Power, the Hidden Factor in Development Cooperation. An Example of Community Forestry in Cameroon

This paper is concomitant with our comparative study analysis of the interests and power of the stake-holders involved in Community Forestry (CF) in six countries. The study hypothesises that, “governance processes and outcomes in CF depend mostly on interests of the powerful external stakeholders”. For this paper which is on CF in Cameroon, the study hypothesizes that, “Power is a hidden factor in Development cooperation”. Based on political theories, the paper uses the “actor-centered power” (ACP) concept of the Community Forestry Working Group (CFWG) in G?ttingen, Germany, the post-development theory and empirical findings, to back up the assertations made in the study through the analysis of thirteen different CFs in the South West region (SWR) of Cameroon. It analyzes the empirically applicable ACP concept, that consists of three elements: trust, incentives and coercion and at the same time connects these elements with the post-development theory. The elements were derived from the basic assumptions on power made by Max Weber in political sciences and Max Krott in forest policy. The study confirms the existence of powerful internal and external stakeholders that influence CF in Cameroon and aims to empower important but marginalised communities. It concludes that, CF as a development instrument to alleviate poverty and increase livelihood while sustainably managing the forest has actually not brought significant or meaningful development to the targeted sector of the

Territorial Governance in Flux： A Case of the City-Regions in England

Answers to challenges in a changing environment highlight the need to work with a more flexible sense of geography, developing institutional reforms in delivering public services. The emerging city regions in England can be regarded as a prime test of what the need for optimal territorial scope and enhanced coordination needs. The aim of this paper is to examine the emerging new forms of territorial governance in the light of the ＂piecemeal＂ approach of reforms launched by the post-2010 Conservative Liberal Government. We argue that the creation of city-regions is an organic part of the new territorial paradigm; an important element of which is an integrated and functional approach that intersects public administrative borders. Since 2010, the uniformed regional model has been replaced by primarily ad hoc, informal, and flexible approaches. The successive governments placed the bigger cities and its hinterland at the centre of English devolution, but wished to implement them in varying forms of ＂deal-making＂ as a means of decentralization, encouraging solutions tailored to local requirements and opportunities, and retaining the fundamental characteristics of the ＂asymmetrical devolution＂. However, in terms of regional governance, the relationship between the new and old regional configurations has seen the creation of a much-debated, malleable framework which, during the process of Brexit could generate new, further interpretations, narratives, and practical solutions

Colonial Forest Policies and Tropical Deforestation: The Case of Cross River State, Nigeria

Nigeria has lost over 90% of her forest resources due to the hydra-headed and enduring problem of deforestation, hinging on timber logging, establishment of agricultural plantations in hitherto intact forest reserves, construction of highways, mining of solid minerals, approval of taungya farming activities in forest reserves, extraction of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and dereservation of large areas of certain forest reserves for other economic and development activities. Though colonialism was dismantled in the first half of the twentieth century, its policies on forest nationalization remain unchanged across many independent states in the tropics including Nigeria. The paper assesses the colonial forest policy underpinnings of tropical deforestation in Cross River State of Nigeria. It highlights the weaknesses of forest reservation laws and its impacts on tropical deforestation. The paper concludes by advocating a shift in forest policies in favour of property rights recognition and devolution of forest management responsibilities to forest communities.

The Challenge of Implementing Decentralization in Kenya： An Analysis of the Teething Problems Rocking the Implementation

Kenya promulgated her new constitution in 2010 and since then, there have been various political wrangles about its implementation. These wrangles started when the government drafted laws that sought to retain the Provincial Administration, which was meant to operate parallel to the structures under county governments. The opposition accused the government of undermining devolution and even of attempting to kill it. At the county level, there have been boycotts of sessions by County Assembly Members over salaries, and Governors continue to complain about inadequate financial resources to fulfill their mandates. This paper examines these wrangles to determine whether they are just teething problems or serious implementation problems needing redress. The analysis involves comparing Kenya＇s implementation to that of other African and Latin American countries that implemented their devolution earlier.

Devolution of Sta. Ana Davao Port： Then and Now

Better seaport operation is one of the indicators that a city is achieving its goals towards progress and development. The Sta. Ana Davao Port for example is one of the many seaports in Region XI that caters to thousands of passengers going from one terminal to another and from one island to another. In this study, it will revisit the status of Sta. Davao Port from the time when it was devolved from the national goverrmaent under Philippine Ports Authority （PPA） to local government of Davao City. The devolution was in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement by two parties, which clearly stipulates the full-control of operation of the local government of Davao City with an end view of bringing more investors, tourist hubs and other business related concerns. This study utilized descriptive-evaluative method using interview guide question as a qualitative approach in gathering data. The participants were the former employees of the PPA and the current management of Sta. Ana Davao Port under the local government. Data gathered were analyzed using Nvivo software for qualitative research and content analysis to obtain factual information direct from the participants. It was found out that most of the employees agreed that the office needs improvement in terms of physical, financial and human aspects. For several years, the passengers of both local and foreign shipping lines were complaining on its limited berthing capacities, saturated container yards and even worse the collapse of the berthing area which resulted to the delay of transactions in the operation of the vessels. In spite of employees claimed that prior to devolution of Sta. Ana Davao Port to the local government of Davao City, the operation was well-managed and maintained, thereby resulted to passengers＇ satisfaction. Thus, the researchers aimed to provide an action plan as basis by the management of the Sta. Davao Port to achieve its vision, missions and goals.

National/Global Synergy in the Development of Higher Education and Science in China since 1978

The paper reviews the rapid development of higher education and science in China in the last forty years.It discusses the conditions and strategies of that development,including the ways that it embodies a distinctive Chinese approach to higher education.In particular,the paper reflects on the policies whereby China coordinated with globalization in higher education and science after 1978,in building national capacity and global influence.Scale,nation-state policy goals and accelerated investment on their own are necessary but not sufficient(otherwise Saudi Arabia’s research universities would be stronger than they are).The effective national/global synergy developed by China,made possible by the international openness and part-devolution to science communities that was implemented in the Deng Xiaoping era,has been crucial in the rapid rise of China’s universities and science.This national/global synergy-and its potentials,tensions and limits-in turn has determined the nature of the achievement and will shape its future evolution.

A Pattern Recognition Framework for Detecting Changes in Chinese Internet Management System

Past studies on the Chinese internet management system have revealed a smart internet management system that takes advantage of time to filter content with collective action potential.How and why such a system was institutionalized?We offer a historical institutional analysis to explain the way in which the system evolved.We implement social network analysis to examine the Weibo posts of recurrent events,the elections in Area A in 2016 and 2018,to identify pattern changes in the system.There are two aspects of the changes:the centralization of the command line to a single authority and the implementation of a discriminatory strategy to deal with the various online expressions together forming this intelligent system.The improved Chinese information surveillance system demonstrates both a top-down information management and a bottom-up opinion formation.

What kind of modern school system do we need?

The marketization of education cannot serve as the guiding principle in constructing the modern school system, nor can it be directly transplanted from modern enterprise system. Because the modern school system is a kind of “edu-cational institution” rather than an “economical institution”, what it should focus on is not the ownership of property or the distinction of property, but on the core educational issue, that is, the students’ development. Such a kind of modern school system requires that the government delegates power to schools to realize academic autonomy in schools (selfgovernance).