The Impact of NTFP Sales on Rural Households’ Cash Income in India’s Dry Deciduous Forest

In recent years, researchers and policy makers have recognized that nontimber forest products (NTFPs) extracted from forests by rural people can make a significant contribution to their well-being and to the local economy. This study presents and discusses data that describe the contribution of NTFPs to cash income in the dry deciduous forests of Orissa and Jharkhand, India. In its focus on cash income, this study sheds light on how the sale of NTFPs and products that use NTFPs as inputs contribute to the rural economy. From analysis of a unique data set that was collected over the course of a year, the study finds that the contribution of NTFPs to cash income varies across ecological settings, seasons, income level, and caste. Such variation should inform where and when to apply NTFP forest access and management policies.     

Correction to: Status and trends of circumpolar peregrine falcon and gyrfalcon populations

While collating contributions and comments from 36 researchers, the coordinating authors accidentally omitted Dr. Suzanne Carrière from the list of contributing co-authors. Dr. Carrière’s data are described in Tables 1 and 3, Figure 2 and several places in the narrative. The new author list is thus updated in this article.     

Solid wastes from the enzyme production as a potential biosorbent to treat colored effluents containing crystal violet dye

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Sugarcane bagasse, a largely available waste worldwide, was submitted to solid-state fermentation (SSF) using the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae,...     

Conservation Applications of Astronaut Photographs of Earth: Tidal-Flat Loss ( Japan), Elephant Effects on Vegetation (Botswana), and Seagrass and Mangrove Monitoring (Australia)

Abstract: National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA) photographs taken by astronauts from low Earth orbit can provide information relevant to conservation biology. This data source is now more accessible because of improvements in digitizing technology, Internet file transfer, and availability of image processing software. We present three examples of conservation-related projects that benefited from the use of astronaut photographs. First, NASA scientists requested that astronauts photograph the area of the controversial Isahaya Bay reclamation project in Japan. Japanese researchers used photographs from before and after the reclamation as a tool for communication with the public about the effects of tidal-flat loss. The newly acquired images and the availability of high-resolution digital images from NASA archives provided timely public information on the observed changes. Second, we digitally classified and analyzed a Space Shuttle photograph of Chobe National Park in Botswana to identify the locations of woodlands affected by elephants. Field validation later confirmed that areas identified on the image showed evidence of elephant damage. Third, we used a summary map from intensive field surveys of seagrasses in Shoalwater Bay, Australia, as reference data for a supervised classification of a digitized photograph taken from orbit. The classification distinguished seagrasses, sediments, and mangroves with accuracy approximating that in studies using other satellite remote-sensing data. Astronaut photographs are in the public domain, and the database of nearly 400,000 photographs from the late 1960s to the present is available at a single searchable location on the Internet (  http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop ). These photographs can be used by conservation biologists as a source of general information about the landscape and for quantitative mapping.     

Survey of Airborne 2,4-D in South-Central Washington

The extensive application of 2,4-D herbicides to wheat and other agricultural crops in the states of Washington and Oregon can produce "off-target" damage when the 2,4-D formulations are transported by the atmosphere to sensitive crops, such as grapes. During May-June of 1973 and April-June of 1974, a 2,4-D monitoring network in south-central Washington collected samples for subsequent herbicide analysis. The daily, 24 hr field samples were collected with differential Impactor-impinger air samplers and were routinely analyzed in the analytical laboratory by electron-capture gas chromatography. In addition, gas chromatography/mass spec-trometry was employed for positive identification of the 2,4-D esters and for comparative quantitative analysis. The complete sampling and analytical methodology, the 2,4-D concentration data for 1973 and 1974, the agricultural 2,4-D application records and crop Injury reports, and the concomitant meteorological data are described in this paper.     

High Temperature,High Pressure Electrostatic Precipitation

This paper presents the results of work conducted by Research-Cottrell under EPA contract 68-02-2104. The feasibility of electrostatic precipitation at temperatures and pressures varying from ambient condition to 1366°K and 3550 kPa, respectively, has been demonstrated in a laboratory wire-pipe electrode system. Stable corona discharges are obtained at all temperatures subject to appropriate choices of electrode dimension, polarity, and pressure. Current-voltage characteristics are reported for dry air, a simulated combustion gas, and a substitute fuel gas. The effects of temperature, pressure, electrode geometry and polarity on sparkover voltage, corona-starting voltage, and current are evaluated. A precipitator performance model is included to incorporate this data into a high temperature, high pressure precipitator design. This model has been evaluated for an electrostatic (HTHP) precipitator following a pressurized fluidized bed combustor at 1089 K and 920 kPa. It is recommended that prototype HTHP electrostatic precipitators be applied to pilot coal gasifiers and fluidized bed combustors to obtain detailed design data and to verify the accuracy of the performance model under actual operating conditions.     

Uncertainty requirements of the European Union’s Industrial Emissions Directive for monitoring sulfur dioxide emissions: Implications from a blind comparison of sulfate measurements by accredited laboratories

When annual average PM_2.5 (fine particulate matter sized 2.5 microns and less) data for 2005 became available in April 2006 and the 3-yr average PM_2.5 concentration in an area just north of the Houston Ship Channel reached 15.0 µg/m³, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) initiated daily collection of quartz fiber as well as Teflon PM_2.5 filter samples for chemical speciation analysis. The purpose of the chemical speciation analysis was to use the speciation data, together with meteorological data and hourly TEOM (tapered element oscillating microbalance) PM_2.5 mass data, to identify the causes of the high PM_2.5 concentrations affecting the monitoring site and the neighborhood. The ultimate purpose was to target emission reduction efforts to sources contributing to the high measured PM_2.5 concentrations. After a year of data collection, it was recognized that a specific source, unpaved driveways and loading areas along the Ship Channel and dirt tracked onto Clinton Drive, the main artery running east-west north of the Ship Channel, were the primary cause for the Clinton Drive site's measuring PM_2.5 concentrations significantly higher than other sites in Houston. The source characterization and remediation steps that have led to sustained reduced concentrations are described in this paper.

Implications: With PM_2.5 exceedances it can be essential to have or develop chemical speciation data as part of the process of identifying the source types causing exceedances of an annual standard. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis proved to be a powerful tool that identified the two locally emitted species contributing to exceedances, which did not occur at other sites in the region. They were calcium sulfate (gypsum), an industrial by-product, and soil minerals. Other data analysis approaches were necessary to distinguish North African dust events, which PMF failed to identify.     

A Case History of the Science and Management Collaboration in Understanding Hypoxia Events in Long Bay, South Carolina, USA

Communication of knowledge between the scientific and management communities is a difficult process complicated by the distinctive nature of professional career goals of scientists and decision-makers. This article provides a case history highlighting a collaboration between the science and management communities that resulted from a response to a 2004 hypoxia, or low dissolved oxygen, event in Long Bay, off Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A working group of scientists and decision-makers was established at the time of the event and has continued to interact to develop a firm understanding of the drivers responsible for hypoxia formation in Long Bay. Several factors were found to be important to ensure that these collaborative efforts were productive: (1) genuine interest in collaboratively working across disciplines to examine a problem; (2) commitment by agency leadership, decision-makers, and researchers to create successful communication mechanisms; (3) respect for each others’ perspectives and an understanding how science and management are performed and that they are not mutually exclusive; (4) networking among researchers and decision-makers to ensure appropriate team members are involved in the process; (5) use of decision-maker input in the formulation of research and monitoring projects; and (6) commitment of resources for facilitation to ensure that researchers and decision-makers are communicating effectively.     

Traditional pastoralist decision-making processes: lessons for reforms to water resources management in Kenya

The purpose of this paper is to consider the vision for public participation in water resources management embedded in Kenya's 2002 Water Act, as it relates to pastoralists. The Act envisions that responsibility for management of water resources at the local level will be devolved to community-level bodies. Our approach was qualitative and included interviews with government officials and Gabra pastoralists, observation of and participation in traditional Gabra korra meetings and focus group discussions. We conclude that the ‘institutional model’ of participation being pursued through the creation of Water Resource User Associations is particularly problematic for mobile pastoralists such as the Gabra, and we suggest an alternative strategy that would focus on the fostering of deliberation processes.     

Post-disaster community tourism recovery: the tsunami and Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Tourism is highly vulnerable to external, non-controllable events. A natural disaster can affect the local tourism industry in numerous ways, and such events are particularly devastating for small communities whose local economy is heavily dependent on the sector. Loss of infrastructure plus negative media stories can have long-term ramifications for the destination. In spite of the economic importance of tourism, post-disaster recovery efforts in this sector are often overlooked by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which focus on more traditional livelihoods such as agriculture or fishing. This paper describes Mercy Corps' support of tourism recovery activities in Arugam Bay, a remote village on the east coast of Sri Lanka, following the 2004 tsunami. The local economic base is built largely on two sectors: community tourism and fishing. As many other actors were supporting recovery in the local fishing industry, Mercy Corps concentrated on revitalising the tourism sector.