Learning from Resilience Strategies in Tanzania

Tanzania has been considered a model for development, peace, and stability despite the arrival of refugees from neighboring countries and the potential tensions related to climate change. Although it has accessed the rank of middleincome country, Tanzania still faces several challenges, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The book aims at analyzing these challenges as well as the country’s successes through a multi-disciplinary approach considering economic perspectives as well as conflict prevention, dialogue integration, climate change adaptation, forests’ protection, and social perspectives – especially relating to women and girls. The current Covid situation has shaken the whole world and raised many questions on how the different regions and countries could adapt and develop resilience strategies in an uncertain and ever-changing context. Therefore, the book is not only about Tanzania but also about what we can learn from the research on Tanzania in terms of vulnerabilities and resilience strategies. This book is an outlook of International Development Challenges. This book is co-funded by the European Union in the framework of the project Pilot 4 Research and Dialogue

African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation

This open access book discusses current thinking and presents the main issues and challenges associated with climate change in Africa. It introduces evidences from studies and projects which show how climate change adaptation is being - and may continue to be successfully implemented in African countries. Thanks to its scope and wide range of themes surrounding climate change, the ambition is that this book will be a lead publication on the topic, which may be regularly updated and hence capture further works. Climate change is a major global challenge. However, some geographical regions are more severly affected than others. One of these regions is the African continent. Due to a combination of unfavourable socio-economic and meteorological conditions, African countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change and its impacts. The recently released IPCC special report "Global Warming of 1.5º C" outlines the fact that keeping global warming by the level of 1.5º C is possible, but also suggested that an increase by 2º C could lead to crises with crops (agriculture fed by rain could drop by 50% in some African countries by 2020) and livestock production, could damage water supplies and pose an additonal threat to coastal areas. The 5th Assessment Report produced by IPCC predicts that wheat may disappear from Africa by 2080, and that maize— a staple—will fall significantly in southern Africa. Also, arid and semi-arid lands are likely to increase by up to 8%, with severe ramifications for livelihoods, poverty eradication and meeting the SDGs. Pursuing appropriate adaptation strategies is thus vital, in order to address the current and future challenges posed by a changing climate. It is against this background that the "African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation" is being published. It contains papers prepared by scholars, representatives from social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies, undertaking research and/or executing climate change projects in Africa, and working with communities across the African continent. Encompassing over 100 contribtions from across Africa, it is the most comprehensive publication on climate change adaptation in Africa ever produced

Triple Helix as a Strategic Tool to Fast-Track Climate Change Adaptation in Rural Kenya: Case Study of Marsabit County

AbstractThe lack of affordable, clean, and reliable energy in Africa's rural areas forces people to resort to poor quality energy source, which is detrimental to the people's health and prevents the economic development of communities. Moreover, access to safe water and food security are concerns closely linked to health issues and children malnourishment. Recent climate change due to global warming has worsened the already critical situation.Electricity is well known to be an enabler of development as it allows the use of modern devices thus enabling the development of not only income-generating activities but also water pumping and food processing and conservation that can promote socioeconomic growth. However, all of this is difficult to achieve due to the lack of investors, local skills, awareness by the community, and often also government regulations.All the above mentioned barriers to the uptake of electricity in rural Kenya could be solved by the coordinated effort of government, private sector, and academia, also referred to as Triple Helix, in which each entity may partially take the other's role. This chapter discretizes the above and shows how a specific county (Marsabit) has benefited from this triple intervention. Existing government policies and actions and programs led by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international agencies are reviewed, highlighting the current interconnection and gaps in promoting integrated actions toward climate change adaptation and energy access

Plants and Plant Products in Local Markets Within Benin City and Environs

AbstractThe vulnerability of agriculture systems in Africa to climate change is directly and indirectly affecting the availability and diversity of plants and plant products available in local markets. In this chapter, markets in Benin City and environs were assessed to document the availability of plants and plant products. Markets were grouped into urban, suburban, and rural with each group having four markets. Majority of the plant and plant product vendors were women and 88 plant species belonging to 42 families were found. Their scientific and common names were documented as well as the parts of the plant and associated products available in the markets. Most of the plant and plant products found in local markets belong to major plant families. Urban markets had the highest diversity of plants and plant products. Three categories of plants and plant products were documented. Around 67% of the plants and plant products were categorized as whole plant/plant parts, 28% as processed plant parts, while 5% as reprocessed plant/plant parts. It was revealed that 86% of these plants are used as foods, 11% are for medicinal purposes, while 3% is used for other purposes. About 35% of plants and plant products across the markets were fruits, which is an indication that city and environs are a rich source of fruits. The local knowledge and practices associated with the plants and plant products can contribute towards formulating a strategic response for climate change impacts on agriculture, gender, poverty, food security, and plant diversity

Food for All

This book is a historical review of international food and agriculture since the founding of the international organizations following the Second World War, including the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and into the 1970s, when CGIAR was established and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was created to recycle petrodollars. The book concurrently focuses on the structural transformation of developing countries in Asia and Africa, with some making great strides in small farmer development and in achieving structural transformation of their economies. Some have also achieved Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG2, but most have not. Not only are some countries, particularly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, lagging behind, but they face new challenges of climate change, competition from emerging countries, population pressure, urbanization, environmental decay, dietary transition, and now pandemics. Lagging developing countries need huge investments in human capital, and physical and institutional infrastructure, to take advantage of rapid change in technologies, but the role of international assistance in financial transfers has diminished. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only set many poorer countries back but starkly revealed the weaknesses of past strategies. Transformative changes are needed in developing countries with international cooperation to achieve better outcomes. Will the change in US leadership bring new opportunities for multilateral cooperation

The development of a socio-economic model to promote women empowerment initiatives in the renewable energy sector of South Africa

The objective of this research was, therefore, to evaluate and recommend new approaches to mainstream gender in the renewable energy sector. This objective would be achieved by introducing a model of the factors that contribute to the perceived success of the socio-economic empowerment of women within the renewable energy sector of the RSA. This study is equally beneficial to any Country that might be embarking on a Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program. Also, the research findings and recommendations are equally relevant to the mining, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors who wish to mainstream gender in their sectors. From the empirical evidence, Executive Leadership (ethical leadership) positively influences Good Governance and Successful Women’s Empowerment. Therefore, the inference can be made that the respondents deemed Executive Leadership to be a primary contributing factor to both Good Governance and Successful Women’s Empowerment. According to the empirical results, Social Investment (funding) and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (policy) positively influence Successful Women’s Empowerment. Finally, the empirical results indicate that Sustainable Programmes are a positive contributing factor to Good Governance. The respondents did not consider Stakeholder Engagement statistically significant in relation to Good Governance or Successful Women’s Empowerment. This could be a case of misinterpretation, or lack of experience regarding the importance of Stakeholder Engagement. However, the literature indicates the criticality of Stakeholder Engagement, as well as Change Management. Further research should be conducted to establish the lack of appreciation by respondents for the importance of Stakeholder Engagement and Change Management. These findings shed light on the opportunities for the socio-economic empowerment of women in the renewable energy sector of the RSA, by developing women-led Independent Power Producers.The South African Constitution is lauded as one of the most progressive in the world, and in some respects considered better than the Constitution of the United States of America with regards to Human and Socio-Economic Rights. Yet, South Africa exhibits the highest incidence of recorded rape in the world, with an increase in femicides, violence against women and children, and even more barbaric acts of burning their victims, and cannibalism in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. This research argues that if women were economically empowered, they would be able to extricate themselves from these perilous situations. The paradox between the South African Constitution and the reality, is indicative of deep structural challenges that will require exceptional solutions that will address the systemic issues that this study will discuss. The renewable energy sector, which is one of the fastest growing business sectors in South Africa, could be that catalyst for this change, and, more importantly, change the stereotypical paradigm of women entrepreneurs as owners of ‘chicken coops’ and ‘veggie patches’, to become owner-operators of their own power generation facilities, thereby making a meaningful contribution to women-led Independent Power Producers. However, it would be a lost opportunity if the renewable energy sector were to follow a similar trajectory to the mining sector in failing to mainstream gender, or if the renewable energy sector were to repeat the errors of the mining sector in attempting to empower women. Based on the literature review, guidance from subject matter experts, survey data, and personal field experience, I examine the primary research question: What are the main contributors and variables which can positively influence the socioeconomic empowerment of women initiatives in the renewable energy sector in the Republic of South Africa? In order to respond to this primary research question, a theoretical model was developed, which was informed by the academic literature, reports and studies from the public and private sectors, data garnered through a questionnaire, as well as face-to-face dialogue sessions. In order to address the primary objective of developing the theoretical model, several secondary goals were established by developing a conceptual model that comprised of variables determined through a detailed review of the related gender and renewable energy literature

Food for All

This book is a historical review of international food and agriculture since the founding of the international organizations following the Second World War, including the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and into the 1970s, when CGIAR was established and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was created to recycle petrodollars. The book concurrently focuses on the structural transformation of developing countries in Asia and Africa, with some making great strides in small farmer development and in achieving structural transformation of their economies. Some have also achieved Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG2, but most have not. Not only are some countries, particularly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, lagging behind, but they face new challenges of climate change, competition from emerging countries, population pressure, urbanization, environmental decay, dietary transition, and now pandemics. Lagging developing countries need huge investments in human capital, and physical and institutional infrastructure, to take advantage of rapid change in technologies, but the role of international assistance in financial transfers has diminished. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only set many poorer countries back but starkly revealed the weaknesses of past strategies. Transformative changes are needed in developing countries with international cooperation to achieve better outcomes. Will the change in US leadership bring new opportunities for multilateral cooperation

Staring down the lion: Uncertainty avoidance and operational risk culture in a tourism organisation

The academic literature is not clear about how uncertainty influences operational risk decision-making. This study, therefore, investigated operational risk-based decision-making in the face of uncertainty in a large African safari tourism organisation by exploring individual and perceived team member approaches to uncertainty. Convenience sampling was used to identify 15 managers across three African countries in three domains of work: safari camp; regional office; and head office. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in which vignettes were incorporated, to which participants responded with their own reactions and decisions to the situations described, as well as with ways they thought other managers would react to these specific operational contexts. The data were transcribed and qualitatively analysed through thematic coding processes. The findings indicated that approaches to uncertainty were influenced by factors including situational context, the availability and communication of information, the level of operational experience, and participants’ roles. Contextual factors alongside diverse individual emotional and cognitive influences were shown to require prudent consideration by safari tourism operators in understanding employee behavioural reactions to uncertain situations. A preliminary model drawn from the findings suggests that, in practice, decision-making in the face of uncertainty is more complex than existing theoretical studies propose. Specifically, the diverse responses anticipated by staff in response to the vignettes could guide safari tourism management towards better handling of risk under uncertainty in remote locations

Psr1p interacts with SUN/sad1p and EB1/mal3p to establish the bipolar spindle

Regular Abstracts - Sunday Poster Presentations: no. 382During mitosis, interpolar microtubules from two spindle pole bodies (SPBs) interdigitate to create an antiparallel microtubule array for accommodating numerous regulatory proteins. Among these proteins, the kinesin-5 cut7p/Eg5 is the key player responsible for sliding apart antiparallel microtubules and thus helps in establishing the bipolar spindle. At the onset of mitosis, two SPBs are adjacent to one another with most microtubules running nearly parallel toward the nuclear envelope, creating an unfavorable microtubule configuration for the kinesin-5 kinesins. Therefore, how the cell organizes the antiparallel microtubule array in the first place at mitotic onset remains enigmatic. Here, we show that a novel protein psrp1p localizes to the SPB and plays a key role in organizing the antiparallel microtubule array. The absence of psr1+ leads to a transient monopolar spindle and massive chromosome loss. Further functional characterization demonstrates that psr1p is recruited to the SPB through interaction with the conserved SUN protein sad1p and that psr1p physically interacts with the conserved microtubule plus tip protein mal3p/EB1. These results suggest a model that psr1p serves as a linking protein between sad1p/SUN and mal3p/EB1 to allow microtubule plus ends to be coupled to the SPBs for organization of an antiparallel microtubule array. Thus, we conclude that psr1p is involved in organizing the antiparallel microtubule array in the first place at mitosis onset by interaction with SUN/sad1p and EB1/mal3p, thereby establishing the bipolar spindle.postprin