This case study tells the story of the proposed Balkans Peace Park and its genesis and evolution as it progresses from an idea into reality, aspiring towards official Track 1 recognition. Download the case.
Publications
The following list displays the most recently added publications at the top.
The Evolution of the Balkans Peace Park Project (Case Study)
Responsible Mining
Better mining corporations want to adopt “Responsible Mining”. This paper outlines what responsible mining actually is and offers a guide to corporations wanting more information on how to become responsible. Eight principles are outlined, followed by a discussion of No-Go Zones to mining: which sites are off-limits to all mining and why. The Annex on Compensatory Offsets suggests that, on occasion, there may be some exceptions to a No-Go Zone. Download Research Paper Here.
YGL Initiative on Indo-Pak Cooperation
This report provides an account of the first six months of a new initiative by Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from India and Pakistan to address shared risks and improve co-operation. Begun in late-2010, in response to the catastrophic floods that had struck Pakistan, the initiative was formally launched at a conference at LUMS in Lahore, Pakistan, in July 2011. Given its origins of concern at the humanitarian consequences of the floods of July 2010, the initiative began with a focus on underlying issues of climate change, water resource and disaster risk management. Read the report.
The Ramsar Convention: A new window for environmental diplomacy?
This report, authored by Pamela Griffin, examines the potential of the Ramsar Convention to take a more robust diplomatic role in countries that share transboundary wetlands and have a degree of conflict with one another. A total of 234 transboundary wetlands are listed with the Convention (View Map). Many are located in countries presently experiencing conflict with one another or, at the least, do not trust one another. This report makes some recommendations for enhancing the environmental peace-building nature of the Ramsar Convention. Download Research Paper Here
Development of the REDD Options Assessment Report: Clarifying an emerging policy concept
This case study, authored by Elise Schadler, tells the story of the REDD Options Assessment Report (OAR), a document developed through a facilitated process to best capture uncertainties around and recommendations for the policy concept of REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). The OAR and those involved with its development have been integral to the inclusion of REDD in the United Nations climate change negotiations. Based on detailed interviews and document analysis, the case reveals the intricacies of international climate change negotiations and the diversity of stakeholder groups and countries involved with moving them forward. Download Case Study Here
Grand Strategy in the Great Game: Strategic Interests and Objectives of States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
This case study, authored by Fen Wang, tracks the evolutionary development of a growing influential regional organization – The Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In order to understand the organization, a diversity of researchers from both the West and the involved states of the SCO were interviewed. Methods of content comparative analysis of both literature and qualitative interviews were adopted in an integrative manner to provide an analytic document for teaching purposes. Download Case Study Here
Emerald Triangle Forest Complex
This case study, authored by Kimberly Marion Suiseeya, analyzes the challenges and opportunities of working towards cooperative goals in a trans-boundary conservation area. Based on detailed interviews and fieldwork in the region and with the International Tropical Timber Organization, the case is particularly well-suited for students and practitioners interested in working on eco-regional management in sensitive border regions. Download Case Study Here
CIRCA and Sustainability: The World's Largest Jewelry Buying Corporation
This case provides a detailed description of a company that buys pre-owned fine jewelry from the public and places it back into market circulation. The case describes the founding and evolution of CIRCA’s business model and discusses the company’s working culture, organizational structure, and methods of distinguishing itself from the competition. The company has requested that the full case be only made available to faculty / trainers for class-use. Please email ieds@uvm.edu to get a copy sent to you with this proviso.
Managing Fish Quotas between Canada and the United States
This case study, authored by Melissa Haeffner tells the story of inter-boundary natural resource management in the Lake Erie (Canada-United States) region facilitated by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. As an advisor, you have been called upon to propose mechanisms for building adaptive capacity. Download teaching case here.
Special thanks to Professor Ellen Marsden and Professor Donna Parrish for their critical review of this case. A teaching note is also available for class usage by contacting ieds@uvm.edu
Botswana's lessons for mineral policy frameworks
Click here to download report: Many developing economies have been receiving increasingly significant amounts of foreign direct investment in mining over the past two decades. As mining expands in these new mineral economies, this sector has become a significant source of social and political conflict. New mineral economies must implement savvy policies that preempt and mitigate the challenges of mineral-led economic development. This essay is divided into three principal sections. The first compiles and reviews the key social scientific literature regarding the economic, political and social problems associated with mineral-led development strategies. The second section draws from the case of...