Water resource management in Malaysia : legal issues and challenges.

The two-wave flood incident in Malaysia in 2006 has raised concerns over the economical, sociological and psychological impact on the victims. Nevertheless, many do not realize that the tragedy has been exacerbated due to the current structure of water resource management system in the country. This paper discusses the complexities of the present legal framework with regard to water resource management in Malaysia. An examination has been made to the current Federal Constitution as well as the Federal legislations. The study proves that the problem related to water resource management in Malaysia is partly due to the unclear division of power between the Federal and the State Governments and the fragmented legislation on Malaysian water

Depleting Tropical Forest at a Landscape Scale: Finding Solutions for Bangladesh

Drastic deforestation is a major problem of Bangladesh which is contributing to negative downstream impacts on the environment. To address this problem various measures should be taken at different scales. The main objective of this paper is to suggest the possible steps that Bangladesh could take and reverse the trend of deforestation. An extensive literature review and interviews with government officials, professionals and NGO workers have been used to collect relevant information on the agents of deforestation in the country. Based on the information gathered, this paper presents the reasons for the extent of deforestation, and suggests some positive steps where the Government could be the main mitigating actor by implementing integrated programmes, which will also ensure mass awareness and wider impact. Local NGOs and international bodies must also formulate adequate plans to protect valuable areas of remaining forest

Extent and Consequences of Tropical Forest Degradation: Successive Policy Options for Bangladesh

This paper is conceived at a time when new paradigms are sought for the development of a framework to deal with the problem of forest resources degradation. Deforestation in Bangladesh, has reached an alarming rate in recent years. The forest coverage of Bangladesh is one of the lowest and the deforestation rate is the highest of any country in the world. Coupled with the process of deforestation, flawed afforestration programmes have seriously exposed Bangladesh to environmental vulnerability. Considering this situation various strategies should be taken at different levels. The main objective of this paper is to suggest the possible steps that Bangladesh could halt and reverse the trend of deforestation. An extensive literature review and structured interviews of key informants have been used to collect relevant information to understand the reasons and consequences of forest degradation in the country. Based on the information gathered, this paper suggests some positive steps where the Government could be the main mitigating actor by implementing integrated programmes, which will also ensure mass awareness and wider impact

Finding alternatives to swidden agriculture:Does agroforestry improve livelihood options and reduce pressure on existing forest?

Swidden cultivation can contribute to deforestation and land degradation, which can subsequently result in a number of serious environmental problems. This paper examines the economic and social potential of agroforestry systems and the barriers to their widespread adoption, as a land use alternative to swidden cultivation, which may potentially help protect local forest. The Gunung Salak valley in West Java, Indonesia is presented as a case study. Based on farmers� and experts� assessment, costs and benefits have been estimated, which show that the two investigated agroforestry systems have higher net present value and benefit-cost ratio (B/C) than the two swidden cultivation systems. Tree ownership also creates more permanent rights to farmland and is prestigious in the community. Agroforestry products (fruit, vegetables etc.) have high monetary value and help strengthen social cohesion when shared with neighbors. However, farmers are reluctant to implement agroforestry. Stated reasons are related to both culture and capacity. Farmers practicing agroforestry are less involved in forest clearing and forest products collection than swidden farmers indicating that it may contribute positively to conservation of local forests. Increasing the adoption of agroforestry farming in the study area will require support to overcome capacity constraint

Comparing government regulated and unregulated inland water fisheries of Plateau State, Nigeria: an economic productivity analysis

The objectives of the research was to compares the economics of regulated and unregulated fisheries through the estimates of technical, allocative and economic efficiency of micro entrepreneur or artisanal fishers in  the central Nigerian state of Plateau, with a view to examine the economic benefits and sustainability on inland water fisheries as renewable resource in developing economics. Stochastic frontier production and cost functions using the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) technique was used to analysed data collected from, daily fishing observations made for 4 weeks, and through questionnaire from 20 micro entrepreneurs from unregulated lakes of Polmakat, Shimankar, Deben, Janta and 30 micro entrepreneurs from the only regulated Pandam Lake to give a sample size of 110 respondents selected in a multi-stage sampling technique. The mean technical, allocative and economic efficiency of unregulated fishers were 0.83, 0.56 and 0.68 respectively, while, the mean technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of the regulated fishers were 0.91, 0.68 and 0.72 respectively. This study shows higher potential for increase in fishing output at unregulated fisheries through better use of available resources, given the current state of technology. The MLE result suggested that extension contact, age and educational status were major determinants of efficiency in unregulated fishing, meaning that the transformation for effective and sustainable fisheries exploitation requires the involvement of educated fishers, extension education, and redefinition of property rights of unregulated fishery and constraining of inputs at regulated fishery.   Keywords: micro entrepreneurs, economic, efficiency, comparative, stochastic, renewable resourc

Hexamethonium produces both twitch and tetanic depression without fade in common African toad (Bufo regularis)

The study was designed to investigate the nature of the cholinoceptors at the sciatic nervegastrocnemius muscle junction of the common African toad (Bufo regularis). Using myographic technique, the twitch properties of the sciatic-gastrocnemius muscle preparation of the common African toad was studied. Both the twitch height and peak tetanic height were measured as a percentage of control. Hexamethonium at a concentratration of 0.1mM significantly (

Initiatives of Tropical Agroforestry to Sustainable Agriculture: A Case Study of Capasia Village, Northern Bangladesh

A relatively large percentage of the population in Bangladesh lives under the poverty line and is affected by the country's degrading natural resources. Agroforestry has been seen as one of the few options to lift people out of poverty. Research into the costs and benefits of agroforestry was undertaken in Capasia Village in Northern Bangladesh. Initial results indicate that agroforestry may not only be an optimal livelihood solution for poor farmers, biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability but agroforestry systems also provide good economic rates of return. Thus the farmers who engage in agroforestry are benefited in different ways

Numerical investigation of the plasma-aided fabrication of stoichiometric InAs nanodots at early stage of the growth

Using numerical modeling of the plasma sheath and key surface processes, the plasma-aided fabrication of InAs nanodots is investigated at early stage of the growth. Roles of different plasma process parameters, such as electron temperature, electron number density, and ion-to-electron density ratio, in achieving the stoichiometric growth of the nanodots are explored and conditions to achieve a highly stoichiometric InAs composition are discussed. It is shown that the nanodots get larger with increasing the electron temperature and electron number density, whereas they shrink in size with increasing the ion-to-electron density ratio. Moreover, it is shown that with increase in the electron temperature and electron number density stoichiometric saturation state can be reached shortly, which this enables the fabrication of highly stoichiometric array of nanodots within shorter processing time. The results obtained can open a path toward nucleation and growth of an array of nanodots with desired structural composition and size distribution

Green and Sustainable Commercial Property Demand in Malaysia and Nigeria

Green building is redefining real estate practices and commercial properties are attracting greater attention of the paradigm shift. Nevertheless, in many countries including Malaysia and Nigeria, green building investment is still beset with uncertainties about the anticipated returns and benefits. The aim of this study is to identify the predictive factors and variables that motivate decisions to demand and invest in green commercial properties, and to apply discriminant analysis technique to assess if there are significant differences in perception between the real estate development team in Malaysia and Nigeria based on the identified variables. The result showed a significant discriminant function separating the two countries based on their perception of the variables. The green building motivation attributes favoured Malaysia. The Wilks’ Lambda’s F test and the standardized discriminant function coefficients, indicated that there are significant differences in perception between the real estate development team  in Malaysia and Nigeria as measured by personal and altruistic environmental motivations, corporate conscience responsibility motivations and economic and financial motivations. However, economic and financial motivation variables were found to have showed the most predictive power in accounting for the differences in perception. Keywords: green building, real estate investment, sustainability, motivations, perceptions