Suchergebnisse

Despite more than twelve years of negotiations on the North Korean nuclear (weapons) program, no substantial progress has been achieved. Instead, positions became obdurate & were accompanied by implicit & explicit threats. The threat potential of the chronically unstable & erratic People's Republic, however, exceeds its immediate actions: The continuity of the conflict may spur indirectly other present or dormant tensions in the region as well, aside from potentially escalatory developments on the Korean Peninsula itself. Such an evolution has to be counteracted, whereby regional conflict prevention comes to the front due to limited influence on Pyongyang itself. References. Adapted from the source document.

A conference devoted to the relationship between scientific research & the practice of political advising in the field of international relations, organized by the Section of International Policy of the Deutsche Vereinigung fur Politische Wissenschaft ([DVPW] German Association of Political Science), & held in Berlin, 17-19 March 2005, is reported. The question whether there is an unbridgeable gap between the academia & field expertise in international relations was the dominant theme of the meeting. Participants addressed the issue whether there are structural boundaries between the two, as political science theoreticians & professional political advisers follow their own logic & engage in different language games. Questions of professional ethics in political advising, the collaboration between theoreticians & practitioners in designing grand strategies for foreign policy, & the issue of revolving doors were also discussed, with comparative references made to the situation in Germany & the US. It is concluded that political science & practicing political advisors can mutually benefit from each other on the condition that university research becomes more sensitive to the needs & language games of practitioners, while the latter are more aware of the theoretical foundations & resources on which their advisory profession draws. A list of contributions, & their authors, is included. References. Z. Dubiel

This article investigates the integration of smallholders into voluntary certification schemes, exemplified by smallholder certification under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia (RSPO). It identifies the main barriers to the adoption of standards by smallholders and the specific compliance challenge in the context of RSPO smallholder certification, thereby contributing to the growing literature on the effectiveness of voluntary sustainability standards. It discusses findings on smallholder certification, focusing on antecedent variables as potential adoption determinants at the level of smallholders, smallholder organization, and the institutional context. The empirical findings suggest that smallholders, and specifically independent smallholders, often lack both the information and the degree of organization that certification demands. The article also identifies the most important compliance challenges for independent smallholders in relation to land titles, seedlings, pesticide usage, fertilization, and documentation and outlines how smallholders can be supported so that they can be included in certification schemes.

Palm oil production is currently the focus of much contentious debate. On the one hand, palm oil production has a substantial, positive (socio-) economic impact in countries which produce it, like Indonesia, and is a powerful engine of rural development. On the other hand, palm oil production has a severe negative impact regarding ecological and social sustainability. This is due above all to its large carbon footprint, reduced biodiversity, and its potential for triggering land rights conflicts. The growing world demand for and rising production of palm oil underlines the relevance of sustainability questions in this regard. Sustainability concerns have spurred numerous efforts to introduce standards and certification schemes for sustainable palm oil production. In Indonesia, two of these standards are particularly relevant: ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) and RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). This Briefing Paper focuses on the question of whether sustainability standards like RSPO can represent an effective tool for minimising the negative ecological impact of palm oil cultivation. We argue that this depends on a number of factors, including: (i) the inclusion of smallholders as a highly important group of producers in the Indonesian palm oil industry, (ii) the strictness of the standard's Principles and Criteria (P&C), (iii) their adequate implementation and control, (iv) a suitable political and economic framework for smallholder certification, especially regarding good governance and domestic and international demand for certified, sustainable palm oil (CSPO). Against this background, practical steps to enhance the effectiveness of sustainability standards include: Supporting smallholder certification projects with a strong ecological component Balancing a trade-off between strict and easy- toreach standards Balancing a trade-off between socioeconomic and ecological goals Choosing reputable certification bodies and reliable project partners Increasing incentives and/or outside pressure to stay certified Improving the coherence of land use planning, laws and regulations Fighting corruption and strengthening law enforcement