Grantee Research Project Results

Negotiated Access: Emerging Institutional Formations in the Forestry Sector of the Post-Soviet Russian Far East

EPA Grant Number: U915243
Title: Negotiated Access: Emerging Institutional Formations in the Forestry Sector of the Post-Soviet Russian Far East
Investigators: Mabel, Marian J.
Institution: University of California - Berkeley
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: May 1, 1997 through May 1, 2000
Project Amount: $102,000
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1997) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Fellowship - Sociology , Academic Fellowships , Environmental Justice

Objective:

The objectives of this research project are to: (1) examine the political-economic transformation of the forestry sector in the post-Soviet Russian Far East; and (2) the institutional relationships that govern the foreign capital's participation in the extractive industry now characterized by fragmented and fluid systems of governance, jurisdiction, and management.

Approach:

This research project employs a political-economy approach to examine processes and outcomes of relations among the state, domestic capital, and foreign capital in the forestry sector of Khabarovsk Krai. This involves mapping the economic and political interface and flows among the players in the sector, characterizing their links, examining the emerging institutional forms of these relationships, and exploring the forces that strengthen or weaken these relationships. Information is collected through in-depth interviews (individuals in the domestic public sector, private and private non-profit sectors, as well as international development agencies, NGOs, and others involved in the forestry sector in the kKrai); legislative review; statistical sectoral review; and on-site visits to harvest, management, and export operations. My work is made possible through affiliation with the Economic Research Institute of the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Supplemental Keywords:

fellowship, Russian Far East, economies in transition, state transformation, forestry sector, globalization.

Progress and Final Reports:

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.