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NTS Bulletin

NTS Bulletin March 2010 (Issue 1)
Issues:
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MAIN HIGHLIGHT

On 12 January 2010, Haiti was struck by a 7.0 earthquake killing between 200,000 to 250,000 people. The death toll was estimated to be the largest ever incurred in a single country as a percentage of population. Moreover, the Inter-American Development Bank estimated the damage caused by the earthquake at approximately USD 13.2 billion, making it the most destructive natural disaster in modern times. Then on 27 February 2010, Chile was hit by an 8.8 earthquake. As of 1 March 2010, the death count from the earthquake has been reported as 708 and is set to increase as more areas become accessible.

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HEALTH SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Latest Publications

This journal article looks at the different views of stakeholders on public health governance through conducting focus group discussions and interviews. The authors conclude that different governance arrangements and approaches to governance can influence health outcomes through their impact on commissioning strategies, public health practice and performance management regimes. Failure to address these issues will hamper the development of a stewardship role in local organisations and across a local public health system.

This article deals with access to HIV and malaria control programmes for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). The primary source of funding for malaria and HIV programmes for many countries is the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). The study conducted by the authors analyses the current HIV and malaria National Strategic Plans (NSPs) and Global Fund approved proposals from rounds 1–8 for countries in Africa hosting populations with refugees and/or IDPs to document their inclusion. The findings suggest that many countries exclude these groups from their funding proposals, thus failing to treat this as a public health imperative.

The 2004 outbreak of influenza A H5N1 and the WHO’s recommendation for national pandemic plans has led the Thai Ministry of Public Health to develop an influenza vaccination programme for high-risk adults. To date there is no available information to guide this intervention and on how to maximise the uptake of the vaccine by the Thai population. To address this knowledge gap, this study explores factors influencing urban-dwelling Thai adults’ decisions as to whether or not to have the vaccine. It explores their beliefs about influenza and influenza vaccination, and other influences on their decisions.

This article highlights the paucity of literature on the impact on health post-earthquake in China between 1906 and 2007. The review suggests that disaster mitigation policies need to reflect the needs not only of the disaster-related impacts on health but also of the ongoing health needs of the chronically ill, and to establish safeguards for the well-being of the vulnerable populations.

The Safe Drinking Water Alliance (SDWA) is an alliance of Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP), Population Services International (PSI), CARE USA, and Procter& Gamble (P&G) brought together by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Global Development Alliance (GDA) to  address some of the challenges created by lack of access to safe water.   In this joint study, the Alliance tested three marketing models to increase demand for water treatment and to identify P&G’s household water-based treatment product in each model. These models include a commercial marketing model in Pakistan, a social marketing model in Haiti, and an emergency relief model in Ethiopia.

This International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) report provides several examples of HIV programmed adapted by Red Cross societies to focus on needs of minority groups in Latin America and the Caribbean, and points out various factors that are not adequately addressed to reduce the impact of HIV in the region. According to the report, the HIV pandemic in the two regions is fuelled by a range of social and economic inequalities exacerbated by high levels of stigma, discrimination of highly vulnerable groups, and persistent gender inequality and homophobia.

The authors of this article deal with acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in the context of humanitarianism. Pointing out that ARIs have historically received little attention in the humanitarian sector, and that crisis due to armed conflict, forced displacement and natural disasters in fact increase vulnerabilities to such infections, the authors performed a systematic review to generate evidence on the burden of ARI in crises, and to inform prioritisation of relief interventions.

This study documents the coverage of The New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS, voluntary health insurance) and the Medical Financial Assistance (MFA, financial relief program), which were established in 2003 for rural China, and assesses their effectiveness on access to in-patient care and protection against financial catastrophe and household impoverishment due to health spending, and identifies the factors predicting impoverishment with and without these schemes.

Events & Announcements

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CLIMATE CHANGE ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY AND NATURAL DISASTERS

News & Commentaries

Latest Publications

This issue brief is one in a series that results from the second phase of a domestic adaptation research project conducted by US based think-tank Resources for the Future. As defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, adaptation includes a set of actions to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities in response to climate change. According to the brief, to date, little research has addressed public policy options to frame the United States’ approach to adapt to a changing climate. In light of scientific evidence of extreme and unpredictable climate change, prudent policy requires consideration of what to do if markets and people fail to anticipate these changes, or are constrained in their ability to react.

This briefing note focuses specifically on the treatment of adaptation in Copenhagen Accord – the most discussed outcome of the December 2009 Copenhagen climate change conference.
This briefing note focuses specifically on the treatment of adaptation in the Copenhagen Climate Change Accord, the outcome of the Copenhagen climate change conference in December 2009. The brief discusses issues such as funding, technology, response measures, infrastructure and differentiated vulnerabilities in the context of adaptation.   

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has released a factsheet titled ‘Climate Change: a development challenge’, which describes its work on climate change mitigation and adaptation. The note underscores that up to 35% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions result from agriculture and deforestation. Highlighting that the rural poor manage large areas of land and forest, it calls for carbon trading schemes to include mechanisms to compensate the rural poor, and for policymakers to incentivise carbon sequestration and soil and water conservation. The note also outlines IFAD’s efforts to streamline climate change adaptation and mitigation into its programmes. It includes information on a biogas project in China; a programme for developing mechanisms to Reward the Upland Poor of Asia for Environmental Services (RUPES); an adaptation project in Peru; and partnerships on climate change between IFAD and other international organisations.

This book explores the two-way link between climate change and the state of biodiversity in Southeast Asia. By drawing on the experiences and lessons shared by representatives from research and development agencies, academic institutions, donors and other organisations,  and the crosscutting issues contributed by experts, this book aims to provide insights, lessons, and perspectives on how Southeast Asia is dealing with these twin concerns.

This edited volume is a compilation of the revised versions of papers presented at an international workshop convened by the World Bank, covering the social dimensions of climate change. The volume includes discussions on the social and political implications of climate change, focusing attention on how changes in physical environment interact with socio-economic systems such as health, livelihoods and development, what the consequences of this would be for society and how best we can address them. 

The World Development Report 2010 looks at what climate change means for development policy, and explores how public policy can change to help people cope with risks, new or worsened, how land and water management must adapt to better protect natural environment while supporting a growing and more prosperous population, and how energy systems will need to be transformed.

The UNEP Year Book 2010 reports on new environmental science and recent developments in our changing environment. It looks at progress in environmental governance; the effects of continuing degradation and loss of the world’s ecosystems; impacts of climate change; how harmful substances and hazardous waste affect human health and the environment; environmentally related disasters and conflicts; and unsustainable use of resources. The chapters correspond to UNEP’s six thematic priorities.

Events & Announcements

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FOOD SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Latest Publications

By N. V. Fedoroff, D. S. Battisti, R. N. Beachy, P. J. M. Cooper, D. A. Fischhoff, C. N. Hodges, V. C. Knauf, D. Lobell, B. J. Mazur, D. Molden, M. P. Reynolds, P. C. Ronald, M. W. Rosegrant, P. A. Sanchez, A. Vonshak, and J. K. Zhu

Noting the implications of climate change for agriculture, this journal article looks at the acceptance and use of contemporary molecular techniques as well as the increasing development of farming systems that use saline water and nutrient flows as factors that will determine the ability of agriculture to meet this century’s growing demands for food, fibre and fuel whilst reducing the environmental impact of their production.

By M. Herrero, P. K. Thornton, A. M. Notenbaert, S. Wood, S. Msangi, H. A. Freeman, D. Bossio, J. Dixon, and M. Peters.

This journal article examines investments made in the agriculture sector in order to deliver sustainable food production. It argues that faced with population growth and climate change, small-holder farmers should be the first target for policies to intensify production by carefully managed inputs of fertiliser, water, and feed to minimise waste and environmental impact, supported by improved access to markets, new varieties, and technologies.

This brief provides updates on crops and food situation in various regions of the world.

This set of briefs considers how to increase the tools available to poor households to manage agricultural and health risks. The focus is on how to develop insurance markets, along with other financial instruments such as credit, savings, and social protection policies. The series does not document the proven impact of insurance markets for the welfare of poor people; rather, it brings together briefs written by businesspeople, policymakers, and researchers that document innovations, lessons learned, and areas of future work and action.

Using a livelihood framework, this paper synthesizes the pathways through which climate variability and change impact fisherfolk livelihoods at the household and community level. With mounting evidence of the impacts of climate variability and change on aquatic ecosystems, the resulting impacts on fisheries livelihoods are likely to be significant, but remain a neglected area in climate adaptation policy. In this paper, the authors identify current and potential adaptation strategies and explore the wider implications for local livelihoods, fisheries management and climate policies.

  • ‘State of Food and Agriculture 2009: Livestock in the Balance’, Food and Agriculture Organization, January 2010.

The State of Food and Agriculture, FAO’s annual flagship publication aims to provide science-based assessments of important and current issues in the food and agriculture debate. The report draws attention to the rapid expansion of the livestock sector – driven by population growth, urbanisation and rising affluence. It emphasizes the need for broader rural development policies and increased governance of the livestock sector, to ensure its impact on the environment is limited.

‘Towards Food Sovereignty’ is an online book with full colour photo illustrations and linked video and audio files. It describes the ecological basis of food and agriculture, the social and environmental costs of modern food systems, and the policy reversals needed to democratise food systems. The photos, video clips and audio recordings show farmers, pastoralists, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, food workers and consumers all working to promote food sovereignty – highlighting the importance of locally controlled and diverse food systems to sustain both people and nature.

This bookargues that our current global food system constitutes a massive violation of human rights. The author makes the case that the food security model for combating global hunger – driven by the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other organisations – is a failure, too dependent on trade and too reliant on international agribusiness. Instead, the emerging model of food sovereignty – helping local farmers and businesses produce better quality food – is the more effective and responsible approach. Through numerous case studies, the book examines critical issues of global trade and corporate monopolisation of the food industry, while examining the emerging social justice movements that seek to make food sovereignty the model for battling hunger.

Events & Announcements

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ENERGY SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Latest Publications

Pointing out the lack of analysis of energy indicators used for measuring the performance of economic systems overtime, the author attempts to determine and display new metrics which concern energy weakness, productivity and efficiency of countries supporting industrial organisation. Under a newly proposed theoretical framework, the author suggests using the following new metrics: 1) magnitude of energy weakness; and 2) GDP per barrel of oil that is an indicator of productivity concerning the input energy, and barrels of oil per capita that indicates energy efficiency. Using 27 member countries of the European Union as the sample, the author tests the validity of the proposed new metrics and derived results, which suggest the basic driving scientific information for rational decisions aimed at improving economic stability and ‘competitive advantage of nations’ over time. She also cautioned, however, that other factors which could affect the economic and energy processes of countries would have to be considered in order to improve on future research about energy indicators.      

The author re-examines the oil price spikes of the period 2003-2008, prior to the onset of the financial crisis. Using the oil price spikes of the 1970s and 1980s, he attempts to qualitatively analyse lessons from history with respect to typical features defining significant surges of the global oil prices. Comparing these three periods of oil price surge, the author found some differences that starkly distinguished the causes of the latest price spike from the ones in the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike the previous historical experiences, the oil price spike experienced in 2003–2008 was not brought about by any single event, but a combination of various circumstances. The author concludes that an interaction of fast demand growth, low level investments during the 1990s, tight refinery capacities, geopolitical uncertainty and a weak US dollar essentially acted together to drive the last oil price increase.     

Events & Announcements

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About the Centre:

The Centre for NTS Studiess, based in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, was inaugurated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan in May 2008. The Centre maintains research in the fields of Climate Change, Energy Security, Health Security, as well as Internal and Cross Border Conflict. It produces policy-relevant analyses aimed at furthering awareness and building capacity to address NTS issues and challenges in the Asia Pacific region and beyond. The Centre also provides a platform for scholars and policymakers within and outside Asia to discuss and analyse NTS issues in the region.

In 2009, the Centre was chosen by the MacArthur Foundation as a lead institution for the MacArthur Asia Security Initiative, to develop policy research capacity and recommend policies on the critical security challenges facing the Asia-Pacific.

The Centre is also a founding member and the Secretariat for the Consortium of Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies in Asia (NTS-Asia). More information on the Centre can be found at www.rsis.edu.sg/nts


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