Caught in the act: new stakeholders, decentralization and water management processes in Zimbabwe

Catchment areasWater resource managementGovernanceDecentralizationInstitutionsPolicyWater lawFarmers

Predicting adaptive responses - simulating occupied environments

Simulation of building performance is increasingly being used in design practice to predict comfort of occupants in finished buildings. This is an area of great uncertainty: what actions does a person take when too warm or suffering from glare; how is comfort measured; how do groups of people interact to control environmental conditions, etc? An increasing attention to model these issues is evident in current research. Two issues are covered in this paper: how comfort can be assessed and what actions occupants are likely to make to achieve and maintain a comfortable status. The former issue describes the implementation of existing codes within a computational framework. This is non-trivial as information on local air velocities, radiant temperature and air temperature and relative humidity have to be predicted as they evolve over time in response to changing environmental conditions. This paper also presents a nascent algorithm for modelling occupant behaviour with respect to operable windows. The algorithm is based on results of several field studies which show the influence of internal and external temperatures on decision making in this respect. The derivation and implementation of the algorithm is discussed, highlighting areas where further effort could be of benefit

Water for Life Strategy in Alberta: Changing Priorities in Canadian Water Policy?

Water resources are being stretched to the limit in Alberta and irrigation activities account for more than 70 percent of consumptive water use in the province. Conflicts among users and potential users may be looming. Pollution of surface water and groundwater and outbreaks of water-borne pathogens have been increasing. Freshwater systems are likely to deteriorate further with impending climate change. Following passage of the Alberta Water Act in 1999 and the Irrigation Districts Act in 2000, which allowed limited transfers of water among water users, the Alberta government issued its Water for Life Strategy in late 2003. The strategy’s principal goals include (1) evaluation of the use of economic instruments to manage water demand by 2007; (2) demonstration of best management practices by 2010; and (3) a 30 percent increase in productivity and efficiency over 2005 levels by 2015. This seems to presage a new era in water management in Alberta, but will the necessary changes in water management be forthcoming? This study examines the need for demand-based management and the constraints that make effective changes in water policy problematic. Evidence from a recent study in the St. Mary’s River Irrigation District highlights problems with water markets.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Is the Water Sector Lagging behind Education and Health on Aid Effectiveness? Lessons from Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Uganda

A study in three countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Uganda) assessed progress against the Paris Principles for Aid Effectiveness (AE) in three sectors – water, health and education – to test the assumption that the water sector is lagging behind. The findings show that it is too simplistic to say that the water sector is lagging, although this may well be the case in some countries. The study found that wider governance issues are more important for AE than having in place sector-specific mechanics such as Sector-Wide Approaches alone. National political leadership and governance are central drivers of sector AE, while national financial and procurement systems and the behaviour of actors who have not signed up to the Paris Principles – at both national and global levels – have implications for progress that cut across sectors. Sectors and sub-sectors do nonetheless have distinct features that must be considered in attempting to improve sector-level AE. In light of these findings, using political economy approaches to better understand and address governance and strengthening sector-level monitoring is recommended as part of efforts to improve AE and development results in the water sector

'Don't make me go back': post-feminist retreatism in Doctor Who

In post-2005 Doctor Who the female companion has become a seminal figure. This article shows how closely the narratives of the companions track contemporary notions of post-feminism. In particular, companions’ departures from the programme have much in common with post-feminism’s master-theme of retreatism, whereby women retreat from their public lives to find fulfilment in marriage, home and family. The article argues that when companions leave the TARDIS, what happens next ought to embody the sense of empowerment, purpose and agency which they have gained through their adventures, whereas too often the programme’s authors have given companions ‘happy endings’ based on finding husbands and settling down

High pressure cosmochemistry applied to major planetary interiors: Experimental studies

The infrared spectra of H2O ice VII and D2O ice VII were studied and techniques were developed for measuring adiabats of phases of NH3-H2O to 5 GPa. A mixing system for pressurized fluids was constructed in which liquid solutions of definite compositions can be prepared and loaded reliably into diamond cells in a project which seeks to determine the properties and boundaries of several high pressure phases of the H2-He-H2O-NH3-CH4 system. These data are needed to constrain theoretical models of the interiors of the major planets

Towards Conflict-sensitive Regional Integration in East Africa

Regional integration and development in East Africa have been portrayed as inextricably linked. Integration involving investment in trade and transport corridors to move goods, services and people between coast and resource-rich hinterlands is seen as part of development and economic growth, even peace-building. However, top-down implementation and assumptions about development ‘trickle-down’ pose questions, including how growth ‘corridors’ might exacerbate violence. Equitable, sustainable and conflict-sensitive processes must start with a better understanding of socio-political context; focus more on local integration; and establish ways of tracking and monitoring development impacts over time.UK Department for International Developmen