Decentralized Governance and Local Leadership in Urbanizing Asia
Memo #255 By Michelle Ann Miller – arimam [at] nus.edu.sg and Tim Bunnell – geotgb [at] nus.edu.sg The trend toward decentralized governance in twenty-first century urbanizing Asia has ushered in a critical role for local leadership. With around 1.5 billion people currently living in its urban areas, Asia is home to more than half of […]
Post-Typhoon Haiyan: Challenges and Opportunities for the Philippines (part 2 of 2)
Memo #252 (See Part 1 of this Memo) By Leonora C. Angeles – nora.angeles [at] ubc.ca In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, even as climate justice advocates raise concerns in regional and international arenas, post-disaster reconstruction and long-term recovery challenges confront Philippine local and national governments and civil society. There are some hard-learned lessons by international development agencies […]
Post-Typhoon Haiyan: Challenges and Opportunities for the Philippines (part 1 of 2)
Memo #251 By Leonora C. Angeles – nora.angeles [at] ubc.ca The world has come to the Philippines to support local and national rescue and relief efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. Emergency teams and humanitarian aid workers and goods from abroad have added to many inspiring local initiatives to help survivors in the most ravaged areas […]
Time to Act: Climate Change Adaptation in the Philippines
Memo #243 By Sarah Thomas – sarah.thomas [at] alumni.ubc.ca For a country like the Philippines, which is feeling the effects of climate change and has seen significant changes in weather patterns over the last few years, the need for adaptation is poignant. With floods now an annual occurrence, and drought also a growing concern since rainfall […]
Where to Have a Baby: Reducing Maternal Mortality in West Java
Indonesia has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios (MMR) in Southeast Asia at 228 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births—double the Millennium Development Goal target number of 102 for the country in 2015. Lower levels of education and esteem for traditional birth attendants are influencing more than one third of Indonesian women to deliver at home. Women in the province of West Java in particular face a higher risk of maternal and neonatal mortality.
Gratin on the Noodle Bowl? New ASEAN Investment Agreement Promotes Regional Economic Integration
National ministers, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials, and managers of regional and foreign multinationals as well as representatives of small and medium enterprises in the region marked the entry into force of the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) with a day-long event in Kuala Lumpur this April.
The Politics of Mining in Mongolia and Burma/Myanmar
Protests against mining projects reveal contrasts in the political impact of resource extraction in Mongolia, an established 23 year-old democracy, and Burma/Myanmar, a liberalizing authoritarian state. Two similarities are apparent in the domestic tensions surrounding Mongolia’s Oyu Tolgoi and Burma’s Letpadaung copper mines: both governments and populations are keen to balance Chinese influence in their economies; and both struggle to balance development goals with local grievances. Yet, the differing role of the countries’ politicians means that the protests have different outcomes.
Civil Society Organizations in Vietnam: Precarious but Full of Potential
The rapid expansion of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Vietnam in the early 2000s was intertwined with the country’s opening and reform process. A decade on, CSOs number around 2,000 but few have been able to establish a sustainable funding base, strong financial and organizational systems and innovative research and programming.
The British and Occupied East Timor: Support for Indonesia Behind a Façade of Neutrality
As late as 1996, a British National Audit Office Report corroborated the government version of Britain as an honest broker in East Timor’s struggle for self-determination under Indonesian occupation, which followed the end of Portuguese colonial rule in 1974 and Indonesia’s invasion of the territory in 1975. But recently released archival evidence refutes the claim that Britain was negotiating a diplomatic solution between Indonesia, Portugal, and East Timor.
Methamphetamine Smuggling along the Myanmar-China Border Threatens Local Communities
The Golden Triangle, the mountainous region bordering Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, is known as a major centre for drug production. Since Khun Sa, kingpin of the region’s heroin trade, was forced into retirement in 1996, large-scale production of methamphetamine has developed along the Myanmar-China border. Unlike heroin, methamphetamine can be created from commercially available chemicals, commonly found in cold and flu medications. The easy availability of raw materials means that the profits generated from the production of methamphetamine are higher than those from heroin.