| Forestry research indicates open inquiry
A study by three of Oregon State University's College of Forestry researchers is likely to reignite the controversy over which method -- natural regeneration or logging/replanting -- works best for transforming fire-blackened stump-scapes into green seedling forests.We don't expect universal agreement; few topics are as contentious as forest management. But at least the study published Wednesday in the Journal of Forestry should extinguish lingering embers of doubt over whether OSU's forestry college fairly airs research that contradicts earlier research more favorable to the timber industry. In early 2006, critics accused some OSU forestry researchers and Dean Hal Salwasser of censorship, quashing of academic freedom and bias after they attempted to delay the January 2006 publication of graduate student Daniel Donato's research in the journal Science.
South Africa: Growth Beyond the Comfort Zone
IS GOVERNMENT's Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (Asgi-SA) bold enough? One year after the launch of this important intervention, two questions must be asked: are Asgi-SA's priorities the right ones, and is there sufficient determination to identify and cut across competing priorities within the state? Asgi-SA aims to halve poverty and unemployment in SA by 2014. Its approach is to identify constraints on growth and encourage initiatives to remove these blockages. Asgi-SA was widely welcomed at its launch and is a positive intervention. Selecting the binding constraints was difficult for policy makers, who are rightly concerned with losing focus if the list is too long. Six obstacles to growth were identified, encouraging government to focus on the most important issues. The chosen constraints, with some accompanying comments from senior officials in the Presidency, are: .
Gov’t readies for rice plagues
Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam (Viet Nam Economic Times) newspaper talked with Cao Duc Phat, minister of agriculture and rural development (MARD), about rice and the summer-autumn season. As broadcast, the rice summer-autumn seasons will face many difficulties caused by an epidemic in the Mekong Delta region. Does MARD have any solutions for that problem? Based on experiences from the winter-spring rice crop in 2006/2007, we have learned some lessons. We gathered more accurate methods to guide farmers anxious to avoid diseases caused by brown hoppers (a small insect). So the output of rice in this winter-spring crop is higher than last years by 200,000 tonnes. However, in the next summer-autumn rice crop the climate will likely be more favourable for disease development.
Internationalization of the Cypriot Banks
The recent developments in Cyprus banking are driven to a large extent by the banks desire to grow through further internationalization in the region. This article addresses the issue of internationalization for the Cypriot banks and suggests actions for increasing their capabilities in this area, given that internationalization is a major pillar of their strategy. Successful internationalization requires significant international experience which often accumulates over time by doing the right things, i.e. servicing relevant countries and relevant markets. When the target region is South East Europe, servicing developed countries like the UK, does not help to accumulate relevant know-how, as economic conditions, business practices and cultures are very different. Furthermore, servicing overseas clients from home may not have any significant contribution to experience, if the target markets are broad local markets such as SMEs and retail customers.
To Create Good Jobs, Reform Labor Regulations
India has been remarkably successful in boosting economic growth: its economy has grown at about 6 percent per annum since the 1990s, with growth accelerating to 9 percent over the past two years. Absolute poverty has been cut in half, and the country seems set to achieve middle income status soon. Among all this good news, some puzzles remain. Despite recent growth, Indias manufacturing sector still accounts for less than 15 percent of GDP and employs less than 15 percent of the work force. This is in stark contrast to the fast-growing East Asian countries such as Korea, China and Thailand where rapid expansion in manufacturing has generated large scale employment that has lifted millions out of poverty. For most Indians, especially the poor and marginalized, labor is the principal asset.
Looking Back at the 7th World Social Forum
As the snow-covered alpine resort in Davos, Switzerland prepared for the arrival of 2,400 business and political leaders and their staffs in late January, about 25 times as many activists and journalists gathered in the warmth of the African sun of Nairobi. It was the beginning of the 7th World Social Forum (WSF), the first full Forum to take place in Africa. Grown in the fertile soil of the international alliances built in the streets of Seattle outside the WTO meetings of 1999, the World Social Forum took root in the city of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. The Forum, as it is called by regulars, was created as an alternative to the World Economic Forum, which has met in Davos each year since 1971 (except for 2002 when the meetings were held in New York). The WSF idea was to create a meeting place where activists could showcase and critique alternatives to the corporate globalization being offered at Davos. The Forum has grown rapidlyand has changed shape somewhat as well.
ASTANA PLAYS RUSSIAN CARD IN ENERGY TALKS WITH EUROPE
Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov visited Baku on April 4, his first foreign tour since being appointed as head of the government in January. The trip followed the EU TroikaCentral Asia meeting of foreign ministers in Astana on March 29, which was part of belated European efforts to win the favor of Central Asian states in order to alleviate the Wests appetite for energy and minimize their dependence on Russian gas. Masimovs trip to Azerbaijan might raise hopes among EU member states regarding the possibility of an energy alliance with Kazakhstan. In Baku the Kazakh prime minister called Azerbaijan a strategic partner, terminology Astana more commonly uses regarding the major players in Central Asia. The current global energy situation has increased Astanas interest in Azerbaijan as a major gateway to European oil and gas markets.
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