Conservation and modern information technologies: The global register of migratory species (GROMS)

Abstract

The present paper reviews the state of knowledge of migratory species protected under the Bonn Convention (Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals) and presents first results from the “Global Register of Migratory Species” (GROMS). GROMS summarises our knowledge on migratory species within one relational database in combination with a geographical information system (GIS). GROMS will reveal information deficiencies, support the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, and contribute to the Clearinghouse Mechanism under the Convention on Biological Diversity. At present, GROMS contains 412 species distribution maps in GIS format. As an initial example of the potential of GIS‐analysis, GIS‐maps of birds and mammals were intersected with administrative borders, and the number of species was calculated for each province. The resulting map shows a high diversity in temperate regions, which is in contrast to maps that usually show most “biodiversity hotspots” to be in the tropics. Consequences for conservation policies are discussed and future prospects for GIS analysis are outlined.     

Inheritance Law Reform,Empowerment, and Human Capital Accumulation: Second-Generation Effects from India

Although many studies point towards significant positive impacts of Hindu Succession Act (HSA) reforms on females’ empowerment and access to human and physical capital, the fact that this reform also led to increased female mortality raises questions about long-term sustainability of reform effects. We use evidence from three states, one of which amended the HSA in 1994, to assess first- and second-generation effects of this reform using a triple-difference strategy. First-generation effects include greater likelihood of completing primary education, more assets brought into marriage, improved access to bank accounts, a lower share of female births, and higher female survival rates. Second-generation effects on education, time use, and health are robust and point estimates of education are larger than first-generation ones even after mothers’ endowments are controlled for, pointing to a sizeable and sustained empowerment effect.     

Has-Been,Wannabe, or Leader: Europe’s Role in the World After the 2003 European Security Strategy

In December 2003, the European Union presented its “security strategy”, endorsed by all member states, to provide guidance for Europe’s common foreign security and defense policy. In substance, this document is not an expression of a growing strategic rift between Europe and the United States. One of the purposes it serves, however, is defining Europe’s own, separate “identity”. It reflects the increasing awareness that Europeans need to employ their power more effectively in the service of international peace and security, as much as politically possible. Disagreements on key issues remain in Europe, however, and the practical implications of the security strategy still need to be worked out.     

Swiss corporatism in comparative perspective

Compared with the trajectories of corporatism in other Western European countries, Swiss social partnership is remarkably stable. How can this be explained? In this article Swiss corporatism is hypothesised to share many of the important facilitating and sustaining circumstances, institutions and traditions of European corporatism. On the other hand, it is different with regard to the major challenges facing corporatist interest intermediation. These challenges are still missing, to a large extent, in Switzerland.     

Propheten der Finanzmärkte

Financial markets are marked by considerable uncertainty. Actors in financial markets are nevertheless constantly forced to make decisions. This article pursues the question of how they cope with this problem of decision-making. Based on a critical discussion of the concept of ?expectations of expectations“, Max Weber’s concept of charisma is introduced to gain a better understanding of the influence of ?stock market prophets“ on investment decisions and to explain such influence as a social process.     

Reviews

In recent years, urban community studies in China have been taking a closer look at neighbourhood space. Many researchers have examined neighbourhood using a state-society approach. This article argues that the fragmented state structure and the diversified society have led to calls for a different view of state and society. Based on the empirical studies in Shanghai, this article attempts to uncover the limitations of the state-society paradigm in exploring the transformation of urban grassroots, and suggests understanding the increasingly fragmented grassroots from examining different actors who are embedded in a specific neighbourhood space and vary in their interests and goals.     

South Africa,the South Atlantic and the international politics of Antarctica

Existing analyses of South African foreign policy have neglected the geopolitical and legal dimensions of the Antarctic and South Atlantic. Emphasis will be placed on three aspects ‐ South Africa and the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS); the ongoing debates about a South Atlantic security pact in the 1960s and 1970s and the international condemnation of South Africa by the Developing World in the 1980s. The article concludes with a examination of future prospects for the only African country involved in the polar continent.