Port strategic planning: Canadian port reform

Recent port reform established major commercial ports as Canadian Port Authorities (CPAs) as federal non-profit, business corporations. Canadian port reform was aimed at allowing CPAs to compete effectively. Canada's major ports operate in an increasingly competitive business environment. To gain advantage over their competition, Canadian ports must develop business strategies dealing with their organizational cultures, institutional structures, operations, and facility provision. Developing appropriate strategies involves creating a strategic plan that considers external and internal port environments. This paper outlines the evolution of strategic planning and its applicability to Canadian ports. The initial literature review is followed by a brief review of Canadian port reform and an analysis of external and internal port environments. This analysis determines the resources available to exploit external opportunities and defend against threats, and considers the internal strengths and weaknesses of Canadian ports. A list of strategic issues facing Canadian ports and how the Canada Marine Act affected them is derived from the analysis.     

Altruism,selfishness and coastal resources

Abstract

The basis for coastal zone management in the United States is established in legislation. In comparison, Canadian federal and provincial governments have adopted a piecemeal approach for managing a variety of concerns examined here: water quality, ecological protection, public access, aesthetics, natural hazards, and water dependency. As a result of this approach, which is characterized by a minimum of federal, provincial, and interjurisdictional coordination, the British Columbia coastal zone is showing signs of stress. For example, major shellfish harvesting areas are being lost to water pollution; ecologically sensitive habitats are being consumed by urban, commercial, and industrial expansion; recreation and tourism opportunities are being impaired by clear cutting and other inappropriate developments; and infrastructure is allowed in flood and erosion‐prone areas. Recommendations to improve the approach to coastal management in British Columbia include a variety of innovations. New federal and provincial policies, legislation, institutions, and experimentation with local and regional integrated resource planning are required to better govern the coastal zone. Increased support for existing agencies, public involvement, and access to information as well as more common use of environmental impact studies are needed to justify proposed coastal developments.     

Conservation and development in Oregon's coastal zone

Abstract

Coastal zone management in Oregon is based on the state's general land‐use law. This body of law is designed to deal with population increase, urbanization, and preservation of agricultural land, as well as with other problems throughout the state. Early planning and policy recommendations for the coast were in the hands of a commission having predominantly local membership. This commission produced an extensive series of studies, policies, and recommendations which were assembled as a proposed management tool for natural resources. Staff of the commission was then absorbed into the state land‐management agency, which developed final goals and guidelines for compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act. Adoption of the coastal goals in December 1976 has triggered deadlines for local government compliance within the coastal zone. The management program is now undergoing federal review.     

U.S. ports: evolution and structure

U.S. ports are facing competitive pressures similar to those being felt by ports elsewhere around the world. Despite the public enterprise nature of U.S. port authorities, they tend to function as 'business-like' organizations. This enterprise-like approach stems from their evolution from being primarily private railroad ports in the 19th century to public competitive port authorities in the 20th century. This paper provides an overview of the evolution of U.S. ports and the ongoing effect of earlier legislation, the varied resulting institutional structures, and current national and regional level issues. Although there is no national ports plan or strategy in the U.S.A. (the Constitution limits federal actions in the ports field) the federal government is involved in providing dredging services through the Army Corps of Engineers, navigation aids via the Coast Guard and other minor port-related services. U.S. ports typically come under the jurisdiction of state or local governments. Increasing competition coupled with other port issues (growing financial constraints, difficulties in obtaining dredging permits, environmental concerns and restricted landside access) is forcing some U.S. ports to enter into strategic alliances with others at a regional level.     

Environmental innovation and the role of stakeholder collaboration in West Coast port gateways

The paper explores the role of stakeholder collaboration in the adoption of innovations as part of the environmental and sustainability agenda of port gateways. We do this through a comparative assessment of the port of Vancouver, British Columbia, and the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. An inductive research approach is used to identify and assess the initiation and implementation process behind exemplary innovations. Innovation includes new technologies and processes for handling and moving cargo, mechanisms for planning and policy making, as well as financing, implementing, upgrading, managing and operating infrastructure systems. A relatively new arena for competition on the basis of innovation concerns environmental performance. The conceptual framework and empirical evidence suggest that while there may be intense demand for and supply of innovation in port gateways, the complex dynamics of the logistics chain are such that successful innovation requires conscious involvement and collaboration of stakeholders.     

The lost waterfront of New York

Abstract

No integrated municipal policy exists for managing the New York City waterfront. Despite much rhetoric and many proposals to renew the city's coast, the municipal government has done little to improve the city's coastal shoreline. External organizations and citizens’ groups have been largely responsible for efforts to improve the use of the city's coastal resources. This article assesses the role of the city government and analyzes the factors affecting its performance in coastal management. It proposes new policies to foster local initiatives and encourages private and public cooperation in the revitalization of the coast. Given the size and diversity of the city's coast, an incremental strategy may be the most feasible and sensible approach to recapture the city's lost waterfront.     

Federal ports policy

In contrast to the centralized port-planning framework that is utilized in some industrialized countries, the US relies on a complex and fragmented framework in which responsibility for the planning, development and operation of landside maritime infrastructure rests with State and local governments. It has been argued that the separation of the federal government from port policy was rooted in the port preference clause of the Constitution. This paper is an effort to determine whether the current decentralized port policy in fact stems from the Constitution and, to that end, reviews how over the years the US Supreme Court has construed the port preference clause in the Constitution. It was found that there is no evidence to support the assertion that the port preference clause has restricted the development of Federal port policy. Moreover, the decentralized and fragmented decision-making process that is evident today does not imply the absence of federal impact. Rather, it reflects federal involvement through multiple agencies and regulatory processes and is a conscious effort, consistent with other areas of transport infrastructure development, to retain local decision-making for infrastructure investments. It is concluded by raising the issue whether current federal involvement in ports (that is, existing federal port policy), through dredging, landside transportation improvements or subsidized capital, among other things, needs to be reappraised before a new round of capital intensive investment begins.     

Port strategic planning: Canadian port reform

Recent port reform established major commercial ports as Canadian Port Authorities (CPAs) as federal non-profit, business corporations. Canadian port reform was aimed at allowing CPAs to compete effectively. Canada's major ports operate in an increasingly competitive business environment. To gain advantage over their competition, Canadian ports must develop business strategies dealing with their organizational cultures, institutional structures, operations, and facility provision. Developing appropriate strategies involves creating a strategic plan that considers external and internal port environments. This paper outlines the evolution of strategic planning and its applicability to Canadian ports. The initial literature review is followed by a brief review of Canadian port reform and an analysis of external and internal port environments. This analysis determines the resources available to exploit external opportunities and defend against threats, and considers the internal strengths and weaknesses of Canadian ports. A list of strategic issues facing Canadian ports and how the Canada Marine Act affected them is derived from the analysis.     

Container terminals in South Korea: problems and panaceas

Korea has achieved remarkable economic growth over the last three decades. This has largely been due to the adoption of export-oriented economic policies. This economic development has resulted in a rapid increase in export and import cargos. Since the foreign trade of Korea is carried predominantly by sea transport (approximately 99.8% in terms of volume), ports play a crucial role in this process. Although recent port developments are aimed at keeping pace with ever-growing seaborne cargoes, problems persist, especially insufficient port capacity and inefficient management and operations. As a consequence, the ports of Korea suffer from serious port congestion. This problem is particularly acute in Pusan, the fifth largest container port in the world. In the past, all ports in Korea were controlled and administered by the Korea Maritime and Port Administration which was a public port authority. In August 1996, the Korean government established a new government organization, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), with a remit to control and manage its seaports and other related activities and to improve management efficiency in the maritime area. As a way of solving problems related to port congestion and other sources of inefficiency, the new MMAF has launched several new port development schemes. In this context, this paper will discuss (1) the extent of congestion in Korean ports, especially Pusan, the major seaport of the country; and (2) governmental and commercial reaction to solving the problems, including measures such as new port development schemes aimed at attracting private and foreign finance. From this analysis, a strategy for port development in developing countries may be inferred.     

The Indian dry ports sector, pricing policies and opportunities for public-private partnerships

At the time of writing (2010), the world is witnessing the aftermath of the most severe financial sector meltdown in modern economic history caused by the real estate bubble in the United States. Its consequences on the real economy, especially in Europe, are yet to be fathomed, and this of course includes the longer-term impacts on international ocean transportation, ports and the distribution of global production.The economic recession has left the international shipping and port sectors with substantial overcapacity. This has resulted in drastic cost cutting measures on the one hand, and voluntary, often consensual, and coordinated reduction of supply on the other. These measures, together with a noticeable recovery in demand, are gradually leading again to improvement in prices charged by carriers and other transport service providers.In view of the country’s expanse; size of population; and regional inequalities, India’s dry ports (inland cargo consolidation and distribution centres) are seen by the government as a pivot of export-led growth and economic development (Haralambides & Gujar, 2011). Moreover, public and private sectors alike see the coordinated development of dry ports as the only way forward in terms of easing pressures at congested coastal ports, thus improving supply chain efficiency. In spite of this, dry port development and operations are still dominated by the public sector, under prices, capacity, land acquisition policies and other conditions that make private sector participation risky and comparatively unattractive. In order to rationalize dry port capacity and prices, this paper argues in favour of greater devolution through competition-enhancing Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). The paper puts forward recommendations for the necessary legal, regulatory and general economic policy interventions based on international best practice, while keeping Indian specificities in the right perspective.     

The California Coastal Act and Ports: The Unintended Environmental Justice Implications of Preserving California's Coastline

Consistent with the policies set forth in the Coastal Zone Management Act, the California Coastal Act seeks to balance the utilization and conservation of coastal resources, taking into account the social and economic needs of the citizens of California. One way the statute pursues this balance is through its provisions for ports. These provisions have functioned as a type of smart growth planning for ports, encouraging densification of existing port districts and possibly averting maritime commercial and industrial sprawl along the California coast. One unintended consequence of the encouraged consolidation of port activities, when combined with the rapid growth in international trade over the last four decades, has been disproportionally large environmental and health impacts on low-income and minority communities surrounding ports. This article examines how the Port of Long Beach's conformance with the California Coastal Act has resulted in ongoing environmental justice concerns. It discusses approaches employed by the Port of Long Beach to reduce environmental justice concerns resulting from significant and unavoidable environmental impacts and offers suggestions for how to address this issue.     

Canadian container ports: how have they fared? How will they do?

Between 1980 and 1989 container TEUs handled at all world ports increased by a factor of 2.11. On the East Coast of North America, the growth factor was only 1.69; on the West Coast, 2.23. These growth factors, when multiplied by the 1980 TEU volume at individual North American ports, give 1989 expected performance levels for the ports. Comparing the expected performance to the actual, it is found in the Canadian context that the big winner is Vancouver; the big loser is Saint John. Halifax and Montreal have outperformed their nearest US East Coast rivals but have not performed as well as southern ports on the Altantic Seaboard. These and other comparisons are made in order to describe how Canadian container ports have performed in the decade of the 1980s. The paper then speculates on how the ports will do in the future, based on a discussion of five factors: port facilities; inland transportation connections; shipping lines serving the ports; demand for container shipping; and legal arrangements between the United States and Canada.     

Considering “Coastal Carbon” in Existing U.S. Federal Statutes and Policies

Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses provide important ecosystem services, including nursery habitat for fish, shoreline protection, and the recently recognized service of carbon sequestration and storage. When these wetland ecosystems are degraded or destroyed, the carbon can be released to the atmosphere, where it adds to the concentration of greenhouses gases (GHGs) that contribute to climate change. Many federal statutes and policies specifically require that impacts on ecosystem services be considered in policy implementation. Yet, no federal statute, regulation, or policy accounts directly for the carbon held in coastal habitats. There are a number of federal statutes and policies for which coastal carbon ecosystem services could reasonably be added to environmental and ecosystem considerations already implemented. We look at a subset of these statutes and policies to illustrate how coastal carbon ecosystem services and values might affect the implementation and outcomes of such statutes generally. We identify key steps for the inclusion of the ecosystem services of coastal habitats into the implementation of existing federal policies without statutory changes; doing so would increase the degree to which these policies consider the full economic and ecological impacts of policy actions.     

Impact of politics,economic events and port policies on the evolution of maritime traffic in Chinese ports

The Chinese government has been exploring various paths to find a direction that better suits China’s national conditions during the past 60 years. Meanwhile, a series of political and economic events and policy transformations have had different effects on the port industry. This article attempts to ascertain how these events and port policies have influenced Chinese port traffic through an empirical study on data covering 1952–2009. The findings suggest that foreign trade has been the prime driver of the throughput of Chinese ports. The increase in the ports’ throughput has enabled an increase in domestic demand and the urgent need for further port investment. Chinese port throughput has been subject to multiple shocks. The Great Leap Forward¹ is found to have had the largest, but only a short-term impact. China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, however, led to a longer and exclusive effect on ports, with little observed effect on the other variables. The reform of port governance is shown to have had a more lasting positive effect on port throughput than physical investment. However, these latter effects are minor, the economic and political factors remain the primary driving factors of port throughput.     

Candian port administraion: its future structre

The administration, management and development of ports in Canada is a Federal government responsibility. This centralist control of ports has been the subject of criticism by many for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it is not responsive enough to the affairs of the local level. This problem, along with others, has resulted in the introduction in the Canadian Parliament of proposed legislation over the past five years to alter port administration and development in Canada. The proposals culminated in the recent passage of the Canada Ports Corporation Act which, among other things, will see the abolition of the National Harbours Board. A review of the administrative structure the new Act replaces, along with a review and assessment of the Act itself and the proposed legislation which predated it, forms the basis of this paper. It will be seen that because of the new Act the centralist approach to port administration is maintained, but greater local autonomy and financial self-sufficiency will also be available to ports. However, the central administration will still have the problem of co-ordinating the development of Canadian ports, since ports will continue to be constituted under at least four different pieces of legislation.     

Candian port administraion: its future structre

The administration, management and development of ports in Canada is a Federal government responsibility. This centralist control of ports has been the subject of criticism by many for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it is not responsive enough to the affairs of the local level. This problem, along with others, has resulted in the introduction in the Canadian Parliament of proposed legislation over the past five years to alter port administration and development in Canada. The proposals culminated in the recent passage of the Canada Ports Corporation Act which, among other things, will see the abolition of the National Harbours Board. A review of the administrative structure the new Act replaces, along with a review and assessment of the Act itself and the proposed legislation which predated it, forms the basis of this paper. It will be seen that because of the new Act the centralist approach to port administration is maintained, but greater local autonomy and financial self-sufficiency will also be available to ports. However, the central administration will still have the problem of co-ordinating the development of Canadian ports, since ports will continue to be constituted under at least four different pieces of legislation.     

Institutional structure of Canadian ports

Canada's federal government is responsible for ports. Despite this, an integrated national ports system has not been established. The Canadian system includes: the Canada Ports Corporation; Harbour Commissions; and Transport Canada's Public Harbours. These are historic divisions. Following a failed 1970s attempt to place all ports within Transport Canada, in 1983 parliament opted for a Crown corporation model in establishing the Canada Ports Corporation for Canada's major ports. This paper addresses the question of whether, in today's increasingly competitive environment, a more integrated and businesslike national system of ports is required. Alternative systems range from centralization to regionalization and enhanced 'commercialization' of local ports to privatization. A suggested alternative for Canada includes incorporating all commercial ports within the Canada Ports Corporation, using a regional system for planning, and augmenting local autonomy of financially self-sufficient ports by making them crown corporations. Eventual privatization of the expanded Canada Port Corporation is also considered.     

The implications of increased competition among ports for port policy and management

The increased competition faced by ports is more focused than previously on the performance of logistics systems of which the individual terminals in ports are critical hubs. The changes in competitive conditions raise issues about appropriate public port policies and strategies of port managements. This paper argucs that the port industry should (and is) moving in the direction of more harmonized policies based on economic principles. Port policies based on cost recovery from users of port facilities and services need to be adopted as the international standard. The competitive environment favours considerable local autonomy. Port management, in addition to possible direct responsibility for terminal management, needs to focus on activities with economies of scale or scope. Such activities, which span the requirements of terminals and may even warrant inter-port cooperation, enhance the services available for many port users.     

Towards a common ports policy? EU-proposals and the ports industry's perceptions

This paper discusses the European Union's (EU) proposals to improve the efficiency and infrastructure of European ports, and investigates the extent to which these proposals are welcomed by the ports industry. On the one hand, the analysis of the recent EU policy developments makes apparent that the EU is increasingly impinging upon the port industry's life. On the other hand, the findings of the semi-structured interviews with the industry's representatives suggest that although port authorities and port operators remain in principle against a coherent common EU ports policy, the industry believes that certain EU initiatives can enhance the competitiveness of the maritime transport system.     

Dynamics of Integrated Coastal Management: PEMSEA's Experience

The ultimate goal of integrated coastal management (ICM) is to improve the quality of life of coastal inhabitants through achieving the sustainable development objectives. Achieving this goal, however, is often hindered by policy and financial and capacity barriers. This article discusses the role of the interaction between the dynamic forces and essential elements of ICM to address the environmental and management issues at the local level. The experience of Xiamen Municipality, People's Republic of China, is highlighted to showcase how it transformed from an environmentally degraded municipality into a modern, urban garden city in a span of just more than a decade. The socioeconomic and ecological benefits of ICM in Xiamen are obvious, measurable, and well-appreciated by both the government and the citizenry. Useful lessons have also been drawn from several ICM initiatives in East Asia in relation to strengthening coastal management. The key ones are briefly discussed.