Local communities' participation in decision-making processes through planning and budgeting in African countries

Community participation and community based management are topical themes in current policy and discussion revolving around decision-making processes especially those dealing with natural resources management.This review shows that while governments have accepted the need to either cede or devolve control and management of natural resources to the local communities,the communities are not part and parcel of the planning and budgeting which are crucial in decisionmaking.Communities were seen to be more involved in the implementation of natural resource management programs but lacked ownership of the projects.This causes lack of commitment to the programs and at times hostile reaction from the communities.The communities are always at the receiving end when it pertains to losses in the exchange.Community participation was shown to be effective when the local population is involved not as co-operating users but as natural resource managers or owner managers.     

A PROCESS FOR FEDERAL WATER PLANNING AT THE FIELD LEVEL1

ABSTRACT: A process for planning at the field offices of Federal water resources agencies is described. The process involve s both planners and publics in the following four planning activities: problem definition, formulation of alternatives, impact analysis and evaluation (or plan ranking). Evaluative factors are defied as the goals, concerns, constraints, etc. that affected publics and other decision makers consider in ranking alternative actions. These factors serve to drive the entire process and glue the four planning activities together. In contrast to other “models” of the planning process, the four activities are considered to be carried out simultaneously and continually from the beginning of the process. As the planning process proceeds, each activity is repeated a number of times at increasing levels of detail. Various aspects of the process are illustrated by means of an example involving water resources development in Carmel Valley, California.     

Mechanical Evaluation of Solvent Casted Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Films Derived from the Storage Polyesters Produced by Halomonas elongata DSM 2581T

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a natural and biodegradable polyester which represents an alternative to replace conventional plastics in the packaging...     

Anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in raptors from Ontario,Canada

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are used globally to control rodent pest infestations in both urban and agricultural settings. It is well documented...     

A probabilistic hazard and risk assessment of exposure to metals and organohalogens associated with a traditional diet in the Indigenous communities of Eeyou Istchee (northern Quebec,Canada)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Hunting, trapping, and fishing are part of an Indigenous lifestyle in subarctic Canada. However, this lifestyle may be a route of exposure to...     

Ecological Status of Beaucarnea gracilis, an Endemic Species of the Semiarid Tehuacán Valley, México

We present a demographic analysis and suggestions for the conservation of Beaucarnea gracilis, a species endemic to the Tehuacán Valley, Puebla, México. The species is dioecious, it flowers every year, and the breeding system and floral display are typical of a generalist mode of pollination. The density of B. gracilis in the study plot was 16.7 individuals/ha. Distribution of trunk diameter size classes fits a normal distribution (n = 404), but the smaller sizes were not found (<0.7 m). The inflorescences were visited by 46 insect species. Over 2600 seeds are produced per inflorescence; 27–30% are damaged by parasites, and the rest germinate readily (90–100%). Survival of seeds and seedlings is very low. We found 313 seedlings in a 12-ha area, all (94.24%) of which were at the base of nurse plants; particularly Mimosa luisiana and Castela tortuosa. The ecological status of the population of Beaucarnea gracilis is relatively good for adult individuals. In addition to low recruitment, (whether natural or human influenced), past extraction of seedlings for commerce, grazing by goats, and land clearing for corn cultivation, highway construction, and urbanization, are a real threat to the survival and establishment of seeds and seedlings. Conservation of this slow-growing, long-lived species should be promoted because (1) ecologically, it is a feeding center for many insect species, an important host for many Bromeliaceae, and part of the highly rich and endemic flora of Tehuacán and (2) economically, it helps low income people in the area (seedlings raised for commerce). Protection of nurse plants, regulation of grazing by goats, a halt to illegal extraction, and conservation of areas of the Tehuacán valley will help the survival of this species in nature.     

Further 237Pu experiments with the plaice Pleuronectes platessa: Subcellular distribution of plutonium in the liver

The subcellular distribution of ²³⁷Pu in the livers of the plaice Pleuronectes platessa has been studied by differential and isopycnic gradient centrifugation. It has been shown that the ²³⁷Pu is particularly accumulated in pellets sedimenting out at 3000 and 6000 g which, by deduction from marker enzyme tests, contain a mixture of mitochondria and lysosomes. Separation of lysosomes from mitochondria was achieved by using a non-lytic detergent injected into the fish 3 d prior to removal of the livers; it was found that ²³⁷Pu was associated with the lysosomal fraction. In this respect, the metabolism of plutonium of the plaice resembles that of the rat.     

Provisioning rules and chick competition in asynchronously hatching common terns (Sterna hirundo)

Interactions between nestling birds and their parents are models for examining parent–offspring communication and sibling competition. Most studies have focused on species where young are restricted to a nest. However, offspring of many species are mobile and fed by parents for an extended period post-hatch. These chicks mobility may provide an opportunity to examine the role of signalling and physical competition on parental feeding decisions. We examined parental provisioning rules in relation to offspring behaviour and hatching order (i.e., competitive ability) in a species with mobile young, the common tern. We determined that about 95% of feedings were directed to the first chick to reach the parent when it landed with food. We developed a probabilistic model to predict the likelihood of a chick reaching the parent first, and thus receiving food. Our model showed that begging intensity, feeding history, and the interaction between begging intensity and relative proximity to the parent best predicted which chick would arrive first. Increased begging was associated with arriving first significantly more when a chick was relatively further from the parent than when it was closer than its siblings. Independently of these factors, larger, earlier-hatched chicks were more likely to be fed than smaller, later-hatched chicks. Additional analyses showed that parents landed closer to more intensively begging chicks, however, increased begging did not explain the advantage of earlier-hatched chicks because begging intensity did not vary with hatching order. Instead, earlier-hatched chicks were more likely to outrun later-hatched siblings and reach the parent first.