Das Ruhrgebiet: Erneuerung einer europäischen Industrieregion; Impulse für den Strukturwandel durch die Internationale Bauausstellung Emscher Park

Evaluations of the recent structural change in the Ruhr region differ. On the one hand, modernisation and innovative combinations between the economy, culture and science are praised; on the other, the sustainability of the programme and projects, which are maintained with high subsidisation, is in doubt. It is doubtless true that, in recent times in the Ruhr region, there have been strong changes in the economic, job market and social structures. In addition, it is not only true that the centre of the European coal and steel industry has changed in terms of the sector as a whole, e.g. to become the area in Europe with the greatest density of universities, but also in terms of the landscape. It is now regarded as being Europe's greenest industrial region. The restructuring of the region is also revealed in a change in the cultural landscape, which, in changes in the use of industrial land, places the main importance on the production of open spaces, on the networking of green belts and on recultivation in order to do justice to the increasing demands of the inhabitants and visitors for life quality. The "culture economy" and tourism as image factors have been given the more importance than ever, not least in order to remain competitive with regard to soft location factors in the corporate decisions of where to locate. For a long time, the only purpose of the structural political measures in the Ruhr region was to improve the competitiveness of the German rock coal mining and the Ruhr economy. Especially after the removal from power of the settlement association of the Ruhr region in 1970, cross-regional planning was the exception. It was not until the "International Construction Exhibition Emscher Park" (IBA) was established in the Emscher zone in 1989, that an attempt was made to network the decentral structures of the region, as well as to achieve a modern "reconstruction" of the (industrial) landscape. It is the first construction exhibition which is not related to a city, but to a region. The pilot projects are the Emscher Landscape Park, the ecological reconstruction of the Emscher system, the new use of industrial areas and buildings to house cultural institutions, work in the park as well as new housing and integrated city district development. The projects which are pursued by the International Construction Exhibition Emscher Park contribute considerably to the improvement of the economic, cultural and recreational-orientated life in the region. This is why political discussions currently centre on the establishment of an as yet unnamed "Ruhr region agency", which is intended to continue the network of the IBA and represent a national co-ordination office for decentral projects and the cultural economy. Although the Ruhr region is far from being modernised and additional assistance is necessary in order to continue the initiated developments, the current approach is constructive, worth subsidisation and is exemplary for the industrial region. Therefore, IBA is not one of many measures, but rather represents the acceptance and consideration of regional problems, and also shows new approaches to planning and conception

Ursachen und Wirkungen ethnischer Konflikte im Pazifik: gesellschaftliche Desintegration in Fiji (Fidschi)

Die in diesem Beitrag vorgenommene Analyse der sozialen Integration von indischstämmiger und indigener Bevölkerung im südpazifischen Inselstaat Fiji (Fidschi) ergibt, dass in Fiji nicht von sozialer Integration, sondern von sozialer Desintegration und ethnischer Koexistenz gesprochen werden muss. Es stellt sich allerdings die Frage, ob Integration bzw. zu welchem Grad Integration für ein Zusammenleben eine Notwendigkeit ist. Denn Integrationsbestrebungen können unterschiedliche Ziele verfolgen: Einerseits können sie zur Herstellung einer tatsächlichen gesellschaftlichen Einheit dienen, in der Unterschiede nicht länger wahrgenommen werden und dadurch Gleichberechtigung herrscht. Dann kann nach erfolgter sozialer und kultureller Integration von Zuwanderern von vollständiger Assimilation gesprochen werden. Andererseits kann Integration zur Förderung eines Multikulturalismus angestrebt werden, wenn ethnische Gruppen ihre kulturellen Eigenarten wie z.B. ihre Sprache beibehalten. Dann entwickelt sich bei fortschreitender sozialer Integration eine stärker pluralistische Gesellschaft und es kann lediglich von formeller Integration oder struktureller Assimilation gesprochen werden. Dabei dient die gegenseitige Anerkennung von Unterschieden als Voraussetzung für das Erreichen eines gemeinsamen Zieles. Der in diesem Beitrag dargestellte Überblick über die diskutierten Aspekte von Integration in Fiji kommt dieser Variante recht nahe

Sensible Inselökonomie im Pazifik: politische Instabilität und ethnische Koexistenz als Determinanten für die Wirtschaftsentwicklung in Fiji

Fiji gehört zu den kleinen Inselökonomien im Pazifik, die von wenigen Exportprodukten sowie vom Tourismus abhängig sind. Offenkundig ist die hohe Sensibilität, mit der einzelne Wirtschaftszweige wie der Tourismus auf innenpolitische Spannungen reagieren. In den Jahren 1987 und 2000 kam es infolge von zwei Staatsstreichen zum Einbruch der Touristenankünfte in Fiji. Nach Angaben von ABC RADIO AUSTRALIA reduzierten sich die Einnahmen der fijianischen Fluggesellschaft Air Pacific im Jahr 2000 um mehr als 9,5 Mio. Euro gegenüber dem Vorjahr. Vor dem allmählich aufkommenden Fremdenverkehr war in Fiji die Zuckerwirtschaft lange Zeit der bedeutendste Wirtschaftszweig, wobei sie bis heute von Vergünstigungsklauseln im Zugang zu den internationalen Märkten, insbesondere nach Europa, abhängig ist. Die wichtigsten Wirtschaftssektoren sind mittlerweile die Textil- und Bekleidungsindustrie sowie der Tourismus. Aufgrund der Kleinräumigkeit des Landes, der relativ geringen Bevölkerungszahl und der wenig diversifizierten Wirtschaftsstruktur sind Veränderungen in einer dieser dominierenden Säulen der fijianischen Wirtschaft unmittelbar im sozialen Gefüge spürbar. Die Gesellschaft Fijis wird durch ethnische Koexistenz bestimmt, d.h. von einem residenziellen und sozioökonomischen Nebeneinander der wichtigsten Bevölkerungsgruppen des Landes. Das sind einerseits die einheimischen bzw. indigenen Fijianer, andererseits die indischstämmigen bzw. Indo-Fijianer. Diese Entwicklung zueiner Parallelgesellschaft wird partiell und temporär durchbrochen von sozialen Interaktionen in Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Dennoch bleiben die ethnischen Trennungslinien evident, was anhand des Wirtschaftssystems Fijis verdeutlicht werden kann

Promoting Spatial Partnership and Community Perception for the Preservation of Orang Kayo Hitam Grand Forest Park (GFP) in Jambi Province, Indonesia

The Orang Kayo Hitam Grand Forest Park is located in Jambi Province, Indonesia, and is currently threatened by illegal logging and natural fire forest that has burned 7,984.78 hectares. Therefore, this research aims to improve community perceptions of the conservation function of the Orang Kayo Hitam. This can be achieved by providing conservation books on the Orang Kayo Hitam to the community, creating a demonstration video, and increasing community income through a partnership pattern by planting in utilization zones. The non-parametric statistical difference T-test was used, which involved a survey and training approach on 93 households living near the Grand Forest Park. This method was used to assess changes in the perception of the community after reading books, watching videos, and collaborating on counseling. The results showed that the perception of the community changed significantly after receiving knowledge from books and watching videos about the Grand Forest Park. There was also a shift in public perception regarding the use of the conservation zone at the Grand Forest Park location via collaboration counseling

Gotong royong (cooperation) transformation of rural communities in Jambi Province, Indonesia

One nowadays un denied phenomena is that society changed. Jambi Province rural community has also changed toward modernization. The main goal of this research is to analyze factors effect gotong royong (cooperation) transformation in Jambi Province rural communities based on its remoteness from urban area. The research analysis used in this research is the Delphi method. Research found that there has been a change in the value of gotong royong in Jambi Province. It was also found that there are differences in changes in rural locations that are close to city and that are far from city. Some factors effecting the transformation are information technology, household income and accessibility while some factors that keeps gotong royong alive are family, harmony and help. The strategy to keep gotong royong value remain solid in Jambi Province’s villages should be to wisely accept global technology, income increases and better accessibility while still maintain the social capital strength

Multifunctional shade‐tree management in tropical agroforestry landscapes – a review

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87099/1/j.1365-2664.2010.01939.x.pd

Rubber vs. oil palm: an analysis of factors influencing smallholders' crop choice in Jambi, Indonesia

The rapid expansion of the oil palm area in many tropical countries has raised concerns about its negative impact on local communities, food security, and on the environment. While the expansion of oil palm in early stages was mainly driven by large private and public companies, it is expected that smallholders will outnumber large estates in the near future. For policy formulation it is hence important to better understand who these smallholders are and why they have started to cultivate oil palm. In this paper, we used a rich dataset collected in the province of Jambi, which is one of the most important production areas for oil palm, to analyse smallholders’ decision making by combining qualitative, quantitative, and experimental methods. We identified agricultural expertise, lacking flexibility in labour requirements, availability of seedlings, and investment costs as the major constraints for farmers to cultivate oil palm. Important reasons for oil palm cultivation are the higher returns to labour and the shorter immature phase of oil palm. We also showed that oil palm farmers are neither risk-averse nor risk-loving, rather, they appear to be risk-neutral