godaddy analytics
Print this page  Bookmark and Share  NTS Bulletin July 2011 (Issue 1)   |   Read:   |   Join our mailing list 
Email not displaying correctly? Click here to view it in your browser.
NTS Bulletin

NTS Bulletin July 2011 (Issue 1)

Click here for the PDF version.

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.

Click here to register for the first International Conference on Asian Food Security 2011 (ICAFS).

MacArthur
Asia Security Initiative Blog
Click here for updates!

MAIN HIGHLIGHT

The Controversial Three Gorges Dam

China’s provinces along the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River have experienced extreme weather conditions in the past few months. In April and May, Hubei, Hunan, Anhui and Jiangxi were hit by a severe drought which led the water level of lakes connected to the river to drop to a record low. However, since the beginning of June, these provinces together with other southern provinces, have witnessed excessive precipitation which caused flash floods.

Some people attribute the occurrence of extreme weather to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River – the largest hydropower project in the world. The project cost over USD23 billion, and has a total installed capacity of 18,200 megawatts (MW) and an annual generation capacity of 84.7 billion kilowatt hours (kWh).

The government of China has high expectations of the dam; the project will help meet the country’s ever growing energy demands and control flooding in the Yangtze valley. However, from the time the project was envisioned decades ago, it has been controversial.

Experts opposed to the dam argue that the artificial retention and release of water would disrupt the natural water cycle and replenishment in the lower parts of the Yangtze River, causing environmental pollution, soil erosion, landslide, flood and droughts. In addition to environmental and geologic impacts, the project has also caused social tensions, due to factors such as the displacement of indigenous communities and the submergence of archaeological sites. The recent admission by the government that some pressing problems are associated with the dam, and appropriate resolutions are urgently needed, seems to affirm these concerns.

In response to the deepening and widening criticism over its negative impacts, the operator of the dam – China Three Gorges Corporation – released a social responsibility report to defend the project. It claims that the dam is hugely beneficial to the country, providing clean energy, controlling floods, creating employment and alleviating poverty.

The Three Gorges Dam has surely benefited China in multiple ways. However, it is also important to consider whether the pursuit of clean energy and economic benefits outweighs the costs of such artificial manipulation of nature and how the negative impacts can be mitigated and reversed.

Additional Info:

^ To the top

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY AND NATURAL DISASTERS

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

This policy brief explores the nexus of climate-related disasters and development. It takes stock of the needs and capabilities of the humanitarian community and assesses the types of climate-related information products that may help inform decision-making processes. The document identifies the data and research requirements necessary to improve the use of climate information for disaster preparedness and response.

This paper assesses the vulnerability of various electricity generation options – for example, fossil fuel, nuclear power, hydropower and renewable energy – to changes in disaster risks, and addresses the implications for energy policy and planning. The paper suggests that there is a need to improve the linkages between energy, climate and disasters ministries. Also, climate change adaptation strategies must take into account risks related to electricity generation.

This brief examines how the different experiences of men and women, as well as younger and older people, inform new ways to improve livelihoods and encourage sustainable development. It presents the results of a study which explores how to ensure that gender and generation are addressed more consistently.

Events & Announcements

^ To the top

ENERGY AND HUMAN SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

In view of China’s surging energy consumption and the consequent increase in greenhouse gas emissions, understanding the country’s energy data is important for the global effort to curb climate change. However, China’s official energy data have been criticised as unreliable. The government should thus improve its data collection and analysis. International institutions can contribute by interpreting the data, and disseminating it to the public.

This article examines China’s effort to improve energy governance by focusing on three areas – global energy security, resource governance in host countries, and climate change. China has increased cooperation with other countries and international institutions in relation to the above-mentioned areas.

Events & Announcements

^ To the top

FOOD SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

This article contends that food waste should be reduced across the food supply chain, as this would improve food availability, thus moderating the amount of increase in food production that is needed to meet growing food demand. It argues that inefficiencies across the supply chain result in significant food losses, and examines the differences between developing and developed countries with respect to how food waste or loss occurs.

This article explores the intersection between food security and health issues in the Asia-Pacific by highlighting health problems stemming from the challenge of maintaining adequate levels of food across different populations living in diverse conditions. The authors argue that shortcomings in food access still plague many areas in the region, creating pervasive and wide-ranging problems for public health.

This article argues that food systems have evolved in response to changes in food demands, and the growing interlinkages that define both global and regional economies. Emerging issues include nutrition-related diseases, food safety and genetically modified (GM) foods. This article examines these trends and their potential health implications.

This paper examines acquisitions of land in the Philippines by foreign investors, arguing that food security should be couched in terms of protecting vulnerable populations from the structural violence of involuntary hunger (rather than in economic terms of supply, demand and competition). By defining food security thus, it becomes clear that such land deals are more likely to worsen, rather than improve, the situation of the Filipino rural poor.

This article argues that, given the expected scale and pace of migration to urban areas in the coming years, food insecurity will become a major challenge. Supplying urban centres with sufficient and affordable food will put enormous strain on the food supply and distribution chain. The authors suggest that urban and peri-urban agriculture could contribute towards resilience in the face of potential food shortages or price spikes.

Events & Announcements

^ To the top

HEALTH AND HUMAN SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

This article argues that the effectiveness of risk communication during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic was determined not only by the information relayed to the public, but more so by the socio-cultural context in which this information is conveyed. Risk and communication are argued to be socially mediated cultural products and not objective facts. Due to perceptions of risk being socially constructed, oftentimes overly cautious approaches to risk during a crisis situation are adopted, resulting in serious cost implications for both governments and societies.

This article discusses the Joint Action and Learning Initiative on National and Global Responsibilities for Health (JALI). It suggests that the JALI needs to take advantage of broad partnerships and inclusive consultation processes in order to clarify the health services to which everyone is entitled under the right to health; the national and global responsibilities for securing this right; and global governance structures for realising those responsibilities and closing major health inequities.

This article examines government responses to epidemics using an analytical framework that treats epidemics as political processes divided into four phases: pre-political, announcement, mitigation and rebuilding. The framework is applied to Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The analysis suggests that global health governance should not ignore politics at the national level and the redistributive impact of epidemics originating from, or transmissible through, livestock.

This article examines how migration influences the health of individuals and populations. It argues that population mobility is wholly compatible with health-promoting strategies for migrants if decision-makers make an effort to coordinate across borders and policy sectors. Finally, it suggests that, to protect migrant and public health, health interventions need to occur at all phases of the migration process, from pre-departure, to travel, destination, interception and return.

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.


Copyright © 2011 NTS-Centre | Share this Publication | Unsubscribe