1,187 research outputs found
European Policies towards Palm Oil - Sorting Out some Facts
Get PDFThis paper analyses the role of palm oil and its sustainability from different perspectives. We consider the role of palm oil within the GHG context. We discuss the impact of palm oil on biodiversity and analyse how palm oil can contribute to economic growth and development in tropical countries. Finally, based on this analysis, we assess the current concerns about and politics towards palm oil with special focus on the EU. Palm oil is a low-energy and low-fertilizer crop that offers much higher yields per hectare than other oil crops. Furthermore, if the energy obtained by the residuals in the production process is used properly, the energy balance of palm oil production is much more favourable compared to other biofuels. Overall, palm oil turns out to be much more efficient than other oil crops and therefore offers significant advantages within the context of GHG savings. Contrary to some recent campaigns and the perception among European citizens, oil palm plantings are not a major contributor to deforestation in tropical countries. Deforestation associated with oil palm plantings is much less significant than postulated by some recent campaigns. Furthermore, biodiversity in oil palm plantations is much higher than in most monocultures in the EU. Palm oil is an important driver of economic development and growth in tropical countries and contributes to the reduction of poverty and hunger in the developing world. The EU Renewable Energy Directive is discriminatory from the outset and the GHG saving values and their interpretation are based on wrong assumptions and faulty calculations. Therefore, the EU should reshape its policies towards palm oil, conduct objective and non-discriminatory calculations regarding the GHG emissions saving values and support palm oil imports from developing countries rather than restricting them. Together with certain initiatives to further enhance energy efficiency and to protect precious habitats combined with strategies to strengthen property rights and encourage efficient land use and successful strategies of agricultural development, this would not only prevent political conflicts and trade disputes in conjunction with the issue of palm oil but also foster economic growth and development, reduce poverty and - not least - contribute to the ambitious GHG emissions savings goals on a fair and reasonable basis.Renewable Energy, Palm Oil, Biodiversity, Sustainable Development, Environmental Policy
Een Europees leger moet zijn ingebed in een bredere veiligheidsaanpak
No full textMet de brexit en verkiezingen in zicht wordt 2019 een cruciaal jaar voor de EU. Deel 4 van een serie: Trineke Palm, postdoc onderzoeker aan de Universiteit Utrecht, over de noodzaak en risico’s van een Europees leger
Embedded in social cleavages: An explanation of the variation in timing of women's suffrage
No full textUnder which conditions did introduction of women's suffrage occur before the First World War (early), and when only after the Second World War (late)? This article analyses necessary and sufficient conditions to explain both early and late introduction of women's suffrage in 14 Western European countries using Rokkan's cleavage theory, which distinguishes between four cleavages: religious, ethnic-linguistic, class and sectoral. In addition to testing Rokkan's cleavage theory, this study adds a structural dimension to agency-based studies on the role of the women's movement, which helps to explain why some such movements had much earlier success than others. Finally, this article advances the democratisation literature that takes the timing of the introduction of male suffrage as a proxy for the timing of the introduction of women's suffrage, as the timing of the introduction of male suffrage does not necessarily mean early introduction of women's suffrage. Based on fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), the article shows that the absence of an ethnic-linguistic cleavage is a necessary condition for early introduction of women's suffrage. Moreover, the fuzzy-set analysis highlights that the absence of a religious cleavage combined with a class cleavage or a sectoral cleavage combined with the absence of a class cleavage is sufficient for early introduction of women's suffrage. Concerning late introduction of women's suffrage, it is the combination of a class cleavage with a religious cleavage or the presence of an ethnic-linguistic cleavage in the absence of a sectoral cleavage that prove to be sufficient. © 2012 The Author(s). Scandinavian Political Studies © 2012 Nordic Political Science Association
The changing character of EUFOR Althea: power politics or learning?
No full textStates have different strategic cultures when it comes to legitimating the use of military force and its relation with other foreign policy instruments. However, increasingly, military operations are conducted in multilateral forums; EU military operations are one of the most notable examples of this development. While some claim that these operations reflect power relations between nations with different strategic cultures, others argue that these common missions involve states in a process of collective learning and convergence of interests. Drawing upon an advocacy coalition approach, this paper confronts the competing hypotheses in the case of European Union Force (EUFOR) Althea in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), as the EU’s longest running military operation (since 2004). On the basis of policy documents and semi-structured interviews with policymakers and politicians, this paper concludes that the evolution of EUFOR Althea has been primarily the result of the power politics of different coalitions, but there have also been a few instances of learning
Normative Power and Military Means: The evolving character of the EU's international power
Get PDFCrum, B.J.J. [Promotor]Hooghe, E.A.E.B. [Promotor
Smallholder Oil Palm Handbook
No full textModule 1: Planting Materia., 24 pages.Module 2: Harvesting, Grading, Transport, 25 pages.Module 3: Plantation Maintenance, 53 pages.Smallholder Oil Palm Handbook Module 4: Fertiliser Application, The Netherlands, 64 pages.Module 5: Pests and Diseases, The Netherlands, 29 pages.<br/
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