Exploring the feasibility of private micro flood insurance provision in Bangladesh

This paper aims to contribute to the debate on the feasibility of the provision of micro flood insurance as an effective tool for spreading disaster risks in developing countries and examines the role of the institutional-organisational framework in assisting the design and implementation of such a micro flood insurance market. In Bangladesh, a private insurance market for property damage and livelihood risk due to natural disasters does not exist. Private insurance companies are reluctant to embark on an evidently unprofitable venture. Testing two different institutional-organisational models, this research reveals that the administration costs of micro-insurance play an important part in determining the long-term viability of micro flood insurance schemes. A government-facilitated process to overcome the differences observed in this study between the nonprofit micro-credit providers and profit-oriented private insurance companies is needed, building on the particular competence each party brings to the development of a viable micro flood insurance market through a public-private partnership.     

Safeguarding livelihoods or exacerbating poverty? Artisanal mining and formalization in West Africa

In recent years, policy mechanisms to support a formalized artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM) sector in sub‐Saharan Africa have gained increasing currency. Proponents of formalization argue that most social and environmental problems associated with the sector stem from the fact that ASM is predominantly unregulated and operates outside the legal sphere. This paper critically examines recent efforts to formalize artisanal and small‐scale mining in West Africa, drawing upon recent fieldwork carried out in Sierra Leone, Ghana and Mali. In exploring the sector's livelihood dimensions, the analysis suggests that bringing unregulated, informal mining activities into the legal domain remains a considerable challenge. The paper concludes by confirming the urgent need to refocus formalization strategies on the main livelihood challenges and constraints of small‐scale miners themselves, if poverty is to be alleviated and more benefits are to accrue to depressed communities in mineral‐rich regions.     

First report on chemometric modeling of hydrolysis half-lives of organic chemicals

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Hydrolysis is one of the most important processes of transformation of organic chemicals in water. The rates of reactions, final chemical entities of...     

Carbon Monoxide Levels in Athletes during Exercise in an Urban Environment

ABSTRACT

Gas phase concentrations of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in real time in combustion products from a co-flow diffusion flame using laser photoionization (LP) time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF/MS). In particular, a naphthalene detection sensitivity of 4 parts per billion (ppb) was demonstrated. The use of calibration mixtures with argon indicated the feasibility of naphthalene detection at about 45 parts per trillion (ppt) at a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of 20. This suggests the possibility of low-ppt level detection at a S/N of 1. The novelty of the system is the use of a heated sampling probe and a continuously purged, heated-pulse valve that was positioned close to the ionization zone, thereby allowing the generation of photoions in the high-density region of the sample jet, where concentrations of PAH are high. Because the system developed allows for the real time detection of select species, it represents a useful tool in continuous emissions monitoring (CEM) for environmental compliance as well as direct process control.     

Effects of Liming on the Aquatic Fauna in a Norwegian Watershed: Why Do Crustaceans and Fish Respond Differently?

We studied the effects of liming on fish and crustaceans in a watershed which is in a region known to have one of the highest diversity of aquatic biota in Norway. This watershed, Enningdal, is shared between Norway (1/3) and Sweden (2/3) and includes 61 lakes  >  1.0 ha in Norway. Liming started on a large scale in the 1980s. Currently, a total of 26 of lakes (43%) are limed, covering 93% of the total lake area. The mean value ± S.D. of pH and the concentration of inorganic labile Al in these lakes is 6.62 ± 0.35 and 3 ± 4 μg l⁻¹, respectively. Historical data of fish communities have been obtained from surveys, while test-fishing and sampling of crustaceans were conducted in 24 lakes in recent years (2002–2004). The present study shows that crustaceans to a greater extent than fish has responded to improved water quality after more than 20 years of liming. Of a total of 120 fish populations, 42 (35%) have gone extinct. Only five of the lost fish populations (12%) have been re-established, all due to human re-introductions. Physical barriers are considered to be the main factor preventing fish from invading limed lakes. In contrast, crustaceans have been re-established in most limed lakes. This may be mainly due to their good spreading capacity. However, they might also have survived in refuges within the watershed, or as resting-eggs in the sediment.     

Contemporary changes in open water surface area of Lake Inle, Myanmar

From 1935 to 2000, the net open water area of Inle Lake in Central Shan State, Myanmar decreased from 69.10 to 46.69 km², a loss of 32.4% during this 65-year period. Local beliefs are that losses in lake area have been even greater within the last 100–200 years. Various activities, including timber removal, shifting agriculture in the uplands by various ethnic groups, and unsustainable cultivation practices on the low- and mid-level hillslopes around the lake, have been blamed for both historical and ongoing sedimentation. We take issue with attributing loss of lake area to these activities, and propose instead that ongoing “in-lake” and “near-lake” agricultural practices are the main sources of contemporary sediment and loss of open water area. About 93% (i.e., 20.84 km²) of the recent loss in open water area of the lake is due to the development of floating garden agriculture, largely along the west side of the lake. Direct environmental impacts associated with this practice and with other agriculture activities within the wetlands and margins of the lake include sedimentation, eutrophication, and pollution. Whilst the sustainability of hillslope agriculture and past forestry practices can indeed be questioned, a more urgent need is to address these "in-lake" and "near-lake" practices.     

Effects of introducing energy recovery processes to the municipal solid waste management system in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Currently, most developing countries have not set up municipal solid waste management systemswith a viewof recovering energy fromwaste or reducing greenhouse gasemissions. In this article, we have studied the possible effects of introducing three energy recovery processes either as a single or combination approach, refuse derived fuel production, incineration and waste power generation, and methane gas recovery from landfill and power generation in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as a case study. We concluded that incineration process is the most suitable as first introduction of energy recovery. To operate it efficiently, 3Rs strategies need to be promoted. And then, RDF production which is made of waste papers and plastics in high level of sortingmay be considered as the second step of energy recovery. However, safety control and marketability of RDF will be required at that moment.     

Attitudes towards current and alternative management of the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest,Bangladesh to achieve sustainability

This paper examines the challenges of achieving sustainable management of the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans (SMF) in Bangladesh. During the past two decades, conflicts between mangrove maintenance and the pressure to provide economic livelihoods to forest-dependent communities (FDCs) have emerged and persisted. The SMF is currently managed by the Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) under a state property rights regime. This study explores an alternative property rights regime which includes participatory approaches and co-management with FDCs to achieve sustainability, both economically and environmentally. Focus group discussions and a survey were the methods used to assess the prospects. The study finds that the absence of a management partnership between the BFD and FDCs is mainly responsible for the policy failures to achieve sustainable management of the SMF. However, evidence is presented that a ‘co-management’ property rights regime cannot be established until FDC capacity is enhanced through the formation of community level institutions.     

Pesticide storage and release in unsaturated soil in Illinois, USA.

The chemical fate and movement of pesticides may be subject to transient storage in unsaturated soils during periods of light rainfall, and subsequent release into shallow groundwater by increased rainfall. The objective of this study was to conduct field-scale experiments to determine the relative importance of transient storage and subsequent release of agrichemicals from the vadose zone into potential aquifers. Two field-scale experiments were conducted under a rain exclusion shelter. In the 1x experiment, atrazine and chlorpyrifos were applied at application-rate equivalents (1.6 kg ha(-1) and 1.3 kg ha(-1), respectively). In the 4x experiment, atrazine was applied in an amount that was four times greater than that usually applied to fields (6.7 kg ha(-1)). Water was either applied to simulate rain or withheld to simulate dry periods. In the 1x experiment, atrazine was detected in the water samples whereas chlorpyrifos was not detected in the majority of the samples. The dry period imposed on the treatment plot did not appear to result in storage of the chemicals, whereas the wet period resulted in greater leaching of atrazine, although the concentrations remained less than the Maximum Contaminant Level of 3 microg L(-1). Both chemicals were detected in soil samples collected from a 20- to 30-cm depth, but it appeared that both chemicals dissipated before the field experiment was concluded. It appeared that the one-time application of atrazine and chlorpyrifos at the label rates did not result in a sufficient mass to be stored and flushed in significant concentrations to the saturated zone. When atrazine was applied at 4x and a longer drought period was imposed on the treatment plot, the resulting concentrations of dissolved atrazine were still less than 3 microg L(-1) . Atrazine was detected in only the near-surface (0 to 15 cm) soil samples and the herbicide dissipated before the onset of the dry period in the treatment plot. The results of this field study demonstrated that atrazine and chlorpyrifos were not sufficiently persistent to be stored and then released in significantly large concentrations to the saturated zone. The dissipation half-life of atrazine in the 4x application was about 44 days. This study, in addition to others, suggested that atrazine may be less persistent in surface soil than has been generally reported.     

Emission of N2O on pulse–rice crop rotation in upland

The Seasonally Integrated Flux (SIF) of N₂O emission during pulse cultivation in Rabi season (Season-I: December to April) in rain-fed uplands of Orissa, was found to be 17.7 ± 0.07, 18.7 ± 0.16 and 43.3 ± 0.14 gha^?1 for horse gram (HG), black gram (BG) and green gram (GG) respectively. During the subsequent Rabi season (Season-II), the SIF of N₂O for BG and GG cultivated in the same fields were 20.9 ± 0.24 and 38.0 ± 0.42 gha^?1 respectively. Similarly SIF values during rice cultivation with different cultivars have also been calculated to be in the range ?20.05 ± 0.33 to 21.98 ± 0.29. Statistical analysis showed good correlation of N₂O emission with climatic and soil parameters like temperature, nutrient N and organic matter in soil during pulse cultivation. Multivariate analysis was carried out to factorize the results obtained. Using student ‘t’ test, the N₂O emission was observed to be similar for two consecutive Rabi seasons for pulses like BG and GG.