Developing a set of policy recommendations to assist the promotion of residential energy efficiency programmes in Myanmar

This document presents guidance to assist the Myanmar Government to formulate policies and strategies that can help to further enhance energy efficiency improvement activities in the Myanmar residential sector. It builds on the MECON research project findings and was co-developed through a stakeholder engagement workshop, which was organised in Nay Pyi Taw in May 2019 and was attended by 26 delegates representing a range of academics, energy industry representatives, development organisations, and policy makers representing various ministries. The first draft of the document was presented to senior policy makers in the Myanmar Ministry of Industry and their feedback was incorporated. Four key topics were discussed in the stakeholder workshop, deeper analysis of which could reduce the energy efficiency gap in the residential sector: uncertainty and risks; learning-by-doing to remove information barriers; principal agent issues and consumer heterogeneity. The rest of this document summarises how the policies and implementation activities can be improved, given understanding from the MECON project, recent progress and reflections from the workshop

Climate Change Impacts on Hydro-generation and Land Suitability for Agriculture in Least Developed Countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region

The main objective of this report is to understand the climate induced changes in precipitation, water inflow, and land-suitability for food and bioenergy production in the case study countries (Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar) where electricity system is heavily dependent on hydro and the economy of the rural population heavily depends on the agriculture. Rural agrarian communities are highly vulnerable to climate change as their income heavily depends on agriculture and has very limited access to electricity (Morton 2007). Access to electricity and climate resilience in the agriculture sector are expected to facilitate enhanced economic activities, secure jobs, and income generated by the sector and its supply chain for rural communities. Further, increased development, driven by access to clean energy and employment, is also key to achieve several SDGs such as health and wellbeing, education, poverty alleviation, reducing inequality and promoting gender equality. This report quantifies and analyses the impacts of climate change on water availability and land suitability for key crops in three least developed countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, namely, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. We use different databases (CMIP5 for climate and ISIMIP for hydropower data) as well as a modelling tool (land suitability model) to conduct these analyses

CAPTURA Regional Workshop Proceedings (28-30 June 2022, Virtual).

In response to the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Capturing Data on Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns and Trends in Use in Regions of Asia (CAPTURA) project worked with microbiology laboratories, pharmacies, and local governments in South Asia and Southeast Asia to expand the volume of historical and current data available on AMR and antimicrobial use and to identify gaps in data and areas for quality improvement. When the CAPTURA project completed its country-level engagement in the first half of 2022, the consortium brought together local, regional, and global AMR stakeholders for a virtual regional workshop to review data outputs from the project and share strategies to inform national and regional efforts to combat AMR. This paper summarizes the main topics presented in the workshop held from 28 to 30 June 2022. As such, it highlights lessons learned from the project and strategies to fight AMR. Although CAPTURA has been invaluable to countries and information from the project is already being used, barriers concerning data quality and sharing remain. Regional-level initiatives should continue to build on the momentum gained from the CAPTURA project in supporting national-level surveillance and data quality improvements to inform critical decisions around planning, policies, and clinical care. Project findings have highlighted that issues with antimicrobial resistance and use are wide ranging across countries. Going forward, building on the current foundations and tailoring approaches to meet local needs and capacities will be fundamental in combatting AMR

Wetlands for wastewater treatment and subsequent recycling of treated effluent : a review

Due to water scarcity challenges around the world, it is essential to think about non-conventional water resources to address the increased demand in clean freshwater. Environmental and public health problems may result from insufficient provision of sanitation and wastewater disposal facilities. Because of this, wastewater treatment and recycling methods will be vital to provide sufficient freshwater in the coming decades, since water resources are limited and more than 70% of water are consumed for irrigation purposes. Therefore, the application of treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation has much potential, especially when incorporating the reuse of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, which are essential for plant production. Among the current treatment technologies applied in urban wastewater reuse for irrigation, wetlands were concluded to be the one of the most suitable ones in terms of pollutant removal and have advantages due to both low maintenance costs and required energy. Wetland behavior and efficiency concerning wastewater treatment is mainly linked to macrophyte composition, substrate, hydrology, surface loading rate, influent feeding mode, microorganism availability, and temperature. Constructed wetlands are very effective in removing organics and suspended solids, whereas the removal of nitrogen is relatively low, but could be improved by using a combination of various types of constructed wetlands meeting the irrigation reuse standards. The removal of phosphorus is usually low, unless special media with high sorption capacity are used. Pathogen removal from wetland effluent to meet irrigation reuse standards is a challenge unless supplementary lagoons or hybrid wetland systems are used

The dominant Anopheles vectors of human malaria in the Asia-Pacific region: occurrence data, distribution maps and bionomic précis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The final article in a series of three publications examining the global distribution of 41 dominant vector species (DVS) of malaria is presented here. The first publication examined the DVS from the Americas, with the second covering those species present in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Here we discuss the 19 DVS of the Asian-Pacific region. This region experiences a high diversity of vector species, many occurring sympatrically, which, combined with the occurrence of a high number of species complexes and suspected species complexes, and behavioural plasticity of many of these major vectors, adds a level of entomological complexity not comparable elsewhere globally. To try and untangle the intricacy of the vectors of this region and to increase the effectiveness of vector control interventions, an understanding of the contemporary distribution of each species, combined with a synthesis of the current knowledge of their behaviour and ecology is needed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Expert opinion (EO) range maps, created with the most up-to-date expert knowledge of each DVS distribution, were combined with a contemporary database of occurrence data and a suite of open access, environmental and climatic variables. Using the Boosted Regression Tree (BRT) modelling method, distribution maps of each DVS were produced. The occurrence data were abstracted from the formal, published literature, plus other relevant sources, resulting in the collation of DVS occurrence at 10116 locations across 31 countries, of which 8853 were successfully geo-referenced and 7430 were resolved to spatial areas that could be included in the BRT model. A detailed summary of the information on the bionomics of each species and species complex is also presented.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This article concludes a project aimed to establish the contemporary global distribution of the DVS of malaria. The three articles produced are intended as a detailed reference for scientists continuing research into the aspects of taxonomy, biology and ecology relevant to species-specific vector control. This research is particularly relevant to help unravel the complicated taxonomic status, ecology and epidemiology of the vectors of the Asia-Pacific region. All the occurrence data, predictive maps and EO-shape files generated during the production of these publications will be made available in the public domain. We hope that this will encourage data sharing to improve future iterations of the distribution maps.</p

Biological characterization and treatment performances of a compact vertical flow constructed wetland with the use of expanded schist

International audienceThe use of compact vertical flow constructed wetlands is becoming increasingly popular in France to treat raw domestic wastewater. This system enables the use of a single deep stage rather than two stages and therefore dramatically reduces the capital costs. A compact vertical flow constructed wetland known as Ecophyltre (R) was investigated. This system was partially filled with a light expanded schist (Mayennite (R)) designed to reduce the surface area to 1.2 m(2) pe(-1). The aim of this work was to highlight relationships between Mayennite (R) characteristics with biological activity and treatment performances. After 12 months of operation, the total accumulated dry matter quantity was around 5 kg m(-2) (20% on the surface). Between 70% and 80% of the microorganisms respiration was principally measured in the top layer of Ecophyltre (R) during the first year of operation. However, biological activity was shared between the two Mayennite (R) layers over time. Results showed that Mayennite (R) retention enabled to kept around 15% water in mass enhancing microorganisms growing. Removal performances of this system met the French standards (35 mg TSS l(-1); 25 mg BOD1(-1); 125 mg COD1(-1)). Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Ecosystem services through the lens of indigenous people in the highlands of Cordillera Region, Northern Philippines

Understanding the perception, use, and prioritization of ecosystem services (ES) is important for shaping local environmental policies. This study assessed for the Cordillera Region, Philippines, Indigenous peoples (IPs) perception on the significance of ES for their well-being, influence of socio-economic factors attributing to these perceptions, and ranked the most valued ES. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaires with 922 households in 48 villages of the Region. We found that most frequently identified and valued ES are provisioning (food, income, and medicinal resources) followed by cultural and regulating ES. The study showed signficant influence (p-value 0.001) of ethnicity, occupation, gender, and age to affect local perceptions of ES provided by the landscapes. A remarkable differences appeared in prioritizing ES, e.g. younger local respondents value ES more than older ones; women have appreciated most ES; and ethnic groupings tend to have a different value of ES that are significantly connected with the landscape characteristics. Traditional rice farming systems was ranked as source providing the most valued ES followed by conventional farming systems and off-farming activities like collection of non-timber forest products. Furthermore, IPs involvement to local surveys are useful in ecosystem conservation strategies because the way society modifies an ecosystem is a function associated to perceptions, interest, and values. A relevant information to decision-makers that must be integrated into local development planning to maintain the flow of ES that support the livelihood in a community

L'usage de la modélisation pour optimiser la profondeur d'une couche de zéolite dans des filtres plantés à écoulement vertical

International audienceThis simulation study investigates the treatment performance of a French style single stage vertical flow constructed wetland using a zeolite layer in order to increase ammonia removal. For the modelling exercise, the CW"2D biokinetic model of the HYDRUS Wetland Module is used. The calibrated model is able to determine the effect of different depths of the zeolite layer on ammonia removal in order to optimize the design of the system. For calibration of the model, hydraulic effluent flow rates as well as influent and effluent concentrations of COD and NH4-N have been measured. To model the adsorption capacity of zeolite, Freundlich isotherms are used. The results present the simulated treatment performance within three different depths of the zeolite layer, 10 cm (default), 15 cm and 20 cm respectively. The increase of the zeolite layer depth leads to a decrease of the simulated NH4-N effluent concentration

Net rainfall components under various ages of the oil palm

This study analysed the net rainfall components under different ages and leaf area index (LAI) of the oil palm to determine the contribution of net rainfall towards water requirements of the palm. We hypothesised that older palms, with their higher LAI, would have lower net rainfall due to higher interception of rain. The study was conducted in oil palm plantations in Mendis village, Bayung Lincir District, Sumatra. Tipping-bucket rain gauges connected to data loggers were used to measure the rainfall components (throughfall, stemflow, interception and gross rainfall) at ten-minute intervals for four months. The proportions of throughfall, stemflow, and interception for the oil palm aged between 5 to 20 years were 92.2% - 58%, 2.4 – 0.7%, and 5.4% - 41%, respectively. The equations relating throughfall (Tf), stemflow (Sf), and net rainfall (Pn) to LAI were Tf = -8.5032 LAI + 116.74, Sf = -0.469 LAI + 3.8808, and Pn = -8.9722 LAI + 120.62, respectively. Under various oil palm ages, net rainfall (Pn) had an inverse linear relationship with an increase in LAI by 3.5 and 7.2 with a decrease in net rainfall from 94.6% to 58.8%. The results from this study should serve as a guide to the water management of oil palm plantations

Energy-Harvesting Fabric Antenna

In this chapter the exploitation of novel fabrics, in place of standard substrates and metallizations, in the realization of radio-frequency energy harvesting systems, commonly referred as rectennas, rectifying antennas, for Body Area Network applications is deeply discussed. The use of these unconventional materials makes the design approach a delicate issue: firstly, the electromagnetic characterization of fabrics is needed; furthermore, the effects of bending of the whole system, as well as the proximity to human tissue must be considered in the optimization procedure. The consequences of an approximate approach in the design of wearable rectennas could lead to significant deviations from the final prototypes performance. For these reasons we consider a computer-aided platform, which relies on the combination of full-wave solvers and nonlinear circuit-level tools, through the rigorous application of the electromagnetic theory: this way the unavoidable electromagnetic couplings between different system sections, the dispersive/nonlinear behavior of the entire rectenna. In this way the actual available power at the rectifier input port are accurately taken into account. The procedure is deeply described in this chapter through the step-wise analysis of the project of a fully wearable, fully autonomous tri-band rectenna. The experimental characterization of the prototype is used to provide a validation of the design procedure. The two-step procedure consists in the design of the rectenna with a fixed-load in radio-frequency (RF) stationary conditions, followed by the transient baseband design of the power management unit which acts as a dynamically variable load, depending on the actual incident RF power