Executive leadership in semi-presidential systems

Relative to presidentialism and parliamentarism, the study of semi-presidentialism is still in its infancy. The term was coined in 1970 and, apart from the pioneering work of Maurice Duverger, systematic study began only in the 1990s. Previously, the definition of semi-presidentialism was the subject of much debate. Now, most scholars agree that semi-presidentialism is where there is both a directly elected fixed-term president and a prime minister and cabinet that are collectively responsible to the legislature. The key contribution of recent scholarship is that semi-presidentialism is not a unimodal category. Instead, there is a tremendous variety of executive politics in countries with a semi-presidential constitution. This work has identified the effects of such variation on topics such as democratic performance and both government formation and termination. Given so many countries now have semi-presidential constitutions, the study of this topic is likely to remain salient. In the future, there should be more comparative studies of semi-presidential countries and more systematic comparisons of semi-presidentialism with presidentialism and parliamentarism

A global analysis of the social and environmental outcomes of community forests

Community forest management (CFM) has been promoted for decades as a way to merge environmental conservation with economic development and natural resource rights agendas. Yet many of these initiatives have also led to substantial socioeconomic and environmental trade-offs. We present a comprehensive global analysis of environmental, income and natural resource rights outcomes of CFM, using data from 643 cases in 51 countries. We find that while the majority of cases reported positive environmental and income-related outcomes, forest access and resource rights were often negatively affected by policies to formalize CFM, countering one of CFM&rsquo;s principal goals. Positive outcomes across all three dimensions were rare. We show that biophysical conditions, de facto tenure rights, national context, user-group characteristics and intervention types are key predictors of joint positive outcomes. These findings highlight key conducive conditions for CFM interventions, which can inform CFM design to ensure positive outcomes across multiple sustainability dimensions. </section

Scaling up sustainability in commodity agriculture: Transferability of governance mechanisms across the coffee and cattle sectors in Brazil

Commodity agriculture is a significant contributor to the economies of many countries that export beef, coffee, palm oil, and soy to meet growing global demand (FAOStat, 2017). At the same time, commodity agriculture in many countries is associated with environmental and social challenges that need to be addressed to enhance agricultural sustainability. For example, cattle and palm oil production are both associated with high rates of land use change, deforestation (Barona et al., 2010; Bowman et al., 2012), greenhouse gas emissions (Bustamante et al., 2012; Cederberg et al., 2011), encroachment into indigenous lands, and labor rights violations (Phillips and Sakamoto, 2012).</p

Transitioning to more sustainable, low-emissions agriculture in Brazil

KEY FINDINGS Cattle producers joined sustainability initiatives primarily to increase production, reduce production costs, learn new practices and access innovations, and because of their interest in sustainability. Farmers who shifted to sustainable intensification practices increased their productivity. Some also accessed new markets and a minority earned higher prices. Producers sought farming advice mostly from nearby farmers and technicians promoting sustainability initiatives. The cost of changing farm practices, insufficient technical assistance or capacity, and difficulty in complying with legal standards were the major barriers preventing other cattle producers from participating in sustainability initiatives. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per kg of beef of cattle farmers in sustainable intensification programs were 18% lower compared to neighboring farms not in the programs. Early life-cycle cattle ranching (e.g. calving, early rearing), commonly associated with deforestation, has been more engaged with NGO initiatives providing support and agronomic outreach rather than formal standards and reporting. Coffee Coffee farmers joined a certification program because of requests from buyers, potential for receiving price premiums on their coffee, and to access new markets with certified products. Coffee farmers producing certified coffee increased their economic efficiency, mainly due to higher productivity, compared to before they certified. Coffee producers' connections to technicians and access to information mostly revolved around their participation in cooperatives.POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS Build on market development lessons from the coffee sector to enhance sustainability, quality, traceability, and branding in the cattle sector. Expand sustainability initiatives’ capacity to deliver market access, technical assistance, and finance services to more cattle farmers. Continue support to producers in sustainability initiatives over multiple years, as they are likely to increase the sustainability of their practices with time. Expand agronomic outreach and sustainability initiatives to calving and early rearing operations to reduce associated deforestation and GHG emissions

Characterization of greater middle eastern genetic variation for enhanced disease gene discovery

The Greater Middle East (GME) has been a central hub of human migration and population admixture. The tradition of consanguinity, variably practiced in the Persian Gulf region, North Africa, and Central Asia1-3, has resulted in an elevated burden of recessive disease4. Here we generated a whole-exome GME variome from 1,111 unrelated subjects. We detected substantial diversity and admixture in continental and subregional populations, corresponding to several ancient founder populations with little evidence of bottlenecks. Measured consanguinity rates were an order of magnitude above those in other sampled populations, and the GME population exhibited an increased burden of runs of homozygosity (ROHs) but showed no evidence for reduced burden of deleterious variation due to classically theorized ‘genetic purging’. Applying this database to unsolved recessive conditions in the GME population reduced the number of potential disease-causing variants by four- to sevenfold. These results show variegated genetic architecture in GME populations and support future human genetic discoveries in Mendelian and population genetics

Использование диких видов для усовершенствования культурных растений: обзор достижений за последние 20 лет (Euphytica, 2007, № 156: pp 1-13)

В данной обзорной статье представлена информация о генах диких видов растений, которые были перенесены в сельскохозяйственные культуры в ходе селекционного процесса за последние 20 лет. За эти годы наблюдалось стабильное увеличение количества новых сортов, содержащих генетический материал диких видов, а также расширился диапазон характеристик тех генов, которые вводятся в культурные сорта. Те сельскохозяйственные культуры (пшеница, томат), чьи дикорастущие сородичи традиционно использовались как источники ценных признаков, по-прежнему остаются приоритетными для переноса новых генов от их диких видов. Несмотря на то, что постоянно улучшаются технологии межвидового скрещивания, вводятся в селекционную практику молекулярные методы, пополняются коллекции в генбанках и все больше публикуется работ с описанием наиболее значимых признаков дикорастущих видов, тем не менее, вклад дикорастущих сородичей культурных растений в усовершенствование новых сортов остается меньше, чем это можно было бы ожидать

Community forests for forest communities : an examination of power imbalances, challenges and goals in Brazil and Mexico

Community forestry can deliver economic, socio-cultural and ecological benefits to local communities. Case studies from around the world have shown this, yet results have also been mixed, as many initiatives have failed to deliver their promises. Criticisms have arisen that community forestry remains dominated by decision-making by offsite experts, replication of models deemed successful in other contexts, and the spread of forestry practices that have been developed for the large-scale forest industry. This research provides further insights into community forestry from the perspective of the local forest user. A case study approach was used for an in-depth examination of six community forestry initiatives in Brazil and Mexico, assessing the current status of community forestry and suggesting a path forward based on local needs and wants. Qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews with community members, and elements of grounded theory methodology, were used to: assess the amount of forest management authority communities currently have; create a framework outlining the challenges facing communities in managing their forests; and, identify community-defined goals and processes for community forestry initiatives. Results showed that, despite the rhetoric of decentralization, communities continue to work within tightly regulated frameworks of forest management with limited decision-making power for forest product commercialization. Within this limited power structure, communities face interrelated challenges in both the development and operationalization phases of forestry initiatives, requiring a holistic strategy of intervention to encourage the maintenance of a profitable and self-sufficient enterprise. In identifying community-defined goals, this research found that other livelihood strategies, particularly agricultural practices, need to be considered when designing forestry interventions that are overly focused on timber production. This exercise also underlined the need to promote site-specific models of intervention that take into account the variety of contexts and community interests. A better understanding of local perspectives can aid in the design of community forestry interventions brought by conservation and development agencies, by adding an important and understudied perspective to the problems that face community forestry. Without the community member playing an essential and empowered role, the success of community forestry will be limited.Forestry, Faculty ofGraduat