Decentralization Law Research Articles

Collaborating to Compete—The Governance Implications of Stakeholder Agendas at Mount Pulag National Park, the Philippines

Regional planning has long sought to manage places that extend across political boundaries. The international trend to decentralize governance and promote co-management of protected areas is consistent with emerging collaborative spatial planning theory (Healey, 1997, 1999, 2006), which suggests that through dialogue, parties assert multiple cultural perspectives, share knowledge, and forge shared landscape values as the basis of decisions. As a form of collaborative spatial planning, co-management specifies shared resource management power between national government and one or more local or indigenous communities. Both approaches assume decentralized governance systems. Although critics fault collaborative planning for glossing over historical and cultural contexts, and for ignoring power in decision making, few case studies ask why partners participate or how specific decentralized governance institutions affect plan implementation. This paper draws from a study of co-management at Mount Pulag National Park, the Philippines—a shared indigenous cultural landscape that was to be managed by a board representing multiple local, indigenous, and national jurisdictions. Tracing road decisions by two municipal partners, the paper summarizes how and why major stakeholders adopted and then circumvented protective policies by building duplicative road projects across fragile forests. In this context of changing indigenous rights, the same decentralization laws that enabled co-management also rewarded competition and strategic behavior that weakened the collaborative and fragmented the shared landscape. The case demonstrates the need to interrogate, rather than assume the benefits of decentralized governance and to study why stakeholders participate before relying on voluntary collaboration to manage regional landscapes. The initial version of this paper was presented to the 2006 annual meetings of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Fort Worth, Texas.

Neoliberal Agenda in Bolivia and its Aftermath

The neoliberal agenda was implemented in Bolivia (1985-2004) with great orthodoxy and confronted great opposition from grass-roots movements. The resistance culminated with the election of Evo Morales in 2005. This chapter analyzes the privatization and decentralization laws of the neoliberal era, the shadow they still cast over Morales government, and the role of the Andean culture in guiding collective strategies that led to the new turning point in politics marked by the election of Morales. Neoliberalism was imposed throughout Latin America in the context of the onerous indebtedness of the 1970s that provided the needed leverage for the International Monetary Fund (IMF ) to grant stand-by loans to countries in economic crisis during the 1980sthe lost decade. Sanchez de Lozada 's administration (1993-1997) completely reconfigured Bolivia in spheres such as education, taxation, property rights, etc. Keywords:Bolivia; Evo Morales; International Monetary Fund (IMF ); Latin America; neoliberal agenda; Sanchez de Lozada

Decentralization of educational development reforms in Nigeria: a comparative perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to seek to appraise regional compliance to decentralization laws establishing Education Boards and Committees since the Nigerian Government has for some time now been making efforts aimed at reforming her educational system.Design/methodology/approach – Employing ex post facto design, the study uses survey data generated from 1,939 participants, who are key stakeholders in the education sector between 2003 and 2005. Participants include men, women, youths, school administrators, teachers, politicians, traders, community leaders et al., from suburban, urban and rural areas of the country.Findings – Findings emerging from analysed data, using comparative means show low regional compliance to the decentralization law establishing Education Boards and committees.Research limitations/implications – There was a poor response (43 percent) from sampled participants in the South Eastern Zone, when compared to other zones having over 90 percent response.Practical implications ...

Regional autonomy and local resource management in Indonesia

Abstract: As the largest archipelagic nation in the world, with distinctive environmental conditions and biodiversity, Indonesia on the one hand has tremendous natural and environmental riches while on the other hand faces a variety of environmental problems. After three decades of the New Order era, 1967–1998, Indonesian society is in a crucial transformation process towards a more democratic era. At the same time, as indicated in that country's decentralisation laws No. 22/99 and 25/99, Indonesia is also shifting its style of government, from a centralistic to decentralised one. These two trends are happening simultaneously with globalisation prompting a flow of global capital that directly increases pressure on the Indonesian environment. This paper evaluates the decentralisation of environmental management programmes in Indonesia and focuses on the implications of these changes. The weaknesses of current environmental policies and programmes in Indonesia, which give too dominant a role to the government and neglect civil society's involvement in natural resources and environmental management, are analysed. Further, the paper addresses the lack of attention to date to issues of environmental rights and justice that create many complex environmental and social conflicts throughout Indonesia. We conclude by recommending some fundamental changes to environmental policies and programmes in the decentralised system.

MASALAH-MASALAH HUKUM AKTUAL DALAM WACANA REFORMASI AGRARIA DI INDONESIA

AbstrakThis article does endeavor to launch many issues in recent agrarian reformin Indonesia. Many factors become considerations to conduct newlyagrarian reforms and momentously. The prior agrarian reforms outstandingin the ideal agrarian and land tenure structure that has reflected many landconflicts needs adequate resolution. That situation coincides to the hugenumber of deprived people who living in less in public service such as food,education, health, living hood that have reflected any social-economic gaps.All of them ideally are the mostly agrarian concern to be accomplished bymainly idea to create ideal land tenure and access to land itself. Ultimately,the unfinished on delegation of power between central to local government inpost decentralization law since 1999 has been substantial problems.

9 - The State of the Process of Decentralisation in Cameroon

The pace of the process of decentralisation in a given context unavoidably depends on the degree of favourableness of the legal environment and the dynamism of stakeholders (especially of local authorities, the state, develop- ment cooperation partners and civil society). This paper seeks to inform on the state of the process in Cameroon by exposing its current legal environment, its constraints and the level of organisation of its key actors in relation to the legal environment. Drawing from this assessment, the paper assesses the shortcom- ings of the decentralisation process in Cameroon while arguing that the objec- tive for embarking on decentralisation in each context varies with its promoter. In the case of Cameroon, decentralisation constitutes the legal, institutional and financial means through which regional and local authorities operate to foster local development with the active involvement of the population. Through the devolution of powers to local entities, local development could be enhanced and a contribution made to the fight against poverty. The assessment of the legal framework and of its stakeholders shows that the decentralisation laws passed in 2004 in Cameroon have local development and governance as their main thrust. The new laws certainly create an environment that represents an irreversible step forward for the process of decentralisation but are in need of completion by the passing of legal instruments of application for them to effec- tively accelerate the pace of the decentralisation process and good governance. There is also need for better organisation and coordination of interventions of the stakeholders. The process is currently hampered by especially financial constraints on local authorities and limited capacities of the actors and benefici- aries of devolved powers. The paper concludes with a plea in favour of inter alia the strengthening of the capacities of all stakeholders through an approach that is sustainable if the objective of decentralisation is to be met.

Public Financing in Developing and Transition Countries

The widespread adoption of fiscal decentralization laws during the past 25 years can be mostly tracked to economic efficiency gains and nation‐building objectives. Subnational governments (SNGs) in industrialized countries account for about twice the share of total government expenditures as in developing countries. Transition countries also assign more expenditure responsibilities to SNGs than do the developing countries. There has been little growth in the SNG expenditure or tax shares over the past three decades. We confirm the basic hypotheses that the SNG expenditure share is significantly higher in countries with higher incomes, larger populations, and a lower degree of corruption.

Cultural Decentralization A French Decentralization Model

The debate on centralization ofr decentralization is an old one in France. Settled by Napoleon I, relaunched by General De gaulle in 1960, renewed by Francois Mitterrand in 1982 and recently backed up by the <>, it can be seen that France is lavish in policies in this domain.. Although this past decade has witnessed a strong financial and institutional upsurge, stimulated both by the resoluteness of the central power and by growing dynamism of regional communities, fundamental questions still remain unanswered; Can the definition of general interest and standards be entrusted to local authorities? How can one build a real balance of power between central and peripheral organization; generally according to France history how can one build a Girondist State in a Jacobin manner? The objectives of this paper are to analyze through the financial aspect of the cultural sector the complex relations that bind the centre and the periphery in France, to highlight the reality of the French decentralization policies mainly subjected by the "1982 Decentralization laws."; By observing the means devoted to the cultural sector between 1980 and 1990 we will take a focus on the political game of power sharing between the central power and the regional communities.

The Bolivian Decentralization Process and the Role of Municipal Associations

This discussion paper looks at the Bolivian decentralization model. The objective of Bolivian decentralization is to consolidate the process of popular participation, and to promote regional economic development by means of a more equitable distribution of national income and improved administration of public resources. The legal framework of Bolivian decentralization is established by two principled laws; firstly, the LPP, defines decentralization on the municipal level and represents a new dimension of governmental reform, creating an important link between the state and civil society. Second, the Law of Administrative decentralization (LAD-adm) organizes the structure of the executive power in each Department so as to underpin administrative decentralization. Overall the decentralization process in Bolivia can be seen as an important step towards restructuring the old centralized state into a more democratic one. However, as the social uprising and protests which took place in October 2003 show, the decentralization laws alone didn't solve the economic and social problems in Bolivia.

Turning in Circles: District Governance, Illegal Logging, and Environmental Decline in Sumatra, Indonesia

Indonesia is rapidly losing its forests. In some measure this is due to the extensive illegal logging networks operating in heavily forested districts across the archipelago. While the extent of this critical problem is now understood, insufficient attention has been paid to its underlying political and social causes at the district level. Based on fieldwork carried out in Sumatra during 1996-1999, this article examines the emergence and operation of logging networks in one district. This article argues that the roots of illegal logging can be found in the shifting economic and political interests of diverse actors at the district, subdistrict, and village levels. As these actors enter into exchanges and accommodations around logging, they create the de facto institutional arrangements governing timber operations. After examining the impact of political and economic changes on this phenomena, this article concludes that the logging epidemic has complex, multidimensional causes that allow for no easy remedies. Moreover, as many of the dynamics described here will continue to predominate after Indonesia implements new decentralization laws, this ensures that the informal system of exchange and accommodation described here will continue to shape forest outcomes.

Complexity in local stakeholder coordination: decentralization and community water management in Northern Ghana

AbstractStakeholder coordination is a prominent theme in current development discourse. Experience with decentralization and community water management in northern Ghana highlights the complexities of coordinating stakeholders at the local level. In this case, roles and responsibilities must be clarified between legislated sub‐district structures on the one hand, and civic water groups on the other. This is especially important with regard to resolving which party should collect revenues and manage assets and expenditures in the water sector. The key mechanism for addressing these issues is the District Assembly, which is empowered under the decentralization law to coordinate stakeholders, both ‘horizontally’, across social actors, and ‘vertically’, between the national and sub‐district levels. While such local‐level dynamics are indeed complex and challenging, they are at the same time probably more amenable to at least medium‐term resolution than stakeholder competition issues at the national level. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Indonesia in 2001: Restoring Stability in Jakarta

Research Article| February 01 2002 Indonesia in 2001: Restoring Stability in Jakarta Michael S. Malley Michael S. Malley Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Asian Survey (2002) 42 (1): 124–132. https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2002.42.1.124 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Michael S. Malley; Indonesia in 2001: Restoring Stability in Jakarta. Asian Survey 1 February 2002; 42 (1): 124–132. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2002.42.1.124 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAsian Survey Search This content is only available via PDF. © Regents of the University of California Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

L'intercommunalité sportive, moteur d'une nouvelle gouvernance sportive locale ?

Sports intertown community, as the engine of a new local sports governance ? Sports, not mentioned in the decentralisation laws, were taken into account by the Chevènement and Voiney Laws. Still they do not assume a compulsory competency and remain submitted to the political decisions of deliberative assemblies. After analysing how the laws are implemented from the juridical viewpoint, the writer shows the general situation on the national level, and particularly in the South West. He then shows how this reshuffling of the territory is such that it could create a new authority on the local level. After foretelling the evolution of sports politics according to a number of relevant territories, to which fragmented competencies may be linked up, he wonders about the bases of a new decision-making process.

Toll roads and the development of new settlements; The case of Surabaya compared to Jakarta

Throughout history, communication and transportation have been the pri mary generators of new settlements, especially where two or more modes of communication and transportation intersected. Great civilizations were established in the deltas of major rivers such as the Nile, Euphrates, Indus, and Yangtze. These ancient civilizations were the result of communication, the exchange of resources, and increasing mobility of human beings. In Indonesia as well, towns and cities were basically the product of the intersection of water and land communication routes and the growth of transportation. Before the establishment of Surabaya, Tuban and Gresik were the main seaports of East Java, enabling communication with foreign coun tries from China to the Middle East and Europe. Surabaya, founded on sedi ments brought downstream by the Brantas River, was of tactical importance because of its strategic geographical position connecting the inland capital of the Majapahit kingdom with the Java Sea and overseas destinations. Gradually, Surabaya gained more importance and eventually became the main city in Indonesia from the sixteenth century until the establishment of the Dutch colonial government. The town managed to maintain this position until Batavia (later Jakarta) became the seat of the colonial government in the early nineteenth century. With the introduction of the new decentralization law (22/1999), which gives considerable autonomy to local administration and which has been in effect since 1 January 2002, Surabaya has been given the opportunity to regain its previous importance. An important means to stimulate growth of the economy was the con struction of major roads, including many freeways, whether with or without tollbooths. In the 1970s, the central government initiated the construction of trans-island highways on major islands of Indonesia, such as the Trans Sumatran Highway, Trans-Kalimantan Highway, and the Trans-Irian (now Papua) Highway. Toll roads were also constructed in many cities, for two reasons: to boost urban growth by connecting several towns and cities and to generate income.

Urban communities and environmental management in France: the example of the Toulon Bay Contract

Until the beginning of the 1980s, land planning and urbanization efforts in France were rather centralized. Since the decentralization laws (1982) were enforced, the urban development process is under local control with the development of contracting agreements between the State and territorial communities. Today, environmental protection is one of the major issues at stake in most of the urban communities, as is the case for coastal urban areas like Brest on the Atlantic coast or Toulon on the Mediterranean. This paper elaborates on the Toulon case through the preparation of a Bay Contract, a typical contracting agreement between local, regional and national Authorities about water quality and uses in the frame of an integrated coastal area and river basin approach. Located on the Mediterranean coast, Toulon is also presented as a typical European Mediterranean city.

Education decentralization in Argentina: a ‘global-local conditions of possibility’ approach to state, market, and society change

This research examined the international origins, national intentions, and local interpretations and actions of the most recent education decentralization movement in Argentina. As a mixed-method, multi-level study, the research was framed with the understanding that current reforms like education decentralization must be approached as contemporaneously constituted policies but historically constructed processes. Using historical methods and archival analysis, this research traced the patterns and pressures of the international policy environment in which policies like privatization, deregulation and decentralization have gained much attention. It reviewed Argentina's recent current educational decentralization laws in light of these global trends as well as their national and subnational context. Employing technical, political, and narrative methods of policy analysis, this research examined the degree of correspondence between the laws' international origins and national intentions and the actors' local interpretations and actions of them. Drawing from the ‘analytic narratives’ that resulted from this study, the bulk of this article compares actors' interpretations, re-actions, and en-actions of education decentralization in three provinces of Argentina. By assessing the relationship between the provinces' political, economic, and cultural contexts and the actors' interpretations and actions of education decentralization, the research concludes that both material capacities and symbolic identities affect the outcomes of education decentralization.

Sport and the State in contemporary France: From la Charte des Sports to decentralisation

Recent French success in international competitions has drawn attention to the role of the State in encouraging both élite performance and mass participation in sport. This article traces the evolution of the Etat gestionnaire in the sporting domain: from its origins in the Charte des Sports imposed by the wartime Vichy administration, through the administrative continuities and political changes of the Fourth Republic, to the ambitious programme of reform instigated by de Gaulle in response to the perceived humiliation of the nation's athletes at the 1960 (Rome) Olympic Games. The ‘special relationship’ deemed to exist between the State and the national sports federations is itself considered in the final section of the discussion, with particular reference being made to the education system, governmental and non‐governmental organisations, and arrangements for funding; this administrative apparatus is specifically analysed in terms of the impact of the Socialist government's decentralisation laws of 1983.

The Pitfalls of Political Decentralization and Proposals for Reform: The Case of New York City Public Schools

A powerful movement toward government devolution is underway in the nation. Frustrated with the limitations and inefficiencies of big bureaucracy, a growing chorus of reformers from different ideological backgrounds calls for the loosening of bureaucratic constraints. Reformers want states and localities to have more control over their affairs and front-line workers to be empowered (Dubnick, 1994). As devolution proposals gain momentum, reformers should consider New York City's 26-year experience with public school decentralization. Although there are differences between contemporary devolution proposals and New York's school decentralization (which emerged during the racial turmoil of the civil rights era), there are also similarities. Both desire to bring government closer to local constituents. Both propose to increase local officials' discretion over hiring and other functions. Both assume that smaller government will spur greater citizen involvement and that enhanced discretion will unleash employees' creativity to better serve the community. The passage of New York's school decentralization law in 1969 marked one of the nation's most ambitious experiments in community government: a radical form of political decentralization that generally involves transferring decision-making authority from bureaucracies to locally elected lay boards (LaNoue and Smith, 1973). The idea of community control, which initially found form in federally funded antipoverty programs that sprang up in the nation's cities in the mid-1960s, was to give inner-city minorities influence over remote, unresponsive bureaucracies staffed largely by whites (Yates, 1973). The hope was that government would be forced to be accountable. States and cities soon followed suit, decentralizing a variety of programs. Foremost among them were the public schools. An important, unintended consequence of political decentralization was corruption. With vast reservoirs of jobs and money, community programs soon became centers for power and patronage, harking back to Tammany Hall (see, e.g., Reeves, Collier, Phallon, and Severo, 1974). The pitfalls of community control are illustrated by New York's experience with school decentralization, where program vulnerabilities in the context of politicized, often poor, urban communities led to unintended widespread and systematic corruption (Segal, 1995). A majority of the city's 32 school boards carved their districts into fiefdoms where jobs were doled out to loyal campaign workers, lovers, and family or sold for cash. The ideological and historical context out of which school decentralization arose in New York created an environment hospitable to corruption. Community control was viewed not merely as a means to an end, but an end in itself. Politically empowering the poor was intended not only to force government to address their needs, but also to give them the political skills and self-esteem to enable them to integrate into mainstream society (Altshuler, 1970). In the school decentralization context, political goals such as ethnic succession and averting a racial crisis were the legislation's immediate aim. Improving pupil competency was only a long-range goal (State Charter Revision Commission, 1974, 32-46). This is only a step away from a world where power is the only goal, and long-term educational goals are lost in the tumultuous fray of local politics. A closer look at what happened in New York shows structural vulnerabilities in decentralization that might occur anywhere if proper safeguards are not in place. Despite the examination of decentralization's pitfalls, it is not the intention of this analysis to advocate centralization, which has its own hazards. Decentralization Hopes and Aspirations Decentralization followed over a decade of turbulence in which minority school enrollment grew dramatically, citywide reading scores plunged, and dropout rates rose. …

Entreprises et collectivités locales

Private businesses and local authorities (cities, districts, regions) are linked by many interests. Firms, a source of income for local collectivities have been in ever increasing demand by the local authorities to finance their investment since the new modality of corporation tax in 1980. But with fewer businesses and jobs, companies are an important issue for these local powers and are becoming more important now with new economic responsability given in 1980 by decentralization laws.

Distinguishing characteristics of the Martiniquan economy and constraints on modelling

The decentralization law confers on local elected representatives powers in the fields of economic, social and cultural development. For this purpose we have constructed a large-scale macroeconometric model for Martinique. The purpose of this article is to present the model and discuss its capacity. To begin with we shall set out its general structure. We shall then describe the relationships that have been selected for solving the model. Finally we shall examine the power of the model, first of all in retrospective simulations and then from the point of view of economic policy. The variants selected are: a demand policy, a supply policy and a policy aimed at bringing the Martiniquan minimum wage up to the level of the metropolitan wage.