“A Legacy for the People:” The Columbia Basin Trust as Model for the Angat River Basin?
Memo #287 By Brett Dimond – brett.dimond [at] gmail.com The issue of centralized control over water resources has not always been confined to developing countries. In 1964, Canada and the United States ratified the Columbia River Treaty, whose primary purpose was to coordinate the operation of the river for flood control and hydropower generation. Little […]
Thirsty Cities, Dying Rivers, Uncertain Futures: A Tale Too Often Told
Memo #286 By Brett Dimond – brett.dimond [at] gmail.com A central principle for the good governance of common-pool resources is to match allocation and provision rules. In other words, those who appropriate a resource must do so in a way that is viewed by those involved as legitimate. In the Philippines, the Constitution declares water […]
The Rohingya, Ethnic Minorities, and Myanmar’s Enduring Dilemma
Memo #285 By Kazi Fahmida Farzana – fahmida [at] uum.edu.my Will Myanmar’s Political Transition be able to Solve the Lingering Nationality Question of its Ethnic Minorities? Myanmar in recent years has been experiencing substantive political changes in its political system with implications for its domestic policies and international relations. Since its November 2010 national elections, […]
Who Will Indonesia’s “Homeless” Voters Support?
Memo #282 By Nathan Allen – n.allen [at] alumni.ubc.ca Indonesian voters will face significantly fewer choices in the upcoming 2014 legislative election. Where 38 parties competed in 2009, only 12 will appear on the ballot in 2014. For 16% of the electorate, their preferred party in 2009 will no longer be an option. To put […]
Japan’s Economy & Trade (A Video Interview with Watanabe Yorizumi)
Memo #280 Featuring Watanabe Yorizumi Last month the Asia Pacific Memo sat down with Watanabe Yorizumi, since 2005 a member of the Faculty of Policy Management at the Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University. Professor Watanabe came to his academic career with a distinguished diplomatic background, having served several appointments in Japan’s foreign service, […]
Dealing with the Resource Curse in Myanmar: UN Global Compact and Institutional Capacity
Memo #276 By Yves Tiberghien – yves.tiberghien [at] ubc.ca Since it began its gradual opening and domestic process of change, Myanmar has become a great target of opportunity for a myriad of foreign players, especially global investors interested in its vast energy potential and other resources. The challenge for the country is how to turn […]
At the Frontier of the Middle Income Trap: Remarkable Parallels between India’s and Indonesia’s Elections
Memo #274 By Yves Tiberghien – yves.tiberghien [at] ubc.ca India and Indonesia are both facing crucial elections this year: May for India and July for Indonesia (April for parliament). Although contexts are different and their ties are rarely explored, they face remarkably similar economic issues. Both are seen as successful emerging powers of the 2000s […]
Electoral Politics in Cambodia: A Challenge to Hun Sen?
Memo #269 By D. Gordon Longmuir – dglongmuir [at] gmail.com Cambodia has a liberal democratic constitution that provides for modern institutions and freely elected governments. But to challenge authority has never been a feature of Cambodia’s civic culture. The elections of July 2013 were the fifth since those mounted by the United Nations Transitional Authority […]
Intangible but not Insignificant: The Importance of Safeguarding Cultural Heritage
Memo #264 By Sharon Lim – sharon.lim [at] alumni.ubc.ca In 2010, Old Places was the highest-rated documentary on Singaporean television. This speaks to the appeal of Royston Tan’s documentary—structured around the reminiscences of ordinary Singaporeans, with on-screen images of places and material objects that they feel are slowly disappearing from the Singaporean cityscape. Narrators share […]
Migrant Labour in Asia: Singapore’s Recent Riot
Memo #260 By Wajihah Hamid – wajihah.hamid [at] gmail.com Riot, angry mob? Surely unheard of in Singapore? But on Sunday, December 8, 2013, a fatal traffic accident involving a migrant worker in Singapore’s Little India sparked an angry reaction from the area’s low-waged migrant workers that morphed into a riot. Temporary labour migration is the […]