Encouraging and Advancing the Reconversion of Rubber Plantations: Developing Incentives Using a Combined Market and Government Payment System

In various regions in Southeast Asia, over the past decades, natural tropical forests have rapidly been converted into monoculture plantations of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), a consequence of the rubber boom. With the goal of slowing the ecologically and environmentally detrimental conversion of forests to rubber plantations and to encourage the reconversion of rubber plantations back to close-to-nature rainforests, we developed a theoretical combined market and government payment system. To evaluate the potential impacts of such system, we carried out a simulation study plus sensitivity analyses, using the latest land-use data from Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. The results of this simulation suggest that the payment system may make the annual reconversion rate develop from 9,009 ha to 4,610 ha over the modeled period from 2021 to 2050, so that the total reconversion area by 2050 would sum up to 197,902 ha. The total net present value (NPV) of compensatory payments for the whole period, in this case, would sum up to US$3.19 billion. The total carbon sequestration benefit resulting from the replacement of rubber plantations would be 11.37 million tons of carbon (tC) over the modelled period, translating into a cost of US$280.44 per tC. Sensitivity analyses revealed that higher variations in rubber prices cause more difficulty in determining compensatory payment. Of course, changes in a number of factors may lead to a reduction of the total NPV of compensatory payments, including increases in the carbon price or traditional medicine price, increases in the discount rate, and decreases to the rubber price and the targeted final reconversion rate. The area-specific compensatory payments ($11,154–$16,106/ha) and area-specific carbon sequestration (46.39–57.45 tC/ha) would then increase linearly as the targeted final reconversion rate increases. This new integrated payment system has the potential to contribute to restoring rainforest in rubber monoculture-dominated landscape.

PELAKSANAAN E-GOVERNMENT PEMBAYARAN PAJAK KENDARAAN BERMOTOR DALAM MENCIPTAKAN GOOD GOVERNANCE PADA KANTOR SAMSAT KABUPATEN MERANGIN PROVINSI JAMBI

The research was conducted due to several problems including: The lack of information dissemination on the requirements and use of E-Samsat in Merangin District, the limited number of human resources for mobile Samsat car operators and Samsat outlet operators, internet network interference is still common so E-Samsat is still not working optimally, limited supporting facilities and infrastructure in implementing E-Samsat. The sample of 18 people who worked at the Merangin Jambi Samsat Office used descriptive survey techniques aimed at knowing the implementation of E-Government motor vehicle tax payments in creating good governance at the Merangin District samsat office in Jambi Province. The results of the research and discussion show the implementation of E-Government payment of motor vehicle accessories in creating good governance in the samsat office of Merangin Regency, Jambi Province. The implementation of E-Government payment of Motor Vehicle Tax in supporting Good governance at the Merangin District Samsat Office through the latest innovations, namely: the addition of Samsat Online service facilities, mobile Samsat car service facilities, and Gerai Samsat service facilities. For now the E-Government of Motor Vehicle Tax payments in supporting Good governance in the Merangin District Samsat Office is still not optimal, this is because there are still some obstacles, including: The lack of information dissemination on the requirements and use of E-Samsat in Merangin Regency; The limited number of human resources for car operators, Mobile Samsat and Operator Samsat; Internet network interference is still common, so E-Samsat is still not working optimally; Limited supporting facilities and infrastructure in implementing E-Samsat. Appropriate efforts, so that these obstacles can be resolved properly. Following this, the researchers describe the efforts made by Merangin District Samsat in overcoming these obstacles, including: Improving information dissemination on the requirements and use of E-Samsat in Merangin District; Adding Human Resources to operators; Improve internet network facilities, so that they do not experience interference; Improve supporting facilities and infrastructure in the implementation of E-Samsat.

River Management for Local Governments in China: From Public to Private

The Public and Private Partnership (PPP) model has been used to provide public services and goods. In China, local governments are willing to use the PPP model in many public services, such as integrated river management (IRM) projects, due to ease fiscal budget and the improved access to technology from the private sector. However, there has not been any specific discussion in the literature for applying the PPP model to IRM projects. In this study, we find that the PPP model results in the non-standardization of IRM projects. Our research paper builds the PPP operation framework for IRM projects. Our findings suggest that while the environmental quality evaluation system created in contracts for government payment seems to be optimal for protecting the public interest, it actually strains the partnership between the two parties and so its implementation should be considered on a case by case basis. Since the history of IRM projects using the PPP model is short, the actual performances of these types of projects has not yet been demonstrated. Local governments should be cautious about adopting the PPP model for such projects, and private companies should be cautious about their involvement. Our research will garner more scholarly attention to the application of the PPP model in complex projects.

Can small, medium and micro enterprises survive in public procurement?

Purpose The paper aims to investigate challenges facing small-, medium- and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) in public procurement in Botswana from the view of a buyer. Design/methodology/approach The researchers conducted consultative workshops, succeeded by focus groups and follow-up telephone interviews, to collect and validate data. A total of 75 procurement officers from central government ministries and local governments participated in the study. Findings Results indicate that SMMEs find it difficult to deal with public procurement because of lack of capacity, unfair bias against SMMEs, inefficient government payment systems, unfair competition from their larger and established counterparts and centralized public procurement. The paper recommends a comprehensive integrated framework, improvement of SMME capacity and adopting policies to ensure greater public procurement market access.

Cost-Sharing Reductions, Technocrat Tinkering, and Market-Based Health Policy

The Trump Administration has exposed both the durability and vulnerability of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's insurance reforms. One of the Administration's first strikes at “Obamacare” was to discontinue federal government payment of cost-sharing reductions, which insurers pay to low-income enrollees on the exchanges to reduce their out-of-pocket share of medical spending. The states struck back with a clever solution that could hold insurers and enrollees harmless. This article examines this strategy and why, while impressive, it reaffirms larger problems with the ACA's market-based approach to health reform and the need for new pathways forward.