116,092 research outputs found

    A compendium of Technologies, Practices, Services and Policies for Scaling Climate Smart Agriculture in Odisha (India)

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    Stakeholders engaged in agricultural research for development (AR4D) are increasingly tackling risks associated with climate change in smallholder systems. Accordingly, development and scaling of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) are one of the priorities for all the organizations, departments and ministries associated with the farm sector. Having a ‘one-stop-shop’ compiled in the format of a compendium for CSA technologies, practices and services would therefore serve a guide for all the stakeholders for scaling CSA in smallholder systems. Bringing out a Compendium on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) for Odisha, India was therefore thought of during the workshop on ‘Scaling Climate-Smart Agriculture in Odisha’ organized at Bhubaneswar on 18-19 July 2018 by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in collaboration with Department of Agriculture (DoA) & Farmers’ Empowerment, Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Rice Research Institute (ICAR-NRRI), Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) & International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) under the aegis of CGIAR Research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). The main objectives to bring forth this compendium are: to argue the case for agriculture policies and practices that are climate-smart; to raise awareness of what can be done to make agriculture policies and practices climatesmart; and to provide practical guidance and recommendations that are well referenced and, wherever possible, based on lessons learned from practical action. CSA programmes are unlikely to be effective unless their implementation is supported by sound policies and institutions. It is therefore important to enhance institutional capacities in order to implement and replicate CSA strategies. Institutions are vital to agricultural development as well as the realisation of resilient livelihoods.They are not only a tool for farmers and decision-makers, but are also the main conduit through which CSA practices can be scaled up and sustained. The focus in this compendium is on CSA and it’s relevant aspects, i.e., (i) technologies and practices, (ii) services, (iii) technology targeting, (iv) business models, (v) capacity building, and (vi) policies. The approaches and tools available in the compendium span from face-to-face technicianfarmer dialogues to more structured exchanges of online and offline e-learning. In every scenario it is clear that tailoring to local expectations and needs is key. In particular, the voice of farmers is essential to be captured as they are the key actors to promote sustainable agriculture, and their issues need to be prioritized. CSA practices are expected to sustainably increase productivity and resilience (adaptation), reduce Greenhouse Gases (mitigation), and enhance achievement of national food security along with sustainable development goals. CSA is widely expected to contribute towards achieving these objectives and enhance climate change adaptation. CSA practices have to be included in State’s Climate Policy as a priority intervention as the state steps up efforts to tackle climate change. Furthermore, emphasis shoud be laid on CSA training for a sustainable mode to enhance CSA adoption in the state hence the relevance of developing this document. The adaption of climate related knowledge, technologies and practices to local conditions, promoting joint learning by farmers, researchers, rural advisor and widely disseminating CSA practices, is critical. This compendium brings together a collection of experiences from different stakeholders with background of agricultural extension and rural advisory services in supporting CSA. The contributions are not intended to be state-of-the art academic articles but thought and discussion pieces of work in progress. The compendium itself is a ‘living‘ document which is intended to be revised periodically

    Examining the uptake of low-carbon approaches within the healthcare sector: case studies from the National Health Service in England

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    The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, is one of the largest organisations in Europe and indeed the world. It therefore has a significant ecological footprint. As a result there are key corporate, financial and environmental targets that the organisation is expected to meet as a means of reducing resource consumption. Using a case study approach, this manuscript examines best practice examples for the uptake of low-carbon strategies for energy conservation. These strategies included sustainable procurement, use of renewable energy technologies, supply chain management, use of building management systems, renegotiating energy contracts, undertaking energy audits, and behaviour change, to realise significant financial, as well as energy and carbon savings. A key focus was management of water resources, including the use of recycling and recovery of heat. The implications of the findings for building ecological and financial resilience within the organisation are also discussed

    Completion of the Common Internal Market of Recycling in the EU - Position of New Member States

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    In the paper will be presented the analysis of ecological competitiveness in the EU ("old" and "new" Member States) recycling market within the process of the establishment of common standards related to the Prevention and Recycling of Waste. The paper examined advantages of common standards for Europe from the point of view of the completion of the common internal market of recycling within the EU Strategy promoting the sustainable growth.Artykuł ma na celu zaprezentowanie wyników analizy konkurencyjności ekologicznej w UE ("starych" i "nowych" krajów członkowskich) na rynku recyclingu w procesie tworzenia wspólnych standardów, odnoszących się zarówno do zapobiegania powstawaniu odpadów jak i do rozwoju recyklingu, mającego na celu redukcję zanieczyszczeń. W artykule poddane zostały analizie korzyści wynikające ze wspólnych standardów w Europie dla utworzenia wspólnego rynku recyklingu w ramach strategicznego podejścia UE zorientowanego na zrównoważony rozwój

    Pan-European backcasting exercise, enriched with regional perspective, and including a list of short-term policy options

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    This deliverable reports on the results of the third and final pan-European stakeholder meeting and secondly, on the enrichment with a Pilot Area and regional perspective. The main emphasis is on backcasting as a means to arrive at long-term strategies and short-term (policy) actions

    Options for Climate-Smart Agriculture at Kaptumo Site in Kenya

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    This report identifies and assesses climate-smart agricultural practices through participatory appraisal tools with experts and farmers, as part of the MICCA pilot project in Kaptumo, Kenya. The aim is to highlight and add climate-smart practices within the ongoing development programme which aims to integrate climate change adaptation and mitigation with improving livelihoods and productivity of the dairy farming system

    Modeling the fiscal impacts caused by climate change

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    Aim of the paper: The purpose is to gather the practices and to model the impacts of climate change on fiscal spending and revenues, responsibilities and opportunities, balance and debt related to climate change (CC). Methodology of the paper: The methodology will distinguish fiscal cost of mitigation and adaptation, besides direct and indirect costs. It will also introduce cost benefit analyses to evaluate the propensity of policy makers for action or passivity. Several scenarios will be drafted to see the different outcomes. The scenarios shall contain the possible losses in the natural and artificial environment and resources. Impacts on public budget are based on damage of income opportunities and capital/wealth/natural assets. There will be a list of actions when the fiscal correction of market failures will be necessary. Findings: There will be a summary and synthesis of estimation models on CC impacts on public finances, and morals of existing/existed budgeting practices on mitigation. The model will be based on damages (and maybe benefits) from CC, adjusted with probabilities of scenarios and policy making propensity for action. Findings will cover the way of funding of fiscal costs. Practical use, value added: From the synthesis of model, the fiscal cost of mitigation and adaptation can be estimated for any developed, emerging and developing countries. The paper will try to reply, also, for the challenge how to harmonize fiscal and developmental sustainability

    Reconfigurable Mobile Multimedia Systems

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    This paper discusses reconfigurability issues in lowpower hand-held multimedia systems, with particular emphasis on energy conservation. We claim that a radical new approach has to be taken in order to fulfill the requirements - in terms of processing power and energy consumption - of future mobile applications. A reconfigurable systems-architecture in combination with a QoS driven operating system is introduced that can deal with the inherent dynamics of a mobile system. We present the preliminary results of studies we have done on reconfiguration in hand-held mobile computers: by having reconfigurable media streams, by using reconfigurable processing modules and by migrating functions
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