Supporting farmer-managed irrigation systems in the Shigar valley, Karakorum： Role of the government and Aga Khan Rural Support Programme

Farmer-managed irrigation systems(FMIS) in the high altitude valleys of the Karakorum,Pakistan, continue to be managed effectively despite increased pressure on the social arrangements that sustain them. Colonial era records shows that over a century ago government agencies undertook irrigation support projects. In the past three decades,government agencies and the non-government agency Aga Khan Rural Support Programme(AKRSP), which channels foreign funds into the region, have actively engaged in the provision of irrigation support. This article seeks to explore whether such projects support or undermine farmer-managed irrigation systems and the complex institutional arrangements that underpin them. Field research using ethnographic and participatory methods was conducted in spring 2013 in the upper Shigar valley, Skardu district, GilgitBaltistan. The findings show that irrigation development is a political activity that involves village-based actors, religious leaders, local politicians,and government and non-government agencies.Government agencies operate in a largely top-down,engineering mode, their larger projects limited to villages suffering water scarcity. The local government provides small funds for renovation work of FMIS,though allocation of funds is highly politicized. Nongovernment agencies, for a variety of reasons including donor-funding cycles, apply a one-size-fitsall ‘participatory' model in an attempt to socially engineer rules and institutions. In communities divided by factionalism the use of such external models that stress formation of committees are unlikely to yield positive results, and could instead contribute to undermining the very systems they seek to support. This research argues that irrigation interventions should take care to build upon the rich and complex social arrangements that have sustained FMIS through the centuries.

On Efficiency of the Compulsive Institution in the Environment Governance

Limited by the condition of information, technology and natural elements, the compulsive institutions in the environment governance can not form a “hard constraint” to the individuals. Because of the individual's speculative behaviors, the government's deviation from its environmental governance, and the non-cooperative game between individuals and the legal organization, the implementation of the compulsive institutions is not as good as being expected. Through analyzing the mechanism of the compulsive institutions, this paper puts forward some suggestions to enhance the efficiency of such institutions' implementation.

The Governance of Higher Education According to the Marxist View of Fairness

According to Marxism,fairness or equity is concrete,evolving,and practice-based,and has as its ultimate aim the realization of the full and free development of man.Xi Jinping Thought on Fairness and Justice underscores governing the country according to law,improving work styles,innovating the social governance model,and making social welfare and people＇s full and free development the point of departure and ultimate goal,in a fresh development of the Marxist approach to equity in the contemporary era.Guided by this approach,Chinese higher education institutions should break free of the traditional regimen,shifting the governance structure from bureaucratic management to shared governance and from the traditional rule of man to the rule of law.Through institutional measures and observance of the basic laws of higher education development,we can build a new type of collaborative relationship among governments,institutions of higher learning,academics and students,and society as a whole.In this way,all participants will find their proper place and realize their full potential,thus activating and enhancing the innovative capacity of higher education.Only thus will higher education institutions be able to modernize their governance systems and capacity.

Singapore’s economicdevelopment:pro-or anti-Washington Consensus?

Singapore's remarkable economic development in the past five decades since independence has attracted much policy attention.This article first provides a brief overview of Singapore's economic development.The second part discusses Singapore's development strategies that are aligned with the Washington Consensus:globalisation,conservative fiscal and monetary policies,investments in education and infrastructure.It also discusses the policies adopted to further enhance the outcomes of such policies.The third part focusses on policies that are inconsistent with the prescriptions of the Washington Consensus:the visible hand of government direction of industry,the important role of state owned enterprises,as well as growth-enhancing social policies.It concludes with the present challenges facing the city-state.

The Crucial Role of AIIB

As a multilateral financial institution proposed by China,the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB),inaugurated in Beijing on January16,represents an important contribution the country has made to the development of the world.Its inauguration also indicates that China is playing an increasingly prominent role in international governance.The AIIB will bring benefits on three fronts: