The Dairy Sector of Brazil: A Country Study

Agribusiness, International Development, International Relations/Trade,

Geotourism and local development based on geological and mining sites utilization, zaruma-portovelo, Ecuador

This study offers a detailed assessment of the geosites and mining sites present in the Zaruma-Portovelo mining district (Ecuador) through their qualitative and quantitative assessment. It shows up the potentiality of this area taking advantage of its geological-mining heritage. The methodological process includes: (i) compilation and inventory of all the sites within the study area with particular geological or mining interest; (ii) preparation of reports and thematic cartography, (iii) assessment and classification of the elements of geological-mining interest; (iv) SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and TOWS (Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses, Strengths) matrix preparation seeking strategies to guarantee the viability of geotourism. A total of 16 sites of geological interest and 11 of mining interest were identified. The 77% of these sites was proved to be of high and very high interest in scientific terms. Likewise, their susceptibility to degradation assessed from their vulnerability and fragility was found to be high or very high in the 30% of the cases. As for the protection priority, all the studied sites obtained a medium-high result. Finally, the study based on the SWOT-TOWS revealed the possibility of applying action strategies in order to facilitate the compatibility of geotourism with the current productive activities, despite the difficult situation in the study area created by mining activities

Climate resilience building in Semi-Arid Lands (SALs): institutional weaknesses and strengths in subnational governments in Brazil

Well established institutions are an essential factor for the successful realization of sustainable socio-economic and environmental potential in Semi-Arid Lands (SALs). SALs receive limited attention in international climate research and policies; thus, the institutional relationship between governance, policy, and implementation continues to suffer from inconsistencies across governance levels. This research carried out an analysis combining mixed-research methods to collect, record, and analyze data and information regarding institutional and organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and local level policy implementation challenges and scope to assess the effectiveness of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and implementation of adaptation policies at State and local levels in SALs. The inefficiencies observed in the DRM/CCA adaptation processes are concentrated in areas of high governance of state and municipal governments and stem from local communities' reduced organizational and technical capacity. It results in the negligent application of measures and resources to address climate risks. Therefore, this paper contributes to the increasing understanding of the institutional framework's role in the facilitation of local adaptation, revealing what seems to be working well, what is not, how things could improve in Brazilian SALs

Green knowledge exchange Turkey-The Netherlands : priority issues identified for cooperation in the field of biodiversity protection and conservation : interviews with experts from Governmental and Non-Governmental Organisations based in Turkey and based in The Netherlands

As a consequence of its geographical location Turkey is very rich in biodiversity; its flora is richest, both in terms of overall plant diversity and level of endemism compared to Europe, North Africa, or countries in the Middle East. This report gives an overview of important biodiversity issues in Turkey and priorities for cooperation selected by Turkish and Dutch parties. The project aimed to facilitate the set up of a long-term cooperation between Turkey and The Netherlands in a structural ‘Green Knowledge Exchange’ between officials and experts of the two countries. Reports of interviews with (non)governmental organizations (Netherlands and Turkey) form the backbone of this publication. It also provides a SWOT analysis and comparison of the information obtained from Turkish side and the information provided by organisations based in The Netherlands

Overview and Analysis of Practices with Open Educational Resources in Adult Education in Europe

OER4Adults aimed to provide an overview of Open Educational Practices in adult learning in Europe, identifying enablers and barriers to successful implementation of practices with OER. The project was conducted in 2012-2013 by a team from the Caledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian University, funded by The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS). The project drew on data from four main sources: • OER4Adults inventory of over 150 OER initiatives relevant to adult learning in Europe • Responses from the leaders of 36 OER initiatives to a detailed SWOT survey • Responses from 89 lifelong learners and adult educators to a short poll • The Vision Papers on Open Education 2030: Lifelong Learning published by IPTS Interpretation was informed by interviews with OER and adult education experts, discussion at the IPTS Foresight Workshop on Open Education and Lifelong Learning 2030, and evaluation of the UKOER programme. Analysis revealed 6 tensions that drive developing practices around OER in adult learning as well 6 summary recommendations for the further development of such practices

Mass introduction of electric passenger vehicles in Brazil: impact assessment on energy use, climate mitigation and on charging infrastructure needs for several case studies

Mobility has proved to be a major challenge for human development, especially in urban centers worldwide, where more displacement is required, since fossil fuels consumption is increasing as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, causing air quality degradation and global warming. The predicted population increase in cities tends to increase the demand for mobility and to further exacerbate those impacts. Therefore, sustainable transport is key for the future of mobility, and electric vehicle (EV) has emerged as a recognized sustainable option. However, there are many electric vehicle barriers diffusion. This research aims to contribute to the diffusion of EV in Brazil, by assessing: 1) whether EV is a more sustainable technology when compared with ethanol vehicle; 2) the impacts of the expansion of electric mobility on CO2 emissions, in Sao Paulo; 3) how to overcome the barriers for the charging infrastructure deployment at the municipality level, in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte; and 4) key challenges and opportunities from the mass adoption of EV in Brazil. A plethora of different methods were used, including scenario analysis, multi-criteria decision methods, geographic information systems and SWOT analysis. Main results point to EV as the best technology to mitigate passenger transport related CO2 emissions in Brazil, due to its low carbon footprint. In Sao Paulo, this option could reduce around 11 MtCO2 by 2030 and save 6,200 billion USD in energy with the replacement of 20 percent of gasoline cars with EV. To meet 1 percent of EV's market share, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte together will need around 6,500 charging stations concentrated in around 1/3 of their territories (level 2). Brazil may likely have up to 10 percent of EV penetration by 2030, with the diffusion taking place mostly in southeastern municipality. Ethanol, lack of electric mobility public policy, non-urbanized like subnormal agglomerates, and risk areas, like flood hazard, are major obstacles for EV diffusion in Brazil

Building knowledge for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote tourism: lessons from comparable tourism initiatives around the world

This report aims to build knowledge about what issues Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may need to consider in remote tourism by reviewing, compiling and drawing insights from comparable tourism initiatives around the world.The report is based on information from a range of sources that highlight remote tourism issues at many different levels of strategy and development , from the micro level of ensuring engagement with local service providers, to the broad level of collaboration strategies with diverse interest groups. The examples identify a wealth of remote tourism roles available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, demonstrating that remote tourism is complicated and people should examine which roles are appropriate and achievable.The report covers the main remote area landscape settings: remote arid and semi-arid areas (deserts), remote rainforests, remote high altitude mountainous areas, and remote cold and warm water islands. Each section discusses a collection of cases and other tourism initiatives by people s indigenous to the respective remote landscape settings. Many cases illustrate the desires of people around the world to preserve natural and cultural qualities while sharing remote areas through tourism. Summaries from each case identify issues that progressively build further insight into the challenges and strategies people from around the world have applied to remote tourism.A limitation of the report is that the review provides a snapshot of remote tourism activity throughout the world; it has not been able to say which of these activities are sustainable. Nevertheless, this approach uncovers the gravity of challenges faced by Indigenous peoples around the world involved in remote tourism, with the common dependence on external sources particularly noted. While presenting the strategies used in the various international contexts to contend with the challenges, the report suggests that local knowledge and insight cannot be underestimated as a major factor in developing successful Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism businesses

Urban Land Governance: “Action Space”, Legitimacy of and Intervention Strategies for Urban Informal Settlements in Nepal

At the global level, the informal settlements are in a dichotomy of legal and illegal debates. This paper analyzes the issue of informal settlements from the legitimacy perspective. It reveals that, although the settlements are not in legal legitimacy, there is tendency of social legitimacy. The challenges of urban land governance are in how to minimize the gap between legal legitimacy and social legitimacy. Firstly, this paper explores on how the actions of government and non-government organizations contribute towards legitimacy. To achieve this aim, the analytical framework of “action space” is applied. Secondly, it focuses on identifying intervention strategies that narrow the gap between legal legitimacy and social legitimacy. We studied two cases of informal settlements: the rst is to explore the gap and the second is to explain the intervention strategies. The results show, that due to lack of “action space” of government actors towards legal legitimacy, the civil society actors created their own “action space” which ultimately triggered social legitimacy. In addition to civil society, the actions of local authorities are found to contribute towards social legitimacy as well. To narrow the gap, the identi ed intervention strategies are discussed within the scope of land policy, land tenure security and land development