Uganda aquaculture value chains: strategic planning mission report

This report presents the findings and recommendations of a strategic planning mission to reevaluate the feasibility of WorldFish implementing a fish value chain research program in Uganda under the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish (L&F). The over-arching goal of L&F is to increase productivity of small-scale livestock and fish systems so as to increase availability and affordability of meat, milk and fish for poor consumers and, in doing so, to reduce poverty through greater participation by the poor along animal source food value chains. This will be achieved by making a small number of carefully selected animal source food value chains function better, for example by identifying and addressing key constraints and opportunities (from production to consumption), improving institutional arrangements and capacities, and supporting the establishment of enabling pro-poor policy and institutional environments

The Exit Interview: Perceptions on Why Black Professionals Leave Grantmaking Institutions

Most would agree that in recent years, the field of philanthropy has begun to take seriously the need to increase diversity within its sector -- and particularly among its leadership. Indeed, we are a long way from the days when the founding members of the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) stood up at a Council on Foundations meeting to advocate for more equitable representation among Council leadership and in grantmaking institutions more generally.In most major foundations today, it is now commonplace not just to track but to require diversity of staff and leadership both within their own organizations and externally among their grantees.Earlier this year, even the Chronicle of Philanthropy marveled at the progress that American philanthropy has made toward these goals, highlighting the diversity reflected by several major foundations' recent senior hires. "The new executives are very different from the people who held these elite jobs even a decade ago," the Chronicle reported. "They are much more likely to be black, gay, or female and to come from modest backgrounds."Yet, emerging data suggest that the experiences of many Black professionals in grantmaking institutions may challenge the current thinking on the field's increasing commitment to diversity. Currently, only 3 percent of philanthropic institutions are led by Black chief executives,3 and the percentage of Black individuals holding trustee positions at philanthropic foundations remains stagnant at 7 percent.Meanwhile, there have been slight declines in the percentage of Black professional staff (from 10 percent in 2010 to 9 percent in 2012) and Black program officers (from 17 percent in 2010 to 16 percent in 2012) working within grantmaking institutions.This decline in overall representation by Black philanthropic professionals in the sector is disturbing not just because it is happening -- but because until now, there has been little data on why it is happening. Why are Black philanthropic professionals leaving the field, and where are they going? Is this trend at its beginning or nearing its end? Most importantly, is there anything that ABFE and its allies can do proactively to address this issue

Kresge Foundation 2010-2011 Annual Report

Contains an introduction to Kresge's strategy; board chair's letter; president's letter; foundation timeline; program information; grant summary, including geographic distribution; grants lists; financial summary; and lists of board members and staff

Water for People, Water for Life

This report documents the serious water crisis we are facing at the beginning of the 21st century. This crisis is one of water governance, essentially caused by the ways in which we mismanage water. But the real tragedy is the effect it has on the everyday lives of poor people, who are blighted by the burden of water-related disease, living in degraded and often dangerous environments, struggling to get an education for their children and to earn a living, and to get enough to eat. The executive summary offers an analysis of the problem as well as pilot case studies for water management and recommendations for future action

Building the Blue Economy: Opportunities for Community-Based Organizations in Stormwater Management

The United States has a serious problem with combined sewer overflows. In responding to this environmental and public health menace, many regions are using innovative “green infrastructure” or “blue economy” approaches in addition to traditional “gray infrastructure” such as pipes and reservoirs. These new methods offer many environmental benefits and cost efficiencies and can be a potent source of jobs – including entry level jobs. This report outlines ways for community-based organizations to seize these opportunities, both by advocating for green infrastructure and by developing social enterprises that do stormwater management work at a neighborhood level. It is designed for non-profit groups, policy makers, and funders interested in the intersection of sustainability, neighborhood redevelopment, and job creation and the possibility of a triple win in all three areas

Uganda aquaculture value chains: strategic planning mission: summary report

This report presents the findings and recommendations of a strategic planning mission to reevaluate the feasibility of WorldFish implementing a fish value chain research program in Uganda under the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish (L&F). The over-arching goal of L&F is to increase productivity of small-scale livestock and fish systems so as to increase availability and affordability of meat, milk and fish for poor consumers and, in doing so, to reduce poverty through greater participation by the poor along animal source food value chains. This will be achieved by making a small number of carefully selected animal source food value chains function better, for example by identifying and addressing key constraints and opportunities (from production to consumption), improving institutional arrangements and capacities, and supporting the establishment of enabling pro-poor policy and institutional environments

Seafloor characterization using airborne hyperspectral co-registration procedures independent from attitude and positioning sensors

The advance of remote-sensing technology and data-storage capabilities has progressed in the last decade to commercial multi-sensor data collection. There is a constant need to characterize, quantify and monitor the coastal areas for habitat research and coastal management. In this paper, we present work on seafloor characterization that uses hyperspectral imagery (HSI). The HSI data allows the operator to extend seafloor characterization from multibeam backscatter towards land and thus creates a seamless ocean-to-land characterization of the littoral zone

Recent Developments in Fisheries Science and Their Prospects for Improving Fisheries Contributions to Food Security

Marine reserves, areas permanently closed to all fishing, are frequently proposed as a tool for managing fisheries. Fishery benefits claimed for reserves include increases in spawning stock size, animal body size, and reproductive output of exploited species. Reserves are predicted to augment catches through export of offspring to fishing grounds, and spillover of juveniles and adults from reserves to fisheries. Protection of stocks and development of extended age structures of populations in reserves are argued to offer insurance against environmental variability and management failure. Models also suggest reserves will reduce year-to-year variability in catches, and offer greater simplicity of management and enforcement. Reserves are predicted to lead to habitat recovery from fishing disturbance which can also enhance benefits to fisheries. Extensive field research confirms many of these predictions. Reserves worldwide have led to increases in abundance, body size, biomass and reproductive output of exploited species. Such measures often increase many times over, sometimes by an order of magnitude or more. Population build up is usually rapid with effects detectable within 2-3 years of protection. Increases are often sustained over extended periods, particularly for longer-lived species and for measures of habitat recovery. Reserves have benefitted species from a wide taxonomic spectrum that covers most economically important taxa, including many species of fish, crustaceans, mollusks and echinoderms. Encouraged by these results, many countries and states have embarked upon initiatives to establish networks of marine reserves. However, reserves remain highly controversial among fishers and fishing industry bodies who argue that fishery benefits remain unproven. In the last three years there has been rapid growth in the number of cases where fisheries have been shown to benefit from reserves. In this report, we critically analyze this body of evidence, drawing upon studies of reserves and fishery closures. Fishery managers have long used fishery closures, areas temporarily closed to fishing for one or more species or to specific fishing gears. They are employed to help rebuild depleted stocks, reduce gear conflicts, protect vulnerable life stages of exploited species or protect sensitive habitats from damaging gears. Such areas can tell us much about the potential effects of marine reserves. Fishery benefits from reserves and fishery closures typically develop quickly, in most cases within five years of their creation. Perhaps the most persuasive evidence of fishery effects of reserves comes from changing fishing patterns. In most places where well-respected reserves or fishery closures exist, fishers tend to move their fishing activities closer to their boundaries. Fishing-the-line, as it is called, allows fishers to benefit from spillover of animals from reserves to fishing grounds. There are now well-documented cases of spillover from more than a dozen countries and including a wide range of species. It is more technically demanding to prove fishery enhancement through export of offspring on ocean currents. Existing reserves are generally small, making it hard to detect increased recruitment to fisheries at a regional scale. However, there are now several cases in which export of eggs and larvae have been confirmed, including dramatic enhancement of scallop fisheries in Georges Bank and clam fisheries in Fiji. Small reserves have worked well and repeatedly produce local benefits. However, regional fisheries enhancement will require more extensive networks of reserves. Some of the most convincing success stories come from places in which between 10 and 35% of fishing grounds have been protected. In several cases there is evidence that yields with reserves have risen to higher levels than prior to protection, despite a reduction in the area of fishing grounds. In other cases, smaller reserves have stabilized catches from intensively exploited fisheries or slowed existing rates of decline. We describe experiences that prove that success of marine reserves is not contingent on habitat type, geographical location, the kind of fishery involved, or the technological sophistication of management. Reserve benefits are not restricted to habitats like coral reefs, or to artisanal fisheries, as some critics claim. Fishery benefits have been demonstrated from reserves established in tropical, warm- and cold-temperate waters, and in many habitats, including coral reefs, rocky reefs, kelp forests, seagrass beds, mangroves, estuaries, soft sediments, continental shelves and deep sea. Reserves and fishery closures have worked well for a wide range of fisheries, spanning recreational fisheries, artisanal fisheries like those of coral reefs, through small-scale nearshore fisheries for species like lobsters, up to industrial-scale fisheries for animals like flatfish and scallops. They have worked across a similarly broad spectrum of management sophistication, from self-policing by committed fishers, through warden patrols to satellite monitoring of distant fishing activities. We now have strong evidence that with the support of local communities, marine reserves offer a highly effective management tool. However, reserves will only rarely be adequate as a stand-alone management approach, although we describe cases where they have worked in the absence of other measures. They will be most effective when implemented as part of a package of limits on fishing effort and protect exploited species and their habitats

Charles Stewart Mott Foundation - 2000 Annual Report

Contains mission statement, president's message, project summaries, program information, grants list, financial statements, and list of board members and staff