Five feet high and rising: Cities and flooding in the 21st Century

Urban flooding is an increasingly important issue.Disaster statistics appear to show flood events arebecoming more frequent, with medium-scale eventsincreasing fastest. The impact of flooding is driven bya combination of natural and human-induced factors.As recent flood events in Pakistan, Brazil, Sri Lanka andAustralia show, floods can occur in widespread locationsand can sometimes overwhelm even the best preparedcountries and cities. There are known and tested measuresfor urban flood risk management, typically classified asstructural or engineered measures, and non-structural,management techniques. A combination of measures toform an integrated management approach is most likelyto be successful in reducing flood risk. In the short termand for developing countries in particular, the factorsaffecting exposure and vulnerability are increasing atthe fastest rate as urbanization puts more people andmore assets at risk. In the longer term, however, climatescenarios are likely to be one of the most importantdrivers of future changes in flood risk. Due to the largeuncertainties in projections of climate change, adaptationto the changing risk needs to be flexible to a wide rangeof future scenarios and to be able to cope with potentiallylarge changes in sea level, rainfall intensity and snowmelt.Climate uncertainty and budgetary, institutional andpractical constraints are likely to lead to a combining ofstructural and non-structural measures for urban floodrisk management, and arguably, to a move away fromwhat is sometimes an over-reliance on hard-engineereddefenses and toward more adaptable and incrementalnon-structural solutions

Intentions to return: Evidence from Romanian migrants

Romania faces an acute population crisis with an aging workforce and an increased number of emigrants particularly from the young, highly educated/skilled population. This paper uses a new cross-sectional data set of Romanian emigrants to find which factors are related to plans to return home permanently. The analysis pays particular attention to differences in expected earnings and skills and training acquired as a migrant. The study finds that higher expected earnings in Romania and investment in Romanian firms are positively correlated with plans to return migrate. Policies that boost productivity and therefore wages as well as policies that improve the business climate could therefore encourage Romanian migrants to return to Romania, moderating the negative consequences of the declining and aging population, and increasing the skill stock of the Romanian labor force

Molecular characterization of Phytophthora palmivora responsible for bud rot disease of oil palm in Colombia

Bud rot disease is a damaging disease of oil palm in Colombia. The pathogen responsible for this disease is a species of oomyctes, Phytophthora palmivora which is also the causal pathogen of several tropical crop diseases such as fruit rot and stem canker of cocoa, rubber, durian and jackfruit. No outbreaks of bud rot have been reported in oil palm in Malaysia or other Southeast Asian countries, despite this particular species being present in the region. Analysis of the genomic sequences of several genetic markers; the internal transcribe spacer regions (ITS) of the ribosomal RNA gene cluster, beta-tubulin gene, translation elongation factor 1 alpha gene (EF-1α), cytochrome c oxidase subunit I & II (COXI and COXII) gene cluster along with amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses have been carried out to investigate the genetic diversity and variation of P. palmivora isolates from around the world and from different hosts in comparison to Colombian oil palm isolates, as one of the steps in understanding why this species of oomycetes causes devastating damage to oil palm in Latin America but not in other regions. Phylogenetic analyses of these regions showed that the Colombian oil palm isolates were not separated from Malaysian isolates. AFLP analysis and a new marker PPHPAV, targeting an unclassified hypothetical protein, was found to be able to differentiate Malaysian and Colombian isolates and showed a clear clade separations. Despite this, pathogenicity studies did not show any significant differences in the level of aggressiveness of different isolates against oil palm in glasshouse tests

Call for Participatory Decision Making: Discussion Paper on World Bank-Civil Society Engagement

This paper explores the opportunities for more meaningful, empowering forms of participation in World Bank decision-making. First, it examines the challenges of improving public participation in the Bank's institutional governance, and in its operations at global, national, and local levels. Then, it proposes a set of principles and a framework for thinking about how to expand and deepen the opportunities for meaningful public participation in all stages of Bank decisionmaking. Finally, it uses the framework to propose a set of recommendations for improving Bank practice for consideration by the World Bank's management and Board

World at War: Final Research Paper

The Ottoman Empire reigned for over five centuries throughout today’s Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Southern Europe, starting around 1299. However, after World War I, it completely disbanded, creating several nation-states. What led to the fall of this massive Empire? There seem to be several factors including actions of World War I. Both the Allies and the Entente fought in the Middle East, each side supporting different groups within the Ottoman Empire. During the World War I period, the Young Turks, those in government in the Ottoman Empire, desired to create a “Turanian nationality.” This included a “Turkification” of the non-Turkish areas of the Empire. The Germans supported this effort, while Britain and France supported the Arab nationalist revolt against the Young Turks. Were the actions of Western European nations in the Ottoman Empire part of the cause of the fall of the entire Empire? In this research paper, I will examine the relationship between Germany and the Young Turks, as well as the relationship between Britain and France and the Arab nationals. I will attempt to determine the intent of these relationships, as well as whether or not European actions in the Middle East were one of the causes of the fall of the Empire. I will also discuss the causes of the fall outside of the impact of European nations