Rural Poverty Reduction through Business Partnerships? Examples of Experience from the Forestry Sector

At the Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2002, partnerships were touted as one of the key routes to sustainable development. But can partnerships really deliver improvements to rural livelihoods? This paper reviews one set of claimed partnerships, those between forestry companies and local individuals or communities, to assess the benefits, and the costs, to local livelihoods. Most arrangements between forestry companies and local communities are not equitable enough to be called partnerships, so the term “deal” is preferred. Positive local impacts of company–community deals include sharing of risks, better returns to land than otherwise possible, opportunities for income diversification, access to paid employment, development of new skills, upgrading of local infrastructure and environmental improvement. However, company–community deals have not yet proved sufficient to lift people out of poverty. They remain supplementary rather than central to income generation. Furthermore, while some deals have resulted in greater cohesion and organisation among community groups, there is as yet little evidence of substantial increases in community bargaining power. Ways forward to increase returns to communities (and to their counterpart companies) centre on moving towards more equal partnerships, by raising community bargaining power, fostering the roles of brokers and other third parties, and developing equitable, efficient and accountable governance frameworks.     

Y chromosome detection by Real Time PCR and pyrophosphorolysis-activated polymerisation using free fetal DNA isolated from maternal plasma

Objectives To validate the use of Real Time PCR, a widely used technique that can detect very low levels of Y chromosomal sequence, and to assess the use of a highly sensitive PCR technique, pyrophosphorolysis-activated polymerisation (PAP), for fetal sex determination using free fetal DNA (ffDNA). Methods The fetal sex was determined by Real Time PCR in 58 pregnancies using ffDNA isolated from maternal plasma. In parallel with the Real Time PCR experiments, the presence of Y chromosome sequence was also determined using PAP on 54 isolated ffDNA samples. Results Both techniques detected Y chromosome sequence at very low levels with 98% specificity and 100% sensitivity (Real Time n = 44, PAP n = 54). Furthermore, the PAP technique was shown to be more robust than the Real Time PCR as none of the samples tested failed to meet the acceptance criteria. Combining the two techniques for male fetal sex detection from maternal blood plasma increases the sensitivity and specificity to 100% in this series. Conclusions This study shows that both Real Time PCR and PAP can be used for Y chromosome detection on ffDNA. Furthermore, by using PAP in combination with Real Time PCR more reliable early prenatal sexing can be performed using ffDNA. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi involvement in zinc and cadmium speciation change and phytoaccumulation

Over the past few years, there has been a greater study and understanding of the application of phytoremediation to remediate contaminated soil. The enhancement of phytoaccumulation of heavy metals—zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and selenium (Se)—in plants has been shown by inoculation of roots using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). This article presents the results of in vitro lab experiments conducted to verify the effects of AMF ( Glomus intraradices) hyphae on speciation of essential Zn and nonessential Cd heavy metals in order to change these metals from a water‐ insoluble carbonate to a soluble and phytoavailable form. Results show that in the presence of heavy metals in a nonavailable form to plants, endomycorrhizal hyphae can change the metal from carbonate to a water‐ soluble species. This phenomenon is more apparent with a nonessential (Cd) than with an essential metal (Zn). Zn saturation is reached in the G. intraradices colonized roots at around 400 ppm, independently of initial ZnCO₃ concentrations. Cd saturation is not reached; in the lower Cd treatment, the plant/media metal ratio is 3:1, and in the higher treatment, the ratio is 1:1. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A Population Viability Analysis for African Elephant (Loxodonta africana): How Big Should Reserves Be?

We present an age-structured, density-dependent model of elephant population dynamics in a fluctuating environment, drawing primarily upon the life history parameters obtained from studies in semi-arid land at Tsavo National Park, Kenya. Density regulation occurs by changes in the age of first reproduction and calving interval. We model environmental stochasticity with drought events affecting sex- and age-specific survivorships. Results indicate a maximum population growth rate of 3% per year and an equilibrium elephant density of 3.1/mile². Analysis of the demographic results and their sensitivity to changes in juvenile survivorship and drought frequencies, supported by genetic considerations, suggests that in semi-arid regions a minimum reserve size of 1000 mile² is necessary to attain a 99% probability of population persistence for 1000 years. The effect of age-independent culling on population viability is also analyzed.     

Innovation and Environmental Voluntary Approaches

Criteria have been developed in general terms for evaluating voluntary approaches. Nevertheless, there still remains limited assessment regarding the performance of environmental voluntary approaches as there is a general dearth of empirical information. In relation to innovation and voluntary approaches there are two main schools of thought, namely, the no innovation scenario and innovation through collective learning. This paper outlines the arguments regarding environmental voluntary approaches and innovation and reports on an empirical study of an Irish packaging voluntary agreement. Its findings would indicate that the no innovation scenario is applicable to the Irish packaging voluntary agreement.     

Hunting in unfamiliar space: echolocation in the Indian false vampire bat, Megaderma lyra, when gleaning prey

The literature suggests that in familiar laboratory settings, Indian false vampire bats (Megaderma lyra, family Megadermatidae) locate terrestrial prey with and without emitting echolocation calls in the dark and cease echolocating when simulated moonlit conditions presumably allow the use of vision. More recent laboratory-based research suggests that M. lyra uses echolocation throughout attacks but at emission rates much lower than those of other gleaning bats. We present data from wild-caught bats hunting for and capturing prey in unfamiliar conditions mimicking natural situations. By varying light level and substrate complexity we demonstrated that hunting M. lyra always emit echolocation calls and that emission patterns are the same regardless of light/substrate condition and similar to those of other wild-caught gleaning bats. Therefore, echoic information appears necessary for this species when hunting in unfamiliar situations, while, in the context of past research, echolocation may be supplanted by vision, spatial memory or both in familiar spaces.Communicated by T. Czeschlik