SOUTH ASIA
October 1992
International Comparisons of Environmental Hazards: Development and Evaluation of a Method for Linking Environmental Data with the Strategic Debate Management Priorities for Risk Management
Discussion Paper
By Vicki Norberg-Bohm and William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development; Co-director, Sustainability Science Program; Faculty Chair, ENRP;
This paper describes and evaluates a method for comparing environmental hazards within and between countries. The method is intended for use by international institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and governments that are involved in setting national environmental agendas or developing environmental programs that require international coordination. The core of the method is a common set of indicators that can be used to characterize any environmental problem. The indicators are designed to reflect both causes and consequences of environmental problems, and to pose realistic demands on available data. We show that by analyzing indicator data in various ways, the method can help to identify sets of "similar" hazards, to flag unusual or outlier hazards that might otherwise be ignored, to show which countries have common environmental problems, and to assign management priorities among hazards. We recognize the central role of values in structuring such analyses. Because the method addresses the value question directly, it can be used to illuminate the implications of preferences that (for example) emphasize present as opposed to future impacts, health as opposed to ecosystem effects, or pollution emissions as opposed to their consequences. Application of the method is demonstrated and evaluated through country studies of India, Kenya, the Netherlands, and the United States.
February 19, 1989
Success Is Within Reach
Op-Ed, New York Times
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
With the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the unilateral reductions in tanks and troop divisions in Eastern Europe, Mikhail S. Gorbachev will have sharply reduced the major military threat to American vital interests. If he continues pursuing his current agenda for the next several years, he will pose for the West for the first time since the late 1940's a conceptual challenge: What do we want beyond victory in the cold war?
February 17, 1989
A Remarkable Realism on Afghanistan; Gorbachev Saw the Futility, We Should See the Opportunity
Op-Ed, Los Angeles Times
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
The withdrawal of the last Soviet soldier from Afghanistan is an occasion not only for rejoicing but for reflection as well. The effect of Soviet defeat may prove more profound than the consequences of American failure in Vietnam. Mikhail S. Gorbachev's remarkable realism here demonstrates an unprecedented willingness to cooperate in resolving regional conflicts.
Costs and Enforcement of Biosafety Regulations in India and China
Journal Article, International Journal of Technology and Globalisation, Special Issue on Genetically Modified Crops in Developing Countries -- Institutional and Policy Challenges, issue 1/2, volume 2
India's Experience with GM Crops: Socio-Economic Impacts and Institutional Challenges
Conference Paper
Forging New Technology Alliances: The Role of South-South Cooperation
Journal Article, The Cooperation South Journal, Eliminating Extreme Poverty: South-South Cooperation and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
By Allison DiSenso, Former Research Assistant, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Former Faculty Assistant to Calestous Juma and Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
