Over the last decade a growing consensus has emerged to address climate change, and international agreements on the regulation of emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses (GHGs), namely the Kyoto Protocol, have come into full effect. Under the Kyoto protocol, developed countries agreed to reduce emissions of GHGs by an average of 5% of 1990 levels by 2012. Three mechanisms were set up, including the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allows Annex 1 (developed) countries to source a percentage of their emission reductions within developing countries.
Read Moren environmentally friendly, reliable source of energy, and access to it, can be seen as a critical element in supporting sustainable development at the local community level. Additionally, for developing countries in particular, e.g. renewable energy projects have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide finance through the clean development mechanism (CDM). The main objective of this thesis is to explore how the high transaction costs of small-scale CDM projects can be reduced. Bundling several small-scale CDM projects together and developing them as one larger CDM project bundle is one option.
Read MoreRiver basins create hydrologic interdependencies that force States to negotiate their interests and national security within a regional context. A hydropolitical security complex emerges when States consider shared resources as a major national security issue. Changes within the political economy of the Mekong basin create new security issues as multiple interests complete for the Mekong’s shared resources. In particular, China has begun developing the upper portions of the Mekong River, which could change the quantity and quality of downstream flows and could impede other States’ ability to fulfill their national agendas vis-à-vis the Mekong.
Read MoreThis study investigates hydropower development in Bhutan, and analyses its roles of sustainability through the frame-work of water governance, focusing on the decision making process. The Royal Government of Bhutan's aspiration to achieve "economic self-reliance" by the year 2020 has accelerated the construction of hydropower in various river basins. However, with its limitations on the implication of effective decision-making process and the nation's water governance, impacts and resistance have emerged at the Local level where the hydropower project are developed.
Read MoreLhunste is one of the least developed districts in the eastern part of Bhutan with 43% of population below poverty line. The elected government decided to construct the Shingkhar-Gorgan road which passes through Thrumshingla National Park (INP) to reduce poverty. However, the country's existing laws and policies prohibit roads passing through national parks and protected areas. Therefore, NGOs and other concerned stakeholders have raised concerns towards the government's decision. This thesis examines the competing policy priorities between poverty reduction and environmental protection in Bhutan in which the Shingkhar-Gorgan road is being debated and acted upon by various concerned stakeholders. The information used in the study was collected from two main sources: documentary research; and in-depth focus-group and individual interviews with key informants, including two environmental NGOs, two government stakeholders responsible for environmental protection, a Member of Parliament, and informants from Lhuntse District it includes Jarey, Metsho and Menbi Gups (local leaders) and residents in Gorgan.
Read MoreRecycling, as proposed by the UN to be one of the means to achieve sustainable development, has not been practiced sufficiently at the household level in Bangkok where waste problem is endemic. This research focuses on recycling in Bangkok's gated communities of which their prevalence and consuming-class residents render them an ideal target group for a source separation program. The roles of three major stakeholders were examined -- the gated community itself, the private recycling agent, and the local authority in charge of waste management.
Read MoreVedan Vietnam, a fully-owned Taiwanese enterprise, had polluted The Thi Vai River in the South of Vietnam from 1994 to 2008 and had caused negative impact to health and livelihoods of thousands local farmers living along its basin in Ba RiaVung Tau, Dong Nai provinces and Ho Chi Minh City. In response to the negative impact caused by the river pollution, local communities had reacted to the case from 1994 to 2011 with different strategy and actors to empower themselves to strengthen local environmental governance and to stop the pollution.
Read MoreThis study examines organic rice contract farming in Cambodia and its impact on farmers' livelihood and land tenure. The study's objective is to gain a better insight of the terms and conditions of rice contract farming scheme in Cambodia, and determine under what conditions contract farming could bring improvements to farmers' livelihoods and strengthen land tenure security. This study contributes new research findings on farmers' livelihood and land ownership changes due to organic-rice contract farming with a case study in Kampong Speu province, Cambodia.
Read MoreCommunity based natural resources management (CBNRM) is regarded as a significant strategy in the conservation of natural resources and sustainability of rural livelihoods in Cambodia, helps to reduce poverty and increase local participation in resources management. This research aims to investigate the implementation of this approach at the local level with the special attention to its outcomes towards the sustainability of women's and men's livelihood and their roles in generating activities. The study uses data from both of primary and secondary sources. The secondary data are relied on books, research documents and reports while the primary data are derived from field research, using the case study method.
Read MoreThis research investigates the impacts of the community environmental education program implemented by the Pan Kachin Development Society Environmental project in Mai Ja Yang, Kachin State, Myanmar. The study aims to ascertain the role of international aid agencies in this post-political conflict region. A participatory approach was employed in field research, and an outcome-based evaluation comprising the planning-process-product model was applied for measuring the impacts of the program.
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