Costs of Implementing Collective Action and Capacity Building Among Pastoralists in Southern Ethiopia

Since 2000, the PARIMA project has implemented risk-management activities among semi-settled pastoralists in southern Ethiopia. The goal has been to improve human welfare via collective action and capacity building. Outcomes include progress in income generation, asset conservation, and livelihood diversification. Fifty-nine collective-action groups were created. Dominated by women, they included over 2,000 founding members and groups have recently merged to form 37 cooperatives, consistent with government policy. Creating sustainable impacts via collective action and capacity building requires many inputs. Taking raw, illiterate volunteers and transforming them into sustainable groups took up to three years, on average. Costs of implementing this program are estimated at USD 34 per person for a target population of 13,800 direct beneficiaries, based on an exchange rate of 9.1 Ethiopian Birr per USD. This is about USD 1 per person per month. The project has generated many direct and indirect benefits for individuals and communities, but these are very difficult to quantify. We speculate, however, that there has been a large and positive net benefit from the project once costs are considered. Simply knowing potential costs is useful because it helps development agencies decide how such programs might be effectively designed and implemented

A Matlab/Simulink Model of Self Excited Induction Generator for an Electrical Brake Application

This paper presents a MATLAB/Simulink dynamic model of an induction generator, which makes simulation studies possible for the design of fuzzy logic controllers for the purpose of controlling the retarding torque output of the generator in an electrical brake application, using the fuzzy logic toolbox of MATLAB. Electrical braking has been proposed in the literature as an alternative to the mechanical braking systems with an advantage of providing lower maintenance costs. An induction generator, acting as a brake, converts the kinetic energy of a vehicle to electrical energy, which can be dissipated in a resistor bank or used in a regenerative mode.The Simulink model developed will be used to design and test controllers for an effective control of the output torque of the electrical brake system

Pastoral Risk Management in Southern Ethiopia: Observations from Pilot Projects based on Participatory Community Assessments

The Borana pastoral system has come under increasing pressure as human populations grow and per capita availability of resources declines. Livestock exhibit large, periodic die-offs that threaten wealth accumulation and food security. Several types of interventions may improve risk management here. For example, there may be opportunity for some pastoralists to diversify their livelihoods. Here we report on a community-based process involving pilot projects begun since 2000. We have embraced Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Action Research (AR) as tools for investigation and empowerment of local people. Full PRAs were conducted for semi-settled communities, located near towns, to identify priority needs and self-help capabilities. Communities selected interventions for implementation in partnership with local development agents as part of Community Action Plans (CAPs). Preliminary observations suggest that these people see income diversification as a major issue. To this end they have a high interest in non-formal education, micro-savings and credit associations, and micro-enterprise development. Newly formed women’s groups have taken the lead in adopting innovations. Our experience confirms that risk-management interventions are in demand here, and that the people are dedicated and capable of novel achievements. Pastoralists also exhibit much enthusiasm when allowed to lead their own development initiatives

Phylogenetic Relationships Among Four Western Atlantic Cynoscion Species Based on DNA Sequences From 11 Nuclear Introns, Two Mitochondrial Genes, and Genotypes From 32 Microsatellite Markers

Four species of Cynoscion occur in the waters off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America, where they are targeted by commercial and recreational fisheries. Previous studies have not resolved the phylogenetic relationships of the four species, largely due to uncertainty as to whether the spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, or silver seatrout, Cynoscion nothus, is the most divergent member of the North American assemblage. This study used DNA sequences from the nuclear and mitochondrial genes and multilocus genotypes from microsatellite markers to infer relationships among these species. Together, these three techniques strongly suggest that the weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, and the sand seatrout, Cynoscion arenarius, are the most closely related species, and that C. nothus is the most divergent from all the others

Collective Action by Women’s Groups to Combat Drought and Poverty in Northern Kenya

Collective action can be an effective means of local development and risk reduction among rural people, but few examples have been documented in pastoral areas. We conducted extensive interviews for 16 women’s groups residing in northern Kenya. Our objectives were to understand how groups were formed, governed, and sustained and what activities they have pursued. The groups we interviewed were 10 years old, on average. Charter memberships averaged about 24 women, 20 of whom were illiterate. Half of the groups formed after facilitation by a development partner and half formed spontaneously. Groups are governed under detailed constitutional frameworks with elected leaders. Groups primarily form to improve living standards of the members and undertake a wide variety of activities founded on savings and credit schemes, income diversification, small business development, education, health service delivery, and natural resource management. Groups have evolved means to buffer members from drought and poverty. The greatest threats to the sustainability of the groups come from internal factors such as unfavorable group dynamics and illiteracy, while external challenges include drought, poverty, and political incitement. Principles of good group governance and wisdom in business are reportedly the key ingredients for long-term success

Development of microsatellite markers for Permit (Trachinotus falcatus), cross-amplification in Florida Pompano (T. carolinus) and Palometa (T. goodei), and species delineation using microsatellite markers

Three of the 20 species in the genus Trachinotus, in the jack family, Carangidae, are found in Florida waters. These are Florida Pompano (T. carolinus), Permit (T. falcatus), and Palometa (T. goodei). Florida Pompano is a coastal pelagic species found in estuarine and marine waters; it spawns in multiple batches in offshore waters. Permit is the largest and longest lived of the three species and also spawns offshore in multiple batches, near reefs. As adults, Permit can be found nearshore and offshore and are often associated with reefs, but as juveniles they are common estuarine inhabitants. Palometa is a marine species, similar in size to Florida Pompano, and has the widest latitudinal distribution of the three species. Palometa spawn in offshore waters throughout the year with two peaks of activity. All three species support commercial or recreational fisheries on both the Gulf of Mexico coast and Atlantic coast of Florida. Very little has been done to evaluate movement patterns of Trachinotus species. Based on a few tagging studies, it appears that Pompano do not travel far from coastal waters. The only preliminary investigation of genetic stock structure for the Florida Pompano population from Tampa Bay, FL, and Puerto Rico was based on microsatellite markers developed for the Pompano. The report’s key conclusion was that Pompano from Puerto Rico and from Florida belong to two highly distinct genetic stocks. This study was conducted to re-examine, using different microsatellite markers, the genetic status of Pompano stocks in Florida and Puerto Rico. The objectives of this study, therefore, were the following: 1) to develop microsatellite markers for Permit; 2) to cross-amplify the markers in Pompano and Palometa; and 3) to use these markers to confirm the status of Puerto Rico Pompano as a novel genetic stock using the methods of Bayesian population assignment, phylogenetic clustering, and factorial correspondence analysis. ... Three methods were used to investigate the relationship among the taxa using the microsatellite genotype data obtained from the samples. The results from the three analytical methods, based on Bayesian population assignment tests, phylogenetic clustering, and factorial correspondence analysis of genetic relationships among the four Trachinotus samples, showed that Florida and Puerto Rico Pompano samples belong to two highly distinct gene pools. But other multiple molecular tools, particularly nuclear-DNA sequences from many introns, and nonmolecular tools, such as morphological and meristic data, should be used together to determine species-level categorical designation for the Puerto Rico Pompano

Methods and Costs for Pond-Catchment Rehabilitation on the Borana Plateau

The Borana Plateau is an important rangeland for Ethiopia. One key limitation for people and livestock is lack of drinking water. Hundreds of ponds are important water sources for most of the year. Pond catchments are poorly managed because livestock access is uncontrolled. Catchments are stripped bare of vegetation due to trampling and heavy grazing, and unprotected soil is prone to erosion. When the rains come the ponds quickly fill with sediment. Sedimentation reduces pond holding capacity and much labor is required to clean them out. As part of a pilot research project we rehabilitated four ponds and their immediate catchment using a combination of: (1) Perimeter bush-fencing to confine livestock access to a few narrow corridors leading to the water\u27s edge; (2) erosion control using dams and trenches to capture sediment prior to it entering the ponds; and (3) pond de-sedimentation using human labor. In tandem these methods have completely renovated the four sites in less than two years and could be adopted by the pastoralists. Here we report how we implemented each method as well as estimate the total cost of rehabilitation. Overall, the average cost to rehabilitate one seven-hectare pond catchment was 283, 045 Ethiopian Birr (or USD $14,152) including cash and in-kind sources. Costs were almost entirely labor. The largest outlay was for de-sedimentation at 87 percent of total costs on average, followed by erosion control (9 percent) and bush fencing (4 percent). If all 162 ponds in our study area were rehabilitated the cost would exceed 46 million Birr; this might be defrayed if communities can donate some of the labor. The high cost of rehabilitation illustrates that poor catchment management has major economic consequences that undermine system sustainability. Cost data also reveal that a small investment in preventing sedimentation via bush-fencing, grazing management, and erosion control would yield high returns in terms of reducing the need for regular, and expensive de-sedimentation via manual labor

Insights Into Distinct Modulation Of α7 And α7β2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors By The Volatile Anesthetic

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are targets of general anesthetics, but functional sensitivity to anesthetic inhibition varies dramatically among different subtypes of nAChRs. Potential causes underlying different functional responses to anesthetics remain elusive. Here we show that in contrast to the α7 nAChR, the α7β2 nAChR is highly susceptible to inhibition by the volatile anesthetic isoflurane in electrophysiology measurements. Isoflurane-binding sites in β2 and α7 were found at the extracellular and intracellular end of their respective transmembrane domains using NMR. Functional relevance of the identified β2 site was validated via point mutations and subsequent functional measurements. Consistent with their functional responses to isoflurane, β2 but not α7 showed pronounced dynamics changes, particularly for the channel gate residue Leu-249(9′). These results suggest that anesthetic binding alone is not sufficient to generate functional impact; only those sites that can modulate channel dynamics upon anesthetic binding will produce functional effects. © 2013 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc

Successful Implementation of Collective Action and Human-Capacity Building Among Pastoralists in Southern Ethiopia: Lessons Learned, 2001-2008

Since 2000 the PARIMA project has implemented pilot risk-management activities among poverty-stricken, semi-settled pastoralists in southern Ethiopia. The goal has been to improve human welfare via collective action and capacity building. Outcomes include progress in income generation, asset conservation, and livelihood diversification. The approach has been unique to southern Ethiopia in that a bottom-up, participatory perspective has dominated. It has focused on the priorities and felt needs of local people rather than top-down development of livestock or agricultural technology. Fifty-nine collective-action groups were created. Dominated by women, they have included over 2,300 members and most groups have been recently merged to form cooperatives. Not one group has failed and many group members have emerged as key leaders of large cooperatives that include a wider variety of recruits. Creating sustainable impacts via collective action and capacity building requires time, patience, and skill—it is not a quick fix. The process of taking raw, illiterate volunteers and transforming them into functional and sustainable groups took two to three years on average. Ten lessons for success are forwarded as guidelines for pastoral development under similar circumstances