Bridging Gaps: Investigating Private Sector Financing of Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change. A closer look at the Greater Mekong Subregion

Tackling the challenge of adaptation to climate change in developing countries will require the mobilization of new and additional funding. Like other adaptation approaches, Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is threatened by a growing adaptation funding gap. Further private sector involvement, for instance in the context of innovative direct financing models for EbA, is one way to help bridge the gap. This study aims to enhance understanding of direct financing models for EbA that involve the private sector by investigating what motivates and enables private sector engagement in the context of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). To do so, the author adopts an inductive approach supported by a literature review, and two case studies, namely: Microfinance for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (MEbA) and Supply Chain Approach for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (SCA for EbA). To perform an analysis within and between cases, an analytical framework constituted of eight categories of factors is extracted from the findings of the case studies. These are comprised of three categories for motivational factors: (i) Climate change risks; (ii) Business opportunities; and (iii) Societal contribution; and five categories for enabling factors: (a) Stakeholders’ requirements; (b) Market factors; (c) Sustainability awareness and integration in the organisation; (d) Knowledge and resources; and (e) Government support and policy frameworks. The overall results of the study show that some of the unique characteristics of EbA constitute the basis of what motivates and enables private actors involvement in the EbA financing models. In addition, some of the elements that influence private sector adaptation to climate change in general also play a role in engagement of private actors in the context of EbA. While the study mainly focuses on experiences in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, it draws conclusions and recommendations that are likely to be applicable across the GMS

Dirac solitons in general relativity and conformal gravity

Static, spherically-symmetric particle-like solutions to the coupled Einstein-Dirac and Einstein-Dirac-Maxwell equations have been studied by Finster, Smoller and Yau (FSY). In their work, FSY left the fermion mass as a parameter set to ±1. This thesis generalises these equations to include the Higgs field, letting the fermion mass become a function through coupling, μ. We discuss the dynamics associated with the Higgs field and find that there exist qualitatively similar solutions to those found by FSY, with well behaved, non-divergent metric components and electrostatic potential, close to the origin, going over to the point-particle solutions for large r; the Schwarzschild or Reissner-Nordström metric, and the Coulomb potential. We then go on to discuss an alternative gravity theory, conformal gravity, (CG), and look for solutions of the CG equations of motion coupled to the Dirac, Higgs and Maxwell equations. We obtain asymptotically nonvanishing, yet fully normalisable Dirac spinor components, resembling those of FSY, and, in the case where charge is included, non-divergent electrostatic potential close to the origin, matching onto the Coulomb potential for large r

Exploring the way forward for Ghana's tourism industry through domestic tourism

Thesis submitted to the Department of Management Information Systems, Ashesi University College, in partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems, April 2013Tourism is a major sector that is often identified by many developing countries as a priority sector for the rejuvenation of their economies. Ghana is no different and her government has invested in stimulating the industry to promote socioeconomic development. The country is a very attractive tourist destination but there is still no mass tourism. Ghana's tourism industry development indicators have doubled since the industry's inception. However when compared to other countries in Africa she is one of the lowest ranking when it comes to tourism development indicators. The question then arises, why is this the case. This study is then undertaken to explore and compare the tourism industry to that of the outside world. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources and the analysis was done using descriptive analysis and summary statistics. To gather data for this study, questionnaires, interviews and semi-structured discussions were conducted. In an attempt to establish the credibility of this research, literature about the industry was analyzed. It was realized that developing domestic tourism was the key way to developing the tourism industry as a whole. Other issues discovered about the industry were a lack of maintenance culture and a false sense of time poverty. Recommendations on how to improve these problems where made.Ashesi University Colleg

Stress birefringence patterning in photopolymer induced by structured illumination

4 pagesInternational audienceWe report on the stress birefringence distribution induced by the photopatterning of a multifunctional crosslinkable acrylate monomer sensitized in the visible range. The patterning of this material, prepared in a glass cell of a few tens of microns thickness, is obtained through illumination in a two steps process. The first step is performed using an illumination pattern with a high contrast and a low spatial frequency. The second one is a uniform illumination. The discrepancies in the shrinkage experimented by the material leads to the apparition of patterned stress birefringence revealed through polarimetry and diffraction measurements

Modelling the growth of a polymer micro-tip on an optical fiber end

Manufacturing end-of-fiber optical components able to realize optical functions ranging from a simple lens to more complex functions such as mode selective components is a decisive but \emph{a priori} complex task owing to the fiber core dimensions. Effective low cost methods allowing to grow polymer components by free-radical photopolymerization using the light coming out of the fiber have recently been reported. A novel phenomenological model of the photopolymerization process underlying is here given and used to simulate the polymer component growth in a three dimensional time-resolved manner. The simulations results are thus used to understand and optimize the component growth conditions, focusing particularly on the role of oxygen either present in the atmosphere or dissolved in the solution