Bio-prospecting of Medicinal Bio-resources from the Kenyan Biodiversity: Reflections on Governance as the Missing Link - A Review Article

Medicinal biodiversity has since times immemorial served as one of the richest sources of bio-prospecting leading to the discovery of novel drugs for mankind globally. However, in Kenya, despite the Country being known to be a mega biodiversity hotspot, bio-prospecting has not been very successful mainly due to lack of effective institutional and legal frameworks. This article reviews the policy and legislation instruments governing medicinal biodiversity in Kenya in order to identify their weaknesses and strengths and come up with recommendations for effective economic exploitation of the Country’s’ mega diverse resource. The methodology employed was a qualitative content analysis of relevant biodiversity legislations in Kenya. Results reveal that there has been governance gaps as far as bio-prospecting activities in Kenya are concerned which has rendered the Country’s mega biodiversity vulnerable to bio-piracy at the expense of the poor  local communities who are the traditional knowledge owners. There is need to review the current pieces of legislation on medicinal biodiversity and work towards developing a strong National bio-prospecting policy together with an implementation plan. These are important to inform the overall national development agenda, in tandem with Vision 2030. Some of the policies were found out dated and rather obsolete and not serving the current interests and ambitions of the Country. There is therefore a need to revisit the policy and legislative instruments because they will continue frustrating bio-prospecting activities.  Moreover, we recommend the creation of a National Institute to coordinate and harmonize the legislations and National policies on medicinal biodiversity to seal loopholes, avoid conflicts and contradictions being experienced in the current legislative and policy frameworks. Keywords: Bio-prospecting; Bio-piracy; Governance; Kenya; Medicinal biodiversity DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/60-05 Publication date:March 31st 201

Preliminary Investigation of the Status of Bovine Mastitis in a Medium Scale Dairy Farm in Kabete Area, Kenya

The purpose of this investigation was to establish the mastitis status in the dairy herd of 110 cows (genetically heterogeneous Bos taurus breeds). All the cows were examined by physical inspection of the udder and California mastitis test (CMT) carried out on milk from the quarters of the 89 cows in milk. A total of 37 milk samples were collected from affected quarters of 36 cows, which had visibly abnormal secretion or tested positive on CMT, and taken for bacteriological culture and sensitivity tests. The outcome was a prevalence of 40.4 % based on the cows in milk and 18.4% based on their quarters. From the 37 samples that were cultured, 36 had abundant bacterial growth. Of the bacteria isolated, 45% were Corynebacteria, 30.0% Staphylococci, 22.5% Streptococci and 2.65% Pseudomonas. Of the twelve antibacterial compounds used in the sensitivity tests, the bacteria were most sensitive to ampi-clox and cefaclor at 98% and least sensitive to sulphamethoxazole and cotrimoxazole both at 2%. Pseudomonas was only sensitive to gentamycin, norfloxacin and tetracycline. From this investigation the prevalence of mastitis in the herd is fairly high and there is need for a comprehensive monitoring and control program for udder health in this herd. The Kenya Veterinarian Vol. 29 2005: pp. 57-5

Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Practices as a Nature-Based Solution to Promote Water-Energy-Food Nexus Balance

The objective of this study is to evaluate the contributions of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) practices to the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus balance, design practical pathways, and analyze barriers towards achievement of EbA-WEF balance. An area case study and descriptive methods were used to analyze data collected from 50 community forests (CFs) spread across three regions in The Gambia. Extensive information from relevant literature sources was also referred to in this study. Fourteen priority EbA practices were established and categorized into four major groups based on their application similarities. Among the anticipated ecosystem services were enhanced water resource conservation, food and feed production, enhanced energy supply, and improved community livelihoods to enhance their resilience. Pathways on how each practice under the broad category contributes to water, energy, and food were developed to demonstrate how they individually and collectively contribute towards the nexus balance. Key enablers identified included a conducive policy framework, institutional support, diverse incentives, information, knowledge, and technology transfer, and climate and non-climate barriers were cited as impediments. The paper concludes by outlining recommendations to overcome the established barriers

Antenna-coupled terahertz radiation from joule-heated single-wall carbon nanotubes

In this letter an experimental method is introduced that allows detection of terahertz (THz) radiation from arrays of joule-heated Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs), by coupling this radiation through integrated antennas and a silicon lens. The radiation forms a diffraction-limited beam with a total maximum radiated power of 450 nW, significantly greater than the power estimated from Nyquist thermal noise (8 nW). The physical radiation process is unknown at this stage, but possible explanations for the high radiated power are discussed briefly. The emission has a typical bandwidth of 1.2 THz and can be tuned to different frequencies by changing the dimensions of the antennas. Arrays of the devices could be integrated in CMOS integrated circuits, and find application in THz systems, such as in near-range medical imaging

A Review of Global Policy Mechanisms Designed for Tropical Forests Conservation and Climate Risks Management

Deforestation and forest degradation of tropical forests are major global concerns due to their ecological, social, and economic roles. In the wake of climate change and its diverse global effects, fragmentation and degradation of tropical forests have jeopardized their ability to support livelihoods and regenerate climate regulating services. Concerted efforts by local, national, and international players, which are primarily scientific, technological, or economic, have borne minimal results in safeguarding these forests from destruction, necessitating a more integrated and inclusive approach. The Rio Earth Summit (1992) brought together world leaders to set targets and priorities on the global sustainability agenda and laid a strong foundation for international policy cooperation in the future. This study employed a systematic review of articles published between 1992 and 2020 to establish how various policy mechanisms have been developed and evolved to bridge forests and climate change discourse in tropical forests while highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. The initial search of peer-reviewed publications and gray literature yielded 2622 records, which were subjected to inclusion and exclusion criteria based on The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta Analyses guidelines, resulting in a final list of 65 records for in-depth qualitative analysis. The study establishes that the mechanisms in place have contributed mainly to more coordination and incentives to manage climate risks, primarily through tropical forests conservation. However, hurdles such as inadequate participation and involvement of the local and indigenous people, insufficient national and local policy frameworks and bureaucracies around emissions monitoring, measuring, reporting, and verification processes continue to slow tropical forest conservation. Thus, there is a need for more integrated, multilevel, and diverse stakeholder engagement to achieve the set global targets effectively

Ecosystem-Based Approaches to Bioenergy and the Need for Regenerative Supply Options for Africa

Energy supply systems in the tropics and subtropics are marred with considerable negative impacts on ecosystems, for example, forest loss and habitat destruction. This document examines the role of ecosystems in household energy supply in Africa and explores pathways to ecosystem-based approaches to bioenergy generation by building on the regenerative economy concept. An ecosystem-based approach to bioenergy is an energy supply and utilization mechanism aimed at enhancing sustainable management of the sources of ecosystems with minimal trade-offs on/from other sectors directly linked to energy issues. Our analysis revealed that about 87% of energy supply to the population originated from agroecosystems and is challenged by the severe ecosystem degradation happening due to natural and anthropogenic factors. However, ecosystem restoration and effective use of agricultural residues could provide hope for making energy supply sustainable. Our analysis showed that restoring sparsely vegetated areas and degraded forest and savannahs, promotion of agroforestry in degraded agricultural lands, and use of agricultural residues could generate close to 71 billion gigajoules (GJ) of energy and provide sufficient energy for about 2.5 billion people if implemented in all potential areas identified. Ecosystem-based approaches to bioenergy along with a well-balanced involvement of sectors and industry actors coupled with knowledgeable management of the ecosystem could lead to beneficial outcomes for the society and environment

Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Through the Lens of Community Preferences

Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) practices are people-centered, nature-based solutions which aim to ensure that communities can cope with the adverse effects of climate change. These practices utilize biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of the wider adaptation strategies. In recent years, communities across the globe have embraced different EbA pathways as part of their adaptation option. This necessitated a comprehensive feasibility assessment to establish the most practical options in different context in The Gambia. This technical brief looks at EbA practices based on community preferences, gender choices, values and incentives, potential enablers and barriers, as well as policy and institutional frameworks based on findings from the EbA project in The Gambi