Vehicles for scaling out mitigation options in rice production in Vietnam: Cooperative and contract farming systems for water management

Greenhouse gas emissions from rice production have been identified as a key mitigation focus for Vietnam to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions committed to the Paris Agreement. Shifting to a production landscape that adopts Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), which refer to the practice wherein fields are intermittently drained and allowed to dry before being flooded again, can reduce emissions from rice production by 50%. This practice was selected by stakeholders as a priority for scaling out. The study presented here analyzed the process of government coordination and the roles of farmer cooperative groups and private industry pertaining to contract farming as a vehicle for out-scaling AWD. Government officials at the national and provincial level, as well as representatives from private industry and farmer cooperatives, were interviewed to identify enabling factors and limitations to coordination. To further assess the scaling potential of AWD, this study determined the barriers to scaling out as perceived by different actors in the rice value chain and provided recommendations as ways forward. The end goal of this study was to collaborate with the government of Vietnam to combine its findings with data collected from parallel studies in co-designing an implementation framework. The framework, in turn, would guide Vietnam’s rice-related mitigation strategy to meet the 2030 emission reductions that the country pledged to the Paris Agreement

Greenhouse gas emissions from piggery and biogas digesters in the Red River Delta of Vietnam

High demand for pork consumption in Vietnam has led to a shift of pig production systems from smallholder to industrial-scale farms, particularly in the Red River Delta. This production intensification also produces massive manure and urine quantities, leading to water, air, and soil pollution. The use of biogas plants has been seen as efficient to achieve in the same time a decrease in pollution, and a provision of biogas resources and bio-organic fertilizers. However, increasing pig head density has been causing great pressure on biogas digesters, as their size is not big enough for treatments anymore. Inappropriate utilization and management of biogas digesters can not only cause losses from pig wastes, but also contributes to increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). This case study aims to identify the role and contributions of biogas digesters to better manage the sources of GHG emissions from pig wastes for different types of pig farms. Four provinces of the Red River Delta were selected to test the pig waste management efficiency of biogas digesters and measure GHG emissions from these systems. The findings show that CO2, CH4 and N2O emission rates from pig manure are at least twice as much what is allowed under the Vietnam national technical regulation on ambient air quality. However, the GHGs emission rate does not significantly differ between smallholder and industrial-scale farms in the four surveyed provinces. Sampling position (between inside piggeries and outside the outlet of biogas digesters) did not affect significantly GHG emissions rate. These results confirm that the pig waste management of biogas digesters for both smallholder and industrial-scale pig farms is not efficient and that efforts need to be invested to mitigate GHG emissions in pig production. Reducing pig density per piggery is highly recommended. The modification of biogas digester structure to separate solid pig manure and urine should also be considered. Otherwise, the application of other alternative aerobic or anaerobic digestion technologies should also be encouraged and promoted. Biogas digesters in pig production have a significant role to play in Vietnam government’s mitigation strategies, as well as from the perspective of biosafety and animal husbandry policies

NDC Analysis for Vietnam’s agriculture sector targets by 2030

Production of rice is essential to Vietnam’s economy but paddy rice production also contributes significantly to the nation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Rice production emitted 45 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2010, equating to 18% of total national GHG emissions (Tran et al., 2019). A variety of options to reduce GHG emissions during the production of rice must be implemented to achieve Vietnam’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and green growth strategies. One of the most promising options is alternate wetting and drying (AWD), an irrigation technique in which fields are irrigated and then allowed to dry out to a certain point before irrigation commences. This technique can reduce methane emissions by as much as 50% on average without a reduction in yield (Carrijo et al. 2017). We provide multiple project scenarios (MARD, 2016; Mai & Ngo, 2020; and Tran et al., 2019) to achieve this target under differing technology adoption baselines and with low to high infrastructure investment prospects

Greenhouse gas emissions from piggery and biogas digesters in the north of Vietnam

Increases in pig farm densities have caused great pressures on waste management systems and produce massive manure and urine quantities in Vietnam. This study aimed to identify the role and contributions of biogas digesters to better manage the sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from pig wastes for different types of pig farms in the north of Vietnam. Four provinces, namely Thanh Hoa, Phu Tho, Thai Binh, Vinh Phuc, were identified. A total of 24 farms were purposively selected including 16 small-size farms and 8 larger-size farms. The findings showed that GHG emissions from small-size farms (154.8 t CO2-eq.yr-1) did not significantly differ from the amounts measured in larger-size farms (139.1 t CO2-eq.yr-1) in the four surveyed provinces. The sampling position did not significantly affect the GHG emission rates, with 173.9 t CO2-eq.yr-1 inside piggeries and 120.8 t CO2-eq.yr-1 outside the outlet of the biogas digesters (p-value=0.09). N2O emissions require further measurements at different farm sizes and sites. These results confirmed that the pig waste management of biogas digesters for both small-size and larger-size pig farms is not completely efficient and that efforts need to be invested in to mitigate GHG emissions in pig production. Reducing pig density per piggery is highly recommended. The application of other alternative aerobic or anaerobic digestion technologies like vermicompost, effective microorganisms, and composting should also be encouraged and promoted

Reviewing Vietnam's Nationally Determined Contribution: A New Perspective Using the Marginal Cost of Abatement

The processes countries use to revise their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the UNFCCC's Paris Agreement will be key to ensure that their pledges lead to effective climate change policy. In many developing countries, the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector is central to their NDCs. For this study, a marginal abatement cost (MAC) curve was used to review Vietnam's mitigation pledges pertaining to the AFOLU sector. We conclude that Vietnam has the potential to increase its NDC pledges, especially in the land use sector and through negative cost mitigation measures including water techniques for rice cultivation, agroforestry, and management of livestock diets and manure. While the MAC curve alone is insufficient to prioritize policy options, this study highlights the fundamental importance of continuous data improvement and refinement for monitoring NDC actions and ultimately achieving the goals set out in the Paris Agreement

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

QUẢN LÝ XÂY DỰNG KẾ HOẠCH HOẠT ĐỘNG GIÁO DỤC NGOÀI GIỜ LÊN LỚP Ở CÁC TRƯỜNG THPT TRONG GIAI ĐOẠN HIỆN NAY

TÓM TẮT Ngày nay, khi bàn đến công tác giáo dục còn không ít người cho rằng phát triển giáo dục là sự phát triển, khai thác tiềm năng trí tuệ, phát triển nghề nghiệp, nên chỉ quan tâm đến đổi mới nội dung chương trình dạy học những môn khoa học cơ bản và công nghệ mà quên đi việc đào tạo những kỹ năng mềm, nhằm hình thành và phát triển nhân cách, rèn luyện những con người năng động, sáng tạo, có khả năng tự quản, tổ chức hoạt động, lập kế hoạch, kiểm tra đánh giá…, điều này đã ảnh hưởng không nhỏ đến kỹ năng nghề nghiệp của các em học sinh sau này. Chính vì vậy đòi hỏi các nhà quản lý giáo dục cần phải có năng lực lãnh đạo điều hành bộ máy HĐGDNGLL vận hành tốt nhất, trong đó: kỹ năng lập kế hoạch là một chức năng rất quan trọng trong quá trình quản lý HĐGDNGLL ở trường THPT, đó chính là bản đồ chỉ dẫn để giúp nhà quản lý đạt mục tiêu đề ra một cách tốt nhất

An analysis of economic and environmental impacts for the transition to organic tea production in the Thai Nguyen province of Vietnam

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2008.Surveys are used to collect panel data from 4 representative tea producing villages involving 180 tea producing households in the Thai Nguyen province in 2007. Soil, water and tea samples were collected on a monthly basis during the research period in order to analyze pesticide residues and agro-chemicals in the soil, water and tea products. The Stochastic Production Frontier (SPF) model was used to analyze production and profit efficiency. A probit model was employed to determine factors affecting the adoption of organic tea and Monte Carlo simulation was used to analyze risk and uncertainty involved in the conversion to organic tea production in the Thai Nguyen province. A Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) was carried out to determine and compare net present value (NPV) of both private and social benefits for different tea production methods. The results show that organic tea production has high production efficiency (0.998), profit efficiency (0.836), and NPV of social benefit. Organic tea production also contributes substantially to the reduction of chemical residues in the soil, water and tea products (residues of chemicals and pesticides were not found in water and tea samples taken at the end of the tea production season for the first year converted organic tea farm). However, organic tea production has a lower NPV of private benefits during the transition period (five years). External support, such as government subsidies has a significant contribution to farmers' decision of whether or not to switch to organic tea production. The adoption rate for organic tea production would equal to zero if the premium price and outside support were removed.The Thai Nguyen province is well-known for its high quality tea in Vietnam. In order to improve the quality of tea products that satisfy health requirement standards, a recent movement from conventional tea production to organic tea production has occurred. To analyze gains and losses from this conversion, impacts to the environment should be evaluated and analyzed to determine both short term and long term effects on tea growers in particular and on society as a whole.Includes bibliographical references (leaves xxx-xxx).Also available by subscription via World Wide Web221 leaves, bound 29 c

Is Organic Tea the Best Brew? - An Assessment of Options for Vietnamese Tea Production

This study from Vietnam shows that a switch from conventional to organic tea productions would bring real environmental, health and economic benefits for the country's farmers and its society as a whole. In particular the amount of agrochemical residue and waste produced by tea production would be reduced. Farmers would also be able to enjoy a better livelihood as they could command a premium price for their organic tea products. The study therefore recommends that organic tea production is the best method for farmers to adopt.Organic tea, Vietnam