Attention to Detail: The Conservative Policy Agenda

Since 2001 (if not since 1997) the Conservative party has struggled to develop a coherent set of policies with which to provide a credible alternative to the Blair government. A second successive crushing election defeat fuelled the ongoing debates in the Conservative party, between those who were convinced of the need to steer towards the centre ground, thereby reviving the Conservative's 'one nation' tradition, and those who wanted to place clear blue water between themselves and New Labour, and thus adhere to Thatcherite radicalism. The Conservatives have therefore appeared to struggle in developing clear, alternative policies on such issues as 'tax-and-spend' and public service reform and delivery. They have, however, inched hesitatingly towards a more socially liberal stance on various issues. A major problem for the Conservatives has been that the Blair governments have actually continued with, or consolidated, many policies inherited from the Conservatives in 1997, thereby making it even more difficult for the Conservatives to articulate their own distinct policy agenda. This is likely to contribute towards a third heavy defeat for the Conservative party in the next general election.     

Oil pollution and water conflicts in the riverine communities in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region: challenges for and elements of problem-solving strategies

ABSTRACT

In Nigeria’s Niger Delta, oil pollution has significantly harmed the natural environment on which the local people in the Niger Delta depend for their livelihood and sustenance. The direct consequence of oil pollution is that it has led to multidimensional and protracted conflicts in oil-bearing communities. Drawing on fieldwork data, this article examines the ways in which oil pollution harms water resources and fuels conflicts in the local communities. It explores the socio-economic dynamics of the conflicts and insecurity, and how they are aggravated by the ineffectiveness of the measures adopted by the state to manage the conflicts. It argues that the role of local actors in the ecological dislocation have been downplayed and not factored into the measures devised to tackle the intractable conflicts. This article demonstrates how the network of interactions among localised, national and globalised actors aggravate environmental pollution and the complex conflicts in local communities.     

Policy Stalemate and Policy Change in Israel's Water Sector 1970–2010: Advocacy Coalitions and Policy Narratives

This paper seeks to explain policy stalemates that persist despite recognition of their risks and damages, as well as the factors and processes that enable a breakthrough and lead to policy change. The paper seeks to fill a gap in the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) theory by supplementing it with Narrative Analysis (NA). We claim that NA provides a link missing in the ACF that is required for the transformation of “necessary” conditions—like external and internal shocks to the system—into “sufficient” conditions for policy persistence or change. We use the ACF to delineate coalition members and their belief systems and policy positions, as well as external, internal, and structural shocks to the system. We rely on NA to analyze the narratives employed in the public arena, which turn conditions necessary both for hurting stalemates and for policy change into sufficient conditions. We illustrate the benefits of combining the two approaches through a study of Israel's water policy during four decades (1970s–2000s) based on government records and on information from interviews with key players.     

Investigating Residential History Using Stable Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotopes of Human Hair and Drinking Water

The relationship between isotopic signals in human hair and geographic region has potential forensic applications for identifying unknown individuals' place of recent residence. This study analyzes δ²H and δ¹⁸O isotopes in residential tap water and bulk hair samples from 17 volunteers representing 12 locations in Ontario, Canada. There is a strong correlation (R² = 0.9) between δ²H and δ¹⁸O values of the water samples. In contrast, the δ²H and δ¹⁸O values of the hair samples are weakly correlated (R² = 0.3), and the greater variability in the data is linked to dietary factors. This study demonstrates that the δ²H and δ¹⁸O values of hair and drinking water can be used to help identify potential place of residence in forensic cases, particularly in relation to proximity to large bodies of water such as the Great Lakes, but interpretations are complicated by the contribution of both water and diet to δ²H and δ¹⁸O values in hair.     

跨界水的利用和保护应遵循的原则

当今世界水资源日益匮乏,而人类对水资源的需求与日俱增,各国、各地区和各利益团体围绕跨界水资源的争论日趋激烈,迄今未达成任何生效的关于跨国水域非航行利用的普遍性公约。跨界水资源的利用和保护问题已成为一个战略问题乃至政治问题。本文从现有的处理跨界水的国际条约、协定和规则出发,尝试提出国际上解决跨界水的利用和保护问题时应普遍遵循的几大原则,即公平合理原则、不造成重大损害原则、国际合作原则等,供有关方解决跨界水问题时参考。     

水面使用权的法律规制

水资源对人类的存在、发展有着积极的、不可或缺的作用,我国水资源分布南方多、北方少,在开发利用中,需水最急剧增加,供需矛盾日渐突出;水的利用率偏低,又因水源污染严重,加剧了缺水危机等,面对水资源有限和浪费的现状,设计合理的水市场成为重新配置水资源有效机制的必需,解决的途径是完善现行立法,合理规制水面使用权的取得、转让、终止及水面使用权人的权利与义务等内容,建立水权制度,进而揭示水面使用权保护机制对于我国民事立法所具有的创新意义.     

Fatal Drowning Accident and Undiagnosed Hydrocephalus

Abstract: Bodies found in water present several diagnostic challenges for the forensic examiner, such as the identification of the time and mechanism of death, the postmortem submersion time, and above all the circumstances of drowning. We report the case of a 33‐year‐old security guard found dead in Venice, in the water of the lagoon, who at autopsy presented a previously undiagnosed hydrocephalus with macrocephaly. The victim remained asymptomatic until 2 months before death and had never undergone a neurological or radiological examination. In the article, we emphasize the need to perform a thorough autopsy in all suspected drownings, discuss the etiopathogenesis of the neurological disease and hypothesize a possible relationship between the hydrocephalus and the drowning accident. Finally, we discuss the major clinical and forensic implications of macrocephaly and hydrocephalus in adults.     

构建南水北调中线工程水源区生态补偿机制

南水北调中线工程水源区担负着缓解我国北方水资源短缺和生态环境恶化、促进水资源整体优化配置的重大战略性任务,但目前面临着地方财政资金困难、当地经济发展受限、水源保护任务艰巨等急需解决的问题。建立生态补偿机制,提供法律和政策保证,适当运用公共财政手段和"水权有偿转让"等市场手段,内部补偿和外部补偿相结合构建双向"造血"机制,强化管理和监管,体现公平原则、维护水源区权益,以保证南水北调工程顺利实施。     

Water Service Provision and Peacebuilding in East Timor: Exploring the Socioecological Determinants for Sustaining Peace

This article presents an examination of post-conflict water resource management in East Timor through the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) with the aim of contributing to our understanding of the opportunities and challenges inherent to the sustainable management of water resources in post-conflict countries and of gaining insight into its potential long-term benefits for sustaining peace. The article contributes one of the first theory-centred, empirical analyses of post-conflict water resource management, in which the challenges and failures of UNTAET in East Timor shed light on the opportunities and risks inherent to post-conflict water service provision for peacebuilding.     

From extractivism towards buen vivir: mining policy as an indicator of a new development paradigm prioritising the environment

This article analyses mining policy as an indicator of a larger question: are some Third World governments starting to steer away from plunder ‘extractivism’ towards a paradigm that prioritises the environment? We begin with the cases of El Salvador and Costa Rica, which have major mining bans in place. We then present the results of our research in which we find five other countries with noteworthy mining-policy shifts: Panama, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand. A sixth country, Honduras under President Zelaya, stands as a recent historical case of how sensitive such a policy change can be. A key take-away from our article is that critical development scholars and practitioners need to look more closely at the mining sector – not simply to analyse case studies of specific mining protests and resistances to extractivism, although these are of course important. Rather, there is a need to investigate policy changes that just might be indications that the era of unquestioning extractivism has ended and that at least some governments are initiating policies to incorporate environmental externalities, policies that suggest a changing development paradigm in the direction of environmental – and concomitant social and economic – ‘well-being’ as envisioned in buen vivir.