Evidence-informed policy for tackling adverse climate change effects on health: Linking regional and global assessments of science to catalyse action.

Robin Fears and co-authors discuss evidence-informed regional and global policy responses to health impacts of climate change

Food systems for delivering nutritious and sustainable diets: Perspectives from the global network of science academies

The triple burden of malnutrition, which encompasses undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity, is a global challenge experienced by all nations, albeit in different forms. The Food and Nutrition Security and Agriculture (FNSA) project of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), a global network of over 130 academies of science and medicine, sought to determine the key challenges and opportunities for science and innovation to contribute to improved FNSA. Four parallel studies were carried out, one for each region (Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific and the Americas), which served as a resource for a fifth study focusing on science and policy issues that require international consideration and coordination. Addressing global food and nutrition security requires a food systems approach that considers issues pertaining both to sustainable production and sustainable consumption, to deliver healthy and nutritious diets with a minimal environmental impact. Developing a broad evidence base and building critical mass in research and innovation (scientific, social and in policy), and mobilising these resources in advising policy is critical. It is also important to integrate analysis at national, regional and global levels and focus on local-global linkages and inter-regional issues. This perspectives article discusses some of the key regional and global findings of the IAP FNSA studies, in the context of more recently available evidence on the topic.The IAP FNSA project was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) .https://www.elsevier.com/locate/gfshj2019Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen

Indigenous community preferences for electricity services: Evidence from a choice experiment in Sarawak, Malaysia

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Providing indigenous communities with electricity services requires an understanding of preferences to ensure that electrification schemes are congruent with the communitiesâ specific development pathways. We contribute to the literature by using a choice experiment to rank and quantify household preferences for electricity services in two indigenous villages in Sarawak, Malaysia. Specifically, we disaggregated electricity services into five attributes: private use for household appliances and lighting, public use for community facilities, productive use for income generation, the operator model and the monthly tariff. We found that the most value was placed on the operator-model underpinning the provision of electricity services and that there was a strong preference for a community-based model over a utility-based model. Interestingly, our results suggest that the preference for a community-based operator model may be related to the experience of using electricity for productive uses. We contend that our results demonstrate the importance of social and institutional challenges to providing electricity services to indigenous communities in Sarawak and highlight the need for the state utility to engage with indigenous communities to overcome these challenges.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

A novel extinction screen in Arabidopsis thaliana identifies mutant plants defective in early microsporangial development.

Few Arabidopsis mutants defective in early male or female germline development have been reported. A novel extinction screen has been devised which permits the identification of mutants deficient in the earliest stages of anther development. Using mutagenized plants carrying GUS reporter constructs driven by tapetal-specific promoters originally derived from Brassica genes, a wide spectrum of mutants have been identified in Arabidopsis, ranging from those defective in archesporial cell differentiation to others expressed later in development. Crosses between these lines and known anther development mutants have enabled the identification of lines carrying mutations in genes expressed during very early anther formation. Initial characterization reveals these early mutants fall into two classes, gne (GUS-negative) 1-like, and gne2-like. Members of the gne1 mutant class initiate all four layers of the anther wall and an appropriate number of sporogenous cells; however, as development proceeds the tapetal and middle-layer cells enlarge, eventually crushing the sporogenous cells. The gne2 class anthers are disrupted at an earlier stage, with the middle and tapetal layers failing to form, and an excess of sporogenous cells developing until the germline aborts late in meiosis II. Analysis of these mutants has already raised questions about the accuracy of current models of angiosperm anther development

Insights from an energy poor Rwandan village

© 2016 International Energy Initiative. We used primary data collected from 163 households in an off-grid Rwandan village to provide insights into energy poverty at the household-level. Informed by the rural livelihoods literature, we constructed a novel asset- and income-based index to disaggregate our results by socio-economic status. We also employed microeconometric techniques to investigate the determinants of household willingness-to-pay for electricity. We found statistically significant differences between households of different socio-economic status for expenditure on lighting and other electricity services, willingness-to-pay for electricity, income-generating activities and food security. Overall, our findings suggest that initiatives aiming to end energy poverty and catalyze rural development should: (1) recognize the different potential impacts of policies on households of different socio-economic status; (2) be sensitive to energy stacking behavior; (3) take a holistic approach to rural development; (4) and ensure that households are able to access modern energy through flexible payment schemes and equitable and sustained improvements in income.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Achieving universal energy access and rural development through smart villages

With just 12 years to go to 2030, progress in providing universal energy access and improving rural development outcomes in many rural areas has been too slow if the Sustainable Development Goals are to be met. Over a three-year period, the Smart Villages Initiative gathered evidence and views from over 1000 stakeholders from 70 countries to identify the framework conditions necessary for the provision of energy services to rural communities and to ensure that energy access translates into improved rural development outcomes. This short communication provides an overview of the key findings of this process and suggests a number of “bottom-up” insights and recommendations. These include taking an integrated approach to rural development, building markets to leverage the private sector, creating supportive, coherent and flexible policy frameworks at the national-level; and a re-think of financing mechanisms.This work was funded by the Cambridge Malaysian Education and Development Trust (CMEDT) and through a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF) (0096)

Achieving universal energy access and rural development through smart villages

With just 12 years to go to 2030, progress in providing universal energy access and improving rural development outcomes in many rural areas has been too slow if the Sustainable Development Goals are to be met. Over a three-year period, the Smart Villages Initiative gathered evidence and views from over 1000 stakeholders from 70 countries to identify the framework conditions necessary for the provision of energy services to rural communities and to ensure that energy access translates into improved rural development outcomes. This short communication provides an overview of the key findings of this process and suggests a number of “bottom-up” insights and recommendations. These include taking an integrated approach to rural development, building markets to leverage the private sector, creating supportive, coherent and flexible policy frameworks at the national-level; and a re-think of financing mechanisms.This work was funded by the Cambridge Malaysian Education and Development Trust (CMEDT) and through a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF) (0096)