and often a consequence
of conflict, migration has become a bitterly contentious issue
in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). National migration
in the Solomon Islands escalated tensions that led to outright
conflict while international migration in Fiji set the context
for three coups in thirteen years. At times two-thirds of the
Timor-Leste population was displaced by the Indonesian occupation. |
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The importance of migration
and remittances to SIDS’ economies was well established
by the work of Geoffrey Betram in the 1980s. Nevertheless,
developed nations have traditionally been unwilling to relax
immigration regulations to SIDS without prior colonial ties.
These immigration restrictions are imposed for cultural reasons
and to sustain domestic wages but they restrict remittances
to small island developing states. Notably, there is a strong
correlation between SIDS without access to migration and conflict. |
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This paper will suggest
that the lack of opportunities for migration in some small
island states has contributed to escalating tensions in the
form of large groups of under-employed, frustrated youth and
externally imposed limits on economic growth. In the wake of
9/11, donor countries have earmarked an increasing percentage
of their aid budgets to ‘security’; a move that
mirrors their growing concern over the spectre of state failure
in some SIDS. This paper will suggest that a powerful move
towards conflict avoidance would be for the OECD countries
to revisit their immigration policies in light of a migration-conflict
analysis. |
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Aiding or Abetting? Dilemmas of foreign aid and political instability in the Melanesian Pacific
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Oliver Brown, Programme
Coordinator |
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Trade, Aid and Security
Project, International Institute for Sustainable Development
(IISD), Geneva, Switzerland |
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Abstract |
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Since independence, the self-governing nations of Melanesia - Papua New Guinea,
the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu - have been the recipients of a steady
flow of foreign aid. Between 1995 and 1999 average per capita aid to Melanesia
was US$73, three times that to Sub-Saharan Africa and 35 times that received
by India. |
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Yet aid in Melanesia seems to be failing to achieve many of its goals. The Melanesian
countries are amongst the poorest in the Pacific. There is considerable inequality
of wealth and power, corruption is rife and governments often fail to provide
even basic services. Previously considered relatively secure, this group of countries
has become known as an ‘arc of instability’. |
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The causes of political
instability in Melanesia are complex. Many are rooted in colonial
history and include; ethnic fragmentation, a lack of national
identity, rapid population growth, land disputes, conflicts
over resources, limited employment opportunities, weak governments,
corruption and a limited capacity to provide basic services. |
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Aid is one more ingredient in this unpredictable mix. The aims of foreign aid
and stable democracies are the same: economic growth and rising living standards
that pull people out of poverty. Political instability and conflict are powerful
disruptors of that process. There is now a heated debate in both donor and recipient
countries about what role aid should play in the development of the Melanesian
Pacific. This paper investigates the impact of bilateral and multilateral foreign
aid on political stability; positive and negative, intended and unintended. |
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Multilevel Governance for Sustainable Development in Small Island States.
International, Regional and National Levels of Environmental Policy and their Integration.
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Nicholas Watts, Education
Advisor, Commonwealth Human Ecology Council and |
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Principal Lecturer, Department
of Applied Social Sciences, London Metropolitan University,
London, UK |
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Abstract |
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The paper will address
environmental policy capacity analysis and development in Caribbean
SIDS. First, the National Capacity Self-Assessments (NCSAs)
will be reviewed and compared for a small number of SIDS (Belize,
Cuba, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia), to evaluate national
capacity to implement the Multilateral Environment Agreements
(Climate Change, Biodiversity and Desertification) in domestic
environmental policy. Second, the role of Caribbean regional
bodies in the co-ordination of and capacity building for environmental
policy (both intergovernmental and non-governmental) will be
considered. Third, the analysis will focus on the position
and performance of SIDS in UN meetings, with particular reference
to the WSSD and the Barbados+10 PrepCom (April 2004). The aim
of the paper is to contribute to development of a methodology
for integrated analysis of domestic and foreign environmental
policy performance of SIDS, paying particular attention to
vulnerabilities, transaction costs, the meaning of 'small',
migration of key staff, similarities and differences in policy
styles and performance. The paper will draw on primary research
in Belize, Cuba and St Kitts and Nevis and at the two international
meetings, as well as a review of available NCSAs, following
approaches to national capacity assessment followed by Weidner
and Jaenicke (2002) and Swanson et al (2004) and to environmental
foreign policy capacity assessment by Steinberg (2002). Particular
attention will be paid to the integration of domestic and foreign
policy agendas for the environment (as, for example, in Integrated
Water Resource Management or the White Water to Blue Water
partnerships - WW2BW) and to the role of national and international
NGOs in setting national policy agendas. |
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International Cooperation for the Advancement of Science and Technology in SIDS-The Case of Mauritius
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Archana Bhaw-Luximon,
Lecturer |
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Department of Chemistry,
University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius |
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Abstract |
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The contributions of Small
Island Developing States (SIDS) to the world scientific
activity are low, mainly due to their small size, limited
financial resources, absence of well-defined policies
and qualified human resources. Indeed, there is a growing
need for capacity building, access to sound technologies,
financial support, assistance for technical training,
promotion of science and networking which can only be
achieved through international cooperation. Scientific
and technological emancipation will be beneficial to SIDS
in numerous sectors such as education, health, environment,
communication, management of biodiversity resources and
cultural heritage, monitoring climate changes and protection
of islands from environmental disasters. Moreover, it
has already been pointed out in the Barbados Programme
of Action that international cooperation will be a sine
qua non prerequisite in this matter. |
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Mauritius has during the
past 30-40 years introduced a number of policies regarding
Science and Technology. Implementation of these was, is
and will only be possible through international cooperation.
For instance in the educational sector, the rapid development
of the University of Mauritius with the help of many countries,
has given to us the capacity to tailor our human resources
according to the needs of our country in terms of Science
and Technology. The direct impacts can be seen with sustainable
development, capacity building, the creation of a knowledge
hub, modern health facilities and agriculture amongst
others. Mauritius has thus improved its standard of living.
Accordingly, the level of migration of skilled human resources
to developed countries has been lowered, which in turn
has alleviated the burden of importing high cost foreign
expertise. Thus, the advancement of any nation goes via
a sound policy for Science and Technology. SIDS however
require international cooperation to benefit from the
positive outcomes of Science and technology. |
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