Conserving ecologically important sites under private ownership has long been the problem to the Government. In Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay Ramsar Site, wetland habitat comprises of a number of fishponds under private ownership. The land ownership issue hinders these fishponds from wetland conservation. Conventional conservation approach, which relies on nature reserve designation and land acquisition, is not always applicable due to huge financial implication. To resolve the issue, the Government launched Public-private Partnership Scheme in 2004, to encourage wetland conservation projects on private lands through integration of wetland conservation and development. In recent years, projects applied through Public-private Partnership Scheme have received strong objection from the public and green groups. They criticize the projects will impose potential impacts on wetland habitat and threats on biodiversity values. This study identified the inadequacies of Public-private Partnership Scheme and to analyze the root causes leading to ineffectiveness. The result of evaluation found several inadequacies in Public-private Partnership Scheme, including (i) ignorance of overall biodiversity values; (ii) weak linkage between conservation and development objectives and result in incompatible land uses; (iii) neglected the interest of powerless stakeholders in the design of trade-off and incentives; (iv) lacks of other policies, cross-departmental and regional planning supports; (v) uncertainty in long-term financial arrangement; and (vi) top-down and unidirectional participation process. These inadequacies are further categorized into five root causes leading to ineffectiveness of PPP scheme, including (i) limitations of incentive, (ii) lack of clear conservation targets, (iii) passive and rigid mechanism, (iv) top-down participation process, and (v) project-based policy. Based on these root causes, the Government’s motivation in conservation is much lag behind when compared to the public expectation. Its effort in facilitation is limited and critically influences the effectiveness of Public-private Partnership Scheme. Its passive and supervision role of the Government hinder the mechanism of Public-private Partnership Scheme search for better integration of wetland conservation and development. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

It has been a long debating topic in Hong Kong for the controversy of heritage conservation and development. For so long, heritage conservation has been sacrificed for economic development in urban renewal and development. However, the society of Hong Kong began to be aware of the importance of heritage in recent years. The heritage conservation topic has became focus of the society, and a task for the government to deal with carefully. As part of the new conservation policy, the Revitalizing Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme has come to the scene as a possible remedy to the complicated matter by focusing on social values, public engagement and heritage conservation. The goal of this study is to assess if the Scheme is effective and efficient in handling the dilemma between development and heritage conservation. A project of the Scheme, Tai O Heritage Hotel, is being examined. By overseeing the result of this project, we could determine to what extent this new initiative has achieved in conserving heritage and social benefit. With extensive review on the conservation policy and relevant document, together with the interview result with stakeholders of the project, we could assess if the project is competent enough to make a new way for future development strategy in Hong Kong. The findings in this research reflect that the new initiative has been able to put more attention to the root cause of heritage conservation problem, such as preserving social values, engaging public participation, incorporating the doctrines of heritage conservation into business running. The Tai O Heritage is viable in operation and could stand a model for later projects. However, it is also noted that even the Government has aimed high in the Scheme, the public participation is still limited. The effort of the Government to put up a conservation policy is never to be minimized as it lines out the future practice of urban development. to a right track and put emphasis on social value, more attention should be put on the public engagement and its future course. The Government is suggested to learn from the result of this project in order to work out a more efficient long term strategy to keep the conservation policy sustainable. Social values, public engagement and heritage conservation should be run out on a balanced base with more practical measures such as education, public-private consolidation and heritage trust. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

The Commissioner for Heritage's Office (.CHO.) was established as a response to the 2007-2008 Chief Executive Policy Address and was regarded as a milestone in stimulating heritage conservation in Hong Kong. One of the major initiatives implemented by the CHO is the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme (Revitalisation Scheme) for non-profit-making organisations (NPOs) to operate Government-owned historic buildings. There is a need to evaluate the 'social' public-private-partnership (PPP) of Revitalisation Scheme as it matures. As the Development Bureau is releasing more historic buildings under the Scheme and question arises if it is feasible in long-run and whether private enterprises can be eligible to participate to diversify our historic buildings. An analysis of several cases under the Revitalisation Scheme and overseas case studies were used. Interviews were conducted with stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors of the Revitalisation Scheme to understand their relationships. Interviewees included operators of the historic buildings, project architects, advisory board member and academia. Stakeholders from overseas case study were also interviewed. It was discovered that the use of partnership in the Revitalisation Scheme is successful in drawing funding from the public sector and expertise from the private sector. The establishment of CHO and its institutional arrangement had significantly reduced the risk of the private sector and risk of over-commercialisation of historic buildings. But the selection of historic buildings to be included in the Revitalisation Scheme, selection of applicants, financial stability, building requirements, management concerns and lack of private enterprise participation limits the effectiveness of heritage PPP. In order to build upon the Revitalisation Scheme, NPOs and private enterprises should form a consortium for a better distribution of risks and responsibilities in the partnership. The private enterprise will be responsible for the primary business in operating the historic building, while the third sector can commit to community input and the protection of heritage values. A profit-sharing approach between the public, private and third sector will create long-term benefits for the Revitalisation Scheme. The Government as the public sector should apply appropriate zoning regulations and flexibility in the buildings codes to establish a long term strategy of the Revitalisation Scheme. The connection and the theory between PPP and heritage conservation form a basis to evaluate the innovative approach of the Revitalisation Scheme. As we witnessed several award-winning projects under the scheme, this analysis will examine their implications and measures to ensure the feasibility of the Revitalisation Scheme in long run. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Road and rail are the predominant means of freight transport in South Africa and generally contribute to approximately 99% of all logistics costs. While there exists a solid infrastructure of rail and road transportation, and with the latter being a cheaper option, the former is still the most preferred mode. This places tremendous pressure on South Africa’s rapidly deteriorating roads network. Unfortunately the downside to this popularity is the enormous costs incurred in repairing the roads and the principal wrongdoers are the commercial carriers, especially heavy vehicles. The problem is exacerbated by overloaded vehicles intending to maximise profits. Law enforcement of this particular problem in the Durban Metropolitan region has been ineffective due to a lack of skilled personnel and proper equipment. A joint venture in the form of a public-private partnership (PPP) between the Durban Metropolitan Police Service and the Vululeka-TMT Consortium was created to combat this problem. There are various benefits in general where PPPs exist, such as private sector efficiencies, innovation and specialisation. However endemic to this PPP was the addition of accountability resulting in increased productivity and a ‘watchdog’ situation that certainly aided in the prevention of corruption. / Thesis (MPA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

The study addresses: (1) changes in Canada's science-policy climate over the past two decades; (2) impacts o f such changes on the conduct and organization of academic science; and (3) publicinterest implications of promoting, in public institutions, research 'relevant' to private sector needs. Working within the interdisciplinary traditions of science studies, the conceptual framework draws on the cross-cutting tensions at the intersection of public and private space, and basic and applied science. These tensions are articulated in two opposing models: 'open science' and 'overflowing networks'. Canada's Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program provides the study's empirical focus. Founded in 1988, the NCE program rests on dual goals of research excellence and commercial relevance. It promotes a national research capacity that 'floats across' existing provincial institutions. The first part of the study investigates the evolution of the NCE program against the background of Canadian science policy. The second part problematizes the notion of 'network' while investigating one of the NCEs in depth, examining the scientific, commercial, cultural, and spatial-structural practices that are the outcomes of policy. Examination of these practices reveals not only the cultural and commercial shifts sought by policy, but also unintended consequences such as regional clustering; elitism and exclusion; problems with social and fiscal accountability; tensions with host institutions; and goal displacement between science and commerce.

This dissertation explores the legal issues raised by the participation of private persons in the settlement of international economic disputes, using the potential enlargement of legal standing in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a case study. In the first part, a typology of the special regime of responsibility of WTO Members is drawn, to serve as a "normative bridge" between the twin phenomenon of legalisation of international trade relations and judicialisation of international trade dispute settlement. In the second part, a comparative study of the participation of private persons in the settlement of international economic disputes is conducted, using the doctrine of diplomatic protection from general international law as the analytical framework. This permits an inventory of the various means of private participation in the current practice of States, as well as shedding light on the main systemic problems that are raised, notably in the field of foreign direct investment, where important developments have taken place. In the third part, a study de lege feranda on the enlargement of legal standing in the WTO dispute settlement mechanism is undertaken. The study is rooted in the previous analysis of the special regime of responsibility of WTO Members and the comparative survey on the participation of private parties in the settlement of international economic disputes. The dissertation demonstrates that the problems concerning private persons in the current mechanism should not be answered by offering them direct access to the WTO, but rather by refocusing attention on the central role of the State in the mediation of diverging interests in the governance of the world trading system. It proposes as a conclusion that WTO Members should instead look into formalising the process of handling private complaints at the domestic level.

As neoliberalism has risen into ascendancy, cities have shifted their development approach, often in ways that produce problematic and heavily critiqued outcomes (Bond, 2005a; Leitner et al, 2007). In many instances, cities have taken on a development agenda characterised by the prioritisation of economic growth and improving the quality of life in cities (Pieterse, 2008). Thus, cities, often with limited resources and skills, face the challenge of negotiating between these imperatives. In this context, public private partnerships (PPPs) have emerged as a development mechanism through which local, redistributive, and global, economic, urban imperatives can be negotiated. Building on the theorisation of neoliberalism and urban development in the contemporary city, this thesis draws on the concepts of the ‘ordinary city’ (Amin and Graham, 1996; Robinson, 2002; 2006) and ‘entanglement’ (Sharp et al, 2000; Nuttall, 2009). The adoption of this theoretical approach facilitates an understanding of the relationship between neoliberalism and the negotiation of competing urban development imperatives in public private partnerships. This understanding is relational and freed from the constraints of developmentalist or global cities approaches, which have come to dominate theorisations of urban development. The empirical research concentrates on two public private partnerships in Durban, South Africa, namely; the Durban Growth Coalition and the eThekwini Municipality-Moreland Developments Joint Venture. These partnerships have produced significant interventions in the urban landscape since their inception in 1999 and 2002, respectively. In addition, the empirical investigation includes the Riverhorse Valley Business Estate and the Bridge City mixed use development. These projects have been implemented through the eThekwini Municipality-Moreland Developments Joint Venture. The empirical study predominantly relies on a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders involved in these partnerships, their projects, and within the broader urban development arena of Durban. Documentary evidence and observation has further contributed to the empirical material examined in the research. The research findings reveal how actors in Durban enmesh and co-constitute the competing priorities of economic growth and post apartheid redress through a range of discourses. This discursive inter-relating of the imperatives produces their entanglement. In turn, this entanglement produces an ‘actually existing neoliberalism’ (Brenner and Theodore, 2002a). The form of this local version of neoliberalism is shown to be strongly shaped by the contingent conditions in Durban and the broader context of transition in South Africa. Furthermore, the examination of the two PPP projects brings to light the nuanced character of the ‘actually existing neoliberalism’ and how variably it is materialised within urban development. Through these findings, the thesis gives evidence of the active agency of places in the production of neoliberalism, and thereby challenges the assumption that cities, especially in the developing world, are simply passively responding to the global impulse of neoliberalism (Hart, 2002). As such, it responds to the need for new insight into how neoliberalism is produced at the local level, and addresses concerns for the lack of agency ascribed to cities in theorisations of neoliberalism (Larner, 2000, 2003; Brenner and Theodore, 2002a; Castree, 2005; 2006; Hart, 2002; 2006). Finally, conceptualisations of the binary relationship between the global and the local, and between competing urban development imperatives, are challenged (Hart, 2002). / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Privatization, and particularly privatization of services, is a worldwide trend that has grown tremendously over the past 25 years. This growth has been particularly pronounced in developing countries in recent years. Prison services is one of many sectors that has contracted with the private sector, however, until South Africa outsourced the design, construction, finance, and operation of two maximum security prisons to the private sector for a period of 25 years, private prison companies were only involved in some developed countries. Many argue that the sector's involvement in South Africa signals its intention to expand throughout the developing world, and undoubtedly, South Africa's experience will be influential in the future growth of this sector in such countries. This paper aims to explore the experience of South Africa's public-private partnership (PPP) prisons thus far, within a context of international and domestic service privatization, in order to identify key trends and issues which may be relevant to future private sector involvement in prisons and other service sectors. Research was conducted qualitatively, with a total of 12 interviews carried out telephonically and in person. Respondents included members of the government, PPP prison administrations, and members of civil society in order to gain as wide a perspective as possible. An extensive review of the literature, as well as relevant government sources, was also undertaken. While these prisons have certainly brought benefits to South Africa's correctional service, a number of key concerns about private sector involvement in service provision were identified through this research. Firstly, the whole experience, starting with the initial decision, has lacked transparency and debate. Although contracting with the private sector was supposed to lead to increased efficiency and reduced cost, the prisons have, in fact, led to unexpected high costs and risks for the DCS. Furthermore, private sector involvement has led to a tiering of prison services, with PPP prison services generally much better than the public sector. Finally, the research indicates that there are serious questions to be raised about the effectiveness of the regulation of this sector and whether PPP prison companies are truly being held accountable by government. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.