Documents found
-
233.More information
Human geography is torn between two tendencies : the ecological tendency examines man in interrelation with the natural environment, the chorological tendency places the accent on the changes which man bas produced in the landscape. Man, in this sense, is a genuine geographic factor. There are two extreme positions : one tends to point out the role of determinismof the natural environment, the other seeks « the key to geographical explanation » in the culture of man. By means of examples taken in part from his own research, the author, while according an essential place to culture in geographical interpretation, draws attention to the fact that culture itself is explained in large part by its genetic environment. For example, one could not imagine the peasant cultures of l'Asie verteand the ideal of nomad and urban life of l'Asie fauve —marked by the imprint of Islam —being interchanged, the one for the other. The expansion of peoples of western civilization, first of all, and then the ubiquity of industrial civilization, appear to contradict an ecological conception of the relation between man and environment. But the industrial revolution it self was favored by a combination of conditions that man was able to exploit and that explains the rise of western and central Europe, just as the lack of the conditions explains the technological immobility of the Mediterranean.Research into ecological correlations is not the essence of human geography. Human geography ought to remain « the description and interpretation »of the human elements of the landscape, of regions, and of continents. Its fundamental method remains observation. Spiritual factor s, biological factors, superior forms of economic life, and social structures are not of interest to human geography except in so far as they are evident in the physiognomy of areas. The interpretation, with delicate gradations as in all the social sciences, ought to be based simultaneously on the « influences of the environment »and on the resources of the culture of a given people. It thereby reflects both determinism and the freedom of choice in all human behaviour.
-
234.
-
235.More information
The issue of interstate distribution of financial resources provided under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to support adaptation in developing countries has attracted considerable attention both in academic circles and in international negotiations. Which parameters should guide the allocation of these financial resources? Considerations of equity and efficiency are present in the text of the UNFCCC (1992) and in various decisions taken by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention. However it is apparent that notions of equity prevail in these texts regarding the allocation of adaptation funding. For some observers, this pre-eminence of equity issues comes from the difficulties in assessing the effectiveness of adaptation actions. It is right that significant uncertainties plague projections of climate change, exposure pathways and vulnerabilities. However, and as we discuss in this article, the assessment of countries' vulnerabilities – i.e., the assessment of their adaptation needs – is equally complex. In our view, the focus on equity issues in the allocation of international adaptation finance should rather be understood as a reflection of ethical choices. This article aims at (i) highlighting these normative choices; and (ii) examining how they unfold in the allocative practices of dedicated multilateral climate funds.
Keywords: adaptation, changement climatique, financement international, aide publique, développement, pays en développement, CCNUCC, allocation, climate change, adaptation, international finance, official development assistance, UNFCCC, aid allocation
-
236.More information
While dependency relations between developed and Third World countries are being redefined, a number of Western participants and thinkers challenge the Third World ideology and its recommended models of action.Taking into account the fact of colonization, the round table participants bring numerous precisions to clarify the debate. Many dimensions are interrelated: the world economic crisis, imperialism consolidation, national liberation struggles, as well as the balance in North-South relations are at the heart of the debate. However, the claims of Third World countries and their liberating values still seem justified.
-
237.More information
This paper deals with the effects of climate change, both on geopolitics and economics of islands. Unlike continental countries, climate change is a factor structuring the island states. Since 1990, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) has been heavily involved in advocacy towards the reduction of the green house gas emissions. This includes the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. The island states consider themselves as the first and main victims of climate change. The cost to their economies would be significantly higher than over continental countries. Two costs can be indentified : a) the direct costs resulting from natural hazard, including rising sea levels and coastal erosion associated with it, b) the indirect costs linked with the measures taken at international level to fight against climate change. These measures lead the geographical distance as the main driver of the logic of business location. Two main results may occur : a) a general reduction of the global demand for island products, including tourism goods and services, b) a fierce competition between the islands to attract this reduced demand. We then witness the marginalization of island economies which cannot position itself in niche markets at global and regional scales. Thus the rural drift and international migration should increase. The reorganization of the island economics and territories are sustainable processes that are part of the long time. In contrast, the Copenhagen summit showed that the political structuration of island states on the international scene is a fragile process. A few months after the summit, AOSIS is still very weak. The future of the islands is definitely under stress of climate change and it looks bleak.
Keywords: changement climatique, États insulaires, AOSIS, viabilité, vulnérabilité, climate change, island states, AOSIS, viability, vulnerability
-
238.More information
The resolution 61/295 containing the Declaration of United Nations on the rights of indigenous peoples can be analyzed in the light of the commitment of States both from the point of view of the instrumentum of the act and its negotium. The Member states of the United Nations are committed formally by the resolution 61/295, on the basis of the principle of the good faith which is opposable to them. Their commitment has to demonstrate a will to implement effectively the resolution. The commitment of States through the resolution 61/295 goes on in the negotium of the act because its nature is normative. On the customary ground, the commitment of States by the negotium can reach lex lata obligations or limit itself to lex ferenda propositions.
-
239.More information
This article examines the diaphanous career of a few boys described as “musicians” and singers in the sources relating to Nouvelle-France. The bits of information that have been collected on these young men with no history make it possible to identify some of the motivations that led them to the colonies between 1660 and 1730, at a time when everything had yet to be built, if not consolidated, on the institutional level. Beyond this aspect, which is still little known in colonial cultural micro-history, the catalytic role of the army and the Church as a path to salvation for these former masters in search of a future after leaving the cathedral or collegiate churches of France is revealed. Whether they aspired to become ecclesiastics or sought to integrate the workings of the colonial administration as writers after being emancipated from the army, the few individuals we will meet in Quebec City and Montreal allow us to discreetly lift the veil on the fortunes of some of these children who spent their youth singing in the lower choirs, and thus to better understand their contribution to the cultural life of the French colony in Canada.
Keywords: musiciens d'église, maîtrises, bas-choeurs, colonies, church musicians, choirs, colonies
-
240.