Do remittances and social assistance have different impacts on expenditure patterns of recipient households? : The Moldovan case

Do remittances and social assistance have different impacts on household expenditure patterns? While two separate strands of literature have looked at how social assistance or remittances have been spent, few studies have compared them directly. Using data from a nationally representative household survey conducted in Moldova in 2011, this paper assesses the impact both types of transfers have on household expenditure patterns. Contrary to the common assumption that money is fungible, we find that social assistance and remittances have different impacts on expenditure patterns (having controlled for potential endogeneity). This research highlights that income source matters and that different incomes may have different poverty impacts. In our sample, the two types of transfers are received by different, but to some extent overlapping population groups. The fact that the two transfers are spent in different ways means that, to some extent, social assistance and remittances are complements rather than substitutes

Using a multi-lens framework for landscape decisions

1. Landscape decisions are multi-faceted. Framing landscape decision-making as a governance process that requires a collective approach can encourage key stakeholders to come together to co-inform a discussion about their priorities and what constitutes good governance, leading to more holistic landscape decisions. 2. In this paper, we recognise that a suite of complementary and multi-dimensional approaches are in practice used to inform and evaluate land use decisions. We have called these approaches ‘lenses’ because they each provide a different perspective on the same problem. The four lenses are: i) Power and Market Gain, ii) Ecosystem Services, iii), Place-based Identity and iv) Ecocentric. Each brings a different set of evidence and viewpoints (narrative, qualitative and experiential, as well as quantitative metrics such as monetary) to the decision-making process and can potentially reveal problems and solutions that others do not. 3. Considering all lenses together allows dialogue to take place which can reveal the true complexities of landscape decision-making and can facilitate more effective and more holistic decisions. Employing the lenses requires governance structures that give equal weight to all lenses, enable dialogue and coexistence between top down and bottom-up approaches, and permit adaptation to local and granular place-specifics rather than developing “one-size-fits-all” solutions. 4. We propose that formalising the process of balancing all the lenses requires public participation, and that a lens approach should be used to support landscape decisions alongside a checklist that facilitates transparency in the conversation, showing how all evidence has been considered and critically assessed

Airsheds, watersheds and more – The flows that drive intra-extra-urban connections, and their implications for nature-based solutions (NBS)

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordCities are highly complex, inter-connected social-ecological systems, encompassing social, built and natural/semi-natural components. They interact with their surrounding extra-urban areas at varying scales, from peri-urban and rural to global. Space is a valuable commodity in cities. However, in most instances, city planners tend to think about interventions only within cities and rarely about the wider connected domains outside. Yet, considering the wider spatial context, including space outside of the city boundaries, may open up opportunities to achieve substantially greater benefit for city residents without sacrificing valuable space, leading to more sustainable city design for people and the environment. In this paper we discuss the intra-extra-urban flows which connect cities to their wider airsheds, watersheds, biosheds and resourcesheds, which in turn interact with their peoplesheds. For each domain, we illustrate the processes and the scales they operate at, and discuss the implications for optimum location of nature-based solutions (NBS) to address urban challenges. We suggest that integrating knowledge about these multiple sheds can inform holistic design of NBS to deliver greater benefit for city residents. This takes into account the synergies and multi-functional co-benefits which arise from a careful consideration of place and people, while minimising potential disbenefits and trade-offs

Mapping biomass with remote sensing: a comparison of methods for the case study of Uganda

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Assessing biomass is gaining increasing interest mainly for bioenergy, climate change research and mitigation activities, such as reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD+). In response to these needs, a number of biomass/carbon maps have been recently produced using different approaches but the lack of comparable reference data limits their proper validation. The objectives of this study are to compare the available maps for Uganda and to understand the sources of variability in the estimation. Uganda was chosen as a case-study because it presents a reliable national biomass reference dataset.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The comparison of the biomass/carbon maps show strong disagreement between the products, with estimates of total aboveground biomass of Uganda ranging from 343 to 2201 Tg and different spatial distribution patterns. Compared to the reference map based on country-specific field data and a national Land Cover (LC) dataset (estimating 468 Tg), maps based on biome-average biomass values, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default values, and global LC datasets tend to strongly overestimate biomass availability of Uganda (ranging from 578 to 2201 Tg), while maps based on satellite data and regression models provide conservative estimates (ranging from 343 to 443 Tg). The comparison of the maps predictions with field data, upscaled to map resolution using LC data, is in accordance with the above findings. This study also demonstrates that the biomass estimates are primarily driven by the biomass reference data while the type of spatial maps used for their stratification has a smaller, but not negligible, impact. The differences in format, resolution and biomass definition used by the maps, as well as the fact that some datasets are not independent from the reference data to which they are compared, are considered in the interpretation of the results.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The strong disagreement between existing products and the large impact of biomass reference data on the estimates indicate that the first, critical step to improve the accuracy of the biomass maps consists of the collection of accurate biomass field data for all relevant vegetation types. However, detailed and accurate spatial datasets are crucial to obtain accurate estimates at specific locations.</p

A framework for identifying and selecting long term adaptation policy directions for deltas

Deltas are precarious environments experiencing significant biophysical, and socio-economic changes with the ebb and flow of seasons (including with floods and drought), with infrastructural developments (such as dikes and polders), with the movement of people, and as a result of climate and environmental variability and change. Decisions are being taken about the future of deltas and about the provision of adaptation investment to enable people and the environment to respond to the changing climate and related changes. The paper presents a framework to identify options for, and trade-offs between, long term adaptation strategies in deltas. Using a three step process, we: (1) identify current policy-led adaptations actions in deltas by conducting literature searches on current observable adaptations, potential transformational adaptations and government policy; (2) develop narratives of future adaptation policy directions that take into account investment cost of adaptation and the extent to which significant policy change/political effort is required; and (3) explore trade-offs that occur within each policy direction using a subjective weighting process developed during a collaborative expert workshop. We conclude that the process of developing policy directions for adaptation can assist policy makers in scoping the spectrum of options that exist, while enabling them to consider their own willingness to make significant policy changes within the delta and to initiate transformative change.</p