Integrating place-specific livelihood and equity outcomes into global assessments of bioenergy deployment

__Abstract__ Integrated assessment models suggest that the large-scale deployment of bioenergy could contribute to ambitious climate change mitigation efforts. However, such a shift would intensify the global competition for land, with possible consequences for 1.5 billion smallholder livelihoods that these models do not consider. Maintaining and enhancing robust livelihoods upon bioenergy deployment is an equally important sustainability goal that warrants greater attention. The social implications of biofuel production are complex, varied and place-specific, difficult to model, operationalize and quantify. However, a rapidly developing body of social science literature is advancing the understanding of these interactions. In this letter we link human geography research on the interaction between biofuel crops and livelihoods in developing countries to integrated assessments on biofuels. We review case-study research focused on first-generation biofuel crops to demonstrate that food, income, land and other assets such as health are key livelihood dimensions that can be impacted by such crops and we highlight how place-specific and global dynamics influence both aggregate and distributional outcomes across these livelihood dimensions. We argue that place-specific production models and land tenure regimes mediate livelihood outcomes, which are also in turn affected by global and regional markets and their resulting equilibrium dynamics. The place-specific perspective suggests that distributional consequences are a crucial complement to aggregate outcomes; this has not been given enough weight in comprehensive assessments to date. By narrowing the gap between place-specific case studies and global models, our discussion offers a route towards integrating livelihood and equity considerations into scenarios of future bioenergy deployment, thus contributing to a key challenge in sustainability sciences

Analysing intermediary organisations and their influence on upgrading in emerging agricultural clusters

This paper analyses intermediary organisations in developing economy agricultural clusters. The paper critically engages with a growing narrative in studies of intermediaries that have stressed the ownership structure of intermediaries as a key driver for enabling knowledge transfer, inter-firm learning and upgrading of small producers in clusters. Two case studies of Latin American clusters are presented and discussed. The study suggests that in addition to ownership structure, cluster governance and the embeddedness of intermediaries in clusters are critical factors that need to be taken into account in understanding the influence of intermediaries in the upgrading of small producers in clusters

Metabolic Profiling of Dividing Cells in Live Rodent Brain by Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1HMRS) and LCModel Analysis

RATIONALE: Dividing cells can be detected in the live brain by positron emission tomography or optical imaging. Here we apply proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1HMRS) and a widely used spectral fitting algorithm to characterize the effect of increased neurogenesis after electroconvulsive shock in the live rodent brain via spectral signatures representing mobile lipids resonating at approximately 1.30 ppm. In addition, we also apply the same 1HMRS methodology to metabolically profile glioblastomas with actively dividing cells growing in RCAS-PDGF mice. METHODS: 1HMRS metabolic profiles were acquired on a 9.4T MRI instrument in combination with LCModel spectral analysis of: 1) rat brains before and after ECS or sham treatments and 2) RCAS-PDGF mice with glioblastomas and wild-type controls. Quantified 1HMRS data were compared to post-mortem histology. RESULTS: Dividing cells in the rat hippocampus increased approximately 3-fold after ECS compared to sham treatment. Quantification of hippocampal metabolites revealed significant decreases in N-acetyl-aspartate but no evidence of an elevated signal at approximately 1.3 ppm (Lip13a+Lip13b) in the ECS compared to the sham group. In RCAS-PDGF mice a high density (22%) of dividing cells characterized glioblastomas. Nile Red staining revealed a small fraction (3%) of dying cells with intracellular lipid droplets in the tumors of RCAS-PDGF mice. Concentrations of NAA were lower, whereas lactate and Lip13a+Lip13b were found to be significantly higher in glioblastomas of RCAS-PDGF mice, when compared to normal brain tissue in the control mice. CONCLUSIONS: Metabolic profiling using 1HMRS in combination with LCModel analysis did not reveal correlation between Lip13a+Lip13b spectral signatures and an increase in neurogenesis in adult rat hippocampus after ECS. However, increases in Lip13a+Lip13b were evident in glioblastomas suggesting that a higher density of actively dividing cells and/or the presence of lipid droplets is necessary for LCModel to reveal mobile lipids

Bioenergy production and sustainable development: science base for policymaking remains limited

The possibility of using bioenergy as a climate change mitigation measure has sparked a discussion of whether and how bioenergy production contributes to sustainable development. We undertook a systematic review of the scientific literature to illuminate this relationship and found a limited scientific basis for policymaking. Our results indicate that knowledge on the sustainable development impacts of bioenergy production is concentrated in a few well-studied countries, focuses on environmental and economic impacts, and mostly relates to dedicated agricultural biomass plantations. The scope and methodological approaches in studies differ widely and only a small share of the studies sufficiently reports on context and/or baseline conditions, which makes it difficult to get a general understanding of the attribution of impacts. Nevertheless, we identified regional patterns of positive or negative impacts for all categories – environmental, economic, institutional, social and technological. In general, economic and technological impacts were more frequently reported as positive, while social and environmental impacts were more frequently reported as negative (with the exception of impacts on direct substitution of GHG emission from fossil fuel). More focused and transparent research is needed to validate these patterns and develop a strong science underpinning for establishing policies and governance agreements that prevent/mitigate negative and promote positive impacts from bioenergy production

Bioenergy production and sustainable development: Science base for policymaking remains limited

The possibility of using bioenergy as a climate change mitigation measure has sparked a discussion of whether and how bioenergy production contributes to sustainable development. We undertook a systematic review of the scientific literature to illuminate this relationship and found a limited scientific basis for policymaking. Our results indicate that knowledge on the sustainable development impacts of bioenergy production is concentrated in a few well‐studied countries, focuses on environmental and economic impacts, and mostly relates to dedicated agricultural biomass plantations. The scope and methodological approaches in studies differ widely and only a small share of the studies sufficiently reports on context and/or baseline conditions, which makes it difficult to get a general understanding of the attribution of impacts. Nevertheless, we identified regional patterns of positive or negative impacts for all categories – environmental, economic, institutional, social and technological. In general, economic and technological impacts were more frequently reported as positive, while social and environmental impacts were more frequently reported as negative (with the exception of impacts on direct substitution of GHG emission from fossil fuel). More focused and transparent research is needed to validate these patterns and develop a strong science underpinning for establishing policies and governance agreements that prevent/mitigate negative and promote positive impacts from bioenergy production