History and geography of identifications related to resource conflicts and ethnic violence in Northern Thailand

Abstract: Resource conflicts often intensify ethnic violence and vice versa. However, in specific cases situations can be more complex than they appear. To understand this phenomenon, this chapter takes incidents of violence in Northern Thailand as a point of departure to explain how the historical construction of ethnic identification is tied to the spatial division of highlands and lowlands. I argue that these incidents of violence are not just about resource scarcity but also about notions of forests and highlands as places of wildness and lowlands as the source of civilisation. The current adoption of a nature conservation discourse among Thais puts forests and hills into a battlefield of perceived resource degradation. Some situations have been aggravated to the point that violence has been perpetuated against ethnic highlanders by lowlanders who have adopted orthodox science and nationalist sentiments drawn from a history and geography of ethnic identification. Taking a political ecology approach, this article highlights the interplay among resources, access rights, identity, history, polity, and space to unveil the complexity and specificity of ethnic violence.     

International healthcare worker migration in Asia Pacific: International policy responses

The growth of the international migration of health workers in recent decades has taken place in the context of the transnationalisation of healthcare provision as well as of governance and policy responses. This paper examines international policy responses to cross‐border health worker migration in the Asia Pacific region. These include multilateral (global and regional) and bilateral policy agreements, policy dialogue and programmes of action in relation to key issues of ethical recruitment, ‘circular’ migration and labour rights and key themes of health workforce planning and management. The paper brings original new analysis of international datasets and secondary data to bear on the pressing and important questions of what international policy initiatives and responses are at work in the Asia Pacific region, and what these mean for the nature of migration governance in the region. The paper's focus routes the evidence and argument towards current research and policy debates about the relationship between health worker migration, health worker shortages and poor health outcomes. In this, the paper brings new insights into the analysis of the international policy ‘universe’ through its emphasis on multiple and intersecting cross‐border institutions, initiatives and actors operating across different scales. Coherent national and international strategies for integrated health worker migration governance and policy need to incorporate these insights, and the paper considers their implications for current strategies to attain universal health care and improved health outcomes in Asia Pacific and beyond.     

Potential futures for road transportation CO2 emissions in the Asia Pacific

Abstract: Will future transportation carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions per capita in Asia Pacific economies follow historical trends of the now developed world? Evidence to date is inconclusive. A comparison at similar income levels (purchasing power parity) between recent emissions in Asia Pacific countries and historical emissions in developed countries suggests diverging patterns. (A) High‐income Asia economies (Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore –‘low emitters’) exhibit lower emissions than a selected sample of seven developed countries (United States, Australia, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and United Kingdom). (B) Another set of Asian countries (South Korea and Taiwan –‘medium emitters’) follow the emissions trends of European countries, which are lower than those of Australia and the United States. (C) A third Asian group (Malaysia and Thailand –‘high emitters’) exhibit emission trends comparable to that of Australia. We describe these trends, examine their causes and extrapolate likely futures for emissions in low‐income Asia Pacific economies (China, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam). Although such predictions are speculative, the available evidence suggests that road CO₂ emissions for Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam will follow those of the third group (high emitters), while those for China may follow either Group B or Group C.     

Understanding ‘resource’ conflicts in Papua New Guinea

Abstract: Papua New Guinea, with its heavy dependence on natural resources, limited economic development in the past two decades, poor record of governance and high‐profile separatist conflicts such as the Bougainville civil war, appears to be an exemplar of the ‘Resource Curse’ theory – the notion that natural resources actively undermine economic development. Using a number of examples from a range of scales, this paper argues that what appear to be ‘resource’ conflicts in Papua New Guinea are actually better conceived as conflicts around identity and social relationships. The very different conceptualisation of natural resources in most Melanesian societies – as elements of the social world as much as any external environmental sphere – means that resources become a conduit for local social and political agendas and tensions to be expressed. The nature of traditional conflict in Melanesian societies is discussed as a guide to the better management and resolution of what appear to be ‘resource’ conflicts in Papua New Guinea.     

Global production networks,the developmental state and the articulation of Asia Pacific economies in the commercial aircraft industry

Abstract: Asia Pacific economies – particularly Japan, South Korea, China and Singapore – play a large and growing role in the commercial aircraft industry, despite the fact that the region has no major independent plane‐maker. Instead, Asia has secured a significant position in the increasingly elaborate global production networks of Boeing and Airbus. The wider Asian significance in those networks has been fostered not only by the region's deep capital and human resource assets but also by the catalytic actions of developmental states in the region. Moreover, decades of rapid air traffic growth have made Asia a crucial market for Boeing and Airbus. In response, the American and European giants have been compelled to outsource more of their business to Asia in order to win sales and to design new airliners tailored to the needs of Asian customers. Together, the increased importance of Asia in both the design and the manufacture of commercial aircraft point to a future in which Asia will capture an ever‐larger share of the value created in one of the world's most technologically sophisticated and strategically significant industries.     

Resource conflict and ethnic peace in northern Thailand

Abstract: Although northern Thailand has experienced both ethnic discrimination and resource conflicts, neither has produced significant organised violence. The relative absence of ethnically mobilised natural resource conflict in northern Thailand is due in part to the historical pattern of state formation, and in part to the Thai state's capacity to deter and mediate conflicts before they escalate into organised violence.     

The setting: demographic mosaic of the Asia Pacific region — issues defining the future

The Asia Pacific region is demographically extremely diverse, with respect to both the sizes of national populations and the processes that determine population growth. Nevertheless, it is clear that in the 1990s development planning needs primarily to confront the implications not of continued high fertility, but of often rapid fertility decline to as yet uncertain levels. This paper briefly discusses these themes as a scene-setter for the papers which follow.     

Introduction to special issue: Meeting the challenges of HIV/AIDS in Southeast and East Asia

Out of a total of 38 million people living with HIV/AIDS globally today, the Asia‐Pacific is home to about 7.4 million – a figure which constitutes a sharp rise to previous years. In absolute numbers, infections in Asia are projected to exceed African figures within a decade. This has largely to do with economic changes towards market‐based capitalism, widening socioeconomic disparities and increased levels of mobility (internal and cross‐border), as for instance in China and Indonesia. Overall, the epidemic in Asia has been described as more complex than in Africa involving a multiplicity of transmission modes. The case studies presented in the contributions to this special issue discuss the connections between issues of mobility, gender, (trans)nationalism and sexuality in understanding the HIV/AIDS challenge in the region. The various ways in meeting the challenges of HIV/AIDS in Southeast and East Asia are analysed, whereby non‐governmental and community‐based responses often emerge as more effective than state interventions.     

Smallholders and the spread of capitalism in rural Southeast Asia

Abstract: Although capitalism is now widely seen to be the world's only remaining form of political economy, most discussion of capitalism is vague regarding what it is and gives it little analytical importance. In this paper, I attempt to determine whether two more explicit conceptions of capitalism – those of Ellen Meiksins Wood and Hernando de Soto – can shed any light on the literature on rural smallholder commodity production in the Asia Pacific, and vice versa. I use the papers collected in this volume to analyse the relevance of ‘market dependence’ (Wood) and the various ‘mysteries of capital’ (de Soto) for agrarian relations in the Asia Pacific. The paper tries to point towards a definition of capitalism that distinguishes it from such related terms as commercialisation, markets, and globalisation.     

A political ecology of violence and territory in West Kalimantan

Abstract: This paper uses a political ecology perspective to examine relationships between violence and territory in West Kalimantan, focusing on the violent incidents of 1996–1997 and 1967–1968. Besides a regional account, the paper examines some of the ways residents of one village were drawn into and chose to participate in violence. The author concludes that while regional analyses can identify broad patterns, local analyses enable a greater understanding of both variation and the processes by which ethnic categories are constructed through violence.     

Large Dams,Restructuring and Regional Integration in Southeast Asia

Large dams are a dramatic intervention affecting ecosystems, livelihoods and resource use, notably in upland areas. Dams are significant, both in terms of their scale of impact and due to their role in appropriating part of the upland resource base for mainly lowland and urban beneficiaries. Whereas in the past the tensions associated with impact of dams in Southeast Asia have been played out within national borders, mainly in Thailand, the new impetus for dam construction reflects an internationalised agenda — namely integration of the mainland Southeast Asian regional resource economy. This paper examines the background to large dam construction in mainland Southeast Asia, current and projected developments, and their implications in a number of arenas. Case studies from Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam illustrate the main points. It is shown that political­economic restructuring associated with the changing geopolitics of the region is a major influence on the revived agenda for large dam construction, and that such restructuring modulates the direct and indirect impacts of dams at local, national and regional levels.     

Structured regionalism in the Asia‐Pacific: Slow but sure progress

Abstract: Notwithstanding the existence of considerable intra‐regional trade, the Asia‐Pacific region was slow to catch onto the concept and phenomenon of regionalism. Not many regional integration arrangements were created in the region and the ones that were created did not go far. Over the preceding three‐and‐a‐half decades, the high performing Asian economies adopted outward‐oriented strategies, promoting brisk trade expansion trade and foreign investment. Asia‐Pacific regionalism was essentially market‐led and uninstitutionalised. Regional production networks were the consequence of market‐led economic dynamics in the region. Large corporations, including transnationals, contributed to the growth of a pan‐Asian industrialisation process and trade expansion. This scenario underwent a transformation in the 1990s, particularly during the Asian crisis of 1997–98. Conscious economic and monetary co‐operation with institutional support increased considerably. Asia‐Pacific economies are more committed to regionalism – both economically and institutionally – now than ever before.     

Researching Pacific island livelihoods: mobility, natural resource management and nissology

Small island literature is vast in focus and aim, and is rooted in many different disciplines. The challenge is to find common grounds for researching small islands conceptually and theoretically. The aim of this article is to comment on how to research small islands, including a discussion on contemporary theories of nissology and conceptual analytical frameworks for island research. Through a review of selected case-study-based island literature on changing livelihoods coming out of the South Pacific, we wish to illustrate and discuss advantages of finding common grounds for small island studies. The focus is on two dimensions of island livelihood, migration and natural resource management, both of which are significant contributors in making island livelihoods and shaping Pacific seascapes. We argue that there is still a substantial lack of studies targeting small island dynamics that are empirical and interdisciplinary in focus and link socio-economic and ecological processes of small island societies at temporal and analytical scales.     

Asia and the Pacific on the move: workers and refugees,a challenge to nation states

In the last 30 years international migration has been transformed from being of little or no significance in Asia to being of substantial economic, social, political and demographic importance. Two types of migration which have increased greatly in significance since the 1970s are international labour migration and refugee movements. Throughout most of the last two decades Asia has had more refugees than any other world region, although numbers have declined in the 1990s with the success of resettlement and repatriation programmes for Indochinese refugees. On the other hand, international labour migration has continued to increase in scale and importance, with the majority of workers moving between Asian countries in the 1990s, although the Middle East remains an important destination. It is argued that two elements, proliferating migrant social networks and the emergence of a vibrant immigration industry, have given a momentum to international migration which to some extent limits the power of nation states to control it. There is some concern among countries in the region that the increase in migration is creating excessive economic dependence upon the export of labour. Fears that migration threatens social cohesion depend upon the extent to which migrants settle permanently in destination areas.     

We're 15 years behind Africa,Asia and Latin America!: Fair Trade meets the Pacific

Fairtrade market growth is characterised by expansion and exclusion in terms of producer opportunity. This paper draws producers in the Pacific region into the debate, analysing the development context among these small‐island developing states and, specifically, the practices and principles of four ‘ethical’ enterprises. The analysis reveals that the unique and complex context in which these organisations operate is at odds with Fairtrade's requirements, standards and assumptions. The paper highlights the need for contextually relevant requirements and principles, and the likelihood of alternative governance arrangements and actors, for an inclusive Fairtrade system and market in the region.     

Blood,timber, and the state in West Kalimantan,Indonesia

Abstract: West Kalimantan (West Borneo) has a history of violent communal conflict.¹ It also has extensive forests that have been looted for decades. The argument will be that these two are linked, but not by the grievances of the forest dwellers. Except in its first few days, the two main episodes of 1997 and 1999 were not driven mainly by grievances among marginal groups. Rather, explanations based on the ‘resource curse’ carry more weight. These focus attention on the contested nature of the state, rather than on rebellious activities of marginal groups. When state institutions were thrown into disarray by the sudden resignation of President Suharto in 1998, Dayak militants already close to state power rewrote the rules of local politics by demonstratively ‘cleansing’ certain areas of an unpopular immigrant minority. This theatrical manoeuvre impressed political rivals sufficiently to allow Dayaks to gain control over several timber‐rich districts, which had a thriving black economy. Malays later imitated these techniques to stem the tide.     

贵州省湄潭地区杀虫杀菌植物资源调查研究

通过对湄潭地区杀虫、杀菌植物资源调查发现,植物对病虫害的作用不同,本文将植物分为8大类：杀虫、杀菌、驱虫、抑菌、抗菌、杀虫杀菌、驱虫杀菌、抑菌驱虫植物。8类植物分布于59科116个种内     

Community economies in Monsoon Asia: Keywords and key reflections

A diversity of place‐based community economic practices that enact ethical interdependence has long enabled livelihoods in Monsoon Asia. Managed either democratically or coercively, these culturally inflected practices have survived the rise of a cash economy, albeit in modified form, sometimes being co‐opted to state projects. In the modern development imaginary, these practices have been positioned as ‘traditional’, ‘rural’ and largely superseded. But if we read against the grain of modernisation, a largely hidden geography of community economic practices emerges. This paper introduces the project of documenting keywords of place‐based community economies in Monsoon Asia. It extends Raymond William’s cultural analysis of keywords into a non‐western context and situates this discursive approach within a material semiotic framing. The paper has been collaboratively written with co‐researchers across Southeast Asia and represents an experimental mode of scholarship that aims to advance a post‐development agenda.