As understanding of global environmental degradation and the
transboundary effects of pollution grew throughout the 1990s,
IGCC initiated a research program in international environmental policy to
respond to the need for greater scholarly and policy attention to these issues.
The IGCC research program on the environment generally falls into these main
categories:
Global environment issues such as biodiversity, ozone depletion, and protection
of rainforests. IGCC helped create a UC-systemwide program on global climate
change to bring objective scientific and technical expertise to the United
Nations climate change negotiations.
Transboundary environmental issues such as pollution control, water allocation,
control of straddling oil fields, wildlife conservation, and the protection of common resources such as fisheries.
Issues involving the interplay between environmental/health concerns and
trade agreements and the role of these concerns in determining international
lending practices.
Projects currently in development focus on coastal water quality management
in Southeast Asia, conservation of biological diversity through forest managment
in Malaysia, and the effects of atmospheric pollution on agricultural output.
Southeast Asia is home
to some of the world’s best-known beach and island resorts, which have
helped make tourism the region’s fastest-growing industry. Coastal
water quality is emerging as an important determinant of the industry’s
future growth. Sewage and industrial effluents have degraded water quality
throughout
the region. At the same time, international tourists have become more aware
of the potential health risks they face when vacationing at beaches.
IGCC, in partnership with the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and the World
Bank, organized the 2007 international workshop "Beach Water Quality and Tourism in Southeast
Asia: What Role for Public Information Programs?" which was held in Penang,
Malaysia. Participants
included government officials from Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand,
and Vietnam, regional experts from Hong Kong and India,
representatives from NGOs, the media, and the World Bank, and faculty from
USM and six campuses of the University of California. The workshop objectives were to: assess
the impacts of beach water quality on public health and tourism in Southeast
Asia, review experience with public information programs on beach water quality
in other parts of the world, and evaluate the role that such programs could
play in protecting human health and promoting more sustainable, more profitable
recreation and tourism industries in Southeast Asia.
The
initial focus of Project ABC is Asia, where
over 50 percent of the world’s population lives
and where industrial and demographic growth rates are
high. A primary thrust of Project ABC is to assess the
impact of brown clouds on the Asian monsoon, which brings
live-giving rainfall to the region. Recently, evidence
has emerged that an immense and persistent cloud of
aerosol pollution has already
affected temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation
in the region.
Environmental Fellowship Opportunities
Since 1995, IGCC has awarded doctoral dissertation fellowships for work
that addresses topics such as transboundary environmental conflicts, regional
relations, global environmental policy, and regional approaches to global
environmental policy.
Selected Publications on International Environmental Policy
Number: Policy Paper 29 Title:The Political Economy of International Environmental Cooperation Author(s): Changhua Sun Rich, Eugenio Bobenrieth, Brian Potter, Heather Carlisle, Paul Williams, Alan Richards, Richard Ackerman Published by: IGCC Pages: 106 Year of Publication: 1997
Number: Policy Paper 28 Title: The United States and Global Environmental
Risk Reduction Author(s): Raymond Clemencon Published by: IGCC Pages: 28 Year of Publication: 1997 Number: Policy Paper 24 Title:The Northeast Asian Cooperative Dialogue IV:
Energy and Security in Northeast Asia Author(s):
Susan Shirk, Michael Stankiewicz Published by: IGCC Pages: 68 Year of Publication: 1996
Number: Policy Paper 14 Title:Promoting Regional Cooperation in the Middle East Author(s): Fred Wehling, Lewis Dunn, Ali Ghezawi,
Yoram Avnimelech, Howard Adelman, Richard Rosecrance Published by: IGCC Pages: 42 Year of Publication: 1995
Number: Policy Brief 11-1 Title:Smoothing the Waters: The Jordan Rift Author: Richard T. Carson, Nadja Marinova, David Zilberman Published by: IGCC Pages: 4 Year of Publication: 1999
Title: The Journal of Environment and Development Author(s): Gordon J. MacDonald, founding editor Published by: Sage Publications Year of Publication: 1995
Title: Space Monitoring of Global Change Author(s): Gordon MacDonald, Sally Ride Published by: IGCC and the California Space Institute Year of Publication: 1992
Title: Latin American Environmental Policy in International
Perspective Author(s): Gordon J. MacDonald, Marc Stern, Daniel Nielson, eds. ISBN: 0-8133-2424-6 (paper) Published by: Westview Press Year of Publication: 1996
Title: Practical Peacemaking in the Middle East Volume II: The Environment,
Water, Refugees, and Economic Cooperation & Development Author(s): Steven L. Spiegel, David J. Pervin ISBN: 0-8153-2000-0 Published by: Garland Publishing Year of Publication: 1995
Title: International Crop Breeding
in a World of Proprietary Technology Author(s): Brian Wright Published by: CABI Publishing Year of Publication: 2000
Title: The Value of Plant Biodiversity for Agriculture Author(s): Robert E. Evenson, Brian D. Wright Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press Year of Publication: 2000
