̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - governance

Aim policies at ‘hardware’ to ensure AI safety, say experts

fpjl2 — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 11:28:30 +0000

Chips and datacentres – the “compute” driving the AI revolution – may be the most effective targets for risk-reducing AI policies, according to a new report.

Beyond the pandemic: re-learn how to govern risk

lw355 — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 15:15:30 +0000

As the pandemic crisis has played out across the world, different governments have taken different approaches to controlling the spread of virus and supporting citizens – with different outcomes. Can we start to draw conclusions on how best to govern future catastrophic risks?

Political instability and weak governance lead to loss of species, study finds

fpjl2 — Wed, 20 Dec 2017 18:00:21 +0000

A vast new study of changes in global wildlife over almost three decades has found that low levels of effective national governance are the strongest predictor of declining species numbers – more so than economic growth, climate change or even surges in human population.

̽��ֱ��findings, published in the journal Nature, also show that protected conservation areas do maintain wildlife diversity, but only when situated in countries that are reasonably stable politically with sturdy legal and social structures.

̽��ֱ��research used the fate of waterbird species since 1990 as a bellwether for broad biodiversity trends, as their wetland habitats are among the most diverse as well as the most endangered on Earth.

An international team of scientists and conservation experts led by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge analysed over 2.4 million annual count records of 461 waterbird species across almost 26,000 different survey sites around the world.

̽��ֱ��researchers used this giant dataset to model localised species changes in nations and regions. Results were compared to the Worldwide Governance Indicators, which measure everything from violence rates and rule of law to political corruption, as well as data such as gross domestic product (GDP) and conservation performance.

̽��ֱ��team discovered that waterbird decline was greater in regions of the world where governance is, on average, less effective: such as Western and Central Asia, South America and sub-Saharan Africa.

̽��ֱ��healthiest overall species quotas were seen in continental Europe, although even here the levels of key species were found to have nosedived.

This is the first time that effectiveness of national governance and levels of socio-political stability have been identified as the most significant global indicator of biodiversity and species loss.

“Although the global coverage of protected areas continues to increase, our findings suggest that ineffective governance could undermine the benefits of these biodiversity conservation efforts,” says Cambridge’s Dr Tatsuya Amano, who led the study at the ̽��ֱ��’s Department of Zoology and Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.

“We now know that governance and political stability is a vital consideration when developing future environmental policies and practices.”

For the latest study, Amano worked with Cambridge colleagues as well as researchers from the universities of Bath, UK, and Santa Clara, US, and conservation organisations Wetlands International and the National Audubon Society.

̽��ֱ��lack of global-level data on changes to the natural world limits our understanding of the “biodiversity crisis”, say the study’s authors. However, they say there are advantages to focusing on waterbirds when trying to gauge these patterns.

Waterbirds are a diverse group of animals, from ducks and heron to flamingos and pelicans. Their wetland habitats cover some 1.3 billion hectares of the planet – from coast to freshwater and even highland – and provide crucial “ecosystem services”. Wetlands have also been degraded more than any other form of ecosystem.

In addition, waterbirds have a long history of population monitoring. ̽��ֱ��annual global census run by Wetlands International has involved more than 15,000 volunteers over the last 50 years, and the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas bird count dates back to 1900.

“Our study shows that waterbird monitoring can provide useful lessons about what we need to do to halt the loss of biodiversity,” said co-author Szabolcs Nagy, Coordinator of the African-Eurasian Waterbird Census at Wetlands International.

Compared to all the “anthropogenic impacts” tested by the researchers, national governance was the most significant. ”Ineffective governance is often associated with lack of environmental enforcement and investment, leading to habitat loss,” says Amano.

̽��ֱ��study also uncovered a relationship between the speed of GDP growth and biodiversity: the faster GDP per capita was growing, the greater the decline in waterbird species.

Diversity on a localised level was worst affected on average in South America, with a 0.95% annual loss equating to a 21% decline across the region over 25 years. Amano was also surprised to find severe species loss across inland areas of western and central Asia.

̽��ֱ��researchers point out that poor water management and dam construction in parts of Asia and South America have caused wetlands to permanently dry out in counties such as Iran and Argentina – even in areas designated as protected.

Impotent hunting regulations can also explain species loss under ineffective governance. “Political instability can weaken legal enforcement, and consequently promote unsuitable, often illegal, killing even in protected areas,” says Amano.

In fact, the researchers found that protected conservation areas simply did not benefit biodiversity if they were located in nations with weak governance.

Recent Cambridge research involving Amano suggests that grassroots initiatives led by local and indigenous groups can be more effective than governments at protecting ecosystems – one possible conservation approach for regions suffering from political instability.

Reference
Amano, T et al. Successful conservation of global waterbird populations depends on effective governance. Nature; 20 December 2017; DOI: 10.1038/nature25139

Big data study of global biodiversity shows ineffective national governance is a better indicator of species decline than any other measure of “anthropogenic impact”. Even protected conservation areas make little difference in countries that struggle with socio-political stability.

We now know that governance and political stability is a vital consideration when developing future environmental policies and practices

Tatsuya Amano

Szabolcs Nagy, Wetlands International

Black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa), a waterbird with habitats ranging from the Russian far-east to Europe, Africa, and Australasia.

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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Fraud claims and board games: What now for regulation and governance?

bjb42 — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 07:57:04 +0000

Sir Adrian Cadbury is one of a number of distinguished experts who will be speaking at the 4th Cambridge International Regulation and Governance Conference on 6 September. Booking details can be found at www.anglia.ac.uk/reggovconference

Under the banner, "More regulation, or better stewardship?" the conference will ask how far the global financial crisis has posed a challenge to existing systems of governance and regulation and where they should go from here.

Current reviews, both in the UK and Europe, have suggested that poor governance of major companies was one of the reasons behind the economic failure which began in 2008. Some reforms to the way in which these companies are controlled and regulated have already taken place, but as the Libor-fixing scandal suggests, big questions about governance remain.

̽��ֱ��aim of the conference, which is being jointly hosted by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin ̽��ֱ��, is to encourage the exchange of ideas about these issues between practitioners specialising in governance and regulation, policy-makers and academics.

"As we examine the mistakes of the past and look to the future we need to think carefully about how our companies and banks should be governed," Dr Paul Sanderson, a specialist in regulation at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and one of the conference organisers, said. "Essentially the question is do we want more rules, which could potentially stifle innovation and growth, or better stewarding of what are, after all, our assets?"

Sir Adrian Cadbury, who is also a ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge alumnus, will address the conference on the 20th anniversary of his landmark contribution to the field, the "Report of the Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance." ̽��ֱ��publication of this report led to the first code of corporate governance being established as a requirement for a listing on the London Stock Exchange and ultimately to the current UK Corporate Governance Code and numerous such codes around the world.

These lay down basic principles on matters such as the separation of the roles of Chairmen and CEOs, the appointment of non-executive directors to boards, the responsibilities of board members and indeed shareholders, and how decisions should be made about senior executives' pay.

But, constructing a universal template - a set of rules that can be applied to all types and sizes of companies on all occasions - is almost impossible. Cadbury cleverly incorporated into the code the comply-or-explain principle to deal with this. It allows companies to explain to their stakeholders when they have not fully conformed to the rules. It is then a matter primarily for shareholders to consider whether such action is justified and react accordingly.

Some explanations may be considered unacceptable, where a powerful figure fails to convince shareholders of the need to combine the roles of Chairman and CEO. In other cases non-compliance may be unavoidable, such as the inability of a director to attend the requisite number of board or committee meetings through illness, or even death.

In addition, while in theory the rules reflect best practice, best practice is also something which evolves. So non-compliance by a company may simply mean, in some cases, that the company has followed best practice and the code itself needs revising.

̽��ֱ��difficulties in determining the extent to which rules should be operated flexibly in codes of corporate governance is mirrored in the regulation of many other sectors, such as financial services, health and safety, hospitals, railways and so on. Failure inevitably and rightly leads to calls for better regulation, which often means that the rules become less flexible and enforcement measures become stronger.

Yet this action, while it may prevent some future failures, may also prevent innovation - the development of new products and services that would benefit us all. Getting the balance right is difficult - but clearly something has gone wrong, or we would not be suffering an economic downturn, with banks needing bailouts and GDP in many countries more or less stagnant.

This suggests that, as the Leveson Inquiry in the UK has hinted, we need to examine the culture of organisations. Most public companies are, as the name suggests, owned by the public one way or another, through pensions, insurance or savings plans. It is possible that greater emphasis is needed on protecting our assets, by implementing measures which ensure companies in whom we and large institutional shareholders invest adopt the practices and ethos of the very best.

These complex issues will be the subject of more than 40 papers which will be presented by experts from around the world at the conference on 6 September.

̽��ֱ��10 plenary and parallel sessions focus on topics such as corporate governance, regulation and ownership, board composition, executive pay and regulating the financial sector. In addition, the directors of two companies founded more than 400 years ago will speak on how to manage companies in the long run. To set the scene, Philip Augar, author of “ ̽��ֱ��Death of Gentlemanly Capitalism” will speak at the pre-conference dinner at Queens College, on 5 September.

Further information about the conference can be found here

̽��ֱ��author of the report which laid the basis for British and international corporate governance codes will be the guest speaker at a conference which asks what the future of such measures should be.

As we examine the mistakes of the past and look to the future we need to think carefully about how our companies and banks should be governed.

Paul Sanderson

SEIU.

Banking Protest.

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