35 research outputs found
Monitoring payments for watershed services schemes in developing countries
Payments for watershed services (PWS) are schemes that use funds from water users (including governments) as an incentive for landholders to improve their land management practices. They are increasingly seen as a viable policy alternative to watershed management issues, and a means of
addressing chronic problems such as declining water flows, deteriorating water quality and flooding. In some places, local governments, donor agencies and NGOs are actively trying to upscale and replicate PWS schemes across the area. While their apparent success and progress in launching
new initiatives is encouraging, there is still much to be learned from formative experiences in this field, especially with regard to monitoring and evaluation. In this paper we discuss the monitoring and evaluation criteria behind compliance or transactional monitoring, which ensures that contracts are followed, and effectiveness conditionality, which looks at how schemes manage to achieve their environmental objectives regardless of the degree of
compliance. Although the two are usually linked, a high degree of compliance does not necessarily ensure that a scheme is effective. This is because a poorly designed scheme may target the wrong land managers and land that is at least risk, meaning that payments do not generate the desired hydro-ecological or conservation benefits. As the levering capacity to demand payments for better watershed management increases, so does the need to understand the dynamics of such activities and demonstrate their impacts. While the growing interest in such schemes shows that participants believe in the principle of land management, evidence of their impact is needed to determine which initiatives genuinely add value and are worth pursuing
From regional pulse vaccination to global disease eradication: insights from a mathematical model of Poliomyelitis
Mass-vaccination campaigns are an important strategy in the global fight
against poliomyelitis and measles. The large-scale logistics required for these
mass immunisation campaigns magnifies the need for research into the
effectiveness and optimal deployment of pulse vaccination. In order to better
understand this control strategy, we propose a mathematical model accounting
for the disease dynamics in connected regions, incorporating seasonality,
environmental reservoirs and independent periodic pulse vaccination schedules
in each region. The effective reproduction number, , is defined and proved
to be a global threshold for persistence of the disease. Analytical and
numerical calculations show the importance of synchronising the pulse
vaccinations in connected regions and the timing of the pulses with respect to
the pathogen circulation seasonality. Our results indicate that it may be
crucial for mass-vaccination programs, such as national immunisation days, to
be synchronised across different regions. In addition, simulations show that a
migration imbalance can increase and alter how pulse vaccination should
be optimally distributed among the patches, similar to results found with
constant-rate vaccination. Furthermore, contrary to the case of constant-rate
vaccination, the fraction of environmental transmission affects the value of
when pulse vaccination is present.Comment: Added section 6.1, made other revisions, changed titl
New wine in old bottles : a case study of innovation territories in 'New World' wine production
This article applies the concept of "innovation territories" to explain the recent export success of the Australian Wine Industry. Recent data collected from four "New World" wine producing countries are contrasted in order to investigate "innovation territories" that in the Australian context transcend geographic and policy boundaries. The international comparison shows that these territories can be mapped and their interaction compared. A major finding from the study is that one of the major contributors to Australia's success in gaining comparative advantage in this industry is the way local and national investments in R&D have transcended geographic and policy boundaries. Coordination driven by strong national policies is required to make this happen. This suggests that "knowledge intensive clusters" driven by national policies can be turned to advantage for regional development. The present study serves to sketch out how the idea of innovation territories might be operationalised for the purpose of future industry policy research
Graduation Recital: Cathey Alyward, Flute; Ellen Hallett, piano; Aloysius Fekete, clarinet
An investigation into the implementation of Pavegen tiles in the Student Union Building
The purpose of this report is to provide the details of a feasibility study regarding the
installation of Pavegen tiles in the new Student Union Building at UBC. The study was
conducted based on a triple bottom line analysis, considering economic, social and
environmental factors of the manufacture, transport, installation, service life and disposal
of the product. There is limited information available regarding the manufacturing
process of the product as this is considered a trade secret, however a reasonable
qualitative/comparative analysis was performed. A qualitative description of the
emissions associated with transport and disposal is presented, as well as a quantitative
cost analysis of the product through its service life. It is difficult to quantitatively analyze
the potential social effects of the project, but by utilizing survey data collected from
previous SEEDS project reports on similar topics, a justifiable projection was attained.
The report concludes with a summary and analysis of the findings in the form of
recommendations as to how the project should move forward. Briefly put, we have
determined that the current proposal for an installation of Pavegen tiles is not desirable or
in line with the goal of sustainability and increased environmental awareness held by the
new SUB. Instead, we suggest an alternative implementation scheme using a smaller
number of tiles in conjunction with other innovative green technologies in a space we
have tentatively dubbed the "Green Corner." Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”Applied Science, Faculty ofUnreviewedUndergraduat
PARTIAL PROPERTIES OF POLYPHENOL OXIDASE IN MANGO (MANGIFERA INDICA L. CV. "TAINONG") PULP
Definition of a wide swath SAR Final report
European Space Agency contract reportAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:3425.9293(ESA-CR(X)--2905) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo
Definition of a wide swath SAR Final report
European Space Agency contract reportAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:3425.9293(ESA-CR(X)--2905) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo
Statistical Approaches in Alcohol Research: A Comparative Survey of Two Major Alcohol Journals with Four Major Psychiatric Journals
The effect of elevated dietary cholesterol on pulmonary surfactant function in adolescent mice
NRC publication: Ye