The Importance of Stakeholder Engagement in Progressive Rehabilitation of Large-Scale Open Pit Mines—A Case Study of Lumwana Mine

Mining globally contributes to the growth of many economies of the world. Since its inception, the Zambian mining industry has contributed largely to the country’s economy. The various developments both in technology and knowledge have contributed to the scale at which mining is being done. Challenges in such a setting arise due to the socio-economic and environmental impacts of mining, which create multidimensional problems. The study investigated the importance of engaging stakeholders in progressive rehabilitation programs for large-scale open pit mines, using a case study of the Lumwana Mine and its host community, Manyama. A qualitative approach was used, and data was collected through one-on-one interviews. A combination of convenient and quota sampling was used to engage with host community leaders, professionals and academicians from various fields and institutions. Results showed that most participants had agreed that stakeholder engagement is important for progressive rehabilitation, but the challenge was that the host community and municipal council representatives were not aware of any progressive rehabilitation efforts at Lumwana Mine. This was attributed to a lack of stakeholder engagement and communication of mitigation progress activities by the Lumwana Mine. Results also revealed that the lack of environmental impact assessment regulations to compel companies to involve stakeholders throughout the entire life of the mine other than just at the pre-mining stage led to a lack of compliance and accountability in rehabilitation.

Leveraging Predictive Analytics for Strategic Corporate Communications: Enhancing Stakeholder Engagement and Crisis Management

This study explores the integration of predictive analytics in strategic corporate communications, with a specific focus on stakeholder engagement and crisis management. Our mixed-methods approach, which combines a comprehensive literature review with case studies of five multinational corporations, allows us to investigate the applications, challenges, and ethical implications of leveraging predictive models in communication strategies. While our findings reveal significant potential for enhancing personalized content delivery, real-time sentiment analysis, and proactive crisis management, we stress the need for careful consideration of challenges such as data privacy concerns and algorithmic bias. This emphasis on ethical implementation is crucial in navigating the complex landscape of predictive analytics in corporate communications. To address these issues, we propose a framework that prioritizes ethical considerations. Furthermore, we identify key areas for future research, thereby contributing to the evolving field of data-driven communication management.

Behaviours of Multi-Stakeholders under China’s Renewable Portfolio Standards:A Game Theory-Based Analysis

China has implemented both quantitative and policy incentives for renewable energy development since 2019 and is currently in the policy transition stage.The implementation of renewable portfolio standards(RPSs)is difficult due to the interests of multiple stakeholders,including power generation enterprises,power grid companies,power users,local governments,and the central government.Based on China’s RPS policy and power system reform documents,this research sorted out the core game decision problems of China’s renewable energy industry and established a conceptual game decision model of the renewable energy industry from the perspective of local governments,power generation enterprises and power grid companies.The results reveal that for local governments,the probability of meeting the earnings quota or punishments for not reaching quota completion are the major determinants for active participation in quota supervision.For power grid firms,the willingness to accept renewable electricity quotas depends on the additional cost of receiving renewable electricity and governmental incentives.It is reasonable,from the theoretical perspective,to implement the RPS policy on the power generation side.Electricity reform will help clarify the electricity price system and increase the transparency of the quota implementation process.Policy implications are suggested to achieve sustainable development of the renewable energy industry from price incentives and quantity delivery.

A Case Study of Employees＇ Engagement Practice in Corporate Responsibility Program

Organizational corporate social responsibility is a good practice by organizations. Organizations engagement in corporate social responsibility programs may benefit the organization and stakeholders. The focus of this paper is to explore the extent of employees＇ engagement in the organization＇s corporate responsibility programs by utilizing Unerman＇s （2007） stakeholders engagement framework. The main research question is how employees engage themselves in corporate social responsibility programs. This study employs a case study research design approach. The findings have shown that there is empowerment between employees and the management in the corporate social responsibility programs. Their involvement appears from their feedbacks and views in the surveys as well as discussion with regards to corporate responsibility programs. All in all, employees＇ engagement is seen as an important practice in the organization, particularly in planning, implementing, monitoring, and reporting the corporate responsibility program.

Barriers to Community Participation in Governance Standards Setting for Sustainable Mangrove Management in Lamu County

Mangrove management requires an all-inclusive community engagement for sustainability in protection and conservation of mangroves. Previously, community participation was not considered pivotal but the rapid degradation of mangroves has necessitated their participation. Despite much legislation enacted, there are still challenges hindering community participation in Lamu County and this paper seeks to highlight barriers perceived by the various stakeholders in mangrove management. The study used a mixed methods approach to answer both qualitative and quantitative research questions and a correlational research design to explore all variables. The study shows that only 60% of the respondents agreed that there is lack of enforcement in mangrove conservation through community participation. However, less than 50% agreed on the challenges of lack of good management in mangroves (46%), lack of implementation mechanisms on mangrove conservation (47%) and lack of consultation in decision-making processes for mangrove conservation (36%). This demonstrates that lack of enforcement is the greatest challenge to the implementation of standards for mangrove conservation.

Toward a Holistic Approach: Considerations for Improved Collaboration in Wildfire Management

State and Federal agencies in the United States manage wildland fires to minimize forest loss and reduce fire impacts on communities living near forests. Despite changes to policy that emphasize the importance of collaborative management with Tribes and local communities, stakeholders with place-based knowledge still have limited access to meaningful participation in policy development and management planning. These barriers contribute to the alienation of communities disproportionately burdened with the negative impacts of wildfire. Reduced community-level support and a lack of inclusive practices regarding place-based knowledge result in less robust management plans and poor ecological outcomes. These outcomes highlight the need for improved multi-stakeholder collaborations that holistically address interconnected management areas. In this paper, Federal wildfire policy development and implementation are assessed to identify barriers to collaborative management. An examination of multi-stakeholder fire management organizations showed that coupling of federal policy, practices and norms and the underrepresentation of external stakeholders may hinder progress toward collaborative partnerships. A linguistic examination of federal wildfire policy showed that directive, rather than cooperative language predominated. This may promote unequal power-sharing dynamics that reduce opportunities for federal engagement and collaboration with stakeholders from Tribes and local communities. Tribal barriers to equitable partnership and decision-making were found to be tied to culturally mediated frameworks for environmental management. Based on these findings, this article offers suggestions for changes to policy and institutional culture that will allow for an inclusive, holistic fire management model.

Inclusive Urban Campus Development: A Case for Okahandja, Namibia

As a result of the high rate of urbanization and the attendant growth in housing demand and proliferation of informal settlements in sub-Saharan African countries such as Namibia, the development of cities has become a priority concern of the governments given the obvious socio-economic and environmental challenges that impact sustainable infrastructure/services, quality of life, health and well-being of the citizenry as referenced in the United Nation Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) Number 11. Whereas the governments are conscious of these daunting challenges, they remain unable to decipher sustainable solutions to them. The consequence is the perennial proliferation of informal settlements, housing shortages, and urban poverty, pressure on infrastructure and services, and unemployment. Although dubbed a “Garden Town” Okahandja does not have an urban structure plan of development. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of socially inclusive urban infrastructure campus development using Okahandja as a platform. Recent research has revealed such trends as the smart city concept which embodies a sustainable approach to Inclusive Urban Campus (IUC) development towards a holistic community planning in third world countries. Dololo site in the south of Okahandja stands out as an opportune urban campus platform for diverse mixed-use including residential, business-related (entrepreneurial), educational, recreational, and others. The research employed a novel multi-focused workshop methodology for data collection with community engagement and stakeholders’ interactive participation as a key strategy to enhance the bottom-up development approach. The objectives were to identify the town planning and integrated development dynamics of Okahandja, the policy bottlenecks, expose sustainable forms of socio-cultural integration and formal housing delivery. Ultimately, the feasibility of Dololo as a platform for the inclusive urban campus initiative was not in doubt. Infrastructural development and community need to accommodate education, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), Vocational Training Center (VTC), informal trade, housing, health, youth centers, cooperatives, roads, and transport are identified as key to the IUC development.

Transparency of Tax Law and Tax Administration

Transparency of tax law and tax administration is vital to the fair,effective and efficient operation of a tax system.To achieve and improve transparency,various means and channels are available.This article sets out the measures adopted by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in promoting and improving transparency of tax law and tax administration.

Shaping digital earth applications through open innovation - setting the scene for a digital earth living lab

Science and policy increasingly request for sustainable development and growth.Similarly,Digital Earth undergoes a paradigm shift to an open platform that actively supports user engagement.While the public becomes able to contribute new content,we recognize a gap in user-driven validation,feedback and requirements capture,and innovative application development.Rather than defining Digital Earth applications top down,we see a need for methods and tools that will help building applications bottom up and driven by community needs.These should include a technology toolbox of geospatial and environ-mental enablers,which allow to access functional building blocks and content in multiple ways,but-equally important-enable the collaboration within partially unknown stakeholder networks.The validation and testing in real-life scenarios will be a central requirement when approaching the Digital Earth 2020 goals,which were articulated recently.We particularly argue to follow a Living Lab approach for co-creation and awareness rising in relation to environmental and geospatial matters.We explain why and how such a Digital Earth Living Lab could lead to a sustainable approach for developing,deploying,and using Digital Earth applications and suggest a paradigm shift for Virtual Globes becoming forums for research and innovation.

Principles for managing marine ecosystems prone to tipping points

As climatic changes and human uses intensify,resource managers and other decision makers are taking actions to either avoid or respond to ecosystem tipping points,or dramatic shifts in structure and function that are often costly and hard to reverse.Evidence indicates that explicitly addressing tipping points leads to improved management outcomes.Drawing on theory and examples from marine systems,we distill a set of seven principles to guide effective management in ecosystems with tipping points,derived from the best available science.These principles are based on observations that tipping points(1)are possible everywhere,(2)are associated with intense and/or multifaceted human use,(3)may be preceded by changes in earlywarning indicators,(4)may redistribute benefits among stakeholders,(5)affect the relative costs of action and inaction,(6)suggest biologically informed management targets,and(7)often require an adaptive response to monitoring.We suggest that early action to preserve system resilience is likely more practical,affordable,and effective than late action to halt or reverse a tipping point.We articulate a conceptual approach to management focused on linking management targets to thresholds,tracking early-warning signals of ecosystem instability,and stepping up investment in monitoring and mitigation as the likelihood of dramatic ecosystem change increases.This approach can simplify and economize management by allowing decision makers to capitalize on the increasing value of precise information about threshold relationships when a system is closer to tipping or by ensuring that restoration effort is sufficient to tip a system into the desired regime.