Many-objective design of reservoir systems - Applications to the Blue Nile

This work proposes a multi-criteria optimization-based approach for supporting the negotiated design of multireservoir systems. The research addresses the multi-reservoir system design problem (selecting among alternative options, reservoir sizing), the capacity expansion problem (timing the activation of new assets and the filling of new large reservoirs) and management of multi-reservoir systems at various expansion stages. The aim is to balance multiple long and short-term performance objectives of relevance to stakeholders with differing interests. The work also investigates how problem re-formulations can be used to improve computational efficiency at the design and assessment stage and proposes a framework for post-processing of many objective optimization results to facilitate negotiation among multiple stakeholders. The proposed methods are demonstrated using the Blue Nile in a suite of proof-of-concept studies. Results take the form of Pareto-optimal trade-offs where each point on the curve or surface represents the design of water resource systems (i.e., asset choice, size, implementation dates of reservoirs, and operating policy) and coordination strategies (e.g., cost sharing and power trade) where further benefits in one measure necessarily come at the expense of another. Technical chapters aim to offer practical Nile management and/or investment recommendations deriving from the analysis which could be refined in future more detailed studies

Chemical Engineering of Plants for Salt Tolerance

Salinity is one of the serious threats to global agriculture that threatens human food security. To tackle the problem, there were and still are quite several scientific efforts in place. Hence, in this dissertation, we used chemical and genetic engineering approaches to unravel the sophisticated knot of the problem using a Trojan peptoid called plant PeptoQ and overexpression of OsOPR7 gene in non-transformed WT tobacco BY-2 cells. First, plant PeptoQ that can be used to target a functional cargo (a rhodamine-labelled semiquinone peptoid as mimetic of coenzyme Q10) into mitochondria of tobacco BY-2 cells was characterized with regard to its cellular uptake and potential cytotoxicity. We found that the uptake is specific for mitochondria, rapid, dose-dependent, and requires both clathrin-mediated and clathrin-independent endocytosis, as well as actin filaments, while microtubules seem to be dispensable. Viability of the treated cells was not affected, and they showed better survival under salt stress, a condition that perturbs oxidative homeostasis in mitochondria. Using double labelling with appropriate fluorescent markers, we showed that targeting of this Trojan Peptoid to the mitochondria is not based on a passage through the plasma membrane (as thought hitherto), but on import via endocytotic vesicles and subsequent accumulation of the positively charged side chains at the negatively charged inner mitochondrial membrane. Second, the effects of pretreatment with plant PeptoQ and OsOPR7 overexpression, on salt stress induced detrimental effects in WT BY-2 cells were investigated. In general, both pretreatment with plant PeptoQ and overexpression of OsOPR7 in WT BY-2 cells, mitigated salt stress induced deleterious effects more or less in a similar manner. Cell expansion and cell viability were fully and partially compensated at moderate (75 mM NaCl) and high (150 mM NaCl) salt stress respectively by peptoid treatment and OsOPR7 overexpression. However, even if, the detrimental effects of salt stress on cell division (proliferation) were mitigated by both approaches, it was more sensitive as compared to cell expansion and viability. Furthermore, they significantly ameliorated doubling time, and effectively suppressed salt stress induced increase in MDA and superoxide levels in WT BY-2 cells. However, both approaches had no effect on hydrogen peroxide level. Plant PeptoQ pretreatment and OsOPR7 overexpression lead to increased SOD activity but decreased Mn-SOD transcript induction. However, they had no effect on catalase (CAT) activity. Except SOS1, NAC and OPR7 genes , other salt-related genes such as ion channels (NHX1 and SKOR), regulators for ion channels (SOS3 and SLT1) and jasmonate related gene (JAZ3) did not show strong transcript modulation in response to salinity, plant PeptoQ treatment and OsOPR7 overexpression. Similarly, even if, ionic balance was strongly perturbed by salt stress, both plant PeptoQ treatment and OsOPR7 overexpression had no mitigatory role at all. On the other hand, pretreatment of salt stressed WT and OsOPR7 overexpressor (OE) BY-2 cells with plant PeptoQ, caused increased OPDA level; however, it had no significant effect on JA-Ile level. It lead to a significant shift of the biosynthetic pathway from JA-Ile to OPDA, and this channeling of the pathway towards OPDA was significantly more accentuated for moderate salt stress (75 mM NaCl) but it faded as it proceeds to high salt stress (150 mM NaCl). Both plant PeptoQ pretreatment and OsOPR7 overexpression conferred salt tolerance to the non-transformed WT BY-2 cells by mitigating the salt stress induced detrimental effects effectively and efficiently

Screening reservoir systems by considering the efficient trade-offs-informing infrastructure investment decisions on the Blue Nile

Multi-reservoir system planners should consider how new dams impact downstream reservoirs and the potential contribution of each component to coordinated management. We propose an optimized multi-criteria screening approach to identify best performing designs, i.e., the selection, size and operating rules of new reservoirs within multi-reservoir systems. Reservoir release operating rules and storage sizes are optimized concurrently for each separate infrastructure design under consideration. Outputs reveal system trade-offs using multi-dimensional scatter plots where each point represents an approximately Pareto-optimal design. The method is applied to proposed Blue Nile River reservoirs in Ethiopia, where trade-offs between total and firm energy output, aggregate storage and downstream irrigation and energy provision for the best performing designs are evaluated. This proof-of concept study shows that recommended Blue Nile system designs would depend on whether monthly firm energy or annual energy is prioritized. 39 TWh/yr of energy potential is available from the proposed Blue Nile reservoirs. The results show that depending on the amount of energy deemed sufficient, the current maximum capacities of the planned reservoirs could be larger than they need to be. The method can also be used to inform which of the proposed reservoir type and their storage sizes would allow for the highest downstream benefits to Sudan in different objectives of upstream operating objectives (i.e., operated to maximize either average annual energy or firm energy). The proposed approach identifies the most promising system designs, reveals how they imply different trade-offs between metrics of system performance, and helps system planners asses the sensitivity of overall performance to the design parameters of component reservoirs

International Aid to HRH development in Ethiopia: Assessment of Irish Aid investment in the development of human resources for health in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR)

Background: Human resources for health (HRH) are considered the linchpin in health development but, until recently, donors were reluctant to support HRH development considered as higher education and not a priority for support. There have been changes in this attitude in the last few years. The evolution in Ethiopia is explored using the experience of Irish Aid (IA) as a case study.Methods: The evolution of HRH in SNNP is explored through study of IA and Regional documents and interviews of key informants, focus group discussions and field visits in the region.Results: Major national initiatives with short and long term impact on HRH are briefly documented including the ‘flooding strategy’, the Accelerated Health Officers Training and the rapid deployment of health extension workers (HEW). Major constraints/uncertainties in improved IA support are noted including absence of specific HRH policy and an outdated health policy; delays in the development of an HRH strategy; impacts of over-drawn BPR process… IA impacts on HRH in the region, including middle level HRH training; training of HEW, in-service training in general…, are commendable. The assessment also documents current weaknesses/gaps in IA support including lack of training needs assessment, weak supportive supervision, lack/delay in upgrading training - for HEW in particular, lag in training to clear the backlog of junior categories and inadequate increase of HRH for Emergency Obstetric Care. Adequate measures have not been taken to improve quality of pre-service training; improve motivation, efficiency and retention of the health workforce (HWF) and strengthen HRH management.Conclusions and Recommendations: Overall, IA had discernable impact on HRH development in the region. Areas for future policy level dialogue and improved impact are recommended

The Forest Policy Process, Regulatory, and Institutional Frameworks in Ethiopia

The purpose of the study is to examine the trends of the forest policy process, its responses, legal frameworks, institutional developments, stakeholder relations, and stakeholder roles, as well as the major driving causes of the forest policy, regulatory, and institutional practices in Ethiopia. A qualitative content analysis method was employed for the study. The review of the literature is fundamentally based on data sources from archival and review of relevant empirical studies, as well as policy, legal, and strategy documents, supplemented with data sources from six key informants from the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Ministry of Agriculture, FDRE Forest Development, and FDRE Environment Protection Authority who have relevant leadership and professional responsibilities in relation to forest policy, legal, and interdisciplinary issues. The result of the findings indicated that the trends were top-down and coercive. Moreover, the historical legacies of forest policy, legal, and institutional frameworks of past regimes have immensely affected the performance of the current forest policy and regulatory frameworks and their institutional strengths. Such an operation hindered public participation and resulted in poor forest policy outcomes. Therefore, the study recommends the urgency of creating strong inter-sectoral coordination in forest-related matters, ensuring participation, freeing institutional mandate allocation from the influence of the agriculture sector by balancing forest conservation and agriculture intensification, ensuring independent forest regulatory bodies across the tiers, providing the necessary implementation directives and guidelines, and giving adequate support to discharge their roles at the grassroots community level, as suggested. Key terms: Forest policy, regulatory, institutional framework, Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/13-3-02 Publication date: April 30th 202

Scaling up Access to Misoprostol at the Community Level to Improve Maternal Health Outcomes in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Nigeria

Over the past decade (2004–2014), the Population and Reproductive Health area of the MacArthur Foundation has focused on supporting projects aimed at reducing maternal mortality. In particular, it has supported efforts to use misoprostol to prevent postpartum hemorrhage, the anti-shock garment to aid in the treatment of hemorrhage, and magnesium sulfate to decrease deaths from eclampsia. In recent years, the Foundation has invested in a range of research and evaluation efforts to better understand these interventions, their effectiveness, and the extent to which successful pilot projects have been scaled up.In 2014, the Foundation commissioned the Public Health Institute to evaluate the grants it had made to increase community-based access to misoprostol for postpartum hemorrhage prevention in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Nigeria. Specifically, the Foundation was interested in documenting the models and approaches used and the progress toward scaling up the respective models in the three countries. Between June and November 2014, the evaluation team reviewed grantee reports, proposals, and the literature; interviewed key informants and global, national, and local stakeholders; conducted focus group discussions with local stakeholders; and made observations during site-visits in each country. From this the team produced case study reports relating to misoprostol use in each country. This report is a synthesis of those three case studies, highlighting the common findings across the projects, identifying differences, and interpreting the lessons learned for broader use and scale up of misoprostol at the community level in Africa and globally

The effects of trainers’ competence on employability of government polytechnic college graduates in Dire Dawa City, east-central Ethiopia

The need for competent and qualified trainers is of paramount importance for an effective technical training system that, in turn, helps to produce competent and employable graduates for the country’s economy. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of trainers' competence on the employability of polytechnic college graduates in Dire Dawa. The study employed a descriptive-correlational-explanatory research design with a quantitative research method. The sample for quantitative data consisted of 351 randomly selected graduates, trainees, trainers, and administrators. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that trainers’ competence was positively correlated with graduates' employability. Specifically, predictors such as knowledge-related competence, assessment-related competence, skill-related competence, and managerial competence were found to have significant and positive effects on the employability of polytechnic college graduates in Dire Dawa. Therefore, the study recommends that the Dire Dawa city Labour Skill and Technology Development Bureau and Polytechnic colleges should give greater emphasis on improving trainers’ competence, which in turn enhances the employability of graduates

Assessing river basin development given water-energy-food-environment interdependencies

Many river basins in the Global South are undergoing rapid development with major implications for the interdependent water-energy-food-environmental (WEFE) ‘nexus’ sectors. A range of views on the extent to which such natural-human systems should be developed typically exist. The perceived best investments in river basins depend on how one frames the planning problem. Therefore, we propose an approach where the best possible (optimised) implementations of different river basin development scenarios are assessed by comparing their WEFE sector trade-offs. We apply the approach to Tanzania’s river basin, an area with multiple WEFE interdependencies and high development potential (irrigation and hydropower) and ecosystem services. Performance indicators are identified through stakeholder consultation and describe WEFE sector response under scenarios of river basin development. Results show considerable potential exists for energy and irrigation expansion. Designs that prioritise energy production adversely affect environmental performance, however, part of the negative impacts can be minimised through release rules designed to replicate the natural variability of flow. The reliability of monthly energy generation is more sensitive to environmental-oriented management than the cumulative annual energy production. Overall results highlight how sectoral trade-offs change depending on the extent of development, something that may be difficult to regulate in the future, and that there are important basin-scale interdependencies. Benefits and limitations of the approach and its application are discussed