country case study - the republic of kneedafix
Country Case Study - The Republic of Kneedafix
Table of Contents
1.0 Country Case Study - The Republic of Kneedafix (RoK)1.1 Country Facts
1.2 Environmental Setting of RoK
1.3 Governance in RoK
1.4 Socio-economic Scenario of RoK
1.5 Industrial Development in RoK
1.6 Impact of Urbanization and Industrial Development in RoK
1.7 Environmental Consultants and Environmental NGOs in RoK
1.8 Judicial Interventions in RoK
1.9 Challenges Ahead
2.0 Annexure - Profile of Institutions in RoK
3.0 General Instructions to Worksheets
4.0 Worksheets
Draft version 1
country case study- the republic of kneedafix
1.0 Country Case Study - The Republic of Kneedafix (RoK)
1.1 Country Facts
T
heRepublic of Kneedafix (RoK) was formed as a separate country in July 1969. It occupies an area of 150,000 sq. km. RoK is located in the tropical zone and has a population of approximately 300 million spread over 5 regions – Northington, Germania, Springfield, Yarnland and Coburn (see Figure 1: Base Map of Kneedafix). The population density is approximately 200/ sq. km as per the 2001 census.
The Republic has a diverse industrial base with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$ 150,000 million and per capita income of approximately US$ 500. Some of the infrastructural services available in RoK are highlighted in Box 1.
Box 1: Basic Infrastructure in the RoK
- Road network - Length exceeding 5,000 km, connecting all important regional Centres.
- One Airport (international) in the regional centre of Busytown (Northington).
- Long coastline spanning 1500 km, dotted with ports, the major port being the capital Landsend.
- Present power generating capacity 5,555 MW, with plans afoot to raise it to 10,000 MW.
Figure 2 shows the outlay of the national and regional highways.
1.2 Environmental Setting of RoK
RoK is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the countries of Utopia and Southland to the north and southeastern side respectively. The tropical climate of the republic causes the temperature to range from 18oC in the month of January to 46oC in the month of May. The average annual rainfall is 1500 mm.
Physiogeographically, RoK consists of a plateau along the central regions of the republic and fertile alluvial plains. The land rises as one moves inland towards the north and southeastern regions. Two rivers, viz., Noflo and Nowertogo flow across this republic. The latter originates in the mountains of Utopia, flows in a southwesterly direction through Germania, entering the Pacific Ocean south of the national capital in Coburn. River Noflo on the other hand, originates in the mountain lakeSerenity and flows westwards to the ocean through the region of Springfield. The lake and surrounding hilly region are a growing tourist attraction.
The southwest coast of the republic, below the mouth of River Noflo, has a rich diversity of marine resources primarily in the form of corals and mangroves. This region along with the beaches further north is a prime tourist attraction. However over time, the tremendous burst in activity in the petrochemicals industry has led to the formation of several industrial estates and petroleum processing facilities in this region (Coburn) and offshore oils wells are already in operation off the coast. In addition to the current level of activity, there are also plans afoot for more oil wells (south of the existing wells) and industrial estates to capitalize on the natural resources in the area (specifically the petrochemicals sector). This could prove to be hazardous for the natural environment and marine ecosystem in the region.
A brief review of the environmental setting thus shows that the existing and proposed industrial development must aim towards sustainable resources management especially in the following areas (see Figure 3: Sensitive Locations);
- Ecologically sensitive areas like the mangroves on the southern coast of Coburn,
- Fragile ecosystem of LakeSerenity,
- Tourist sites along the coast, in the mountains near the Lake and the reserve forests and sanctuaries spread over the republic, and
- Heritage sites such as the caves in the northwest (near Greenfield, Northington) and the ancient Togo remains (found along the eastern shore of LakeSerenity).
1.3 Governance in RoK
The capital Landsend is the seat of government in RoK. The various ministries with headquarters located here include:
- Ministry of Labour,
- Ministry of Industries,
- Ministry of Commerce,
- Ministry of Finance,
- Ministry of Environment and Forests, and
- Ministry of Defense.
There are several linkages between the various ministries with regard to environmental management in RoK. However, there is a general lack of co-ordination and coherence amongst the ministries. The Ministry of Environment and Forests is considered to be the least important amongst all ministries, and the smallest budgetary allotments are made to this ministry. Of late, there have been requests from this ministry for an increase in the budgetary allotment. There are also several line ministries that have been granted monetary assistance from the World Bank, subject to following certain environmental and social safeguards. These line ministries have formed environmental units and cells, the requirements of which differ from those of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, thus further compounding the problem of inter-ministerial coordination.
1.4 Socio-Economic Scenario of RoK
The population of RoK is a mix of diverse ethnic groups that were once spread fairly evenly over the five regions of the republic. Now about half the republic’s population is urban with the most urbanized part being the industrialized region of Coburn (i.e. near the capital). This is closely followed by the flourishing textile sector up in Northington around Busytown. There has been a lot of in-migration by inhabitants of the primarily rural regions of Germania and Springfield due to this industrial sector. The agricultural lands in Germania and Springfield are slowly being industrialized. However, they lack adequate infrastructure and their industrialization is forecasted to have potentially disastrous environmental consequences.
The major cities in addition to the regional centres are Greenfield and Smogslure (in Northington), Nicencleen (Germania), Mt.Brokenhill (Springfield) and Dumpsville (Coburn).
In the past nearly two-thirds of the population was engaged in agriculture and the gross area cropped amounted to about half the total land area. Wheat and millet are the staple food crops, with rice production being concentrated in the wetter areas. Other crops grown in the republic’s agricultural sector included cash crops such as sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, and oilseeds (especially peanuts [groundnuts]). Cash crops still remain characteristic of the republic’s agricultural economy. However with increased industrialization, the development of industrial estates, and the influx of multinationals (MNCs), agriculture is no longer the predominant occupation in the republic.
Service sectors which support industrialized activities have also boomed, which has led to large pockets of population settling around the around the industrial estates. As there has been no planning to regulate such settlements, the population in these pockets has been directly and adversely impacted by the release of industrial emissions.
Given the scenic backdrop of RoK (see Section 1.2), the government of RoK has recognized the tourism and hospitality industry as an upcoming sector.
1.5 Industrial Development in RoK
RoK has taken rapid strides in industrial development since its formation in 1969. From its traditional textile base, it has diversified into several sectors such as Chemicals, Petrochemicals, Dye Manufacturing, Food Processing and Agro-based Industries and a host of other industrial sectors. Today, RoK maintains a variety of industries in these sectors. The major industries are in the sectors of textiles, petrochemicals, dye and dye intermediates, and agro-based food processing industries. In addition, food processing is also an upcoming industry and Kneedafix Industrial Development Corporation (KIDC) is planning to establish a separate industrial estate for this sector.
The discovery of oil off shore of RoK prompted the development of the petrochemical sector (referred to earlier in Section 1.2). This sector is dominant in the region of Coburn and is slowly developing in Germania as well in terms of more “downstream” units.
The economic reform process in the republic has provided a boost to national efforts towards rapid industrialization. The policies pursued by the national government have resulted in increasing employment opportunities, promoting entrepreneurs belonging to weaker sections of society and also in improving the export performance.
The Kneedafix Industrial Investment Corporation (KIIC), Kneedafix Finance Corporation for Small-scale and Cottage Industries (KFCSSCI) are the two non-banking financial institutions, which serve the industrial sector in the Republic. KFC is mainly concerned with small-scale and cottage industries, while KIIC is concerned with larger industries alone. The recent annual reports of these two banks indicate present annual industrial investment in the republic to approximately US$5 million across various sectors. The total investment anticipated with the current level of growth is approximately US$10 million.
1.5.1 Size of the Industrial Units
The size of the industrial units to a large extent dictates the position occupied by a sector in the national economy. In the large and medium sectors, the petrochemical sectors constitute the largest in terms of both investments made and investments under implementation.
Traditionally, small-scale units have had a strong presence in the textile sector. Over recent times however both the size and number of the industrial units in the textile sector has increased due to improvement in the international supply chain of garmenting.
Small-scale and cottage industries however remain an important feature and play an important role in creating employment in rural areas. The growth in the agro-based sector and the food-processing industry in particular is on the rise in the small-scale and cottage industries.
Table 1 shows the distribution of industrial sectors and their contributions to environmental, economic and social factors.
Table 1: Distribution of Industrial Sectors and Their Contributions to Environmental, Economic and Social Factors
# / Sector / Dominant Composition / % Natural Resource Consumption / % Invest-ment / % contrib-ution to GDP / %Share of Exports
Water / Energy
1 / Agriculture / Small and Medium / 30 / 10 / 22 / 8 / 11
2 / Agro-based Food Processing / Small and Medium / 8 / 5 / 6 / 5 / 8
3 / Dye and Dye-intermediates / Small and Medium / 4 / 12 / 8 / 9 / 6
4 / Electronics / Small and Medium / 1 / 8 / 6 / 3 / 4
5 / Petrochemicals / Large / 17 / 36 / 28 / 21 / 22
6 / Textile / Small and Medium / 25 / 20 / 22 / 34 / 32
7 / Tourism and Hospitality / Small and Medium / 15 / 9 / 8 / 20 / 17
1.5.2 Infrastructure for Industrial Development in RoK
The major institution promoting industrialization in RoK is the Kneedafix Industrial Development Corporation (KIDC) located in Landsend). KIDC is the premier promotional agency striving to provide all the basic infrastructure facilities to the industries in the Republic. Not only has KIDC been responsible for developing industrial estates at strategic locations all over the republic, but it also offers basic amenities tothese estates (such as fire stations, hotels and canteens, banks, post offices, housing, schools, hospitals, shopping centres, etc.), and is responsible for developing functional estates to fulfil specific needs of certain industries. Figure4 pinpoints the locations of the industrial estates and sectors in RoK.
Table 2: Distribution of Industrial Estates in RoK
Sr No / Regions / Operational Industrial Estates / Proposed Industrial Estates / Total Industrial Estates / Dominant Sectors1 / Northington / 4 / 1 / 5 / Textiles and Dye Manufacturing
2 / Coburn / 3 / 1 / 4 / Petrochemicals
3 / Germania / 4 / 2 / 6 / Agro-based Food Processing and Petrochemicals
4 / Springfield / 2 / 0 / 2 / Agro-based Food Processing and Dye Manufacturing
5 / Yarnland / 1 / 2 / 3 / Textiles
KIDC has planned for 20 industrial estates in RoK. Of these, 14 have already been developed and are operating in the republic. Six new estates have been proposed and are in various stages of implementation.
KIDC has also taken initiatives for industrial pollution control by establishing common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) focusing on small and medium enterprises. These CETPs have been established through the KMEF’s CETP scheme as well as under the World Bank assisted Industrial Pollution Control Project. Four of the 16 operational Industrial Estates have fully functional CETPs. Four more CETPs are in various stages of planning and implementation. All CETPs are established as independent companies promoted by industries in the KIDC estates. The industries that use the facilities of a CETP are required to pay charges depending on the amount of effluent generated.
There are 3 MNCs operating in RoK. They are Cottoneye Textile Processing (north of Busytown, Northington), Slickville Petroleum Processing (in the petrochemical sector in Coburn) and Spike Apparels and Footwear (south of the EPZ in Coburn). In addition to these, a fourth MNC is in the process of implementation in Germania. These MNCs have created their own “supply chain” in RoK and have established their own market forces by imposing various “codes of conduct”. Since these codes of conduct are stricter than the national environmental regulations, they pose additional impositions on the local industries.
1.5.3 New Industrial Policy
The speculations on the industrial sectors / segments likely to contribute to industrial production in the republic are mainly based on the industrial policy of RoK for the period 1995-2010, called “RoK – 2000 AD and beyond”. This policy has identified the following industrial sectors as major thrust areas for incentives - Agro and food products; and electronics.
The new industrial policy also states that port-based industrialization will be encouraged. This necessitates the need for a comprehensive coastal zone management plan for the State. Ecologically sensitive locations such as the fragile coastal ecosystem, the marine resources and wildlife sanctuary must be protected through suitable industrial policy formulation and planning.
1.6 Impact of Urbanization and Industrial Development in RoK
The urban infrastructure with respect to sanitation is a major issue of concern in the republic. Besides the capital which has facilities to treat and dispose up to 80% of the sewage, all other major cities such as the regional centres are able to treat and dispose only 50% of their sewage. This has led to significant organic and bacterial pollution.
The ambient air quality with respect to SO2, NOx and SPM in some of the major industrial cities and metros has been recorded by the Pollution Control Board’s National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (NAAQM) stations. The data show that the most critical parameter is SPM. The worst affected cities in decreasing order are Busytown, Landsend, St Maul, and Dumpsville. In Busytown, both industrial and residential areas are categorized under "critical status", while in the other cities, it is mainly the residential areas that are in a critical state.
The sprawl of small industries around the industrial estates has been a sour point to neighbouring communities. Environmental authorities in the republic have however moved with some aggressiveness to close such units and are encouraging their relocation within the industrial estates where common treatment facilities can be established to deal with their wastes. Unfortunately, the authorities are unable to effect the desired changes due to lengthy administrative procedures and political interferences.
Apart from air and water pollution, hazardous waste generation is a major problem facing RoK today. Many of the industrial sectors that are major contributors to the republic’s economy are among the major contributors to the hazardous wastes. This is making enforcement rather difficult. Besides, the staff of the Ministry of Environment and Forests are not well-versed with the subject of hazardous wastes. Finding a suitable location for common treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes has also been difficult. The maximum quantity of hazardous waste is generated in Northington (30%) followed closely by Coburn (25%) and Yarnland (20%).
1.7 Environmental Consultants and Environmental NGOs in RoK
The environmental consultants in RoK are comprised of a group of professionals from the civil and chemical engineering fields. These consultants are organized as an Association of Environmental Consultants. The association publishes journals, holds annual conventions and provides networking opportunities.
Most environmental consultants are involved in the design and operation of CETPs for KIDC and effluent treatment plants for large industries. There is also a market for conducting “environmental audits” and assisting in “environmental clearance” as mandated by the law. The audits basically produce “compliance certificates” for industries and the “clearances” are alleged to be fraught with corrupt practices.
Many of the training, management and research institutions are keen to explore environmental consultancy market. Their interest lies in practicing newer techniques such as waste minimization, product re-design, environmental accounting, etc. Building a revenue stream from consultancy earning is another objective. The problem is that they lack core competency and practical experience in these areas, and are therefore unable to convince the industrial clients as to their applicability.
Environmental NGOs are starting to get more and more active in the republic. However, this activism is primarily more emotional than constructive in nature. It stems directly from the pressures of unemployment and poverty on one hand, and the need to protect and preserve the natural habitat and heritage site, as the other side. Their interventions are in the form of protests, articles in the local press and public interest litigations in the courts.
1.8 Judicial Interventions in RoK