Energy Planning “A case for Industrial Energy Efficiency Implementation”

“What has been done in Brazil, Opportunity to Reduce Costs”.

Although 40.7% of total energy consumed in Brazil comes from its industrial sector, the country has never had a long-term policy for energy efficiency in this area.

In contrast, existing programs for energy efficiency in Brazil has been more focus on residential areas, commercial and public sectors, which together accounts for 15.8% of total energy consumed.

An example of low government effort in industrial energy efficiency in Brazil is the fact that only some equipment and electrical motors for industrial use have been regulated according to the minimum energy efficiency levels.

Several devices are now in the process of regulation by the country´s law 10.295/013, but there is a predominance to prioritize energy efficiency measures for residential and commercial use equipment such as: refrigerators; fluorescent lamps, stoves, furnaces and air conditioning systems.

But it is clear that more attention should be given to energy efficiency inside the industrial sector in Brazil. Therefore in 2004 the Brazilian National Industry Confederation and ELETROBRAS brazil´s largest power utility company were engaged and working together to develop a detailed diagnosis of the main opportunities and priorities for the development of market towards industrial energy efficiency in the country.

This diagnosis comprised 13 industrial sectors of significant energy consumption and potential for technical efficiency which were: the food and drink, textile, steel works, automotive, metallurgy, paper and pulp, metal mining, chemical, leather, ceramic,  non-metal  mining, foundry and others industries.

The analysis of technical solutions suggests predominance for electricity saving initiatives, being 19% of them involving changing of engines, 20% related to light improvement and 8% involving improvements in compressed air systems. Initiatives relate to optimization of thermal processes were around 6% of potential, despite of good results related to cogeneration projects in the steel industry.

The diagnosis has also found that there is a tendency in Brazil to work separately in the savings of industrial fuels and electricity. One example of it can be demonstrated by the lack of attention on gains that could be attained by utilizing wasted heat for electricity during the process of fuel consumption inside industries.

By 2007 the overall potential for energy saving in the total industries diagnosed in this analysis was 25.7%, being 82% in fuels with the majority for furnaces and boilers. This was the equivalent of annual saving potential worth US$ 3.5 billion.

However the study found out some barriers mentioned by respondents in the various industrial sectors in Brazil in relation to the low investment in energy saving which are:

Once barriers and opportunities for industrial efficiency were identified in this diagnose, the Brazilian National Industry Confederation together with ELETOBRAS and the PROCEL (The Brazilian Program for Energy Conservation), have outlined measures and action points to implement a dynamic market for energy efficiency in the country.

These measures and actions are the following:

 

Source:

Industrial Energy Efficiency, “What has been done in Brazil, opportunities to reduce costs”.

www.cni.org.br/portal/data/files/FF808081234E24EA0123627A07156F8E/Eficiencia.pdf


Comments Off on Energy Planning “A case for Industrial Energy Efficiency Implementation” / 01 Jan 2012 por Patricia Perez Costa
IMSD /

DP #3: Food Waste in gastronomy industry

Our consumption-oriented society produces a lot of waste, what was already shown in my previous posts. Even though there are still a lot of measures to be undertaken, there are many good initiatives that already exist, which contribute to the reduction of food waste. In this post I would like to mention some general information about food recovery, organizations that are involved in this issue and an example of an existing law regulating food waste in gastronomy industry. In the end I will explain what are green restaurants.

Food recovery, which is sometimes also called food rescue, is basically a process of retrieving edible food that otherwise would be thrown away and giving it to people that actually need it. How does it actually work? Groceries stores, food vendors and of course restaurants donate the “rotten for them” food to organizations that afterwards distribute it. Even if there is many of, so called, food banks, food pantries or soup kitchens organizations, the problem of food waste is still not solved. I have already mentioned it in my previous posts. It is actually people ignorance that is the main problem. Normally people throw food because they do not need it anymore. They don’t think that somebody else may need it. However it is becoming a more serious problem with restaurants, which operates with much bigger amounts of food. But even restaurants owners seeing all the waste they produce do not think about the possibility of using it for some good purposes. What I want to highlight is that food rescue organizations should encourage restaurants to donate their wastes. This is the only way to make a change. The most frustrating issue is that even though there are many initiatives promoting these behaviors, we can still see landfills full of food waste.

As I have already mentioned there are a lot of organizations dealing with food waste and there are as many different structures as many organizations. I am going to present you two organizations that I consider to be from two opposite poles. Feeding America (1) is a big organization uniting other organizations and food banks. People can donate food or money via Internet (of course food has to be send by mail or delivered personally due to a lack of technology). Seeking information about Feeding America I was thinking, why do we need a “giant” national organization, while all the food banks are local? Unfortunately every little issue, measure or step in our world, no matter the purpose, has to be regulated and controlled from the top. If not, it would give to many opportunities to sue, create conflicts and “pointing fingers” at others. In England there is an organization called “Love Food, hate waste” (2). They believe that most of food wastes are caused by our strong love to high consumption. Many campaigns are being organized to teach people how to cook less and in a more efficient way or how to use food wastes to prepare a fresh delicious meal by giving recipes. Basically this organizations are educating people, how to consume less, i.e. something that for my grandparents was a normality. I really like this kind of initiatives because it shows people how to live and I strongly believe that it is by showing example that we can make a change. I wanted to attach in this place a short video showing what other measures are being undertaken in this topic.

Pinche aquí para ver el vídeo

Sometimes restaurants chains are looking for excuses not to donate food. They are defending themselves that someone may get food poisoning or other disease and then sue them. In America in 1996 a law called The Federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act was issued to legally protect companies, restaurant or groceries stores. Everything seems perfect, isn’t it? But again there was a problem of information diffusion. Restaurants didn’t know about it, so they were still keeping their food waste locked in garbage bins. Maybe the problem was that the law is not imposing food donation, but on the other hand such a solution could be seen as limiting liberty. In Europe such laws still do not exist.

An American NGO Green Restaurant Association (GRA) (3) is giving the Green Restaurant title since 1990. There are seven categories, in which the restaurants are being checked:

1. Water efficiency

2. Waste reduction and recycling

3. Sustainable furnishing and building materials

4. Sustainable food

5. Energy

6. Disposables

7. Chemical and pollution reduction

 

Each day more and more people are interested in eating in such places and GRA is a database for customers. It is a connection between restaurant clients and the restaurant itself. In my opinion such initiatives are very important, because they not only give prestige to a certain restaurant but also influence customers and employees. A Green restaurant owner, Jim Solomon from the Fireplace Restaurant, said: “I realized about a 45% return on my investment in one year and cut approximately $1200 off my annual operating costs. Not only am I pleased with the financial results of my decision, I also know that my association with GRA has inspired employee morale.” Even though he sounds like a real businessman that does not care about nothing else than his business, it seems like the GRA goal was achieved. It encouraged people to “go green” and to contribute making a change in gastronomy industry food waste problem.

Those were some of the measures that are being undertaken to reduce food waste. All of them are good initiatives, but more effort is needed. In my opinion we should put more weight on word of mouth. It is still the best solution know to men for a good marketing strategy. By showing example and telling people about it we may spread the information wide enough. My next entry will be wholly dedicated to developing possible solutions to food waste reduction in gastronomy industry.

References:

  1. Feeding America – http://feedingamerica.org/how-we-fight-hunger/mission-and-values.aspx
  2. Love Food, hate waste – http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/about_food_waste
  3. Green Restaurant Association – http://www.dinegreen.com/restaurants/default.asp

 

 


1 comentario / 31 Dec 2011 por Piotr Adam Lubiewa-Wielezynski
IMSD /

DP Blog 2: The Future of Farming, “Room for Distortions”

In this second blog we will continue our outlook with farming production at global perspective, analyzing how our world economic system and institutions that set the rules give privileges for some farming producers and at the same time undermines faming activity of others.

In our development perspective course we have learned the classical liberalism views of Adam Smith, which suggests that, for maximum efficiency all forms of government intervention should be removed, so market would naturally balance itself by an invisible hand and work at its best by cutting subsidies and other barriers to “free” competition. Moreover we learned that the Neo-liberalism economic school has followed these principles and emphasized on the importance to liberalize global markets in order to foster growth and freedom of goods and services of each country´s comparative advantage production. Hence, from the 60´s, a movement towards asking developing countries to open its door and liberalize its market appeared.1 Therefore we may think that countries in the world are still following and gaining the economic and political benefits from the classical liberalism and neoliberalism ideas.

But in our course we have also seen that, at the same period, another economic principle was already embedded in the global economic structure which is the Theory of World System.

In this theory, Reys (2001) mention that Wallenstein (1987) and his followers, pointed us, that there are worldwide conditions that operate as “determinant forces”, in special for small and underdeveloped countries. “These forces can be seen in the new ways of communications, world trade mechanisms, the international financial system, in the way knowledge is transferred and military links.

These factors have created their own dynamics at the international level and have influenced internal aspects of each country”. Another interesting point of this economic theory is the fact that, links between sociology, economics and political disciplines are tackled individually rather than being considered on how it interacts and produce effects with one another. Reys (2001,p8).

Considering the world system economic theory we may associate it with the “institutional force” that regulates and set the standards for global international trade, which is the WTO the World Trade Organization. Because it allows trade under a distorted financial system and it is oblivious in the way it can economically, socially and politically impact countries that have less.

Before explaining how the WTO collaborates with a biased trade system lets see the current elements that does not allow all countries to benefit from trade.

Countries introduce protectionism measures in order to prevent large demand for cheaper imports, to protect their domestic companies and producers; to control outflow of money into foreign countries or merely because of political pressure.

These restrictions can be in form of import tariffs and other protectionist methods such as the use of quotas; money exchange control; imports licensing; embargoes; export taxes and subsidies.

In other to deal with the such restrictions that opposes the neo liberal views of free trade, the WTO comes into place with its founding principles to reduce barriers to trade, reciprocity and non-discrimination, as a forum for trade negotiations, as a settler to trade disputes, as a reviewer to national trade policies, as an assistant  of developing countries in trade policy issues  and as a cooperator with other international organizations such as World Bank and IMF.

Some WTO negotiations include the abolishment of agricultural tariffs, anti- dumping prices and anti-developed country government subsidies.  Moreover all WTO agreements contain a special provision for developing countries with measures that will increase their trade opportunity, broad trade liberalization, improve market access, and to provide technical training for governmental officials to improve export competition.

But the truth behind the WTO as institutional force embedded in our world trading system is that since its creation richer countries have actually increased their subsidies.

According to the NGO Action Aid the government of all rich countries  have been paying an amount of subsidies to the agriculture sector that is equal to feed, clothe, educate and to provide healthcare for every child in the planet.

The EU and USA are the big players on dumping subsidized produce on the market place and driving down their price in relation to agriculture production of developing countries, as consequence, influencing the dependency from poorer countries to import artificially low price goods and at the same time hindering their ability to open up their own export market to the US and EU.

Some economists, development practioners and writers like Dambisa Moyo, believe that strengthening the capacity of poorer countries to trade is a key element for them to move out poverty, but as we can see, institutions that are in place to fairly set the rules in the global trade arena are unfairly driving producers from poorer countries out of their land.

Then, which farming future WTO is perpetuating?

The answer is:  a farming system on large scale that encourages over production under distorted and depressed price and a farming system that protects richer countries large corporations such as agro processing companies.

In this video which we have also seen in the rules of the game class, can summarize very well, these facts mentioned about the WTO.

Video: Trade and the WTO

Trade and the WTO

Some questions I would like to leave for you the reader are:

What would happen with the world economic system if all agriculture subsidies were abolished? Is it a feasible possibility? And who would be the winners and losers in the long term?

A clear consequence is that prices would increase in richer countries, a fact that would generate an immediate negative impact on their economies. However it is fair and equitable for countries to continuously gaining advantage by being under and practicing this double standard system, which protects richer countries and allow free play in the market force of poorer countries.

 

Sources:

1 Stott, L. (2011) Powerpoint Class Presentantion “Historical Debates in Development Studies 1”, at EOI, Madrid.

http://www.eoi.es/aula/file.php/1340/DOCUMENTATION/2._THEORY_AND_PRACTICE_FOR_DEVELOPMENT/2.1._DEVELOPMENT_PERSPECTIVES/Historical_Debates_in_Development_Theory/Historical_Debates_in_Development_Theory_2.pdf

Action Aid (Farmgate: the developmental impact of agricultural subsidies

www.ukfg.org.uk/docs/AAFarmgate briefing.pdf

Oxfam:

“Rigged Trade Rules”:

http://www.oxfam.org/en/campaigns/trade/rigged_rules Last accessed on 29/12/2011.

Growing a Better Future, Food justice in resource-constrained world report, (2011).Oxfam International.

www.oxfam.org/grow

www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/growing-a-better-future-010611-en.pdf. Last accessed on 29/12/2011.

Reyes, G E. (2001) “Four Main Theories of Development: Modernization, Dependency, World‐System, and Globalization”. NOMADAS.4 (07‐12.2001), REVISTA CRITICA DE CIENCIAS SOCIALES Y JURIDICAS. ISSN 1578‐6730

Sloman, J. (2003) Economics 5th Edition. Pearson Educated Ltd.,  England

Wallerstein, I. (1987) World‐System Analysis. Stanford University Press, Stanford.

 

 

 

 


1 comentario / 31 Dec 2011 por Patricia Perez Costa
IMSD /

DP: CROSS SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS AND DEVELOPMENT

I will proceed my discussion with the same focus on ‘thinking globally and acting locally’  for us to achieve the best out of our development agenda. After the strategies, i was again interested in this new development phenomenon of  ” Partnerships”; it also has a lot of definitions but all of them are driving at one point. For the sake of my discussion we will focus on “Cross Sector Partnerships” which  are alliances between two or more parties from different sectors of society – for example business, government and NGOs – who come together in order to understand common interests and find innovative ways of solving the shared challenges of sustainable development. Cambridge Programme for Industry (CPI).

As we already know, partnerships are not easy to handle for different reasons depending on the situation. Some of the problems are;

Asymmetric power relations and conflict of interests may result in the overtaking of a partnership’s operation and objectives of one of the partners leading to outcomes that increase that partner’s benefits at the expense of more general welfare (McQuaid, 2000: 23-24). Conflict of interests in a partnership may also result in a situation where the collaboration is more or less dissolved during the process and a greater separation of responsibilities established in which each of the actors involved concentrate on their own task (Klijn and Teisman, 2003: 142). In such cases of partnership capture or greater separation of responsibilities a situation of collaborative inertia, and not collaborative advantage, prevails (Huxham, 1996: 4)..

In networks like cross-sector partnerships a main hindrance to collaboration may be significant differences in the ideologies and values of private and public actors (Waddock, 1989: 84). Jacobs (1992) has described the public and private sectors as two ethical systems with different moral syndromes. The public sector is characterized by the guardian syndrome, and the private sector by the commercial syndrome (Jacobs, 1992: 32, cited in Klijn and Teisman, 2003: 142). This difference in moral syndromes implies among other things differences in problem definitions which may be very difficult to reconcile. Whereas the public sector is oriented towards public objectives and devoted to a public cause the private sector is driven by profit maximization and devoted to consumer preferences (Klijn and Teisman, 2003: 143)

Despite the hussles in partnerships, i still feel they are still a good weapon for us to achieve Development. As someone coming from a developing country, i have seen some good results from the partnerships; i noted that there is more achieved from partnerships than when the same is done through indivdual organisation or sector. However, there is need to make sure that every partner understands the objective of the partnership but also what is their responsibility. On the other hand, identification of who to be in the partnership is something which needs attention. I feel there is need to consider how the partners will complement each othe since the aim is to get maximum benefits from the partnership.

Some of the benefits are, saving of resources i.e on capacity building, administration cost since the other partners will bring in these into the partnership. Most of the organisations, Government, or Civil society might not have all the required skills and expertise to implement development projects, this most of the time affects the budgets but also the time for the project implenmentation. If the different sectors go into a good partnership, these problems can be solved and enable them achieve the maximum results. Developing countries need to make sure that the little resources they have are being used effectively and hence partneships can be one way of effective use of resources.

The other good thing i like about partneships is that they can sometimes bring in accountability since everyone is answerable to the other. However, i feel this works well in a partnership where there is good cordination but also mutual respect for each other.  In Cross sector partnerships; most of the times, where there is respect for each other, there there can be some improvement or creation of good relationships between the Government, Private Sector and the Civil Society which most of the times act as the watchdogs.

It is important for partners from different sectors to remain flexible and not tied to “business as usual,”. Compliance, responsiveness and transparency are key to a successful collaboration that has accountable partners at its core, said Stott.

Roles and responsibilities obviously will change over the lifetime of the partnership and often key individuals will be the glue that keeps things together.

On the other hand the length of time the partnership will run should also be an issue to consider.  Depending on the objectvies of the partnership, it will be very important to specifically indicate in the contract, the length of the partnership and when to review. I personally feel partnerships should be forever with periodic reviewing, this will ensure maximum and sustainable solutions.

 

Sources

http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/events.nsf/


1 comentario / 31 Dec 2011 por Tabithah Mkandawire Kaluwa
IMSD /

Energy Planning – Energy Efficiency in Poland

When I am thinking about energy efficiency in my country, Poland, there is one thing coming into my mind. I have already mentioned this topic in class, so some may get bored, and it is an important role that insulation is playing. There are two important kinds of insulation as far as energy efficiency is concerned: pipes insulation and buildings insulation. I am going to deepen into the second kind.

Some may know, that Poland winters tend to be quite severe. The constructors have a real problem when putting the layers on the building structure, walls or even windows. It is a major issue in order not to let the heat, i.e. energy, go out from the houses or flats. A bad insulation of building may cause a 40% increase in energy use. There are many ways to insulate buildings. In the past the best way was to build thick stonewalls with as little windows as possible. Nowadays people tend to like a lot of light, so the situation is different. To plan a good insulation from the beginning of the construction process is not that difficult, because parameters can be adjusted. The biggest problem in Poland is that every second building is over 40 years old. In the past, the technology available did not permit to insulate well.

It is obvious that it has created an enormous market in Poland for companies that offer insulation systems. One of the most frequently used and “surprisingly” the cheapest is the Styrofoam insulation. The competition is big and involves such big players as: BASF or Nordiska and a lot of local companies: Izolacje, Termodom S.A., JACK-Bud and others.

I would like to spend some more time on explaining and proving why it is so important. In Poland 42% of all energy consumption is used in buildings, from which around 70% goes for heating. To show how insulation can contribute to energy efficiency I will show you some examples in other cols countries. In Poland the average energy input to create heat in buildings is 180 kWh per square meter while in Germany it is 70 kWh and in Sweden it is 40 kWh. Another key element of this problem is the focus on wall insulation. It is proven that most of heat is escaping through walls and as you can see on the picture on the right it is 35% and 25% is

Percentage of heat loss in a building

escaping through the roof. Only by insulating well the external structure we can obtain a 60% more efficient energy use. Recently I could experience this change. My building got renovated and now, in winter we use only 2 radiators out of six and we can maintain the same temperature as before by using 5 of them.

 

The situation in Poland is changing rapidly, mostly because of the accession to the European Union and the financial benefits. But still a lot has to be done and most importantly can be done. I really like this topic because it seems that it is so easy to contribute in a significant way to an efficient energy use. It is like buying a coat for winter in order not to get a cold. Of course I do know that it involves financial investment.

References:

  1. www.energooszczednydom.pl – polish website about building insulation
  2. www.builddesk.pl – information about energy efficiency
  3. www.ecowiseinsulation.net

 

 


Comments Off on Energy Planning – Energy Efficiency in Poland / 31 Dec 2011 por Piotr Adam Lubiewa-Wielezynski
IMSD /

DP 2: To aid or not to aid … toward development

We all know that there is a lot wrong with aid:

-is unpredictable
-is given on short-term basisThe original rubik cube was found by the Hungarian Erno Rubik.
-exists by untransparency of donors and money, which can cause parallel running of projects and waste of resources
-makes dependency
-is politically influenced
-is corrupted and does not arrive where most needed
-is tied in majority
-is in interest of the donor, who has long-term benefit out of it

As Riddell (1) says that all acknowledge that the prime purpose of aid is to contribute to sustainable development and poverty reduction, still their decisions continue to be influenced by short-term political considerations and their own national and commercial interests.

Many donor countries consider that aid is wasted in some failed countries. If a country does not have strategic interest in a specific geographical area, also the amount of aid drops or lacks completely. In case they are interested in a region, still it is out of self-interest considering the fact that “less than half of all aid is completely untied with the recipient free to choose where to purchase the goods and services it needs”(1). What about the core objective of ending extreme poverty, if I give aid only when I get back something for it? We discussed in class the example of Germany, which can stand for many “developed” countries’ strategy: for each 1 Euro given in form of aid, Germany receives 1.8 Euros in export trade afterwards. This might sound well too, considering that this helps to the receiving country still while strengthening the donor country. However, this strategy is not fair towards the regions where no export income is considered and for this is left behind by these donors.

Additionally, aid is not given to a recipient constantly, but can be cut immediately, and if no other donor comes up for the shortfall – which is often the case -, the project will be stopped and the people involved get disappointed as they feel it was promised, their expectations have been risen and then they fall deep. This also influences their future trust in another aid project. To conclude is that even only one failed project can undermine the impact of aid.
Aid can be considered “wasted” also if it does not reach those who need it the most because of corruption. Unfortunately in general the poorest countries which are most in need of aid are the most corrupt. See Corruption Perceptions Index 2011

 

In many of us may arise the question: what if we just stopped aid, given that aid has so many negative attributions and effects or rather limit it to humanitarian relief. Is then any chance for the poorest to get any richer? Do we get rid of the positive and negative effects of aid at the same time leaving no change in the life of the poorest? Some think we can make aid redundant with replacing it by other forms of financing like domestic taxation and other resource mobilization, natural resource expenditures, private capital and other investments and these are all just as crucial to contributing to development and even more essential for sustaining development in the long term (2)

 

On the other hand, many professionals from the development theory and practice ( i.e. Julian Parr, Maggie Black) can not imagine today’s world without aid, stating that in short-and mid-term it is impossible to cut down aid (dependency is too high), until a long-term strategy is being built considering capacity building in “developing” countries and giving them fair chances in the world economy while cutting disinterested agendas. (This issue will be discussed further in the next blog entry)

 

Concluding, it is not much left to think about than make aid more effective. This was the aim of the Forum of Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea (HLF-4, 29 Nov-1 Dec 2011). Devex and McKinsey made a survey (see below) to support the Forum participants, who all agree that it is critical that aid is delivered in the most efficient and impactful way to deliver real results to those living in poverty. The result of the survey may help decision makers and players in aid strategy to direct their focus towards a more effective usage of aid for the future.(3)

References:

(1) Roger Riddell (2010): Why we need a radical re-think of official aid
(2) Sara Messer (2011): A World Free from… Aid?  on 29.11.2011 on www.devex.com
(3) Raj Kumar (2011): McKinsey-Devex survey results on 19.12.2011 on www.devex.com

Maggie Black (2010): The no-nonsense guide to international development


2 comentarios / 30 Dec 2011 por Ildiko Heim
IMSD /

DP; DEVELOPMENT AND THE POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES

 

In my last discussion, i talked about development and where we need to start from. This is a very difficult question which can even affect the whole purpose, since development has got a different meaning for different people, society and even continents. For example the understanding of development from an individual from Africa will defenately be different from another person from Europe. To be able to work on the same table with the same goal, it will be better for countries, to think globally and act locally. This enable the societies to priotise their problems and act with the resources they have. However, there is need to have good strategies in place to achieve good results.

In the past, we have had different strategies like the strucural Adjustment prgrammes (SAP) and now we have the Poverty Reduction strategy Papers (PRSP), all these trying to acheive development. The SAP generally had a good purpose but they proved to have failed because of different reasons depending on the country.  Comparing the two, it is obvious that developing countries would prefer the later as it gives them the opportunity to identify their own problems and priortise them in a consultative process, and also with the focus on national ownership. The PRSP differ from the SAPs only because the SAP focused a lot on outputs. The PRSP describe the country’s macroeconomic, structural, and social policies in support of growth and poverty reduction, as well as associated external financing needs and major sources of financing. It is presumed to enhance implementation precisely because it is embedded in the existing institutional structure and culture rather than being an imposition from abroad. The PRSPs are that they are like the selling document by countries to donors; they try to portray the vision of a country but also the steps on how to get to that vision.

There are five core principles underlying the development of poverty reduction strategies, namely:
· Country driven – involving broad-based participation by civil society and the private sector in all operational steps;
· Results oriented – focusing on outcomes that would benefit the poor;
· Comprehensive in recognizing the multidimensional nature of poverty;
· Partnership oriented-involving coordinated participation of development partners (bilateral, multilateral, and    non – governmental);
· Based on a long-term perspective for poverty reduction.

PRSPs have been introduced as an official recognition that there is no single blueprint for development. However most actors, including the Bank and the Fund, have acknowledged that while PRSPs have improved diagnostics on the various dimensions of poverty and allocation of related social spending, they have not differed much from previous adjustment programmes as far as the core economic policies are concerned.

Despite all the good things above, there are some issues to be looked into critically like;

The ownership

Since the PRSPs will still need an approval from the World bank, should we say that they are country owned? There is a contradiction between the rhetoric on ownership and the request for WB/IMF Boards to endorse the PRSP. Many NGOs are concerned that this contradiction means that governments opt for programmes that they know will be accepted even if this conflicts with priorities identified through consultative processes. This works against the whole purpose of the PRSP in some countries and there is still need to improve the whole process.

The Conditionality

In principle policy targets and actions defined in the PRSP should be the basis of IMF and Bank conditions. However most of the time PRSPs build on loan agreements rather than vice versa. In addition it seems that little has changed in terms of the Fund’s and the Bank’s ‘negotiating style’. Loan negotiations are still conducted behind closed doors within Ministries of Finance and Central Banks, and lack disclosure, public involvement and oversight. While the IMF has engaged in the process of ‘streamlining conditionality’ (and the Bank claims to be doing this too, unofficially) there is little evidence to date that freedom of choice for borrowing countries has increased or that IMF conditionality will be strictly limited to macroeconomic issues, among other remaining issues.

Who and how is implementation monitored?

At the moment countries are required to submit annual progress reports to the Boards of the IMF and the Bank. I feel there is need for a strong civil society for effective monitoring of the implementation of the PRSP, otherwise, their implementation is questionable. This is because there is a lot of corruption, fraud e.t.c in most developing countries, which affects development despite the efforts done.

I feel we need to look at the three issues critically for us to achieve the best otherwise we will reach a point where we will again conclude that the PRSPs are not effective just as the SAPs

In addition to the above isses, the manner the strategies are developed matters a lot  for the ownership to be achieved since this might affect the actual implementation of the document. In this regard, there are some important things which countries need to seriously consider in developing these paper; i.e who should be consultated, which most of the times its affected by time since these documents are done within a specifid period. On the same issue, it can also be affected by the calibre of people who are consulted in the process. I was previledged in my past work to have used the Malawi Poverty Strategy Paper, my job involved creating awareness to the people on the ground about the paper and how they should monitor its implementation. I really liked the contents in the paper,  a very brilliant document with good vision, however i noticed that its implementation was being affected by several issues. Some of the people i met explained that they regard it as an office document since they dont know how it was developed. This obvious because in the process it is not everyone who can be consulted, since its time consuming and very expensive. It is therefore very important for the government to create awareness amongst all the pertinent stakeholders for the people to see the benefits.

On the other hand,  i noticed tht implementation might also be affected by the availability of local technical expertise  within the country. For example, the Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, talks about improving the the increasing income of the poor malawians through fisheries, mall scale mining, tourism activities; these sectors needs special skills for them to grow. However, as a country we have the inadquate skill in these sectors, so this might affect the whole purpose. It is however good that the strategy also plans  to build the capacity of the local people through the introduction of  village Polytechnics, which is an important input for the achievement of the PRSP.

All in all i really feel the PRSPs if handled well can achieve more than we expect.


2 comentarios / 30 Dec 2011 por Tabithah Mkandawire Kaluwa
IMSD /

DP: In Hopes of a Better Future with Better Leaders

Along the course of my blog posts on development perspectives, I have deliberately touched on diverse issues that are related in one way or another to Sustainable Development. That is because I think it is such a cross-cutting topic that reaches so many aspects of our public and private spheres.

Through my writings and our class discussions, I have come to realise that when we discuss about development and the many paths that lead to it, many times the concept and practice of “good governance” comes up.

In my last post, for example, on Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement, I learned that the condition of the environment and the management of resources can reflect the type of governance that is being practiced in a given country. In the case of Kenya, people speaking out against the deforestation of a strip of forest eventually led to the downfall of a dictatorship. So whether we want to believe it or not, the condition and governance of the environment actually plays a deep role in the maintenance of peace and stability as it involves not only trees and nature, but human rights and democracy too.

Thus, it would seem to me that even if a country were to have the perfect social, economic, and environmental resources, and created the most intelligent think tank that crafted the best system to develop the country, it would all go downhill if the leader(s) or government is corrupt, authoritative, untransparent, discriminatory, disconnected from the people, and possess other characteristics that are associated with “bad governance”.

In one of our classes, we were given the opportunity to listen and speak to Mr. Martin Kalungu-Banda through a Skype session. He taught us that leader’s priorities are people’s priorities, and I was particularly moved by some of his words as I have personally seen how leaders can disregard the priorities of the people in order to gain their own political and economic benefits.

I remember when he said (non-verbatim) that “when you stay in power so long, you get sick… you begin to feel that you deserve to be where you are, doing what you are doing.” This idea of being “sick with power” is a scary notion but history has proven, time and again, that it is not just a horror version of a fairytale but is in fact a serious problem that truly occurs in real life to many leaders and their people out there.

The question is how do we build and maintain “good governance”? In the current scenario, does it even exist? Is there a cure for this so-called “power disease”? I would like to believe that there is a solution for it. In the meantime, we still require a system of checks and balances to limit power because if not curbed, a leader in power has potential to transform from hero to villain by abusing the powers that were entrusted to him/her.

In his book, Leading Like Madiba: Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela, Mr. Kalungu-Banda gives the following advice:

“Great leaders know how to move themselves from centre-stage. They know also when it is time to go. They prepare for it and make sure they have a successor who will build on what they have achieved. They enable other people to emerge as potential candidates. This is what sustains the leader’s legacy while guaranteeing a smooth transition. It is not about cloning themselves; it is recognising that they cannot lead forever and that they must create the conditions for fresh leadership to emerge.”

Perhaps then the greatest solution should come from within the leader’s own self – that is to be able to recognise that power is a privilege, not a right, and to know when one’s time in power has run its course.

For many of us, the New Year symbolises the beginning of a better tomorrow. As 2011 comes to an end, I wish the world love, health, peace, prosperity and most importantly, better leadership and improved governance in all sectors.

Here’s looking to a better future!

Happy 2012!!! :)


3 comentarios / 30 Dec 2011 por Syafrina Sharif
IMSD /

DP blog #5. What are good national indicators?

Abstract: This blog follows up blog number 3, in relation to the failures of the GDP, and what elements of society need to accessed in order to accurately report on the whole of society. It has proven nearly impossible to find one indicator that accurately paints a picture of society. However, certain indicators such as the Calvert Henderson Quality life indicator do exceptionally well at coming close to understanding the quality of society in a holistic approach. They prime the canvas with the environment and energy and build up layers of society through both monetized and non monetized aspects of society. We have identified holes in the statistical data. Through the identification and scrutiny of imperative aspects of society we can create more dimensional indicator. If we can illustrate our attributes and shortcomings more accurately, a society as a whole can then hold policy makers accountable for their shortcomings. In my next blog I will try to accurately access the state of my naiton- U.S.A. I hope to give America a real rating, taking into account the various aspects of society.

“Euclid is supposed to have told Ptolemy: There is no royal road to geometry. It is not clear that there is any royal road to evaluation of economic or social policies either. A variety of considerations that call for attention are involved, and evaluations have to be done with sensitivity to these concerns,” (Sen, 85).

I have concluded that the GDP fails to report on the whole of society. At first, I thought that through critical analysis and research I would be able to identify one or at least a couple of key indicators that could best be used to report on the whole of society, (reporting on the 13 factors that affect a citizen and the whole societies well being that I have identified in my previous blog). However, I have not found one particular formula that equally evaluates all sectors of a nation. Amartya Sen has been a great influence and resource for me, in her introduction to Development as Freedom she states, “Growth of GNP or of individual incomes can, of course, be very important as means to expanding freedoms…but freedoms depend also on other determinants’, such as social and economic arrangements.”(3) To expand upon her perspective I want to state that indicators should work towards ensuring a lasting happiness and economic growth does not necessarily result in lasting well being.

Furthermore, the level of sustainable development needs to be highly investigated and accounted for when reporting on the well being of a nation. If we do not take into account the varying aspects of a nation we fail to create a complete picture and cannot create policy to move a nation forward towards happiness. However, through my research it has been made evidently clear that the assessment and measurement of a nation is far more complex then I had once presumed. A variety of methods and indicators must be utilized in order to work for the benefit of the nation.

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We need a multi criteria analysis for indicators. Among them to name a few, (because I have learned there are tons) are as follows the Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators, the Daly-Cobb Index, UNDP’s Human Development and Poverty Indices and New Economic Foundation’s National Accounts of Well-Being and (Un)Happy Planet Index. I also wanted to include what I learned in Environmental Economics and the NAMEA system but this only focuses on the environment. I do however want to state that I believe the NAMEA accounting system uses an ecological approach that best accounts for the degradation and use of the environment. The (Un) Happy Planet index combines human happiness with environmental impact. I think it is very important to first access the ecological efficiency and the state of the environment in a nation, then from the state of the environment, we should move to the efficiency of energy. I think that the land in which we live off of is the foundation for which a society can be built. Degradation of the environment seriously harms the future generations and should be accessed so it can be limited and prohibited. If our environment: the air in which we breathe, the water that we drink and the land in which we farm is secured and sustained then you can move up the ladder to the society and its state.

The Calvert-Henderson Quality life Indicator resulted from an extensive six year study that drew on a variety of players and multiple statistical approaches to account for the well being of a society. I think that it is one of the best indicators not only for the encompassing of 12 different sectors of a society but also for the dedication to constantly be improving the indicator. This constant development to me implies progress this is seen as the indicator is multifaceted and constantly worked on and improved. The Calvert- Henderson Quality life Indicator, reports on the following twelve indicators:
• Energy
• Education
• Employment
• Environment
• Health
• Human Rights
• Income
• Infrastructure
• National Security
• Public Safety
• Re-Creation
• Shelter
The best part of this report is the attention brought to energy. Energy demands are growing exponentially and I think the government should be working to ensure a diversified portfolio when it comes to energy. Energy availability and use should be evaluated in relation to the environment. If this is adequately accessed then we can move to individual freedoms and rights. The GDP reflects on the monetized aspects of society yet ignores key productive non monetized areas of the nation that very much contribute to the well being of a nation. The old paradigm of the industrialized GDP is breaking down and the globalized world is looking towards the Calvert Henderson Indicator as it gains traction and recognition in a new age. Other indicators such as the Daly-Cobb Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare was developed intended to replace the GDP as a more comprehensive indicator but is used only in the US.

In America the reflection of the failures of GDP have led activist and theorist to work towards finding a new index to answer questions about volunteer labor and how it is accounted for, the cost of crime, family breakdown, underemployment, ozone depletion and general environmental degradation. The Daly-Cobb index takes into account average consumption and distribution and environmental degradation. As of today this indicator has only been used in the United States. This indicator is important because it factors in elements of the environment such as depletion of nonrenewable resources and soil erosion and urbanization, loss of wetlands and the cost of air and water pollution. Again, this measure is a great indicator but is not easily measured in developing countries that lack the tools and manpower to seek out comprehensive data in regards to the environment. This same drawback is seen in the HDI, as the indicator reports on infant mortality rate and this statistic is only taken once every ten years in developing countries. The accuracy of data is screwed. So therefore, again, no one indicator can account for the whole of society.

Human Development Index (HDI), pioneered by the United Nations Development Program annually since 1990, which was developed by, the late Mahbub ul Haq and Dr. Inge includes poverty gaps, relative budget priorities between military spending and education, health, gender, environment and other aspects of government performance in over 180 countries. It is clear the Human Development report is trying to work towards a combined measurement of development by encompassing indicators such as life expectancy, educational attainment and income. The HDI seeks to create a single statistic that included both social and economic development. While the HDI represents a distinct improvement over income figures as a measure of human well-being, it so far says nothing about environmental degradation. So, yes the Human Development Indicator is an improvement but fail to report upon the lasting satisfaction of a nation. In my research I have found that different authors weigh different aspects of ones life as more important than others. T.N. Srinkivasan critiques the HDI report and proposes to include operational metric for weighing commodities. I agree that it makes more sense to understand how far ones dollar can go. And that a person who is able to feed themselves on one dollar is clearly better off than a person who has five dollars and is unable to feed themselves. (so we can use things like the Purchasing Power Index) But, I am not sure how much it really tells us. I think there needs to be both a direct comparison as well as a “distinguished capability comparison,” (Sen, 82) I would certainly hope the Human Development Index would be at the top of policy makers list when evaluating their nation but again can not be the only indicator.

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Happiness, well being, and subjective well-being all have different meanings yet when an individual is asked about each and how they feel they all seem be answered in the same way. There is no one single definition as to what makes someone happy. As we have learned in development class there are a lot of loaded words such as development, aid, progress and well being that have no one single definition and are unable to be accessed in one clear way. Gross National Happiness was first proposed by Bhutan’s king in 1972 to replace the GDP. Of course, the use of GNH is more easily said than done. I love that the GNH is based on material and spiritual development as one in the same. The GNH can be compared the Genuine Progress Indicator. The Gross National Happiness is based on the following seven criteria:
• Economic Wellness:
• Environmental Wellness
• Physical Wellness
• Mental Wellness
• Workplace Wellness
• Social Wellness
• Political Wellness
These seven factors are evaluated through both statistical research and surveys. We learned with David Sanderson that the best approach to learning about a community is PRA. A new social science assessment tool that uses participatory rapid appraisal. It aims to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of people to help in the planning and management of development. It seemed like common sense to me, as I think it is common sense to judge the well being of a country by just, simply asking its citizens. However, in developed countries such as America where spirituality seems to be a dying concept, people are assuming that money will buy their happiness. So, even if surveys are conducted how accurate are they in reporting on the lasting satisfaction of a country when moral and opinions are subject to change. I now want to draw some conclusions about income and how money really fails to tell us anything.

Money does not buy happiness. Income and wealth is a key factor in a citizens well being. However, the US for example the levels of satisfaction have not risen over the past 50 years despite the fact that real per capita income has grown during this period. (Bok, 11) So, if my country is apparently winning the GDP race, why aren’t we a happy country. America falls in 15th in a comparative survey on the average satisfaction with life. (Bok,24) Bok continues to point out the rise in income only affected the top 20% so the gap between the rich and the poor has only grown and the overall happiness has not changed. So, therefore this exemplifies how the GDP fails to report on the entirety of the nation. Just because a select few are getting rich does not mean the entirety of the nation is benefiting. The trickle down theory is wrong. Furthermore, the idea that more money will lead to happiness is also wrong. The elite are stating that their happiness has not been affected by the ups and downs of their incomes and that if there level of happiness was accessed longitudinally was barely affected over the course of ones life. Happiness, and more importantly lasting satisfaction is linked with marriage, social relationships, employment, perceived health, religion and the quality of government, (Bok) The champions of the GDP are painting the portrait that the more money you have the happier you will be. “Moreover, an excessive obsession with the creation of material wealth can obscure the ultimate objective of enriching human lives.” (http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/hdi/) Bok continues to bolster this perspective stating that “the pursuit of financial goals as a treadmill in which people’s aspirations are forever beyond their reach leaving them perpetually unsatisfied,”(13) In conclusion, it is not the amount of money you make but stable your income is that makes or breaks ones happiness. Incomes in the US have remained stagnant for year except of course for the super rich. In fact the Washington Post stated that between 1980 and 2004 the wages of typical workers actually fell. Yet, our GDP rose. Policy makers should not reflect on the well being of a nation using the GDP because it report on champions a few and ignores the growing gap between the rich and the poor.

A productive country and a satisfied country needs to honor the private and public sector which can be monetized as well as account for the implications of the underground economy, the social well being of individuals and first and foremost the environment. Efficiency and effectiveness of policy makers can only be derived from accurately accounting for the different sectors of society. The Calvert-Henderson Index stands at the top of my list when accessing the well being of a society. I think it is closest to my previous 13 proposed sectors of society. It is clear that we need more reporting and more research to bolster any one indicator. The politics of happiness is far greater social science then I had first assumed. It was easy to debunk the GDP but has proven nearly impossible to find one single indicator as a solution. The indicators that use a multi faceted approach are the best because they draw from many aspects of society and therefore are giving a more complete picture of the lasting well being of a society.

Work Cited: All previous sources were used in addition to:
Bok, Derek Curtis. The Politics of Happiness: What Government Can Learn from the New Research on Well-being. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2010. Print.

Home | Happy Planet Index. Rep. Economics as If People and the Planet Mattered. Web. 29 Dec. 2011. .

Sen, Amartya. Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.

Sowell, Thomas. Economic Facts and Fallacies. New York: Basic, 2008. Print.

“The World Economy | Economy Watch.” World, US, China, India Economy, Investment, Finance, Credit Cards | Economy Watch. Web. 29 Dec. 2011.


1 comentario / 29 Dec 2011 por Lauren Musiello
IMSD /

Is voluntourism efficient? – DP

Who do you think is winning the most from this experience

Don´t you have friends that have travelled for a short period of time to developing countries to spend some time with poor communities? Or have you seen travel agency´s plans that offer mixed luxury hotels or honeymoons with volunteering? Usually volunteers are seen as big-hearted people that sacrifice a few weeks of their lives in order give something back to society. Is it as good as it sounds? I have always asked myself what are the real effects of volunteer tourism and if it is really effective.

Voluntourism is a term that refers to people that combine travel and volunteering. This is a growing industry, that by 2008 was estimated to move about 1.6 million people and from US$1.7 billion to US$2.6 billion (Tourism Research and Marketing). Volunteers are generally from developed countries and 90% of it is done in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Can it be considered a new way of colonialism where powerful are on top of poor?

By this stage of our development perspectives course it is clear that development is a long-term process and not the sum of short-term projects. As volunteer tourism occurs during a short period of time, it is difficult to see long-term results. In a few weeks volunteers don´t even get to know real local needs. Since volunteer tourism will continue to happen, organizations that coordinate it, together with local governments are in charge of establishing long-term programs and goals. They should assure that every single volunteer that goes has the skills to contribute to achieve development objectives. In other words, volunteer tourism should have planning, a structured program and a continuous follow up. Sadly this is not how it works.

In general, volunteers are unskilled people that don´t know much about the situation of the communities or about development. “Unfortunately, they are led by their hearts and not their heads and unknowingly support environments that may be abusive to children,” said Mark Turgesen, international co-ordinator of ChildSafe Network. These people usually can afford to pay for this experience, which is what makes them attractive. Then it might be worth to ask if it would be better to have a good donation system instead of having lots of people doing unnecessary jobs. In my opinion it would definitely better to have quality instead of quantity: more prepared people, even professionals that can give an added value to the community. If people that can pay are the ones who are going to be travelling, then they must have a comprehensive training period that will let them understand the situation and the impact of their job.

In order to analyze the effectiveness of volunteer tourism it is fundamental to know how communities perceive it. “Insiders call them guilt trips. All those teenagers heading off on gap years, fired up with enthusiasm. And those new retirees determined to spend their downtime spreading a little happiness.” (Ian Birrell, The Observer). What happens at the end is that volunteers go back home fully satisfied and leave children and communities feeling abandoned because they create emotional links. Volunteers must assure a continuous relationship with the community after they finish their trip. According to the South Africa-based Human Sciences Research Council, short-term voluntourism can also undermine local workers by occupying their possible jobs, which can cause resentment, contribute to the poverty situation and make programs be a complete failure. As long as communities don´t value this voluntarism, they are not going to get involved and thus positive results will become impossible to achieve.

Perhaps it would be better to analyze if it is necessary to go abroad on order to help populations in need. It is better to question ourselves if in our own countries we can help and look up for programs that international NGO´s have that might need voluntary work. By taking advantage of academic skills of possible volunteers, this can generate more added value than just spending some time with the communities.



Volunteer tourism should not be only a self-fulfilment action that helps to improve your CV. In order to have results it must be prepared, coordinated and measured. Managing voluntourism is time and effort consuming. Therefore, governments and agencies must balance the positive and negative results of this kind of aid and define standards for people who volunteer and how they are going to do their job. Methods to get communities involved should be established in order to achieve long-term goals and real social changes.

Sources
Carlos M. Palacios Volunteer tourism, development and education in a postcolonial world: conceiving global connections beyond aid, Journal of Sustainable Tourism,Volume 18, Issue 7, 2010 pages: 861-878 (If you can’t get hold of this, there is a good extract from it on: http://www.voluntourism.org/news-studyandresearch64.htm

Birrell, Ain. Before you pay to volunteer abroad, think of the harm you might do. TheObserver, Sunday 14 November 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/14/orphans-cambodia-aids-holidays-madonna

TourismforAid&Development. http://www.aidworkers.net/?q=node/1563

TheDarkSide of VolunteerTourism http://www.utne.com/Politics/The-Dark-Side-of-Volunteer-Tourism-Voluntourism.aspx

Volunteertourism: A global analysis. TourismReasearch and Marketing. Pg 83. January 2008. ISBN: 978-90-75775-34-1
http://www.atlaswebshop.org/epages/61492534.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61492534/Products/ATL_00073.


Comments Off on Is voluntourism efficient? – DP / 29 Dec 2011 por Laura Rubio
IMSD /

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