The Economic and Environmental Outcomes of Microfinance Projects: An Indian Case Study

Microfinance projects now seek to achieve improvement in environmental quality in addition to poverty alleviation. Achievement of these goals may depend upon the economic and environmental impact of microfinance businesses. This study is a quantitative analysis of these outcomes for Ecodevelopment, an Indian microfinance project, which aims to prevent forest degradation by poverty alleviation. The study divides businesses into perishable goods, non-perishable goods, simple skills, and special skills and measures their economic outcome by two indicators, repayment percentage and continuity of businesses. The study examines the effect of loan amount on the economic outcome of businesses. To quantify the environmental outcome, it analyzes the use of firewood or fodder and release of pollutants by businesses. The results show that loan amount does not affect the economic outcome, special skills have best performance, and skills cause less pressure on forest resources. These results suggest the need for development of knowledge-intensive skills, involvement of institutions in the operations of business, and inclusive policies for protected area management.     

The Effects of Selective Logging on Inbreeding in Shorea megistophylla (Dipterocarpaceae) from Sri Lanka

The mating system of Shorea megistophylla , an endemic canopy tree from Sri Lanka, was quantified by allozyme analysis of progeny arrays using a mixed-mating model. Two adjacent populations were compared: one in forest that was selectively logged about 20 years ago, and the other in undisturbed primary forest. The selectively logged population had a lower multilocus outcrossing rate (t_m, = 0.71) compared to that of the undisturbed forest (t_m = 0.87). Only the progeny from the logged population showed evidence of either biparental inbreeding or Wablund effect, and the genotypic frequencies violated the assumptions of the mixed-mating model. Apomixis was detected in one isolated tree in the Royal Botanical Garden in Peradeniya by a multilocus test of progeny genotypic frequencies relative to the maternal genotype. However, significant levels of apomixis were not discerned in the natural (logged and unlogged) populations. These findings indicate that a reduction in population density of S. megistophylla following selective logging can significantly elevate the proportion of seeds produced through inbreeding. Adventive embryony may also increase in isolated trees that lack the chance to outcross.     

Coping with the ‘Indian summer’: unique nesting cycle and nest architecture of the paper wasp,Polistes wattii

The Science of Nature - Leaf-cutting ants are highly successful herbivores in the Neotropics. They forage large amounts of fresh plant material to nourish a symbiotic fungus that sustains the...