Strengthening the link between climate change adaptation and national development plans: lessons from the case of population in National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs)

As climate change adaptation planning moves beyond short term National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA) to longer-term approaches, it is instructive to review the NAPA process and examine how well it was linked to national development planning. This paper reviews 41 NAPAs submitted by Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to assess the NAPA process in terms of NAPAs integration with countries’ national development strategies. The review outlines the actors involved in developing NAPAs and identifies the range of interventions included in countries’ priority adaptation actions. The paper uses the example of population as an issue related to both climate change and national development to assess how it is addressed as part of LDCs’ adaptation and national development agendas. The analysis shows that although countries recognize population pressure as an issue related to the ability to cope with climate change and as a factor hindering progress in meeting development goals, it is not well incorporated into either adaptation planning or in national development strategies. Among the 41 NAPAs, 37 link high and rapid population growth to climate change. Moreover, six NAPAs clearly state that slowing population growth or investments in reproductive health/family planning (RH/FP) should be considered among the country’s priority adaptation actions. Furthermore, two NAPAs actually propose a project with components of RH/FP among their priority adaptation interventions, although none of them has yet been funded. The paper points to structural issues that hamper better alignment between climate change adaptation and national development planning and offers recommendations for longer-term adaptation strategies that better meet the development needs of countries.     

Ferulic acid supplementation for 40 days in hair ewe lambs experiencing seasonal heat stress: short-term effects on physiological responses,growth, metabolism,and hematological profile

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Free ferulic acid (FA) is a natural compound with antioxidant properties which mitigates the negative effects of cold stress in sheep; however, its...     

A simulator study of driving behavior and mental workload in mixed-use arterial road environments

Objectives: Mixed-use urban environments, such as arterial roads with adjacent commercial land uses, represent crash locations with the highest risk. These locations are often characterized by high volumes of motor vehicle traffic, on-street parking, and interactions with multiple road user groups such as pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation. The objective of this study was to investigate previously identified crash risk factors for mixed-use urban environments and assess how parking occupancy, center medians, and cyclist volume influence performance and workload in a driving simulator study.

Methods: Thirty participants were recruited for the study. Participants completed 6 drives that presented different combinations of cyclist volume, median condition, and parking occupancy. Incorporated into the simulator drives was a secondary peripheral detection task (PDT) designed to measure mental workload. Participants provided subjective assessments of workload using the Rating Scale Mental Effort (RSME).

Results: Mean lateral lane position was found to significantly vary across the 3 independent variables of parking occupancy, cyclist volume, and median conditions. No significant changes were identified for mean speed across the conditions. Subjective and objective measures of workload identified changes due to the presence of cyclists with slower reaction times for the PDT task when cyclists were present.

Conclusion: The findings provide insight into the interaction of road design elements in mixed-use urban road environments and demonstrate that increasingly complex environments increase driver demand. This has important road design implications for mixed-use arterial roads, which are often characterized by complex interactions between multiple road user groups.     

History of atmospheric environment

There have been great transitions in the science of air pollution and science publishing since the journal began as the International Journal of Air Pollution in 1958. Atmospheric Environment witnessed the increased understanding of smog photochemistry in the late 1950s and the emerging fears of ozone depletion in the 1970s. The journal has grown, but not without the need to change and occasionally fragment only to reintegrate at a later date. At 9000 pages a year it represents an enormous editorial task that has had to be undertaken by more professional offices. This transition has been helped through the development of electronic tools, but the editorial offices strive to retain their personal relationship with authors and reviewers. An enhanced international perspective recognises the widening contributions made by scientists beyond Europe and North America.     

A Case Study of Landholder Attitudes and Behaviour Toward the Conservation of Renosterveld,a Critically Endangered Vegetation Type in Cape Floral Kingdom,South Africa

The attitudes and behaviours of private landholders toward the conservation of a highly transformed and critically endangered habitat, Overberg Coastal Renosterveld (OCR) (a grassy shrubland of the Cape Floral Region, South Africa) are described. Personal, semistructured interviews were conducted with landholders, representing 40 properties in the Overberg region, on topics such as management and utilisation of OCR, the depth of their knowledge of its conservation importance, what they perceive its value to be, and the extent of their willingness to conserve it. General attitudes toward conservation incentives and provincial conservation authorities were also investigated. Farmers more willing to conserve were younger, did not necessarily have a better education, and owned larger farms (>500 ha) with a greater amount of remnant renosterveld (>300 ha) than those less willing to conserve. Attitudes toward the OCR were largely negative, related to associated problem plants and animals and the fact that it is believed not to be economically advantageous to retain it. However, farmers are of the opinion that provision of incentives and increased extension support will provide practical positive inducements for conservation. Landholder education is paramount to prevent further transformation of critically endangered habitats. The success of private-conservation programs depends on the attitudes of landowners toward (1) the particular habitat or species to be conserved (which can vary depending on the type of land use practised and the associated benefits and disadvantages of that habitat type); (2) the conservation agency or extension officers responsible for that area; and (3) willingness of landowners to participate in a conservation program, which is influenced by landowner age, farm size, and the amount of natural habitat left to conserve.