The role of institutional actors and their interactions in the land use policy making process in Ethiopia

This study investigates the role of the different institutional actors involved in the development and implementation of land use policies in the Ethiopian Rift Valley. The work is based on interviews with key informants from different administrative levels and these results are compared to the relevant policy documents. While the constitution prescribes a participatory policy development process, our results show that in reality policies are made at the highest level and implemented in a top-down approach from the higher to the lower administrative levels. Moreover, the institutional network mainly consists of institutions that are hierarchically linked, while horizontal and diagonal relations are less common and less important. Consistently, higher level institutions are mostly involved in the development of land use policies, while the roles of lower level institutions are predominantly in the implementation thereof. This lack of participation by lower level institutions, in addition to a lack of capacity and absence of clear institutional mandates, hampers the effectiveness of land use policies. Our results also provide suggestions to improve the development, communication, and eventually the acceptability of land use policies towards sustainable land management

Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine Exhibits Dose-Response Protection Against Adverse Birth Outcomes Related to Malaria and Sexually Transmitted and Reproductive Tract Infections

: We conducted a prospective cohort study in Zambia among pregnant women who received intermittent preventive treatment using sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP). : We calculated the odds ratios (ORs) of adverse birth outcomes by IPTp-SP exposure, 0-1 dose (n = 126) vs ≥2 doses (n = 590) and ≥2 doses (n = 310) vs ≥3 doses (n = 280) in 7 categories of malaria infection and sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections (STIs/RTIs). : We found no significant differences in baseline prevalence of infection across IPTp-SP exposure groups. However, among women given 2 doses compared to 0-1 dose, the odds of any adverse birth outcome were reduced 45% (OR, 0.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36, 0.86) and 13% further with ≥3 doses (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.27, 0.68). Two or more doses compared to 0-1 dose reduced preterm delivery by 58% (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.27, 0.67) and 21% further with ≥3 doses (OR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.13, 0.35). Women with malaria at enrollment who received ≥2 doses vs 0-1 had 76% lower odds of any adverse birth outcome (OR, 0.24; 95% 0.09, 0.66), and Neisseria gonorrhoeae and/or Chlamydia trachomatis had 92% lower odds of any adverse birth outcome (OR, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.01, 0.64). Women with neither a malaria infection nor STIs/RTIs who received ≥2 doses had 73% fewer adverse birth outcomes (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.11, 0.68). : IPTp-SP appears to protect against malaria, STIs/RTIs, and other unspecified causes of adverse birth outcome.<br/

What restrains Ethiopian NGOs to participate in the development of policies for natural resource management?

By law, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Ethiopia are severely restricted in their activities towards policy development. In this study we explore to what extent these restrictions have affected NGOs in Natural Resource Management in the Oromia regional state of Ethiopia. We quantitatively analyzed 106 semi-structured questionnaires, in order to assess 1) the general characteristics of these NGO, 2) the role of NGOs in natural resource management, 3) the factors that constrain their activities, especially in relation to the proclamation, and 4) the cooperation between NGOs as well as other stakeholders. Results indicate that NGOs are mainly involved in policy implementation, including afforestation, forest management, and soil and water conservation. We find that a more active role in agenda setting and policy formulation is hampered by the 2009 proclamation, which explicitly restricts the role of Ethiopian Residence Charities/Societies (ERCS) and Foreign Charities (FC). Consistently, NGOs, as well as their donors, often avoid involvement in policy development, in fear of potential collusion with the government. In addition, NGOs listed legal and administrative barriers, poor networking and cooperation among NGOs, lack of capacity, lack of information, and a lack of clear role on policy issues as constraints for influencing policies for natural resource management. The extent to which these factors affect NGOs is dependent on their type and the source of their funding

Farmers’ participation in the development of land use policies for the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

Farmers in Ethiopia are elementary for the implementation of land use policies. However, in order to effectively implement these policies, they need to be aware of them, and accept them accordingly. In this study we assess to what extent farmers in the Central Rift Valley are aware of prevailing land use policies in their area, to what extent they participated in the development of these policies, and how they perceive the impacts of these policies, using interviews with local farmers as well as stakeholders from governmental institutions at various levels. Farmers and local governments indicated that there was very little participation in the development of land use policies. Contrary, government informants at higher level indicated the opposite, suggesting a gap between farmers and local governmental institutions on the one side and higher governmental institutions on the other side. The perceived lack of participation of farmers led to a lack of ownership, involuntary participation, and failure to use the local knowledge, all hampering the effective implementation of these policies. The recently introduced land registration and certification process was identified as an exception, as it was the result of a participatory process, generally leading to acceptance upon implementation. Despite their low policy awareness, farmers could identify the impacts of land use policies on land use and land cover change, as well as its impacts on their. Further improvement farmer participation in the development of land use policies could increase ownership and thus yield more effective implementation and avoid social unrest

Alcohol-specific activity in hospitals in England

Alcohol-related harm is placing increasing demands on the NHS. At a time when unprecedented efficiencies need to be made by the NHS and local authorities, preventative action must be taken seriously. This analysis explores trends in alcohol-specific activity in hospitals due to alcohol poisoning and alcohol-related inpatient admissions by looking at six years of hospital activity data in England. The analysis also explores the use of hospital services before and after a diagnosis of alcohol-related liver disease and highlights opportunities for preventative action to reduce future alcohol-related harm in England

Περιβαλλοντική προστασία και δίκαιο ανταγωνισμού: η οικονομική διάσταση των αποβλήτων και η πορεία προς την κυκλική οικονομία

Η συνεχιζόμενη αύξηση των αποβλήτων σε συνάρτηση με το κόστος διαχείρισής τους, τους κινδύνους για το περιβάλλον και την ανθρώπινη υγεία και την συναφή μείωση των φυσικών πόρων, δικαιολογούν την κεντρική θέση του ζητήματος των αποβλήτων στις σύγχρονες κοινωνίες. Η κατάστρωση και εφαρμογή πολιτικών διαχείρισης των αποβλήτων με τελικό στόχο τη θεμελίωση μιας κυκλικής οικονομίας, στο πλαίσιο της οποίας οι αλλαγές θα εντοπιστούν στον τρόπο σχεδιασμού και παραγωγής των ίδιων των αρχικών προϊόντων, αλλά και τελικής διαχείρισής τους, όταν αυτά καταστούν απόβλητα, είναι πια απαραίτητη. Η μετατροπή του οικονομικού μοντέλου από γραμμικό σε κυκλικό μοιάζει σήμερα να είναι η μόνη λύση, με το ενωσιακό δίκαιο να τροποποιείται προκειμένου να υλοποιηθεί αυτή η αλλαγή. Η ενσωμάτωση οικονομικής και εμπορικής αξίας στα απόβλητα, ακριβώς λόγω των διαφόρων δυνατοτήτων μετέπειτα αξιοποίησής τους και παραγωγής νέων πρώτων υλών για τα προϊόντα συνεπάγεται την ύπαρξη μιας νέας αγοράς, στην οποία τυγχάνει εφαρμογής το δίκαιο του ανταγωνισμού, υπό τους περιορισμούς όμως που επιβάλλει η ιδιαίτερη φύση των αποβλήτων ως επιβαρυντικών για το περιβάλλον παραγόντων. Αυτή η διεπαφή του δικαίου προστασίας του περιβάλλοντος και του του ελεύθερου ανταγωνισμού και η συνεχής προσπάθεια εξισορρόπησής τους, είναι ακριβώς η ιδιαιτερότητα του ενωσιακού δικαίου των αποβλήτων. Η παρούσα μελέτη διακρίνεται σε δύο κεντρικούς άξονες, ο πρώτος εκ των οποίων προσεγγίζει το ρόλο των αποβλήτων στο ενωσιακό δίκαιο και επιδιώκει να αναδείξει την οικονομική και εμπορική τους αξία, ενώ ο δεύτερος αφιερώνεται στην ανάδειξη ζητημάτων που προκύπτουν στο πεδίο του δικαίου του ανταγωνισμού, λόγω ακριβώς της αξίας τούτης των αποβλήτων. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, στο πρώτο μέρος της παρούσας, κρίνεται σκόπιμη μια σύντομη επισκόπηση των κρίσιμων άρθρων των Συνθηκών της Ένωσης, βάσει των οποίων θεσπίζονται οι ειδικότερες ρυθμίσεις του δικαίου περιβάλλοντος γενικότερα και του δικαίου των αποβλήτων ειδικότερα, και αναδεικνύονται ορισμένα καίρια ζητήματα, λαμβάνοντας υπόψη και τη σχετική νομολογία· σε δεύτερο επίπεδο, επιχειρείται η ανάδειξη της ιδιότητας των αποβλήτων ως εμπορευμάτων βάσει των επιμέρους ρυθμίσεων του δευτερογενούς δικαίου των αποβλήτων, με επίκεντρο την Οδηγία Πλαίσιο για τα απόβλητα, 2008/98/ΕΚ, και τη σχετική νομολογία, ενώ ειδική αναφορά γίνεται στις διασυνοριακές μετακινήσεις των αποβλήτων, όπου το σχετικό ενωσιακό καθεστώς διαμορφώθηκε κατόπιν επιρροών του διεθνούς δικαίου. Κατακλείδα του πρώτου μέρους της παρούσας εργασίας αποτελεί ο ρόλος της κυκλικής οικονομίας στη διαχείριση των αποβλήτων, με την έννοια αυτή να αποτελεί θεμελιώδη πολιτική στόχευση της Ένωσης και να επιχειρεί την αλλαγή ολόκληρου του ισχύοντος οικονομικού μοντέλου. Ο δεύτερος άξονας της παρούσας μελέτης εκκινεί με μια σύντομη αναφορά στην κεντρική για το ενωσιακό δίκαιο έννοια της εσωτερικής αγοράς και την αρχή της ελεύθερης κυκλοφορίας των εμπορευμάτων, την οποία διαδέχεται η ειδικότερη επισκόπηση των διατάξεων των Συνθηκών που καθιερώνουν την προστασία του ανταγωνισμού, όπως έχουν ερμηνευθεί και από τον ενωσιακό δικαστή. Κατόπιν, επιχειρείται η κατά το δυνατό συνολικότερη ανάπτυξη των ζητημάτων που προκύπτουν, ειδικά στον τομέα της διαχείρισης των αποβλήτων, κατά τη διεπαφή του δικαίου για την προστασία του περιβάλλοντος και της απαγόρευσης αφενός των μη χρηματικών περιορισμών κατά τα άρ. 34-36 ΣΛΕΕ, και αφετέρου των φορολογικών εμποδίων κατά τα άρ. 28, 30, 110-111 ΣΛΕΕ. Τέλος, ιδιαίτερη μνεία γίνεται στο δίκαιο των κρατικών ενισχύσεων και τους προβληματισμούς που εγείρονται για την θεμελίωση της ενιαίας αγοράς, όταν η προστασία του περιβάλλοντος απαιτεί την ανάμειξη του κράτους στη διαχείριση των αποβλήτων.The continuing increase in waste, in conjunction with the costs of its management, the risks to the environment and human health and the associated reduction in natural resources, justify the importance of the waste issue in modern societies. It is now essential to form and implement waste management policies with the ultimate aim of establishing a circular economy, in which changes will be focused in the way in which the original products themselves are designed and produced, but also in the way they are finally managed when they become waste. The transformation of the economic model from linear to circular seems to be the only solution today and the EU law is being amended in order to implement this change. The incorporation of economic and commercial value into waste, precisely due to the various possibilities for its subsequent recovery and the production of new raw materials, implies the existence of a new market in which competition law applies, subject to the restrictions imposed by the specific nature of waste as an environmental possible harm. This interface between environmental protection law and free competition law, and the constant attempt to balance these two, is precisely the specificity of EU waste law. The present study is divided into two main pillars, the first of which approaches the role of waste in EU law and intends to show its economic and commercial value, while the second one is devoted to revealing issues that arise in the field of competition law precisely, because of the economic and commercial value of waste. More specifically, the first part of this report briefly reviews the main articles of the EU Treaties, which establish the specific rules of environmental law in general and waste law in particular, and highlights a number of key issues, taking into account the relevant case law; the second part of the report attempts to highlight the identity of waste as a merchandise on the basis of the provisions of secondary waste law and especially the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98 and the relevant case law, while special reference is made to cross-border shipments of waste, where the relevant EU regime has been shaped by the influence of international law. The first part of this paper concludes with the role of the circular economy in waste management, with this concept being a fundamental policy objective of the EU and attempting to change the entire current economic model. The second part of this study begins with a brief reference to the concept of the internal market, which is central to EU law, and the principle of the free movement of goods, followed by a more specific review of the provisions of the Treaties establishing the protection of competition, as interpreted by the EUCJ. It then attempts to develop, to the best possible extend, the issues arising, especially in the field of waste management, at the interface between environmental protection law and the prohibition of non-monetary restrictions under Articles 34-36 TFEU on the one hand, and tax obstacles under Articles 28, 30 and 110-111 TFEU on the other. Finally, particular reference is made to the State aid law and the concerns that arise for the foundation of the single market, when the environmental protection requires from the states to be involved in waste management

Counselling in humanitarian settings: a retrospective analysis of 18 individual-focused non-specialised counselling programmes

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) provides individual counselling interventions in medical humanitarian programmes in contexts affected by conflict and violence. Although mental health and psychosocial interventions are a common part of the humanitarian response, little is known about how the profile and outcomes for individuals seeking care differs across contexts. We did a retrospective analysis of routine programme data to determine who accessed MSF counselling services and why, and the individual and programmatic risk factors for poor outcomes