Country gap report : Nepal

The project focus is to determine how the current Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) vaccine value chain (VVC) functions in terms of delivering vaccines and involving female livestock keepers in the vaccine distribution value chain. It looks at how related attitudes and perceptions of various livestock vaccine value chain (LVVC) actors affect women’s involvement in the LVVC. Additionally, the mapping of the VVC is designed to capture how gender intersects with other identities of the women such as caste, ethnicity, age, wealth, education, religion, and livelihood

Mapping the Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) disease vaccine value chain in Nepal : an intersectional analysis to increase women's engagement and benefit

In Nepal and other developing countries of Asia and Africa, the burden of treatable infectious diseases among livestock is high and access to animal health services and laboratories is challenging if not burdensome on the smallholder owners. Consequences of the Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) disease outbreaks are pressing issues, both globally and in Nepal. Lack of routine vaccination practices have contributed to the occurrence of outbreaks, while at the same time, underuse of vaccines through lack of access, affordability and availability also leads to death of goats and sheep. As part of the global effort to eradicate PPR disease in Nepal by 2030, the Government of Nepal (GON) has been actively supporting the production of the PPR vaccines and facilitating their delivery throughout the country. This report presents the findings from the livestock vaccine value chain (LVVC) mapping activity conducted by the University of Florida (UF) researchers in collaboration with local partners and students from two agricultural universities in the country: The Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU) and the Himalayan College of Agriculture Science and Technology (HICAST).Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)Global Affairs Canada (GAC

Payments for adding ecosystem carbon are mostly beneficial to biodiversity

Peer reviewe

Hydrological function of rewetted peatlands linked to saturated hydraulic conductivity in Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

The hydrological function of peatlands, one of which is acting as a medium for storing and releasing water, undergoes alteration due to degradation. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) is a pivotal parameter for comprehending the hydraulic properties of peatlands. Ks plays a crucial role in the transmission and release of water influenced by other peat properties. This research examined the impact of Ks and selected peat properties, namely bulk density and available water content, to depict the hydrological function in rewetted peatlands. The study sites are rubber plantation (RB), oil palm plantation (OP), and drained secondary forest (SF). Results revealed a significantly higher Ks in OP (106.7 cm hr-1) compared to RB (19.56 cm hr-1) and DSF (15.1 cm hr-1). The hydrological function at all study sites was categorized as high, with minor degradation in OP and moderate degradation in RB and SF. Nonetheless, these findings necessitate fundamental interpretation and adjustment. The outcomes of this study can be utilized to prioritize rewetting efforts in the study sites, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing immature peat (fibric) with high Ks

PEMBATASAN ALIH FUNGSI TANAH PERTANIAN UNTUK PEMBANGUNAN PERUMAHAN DI KECAMATAN TEMBALANG KOTA SEMARANG

Laju perkembangan penduduk di Indonesia yang sangat pesat menimbulkan kebutuhan dari tanah perumahan dan pemukiman untuk tempat tinggalnya makin meningkat sedangkan persediaan tanah untuk perumahan dan pemukiman semakin menipis. Akibat dari permintaan kebutuhan tempat tinggal maka banyak tanah mulai beralih fungsi dari tanah pertanian menjadi perumahan. Ketentuan dan peraturan perundang – undangan yang mengatur tentang perubahan penggunaan tanah pertanian ke non pertanian masih sering diabaikan dan masih kurang efektif. Disisi lain pengalihfungsian tanah tidak dapat dihindari karena pesatnya pertumbuhan penduduk seperti di Kota Semarang. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui proses izin alih fungsi tanah pertanian untuk pembangunan perumahan di Kecamatan Tembalang, Kota Semarang dan mengetahui upaya – upaya yang dilakukan oleh pemerintah Kota Semarang untuk membatasi alih fungsi tanah pertanian menjadi perumahan di Kecamatan Tembalang, Kota Semarang. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode pendekatan yuridis empiris, yaitu penelitian yang menekankan pada ilmu hukum dengan melihat kenyataan yang berlaku dalam masyarakat. Pendekatan yuridis adalah pendekatan yang bersandarkan pada peraturan perundangan yang berlaku sesuai dengan masalah yang diteliti yang merupakan data sekunder. Spesifikasi penelitian ini adalah deskriptif analitis yaitu menggambarkan peraturan perundang – undangan yang berlaku dikaitkan dengan teori – teori hukum dan praktek pelaksanaan hukum yang menyangkut permasalahan tersebut. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, proses izin alih fungsi tanah pertanian untuk pembangunan perumahan di Kecamatan Tembalang, Kota Semarang sudah dilakukan sesuai Peraturan Daerah Kota Semarang Nomor 14 Tahun 2011 tentang Rencana Tata Ruang Wilayah Kota Semarang. Upaya – upaya yang dilakukan oleh pemerintah Kota Semarang untuk membatasi alih fungsi tanah pertanian menjadi perumahan di Kecamatan Tembalang, Kota Semarang adalah dengan penetapan peraturan zonasi, pengaturan perizinan, ketentuan insentif dan disinsentif, dan pengenaan sanksi

Ecosystem carbon and biodiversity in thirteen landscapes around the world

Impacts on biodiversity are considered one of the main detrimental consequences of changing climates. However, climate change mitigation is also directly influencing biodiversity if it is done by adding ecosystem carbon relative to a reference scenario. Often it has been assumed that adding ecosystem carbon relative to a reference scenario, e.g. by avoiding deforestation and forest degradation, is always beneficial for biodiversity conservation. However, this association has been shown to hold only locally, or with a specific taxonomic or functional group. Our objective was to study this relationship based on expert interviews. We interviewed 115 biodiversity experts on value for biodiversity of various land uses found in 12 landscapes in 7 countries and 5 continents around the world. The experts gave an approximate score from zero to ten on value of the land use types on conservation of the taxon in focus. We found support to the thinking that land uses containing a large amount of ecosystem carbon are associated with a high value for biodiversity conservation but with some notable exceptions. For example converting a native scrubland to an exotic tree plantation was found to have a negative impact on biodiversity. However, in general, biodiversity conservation is in most cases an important co-benefit of climate change mitigation.peerReviewe

The urgency of the legal strategy of abandoned-land use through the formation of land bank in Indonesia

AbstractIndonesia has the most significant potential land resources in Southeast Asia. However, these land resources are not utilized optimally. Some of them are even categorized as abandoned land. Therefore, Indonesia needs instruments to identify, manage, and distribute neglected land into more productive assets. Indonesia still faces challenges in building land bank. First, there is still overlapping with the current Agrarian Reform program. In addition, land bank is only focused on investment to improve the economy, while agrarian reforms prioritize social justice. This study aims to investigate legal issues on the importance of the establishment of land banks to assist land management in Indonesia and to propose a comprehensive legal framework regarding the use of neglected land. The focus is the management of land bank assets, especially for land acquisition of neglected land in Indonesia. This study is a legal study that used comparative approach. A case and comparative study regulation approaches was also conducted to focus on land bank policies in the Netherlands and the United States. The Data is collected through literature studies to analyze various regulations on land banks. Based on the study, the land bank laws in the Netherlands, and the United States have proven effective as guidelines and policy directions to provide solutions to the problems of land use. The land bank laws function as guidelines and policy directions for both governments, their private sector, people. They can overcome the problem of neglected land and realize sustainable development

Payments for adding ecosystem carbon are mostly beneficial to biodiversity

Biodiversity conservation is often considered to be an important co-benefit of REDD+ and other mechanisms aiming to increase carbon in biomass and soil to mitigate climate change. This reasoning is based on the assumption that the level of biodiversity and ecosystem carbon are positively correlated. Firstly, however, studies have shown both positive and negative relationships. Secondly, incentives for additional ecosystem carbon do not trigger random or all potential changes in land-use, but often concentrate on one or a few specific changes that could have an opposite effect than the general trend indicates. Therefore, it is important to study biodiversity impacts of plausible measures to increase carbon. We obtained land-use scenarios on pathways to increase carbon based on 97 face-to-face interviews of local land-use experts in twelve landscapes in seven countries and five continents. We then conducted another set of face-to-face interviews with biodiversity experts yielding 2963 estimations concerning the value of land-use classes for 264 taxa of fauna and flora in these landscapes. We found positive carbon to biodiversity relationships in ten of the twelve landscapes. The biodiversity impacts of measures to increase carbon were positive in eleven of the twelve landscapes. Our results indicate that a random land-use change that increases biodiversity is also likely to increase carbon and vice versa

Fire frequency, intensity, and burn severity in Kalimantan’s threatened Peatland areas over two Decades

Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the Island of Borneo, has an estimated 45,000 km2 of tropical peatland and represents one of the largest stocks of tropical peat carbon. However, over the last three decades, the peatlands of Indonesia, and Kalimantan in particular, have been heavily degraded or destroyed by drainage of peatland swamps, deforestation, land cover change for agriculture, and intentional burning. Many studies have examined degradation of peat forests and the associated frequency of fires, often focusing on specific regions of Kalimantan over limited periods. Here, we present our results of a spatially comprehensive, long-term analysis of peatland fires in Kalimantan over more than two decades from early 2001 to the end of 2021. We examined the effects of changing climate conditions, land cover change, and the regulatory framework on the total burned area and frequency and severity of peatland fires over a 21-year period by combining extensive datasets of medium-resolution and high-resolution satellite imagery. Moreover, surface fire intensity was modeled for four dominant land use/land cover types to determine how land use change alters fire behavior. Our results confirm a consistent and strong spatiotemporal correlation between hydro-climatological drivers associated with El Niño conditions on peatland fire frequencies and burned peatland area. Changes in the number of fires and burn severity are visible over time and are caused by a combination of large-scale meteorological patterns and changing regulations. A significant relative increase of the “high” and “very high” severity across all peatland fires in Kalimantan was found for the latest period from 2015 through 2021 by 12.1 and 13.4%, compared to the two previous 7-year periods from 2001 to 2007 period and from 2008 to 2014, respectively, whereas the total peatland area burned decreased in 2015 to 2021 by 28.7% on average compared to the previous periods. The results underline the importance of a comprehensive approach considering physical aspects of overarching climate conditions while improving political and regulatory frameworks to mitigate the negative effects of burning tropical peatlands