Ecocertification of Ecuadorian Bananas: Prospects for Progressive North–South Linkages

Results of our 2003 survey of Ecuadorian banana producers’ farming practices indicate that firms engaged in labeling schemes generate lower environmental risks than uncertified firms. Certified firms exhibit relatively comprehensive environmental management systems, while noncertified farms exhibited limited, uneven, and unstructured adoption of best management practices. We explore the specific circumstances that differentiate the more environmentally friendly firms from their conventional counterparts, and we identify the sustainability pathways available to differently situated firms engaged in banana production. We find that small certified operations mobilize social capital to engage alternative markets and add value to their products, while large certified firms rely on financial backing of international organizations to modernize their operations. For both large and small firms producing bananas in Ecuador, the sustainability gains we observe are premised on mobilization of external resources from actors in the industrialized world. We demonstrate that improved environmental performance of commodity production cannot be attributed to local resources, local dynamics, and local institutions. Our analysis also points to the limits of export of sustainability from rich nations to developing nation firms. Only a fraction of the industry participates in certification programs, and large segments of the population of firms are likely to remain unattractive and inaccessible to external resource providers. In this context, it appears that the state must define and enforce minimum environmental standards to progressively raise performance.     

Different Approaches,Different Results in Small State Studies: Complementary Views on the Monarchy and Traditional Governance in Liechtenstein

The research note comments on W. Veenendaal's article “A Big Prince in a Tiny Realm: Smallness, Monarchy, and Political Legitimacy in the Principality of Liechtenstein”. It is argued, inter alia, that the phenomenon of “princely self‐restraint” should not be underestimated in Liechtenstein's constitutional reality. The character of the microstate's actual political system strongly depends on the individual personality of the Reigning Prince . A strong monarch who acts as a political actor with his own agenda should not be conceptualized as a neutral traditional leader. From the perspective of many citizens of Liechtenstein, the principality's political system is legitimate since it combines traditional authority and legal‐rational authority in a unique way. Largely due to the powerful role of the government, the microstate is characterized by consensus‐oriented hierarchical governance. Elite surveys can be seen as a useful instrument to overcome some of the methodological pitfalls of the elite interview approach.     

Weltkulturv?lkerrecht und nationalstaatliche Umsetzung

Die Turbulenzen, die der geplante Bau der sog. “Waldschl?sschenbrücke” in Dresden ausgel?st hat, haben inzwischen auch das lange Zeit als harmonisch betrachtete Verh?ltnis zwischen v?lkerrechtlichen übereinkommen zum Schutz von Kulturgütern und ihrem Schutz durch nationales Recht erreicht. Ihre Verbindlichkeit für die Praxis der beh?rdlichen Zulassungsentscheidungen steht dabei ebenso in Frage, wie Regelungstauglichkeit des deutschen Rechts. Im Folgenden wird der Gegenstandsbereich des Weltkulturv?lkerrechts umrissen (I.). Dabei wird auf die Welterbekonvention besonders eingegangen (II.). Ihre Umsetzung in Deutschland wird dargestellt (III.) und nach ihren Defiziten gefragt (IV.). Abschlie?end werden einige Schlussfolgerung zum ?nderungsbedarf entwickelt (V.).     

Die erforderlichen Abstände zwischen Betrieben nach der Störfall-Verordnung und Wohngebieten oder anderen schutzwürdigen Bereichen nach § 50 S. 1 BImSchG

In der Bundesrepublik gibt es rund 8000 Anlagen, die der so genannten Seveso-II-Richtlinie – Richtlinie zur Beherrschung der Gefahren bei schweren Unf?llen mit gef?hrlichen Stoffen (Seveso-II-RL) – und damit der nationalen St?rfall-Verordnung (St?rfallV) unterliegen. Davon liegen, insbesondere in dicht besiedelten Regionen, zahlreiche Anlagen in unmittelbarer N?he zu anderen Projekten, wie beispielsweise Flugh?fen oder Wohn- und Siedlungsgebieten. Inzwischen gibt es Empfehlungen für Abst?nde zwischen Anlagen nach der St?rfallV und Wohngebieten. Der Beitrag stellt dar, wann diese Abst?nde einzuhalten sind und ob diese Regelungen auf naturschutzfachlich schutzwürdige Bereiche übertragen werden k?nnen.     

幸运之轮转向中国

中国已成为金融危机和经济危机后最大的赢家。任何到访亚洲的人都会认识到,西方在金融和经济能力方面的声望严重受损,中国却名声大振。幸运之轮正在转向。由此立刻出现了三个问题:     

Law & bioethics: from values to violence.

The relationship of law of bioethics always complex, has shifted post 9/11. Instead of looking to law as protector of rights and liberties, the new bioethics approach, exemplified by the President's Council on Bioethics, deploys law as aggressor. Thus we see a call to get tough, to prohibit a range of biomedical practices, with the prospect of not only civil but criminal enforcement. Bioethicists face a grave choice, whether to embrace the use of state force to resolve bioethics debates.     

Determination of methadone in human hair by radioimmunoassay

The concentrations of methadone in human hair were measured. The washed hair was cut in 1-mm pieces approximately, then incubated overnight at 45 degrees C with 0.1 m HCl. The extracts were alcalized by 1 m NaOH and diluted by phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. The methadone concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay. The method is simple, rapid, and practicable for routine determination.