Email not displaying correctly? Click here to view it in your browser.

NTS Bulletin April 2011 (Issue 1)

Issues:

Note: Please click on the respective titles or headers for the full report.

Disclaimer: All links and news reports are correct at the time of publication.

MacArthur
Asia Security Initiative Blog
Click here for updates!

MAIN HIGHLIGHT

Lessons from the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

On the 11th of March, Japan was hit by one of the most severe earthquakes in recorded history. The earthquake, and the tsunami that followed it, led to thousands of deaths and tremendous infrastructure losses. At the same time, however, the impact of the disaster on Japan (relative to the impacts of disasters on other countries) demonstrated that the best defence against the forces of nature is sound economic and technological progress combined with strong community values. A much weaker earthquake in 2010 in Haiti led to many more deaths and a near complete annihilation of the country’s infrastructure. Japan’s advanced level of development has been made possible, partially at least, by Japan’s access to large quantities of energy, much of which comes from nuclear power plants.

Given the global need for energy to support development, the disaster – and the damage it caused to Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant – offers at least two lessons on nuclear power. The first lesson is that nuclear power remains a surprisingly safe source of energy. In Japan, a poorly designed old plant with arguably inadequate safety measures was hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami. Yet, no one has died as result of radiation. At the same time, at least 14 people have died indirectly, due to the fear of radiation leading to hospitals being ordered to evacuate their elderly patients. While evacuation efforts in Japan have mostly been based on rational considerations, the fear has spread far beyond both Japanese territory and reason. That leads to the second lesson, which is that the disaster has proven that many remain very afraid of everything that has anything to do with nuclear power and radiation. It is this phobia, and not the actual threat, that sustains renewed debates about nuclear energy in places so distant from Japan as Poland or Germany.

Additional Info:

Durodie, Bill, ‘Disaster Hacks Should Stick to the Facts’, Today, 18 March 2011.

Fogarty, Philippa, ‘How Japan Tackles Its Quake Challenge’, BBC, 11 March 2011.

Kelly, Jon, ‘The Fear of Nuclear’, BBC, 15 March 2011.

Lyons, Rob, ‘Five Lessons from Fukushima’, spiked, 16 March 2011.

Monbiot, George, ‘Why Fukushima Made Me Stop Worrying and Love Nuclear Power’, Guardian, 21 March 2011.

Pile, Ben, ‘Making Mountains Out of Meltdowns’, spiked, 14 March 2011.

^ To the top

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY AND NATURAL DISASTERS

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

Vivekananda, Janani, 2010, Climate Change, Governance and Fragility: Rethinking Adaptation – Lessons from Nepal, Brussels: Initiative for Peacebuilding / International Alert.

This paper provides reflective analyses on the impacts of climate change that challenge local community resilience in eastern Nepal. It not only highlights the complexities of the perceptions and realities related to climate change, but also suggests that there is a need to rethink the process of building resilience and climate adaptation in politically unstable societies.

Alexander, Kim S., Anthony Ryan and Thomas G. Measham, 2011, Managed Retreat of Coastal Communities: Understanding Responses to Projected Sea Level Rise, Working Paper Series 2010-06, Canberra: CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences.

Climate adaptation literature highlights three options – accommodation, protection and retreat. This paper focuses on the attitudes of coastal communities towards the retreat option. With the risk of sea level rise, retreat is argued to be a viable option and the most cost-effective approach. An interesting point is that the findings suggest the need for public debate on how to respond to sea level rise as well as develop an optimal, socially acceptable and morally appropriate response.

Brown, Jessica and Leo Peskett, 2011, Climate Finance in Indonesia: Lessons for the Future of Public Finance for Climate Change Mitigation, Working Paper No. 11, Bonn: Overseas Development Institute.

This paper highlights the development of climate finance in Indonesia and presents some lessons drawn from examining international financial aid to climate change programmes at the national level. It emphasises that aid effectiveness will depend on understanding the different financing needs and recognising issues such as coordination and competition between climate initiatives.

Bodansky, Daniel, 2011, A Tale of Two Architectures: The Once and Future U.N. Climate Change Regime, Working Paper, Arizona: Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

This paper sheds light on two approaches to the implementation of climate change policies. It compares top-down and bottom-up approaches, and examines the implications of these approaches for defining a way forward for the UN in governing the climate change regime.

Events & Announcements

^ To the top

ENERGY AND HUMAN SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

Yoshimatsu, Hidetaka, 2011, Sino-Japanese Relations and Cooperative Institutions in Energy, Working Paper Series Vol. 2011-07, Kitakyushu: The International Centre for the Study of East Asian Development.

This paper examines Sino-Japanese relations in the energy sector. It argues that the dynamics of this bilateral relationship has promoted institutional developments in the region. These developments are the result of, in particular, both countries perceiving that increased cooperation through regional and bilateral institutions benefits their economic development, in the light of surging energy demand in East Asia.

Ramakrishna, Seeram, 2011, ‘Singapore’s Perspective on Energy and Future Cities’, in Takeshi Yao (ed.) Zero-Carbon Energy Kyoto 2010, Green Energy and Technology, Tokyo: Springer Japan.

Given Singapore’s lack of natural resources and high dependency on fossil fuels, this paper argues that improving energy efficiency and utilising clean energy are the only feasible options for the country. In addition, it suggests that Singapore’s geographic location makes solar energy a possible primary energy source.

Events & Announcements

^ To the top

FOOD SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2011, The State of Food and Agriculture – Women in Agriculture: Closing the Gender Gap for Development, Rome.

This report highlights the need to address gender issues in agriculture and rural employment. It provides evidence of gender gaps present in the sector and argues that there are significant potential gains which could be achieved if those gaps are closed. It analyses evidence from countries with gender and development policies and offers insights on proven means of promoting gender equality and empowering women.

International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), 2011, ‘Bread and Protests: The Return of High Food Prices’, IISS Strategic Comments, Vol. 17, No. 9.

This commentary examines the link between rising food prices and the Arab uprisings. While food price is just one of the factors contributing to the unrest in the Middle East, in the global context, rising commodity prices are a major concern. The article examines various reasons for the structural shifts in the trade, production, supply and consumption of food, and their impacts on food prices.

Mathur, Arpita, 2011, ‘Women and Food Security: A Comparison of South Asia and Southeast Asia’, MacArthur Asia Security Initiative Policy Series No. 12, Singapore: RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies.

In this paper, it is argued that women are susceptible to food insecurity despite being primary actors in the food chain. The paper explores the reasons for such vulnerability and the consequences on women and children, through a comparative analysis of South Asia and Southeast Asia. The analysis suggests that the overall situation in South Asia is worse than Southeast Asia.

Events & Announcements

^ To the top

HEALTH AND HUMAN SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

Parry, Jane and Cui Weiyuan, 2011, ‘Looming Dementia Epidemic in Asia’, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Vol. 89, pp. 166–7.

In this article, the authors examine the rise of dementia cases in Asia, noting that the disease is beginning to receive greater regional recognition. It is argued that greater grassroots-level responses have contributed significantly to raising the profile of dementia and to alerting governments on the importance of programmes and schemes to support dementia sufferers and their families.

Wu, Zunyou, Yu Wang, Yurong Mao et al., 2011, ‘The Integration of Multiple HIV/AIDS Projects into a Coordinated National Programme in China’, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Vol. 89, pp. 227–33.

This article discusses the increasing number of HIV/AIDS cases in China and the various problems associated with foreign HIV/AIDS projects, such as coordination, integration, data management and resource allocation. The authors identify and assess the successes of six platforms that have been integrated into a national programme: surveillance, laboratory networks, primary prevention, free training programmes, testing and counselling, and case management.

Viergever, Roderik F., 2011, ‘Aid Alignment for Global Health Research: The Role of HIROs’, Health Research Policy and Systems, Vol. 9, No. 12, pp. 1–9.

This article argues that the best way to align financial flows for global health research with public health priorities is via collaborative groups of health research funders. To achieve this goal, the author suggests greater involvement, engagement and proactive effort from the heads of international research organisations (HIROs). Given the enormous potential of this group to help bridge the gap between global health research needs and investments into such research, greater transparency on the objectives and current work of HIROs would be needed.

Events & Announcements

^ To the top

Terms of Use:

You are free to publish this material in its entirety or only in part in your newspapers, wire services, internet-based information networks and newsletters and you may use the information in your radio-TV discussions or as a basis for discussion in different fora, provided full credit is given to the author(s) and the Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). Kindly inform the publisher (NTS_Centre@ntu.edu.sg) and provide details of when and where the publication was used.

About the Centre:

The Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies of 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 Food Security, 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.