118 research outputs found
Climate Changes and Their Impact on Agricultural Market Systems: Examples from Nepal
No full textGlobal climate models foresee changes in temperature and precipitation regimes that shift regional climate zones and influence the viability of agricultural market systems. Understanding the influence of climate change on the different sub-sectors and functions of a market system is crucial to increasing the systems’ climate resilience and to ensuring the long-term viability of the sectors. Our research applies a new approach to climate change analysis to better understand the influence of climate change on each step of an agricultural market system—on its core (processing units, storage facilities and sales) and support functions (sapling supply, research, insurance and agricultural policy). We use spatial climate analyses to investigate current and projected changes in climate for different regions in Nepal. We then analyse the risks and vulnerabilities of the sub-sectors banana, charcoal, coffee, macadamia, orange, vegetables and walnut. Our results show that temperatures and precipitation levels will change differently depending on the climatic regions, and that climate change elicits different responses from the market functions both between and within each of the different sub-sectors. We conclude that climate-related interventions in market systems must account for each different market function’s specific response and exposure to climate change, in order to select adaptation measures that ensure long-term climate resilience
What Prompts Agricultural Innovation in Rural Nepal: A Study Using the Example of Macadamia and Walnut Trees as Novel Cash Crops
No full textAgricultural innovations are important, especially as climatic conditions around the world have been subject to increasing change over the past decades. Through innovation, farmers can adapt to the changing conditions and secure their livelihoods. In Nepal, 75% of the population depends upon agriculture, which is impacted by climate change, migration, and feminisation. In this context, it is important to understand what drives a household to start agricultural innovation to increase its economic benefits and resilience in the face of multiple pressures. We sought a comprehensive understanding of these drivers by investigating the determinants of rural innovation, using macadamia and walnut trees as examples of novel, potentially commercialised cash crops. After conducting an in-depth household survey that divided farmers into those who cultivate nuts and those who do not, we analysed the socio-economic and cultural characteristics of each category using statistical tests and a multiple logistic regression. Our results show that the individual variables of ethnicity, wealth and “years of experience with fruit trees” correlate significantly with nut cultivation. The results of the multiple regression suggest that “years of experience with tree cultivation” and “having an income through fruit trees” most influence nut cultivation. Overall, we conclude that nut cultivation is an accepted and promising cash crop mostly grown by wealthier households, and that, for poor, landless, or female-headed households to benefit, alternative business models and new policies must be explored and developed. We further suggest that this is also true for other nut or other cash crop trees that have gained recent attention in Nepal such as almond, hazelnut, or pecan farming
Prospects of bicar as soil amendment in Nepal hill farming systems
No full textBurning of biomass under controlled temperature and oxygen limited environment produces biochar along with syn-gases and bio-oil. A significant volume of literatures portray biochar as a remedial option to meet growing needs of amending agricultural soils for global food security and carbon sequestration to curb climate change. Biochar has generated huge interests among agro-practitioners mainly for its two sets of benefits. The first set of benefits is about desirable changes in soil function that includes enhanced soil microbial activity, retention of nutrients and moisture, alkaline effect for treating acidic soils and, increased porosity on soil structure. The second set includes enhanced adaptive capacity of agricultural systems to climate change impacts, and, carbon sequestration due to its recalcitrant nature that remain in soil for a very long period. These acclaimed effects of biochar on soils are among the much sought-after remedies to heal a number of soil health ailments that millions of farmers and policy planners are looking for. However, effectiveness of biochar has yet to be examined carefully in different soil types over diverse topography corresponding with local cropping patterns. Matching properties of soils with those of biochar is a prerequisite for any interventions aimed at soil amendment. Properties of biochar generally depend on feedstock types, and temperatures during pyrolysis. This review analyses major published works on different aspects of biochar with the key question of whether promotion of biochar could be a viable solution to address some of the critical concerns of soil productivity in the Nepal mid hills and concludes with a note that there are serious knowledge gaps in two fronts – systematic practice of biochar production and application in agricultural farms is yet to take off, and, documented evidences of effectiveness of biochar on various soil types and cropping patterns are insignificant.</jats:p
Technical errors in MR arthrography
No full textThis article discusses potential technical problems of MR arthrography. It starts with contraindications, followed by problems relating to injection technique, contrast material and MR imaging technique. For some of the aspects discussed, there is only little published evidence. Therefore, the article is based on the personal experience of the author and on local standards of procedures. Such standards, as well as medico-legal considerations, may vary from country to country. Contraindications for MR arthrography include pre-existing infection, reflex sympathetic dystrophy and possibly bleeding disorders, avascular necrosis and known allergy to contrast media. Errors in injection technique may lead to extra-articular collection of contrast agent or to contrast agent leaking from the joint space, which may cause diagnostic difficulties. Incorrect concentrations of contrast material influence image quality and may also lead to non-diagnostic examinations. Errors relating to MR imaging include delays between injection and imaging and inadequate choice of sequences. Potential solutions to the various possible errors are presente
The use of mediation to resolve environmental disputes in South Africa and Switzerland
No full textThe minor dissertation is structured as follows: After a short overview about mediation as one mechanism to resolve environmental disputes and the advantages respectively disadvantages of this kind of alternative dispute resolution, the focus shifts in paragraph C to the use of mediation to resolve environmental disputes in Switzerland. On the basis 4 of several cases in which mediation or mediation-type activities were used to resolve the environmental conflict I want to show why, in the end, environmental mediation probably will never be so widespread in Switzerland as it is in other countries. The paragraph ends with a case study about mediation experiences in Switzerland over nuclear waste disposal. Nevertheless, this aforementioned case study shows that the Swiss decision-making system offers a good basis for mediation procedures in areas of politics where there is yet little participation as longs as certain preconditions for a successful procedure are fulfilled. In paragraph D I deal with the use of mediation in South Africa to resolve environmental disputes. The focus shifts in a first step on the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), especially Chapter 4 NEMA which deals with Alternative Dispute Resolution and, in particular, with environmental mediation. In a next step I examine if this Chapter has been already implemented or if there is still a big gap between theory and practice. Finally, paragraph D ends with two South African cases in which mediation was involved to resolve the dispute and a comparison of the two procedures
What drives “green housing” construction? Evidence from Switzerland
No full textPurpose – Switzerland boasts arguably the highest density of green properties in the world. In 2008, more than 15 percent of total new construction received the Swiss energy building label Minergie. The spatial distribution of these green buildings, however, is highly heterogeneous. In some regions, more than half of the new dwellings are built according to the Swiss green building standard. In others, this share is still negligible. The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of the distribution of green housing. Design/methodology/approach – For 2,571 Swiss municipalities, the author computes the green building share of new residential buildings. Data are collected for several variables measuring demographic, geographic, social, cultural, and political aspects that – according to the authors' hypothesis – may influence green building activity. Count regression is used to estimate the impact of these variables on the demand for green buildings. Findings – It is found that differences in income levels and cultural affiliation between Swiss municipalities account for the largest part of the variation in green building activity. The impact of homeowners' stance on environmentalism is highly significant but less important. Government subsidies do not seem to trigger additional green housing activity. Originality/value – The paper presents one of the first empirical analyses regarding the determinants of green building activity. Thanks to a comprehensive dataset, the authors are able to investigate the impact of potential drivers of “green housing” construction activity. The regional variation in governmental incentives is analysed and delivers valuable insight for policymakers interested in spurring the development of green buildings.Environmental regulations, Residential homes, Switzerland
Fine-grained detection of land use and water table changes on organic soils over the period 1992–2012 using multiple data sources in the Drömling nature park, Germany
No full textAbstractThe construction of consistent time series of land use presents a key challenge when accounting for elective land use-based activities under the Kyoto Protocol (wetland drainage and rewetting (WDR), cropland management (CM) and grazing land management (GM)), in which current land use-driven greenhouse gas emissions are compared to a reference situation in 1990.This case study is the first to demonstrate the feasibility of using high-resolution land-use proxies from different datasets for Kyoto accounting in a data-rich case study region in Germany. The study region is characterised by organic soils and has been subject to significant nature conservation measures, including land-use changes, reductions in land-use intensity and changes in groundwater table depth.A consistent time series of 20 years of land use with a spatial resolution of 0.01ha was created from various fine-grained spatial datasets for organic soils in the Drömling nature park by applying a newly developed ‘translation key’. The translation key accounted for systematic differences in legends and thematic resolution. We also tested whether the land-use datasets served as trustworthy proxies for groundwater table depth.Land use in the Drömling nature park became less intensive during the study period of 1992–2012. The greatest land-use change (142hayear−1, 1.14% year−1) occurred between 2000 and 2008. This was in line with management measures undertaken in the nature park. The centre of the nature park became wetter and there was an increase in the share of grassland and more natural vegetation types.The groundwater table correlated with land use and land-use intensity on organic soils in the study area throughout the entire period. Land-use changes were accompanied by altered groundwater tables, except for the conversion from cropland to grassland.Our study indicates that detailed land-use time series can serve as a semi-quantitative proxy for groundwater depth, but that any robust quantitative assessment of water table changes requires in situ data, e.g. from a network of dipwells. Therefore, the combination of land-use and dipwell data provided an accurate basis for estimating GHG emission reductions from drained organic soils since 1990, which is the centre of the Kyoto activity WDR, but also part of afforestation/reforestation (AR) and deforestation (D), forest management (FM), CM and GM. Even the detailed land-use time series on its own would fulfil the requirements for WDR accounting, although with considerable uncertainty about the drainage status of the organic soils. We present the study area of organic soils as a showcase for combining the difficult issues of monitoring changes in land-use intensity as well as in soil wetness, the latter being most relevant for organic soils. The methodology is equally applicable to and relevant for mineral soils
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