Co-Development in Mali: A Case Study of a Development Phenomenon Exploited by Immigration Policy

This case study establishes a historical basis for migration from Kayes, contextualizes co-development in immigration and development literature, and provides insight into how organizations implementing migrant financed projects in Mali define and perceive the concept of co-development. In my research, I pulled together scholarly articles, organizational documents, reports, and conducted semi-structured personal interviews that were scattered across the fields of history, migration, and development and pulled together an analysis of co-development in Mali. Challenging the concept of co-development as an effective immigration policy and a development strategy, this paper reflects the concept’s true benefits to Malian society. Finally, the conclusion is drawn that while co-development in Mali fits many credentials of sustainability, it is not a strategy, but rather a phenomenon of development. However, the unique role of migrants in Kayes (and the broader Senegal River Valley region) should be highlighted because of its potential to serve as a model for immigrant communities worldwide

Site selection, design criteria and performance assessment for wetland restorations in the prairie pothole region

The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate recent prairie wetland restorations to see if they are comparable to natural wetlands and to provide guidelines for site selection, design, and performance of future restorations. Detailed studies were made of the revegetation and water regime of 62 wetlands restored in 1988. Wetlands were evaluated to see if they have the potential to: (1) improve water quality, based on watershed land use, basin morphometry, and emergent vegetation development, and (2) provide wildlife habitat, based on landscape pattern, water regime, and vegetation composition. Most restorations are small (less than 4 ha) and are restored to be seasonal or semipermanent wetlands. Few restored wetlands (16.1%) seem to receive high loadings of agricultural pollutants because watersheds of most restored wetlands are more than one-half permanent cover. Wetlands restored by removing drainage tile (17.5%) that receive high loadings of nutrients may not improve water quality because residence time is too short. Inlets and outlets in these wetlands are typically adjacent to each other. The vegetation compositions of wetlands flooded for one, two and three years were compared to environmental and historical factors for the 62 wetlands. Mantel tests were used to determine if either factor accounted for vegetation differences among sites. The vegetation recolonizing restored wetlands within one year of flooding was found to be affected by past land use. A TWINSPAN ordination of these sites showed that wetlands drained by ditches or ineffectively drained by tile are recolonized by shallow emergent species that likely survived drainage as refugial populations. Tiled wetlands were colonized by mudflat annuals and submersed aquatics. Wet prairie and sedge meadow species were generally not found. A study of ten restored wetlands flooded for three years and ten natural wetlands showed that the mean number of species in the flora of natural wetlands and restored wetlands was 45.8 and 26.9 species per basin, respectively. Seedbanks of natural wetlands were also more diverse than those of restored wetlands with a mean of 15 species for natural wetlands and 8 species for restored wetlands. Thirty-seven wet prairie and sedge meadow species of natural wetlands (including typical dominants) were not found in restored wetlands

A Call to Cultivate the Public Interest: Beyond Pro Bono

This Article scrutinizes the transformation of the legal profession from lawyers as public citizens to lawyers who serve mostly private interests. Juergens and Galatowitsch trace the development of current pro bono practices and how these practices have become equated with public service. Juergens and Galatowitsch argue that current pro bono practices have narrowed the definition of “public interest law work” and conclude that an expansion of the term’s definition is necessary to promote its practice in the current legal environment

Fostering Client Altruism and the Common Good in the Practice of Law: Learning from Emerging Movements in Business and Economics

Northern Territory Library, Parliament House, Darwin. Level 2, entrance alcove.Unknown.Date:1996-0

A Call to Cultivate the Public Interest: Beyond Pro Bono

This essay asserts that incorporation of the public\u27s interests in lawyers\u27 daily work is an essential responsibility of the profession. The Preamble to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct frames this lawyers\u27 duty as that of a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice. Yet the modem legal profession has reduced public interest practice to work that is done for no or almost no fee. The transformation of lawyer from public citizen to servant of mostly private interests has taken place over the last thirty-five years, following the legal profession\u27s embrace of pro bono work by volunteer lawyers. To understand this change, the authors look at current pro bono culture and trace the tools that were developed to cultivate it from seedlings. These tools include: the use of coordinators for volunteer attorneys (beginning with a federal requirement for legal services programs that accompanied funding cuts during the early 1980s); Model Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1-Voluntary Pro Bono Publico Service; rankings systems promoted by legal publications; a proliferation of awards for pro bono service; and law student organizations that promote and provide pro bono service in collaboration with the local bar. Society, government and the legal profession use the pro bono and public interest labels to allocate resources and legitimacy. The authors examine these classifications and conclude that the boundaries of public interest need to be expanded. How might the profession cultivate the ideal of lawyer as public citizen into the client-centered private practice of law and also lift up the lawyers who already are bringing value to the public through their private practice? This essay, the first of two planned pieces, will analyze how the profession came to equate public service with pro bono and to unintentionally narrow the definition of public interest law work. The second essay will suggest a few practical actions for expanding the profession\u27s working definitions and practice of public interest work

NATIVE AND EUROPEAN HAPLOTYPES OF \u3ci\u3ePHRAGMITES AUSTRALIS\u3c/i\u3e (COMMON REED) IN THE CENTRAL PLATTE RIVER, NEBRASKA

Phragmites australis (common reed) is known to have occurred along the Platte River historically, but recent rapid increases in both distribution and density have begun to impact habitat for migrating sandhill cranes and nesting piping plovers and least terns. Invasiveness in Phragmites has been associated with the incursion of a European genotype (haplotype M) in other areas; determining the genotype of Phragmites along the central Platte River has implications for proper management of the river system. In 2008 we sampled Phragmites patches along the central Platte River from Lexington to Chapman, NE, stratified by bridge segments, to determine the current distribution of haplotype E (native) and haplotype M genotypes. In addition, we did a retrospective analysis of historical Phragmites collections from the central Platte watershed (1902- 2006) at the Bessey Herbarium. Fresh tissue from the 2008 survey and dried tissue from the herbarium specimens were classified as haplotype M or E using the restriction fragment length polymorphism procedure. The European haplotype was predominant in the 2008 samples: only 14 Phragmites shoots were identified as native haplotype E; 224 were non-native haplotype M. The retrospective analysis revealed primarily native haplotype individuals. Only collections made in Lancaster County, near Lincoln, NE, were haplotype M, and the earliest of these was collected in 1973

Factors affecting post-control reinvasion by seed of an invasive species, \u3ci\u3ePhragmites australis\u3c/i\u3e, in the central Platte River, Nebraska

Invasive plants, such as Phragmites australis, can profoundly affect channel environments of large rivers by stabilizing sediments and altering water flows. Invasive plant removal is considered necessary where restoration of dynamic channels is needed to provide critical habitat for species of conservation concern. However, these programs are widely reported to be inefficient. Post-control reinvasion is frequent, suggesting increased attention is needed to prevent seed regeneration. To develop more effective responses to this invader in the Central Platte River (Nebraska,USA), we investigated several aspects of Phragmites seed ecology potentially linked to post-control reinvasion, in comparison to other common species: extent of viable seed production, importance of water transport, and regeneration responses to hydrology. We observed that although Phragmites seed does not mature until very late in the ice-free season, populations produce significant amounts of viable seed (\u3e50 %of filled seed). Most seed transported via water in the Platte River are invasive perennial species, although Phragmites abundances are much lower than species such as Lythrum salicaria, Cyperus esculentus and Phalaris arundinacea. Seed regeneration of Phragmites varies greatly depending on hydrology, especially timing of water level changes. Flood events coinciding with the beginning of seedling emergence reduced establishment by as much as 59 % compared to flood events that occurred a few weeks later. Results of these investigations suggest that prevention of seed set (i.e., by removal of flowering culms) should be a priority in vegetation stands not being treated annually. After seeds are in the seedbank, preventing reinvasion using prescribed flooding has a low chance of success given that Phragmites can regenerate in a wide variety of hydrologic microsites