First published in 1984. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The loss of life and devastation in the Gulf coast region of the United States after the hurricane season of 2005 has led to considerable debate about how to recover from the damage and mitigate damage from future incidents. This document reports the experiences of four major floods since 1948 (two in the United States, one in the Netherlands, and one in China), to draw lessons for the Gulf coast restoration effort.

Implementation strategies for Portugal1s new drug use policy This report analyzes Portugal1s recently changed national drug strategy, develops recommendations for its implementation, and offers analysis for evaluating its effects. Portugal1s strategy seeks to decriminalize possession and consumption of all drugs for personal use, reduce drug harm and risks, and offer prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. The authors examine the history of Portugal1s drug problem over the past 75 years in light of the existing literature on drugs and drug abuse.

Regionalization in Portugal was a major issue in 1998, as the nation held a referendum on whether to establish administrative regions to assume many tasks presently performed by the central government. The debate was both hot and confused, as both "pro" and "anti" forces claimed their solution would lead to more efficient government, and no major political party spoke with one voice. To help illuminate the debate, RAND Europe conducted in June 1998 a series of seminar games simulating the alternative decentralization schemes being contemplated. The results of the game showed that (1) the specific form of decentralization may be less important than the details of implementation (not present in the debate); (2) the critical issue of financial autonomy for local governing bodies had not been adequately addressed; (3) there was no consensus regarding which governmental competencies are the best for devolution to regions; and (4) whatever form of decentralization is chosen, close monitoring of different competencies and the flexibility to shift policies are essential.