OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development
Open access peer-reviewed journal
Enhancing Destination Competitiveness for a Sustainable Tourism Industry: The Case of Maldives
Mariyam Waseema
Maldives Development Research Institute (MDRI), Machangolhi, Malé, Maldives.
Volume 10, Issue 02, Pg. 11-23, 2017.
Abstract
This research paper investigated the competitiveness of the Maldives tourism industry from the perspectives of destination competitiveness for a sustainable tourism industry. Largely exploratory this paper uses a combination of inductive and deductive approaches through a two stages exercise.
Maldives tourism industry now faces some major challenges. First is the sustainable development of the tourism sector. The sharp increases in mass tourism and degrading the country’s scarce and fragile natural resources and policy measures are required to protect the fragile eco systems. Weak coastal zone management has created problems in waste disposal. The impact of climate change is eroding the sustainability of the tourism industry. New hotel construction, waste disposal and increased tourist activities are degrading the environment and threaten the fragile ecosystems. Another challenge is the intense competition from its regional rivals such as the Seychelles and Mauritius which share the same customer base which could result in the Maldives losing its market share to them.
The literature review was used to identify two research questions and two research propositions were developed for testing. Qualitative data were collected through a literature review and personal interviews. Quantitative data for the second phase was collected through a questionnaire survey and analyzed by way of descriptive statistics. Finally, the paper offers appropriate recommendations for consideration by both the Government and industry to enhance the destination competitiveness of Maldives for a sustainable tourism industry.
Keywords: Maldives Tourism Industry, Sustainable Tourism, Destination Competitiveness, Exploratory research, Descriptive Research
Upgrading and allied impacts on contract seafood producers
Bernard F. Monnaie
University of Seychelles, Seychelles
Volume 10, Issue 02, Pg. 24-36, 2017.
Abstract: Upgrading is thought to afford an enterprise better opportunities for improving its business prospects. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the upgrading processes that a small-scale enterprise may undertake – for entering a foreign market, and their associated impacts as a mixed-methods study of small-scale contract fishers of Seychelles inter alia reveal. A model and two assumptions were developed based on the Global Value Chain (GVC) literature and the resourced-based view of the firm, respectively. In the study, data from a structured survey helped assign 36 randomly-selected sole-vessel producers to a Managed Value Chain (MVC) – a chain exhibiting deliberate supply-demand alignment processes, and 34 randomly-selected other producers to an Open-market Value Chain (OVC) – a chain displaying no intentional supply-demand alignment processes. Difference of means tests (t – tests) were subsequently undertaken on 5 months’ of production level, capacity and efficiency data of the two independent groups. Four of the highest-producing MVC producers subsequently provided a semi-structured interview on their production-related attributes. The difference of means tests show overwhelming statistical support of a strong impact (at p < 0.01) of upgrading on the production capacity and level of its beneficiary, but no support (at p > 0.10) for a similar predicted impact on its productivity. The semi-structured interviews inter alia suggest that the MVC producer tends to be an expansion venture of a firm from another economic sector and its productivity is shaped by its directly-controlled as well as marine resources. The firm venturing into fishing tends to upgrade its production process to secure supply contracts from MVC buyers, particularly the exporters, by leveraging access to finance, information and market. Later, for reasons partly linked with governance and environmental sustainability threats, the MVC contract producer downgrades its production process to also target native markets too. While the ensuing multi-chain operations help the contract producer to sustain its viability, they appear to subsequently increase both the supply risk of the MVC buyers and their horizontal competition. A practical recommendation is that a seafood chain can make business gains by strengthening its supply-demand alignment and the environmental sustainability of its exploited resources. The study is the first of its kind in small-scale fisheries in Seychelles, and perhaps in the World, to uncover two characteristic business expansion processes, namely, production process ‘scale upgrading’ and ‘scope upgrading’. In response to opportunities and/or threats, small-scale contract producers tend to combine them to seek economies of scale and/or scope gains through intra/cross chain multi-buyer operations.
Keywords: Barriers of entry; Contract producers; Process upgrading; Seafood chains; Value chains
When Good Intentions Are Not Enough: Revisiting the US-India Solar Panels WTO Dispute
Gladwin Issac a, Trishna Menon b
a,b Gujarat National Law University,
Attalika Avenue, Knowledge Corridor, Koba, Koba (Sub P. O.), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
Volume 10, Issue 02, Pg. 37-44, 2017.
Abstract: The US-India Solar Panels dispute, before the WTO, made waves at a time when, India had gone from having virtually no solar capacity to boasting of being one of the world’s fastest growing solar industries. On the heels of the recent global summit in Paris to tackle climate disruption, the WTO has ruled against an important piece of the climate solution puzzle: India’s ambitious program to create home-grown solar energy.
The US challenged the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission at the WTO alleging that India’s power purchase agreements with solar power developers mandated the use of India-manufactures solar cells and modules, which would amount to a forbidden domestic content requirement under India’s WTO obligations. In September 2016, India lost the appeal it had filed against the WTO Panel Ruling.
At a time when India is forging an ambitious security alliance with the US, including cooperation on solar energy and climate-change issues, the Appellate Body’s adverse ruling is a sober reminder that in the mercantile trading framework, bilateral considerations and climate change issues are subservient to the interests of the developed world. In addition to this, The ruling has come under severe criticism, from environmentalists, as undermining India’s efforts towards promoting the use of clean energy. However, there appears to be no rational basis for how mandatory local content requirements contribute towards promoting the use of clean energy as solar power producers should be free to choose energy-generation equipment on the basis of price and quality, irrespective of whether they are manufactured locally or not.
This paper attempts to simplify the Appellate Body and Panel Reports so as to present the issues involved broadly, the arguments of the parties and the findings in the simplest manner possible and yet bring out the significance of the decision. The authors also seek to place the decision against the context of the global movement towards addressing climate change issues by pushing for cleaner energy.
The present piece of work is divided into three parts. Part I gives a broad overview of the technicalities of the legal dispute, Part II looks into the arguments of the parties before the WTO Appellate Body and its findings, and with Part III, the authors offer a conclusion.
Keywords: Domestic Content Requirements; India-US Solar Panels; Renewable Energy; WTO
Food Security, Livelihood, Health and Coping Mechanism Scenario in Disaster Prone Villages of Bangladesh
M. Manjurul Islam
DNET (a social Enterprise)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Volume 10, Issue 02, Pg. 45-57, 2017.
Abstract: Coastal areas of Bangladesh more vulnerable in terms of climate change, and coastal zone experience the adversative consequence of the natural disaster. The whole seaside region is affected by the ferocious storm and tropical cyclones during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon season. Bangladesh coastal zone could be labeled a geographical “death trap” due to its extreme helplessness to cyclones and storm surges. Consequences of the natural disaster lasting for a long tenure in coastal areas which negatively affected food security, people lives and health condition. People of this areas face challenges to cope with a post-disaster situation where they applied their community-based knowledge to overcome the most terrible condition. This study commissioned for analyzing and evaluating the post-disaster situation in the coastal zone and evaluate the entire scenario of food security, livelihood, health and coping strategies. The utmost disaster affected two coastal villages from Khulna district had been picked as a study area. In this study exclusively survey method was applied and primary data were collected through interview schedule and focused group discussion. Basically, interview conducted with the household heads and sample drawn by applied simple random sampling techniques. Specifically, focused group discussion was conducted with household heads to realize the coping mechanism to counter food insecurity. Descriptive statistics employed as quantitative data analysis; whereas, the thematic investigation was applied in the qualitative analysis. In this study, basically focused on the household food consumption pattern, sources of basic food components, household status of food storage by own production, status of food shortage and reason of food shortage, the impact of food shortage and food security, post-disaster health problem. Exclusively identified household coping strategy severity as ranked by community people and the household coping mechanism by community people.
Keywords: Bangladesh, Coping Mechanism, Disaster, Food Security, Livelihood