Coastal Resources as an Engine of Economic Growth and Reduction of Poverty in West Africa: Policy Considerations

This article synthesizes lessons and outcomes from the second international Coastal Zone Asia-Pacific conference (CZAP) on “Improving the Quality of Life in Coastal Areas,” held in Brisbane in September 2004. The conference theme was chosen as a follow-up from the first CZAP that identified priority actions in response to the increasing recognition of social issues in coastal management, particularly those aiming to improve the state of the coastal areas in the Asia-Pacific region. The second CZAP explored the “quality of life” theme by placing emphasis on rectifying coastal poverty, sustaining livelihoods, and protecting cultural heritage. Mechanisms to address these issues were explored through international agreements, participatory research, capacity building, and education, as well as the continuing need for integrated planning, environmental management, and effective monitoring and evaluation. A post-conference survey showed that the second CZAP resulted in 122 initiatives (82 underway and another 40 planned) to progress the improvement of quality of life in coastal areas. These initiatives ranged from the establishment of a unit that is responsible for river basin and coastal zone management by the Thua Thien Hue provincial government in Vietnam, to a collaborative on-ground livelihoods project between NGOs, government, and financial institutions on coastal zone management facilitated by the Asian Development Bank. However, the authors argue that two key challenges for ICM in the Asia-Pacific region remain. These challenges relate to the effective monitoring and evaluation of ICM initiatives, as well as matching future ICM initiatives to emergent priority areas.     

Extant Legal and Jurisdictional Constraints on Irish Coastal Management

The success of any coastal zone management policy is dependent on, among other things, effective legislation and its enforcement. This article examines some possible legal constraints on the implementation of an integrated coastal zone management policy in Ireland. An introduction to the existing legal framework is provided, and the inconsistencies and ambiguities related, in particular, to jurisdiction and area of responsibility are highlighted. In particular the effect of land ownership and property rights on coastal zone management are examined with reference to two popular resort beaches in County Donegal, Ireland. While a revision of the relevant legislation is desirable, it is probably unrealistic; however, powers are available to the various institutions involved in coastal management that are currently unused. These are reviewed and their potential to improve coastal zone management is discussed.     

Predicting Stakeholder Support for Fishery Policies

Fisheries management has been used to address declining fisheries and threats to livelihood and food security. Past research suggests that public support for fishery policies is a necessary component for sustaining the long-term success of fisheries management. This study predicted public support by examining fishers’ perspectives on co-management and fish catch since the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs), a commonly employed fisheries management tool. Data were obtained from onsite surveys (n = 505) with fishers from three municipalities in Cebu, Philippines: Oslob, Santander, and Samboan. Structural path analyses revealed that beliefs about co-management and fish catch predicted support for fishery policies (R² = 59%). Separate path analyses for each municipality showed that co-management had greater influence in predicting public support for fishery policies in Oslob and Santander. Fish catch was a better predictor for public support for fishery policies in Samboan. Results can help local governments, non-governmental organizations, and fishery managers to prioritize, plan, and improve fisheries management in municipal waters.     

Spatial and Temporal Modeling of Beach Use: A Case Study of East Anglia,UK

As tourists are sensitive to weather conditions and changes to the environments they visit, it is likely that climate change will affect coastal recreation in the future. To understand these impacts, it is first important to quantify how visitor numbers are associated with beach characteristics and weather patterns. Using the East Anglian coastline, UK, as a case study, information on the spatial distribution of visitors recorded from aircraft flights is combined with beach characteristic data in a Geographical Information System. In addition, surveys are undertaken at two beaches to assess temporal variations in visitation. The study finds a diverse range of characteristics are associated with visitor numbers. These findings are evaluated alongside the anticipated effects of climate change and management policies. Although it is predicted that warmer weather will increase visitor numbers overall, sea-level rise may reduce numbers at wide sandy beaches, which are currently most preferred by tourists.     

Optimization of shipyard space allocation and scheduling using a heuristic algorithm

In this article we describe the development of a tool that allows planners to efficiently and effectively plan space within valuable areas of a shipyard. Traditionally, space is considered as resource; however, it is difficult to accurately account for and plan its consumption with the currently available planning software’s. The spatial scheduling tool described in this article can be used by planners to manually or automatically reserve space within the shipyard for construction of large blocks over the entire erection period of the ship. The software is coupled with a heuristic optimization solver inspired by an algorithm used for "3D bin-packing problems." The result is the ability to efficiently generate and compare multiple space allocation alternatives in a reduced time with the ultimate goal of maintaining the critical ship erection schedule. A better solution than manual or semi-automatic allocation of blocks can be obtained through the optimization module.     

Optimizing shipping company operations using business process modelling

In order to identify the elements constituting quality in services, a business process modelling methodology has been applied in the case of a Greek liner shipping company. The company operations have been identified and analysed in order to assess the complete performance of service elements and thereafter identify how to match the service performance against the user requirements. A liner container service within Europe has to compete with the road transport which, in many cases, is an alternative to the sea transportation and not complementary to it. Thus, not only the ship has to be envisaged when aiming to improve quality in services but also the whole chain, namely port authorities, land transportation enterprises, subcontractors, agents, charterers and others. A set of potential improvements within this framework are thus suggested and time and cost (examined in a specific voyage scenario) are measured before and after the implementation of these measures. Very large time and cost savings are observed after the application of the technology improvements, allowing, in fact, the shipping company to even increase the number of round trips per year in the examined route. This indicates that very large benefits can be drawn by analysing and critically adjusting business processes in modern shipping companies.     

Shipping freight derivatives: a survey of recent evidence

In an industry that is characterized by highly volatile prices, seasonality, strong business cycles, cyclicality and capital intensiveness, risk management is extremely important. Ship-owners and charterers face enormous risks, which emanate from fluctuations in freight rates, bunker prices, interest rates, foreign exchange rates and vessel values. These risks substantially affect the interplay between revenue and cost. Modern risk management techniques, involve the use of financial derivatives products, some of which have been developed exclusively for protecting (hedging) against the adverse price fluctuations of the aforementioned sources of risk in shipping. By using derivatives products, ship-owners and charterers can secure (stabilize) the level of their future income or costs and thus reduce uncertainty and unforeseen volatility of their cash-flow. To explore the importance of hedging freight rate risk in shipping operations, a survey of recent empirical evidence that has appeared in economic studies has been conducted. Developments over the past 20 years have been fast, with certain amount of research carried, which has helped to understand better the special features of these derivatives markets. They are all summarized in the current study, which can provide the stepping stone for further work in the area of shipping derivatives and risk management in shipping.     

Pedestrian gap acceptance for mid-block street crossing

Abstract

This paper investigates pedestrians' traffic gap acceptance for mid-block street crossing in urban areas. A field survey was carried out at an uncontrolled mid-block location in Athens, Greece. Pedestrians' decisions and traffic conditions were videotaped in terms of the size of traffic gaps rejected or accepted, waiting times and crossing attempts and vehicle speeds. A lognormal regression model was developed to examine pedestrian gap acceptance. It was found that gap acceptance was better explained by the distance from the incoming vehicle, rather than its speed. Other significant effects included illegal parking, presence of other pedestrians and incoming vehicles’ size. A binary logistic regression model was developed to examine the effect of traffic gaps and other parameters on pedestrians' decisions to cross the street or not. The results reveal that this decision is affected by the distance from the incoming vehicles and the waiting times of pedestrians.     

Monopoly,Subsidies and the Mohring Effect: A Synthesis

Abstract

This paper provides a unifying framework to analyze whether a monopoly transit provider will under or over-supply frequency. To this end we couch the problem in term of Spence [(1975). Monopoly, quality and regulation. The Bell Journal of Economics, 6, 417–429] who analyzed the incentives to provide quality by a monopolist. We show that all of the results of a recent academic exchange discussing this topic are special cases of Spence [(1975). Monopoly, quality and regulation. The Bell Journal of Economics, 6, 417–429], albeit with an adjustment in order to take into account the cost structure of frequency provision in the case of public transport. In theory then, there are cases when a monopolist may offer optimal or above optimal levels of frequency without requiring subsidies. However, public transport is rarely provided by an unregulated monopolist. Rather, these services are usually provided either by an exclusive operator under regulated fares or by a group of competing operators, with or without fare regulation. We show that in the first case frequency will always be below the social optimal level.