WATER RESOURCES USE, ABUSE AND REGULATIONS IN NIGERIA

The evolvement processes of water laws in Nigeria, as well as their efficiency in the sustenance of surface water resources, were studied. A cursory look was also taken into the mode of access to water resources by households in Nigeria. This was done vis-à-vis the governmental effort at providing potable water for its teeming population as well as the Land Use Act of 1978, which vests absolute control and ownership of all water resources, ground and surface, in the land owner. About 47 million Nigerians still rely, exclusively, on surface water sources to meet their domestic needs. Yet, pollution discharge into the surface water by individuals and industries go on unmitigated, unregulated, and unpunished due to weaknesses in the existing laws. The involvement of the scientific community in the regular calibration and monitoring of surface water quality as a tool for managing the surface and groundwater resources, among other things, would be an advantageous tool for curbing the pollution menace

Innovation: the impact of grace period to protect intellectual property.

Firms protect their innovations by mobilizing mechanisms like patent and secret. Using these means of protection they aim to obtain value and knowledge (Hannah, 2005). Each means of protection present particularities according to the countries and legislations. Indeed, there are different requirements to hold a patent: 1) a patent holder must work on the invention within a specified time limit; 2) the patent application is kept secret until a patent is granted; 3) the rule of the “first-to-invent” (in The United States), or “first- to-file” (in most other countries in the world) can be applied. So we try to understand the impact of the grace period law to choose a mechanism to protect intellectual property. We focus on previous research on patent law (Harriel, 1996; Breesé, 2004, 2002; European Commission Research; 2002; IP Australia Patents Trade Marks Designs Plant Breeder’s Rights, 2005), and recent data on intellectual property protection by firms, to analyze the impact of the grace period system in the world (particularly in Europe and America). We identify characteristics and advantages of the grace period and we identified the limits related to its application. Then we stress how firms can manage relationships to adapt to the laws restrictions using mechanisms to protect intellectual property. We show how institutions facilitate and limit firm’s activities to protect their intellectual property. So to innovate and succeed in the market, firms must consider legal environment changes and environmental uncertainty relating to intellectual property law.Intellectual Property; grace period;

Recent Development in Environmental Economics, Part 1

materials cycle, sharing rules, externalities, Production Side, Treatment Side

Looking Inwards for Sustainability: Nigerian Cities and Building Demolition-waste or wealth?

Cities could generally be described as sustainable before the replacement of manual labour with machines known as the industrial revolution of the 18th century in Europe. Nevertheless, the Industrial Revolution has been associated with environmental degradation and other negative impacts. The trend continued for two centuries until it was realised that there is a limit to the capacity of the earth to withstand such impacts. The damage to the earth needs to be halted by choice or forced by natural consequences. The idea of pursuing economic development with minimum negative socio-economic and environmental impacts comes to be known as Sustainability. The built environment becomes at the centre of the sustainability agenda due to the enormous negative impact to the environment. Moreover, it was reported that 90% of all materials resources ever extracted might be used in the built environment. Unfortunately, many of these materials, including 10% unused are discarded as wastes. In the UK example, 90-120 million tonnes of construction and demolition (C&D) waste is generated annually. This makes C&D wastes even more critical to the sustainability agenda; and in search for solution, in the words of Janine Benyus, it may even involve the urban westerners learning from the wisdom of the preindustrial societies that have been living in harmony with the nature. In the preindustrial community of Kano in Nigeria, there is virtually zero C&D waste; rather it is merchandise. The different categories of the stakeholders were interviewed to establish how the system works, the conditions that led to its emergence, and limitations. It was discovered that the end-of-life management of buildings in Kano is a naturally evolved industrial ecology analogous to the natural ecological system, whereby the bye-product of one process becomes the raw material for another with no waste. Furthermore, a conceptual model of the system was developed using the biomorphic adaptation of the shell of an African snail. It was therefore argued that sustainability practices are inherent within the African traditions rather than to be learnt from outside

Legal and Policy Framework for Promoting Equitable Access to Documentary Heritage

The National Mission for Manuscripts of India, in association with UNESCO, completed a research study to assist in the development of legal and policy framework and protocols for promoting equitable access to documentary heritage, relevant to India and other South Asian countries. This study report seeks to accurately identify and critically examine the legal and policy framework for promoting equitable access to our documentary heritage. The National Mission for Manuscripts is the most important institution in India creating bibliographic databases of manuscripts and engaged in the conservation and preservation of valuable manuscripts. This report engages with the legal and policy framework which envelops the lifecycle of the Mission’s work: the process of access to manuscripts, digitization of manuscripts and the creation of databases. By critically examining the legal rules in the practical context of the Mission’s work, the research team has put together the first such review of any such initiative in the protection of traditional knowledge in the country. The conclusions of the report are in the form of draft legal agreements and policy recommendations located in the discussion on various parts of the Mission’s work. While this report does not set out to be the final word on these significant policy initiatives, the report definitely makes significant progress in the policy debate and legal literature in this field. This report illustrates working patterns of the Mission within the legal and policy framework in the Country. This report will be a valuable sourcebook for understanding South Asian legal and policy framework for accessing documentary heritage collections. The draft legal agreements and policy recommendations, presented in this report, will also be valuable intervention tools for South Asian countries that share similar legal and policy framework within the sub-region

The Impact of Temporary Employment on Labour Productivity: Evidence from an Industry-Level Panel of EU Countries

In recent years the availability of new industry-level data allowed to evaluate the impact of labour market policies more consistently than previous standard cross-country studies. In this paper an industry-level panel is exploited to evaluate the impact of less stringent Employment Protection Legislation (EPL) for temporary employment (TE) in EU countries. A reduced form model is estimated to identify the overall effect on labour productivity growth. The advantage of using industry-level data is fourfold. First, as in standard cross-country studies, the cross-country variation of EPL is still exploited. Second, in contrast with the cross-country analysis, the specification allows us to control for unobserved fixed effects, potentially correlated with the level of EPL. Third, as the previous literature emphasised, the within-industry “composition effect” appears to be negligible, allowing us to identify the “independent effect” of TE. Fourth, to the extent that events in a single industry are not able alone to affect the policy in a country, the specification is less subject to the simultaneity problem between variable of interest and policy. The theoretical literature on TE has not established a clear prediction on the sign of the effect, existing different convincing reasons for both directions. Thus, the results of the analysis have potentially important policy implications. Our finding is that the introduction of temporary contracts has a negative, even if small in magnitude, effect on labour productivity growth.labour productivity; temporary employment; EPL; difference-in-differences

Push and Pull Factors of Migration: A Case Study of Brick Kiln Migrant Workers in Punjab

Migration is a global phenomenon caused not only by economic factor but many others like social, political, cultural, environmental, health, education etc. It generally takes place from the area of less economic opportunities and retarded social development towards developed and fast developing areas. Punjab is among the smallest states of the Indian Union but it has achieved great heights in many fields like agricultural sector, industrial sector and so on. To cater the needs of agricultural and the industrial sector large scale migration has taken place from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Very little has been done at micro level to inquiries into the characteristics of individual migrants and the factors influencing individual’s propensity to migrate. The present study is an attempt to fill up the important gaps and to make a modest contribution to an understanding of socio-economic conditions of brick-kiln migrant workers. Majority of the migrant workers were young in age, illiterate or having low level of education and belonged to SC/ST, large number of whom came from big families. 86 per cent of workers belonged to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. The wages of the workers were very low. They were provided rooms / huts by the employers within the premises of the brick-kilns. The majority of the brick-kiln workers migrated along with family. Further, almost all respondents kept their links alive with the place of origin. Majority of the workers were not registered as voter nor possessed ration card because they were not approached by the authorities. Those who possessed ration card were not getting regular supply of all the items supplied under the public distribution system. Majority of migrant workers were landless. The living conditions of the brick-kiln workers were very miserable. They were living in extremely dusty and unhygienic accommodation without water and electricity supply arrangements. The brick-kiln workers were not at all aware of the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, and other labour laws. Facilities of canteen, rest rooms, first aid, medical and transportation were not available to workers. Migrant workers reveal no visible discrimination on account of wages, promotion and medical facilities. A better employment opportunity is the first and most significant factor with maximum percentage of variance, which motivates the workers to migrate. Better job opportunities, industrial development and comparatively higher wages in Punjab attract the brick kiln workers whereas lack of job opportunities at native place compels them to migrate. Fulfillment of self aspirations’ and ‘higher wages’ with percentage of variance equal to 11.02 have emerged as the second factors as a push factor .migration,pull factor,push factor,brick kiln workers

Innovation in India and China : Challenges and Prospects in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

India and China are important players in an evolving process of globalization of research and development (R&D). Focusing on pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries, this paper analyses the challenges and prospects facing the two countries in global innovation. Large supplies of highly skilled professionals and well-established science and technology infrastructures are important assets for India and China in the era of globalization of R&D. At the same time, however, there is a concern that as globalization of R&D gathers steam, the poor in India, China and other developing countries are likely to be left out of the new innovations. A good example is the case of Indias pharmaceuticals industry. The leading Indian pharmaceutical firms have responded well to the challenge of a strict intellectual property rights (IPR) regime by increasing their R&D spending and, simultaneously, targeting their sales to the generic drugs markets in North America and Europe. But even as Indias top drug firms have been growing in technological capabilities and taking part in the globalization of pharmaceuticals R&D, they have also been shifting their focus away from the market for medicines for poor patients.India, China, innovation, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology